Chapter Summaries

Li Lin considered using the Pillar of Magic Essence as a biological weapon but postponed the plan until he could control its residue. Meanwhile, Angela pushed Catherine into a new stage of coercive training, leaving Catherine overwhelmed by sensations she could no longer deny.

• Li Lin planned to deploy the Pillar of Magic Essence through the Virgin Goddess's Jewelry satellites, but decided against it until he found a way to dispose of its dangerous residue.
• Angela told Li Lin that Catherine had become conscious of his imagined presence, and Li Lin asked to handle a later part of Catherine's treatment himself.
• Catherine struggled with shame, fear, and confusion as she prayed without receiving an answer from the gods and was summoned to meet Angela.
• Angela threatened Catherine's virginity with her whip until Catherine agreed to touch herself under Angela's watch.
• Catherine followed Angela's commands and eventually lost control as the sensations overwhelmed her.

A bishop concealed the possibility that Catherine had been abducted while she adjusted to a luxurious room prepared by Angela, who had been conditioning her through captivity and training. Li Lin learned that Anna was approaching Dideyasi after slaughtering Five-Nation Alliance forces, forcing him to face her arrival and the possibility she would find Angela with him.

• The bishop ordered the search for Catherine to continue but forbade claims that the attackers from Saint Rolante City were responsible, while privately considering her disappearance potentially useful to the Temple.
• Catherine worried over her past actions in captivity, then followed a priest to a lavish bedroom and found its door unlocked and no guard in the corridor.
• Angela showed Li Lin how Catherine had begun enjoying the comforts of her new room after days in the dungeon, and offered him her whip.
• Nia told Li Lin that a mysterious assassin had wiped out Five-Nation Alliance forces along the route to Dideyasi and was now nearing the city.
• Nia confirmed that the assassin was Anna, who had come looking for Li Lin, and warned him that he would have to handle her arrival himself.

Angela complained that Li Lin’s Seven Ring Spirit Envoys showed too little regard for their master, while Catherine’s resolve weakened after her prayers went unanswered. As Li Lin struggled to contain the Pillar of Magic Essence, Anna arrived in the Black Forest and attacked the holy knights searching for their missing companion.

• Angela told Fina that, apart from Nia, Li Lin’s weapons seemed rude and indifferent to their master, while Fina suggested they might express their feelings differently.
• Catherine, alone in her comfortable room, wondered whether to keep resisting or give in after her prayers failed and Fina said Angela would decide what happened next.
• Li Lin failed to find a way to neutralize the Pillar of Magic Essence’s poison without destroying magical potential, and considered having Nia and Suoxiate destroy it instead.
• Li Lin learned that Anna had come looking for him and worried that she might clash with Angela, but decided to leave them to settle things themselves.
• A patrol of holy knights found signs of a campsite in the Black Forest while searching for their missing companion.
• Anna asked the holy knights whether they served the Five-Nation Alliance, then killed one when she sensed hostility and began attacking the group.

Catherine’s resistance to Angela’s training weakened, and she later attempted to escape the castle while Li Lin sent Mina and Fina away on an errand. Angela intercepted Catherine in the forest and sent her back, leaving her increasingly troubled by her own bodily reactions.

• Catherine submitted to Angela’s training and climaxed, prompting Li Lin to judge that her resistance was fading.
• Li Lin sent Mina and Fina to Ringwraith City with a letter for Nia, leaving Catherine alone with Angela.
• Catherine faked her death with a dinner knife, then jumped from her second-floor window and fled into the forest.
• Catherine became overwhelmed by unfamiliar desire and lost her way before Angela found her near the castle.
• Angela mocked Catherine’s failed escape and suggested her body needed satisfaction, and Catherine returned to her room and began touching herself.

Nia reviewed the growing conflicts across the continent while Ringwraith City faced food shortages and prepared new weapons and satellite experiments. Meanwhile, Li Lin used a magical illusion to show Herbert a manipulated vision of Catherine, provoking the holy knight into renewed fury as he continued searching for her.

• Nia studied reports on Lalia and Kudel’s standoff, the Temple’s attacks on heretics and border countries, and the widening unrest across the continent.
• Mina and Fina delivered Li Lin’s letter and said they had come to collect things, while Kalin reported that Ringwraith City’s grain supply would last only one quarter.
• Suoxiate told Nia that Yi Aier’s missile research had advanced and the satellite system was in its experimental stage; Nia ordered them to maintain the status quo and said she would conduct another trial.
• Li Lin restrained Catherine with magical tentacles, heightened her senses, and used magic to locate Herbert in the forest.
• Herbert saw an illusion of Catherine with Li Lin, attacked the vision in anger, and swore he would kill Li Lin.

Catherine’s diary recorded her growing confusion and despair as captivity and Angela’s treatment undermined her resistance, while she continued to pray and planned an escape that failed. The chapter ended with Li Lin and Angela forcing her into a new lesson, as Catherine cooperated and feared that the god had abandoned her.

• Catherine wrote that her prayers had gone unanswered and that her body and feelings were changing under Angela’s treatment.
• Catherine recovered in a luxurious room, tried to strengthen her holy power, and resolved to resist her captors.
• Catherine overheard that Angela and Li Lin would be away, attempted to escape, and failed.
• Li Lin began personally tormenting Catherine, who struggled with her loss of faith and growing physical responses.
• Angela made Catherine practice servicing Li Lin and then black tentacles, while Catherine stopped resisting and wondered if this was her future.

Angela abducted Xiali and had a devil use magic and drugs to corrupt her, intending to use Catherine’s friend to force Catherine back to the training room. Catherine found Xiali and brought her to her room, but Xiali’s altered desires turned against her, leaving Catherine overwhelmed by guilt and unable to resist.

• Xiali worried that Catherine had not returned to the Temple when Angela appeared in her room and promised she could help her find the saintess.
• Angela knocked Xiali unconscious and took her to a dark cell, where Li Lin used a devil and drugs to make her submit to Angela’s plan.
• Catherine chose not to visit the training room, but later went to Li Lin and Angela’s room after hearing a woman’s voice.
• Catherine found Xiali naked and under the effects of the devil’s magic, then took her back to her room after Angela struck Catherine with a whip and threatened to find another source of amusement.
• Catherine used divine spells to calm Xiali, but Xiali soon pushed her onto the bed and demanded that Catherine satisfy her, leaving Catherine too ashamed and stunned to resist.

Catherine gave in to her desire and sought help from Li Lin, who used the encounter to awaken and capture the soul of the original Catherine, one of the Five Heroes. Li Lin planned to make the holy maiden Catherine help destroy the nation her ancestor had once protected.

• Catherine exhausted Xiali with her relentless advances, then left to find Angela when Xiali could no longer respond.
• Catherine found Li Lin alone and begged him to relieve her, and he taunted her by invoking her love for Herbert.
• Catherine rejected her former identity and surrendered herself to Li Lin, after which a burst of white light revealed the awakened soul of the original Catherine.
• Li Lin revealed that he had suspected Catherine's soul was inside the body and had waited for it to awaken so he could take revenge.
• Li Lin used magic to tear Catherine's soul from the body and seal it in a gemstone, then planned to use the remaining Catherine to bring down her ancestor's nation.

Li Lin used Catherine to confront Herbert, who died when Xiali stabbed him and Catherine beheaded him. As Angela fought an unexpected attacker at the castle entrance, a small girl appeared and called Li Lin her father.

• Li Lin ordered Catherine to welcome Herbert and serve him while remaining devoted to Li Lin.
• Herbert entered Li Lin's castle and found Catherine, who rejected his plea to return with him and seduced him instead.
• Catherine mocked Herbert during their encounter, and Herbert tried to strangle her before Xiali stabbed him from behind.
• Catherine seized Herbert's discarded sword and beheaded him, then ran to Li Lin for comfort.
• Angela attacked a dark figure at the doorway, but the figure blocked her strike and revealed herself as a little girl who reached for Li Lin and called him father.

Li Lin returned to Ringwraith City with Anna after she and Angela fought to a standstill, then ordered preparations for an assault on Casablanca City to begin the destruction of the Five-Nation Alliance. Nia ended the chapter by reporting that one of the students sent from the City of a Thousand Towers could become an Arcane Mage.

• Anna reunited with Li Lin and explained that someone in Hell had sent her back with a pouch containing gems, a necklace, and a divine artifact.
• Angela challenged Anna, and the two fought through the hall until Li Lin stopped them after their final clash left the castle badly damaged.
• Li Lin sent Catherine and Xiali through a portal to Dideyasi’s capital, where Catherine planned to provoke conflict between Dideyasi and the Temple by claiming a paladin had violated her.
• Li Lin returned to Ringwraith City, where Nia reported that missile trials were underway, the Virgin Goddess's Jewelry system was calibrated, and the sisters had been reassigned.
• Li Lin ordered Angela to assemble at least thirty thousand Ghouls within half a month for an attack on Casablanca City, a free trading city in the Xialuo Kingdom.
• Nia revealed that one of the 9,500 students sent by the City of a Thousand Towers had the aptitude to become an Arcane Mage.

Kelisi’s harsh past led her from a northern village to the City of a Thousand Towers, where she was chosen to study magic and identified as a possible successor among the Arcane Mages. As Li Lin prepared to reveal the Magic Empire’s strength and seek allies, he decided to test the Mages’ Association’s true attitude.

• Kelisi lost her father and mother, fled her village after refusing a merchant association president’s demand, and eventually settled in the City of a Thousand Towers.
• After Kelisi demonstrated talent for protection magic, the mages sent her to Ringwraith City, where she passed her usual test and underwent an unexplained additional assessment.
• Li Lin and Nia identified Kelisi as a possible chosen successor, but Li Lin ordered that she continue her lessons without special changes while her potential was monitored.
• Li Lin considered the Magic Empire’s need for allies and military strength, relying chiefly on Angela’s Ghoul legion while improving satellite detection and missile systems.
• Li Lin told Nia to prepare to discover the Mages’ Association’s true attitude.

Li Lin and Nia entered Korte City, killed the tavern owner and the patrons who witnessed them, and broke into the Mages' Association tower. Li Lin revealed himself as Loxia Kaiser Erland and called on mages across the continent to choose between joining the returning Magic Empire or dying with the Five-Nation Alliance; afterward, he and Nia discussed the operation Angela and Anna were about to begin.

• Li Lin and Nia entered a Korte City tavern, where Li Lin killed the owner and Nia extinguished the lives of the immobilized patrons.
• Li Lin and Nia broke through the mage tower's doors, and Nia cast a Temporary Mythal that restricted the spellcasting of mages below legendary level.
• Xiulading Xieersi recognized Li Lin as Loxia, a Magic Empire Arcane Mage, and Li Lin took control of the tower's magical communication system.
• Li Lin addressed mages across the continent, announced that the Magic Empire would return, and demanded they choose between joining it or dying alongside their masters.
• Xiulading ordered an Inner Circle Council meeting and told the Mages' Association to repair its doors and stall the Temple and the Five-Nation Alliance.
• On a hillside, Nia told Li Lin that Angela and Anna were nearing their destination and that the operation to levy soldiers would soon begin.

Angela raised the dead villagers as Ghouls and led them in an assault on a castle, where they devoured its guards and guests. Anna killed the lone human survivor, and as dawn approached, a vast black object emerged in the sky above the undead.

• Angela revived the slaughtered villagers as Ghouls and sent them marching toward the castle.
• The Ghouls attacked the castle guards, killing and devouring them as Angela praised her undead army to Anna.
• The Ghouls stormed the castle and consumed its occupants while Angela overpowered a newly risen noblewoman with her authority.
• A girl who had survived the banquet came out of hiding, but Anna killed her because she was an enemy of Li Lin.
• Angela left Anna to prepare as the clouds parted and a vast black object appeared in the night sky above the undead.

Li Lin confirmed Angela’s Ghoul army was growing and saw the twelve satellites of the Maiden Goddess's Adornment activate, completing a magical network over the Magic Empire’s former territories. That night, the bishop learned that Catherine was alive and had accused Temple paladins of raping her, and he set out for Dideyasi to investigate.

• Li Lin left the Mages' Association after forcing its mages to choose whether to resist the paladins, while Angela and Anna raised a legion of nearly twenty thousand Ghouls near Casablanca City.
• Suoxiate urged Li Lin to rest after thirteen hours of work, but Yi Aier interrupted him with news that all twelve satellites of the Maiden Goddess's Adornment had activated successfully.
• Li Lin inspected the satellites, confirmed their magical network worked, and watched them reach their positions over the Magic Empire’s twelve territories.
• A paladin told the bishop that Catherine had been found alive in Dideyasi and had accused the Temple’s escorting paladins of raping her.
• The bishop read the royal family’s warning, worried about the Temple’s political and internal fallout, and ordered a carriage so he could investigate in Dideyasi himself.

Weijia helped the prince overthrow the Grand Duke of Lalia, killing the Grand Duke after he murdered Weijia’s father. She then used her influence to bind the prince to her and encourage his ambition, advancing Angela’s plan to take control of Lalia.

• An injured minister warned the Grand Duke of Lalia that the prince had rebelled, but the Grand Duke dismissed him and killed him when he tried to remove Weijia from the room.
• The prince confronted his father, and the two fought after the prince revealed that Angela’s medicine had made him powerful.
• Weijia stabbed the Grand Duke with an enchanted dagger, weakening him so the prince could kill him with his broken sword.
• The prince declared his love for Weijia and promised to marry her alongside his sister, while Weijia concealed her plans.
• The prince vowed to drive the Kingdom of Kudel from Lalia and conquer the world as Weijia resolved to take control of the country through him.

Li Lin summoned gods, human mages, and the elven queen and Dark Elf matron to reveal the Magic Empire’s Scourge Legion and explain how it would be used in the coming war. After securing their responses to his plans, he asked the elven queen and Black Elf matron to stay for a private discussion.

• Nia gathered the three old mages, gods, and elf leaders at Ringwraith City and led them to Li Lin.
• Li Lin brought the group to the Garden of Silence and revealed an army of more than three thousand undead called the Scourge Legion.
• The Goddess of Dawn objected to using the dead in battle, and Angela challenged her before Li Lin explained that the Ghouls could turn enemies into undead but remained under Angela’s control.
• Li Lin asked Maya to discuss deploying undead alongside the Dark Elves, advised the elven queen about defense, and urged the three old mages to seal off the City of a Thousand Towers and stockpile supplies.
• The God of Light agreed to relay Li Lin’s proposal to the other gods, and Li Lin asked the elven queen and Black Elf matron to speak with him privately.

Li Lin negotiated an alliance with the Elf Queen and the Dark Elf Matriarch, offering fertility potions and weapons in exchange for their cooperation and strict conditions for the war’s aftermath. After they left, he learned Angela had gone to the academy and discussed her interest in a struggling student with Suoxiate.

• Li Lin offered the Elf Queen and the Dark Elf Matriarch an experimental fertility potion that shortened their races’ lifespans and would further reduce the lifespan of later generations.
• Li Lin demonstrated a repeating crossbow and a low-grade Weapon Spirit, then offered free spirit weapons to suitable elven and Dark Elf warriors.
• Li Lin asked the Elf Queen for first rights to recruit rescued elven slaves and demanded that Maya execute all prisoners, including every man from the Five-Nation Alliance; both leaders accepted his terms.
• After the Elf Queen and the Dark Elf Matriarch departed, Li Lin asked Suoxiate where Angela had gone and learned she was at the academy.
• Li Lin saw a student’s name on Suoxiate’s list and remarked that Angela liked the student despite her poor grades.

The Vila Federation Council chairman received a declaration of war from Nia, who identified herself as an emissary of the supposedly destroyed Magic Empire, and convened the Federation Council. After learning that other nations had received declarations as well, the council remained uncertain about the Magic Empire’s strength and ordered the Federation’s border troops to heighten their vigilance.

• The chairman reviewed the turmoil affecting Lalia, Kudel, Dideyasi, and the conflict between the Mages' Association and the Temple, and suspected a conspiracy.
• Nia appeared inside the chairman’s guarded study, introduced herself as the Eternal Library and an emissary of the Magic Empire, and delivered a declaration of war to the Five-Nation Alliance.
• The chairman summoned the Federation Council and told its members that the Magic Empire had declared war on their alliance.
• The curator identified Nia as one of the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys and explained that the Magic Empire could transform weapons into human forms.
• The chairman received word that Xialuo, Kudel, and Dideyasi had also received declarations of war from the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys.
• The chairman ordered the Federation’s border troops to heighten their vigilance while the council postponed other decisions.

As the Five-Nation Alliance and the mages struggled with growing turmoil, Li Lin prepared Nisi to become an Arcane Mage. Nisi accepted the power of the Evocation Rule and survived the ritual, though her training had only begun.

• The Five-Nation Alliance kept the Magic Empire’s declaration of war secret, while Ringwraith City produced weapons and the Mages’ Association split into factions amid Temple persecution.
• Nisi arrived in Ringwraith City and asked Li Lin to take her to her sister Ailinna’s memorial, where she affirmed her resolve to become an Arcane Mage.
• Li Lin led Nisi to a hidden ritual chamber and explained how the original thirteen Arcane Mages divided magic’s power and bound themselves to protect the Magic Empire.
• Li Lin reclaimed the magic rune he had previously given Nisi and granted her the Evocation Rule’s rune.
• Nisi touched the rune, was overwhelmed by its power, and lost consciousness; Li Lin confirmed that she had been recognized as an Arcane Mage and welcomed her as the Evocation Master.

At the academy, Angela pushed the blind elf Aila to keep choosing life and punished students who had tried to manipulate her. When Li Lin summoned the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys, he announced the Magic Empire’s war of vengeance and ordered an attack on Casablanca City, leaving Angela and Anna to lead the assault.

• Aila recalled how the elves had sent her to Angela as dinner, and how she had been rescued and enrolled at the academy despite being blind and unable to speak.
• Angela told Aila to endure and seek strength, then ordered Mina and Fina to punish students who had tried to use Angela to frighten the elf.
• Angela explained to Fina that she wanted to see whether Aila could survive, then rushed to the mage tower when Li Lin’s signal announced that war had begun.
• Li Lin gathered the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys and identified Casablanca City as the first target of the Magic Empire’s war of vengeance.
• Li Lin ordered Angela and Anna to attack Casablanca using the Garden of Silence and the Virgin Goddess’s ornaments satellite system, and commanded them to kill everyone who resisted.