Chapter Summaries

Claire rejected Keli’s offer to serve under him and later confronted officers who accused her of supplying defective potions. She exposed the weakness in their accusation and sent them away, though she suspected someone had arranged the dispute to target her.

• Keli offered Claire a place under him and threatened her when she refused to commit, but Claire dismissed him and returned to Sirian and Yana.
• After the victory banquet, Yana grew bored and often visited Claire to hear her retelling of Legends of the Water Margin.
• Yana told Claire that officers were accusing her potions of causing soldiers’ deaths, so Claire went with her to the warehouse.
• An officer threw potion tubes at Claire and claimed she had approved defective supplies, but Claire identified the potions as inferior and said they might have been swapped during transport.
• Claire reminded the officer that August Family Archmages and men appointed by Norris had overseen transport, warned him to think before accusing them, and had the warehouse manager disperse the watching soldiers.

After rumors that Claire had replaced the army’s Healing Potions with inferior ones spread through the city, she received an order dismissing her from her post. Claire explained to Yana that the kingdom was sacrificing her to protect morale before the decisive battle, leaving her promised title and royal capital position in doubt.

• Claire ignored the soldiers’ gossip and Yana’s attempts to defend her as rumors about inferior Healing Potions spread through the city.
• Claire received a Blazing Flame Potion from Sword Saint Hubert and stored it as a future reward for her territory’s knights.
• Claire read a letter ordering her dismissal, and news of her departure prompted soldiers to celebrate.
• Yana confronted Claire while she packed, and Claire explained that the kingdom wanted to prevent suspicion from undermining morale before the decisive battle against the Blazing Flame Orcs.
• Claire worried that leaving her post could jeopardize the title and position Sophia had promised to help her obtain.

After learning that political troubles might force Claire to leave, Yana hesitated when he invited her to come with him. Claire then proposed that she help him rob the Guen Family’s supply convoy, and she agreed.

• Claire explained that soldiers’ suspicions and political opposition had made it difficult for Sophia to protect his position, and Yana blamed Vito and Keli for stirring up trouble.
• Claire invited Yana to leave with him, then made her promise secrecy before revealing his plan to rob the Guen Family’s transported equipment.
• Claire argued that Yana had little chance of becoming head of the Guen Family and offered to split the profits with her, giving her at least fifty million Gold Coins.
• Yana agreed to join Claire, and they discussed the Guen Family’s independent supply convoy scheduled for next Thursday, which would have two Archmages guarding it.
• Claire gave Yana a black cone-shaped device to report the convoy’s route and his Magic Handgun, instructing her to kill the two Archmages when he signaled.

Claire returned to the royal capital, secretly prepared an Anti-Magic Domain plan with Yana, and helped stage a convoy massacre blamed on the Blazing Flame Orcs. Yana was transferred away from the Blazing Flame Plane, while she and Claire waited for the stolen equipment to be sold and their share of the proceeds to arrive.

• Claire left the Blazing Flame Plane and returned to the royal capital, where Sophia apologized and renewed their agreement about Claire's desired authority or alternative compensation.
• Claire asked Shane to gather materials for an Anti-Magic Domain and secretly purchased restricted materials herself.
• When Yana returned to the capital, Claire gave her a potion to interfere with detection spells, then departed for the Wizard World before the convoy attack.
• The convoy was reported to have been raided by the Blazing Flame Orcs, with Yana escaping by Spatial Teleportation Scroll and the rest of the convoy killed.
• Yana was transferred from the Blazing Flame Plane and reprimanded by her family, but she looked forward to receiving her share of the stolen equipment's value.

Claire negotiated with Del, the leader of the Blazing Flame Orcs, to trade human weapons and equipment for Blazing Flame Essence Ore. Del agreed to continue discussing the deal after Claire revealed she had thirty thousand equipment sets available.

• Claire used Mental Connection to speak with a Blazing Flame Orc leader and asked to negotiate with someone authorized to make decisions.
• Del arrived, and Claire established Mental Connection with him before showing him the weapons and equipment she had taken from humans.
• Del recognized the human-made weapons, and Claire explained that her group came from another plane to trade rather than plunder.
• Del considered taking the goods by force, but Claire warned him that her group had more resources and allies than the dozen people present.
• Claire offered to exchange the equipment for Blazing Flame Essence Ore, and Del agreed to continue negotiating after learning she had thirty thousand sets.
• Claire explained that she could not readily obtain more equipment because manufacturing it required scarce materials, skilled labor, and enchantments.

Claire traded equipment to the Blazing Flame Orcs for Blazing Flame Essence Ore, using it to strengthen the Wizard World's wizards and expand her influence. After returning to the Mage World, she learned the Orcs had used the equipment to halt the human army, and Yana burst into her room in anger.

• Claire gave Daren the ore and potion formula, instructing him to make advancing wizards sign contracts before receiving potions.
• Over five days, eight level-five wizards became Epic Wizards and more than two hundred level-four wizards advanced, giving Claire ten Archmage-level subordinates and over three hundred High Mages.
• Claire returned to the Mage World and went to the royal capital to monitor news from the Blazing Flame Plane.
• The Guen Family's stolen supplies were blamed on the Blazing Flame Orcs, so transport convoys began requiring more guards and families.
• The Blazing Flame Orcs used their new equipment to defeat the human army and force the campaign into a stalemate.
• Yana angrily shoved open the door to Claire's room.

Claire reassured Yana that their crime was already punishable by death and promised her a share of the money from selling the stolen equipment to the Blazing Flame Orcs. Claire then asked Sophia about the war and learned that Archmage Merlin was preparing to act.

• Yana confronted Claire for selling the Guen Family's stolen equipment to the Blazing Flame Orcs, who had used it to win a battle.
• Claire told Yana that exposing their robbery would have brought the same punishment, and promised to send her five million through legitimate channels.
• Claire assured Yana that she had hidden the evidence and that people believed the Blazing Flame Orcs had killed the two Archmages.
• Claire visited Sophia to ask about the Blazing Flame Plane, and Sophia said the equipment had brought the war to a stalemate.
• Sophia told Claire that Archmage Merlin was going to make a move, so the stalemate would not last long.

Claire learned that Archmage Merlin had attacked the Blazing Flame Orcs’ Ancestral Spirit, severely wounding him but suffering injuries himself. Seeing a chance to profit from the Orcs’ desperation, Claire went to the Blazing Flame Plane to trade equipment and considered whether she could sell them a soul-repairing potion without fully undoing Merlin’s work.

• Sophia told Claire that Merlin planned to defeat the Blazing Flame Orcs by targeting their high-level forces, with the Six Archmages restraining one enemy Archmage while Merlin fought the other.
• Claire learned that Archmage Ivan would not leave his seclusion unless the kingdom faced destruction, then helped Sophia organize documents and gathered news about the war.
• Five days later, Claire heard that Merlin had severely wounded the Orcs’ Ancestral Spirit, so she returned to the Wizard Plane and hurried to trade her remaining equipment before the war ended.
• The Blazing Flame Orcs accepted Claire’s higher price and asked whether she could provide treasures to repair souls, offering as much Blazing Flame Essence Ore as necessary.
• Claire decided to visit the Orcs herself to assess the injury and possible profit, but resolved not to heal the Ancestral Spirit completely.

Claire examined the Blazing Flame Orcs’ dying Ancestral Spirit and learned that a Godhead Fragment had once revived it. She left promising to ask her superiors about divine treasures, excited by the possibility of finding the fragment.

• Claire met Del and said she needed to examine the Ancestral Spirit before judging whether she could help.
• Del led Claire to the palace, where priests chanted over the weakened spirit on an altar.
• Claire told Del that soul-healing potions might help but could not guarantee success.
• Del revealed that a fragment of divine power had merged with the Ancestral Spirit a thousand years earlier and identified it as a Godhead Fragment from a fallen god.
• Claire promised to ask her superiors about items related to divinity and left the camp excited by the discovery.

After learning that the Blazing Flame Orcs' Ancestral Spirit carried a shattered godhead, Claire researched godheads and searched the free trade market for a way to secure it. She chose a soul-locking hook and opened a temporary communication interface, where a young man appeared and greeted her.

• Claire researched godheads and learned that a shattered one could help her gain divine power and authority, but recognized the danger of confronting the Magic Saint-level Ancestral Spirit.
• Claire found a Demigod's Godhead in the free trade market but decided not to spend a Trade Point trying to contact its seller.
• Claire compared three trade offers and chose the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook to improve her chances of restraining the Ancestral Spirit.
• Claire spent one Trade Point to open a temporary communication interface, and a young man appeared and apologized for the delay.

Claire tested Qu Rong’s Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook and agreed to trade for it after learning it could capture and kill powerful ghosts without requiring a strong user. She offered Qu Rong a Seed of Wisdom for his son’s cultivation talent and requested an additional weapon against soul bodies.

• Claire used the false name Antonio while asking Qu Rong to demonstrate the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook.
• Qu Rong released a Ghost King-level ghost, then used the hook to capture it and explained that the treasure could also kill ghosts and was not limited by its user’s strength.
• Qu Rong told Claire he wanted a way to give his son, who lacked cultivation talent, the ability to cultivate.
• Claire offered Qu Rong a Seed of Wisdom, which could give his son cultivation talent, and Qu Rong accepted.
• Claire asked for an item that could inflict massive damage on soul bodies, and Qu Rong agreed to provide one.
• Claire traded for the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook and bound it to her soul, causing it to merge into her body.

Claire tested the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook, then traveled to the Blazing Flame Plane to treat the Blazing Flame Orcs' Ancestral Spirit. After Claire passed the Orcs' mind-connection questioning, they accepted that she meant to help, though she admitted her treatment had only a forty percent chance of success.

• Claire used the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook to destroy an Archmage-level undead and confirmed how effectively it bound and killed souls.
• Claire sent soul-healing potions and Magical Artifacts to the Blazing Flame Orcs, slowing the Ancestral Spirit's decline and raising their hopes.
• Claire traveled alone to the Blazing Flame Plane, where Del escorted her to meet the chieftain and three Sword Saints.
• When two Sword Saints questioned Claire's motives, Del proposed using a Mental Connection to verify her intentions, and Claire agreed.
• A Sword Saint connected minds with Claire and confirmed she was telling the truth about coming to treat the Ancestral Spirit.
• The chieftain questioned Claire through a Mental Connection, and she admitted she also wanted Blazing Flame Essence Ore and had only a forty percent chance of success.

Claire used altered memories to gain the Blazing Flame Orcs’ trust and enter the altar hall alone, then attacked the Ancestral Spirit of the Blazing Flame Orcs to search for his godhead. As the isolation barrier cracked and soul fluctuations leaked outside, the Blazing Flame Orcs mistook the disturbance for signs that the treatment was working.

• The Blazing Flame Orcs cleared the altar hall so Claire could treat their ancestor alone.
• Claire restored her memories, sealed the hall with soundproofing and a barrier, and attacked the Ancestral Spirit of the Blazing Flame Orcs with the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook and soul-damaging powder.
• The Ancestral Spirit struggled against the chains and damaged the barrier with a blast of soul origin.
• Claire strengthened the hook, went to the altar, and searched the Ancestral Spirit’s body for the godhead.
• Del and the other Blazing Flame Orc Sword Saints sensed the escaping fluctuations and assumed the ancestor’s soul had become active because of Claire’s treatment.

Claire weakened the Ancestral Spirit of the Blazing Flame Orcs and extracted the godhead fragment from its brow, but he could not contain it or stop it from merging into his own brow. Meanwhile, Merlin kept the High Priest from returning to the Orcs' stronghold as the crisis unfolded.

• Claire found the godhead fragment in the Ancestral Spirit's brow and redirected the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook to weaken it there.
• The four Blazing Flame Orcs outside the great hall mistook the spreading soul fluctuations for signs that their ancestor was recovering.
• Merlin trapped the High Priest in a typhoon vortex, then pursued him and delayed his return to the main stronghold.
• Claire used the Hand of the Mage to draw the godhead out of the Ancestral Spirit, leaving the spirit near death.
• The godhead passed through Claire's containers and defenses, then merged into his brow.

Claire used the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook to suppress the Godhead Fragment that forced her advancement to the peak of the Archmage rank, then escaped the Blazing Flame Orcs’ base. With their Ancestral Spirit fading and the human army surrounding them, the Blazing Flame Orcs’ High Priest ordered their leadership to carry out the original plan.

• The Godhead Fragment pushed Claire rapidly to the peak of the Archmage rank, but its power began to tear her body apart.
• Claire used the Netherworld Soul-Locking Hook to bind the Godhead Fragment, regain control of herself, and escape with a Spatial Teleportation Scroll as the four Sword Saints entered the hall.
• Claire cleansed herself, changed clothes, used multiple teleportation routes to evade pursuit, and returned to Nafu City with the Godhead Fragment.
• After Merlin reported that the Ancestral Spirit had disappeared, the human army captured nearly all of the Blazing Flame Plane and surrounded the Blazing Flame Orcs’ base.
• The High Priest told the Blazing Flame Orcs’ leaders to proceed according to the original plan.

Merlin allowed the Blazing Flame Orcs to evacuate their city, expecting to take control of the Blazing Flame Plane. The High Priest sacrificed himself to curse King Norris before escaping with his people, and Merlin concluded that Norris was doomed.

• Merlin sensed the Blazing Flame Orcs using planar teleportation to evacuate and told Karl to let them leave.
• The High Priest confronted Merlin, accused the humans of greed, and prepared to depart through the Planar Teleportation Array.
• The High Priest sacrificed himself and cursed King Norris, while Merlin cast defenses to protect himself and the Six Archmages.
• The High Priest became a spirit body that merged with the Blazing Flame Orcs' ritual items, and the remaining orcs teleported away.
• Merlin stopped Karl from pursuing them and explained that the High Priest had become the orcs' new Ancestral Spirit and that Norris would die from the curse.

After recovering from the effects of the Blazing Flame Plane, Claire concealed her peak Archmage strength and went to oversee Nafu City’s knight recruitment. She ordered Hant to choose about a hundred candidates, including qualified newcomers, and said she would investigate their loyalty herself.

• Claire suppressed her mage-power fluctuations and deduced the Magic Swordmaster path to the fifth tier to disguise her strength as that of a newly advanced Archmage.
• After more than ten days in bed, Claire came downstairs, and Yuna told her that Hant was selecting knights at Mermaid Plaza.
• Claire flew above the unruly crowd and restored order by directing spectators to leave and young candidates to line up.
• Hant told Claire that nearly every youth in Nafu City had registered and that most candidates qualified after their physical condition improved.
• Claire instructed Hant to recruit about a hundred of the best candidates and to include qualified immigrants, saying she would investigate any concerns about their loyalty.

Claire held the knight selection finals outside Nafu City, choosing 134 youths and rewarding the top contestants. The event ended with the crowd cheering for Claire and failed candidates vowing to try again at the next selection.

• Claire and Hant arranged a large temporary venue outside Nafu City, and news of the finals drew a huge crowd.
• Hant began the finals, where contestants faced mounted exercises, sparring matches, and a courage test before the Wolf King.
• After the assessments, Claire selected 134 youths to become knights and gave the top three fruits that could help them advance from Bronze to Silver Rank.
• Claire awarded Owen a fine sword for taking first place and announced Gold Coin rewards for the other top contestants, successful recruits, and those who failed.
• The crowd cheered for Claire, while the unsuccessful youths promised to pass the next selection in six months.

After Nafu City’s knight force expanded into a full order, Claire visited the barracks to review the new recruits and deliver Blazing Flame Potions to help them advance. She left Hant to administer the secret supply, and he wondered how to mix it into their food without making it look like poison.

• The new recruits joined Nafu City’s knight order, which Hant commanded and which was divided into four Knight Squads.
• Claire visited the barracks, where Hant reported that the recruits were progressing quickly and could soon begin cultivating Battle Aura.
• Claire told Hant to arrange clerks through Regan to handle the knight order’s growing workload.
• Claire left Hant two boxes of Blazing Flame Potions and instructed him to add five or six bottles to the recruits’ food when it was ready.
• Claire warned Hant to keep the potions secret, and he wondered how to serve them without appearing to poison the knights.

Claire received a tear-stained letter from Irene asking her to come to the royal capital, where she found Irene exhausted and distressed. After Claire comforted her, Irene asked Claire to marry her.

• Claire recognized Irene's distressed handwriting and tear stains on the letter, then immediately traveled to the royal capital.
• At Duke Charlie's villa, Charlie told Claire that Irene had been waiting for her for days and had barely eaten or drunk.
• Claire found Irene in a room upstairs and comforted her as she broke down crying.
• Irene asked Claire to marry her and promised she would be obedient and learn whatever she did not know.