Chapter Summaries

Sun Fei watched the big black dog break through his evolutionary bottleneck and grow wings, gaining the ability to fly and breathe fire. The newly transformed beast joined the three little dragons in the sky, while Sun Fei looked ahead to their future as Chambord City's guardians.

• Sun Fei sensed the big black dog's aura growing stronger and recognized it as his own.
• The big black dog raced through the mountains, remembering how Angela had rescued him and how Alexander's potion had awakened his intelligence and changed his body.
• Longing to fly like Enforcer, Chick, and Punk, the big black dog leaped across a vast ravine and roared as he began to fall.
• The big black dog grew enormous black wings, breathed fire that melted a boulder, and flew into the sky.
• Sun Fei welcomed the big black dog's transformation, judged that he was nearing the Moon Class, and watched him fly with the three little dragons.

Sun Fei settled into Sky City, discovered that the Enchanting Lotus accelerated his spiritual cultivation, and surveyed the dangerous forest beyond the Five Sword Heaven Peaks. He returned to Chambord City to confront a long-hidden expert in the church before his wedding, and the chapter ended as that expert sensed his arrival.

• Sun Fei settled his companions and attendants in Sky City, then trained his spiritual power in the God King Hall beside the blooming Enchanting Lotus.
• Sun Fei found that his spiritual cultivation progressed more than twice as fast in the hall, while the lotus's fragrance filled the chamber.
• Sun Fei patrolled the forest near the Five Sword Heaven Peaks and sensed powerful magic beasts and even more dangerous presences deeper within.
• Sun Fei recalled accounts of races crossing the endless forest and grew convinced that a great secret lay beyond it, but he decided not to risk the journey yet.
• Sun Fei went to Chambord City's church to address an expert who had hidden there for over a year, seeking to prevent trouble before his wedding.
• The hidden expert opened their eyes in alarm as Sun Fei approached.

Sun Fei visited the blond youth in the church garden and offered to become his friend after confirming the youth had secretly helped Chambord City. The youth began to reveal his origins, but a woman inside the stone house urgently interrupted him.

• Denisov and Rakitić decided not to confront Sun Fei when they sensed him above their secret chamber.
• Sun Fei arrived at the church garden and met the blond youth, whose presence seemed to strengthen the plants around him.
• The youth’s two armed attendants raised their bows at Sun Fei, then lowered them when he spoke to them.
• Sun Fei learned that the youth had fought him a year earlier and had killed a Knights’ Hall knight to help Chambord City eleven months earlier.
• Sun Fei asked the youth to be friends, and the youth agreed, warning that his origins could bring trouble.
• The youth began to disclose his identity, but a woman inside the stone house urgently called out to stop him.

Akinfeev revealed that he was a descendant of the elven royal family, and Sun Fei recognized the signs of his ancient bloodline. After explaining how he had hidden from the Church and come to Chambord City, Akinfeev left Sun Fei wondering why he had explored the mountain behind the city at night.

• One of the female archers sealed the garden with a wood-element magic array made from arrows so Akinfeev could speak privately.
• Akinfeev told Sun Fei that he was Xilan Akinfeev, a descendant of the vanished elves, and Sun Fei connected him to the lost elven royal bloodline.
• Akinfeev served Sun Fei plant-infused dew and explained that his elven blood had emerged when he was fifteen, exposing him to danger from the Holy Church.
• Akinfeev said his father had given him a new identity as a Church apprentice divine priest, and he had eventually followed Mazzola to Chambord City.
• Sun Fei pointed out that Akinfeev had likely come to Chambord City for more than refuge and asked why he had explored the mountain behind the city at night.

Sun Fei learned about Akinfeev’s search for the Ancient Road of Blood and Tears and the danger posed by his growing elven traits. He invited Akinfeev to his wedding, leaving the two as friends and allowing Akinfeev to remain in Chambord City.

• Akinfeev told Sun Fei that he had come to Chambord City seeking the Ancient Road of Blood and Tears and survivors of his people.
• Akinfeev explained that his elven royal blood was making him dependent on plant elements, and Sun Fei offered him a Full Rejuvenation Potion.
• Akinfeev said he knew of the Zenit Empire’s grand knight commander with the same name but believed their shared name was a coincidence.
• Sun Fei invited Akinfeev to his wedding banquet and declared that Chambord City’s gates were open to true friends.
• Akinfeev accepted the invitation and felt relieved that he could continue living in Chambord City.

Akinfeev trusted Alexander of Chambord to help the elves survive the coming dark age, and Sun Fei’s potion eased his worsening illness. Meanwhile, the Church conspirators planned to attack Chambord on Sun Fei’s wedding day, while Mazzola and Luciano remained trapped between their powerful allies and the king.

• Akinfeev told the half-elf archers that he trusted the King of Chambord and believed the elves’ fate depended on standing with him.
• Akinfeev drank Sun Fei’s potion, and green energy from the plants restored some color to his face.
• Denisov, Mandžukić, Catipolo, and Rakitić hid beneath the church and planned to wait for their leader before attacking Chambord on Sun Fei’s wedding day.
• Sun Fei visited Mazzola and exchanged about ten thousand low-grade magic stones through the Church.
• Mazzola and Luciano feared the consequences of opposing Sun Fei but felt unable to refuse the four conspirators.

Sun Fei toured Chambord City with Heskey, gave Jessica a God-Deceiving Emblem, and then went to Hero City to teach his first lesson at Chambord City Civil and Martial University. The lecture hall filled with students and officials as he prepared to address Chambord's elites.

• Sun Fei suggested that Garcia establish the Black-Robed Holy Temple in Chambord's back mountains, and Garcia went there with Brook and Alan to search for a site.
• Heskey entertained Sun Fei with stories about his run-ins with Urban Management as they wandered through the city.
• Sun Fei visited the Soros Chamber of Commerce's new storefront, gave Jessica a God-Deceiving Emblem to conceal her unusual aura, and reassured her that they would always be friends.
• Sun Fei and Heskey arrived at Hero City, where a packed lecture hall awaited Sun Fei's first lesson as the university's principal.

Sun Fei used his first class at Chambord City Civil and Martial University to recount the city's struggles, show recordings of its heroes and everyday life, and warn students and soldiers to protect their loved ones. He then taught martial cultivation principles, and over a hundred students and soldiers broke through their bottlenecks during the lesson.

• Sun Fei recalled Chambord City's battles and changes over the past year, showing magical recordings of its heroes, residents, and daily life.
• Sun Fei contrasted an assault on the Ajax barracks with a peaceful scene in Chambord City and warned the class that their home could suffer the same devastation.
• Sun Fei announced that he would teach martial arts at least one day each month, explaining basic Dou Qi and magic principles and answering cultivation questions.
• Students and soldiers listened to Sun Fei's instruction, and more than a dozen displayed sudden breakthroughs during the lesson.
• By the end of the first half of class, around 130 or 140 students and soldiers had advanced to a higher Star Class.

Sun Fei gave personal cultivation advice to the students and soldiers at Chambord City's university, diagnosing their problems and recommending techniques. After everyone received guidance, he ended his first class and left Hero City, while those present vowed loyalty to him.

• Sun Fei opened the question period by giving every student and soldier a chance to ask for advice.
• Sun Fei diagnosed a boy's hidden injury, healed the obstruction in his arm, and helped him advance to Two-Star Class.
• Sun Fei answered questions about Dou Qi and magic, identifying students' weaknesses and recommending suitable cultivation techniques.
• Sun Fei guided more than ninety percent of the over two thousand attendees during the two-hour session.
• Sun Fei ended the class and left Hero City as the attendees cheered and swore to fight for him and never betray him.

Sun Fei visited Jessica at the Soros Chamber of Commerce, then received intelligence from Kashya about new threats in the Eindhoven and Ajax war zones. The report revealed that Arshavin’s faction was targeting Sun Fei’s allies, leaving the conflict with the first prince poised to escalate.

• Sun Fei went with Heskey to the Soros Chamber of Commerce, where Jessica welcomed them and gave them a meal.
• The guards mistook Sun Fei for a university professor and suspected he was Jessica’s lover, while Sun Fei quietly shook off a guard who followed him.
• Kashya brought Sun Fei an intelligence report describing Frankie’s victory over two Zenit legions in Eindhoven and her vow to kill him.
• Sun Fei learned that Frank Ribery, Shevchenko, Xindi, Reyes, and other allies had been targeted by Arshavin’s faction and summoned to Saint Petersburg for investigation.

Sun Fei reviewed intelligence about rising tensions among the empires and the Letters and Visits Office’s expanding reach, then considered the mystery surrounding Emperor Yassin’s battle with Domenech. He left for Twin Flag City to help comrades facing persecution.

• Sun Fei learned that six rescued experts had been ambushed on their way home, with two killed and their families devastated.
• Sun Fei read reports that Lyon and neighboring empires were preparing to challenge Zenit, while Domenech had disappeared and his magic tower had collapsed.
• Sun Fei reviewed the Letters and Visits Office’s growth under Zola, Modrić, and Kashya, and invited Kashya to his wedding to Elena thirteen days later.
• Sun Fei wondered why news of Emperor Yassin’s defeat of Domenech in the God and Demon Palace had been suppressed, and feared that war among the empires was approaching.
• Sun Fei summoned Torres, gave him instructions, and flew toward Twin Flag City to aid his persecuted comrades.

Sun Fei found Twin Flag City under a military lockdown and discovered that Frank Ribery had been taken away. As Gago and the other officers planned a covert rescue and escape to Chambord City, Sun Fei remained unseen nearby.

• Sun Fei arrived in Twin Flag City and found its streets deserted, with a lingering aura of death in the air.
• Sun Fei entered the garrison camp and saw soldiers who had been hanged, then discovered that Frank Ribery was missing.
• Fernando Gago and the officers discussed how the military ministry's envoy had imprisoned Ribery and persecuted the garrison troops.
• Gago stopped the officers from rebelling with the entire garrison and proposed that a small group rescue Ribery and flee.
• Gago planned for the group to seek refuge with Alexander in Chambord City after the rescue.

Sun Fei arrived at Twin Flag City and learned that Mataisen had arrested Frank Ribery and that soldiers who sought news of him had been hanged. He ordered the garrison to assemble and reclaim the heroes’ bodies, while the surrounding army prepared to crush what it called a mutiny.

• Fernando Gago proposed drawing the Knights' Hall away so the others could escort Lord Ribery to Chambord, and the generals argued over who would make the sacrifice.
• Sun Fei suddenly appeared, stopped the generals from attacking him, and asked Fernando Gago to explain what had happened in the city.
• Fernando Gago told Sun Fei that Mataisen had purged the garrison, arrested Frank Ribery and twenty guards, and had soldiers hanged for seeking news of their commander.
• Sun Fei praised the officers for their restraint and ordered the military horn sounded, his royal standard raised, and the army assembled to recover the fallen soldiers’ bodies.
• Nearly twenty thousand garrison soldiers gathered beneath Sun Fei’s banner, while a general in the surrounding camp called for the army to prepare to attack and summoned the Knights' Hall experts.

Williams moved to crush the Twin Flag City garrison as its soldiers tried to recover their executed comrades, but Sun Fei arrived and stopped a volley of arrows. Sun Fei gave Williams ten breaths to withdraw and surrender the executioners.

• Williams led his guards to the garrison camp, where the Thunder God's Whip blocked the soldiers from reaching their comrades' bodies.
• Williams accused the garrison of treason and threatened to kill anyone who crossed his line of fire.
• Sun Fei crossed the flaming line and challenged Williams's authority to confine the garrison soldiers.
• Williams ordered the archers to fire, but Sun Fei halted the armor-piercing arrows in midair.
• Sun Fei identified himself as King of Chambord and demanded that Williams withdraw one thousand meters and hand over the executioners within ten breaths.

Sun Fei confronted Williams and the Thunder God's Whip at Twin Flag City, then faced three Knights' Hall experts who threatened the garrison. When their leader, Papastathopoulos, challenged him, Sun Fei killed him instantly with a flick of sword Qi.

• Williams froze in fear when he saw Sun Fei and could not answer his warning.
• The garrison soldiers counted down while Williams hesitated between withdrawing and confronting Sun Fei.
• Three Knights' Hall experts arrived, and Williams fled with his guards after asking them to suppress the garrison.
• The Knights' Hall experts threatened the soldiers, but Sun Fei told the garrison to keep counting.
• Papastathopoulos revealed that he was a Trial Knight and threatened to capture Sun Fei.
• After the countdown ended, Sun Fei called the Knights' Hall experts trash and killed Papastathopoulos with a streak of sword Qi.

Sun Fei killed two Knights' Hall Trial Knights after they threatened Chambord, forcing the Thunder God's Whip to retreat from the garrison camp. He ordered his officers to prepare the dead soldiers and demand that the camp hand over their killers, then left to find Frank.

• Sun Fei killed the short, stout Trial Knight after the man threatened to have Chambord City destroyed.
• Sun Fei warned the Knights' Hall expert and Thunder God's Whip soldiers to retreat, and the last Trial Knight fled.
• Sun Fei's killing aura broke the Thunder God's Whip formation, and its officers ordered a retreat of two thousand meters.
• Sun Fei told Gago and the other officers to prepare the fallen soldiers and demand that the opposing camp hand over their killers by daybreak.
• Sun Fei ordered the garrison to maintain control and show no mercy to provocateurs, then vanished into the night to find Frank.

Imprisoned and tortured by Mataisen and Soroyev, Ribery worried over his captured guards and waited for a chance to escape. After Soroyev came to take him away for further torture, Ribery’s fate remained uncertain.

• Mataisen and Soroyev imprisoned Ribery and his twenty personal guards, then began taking the guards away one by one.
• Ribery spoke with the last remaining guard, who showed him the Hero Medal King of Chambord Alexander had awarded him.
• The young guard shared the rice his comrades had saved for Ribery, then gave him the medal and asked him to tell Alexander he had remained a brave soldier.
• Six soldiers dragged the young guard away despite Ribery’s furious protests, and a nobleman threatened Ribery with torture and claimed the First Prince would deal with Alexander.
• Ribery ate the remaining rice and waited for a chance, but Soroyev arrived two hours later and ordered soldiers to carry him away.

Ribery was brought before Mataisen and offered freedom in exchange for accusing Alexander of treason, but he refused. After Alpha restored his strength with a Full Rejuvenation Potion, Ribery prepared to attack Mataisen and demand the return of his twelve guards, until a voice spoke from behind the screen.

• Soroyev taunted Ribery and tortured his wounds, but Ribery refused to betray Alexander and demanded to know what had happened to his guards.
• Soroyev led Ribery through a heavily guarded, trapped passage to a stone hall where Mataisen and Alpha awaited him.
• Mataisen offered Ribery a chance to live if he testified against the King of Chambord, but Ribery refused.
• Alpha gave Ribery a Full Rejuvenation Potion, restoring his Dou Qi and bringing his strength back to Five-Star Class Peak.
• Ribery prepared to attack Mataisen and force him to reveal the fate of his twelve guards, but an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind the screen.

Ribery was brought before Delixi, an Imperial Senate guardian who had made a military map from the flayed skins of loyal warriors, including Ribery’s guard Arthur. As Delixi began to flay Ribery, the King of Chambord arrived, promising vengeance.

• Delixi’s aura suppressed Ribery, and soldiers escorted him behind a screen to a detailed map of the three empires made from human skin.
• Ribery recognized the mutilated Arthur and realized Delixi had flayed the skins of his personal guards to create the map as a gift for First Prince Arshavin.
• Delixi revealed his identity as an Imperial Senate guardian and said he would use Ribery’s skin to complete the map.
• Delixi began cutting Ribery’s skin, but Ribery vowed that the King of Chambord would avenge them.
• The King of Chambord arrived at the residence, and Delixi and City Lord Soroyev reacted in alarm.

Sun Fei arrived at the military envoy’s residence and found Frank Ribery and his injured companions, then confronted the men responsible for their suffering. He left Ribery to save Arthur and began taking control of the hall by overpowering Delixi.

• Williams warned the gathering that Sun Fei had killed three Trial Knights, but Sun Fei’s sword qi killed Williams as he entered the hall.
• Sun Fei ignored Mataisen and Delixi’s threats, gave Ribery a bottle of the Full Rejuvenation Potion, and told him to save Arthur.
• Ribery begged Sun Fei to punish the men who had harmed his twelve brothers, and Sun Fei promised that none of them would survive.
• Delixi revealed his Moon Class strength, but Sun Fei seized him effortlessly and destroyed his moon-shadow totem and Dou Qi channels before throwing him aside.