Chapter Summaries

Wharton awoke in the body of young Wharton Baruch and discovered that learning triggered a skill panel tracking his progress. After secretly testing it through reading and writing, he settled into family life with Hiri, Hogg, and Linley.

• Wharton recognized that he had transmigrated into the young Wharton Baruch, younger brother of Linley.
• Hiri washed and dressed Wharton, then told him that Linley and Hogg had gone to the training grounds.
• Wharton asked Hiri for an illustrated book and discovered that tracing the word “Shadowmouse” activated a literacy skill panel.
• Wharton practiced writing the character for “shadow” on a slate, raising his writing proficiency as Hiri watched in surprise.
• Linley returned from training, gave Wharton a patterned pebble, and spoke excitedly about magical beasts.
• Wharton noticed that memorizing a nursery rhyme also raised a skill-panel entry before Hiri tucked him into bed.

Wharton secretly began exercising and used the panel to track his physical and literacy progress. After observing Linley train in the Energy Gathering Stance, Wharton imitated it that night, beginning his own long-term training.

• Wharton secretly practiced push-ups and squats before dawn, raising his physical fitness proficiencies on the panel.
• Wharton explored the ruined courtyard and continued exercising out of Hiri's sight, then practiced reading characters with Hiri.
• Wharton listened as Linley told Hogg about his improvement in the Energy Gathering Stance and asked to watch Linley's afternoon training.
• Wharton observed Linley and the other children practice the stance and strength training, gaining panel-recorded proficiency through observation.
• That night, Wharton imitated the Energy Gathering Stance in bed and received the panel's assessment of his first attempt.

Wharton witnessed the Velocidragon mage’s battle devastate Wushan Town and saw how it changed Linley, who decided to seek a magic aptitude test. Afterward, Wharton’s panel recorded signs of his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline responding to intense emotion, leaving him resolved to grow stronger while preparing for his own future.

• Wharton watched a Velocidragon and its robed mage enter Wushan Town, and Hogg sent Hiri to hide Wharton in the cellar while he went to find Linley.
• The mage’s battle with mercenaries destroyed much of the town and killed dozens, while Hiri rescued Wharton and Hogg confirmed Linley was safe.
• Linley described seeing the eighth-level spell Dance of the Fire Serpent and the Velocidragon kill a warrior, then asked Hogg about magic and Dragonblood Warriors.
• Linley decided to take the magic aptitude test in Fenlai City, and Wharton promised to accompany him.
• Wharton checked his panel that night and discovered heightened motivation, a small increase in fire-element perception, and a slight agitation of his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline.

During a battle between the Saint-level magus Rudy and warrior Tyrone, Linley shielded Wharton from falling debris and was badly injured. The bloodied Coiling Dragon Ring awakened Doehring Cowart that night, and Wharton learned that the old magus would teach Linley magic when he recovered.

• Wharton watched Rudy and Tyrone's battle devastate Wushan Town as Hiri took him to the cellar for safety.
• Linley freed Wharton from the buried cellar and shielded him from a falling boulder, leaving Linley unconscious with a head wound.
• Hogg treated Linley's wound, while Wharton saw that the bloodstained Coiling Dragon Ring did not awaken immediately.
• That night, the ring glowed and Doehring Cowart appeared, introducing himself to Wharton and explaining that Linley's blood had awakened him.
• Doehring Cowart told Wharton he would teach Linley magic after Linley recovered, then returned to the ring to regain his strength.

After Doehring Cowart tested Linley and Wharton’s magical talents, he began teaching them meditation, though he could only train Linley in earth magic. Wharton discovered he could absorb fire-element magic power on his own, while Linley began preparing for a new life as a magus.

• Doehring Cowart explained that he had awakened from the Coiling Dragon Ring and offered to test Linley and Wharton for magical talent.
• Linley sensed many ocher earth-element motes, while Wharton sensed a dense field of red fire-element motes and few of other elements.
• Doehring Cowart found that Linley had at least ten times the spiritual power of someone his age and Wharton had about eight times as much, then agreed to teach them meditation and set rules for their training.
• Doehring Cowart began teaching the brothers meditation, telling Linley he could teach him earth magic but that Wharton would need another source for fire magic.
• Wharton used the meditation method to gather his first trace of fire-element magic power, while Linley asked Doehring Cowart when he could cast his first spell and resolved to train hard.

Linley discovered a young Shadow Mouse and began earning its trust with daily meals while preparing to attend a magic test in Fenlai City. Wharton continued training and wondered how his presence would change the future, as the Shadow Mouse—Bebe—waited for Linley to return.

• After recovering from his injury, Linley resumed training and discovered a fast young Shadow Mouse in the abandoned houses behind the Baruch home.
• Doehring Cowart explained that Linley could earn the Shadow Mouse’s trust and eventually form an Equal Contract by feeding it patiently.
• Linley fed the Shadow Mouse for ten days, progressing from raw meat to cooked food until it accepted his touch.
• Hogg told Linley that the magic admissions test in Fenlai City would begin the next month, and Linley agreed to go despite the registration fee.
• Doehring Cowart described the wider world and promised to accompany Linley, while Wharton continued his physical and magical training.
• The Shadow Mouse, Bebe, remembered Linley’s roasted pheasant and wondered whether the boy would visit again the next day.

Linley left Wushan Town with Hillman to take the magic academy test in Fenlai City, and Bebe caught up with them and formed an Equal Contract with him. Back at the Baruch Mansion, Wharton trained through the night and discovered that intense exercise could stimulate his Dragonblood bloodline.

• Linley said goodbye to Bebe and Wharton before leaving Wushan Town with Hillman for Fenlai City.
• Wharton urged Bebe to chase after Linley, and Bebe followed them onto the road.
• Bebe bit Linley and formed an Equal Contract with him, becoming his partner for the journey.
• Linley and Hillman stopped at a village inn, where Linley fed Bebe roasted rabbit and Doehring Cowart warned Linley to hide his abilities in Fenlai City.
• Wharton meditated and trained at home, and the panel showed increased physical proficiency and faster fatigue recovery from his Dragonblood bloodline.

Linley traveled to Fenlai City with Hillman to take the magic aptitude test and earned admission to Ernst Institute. He left the city with his acceptance letter, ready to return home and tell Hogg.

• Linley stayed at the Oak Inn and worried about leaving his family to study, while Doehring Cowart told him that Hogg had once served in the army.
• Hillman took Linley to the Radiant Church, where Linley saw that the test measured elemental affinity and spiritual power.
• Linley displayed exceptional affinity for the Earth and Wind Elements, medium affinity for Fire, and spiritual power eighteen times that of his peers.
• Academy representatives competed to recruit Linley, and he accepted a place at Ernst Institute.
• Linley showed Hillman his acceptance letter, celebrated with Bebe and Hillman, and left Fenlai City to return home.

Wharton continued his daily training and meditation while waiting for Linley to return from the royal capital. Linley came home accepted into the Ernst Institute and bonded with Bebe, while Doehring Cowart adjusted Wharton’s training and lessons for the years before his sixth birthday.

• Wharton trained and meditated, bringing his fire-style magic power close to the first-rank spellcasting standard as his Dragonblood Bloodline activity increased.
• Linley returned to Wushan Town and told Wharton and Hiri that the Ernst Institute had accepted him; he also revealed that he had formed an Equal Contract with Bebe.
• Hogg read Linley’s acceptance letter, congratulated him, and told him to study hard and treat Bebe as a partner.
• Linley described his test results at dinner, and Hogg recalled how rarely the Baruch Clan had produced magi or warriors in recent generations.
• Doehring Cowart praised Wharton’s progress, planned daily magic theory lessons, and told him to increase his physical training by thirty percent.

Linley departed for the Ernst Institute, while Wharton remained at the manor and received Doehring Cowart’s guidance before intensifying his own training. Wharton improved his fire-magic meditation method and pushed his warrior exercises further, leaving his path of growth underway as news arrived of a gifted new student at the institute.

• Linley left Wushan Town for the Ernst Institute after saying goodbye to Hogg, Wharton, and Hiri.
• Doehring Cowart gave Wharton a sealed framework of magical knowledge and advised him to prioritize basic warrior training until age six.
• Wharton began exercising daily and asked Hiri to help him study the family library’s books on magical beasts, herbs, and minerals.
• Wharton changed his meditation approach to resonate with fire elements, increasing his magic-power accumulation rate.
• Wharton extended his Energy Gathering Stance to twenty minutes, and Hogg cautioned him to train within safe limits.
• Hiri reported that the Ernst Institute had enrolled an eight-year-old with super-level Earth and Wind Element talent.

On his sixth birthday, Wharton’s Dragonblood Needle test revealed an exceptionally high bloodline concentration, allowing him to begin studying the Dragonblood Secret Codex. After Linley sent money to relieve the family’s financial crisis, Hogg planned to send Wharton to O'Brien Academy the following month.

• After three years of training, Wharton turned six and followed Hogg to the ancestral hall for his bloodline test.
• Hogg tested Wharton with the Dragonblood Needle, which turned nearly black-red, confirming that Wharton could cultivate the Dragonblood Secret Codex.
• Hogg gave Wharton a copy of the Codex and changed his training, but the cost of proper nutrition and medicinal ingredients strained the family’s finances.
• When Wharton’s body began to suffer from inadequate nutrition, Hillman returned with a Magic Crystal Card containing 9,900 gold coins that Linley had sent home.
• Hogg told Wharton he would send him to O'Brien Academy the following month, and Wharton read Linley’s letter encouraging him to train and promising they would find the family’s saber together.

Wharton left Wushan Town with Barker’s caravan and traveled north toward the O’Brien Warrior Academy, learning about the road, magical beasts, and life in the O'Brien Empire. After reaching Iron Rock City, he realized the medicinal ingredients he needed were expensive and that he would have to find another way to obtain them.

• Hogg prepared Wharton for the journey, gave him a short knife, and entrusted him to Barker and the Grayhoof Trading Company caravan.
• Wharton said goodbye to Hogg and departed Wushan Town, where he met Auntie Martha and quietly listened to the travelers’ stories.
• Barker warned Wharton about dangers on the road, and Wharton traveled through rough weather and mountain passes before crossing into the O'Brien Empire.
• The caravan fought three first-rank gray hyenas, and Wharton asked Barker about magical beast materials and their value.
• Wharton reached Iron Rock City with the caravan and spent two days observing the city and its markets.
• Wharton found that medicinal ingredients for the Dragonblood Secret Codex cost too much for him to buy freely, so he considered how to obtain them.

Wharton arrived in Chiyan City and began the O'Brien Academy entrance assessment after Barker helped him prepare for the journey. He passed the assessment and was told to return the next morning to enroll and receive his assignments.

• Barker gave Wharton Flamehoof Deer jerky and explained that Hogg had asked him to protect and look after the boy.
• On the fifty-first day, Barker brought Wharton to Chiyan City, advised him about academy life, and took him to O'Brien Academy the next morning.
• Wharton completed the physical fitness tests, endured the cross-country run, scored 107 on the strength test, and advanced through the morning assessment.
• Wharton won one practical combat match with a twelve-year-old boy, won another match, and lost to a fourteen-year-old girl before advancing to the final evaluation.
• The examiners rated Wharton's talent exceptional and passed him, instructing him to return the next morning to complete enrollment.

Twelve-year-old Wharton Baruch passed O'Brien Academy’s early graduation assessment by defeating three top students and enduring a match against Raymond. After Emperor Joanne O'Brien offered him a place in the empire, Wharton chose to return to Fenlai and his clan, accepting an imperial guest elder token before departing.

• Wharton defeated Harold Stoke and Alice Windsor, then outmaneuvered Roderick O'Brien and won their match.
• Wharton endured Raymond’s attacks until the incense burned out, passing the early graduation assessment and receiving his badge.
• Hiri gave Wharton a new Baruch Clan outfit he had made for the graduation ceremony.
• Emperor Joanne O'Brien offered Wharton resources and opportunities if he stayed in the empire, but Wharton said he would return to Fenlai and his family.
• Joanne gave Wharton an imperial guest elder token and told him O'Brien’s doors would remain open.

Wharton learned that his father, Hogg, had died three months earlier and returned to the Baruch Clan manor in Wushan Town. He entered the quiet, empty courtyard with Hiri, accepting the news while preparing to face what came next.

• Wharton grew suspicious when Hiri avoided answering questions about Hogg during their journey home.
• At an inn near Wushan Town, Wharton learned from the innkeeper that Hogg had died three months earlier and that Linley had returned briefly before leaving for Fenlai City.
• Wharton realized Hiri had known about Hogg’s death and had tried to hide it from him.
• Wharton traveled on to Wushan Town and noticed the townspeople’s sympathetic reactions and the closed, dusty gates of the Baruch Clan manor.
• Hiri broke down and told Wharton that Hogg had died, and Wharton replied that he already knew before entering the manor.

Wharton returned to the Baruch mansion, learned that Hogg had died investigating Lina’s disappearance, and received Linley’s account of their father’s death and the family’s enemies. Determined to find Linley and share the burden, Wharton left for Fenlai City despite his brother’s warning.

• Wharton found Hogg’s memorial tablet in the ancestral hall, where Linley had left Slaughter and a letter explaining their father’s death and his own plans for revenge.
• Wharton awakened Slaughter’s response to his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline and told Hiri that he intended to go to Fenlai City.
• Wharton questioned Hillman, who described Hogg’s investigation of Duke Paterson, the attack by three seventh-level warriors, and Hogg’s final days.
• Wharton told Hiri that he would leave for Fenlai City to find Linley, then packed Slaughter, supplies, and both brothers’ letters.
• Wharton said goodbye to Hiri and set out from Wushan Town toward Fenlai City.

Linley reunited with his younger brother Wharton, learned more about their mother’s abduction and their father’s death, and joined him in killing Paterson. The brothers planned to target Clayde next and trained together while the Radiant Church investigated Paterson’s disappearance.

• Wharton secretly entered Linley’s mansion, reunited with him, and revealed that Clayde had ordered their mother’s capture while Paterson had arranged for Hogg to be hunted down.
• Linley and Wharton planned to intercept Paterson at the Nightingale Club, where Wharton would question him and Linley would stop his guards from escaping.
• Wharton defeated Paterson’s four guards, and Linley trapped Paterson with the Swamp Technique while the brothers questioned him about their mother.
• Paterson revealed that Clayde had taken their mother and mentioned a secret involving the Radiant Church, a sacrifice, and a pure bloodline; Wharton then killed him and dissolved the bodies.
• The Radiant Church investigated Paterson’s disappearance and ordered Linley’s protection, unaware that Linley and Wharton were responsible.
• Linley and Wharton trained in a valley outside Fenlai City and vowed to pursue Clayde and everyone behind the Baruch Clan’s suffering.

Cesar traded Linley the Hemolytic Poison formula for a statue capturing the allure of killing, and Linley began secretly gathering ingredients to use the poison against Clayde. As Wharton reached the eighth level, Linley revealed his plan to poison Clayde in the royal palace, unaware that Heidens would intervene and leave him gravely injured.

• Cesar visited Linley and asked him to sculpt the focused elegance of a killer, offering to teach him how to poison a Ninth-level Warrior in return.
• Linley completed a statue that satisfied Cesar, who gave him the Hemolytic Poison formula and warned him not to rush his attack on Clayde.
• Linley asked Yale to obtain the poison's ingredients and offer a million gold coins for cloud lingzhi.
• Wharton broke through to become an Eighth-level Warrior, and Linley told him that he planned to poison Clayde during a visit to the palace.
• Linley explained that Bebe and his Dragonblood Warrior transformation would help him escape after Clayde was weakened, while Wharton worried about the plan's dangers.

Wharton persuaded Linley to abandon his risky immediate plan to poison Clayde and instead spend two years growing stronger while investigating the forces behind their parents’ suffering. The brothers agreed to prepare for revenge together, and Linley began planning to teach Wharton magic as well as train with him.

• Wharton pointed out the flaws in Linley’s schemes to poison Clayde, including the unlikely injury excuse and the palace’s safeguards.
• Linley and Wharton shared their grief over their father and resolved not to risk the Baruch family’s future with an uncertain attack.
• Wharton convinced Linley to postpone revenge, investigate Clayde’s backers, and keep the yunling reward active under a new explanation.
• Linley accepted Wharton’s advice, and the brothers agreed to strengthen themselves and uncover the truth about their mother together.
• Linley learned that Wharton had reached Level Five in fire magic through meditation and offered to teach him spells alongside their warrior training.
• Wharton privately planned to use the coming Day of Destruction to exploit the chaos in Fenlai City.

Linley and Wharton ambushed Clayde during the Yulan Festival procession, killed his escort, and forced him to reveal that the Church had taken Linley’s mother as a sacrifice. After Linley killed Clayde, an oppressive darkness enveloped the city as the brothers tried to escape.

• Linley and Wharton waited on Maple Leaf Street for Clayde’s procession, then launched a surprise attack with Bebe.
• Linley killed the court magician and Clayde’s personal guard, while Wharton defeated Caesar and the brothers and Bebe wiped out the escort.
• Linley captured Clayde and demanded to know what had happened to his mother; Clayde admitted he had handed her over to the Church as a sacrifice.
• Clayde identified Cardinal Gilmer and Useno of the Inquisition as those involved, and Linley killed him before the brothers could leave.
• As Linley, Wharton, and Bebe prepared to withdraw, a heavy darkness descended over the city.