Chapter Summaries

Linley and Bebe followed an injured Azure-Backed Savage Ape into a forbidden territory, where a sudden collapse dropped them into a cavern filled with dragon bones. They found the ape dead and awakened a hidden creature that ordered them to leave or die.

• Linley ended his sword practice and followed the Azure-Backed Savage Ape’s tracks with Bebe, intending to test how closely they could trail it.
• Linley and Bebe found evidence that the ape had been injured, then continued toward a silent area Linley recognized as a Saint-level magical beast’s territory.
• The ground collapsed beneath Linley and Bebe, and Linley slowed their fall with Edgeless before they landed in an underground fault.
• Linley and Bebe discovered enormous dragon bones, a black scale, and the dead Azure-Backed Savage Ape in the cavern.
• A golden-brown eye opened in the darkness, and an unseen creature warned Linley and Bebe to leave or die.

Linley and Bebe fought Mo Ers, a Saint Realm Black Armored Earth Dragon, after it accused them of trespassing in the dragon burial ground and demanded the Coiling Dragon Ring. Cornered with Mo Ers’s claw descending, Linley heard a faint voice from the ring call his name.

• Mo Ers detected the dragon blood in Linley and the aura on his Coiling Dragon Ring, then attacked when Linley refused to surrender it.
• Linley transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior and struck Mo Ers’s claw with Edgeless, but was badly overpowered.
• Bebe attacked Mo Ers’s eye and was knocked into rubble by its tail, then recovered and rejoined Linley.
• Linley and Bebe escaped into a side cavern, but Mo Ers sealed the passage and confronted them again.
• Linley told Bebe to flee through a narrow crevice, but Bebe refused to leave him behind.
• The Coiling Dragon Ring grew scorching hot as Mo Ers’s claw fell, and Linley heard a faint voice call, “Linley...”

Doehring Cowart awakened within the Coiling Dragon Ring, comprehended the Earth Element Profound Mysteries, and became a deity. He returned to protect Linley from Mo Ers, while powerful beings across the Yulan Continent sensed his emergence.

• Doehring Cowart awoke inside the Coiling Dragon Ring as Linley and Bebe faced Mo Ers's descending dragon claw.
• Doehring Cowart achieved complete mastery of the Earth Element Profound Mysteries, formed an Earth Element Lowgod Spark, and fused it with his true spirit.
• Doehring Cowart emerged from the ring with a new divine body and caught Mo Ers's dragon claw with one hand.
• Doehring Cowart placed himself between Mo Ers and Linley, while Linley recognized him and wept with joy.
• Powerful divine senses from the Dark Forest and the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts detected Doehring Cowart's emergence.

Doehring became a deity and protected Linley and Bebe from Mo Ers, the Black Armored Earth Dragon guarding the dragon burial ground. After Linley promised they would keep the burial ground secret, Mo Ers let them leave, and Linley reunited with the living Doehring before they headed toward the exit.

• Doehring used God's Domain to suppress Mo Ers and stabilized the cavern after his power cracked its walls.
• Doehring promised not to take the dragon bones, and Linley vowed that they would not reveal the burial ground's location.
• Mo Ers opened a passage out, and Doehring repaired the cavern before Linley recognized him and embraced him.
• Doehring greeted Bebe, then told Linley to treat his wounds while the two distant Deity Level experts remained nearby.
• Doehring examined the Coiling Dragon Ring but could not reach its sealed soul-protecting space, then returned it to Linley and led him and Bebe toward the passage.

Linley and Doehring met Dylan, the master of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, who allowed them to stay under strict conditions. After reconnecting with his restored body, Doehring agreed to let Linley face his own dangers, and the chapter ended with Doehring questioning Linley’s heavy-handed sword technique.

• Dylan appeared in the valley and told Linley that removing the Purple Blood Soft Sword had released him from the Gebados Planar Prison, though the weakening seal would eventually have failed anyway.
• Dylan demanded that Doehring and Linley avoid claiming territory, hunting with divine power, or aiding a human army in the mountains; Doehring agreed, and Dylan permitted them to remain while he watched their intentions.
• Doehring agreed to conceal his Deity-level aura and let Linley handle ordinary battles and learn the laws for himself, while Linley resolved not to retreat from training or danger.
• Linley treated his and Bebe’s injuries, then shared roasted boar with Doehring, who savored the warmth and ordinary sensations of having a body again.
• The next morning, Linley resumed his sword practice, and Doehring asked why he made every strike so heavy despite wielding a 3,600-jin sword.

Linley discovered how to make Edgeless move lightly before releasing all its force at the moment of impact, naming the technique Rushing Thunder. After killing a Velocidragon with one strike, he learned he had only begun mastering the heavy sword’s second realm, while a mysterious pair of golden eyes watched him from the woods.

• Linley trained to maneuver Edgeless through Doehring’s stone pillars while dodging Bebe, improving his control without breaking them.
• At a mountain stream, Linley learned to let force accumulate through a swing and unleash it only when the blade struck, then named the technique Rushing Thunder.
• Linley used Rushing Thunder to shatter a Velocidragon’s skull with one strike, and Doehring said he had entered the realm of Wielding Heavy Weapons as Though They Were Light.
• Doehring warned that Linley’s technique might not penetrate a Level Nine Magical Beast’s defenses, but Linley continued his training.
• A pair of golden eyes watched Linley and Bebe from the woods before vanishing, and Bebe sensed an unnatural wisp of wind.

Linley and Bebe confronted a powerful black leopard, and Linley fought it using Dragonform, magic, and Rushing Thunder. After the leopard revealed a faster form and wounded Linley, Bebe moved to intervene as the beast launched another attack at Linley’s throat.

• Bebe told Linley that the black leopard had continued following them, and Linley prepared to fight it while Doehring kept out of the battle.
• Linley transformed and exchanged blows with the leopard, which proved faster and tougher than an ordinary level nine magical beast.
• The leopard enlarged itself, but Linley used Extreme Speed, Wings of Wind, and repeated Rushing Thunder strikes to injure it and offered it a soul contract.
• The leopard refused to submit, changed into a smaller, faster form, and wounded Linley’s chest with a sudden claw strike.
• Bebe rushed to help, but the leopard left afterimages and targeted Linley again as he searched for its attack near his throat.

Linley and Bebe fought the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard, and Linley forced it to submit with an eightfold Gravitational Field before binding it as his servant. Haeru joined Linley’s group, and its observations about Linley’s swordsmanship gave him a direction for further training as they continued north.

• The Black-Striped Cloud Leopard wounded Linley, but Bebe distracted it and exposed the weakness of its fast wind-element form.
• Linley used an eightfold Gravitational Field to slow the Black-Striped Cloud Leopard and beat it until it submitted.
• Linley formed a Master-Servant Contract with the leopard and learned that its name was Haeru.
• Haeru told Linley that his heavy sword attack relied on human strength and hinted at a deeper realm of swordsmanship.
• Linley agreed to resume training after Haeru recovered, and the group continued north at sunset.

Linley investigated the Purple Blood Soft Sword and was overwhelmed by the baleful aura inside it, nearly attacking Bebe and Haeru. Doehring suppressed the aura and warned Linley not to probe the sword again, while a faint red light briefly flickered toward the Coiling Dragon Ring.

• Linley practiced with Edgeless before using his spiritual energy to examine the Purple Blood Soft Sword.
• The sword showed Linley a vision of a sea of blood, and its baleful aura flooded his mind with murderous intent.
• Linley attacked Bebe and Haeru, but Doehring used Earth Element divine power to protect Linley's soul and force the aura back into the sword.
• Linley regained clarity, and Doehring told him the sword was a powerful divine artifact whose baleful aura he could not remove.
• After Linley secured the sword at his waist, a thin red light flickered toward the Coiling Dragon Ring and vanished.

Linley spent a year training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, mastering his heavy sword and advancing to the middle stage of the eighth level. He left the mountains with Bebe, Haeru, and Doehring to learn what had changed in the outside world.

• Linley trained with Edgeless and learned to redirect an opponent’s force, finally mastering Wielding Heavy Weapons as Though They Were Light.
• Linley spared an injured Scarlet-Armored Magical Bear, explaining that he no longer killed magical beasts unless he had to.
• Three months later, Linley broke through to the middle stage of the eighth level as a warrior.
• Linley decided to leave the mountains and first seek news about Wharton and the continent.
• Linley packed his belongings, kept the scarred stone he had practiced on, and set out south with Bebe, Haeru, and Doehring.

Linley left the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts and joined a merchant caravan bound for the O'Brien Empire to learn about the outside world. On the road, he heard that Olivier had become a celebrated Sword Saint who defeated Dillon and refused the War God's offer to become his disciple.

• Linley, Doehring, Bebe, and Haeru reached the North Sea after traveling through the mountains.
• Linley paid to join a merchant caravan heading to the O'Brien Empire, bringing Haeru along in a wagon.
• Linley asked the mercenaries about recent events in the empire and wondered whether Wharton had made a name for himself.
• A mercenary told Linley that Olivier had entered the Saint Realm in his forties, defeated Dillon, refused the War God's offer, and challenged Saint Realm experts without losing.

Linley helped the caravan survive a bandit attack by killing their leader, McKinley, with one strike of Edgeless. After refusing a reward, he returned to training while Keane watched him with admiration.

• Keane approached Haeru, but the panther's growl frightened him, and Jenny brought him back to their campfire.
• Linley sensed about a hundred bandits approaching and alerted Langzi, Lude, and the mercenaries.
• McKinley attacked the caravan, wounded Malone, and ordered his bandits to seize Jenny.
• After Malone asked for help, Linley killed McKinley with a single strike of Edgeless, causing the bandits to flee.
• Linley refused Malone's ten thousand gold coins and told him to compensate the dead mercenaries' families.
• Linley resumed training as Keane watched him with shining eyes.

Linley agreed to escort Jenny, Keane, and Lambert to Chier County City after Jenny asked for his protection. The caravan set out again with Linley traveling beside their carriage, while Jenny prepared to return to her family and Keane’s inheritance.

• Keane asked Linley to teach him the sword strike that killed the bandit leader, but Linley refused.
• Keane told Linley that he and Jenny had been driven from their father’s estate and lived in a small town until Keane was summoned to inherit the city lord’s position.
• Lambert urged Jenny to ask Linley for protection after the caravan separated from them at the border city.
• Jenny asked Linley to escort them to Chier County City and offered ten thousand gold coins, promising to pay after Keane inherited the position.
• Linley accepted one gold coin as a deposit and agreed to protect the siblings until they reached Chier County City.
• The caravan departed with Linley’s carriage traveling beside Jenny, Keane, and Lambert’s carriage.

Linley entered Blackstone City with Jenny, Keane, and Lambert, where assassins attacked them and Jenny revealed the danger surrounding Keane’s claim to the county lordship. Linley reaffirmed that he would escort them, while hidden archers watched their courtyard and prepared another attack.

• Malone announced that the caravan’s mission ended upon entering Blackstone City, and Linley passed the city gates with Jenny, Keane, and Lambert.
• Linley caught two arrows aimed at Jenny and Keane, then killed the two assassins with their own arrows.
• Doehring identified the attack as a probe, and Linley said he would protect Jenny and Keane while they remained under his protection.
• Jenny explained that Keane could inherit the city lord’s position and that their mother’s dying wish had brought them back despite the threat from the first madam.
• Jenny offered to release Linley from the escort, but Linley refused and promised to protect them unless a Saint Realm expert appeared.
• Linley and Doehring noticed watchers in the inn, while four archers prepared to attack the courtyard at dawn.

Linley escorted Jenny and Keane out of Blackstone City after killing or capturing two groups of assassins sent after them. As they set out for Chier County City with a new defensive plan, a messenger carried word of their progress to the people behind the attacks.

• Four archers ambushed Jenny and Keane, but Bebe broke their arrows and killed them as they tried to flee.
• Linley identified the poisoned arrows and warned that more assassins would come; he and Doehring concluded that the archers' seventh-rank leader had withdrawn.
• Two false inn attendants tried to kill Keane during breakfast, but Linley cut off their hands, and Lambert recognized a reaction suggesting the first madam had sent them.
• Linley assigned Bebe to guard Jenny and Keane and Haeru to patrol the perimeter as the group left for Chier County City.
• A red-haired seventh-rank warrior sent an Azure Wind Eagle with a message to Chier County City, while Linley continued toward the city gate.

Linley escorted Jenny and Keane toward Chier County City, where the poisoner Holmer tried to kill them but was exposed and killed. They arrived safely, and Lady Weide welcomed them to the city with a banquet invitation, leaving Linley wary of her intentions.

• Linley changed the group's river landing and traveled overland toward Chier County City to avoid being tracked.
• Holmer released poison at Linley's group and passing knights, but Linley neutralized the gas and used wind magic to send it back toward him.
• Haeru caught Holmer as he fled and killed him; Lambert identified him as a poison expert hired amid Lady Weide's plot against Jenny and Keane.
• Linley continued to Chier County City with Jenny and Keane, and Keane declared that he would reclaim his father's position.
• Lady Weide met them outside the city and invited them to the castle for a welcoming banquet, while Linley agreed cautiously.

At the welcoming banquet, Linley challenged Lady Weide’s claim to rule Chier County City and argued that Jenny should act as city lord until the clan confirmed its decision. Lady Weide concealed her anger in public, then plotted to have Jenny and Keane killed.

• Lady Weide welcomed Jenny and Keane to the castle and announced a banquet in their honor.
• At the banquet, Lady Weide said Keane would have to wait until he came of age to take over as city lord, claiming the Jax Clan had ordered her to serve as acting city lord.
• Jenny questioned whether the clan had issued a written order, and Linley pressed Lady Weide to confirm the basis of her authority.
• Linley proposed that Jenny act as city lord until the clan decided, but Lady Weide refused and said she would consult the elders.
• After the banquet, Linley and Doehring suspected Lady Weide would make a move against the siblings.
• Lady Weide recognized Linley’s strength and ordered her men to find someone capable of killing a ninth-rank warrior, declaring that Jenny and Keane must not leave Chier County City alive.

Linley followed Lady Weide to Holmer's estate and discovered she had ordered Jenny and Keane's deaths. He killed Lady Weide and her two brothers, then returned to the castle as a fire destroyed the estate; Keane still needed the Jax Clan's confirmation to become city lord.

• Linley followed Lady Weide and her men to Holmer's estate, where they confiscated its treasures and prepared to kill the servants.
• Linley overheard Lady Weide and her brothers plotting to kill Jenny and Keane, then attacked and killed the two brothers and Lady Weide.
• A fire ignited Holmer's dangerous stores and exploded, destroying much of the estate and killing Lady Weide's remaining men.
• Linley returned to the castle and told Jenny and Keane that Lady Weide would no longer threaten them.
• After daybreak, news spread that Lady Weide and her brothers had died in an explosion, while Keane awaited the Jax Clan's order confirming him as city lord.

After Keane inherited the position of city lord, Jenny helped him manage Chier County City and discovered its treasury was nearly empty. Linley supplied the siblings with almost ten million gold coins, then moved to a quiet valley outside the city to cultivate, while Jenny quietly arranged to send him food.

• The Jax Clan appointed Keane as city lord and Jenny to assist him with the county city's affairs.
• Jenny and Lambert discovered that Lady Weide's wealth was inaccessible and the city treasury could barely pay the troops.
• Linley gave Keane and Jenny eight Magic Crystal Cards and valuable goods left behind by Holmer, worth nearly ten million gold coins.
• Keane teased Jenny about liking Linley, and she denied it while remaining absorbed in thoughts of him.
• Linley moved to a valley outside the city to cultivate and began comprehending the earth.
• Jenny watched toward the valley and arranged for the castle kitchen to prepare food for Linley.

Linley comprehended the force of heaven and earth while training in the snow, then learned that his younger brother Wharton had become famous at O'Brien Academy. He left Chier County City for the imperial capital after promising Jenny he would return within five years, setting out to reunite with Wharton.

• Linley rejected Jenny's offer to accompany him, then discovered in a snowfall that he could draw on the wind, snow, earth, and lake water to wield force.
• Linley used his newly comprehended force to kill an eighth-level Icy Snow Lion with one strike.
• In Chier County City, Linley heard that Wharton had won O'Brien Academy's year-level tournament and become an earl, and decided to find him in the imperial capital.
• Linley refused to let Jenny travel with him but promised to return within five years, and revealed that his real name was Linley Baruch.
• Linley left Chier County City with Bebe, Haeru, and Doehring, heading for the imperial capital and a reunion with Wharton.