Recaps

Li Lin banished the God of Justice from Mina’s body after Fina’s death disrupted his divine descent, and Angela turned both sisters into undead servants. The gods revealed that the Betrayer had killed the Three Supreme Gods and was stealing other gods’ domains and priesthoods, and Li Lin recognized they wanted him to activate the Great Book of Law.

• Fina’s grief over killing Mina weakened the God of Justice’s hold, allowing Li Lin to cast Banishment and drive him from Mina’s body.
• Angela drank from Fina and Mina, then used her blood to transform the dying sisters; both girls died and became Angela’s servants.
• The angel warned that the God of Betrayers might use Fina’s body to descend again, but the succubus persuaded her to stand aside.
• The angel told Li Lin that the Betrayer had killed the Three Supreme Gods and was stealing divine domains and priesthoods from other gods.
• Li Lin understood why the gods had united against the Betrayer and asked whether they had come to request that he activate the Great Book of Law.

Li Lin agreed to join the gods’ alliance against the God of Justice, while making clear he was pursuing his own revenge and would not act in the Magic Empire’s name. He planned to recover things that once belonged to him and allowed the gods’ hunted followers temporary refuge in the fallen city.

• The Goddess of Dawn confirmed that the God of Justice had taken the Great Book of Law, prompting Li Lin to recognize that the gods wanted his help defeating him.
• Angela objected to Li Lin joining the gods, but Li Lin declared he would not give up and agreed to join their alliance to avenge the Magic Empire’s destruction.
• Li Lin refused the gods’ offer of assistance and said he would search for things that belonged to him; the God of Dwarves and Elf Goddess admitted their peoples had lost the weapons he had entrusted to them.
• Li Lin agreed to let the gods relocate their followers and peoples to the fallen city, keeping its necromantic barrier in place.
• After the gods departed, Angela asked whether Li Lin trusted them, and he suggested she had been waiting for his decision as she voiced her eagerness to witness human suffering.

Li Lin and his companions stopped at a countryside tavern, where he revealed that he planned to visit Wensains and the Magic-Banning Prison to seek a weapon he had left there. After Li Lin said he had just come out of the Mist Forest, a burly man asked him for information about the dangerous place.

• Old Jack welcomed Li Lin, Angela, Fina, Mina, and the other twin into his tavern during a storm.
• Mina asked Li Lin what they should do, and he said he planned to visit Wensains and pointed out the Magic-Banning Prison on his map.
• Mina explained what she knew about the prison, while Angela described its horrors and challenged the sisters’ faith.
• Li Lin said he had once left his weapon in the prison and explained that he had avoided returning to his fallen homeland because he did not want to see it under enemy rule.
• A burly man arrived with his men, stopped them from harassing the women, and asked Li Lin for information after learning he had come out of the Mist Forest.

Li Lin learned that a mercenary company had been secretly funded to monitor the ruins of the Magic Empire, and suspected their mysterious patron was a powerful mage interested in the lost city. After dinner, he returned to his room with Angela.

• Angela prepared herself as Li Lin questioned a mercenary leader about strange activity near the ruins, and the leader said nothing unusual had occurred.
• The mercenary leader explained that a mysterious noble had funded his company for years in exchange for regular reports about the ruined capital.
• Li Lin noticed the mercenaries carried rare enchanted weapons made with Magic Empire techniques and asked Mina and Fina about their scarcity.
• Li Lin suspected the patron was a formidable mage seeking the Magic Empire’s treasures or knowledge, and resolved to speak with him.
• Li Lin and Angela spent the night together, and Angela asked for another round.

Li Lin left the tavern with Angela, Mina, and Fina, then taught Fina magic during their journey to the next town. The carriage stopped when Angela sensed a dangerous group blocking the road.

• Mina and Fina came to Li Lin's room after spending the night listening to him and Angela.
• Li Lin prepared protective spells, and Angela came downstairs with the sisters before they left the tavern.
• Li Lin chose not to investigate the employer behind the previous night's mercenaries and set out for the next town.
• Li Lin began teaching Fina magic in the carriage while Angela trained Mina in physical combat.
• Fina briefly formed a ball of light, but it vanished when she celebrated too soon.
• Angela sensed a pack of dangerous men ahead, and the carriage came to a stop.

Li Lin slaughtered the paladins who confronted him over his undead horses, leaving one alive for Angela’s vampire servants. Mina and Fina drank human blood for the first time, and Angela watched them give in to its pleasure.

• A group of paladins stopped Li Lin and accused him of desecrating the dead by using undead horses.
• Li Lin killed the paladins’ horses, deafened and drained one knight, trapped the others, and burned them alive.
• Li Lin froze the last surviving paladin, and Angela ordered Mina and Fina to drink his blood.
• Angela hypnotized Mina and Fina into approaching the paladin, then released the spell as they bit his neck.
• Mina and Fina continued drinking the paladin’s blood after regaining consciousness, while Angela observed their growing delight.

Angela insisted that Mina and Fina belonged to her after forcing them to become vampires, while Li Lin investigated the dead paladins and discovered they were Knights Templar who hunted mages. After Li Lin performed a spell on a knight’s soul and the carriage departed, an elderly mage watched from afar and decided Li Lin might help him achieve his goal.

• Angela told Mina that she had given the sisters a second life and commanded them to obey her, while Mina struggled to accept what had happened.
• Li Lin examined a paladin’s holy emblem, and Fina identified it as the emblem of the Knights Templar, an order tasked with guarding and judging mages.
• Fina explained that Templars earned their title by killing mages and were stationed at mage towers and Magic-Banning Prisons.
• Li Lin stabbed the wounded knight and performed an incantation that made the knight’s soul emerge, wail, and disappear.
• Li Lin boarded the carriage, and Mina followed Angela and Fina aboard as it set off again.
• An elderly mage in a black robe watched the carriage leave and decided Li Lin might help him achieve his goal.

Li Lin and the sisters reached a city near the Magic-Banning Prison, where he used the captured knight’s soul to learn about the prison and arranged for Mina and Fina to practice controlling their hunger. The sisters drank blood from a woman Li Lin had summoned while he studied the soul’s memories and considered whether the prison would obstruct his objective.

• Li Lin sealed the dead Templar knight’s soul inside his dagger so he could use it as a guide to the Magic-Banning Prison.
• Li Lin destroyed the carriage and horses, then used a charm spell to get the group admitted to a city controlled by the Knights Templar.
• Angela left after spotting someone she wanted to feed on, while Li Lin took Mina and Fina to an inn and asked the innkeeper to find him a woman.
• Li Lin brought the woman to his room, rendered her unconscious, and told Mina and Fina to practice drinking blood without draining her.
• Li Lin read information from the knight’s soul and learned that the Magic-Banning Prison deprived imprisoned mages of their ability to cast spells.
• Mina and Fina drank from the woman’s wrists as Li Lin watched and continued studying.

Malin found Angela disguised as a lost girl, but Angela drank her blood and carried her back to Li Lin. Li Lin explained the history of Wensains, the Magic-Banning Prison, and suspected that his weapon had failed to destroy its magic restriction.

• Malin comforted the apparently lost Angela and carried her toward a church, but Angela bit her neck and left her unconscious.
• Angela healed the bite marks, praised Malin's blood, and carried her away in a swarm of bats.
• Angela returned to Li Lin, who said the sisters had gone back to their room after indulging in blood-drinking.
• Li Lin told Angela that Wensains had once been a place where Arcane Mages punished low-level students by suppressing their magic.
• Li Lin said the prison's devil-summoning array had likely been destroyed, but its magic restriction remained active despite his weapon having been sent to handle it.
• Angela approached Li Lin after drinking blood, and they began their nighttime entertainment.

Li Lin and Angela approached the Magic-Banning Prison, where Li Lin exposed a mage who had been following them. The mage, Sest, introduced himself and asked them to help him with a task at the prison, suggesting they shared a goal.

• Angela explained that the newly turned sisters had not completed their Coming-of-Age Rite, so Li Lin left them behind while he went to the Magic-Banning Prison with her.
• Li Lin assessed the prison’s defenses and sensed someone watching him as he and Angela walked nearby.
• Li Lin used a spell to reveal an elderly man who had followed them, and Angela warned the man to respect her master.
• The man introduced himself as Sest and said he had witnessed Li Lin kill Templar Knights; he had come to kill them himself.
• Li Lin and Sest exchanged greetings, and Sest pointed toward the prison and asked for their help, saying they had a common goal.

Li Lin refused Sest’s request to help rescue his imprisoned disciple and warned him not to interfere with their visit to the Magic-Banning Prison. After Sest left, Li Lin revealed his True Name to Angela and led her toward lunch and sightseeing.

• Sest asked Li Lin to help investigate the Magic-Banning Prison and hinted that its restrictions did not affect intermediate-rank mages or higher.
• Li Lin said they already knew about the prison’s restriction and refused to help rescue Sest’s disciple.
• Sest recognized Li Lin’s Magic Empire-era gesture and wondered whether he was one of the thirteen Arcane Mages or a survivor of the Magic Empire.
• Li Lin warned Sest that interfering could cost him his True Name, and Sest backed away into the darkness.
• Li Lin told Angela his True Name and explained that she could use it to summon him if she was in danger.
• Li Lin and Angela headed toward the white building to eat and go sightseeing.

Li Lin posed as adjudicator Akt Lannis to tour the Magic-Banning Prison and investigate its ancient magical restriction. He found a half-finished destructive rune array in a corner and recovered information from its creator’s traces, then left with Angela.

• Li Lin used an illusion and mental charm to pose as adjudicator Akt Lannis, while Angela pretended to detect evil mages, and a templar guided them through the prison.
• Li Lin examined the prison’s work area, praised the statue of the God of Justice, and noticed several mages react nervously.
• Li Lin entered the sacred judgment chamber and had Angela hypnotize the templar while he investigated its magical restriction.
• Li Lin found a half-completed destructive rune array and used a spell to probe the memories left in its runes.
• Li Lin returned to Angela, said he had obtained the information, and told her they would leave.

Sest hesitated to rescue his disciple from the prison after Li Lin explained that doing so could endanger the other imprisoned mages. Before Li Lin left, Sest sent him toward Yinkalan to meet an unknown person who might help him, and the town’s ancient name caught Li Lin’s attention.

• Sest prepared to infiltrate the prison to rescue his disciple, but Li Lin warned that the rescue could ruin the imprisoned mages’ plans and put them at risk.
• Li Lin explained that the mages had hidden Animation Runes in the statues they carved, with secret passwords that could make the statues move.
• Sest decided not to act immediately and told Li Lin that an unnamed person in Yinkalan might be able to help him.
• Li Lin agreed to visit Yinkalan after learning that its ancient-language name meant “wait, until forever.”

Li Lin trained Fina in spell chanting while Angela taught Mina vampire combat, but memories of a woman grieving his death left Li Lin troubled. As he spoke with Angela by the fire, she sensed something approaching through the woods.

• Li Lin stopped Fina's spell practice and told her to work on tongue twisters because her chanting remained weak.
• Angela repeatedly sent Mina flying while teaching her the direct, resilient fighting style expected of vampires.
• Li Lin recalled a memory from a rune showing a woman in anguish when he cast the Undead Barrier shortly before his death a thousand years earlier.
• Li Lin told Angela that discovering the woman had grieved his death unsettled him, and they joked about vampires, death, and their relationship.
• Angela noticed something approaching through the woods and called it annoying.

Li Lin and his companions were drawn into a fight when a swordsman pursued three men to their camp. Angela fought the swordsman to test his technique, and Li Lin stopped him as he tried to leave, asking to examine his sword.

• Li Lin told Angela to ignore the fighters in the woods, but an explosion of magic and flames soon broke the camp’s quiet.
• Three fleeing men rushed toward Li Lin’s camp, and the black-armored swordsman pursuing them killed them while demanding a magic core.
• Angela asked to fight the swordsman, and Li Lin let her go after noticing the speed of his glowing red blade.
• The swordsman attacked Angela with his blade’s flames, but she overcame him with her fan and left him badly injured while proudly telling Li Lin she had learned his technique.
• As the swordsman tried to leave, Li Lin stopped him and asked to borrow his sword for a look.

Li Lin helped a black-clad man recover the Caseli Magic Core from a corpse, then explained its dangerous mind-control effects to Angela, Mina, and Fina while they traveled. The group continued toward its destination at Li Lin’s unhurried pace, with the core’s origins tied to an Arcane Mage named Caseli.

• A black-clad man admitted he was searching for the Caseli Magic Core, and Li Lin told him it was hidden inside the third bone of the last man’s spine.
• The man retrieved the core, wrapped it without touching it, thanked Li Lin, and left; Li Lin dissolved the corpses before the group rested.
• The next morning, Li Lin and the three girls continued traveling on foot while he told them about the Magic Empire’s history.
• Angela asked about the Caseli Magic Core, and Li Lin explained that it merged with a creature’s spine and took control of its life functions.
• Li Lin said an Arcane Mage named Caseli had made the core, though he admitted he had offered a few suggestions.

Li Lin noticed that Yinkalan Town had the layout and traditions of the Magic Empire, then discovered a magical barrier at the mayor’s mansion. He visited the young mayor with ornaments from the Empire, hoping to learn who was behind the barrier.

• Angela showed Fina her velvet fan and explained that she had made it from the hair of six hundred and sixty-six beautiful virgins.
• Li Lin recognized the town’s fountain, zigzag walls, and groups of thirteen trees as features associated with the Magic Empire, but initially found no trace of Magic Power.
• Li Lin detected a barrier coming from the mayor’s mansion and settled his group at a nearby inn.
• Li Lin discussed the possibility of meeting a survivor of the Magic Empire with Angela, Fina, and Mina, then decided to visit the mayor.
• Li Lin showed an ornament from the Magic Empire to gain an audience with the young mayor, who seemed impatient to see it.

Li Lin sold a Magic Empire ornament to a mayor who showed no real interest in its history, then prepared for the God of Justice’s return by choosing a spell. Meanwhile, Angela took Mina and Fina into town to find women for Li Lin, and the chapter ended as she spotted a cloaked woman she believed was a beautiful virgin.

• Li Lin accepted a hundred gold coins for his ornament and concluded that the mayor had been pretending to care about the Magic Empire.
• Angela comforted Li Lin with a story about a former vampire companion who later betrayed her, and Li Lin explained that he needed his weapons before the God of Justice recovered.
• Angela took Mina and Fina into town to look for women to cheer Li Lin up, dismissing their objections to her plan.
• Li Lin raised a barrier and began preparing a spell, deciding against his most powerful undead and mind-control spells.
• Angela sensed a beautiful virgin walking into a side alley and excitedly followed her scent.

Angela sent Mina and Fina to capture a cloaked woman, but the mage escaped, so Angela planned to hunt for another target. The woman returned to Yinkalan and asked Jieka Hilton about a Magic Empire relic; he secretly ordered his guards to drive out or kill the traveler who had given it to him.

• Angela threatened Mina and Fina into following the cloaked woman through Yinkalan's alleys.
• The woman vanished with a spell before the sisters could catch her, and Angela gave up and looked for another target.
• Jieka Hilton welcomed the woman back and gave her the ornament Li Lin had brought him, then told her the traveler had left town.
• The woman asked Jieka to look for the traveler so she could speak with him the next day.
• After the woman retired, Jieka ordered his guards to find the traveler and drive him out or kill him, then stared greedily at a portrait in his study.

Li Lin and his companions were forced out of town after the mayor accused him of selling a fake, but a Beast Tide interrupted the confrontation. Li Lin and Angela left Mina and Fina to face the charging beasts alone as a test of their strength.

• The old guard captain led Li Lin and the three girls outside town and ordered Li Lin to leave and return the mayor’s payment.
• A distant cry for help drew the captain and two guards away, and Mina and Fina sensed a large number of beasts nearby.
• The guards returned in panic, warned that a Beast Tide was approaching, and rushed back to alert the town.
• Li Lin explained that magic beasts gathered and migrated in destructive groups, while Angela dismissed the sisters’ fear and urged them to watch the tide up close.
• As the beasts charged, Li Lin separated himself from Mina and Fina with a barrier, and Angela moved to a nearby branch.
• Li Lin and Angela told Mina and Fina to fight the beasts and survive as a test of their strength.

Li Lin and Angela watched Fina and Mina fight the Shadow Hounds during a prolonged planar overlap, while secretly betting on which sister would prove stronger. As the seemingly endless tide kept attacking Yinkalan, a cloaked woman arrived on the wall and prepared to act.

• Li Lin identified the approaching beasts as Shadow Hounds from the Plane of Shadow and warned that their danger depended on how long the planes overlapped.
• Angela and Li Lin wagered on whether Mina or Fina would perform better, with the sisters unaware they had become the stakes.
• Fina nearly wasted a spell, but after the Shadow Hounds swallowed the sisters, she struck back with Flame Burst while Mina protected her.
• The town’s soldiers fired flaming arrows and defended the walls as the sisters fought, but the Shadow Hounds continued to appear even after two hours.
• The cloaked woman arrived on the wall, questioned the old captain about the attack, and ordered the soldiers to prepare because something was wrong.

Li Lin identified the attackers as the Shadow Mage Order and watched the town’s defenders face a worsening Shadow Hound assault while their mage fought three shadow mages. After the mayor’s militia crowded the wall and a Shadow Hound broke through, the defending woman defeated the three mages, but a dark cloud appeared, prompting Li Lin and Angela to wager on who would kill the powerful figure about to emerge.

• Li Lin recognized hidden figures among the Shadow Hounds as members of the Shadow Mage Order and suspected they had lured the beasts toward the town.
• The shadow mages countered the town mage’s lightning and engaged her, while Li Lin declined Angela’s offer to intervene and chose to wait.
• As the defenders faltered, the mayor brought militia onto the crowded wall, where a Shadow Hound broke through and entered the town.
• The defending woman cast Chain Fireball Explosion and killed the three shadow mages, but a dark cloud appeared and spread a bone-chilling cold.
• Li Lin proposed a wager with Angela about whose spell would kill the powerful figure about to appear, and Angela accepted.

Li Lin and Angela defeated the King of Shadow Mages, saving Nia from his attempt to seize her golden staff. Li Lin reunited with Nia, while Jieka left after she rejected him.

• The King of Shadow Mages trapped Nia with Dimensional Anchor and demanded her golden staff, but Angela attacked him and Li Lin destroyed him.
• The planar overlap ended, and Li Lin reminded Angela that she had lost their wager.
• Li Lin reunited with Nia, who recognized him as Luoxia and embraced him in tears.
• Angela mocked Jieka, and Nia told him she could not be with him.
• Jieka accepted Nia's rejection and walked away into the crowd.

Li Lin reunited with Nia, who had waited a thousand years for him and revealed that she was his weapon, the Eternal Library. Nia told him the God of Justice had died long ago, but before they could discuss it further, the young mayor challenged Li Lin to a duel.

• Nia recounted how she had searched for Luoxia after the Magic Empire fell, founded Yinkalan, and waited for him for a thousand years.
• Li Lin used Reset to reveal that Nia was the Eternal Library, a magical book capable of taking human form.
• Nia reported that the God of Justice had died 1,352 years earlier, during the war that broke out in the Magic Empire.
• Li Lin and Nia discussed how the current God of Justice seemed different and noted that Nia had found little about the gods' war.
• The young mayor entered in armor and challenged Li Lin to a duel, but Li Lin refused.

Li Lin and his companions left the town after Nia helped remove its abusive mayor, and Nia returned to book form to recover her magic. As she recounted the continent’s history and proposed seeking the Eye of Kalatu in the City of a Thousand Towers, Li Lin suspected the God of Justice had helped orchestrate the empire’s destruction and the persecution of other faiths.

• Angela struck the mayor after he demanded that Nia spend the night with him, and Nia put him to sleep before ordering the old guard captain to take him away.
• Li Lin and his companions left town the next morning without Nia in human form, as she returned to her book form to replenish her magic through him.
• Nia explained that the other weapons had likely sealed themselves away and suggested traveling to the City of a Thousand Towers to seek help and use the Eye of Kalatu to find them.
• Nia told the group how the Five-Nation Alliance conquered the Magic Empire, suppressed mages, destroyed other Temples, and drove the elves and dwarves from the continent.
• Li Lin concluded that the God of Justice had been involved in the continent’s upheavals.