Chapter Summaries

Li Lin prepared to leave Qixie Port while arranging a covert operation at sea and honoring his agreement to release Rolandis. Kalin reported that the plan was in position, and Li Lin ordered it to begin while sparing a merchant and his subordinates.

• Angela told Li Lin and the others a legend about a pirate's treasure and ghostly wrecks, but Li Lin stopped her and asked Mina and Fina to find a discreet ship.
• Li Lin told Rolandis to get ready to meet the old mage, indicating that he intended to release her as promised.
• Li Lin contacted Kalin, who reported that the plan had reached its designated position and complained about the elves.
• Li Lin ordered Kalin to begin the operation, sparing only the merchant and his subordinates and letting the elves carry it out.
• Kalin vanished, and Li Lin left the room to complete his deal.

Li Lin returned Rolandis to her grandfather, ending his agreement with the old mage. After the mage chose to leave rather than fight, Li Lin and Angela prepared to depart by sea.

• Rolandis asked Li Lin who he and his companions were while he watched the sea and awaited the old mage.
• The old mage arrived through a portal, and Angela released Rolandis so she could reunite with her grandfather.
• The old mage checked Rolandis for harm, confirmed she was unharmed, and acknowledged that Li Lin had kept his word.
• Li Lin told the old mage their agreement had ended, and the old mage chose to withdraw through the portal rather than fight.
• Angela complained that the old mage would warn the king, but Li Lin argued that few would believe him and told her to wait for future chances to kill.
• Li Lin turned toward the approaching sisters and asked Angela whether she was afraid of water as they prepared to depart.

Rolandis learned from her grandfather that Li Lin was an Arcane Mage, and the old mage identified him as Loxia Kaiser Erland, the Dominator. Fearing the threat he posed, the old mage summoned the Inner Circle Council and warned that the person able to wield the forbidden weapon Hymn of Destruction had appeared.

• Rolandis told her grandfather how frightened she was, and he explained that Li Lin was an Arcane Mage whose Magic Tattoos made him far beyond ordinary mages.
• The old mage identified Li Lin as Loxia Kaiser Erland after Rolandis mentioned his talking spellbook and the inhuman young woman beside him.
• Rolandis recalled that Li Lin planned to go to sea, then left so her grandfather could consider what she had told him.
• The old mage contacted the Inner Circle Council and proposed raising security for Hymn of Destruction to the highest level, with more than a hundred mages assigned to guard it.
• The old mage told the Council that the person capable of wielding Hymn of Destruction had appeared.

Li Lin and Angela took the Shell out to sea, where Angela used her strange power to sail through a sudden storm and fog. As they reached four ships, Angela revealed that she had sunk the Titanic, and Li Lin signaled Kalin.

• Mina and Fina bought the Shell from the chief constable, and Angela volunteered to sail it without sailors.
• Mina and Fina became violently ill as soon as they boarded, while Angela prepared to set sail.
• Angela sent the Shell racing through a storm and thick fog, and the chief constable found only its mooring rope left at the dock.
• Li Lin studied Angela's mysterious power as the Shell moved unnaturally across the sea and approached four enormous ships.
• Angela told Li Lin that she had sunk the Titanic to punish humans for calling it unsinkable.
• Li Lin fired a signal spell toward the ships and wondered whether he should be glad he had not named his fleet.

Li Lin learned that the elves had been freed from their captors but were growing restless and wanted to return to Elf Island. After the Elf Goddess ordered them to follow Li Lin’s plans, Kalin brought the elves’ Divine Chosen to meet him, while Nia still refused to answer him.

• Kalin told Li Lin that the elves had killed the sailors and slavers who had oppressed them, while she kept the fat merchant and his people out of danger.
• Kalin explained that many elves wanted to sail home, and the Elf Goddess had appeared, ordered them to follow Li Lin, and stopped their ships at his designated location.
• Li Lin asked Kalin to bring the elves’ Divine Chosen to him and asked what else she had discovered; Kalin said he would see soon.
• Kalin left after teasing Li Lin about making up with Nia, whose Eternal Library still did not answer him.
• Kalin returned to the captain’s cabin with an elf beside her.

Li Lin accepted the Elf Goddess’s Divine Chosen and her elves, then ordered them to sail for Booty Bay to investigate Suoxiate’s disappearance. The Divine Chosen refused Angela’s attempt to claim her young maid, while Angela promised Li Lin she would gather information without killing anyone.

• The Divine Chosen reported that 725 elves had been placed under Li Lin’s command by the Elf Goddess.
• Li Lin learned that the elves could sail and assigned the Divine Chosen to lead the ship to Booty Bay, where Suoxiate had been located by divination.
• The Divine Chosen warned that elves who had sought the Pirate King’s treasure at Booty Bay had not returned alive.
• Li Lin noticed a young elf girl behind the Divine Chosen, and the Divine Chosen identified her as her maid.
• Angela asked to borrow the girl, but the Divine Chosen refused and offered to provide other maids instead.
• Angela requested a young virgin for dinner and promised Li Lin she would gather definite information without getting anyone killed.

Li Lin and his companions encountered pirates attacking three merchant ships, and Li Lin used his magical longbow to help the sailors defeat them. One pirate ship escaped the battle, but Li Lin’s final shot struck it with a blinding explosion.

• Angela used threats, inducements, and hypnosis to gather information from the elves, while Li Lin quietly accepted her help.
• Li Lin coaxed Nia into speaking again and learned Angela had persuaded her to ignore him using a plan called “tsundere.”
• Kalin alerted Li Lin to the pirate attack, and Nia identified the merchant ships as belonging to the Sea-Encircled Country.
• Li Lin fired magical arrows that killed pirates and helped the sailors capture three pirate ships.
• Captain Vincent ordered the sailors to pursue the remaining pirate ship, and Li Lin’s final sphere of light struck it as it nearly escaped.

Li Lin rescued Vincent’s fleet from pirates and met the Sea-Encircled Country captain while considering how to win the island nation’s support against the Five-Nation Alliance. After Li Lin revealed that his fleet planned to sail to the legendary Grand Line, Vincent reacted uneasily.

• Li Lin’s magical attack broke the pirates’ resistance, and the survivors surrendered to Vincent.
• Vincent learned that a fleet of merchant ships was approaching and met Li Lin, whose crew was mostly elves.
• Li Lin considered Nia’s advice that an alliance with the Sea-Encircled Country could threaten the Five-Nation Alliance from behind.
• Vincent thanked Li Lin for saving his fleet and offered to guide Li Lin’s ships across the sea.
• Li Lin told Vincent that his fleet intended to seek out the legendary Grand Line, and Vincent’s expression changed.

Nia and Kalin discussed their secret pact with Suoxiate while Li Lin attended Captain Vincent’s banquet and considered the captain’s invitation to the Sea-Encircled Country. Li Lin decided to inspect the country before choosing how to deal with it, then found Angela at his ship’s stern with a young elf.

• Angela complained that she had been excluded from the banquet, while Nia and Kalin discussed the Seven Ring Spirit Envoys’ pact and Suoxiate.
• At the banquet, Li Lin noticed Vincent was trying to dissuade him from seeking the Grand Line and suspected the captain was hiding something.
• Vincent invited Li Lin and the fat merchant to visit the Sea-Encircled Country, and the merchant eagerly welcomed the idea.
• Li Lin left the banquet, deciding to inspect the Sea-Encircled Country before choosing whether to seek its alliance or use extraordinary measures.
• Back aboard his ship, Li Lin found Angela at the stern with a young elf.

Angela tested whether Aila would choose to keep living despite being treated as a burden, then rescued her from the sea when she refused to let go. Li Lin took the unconscious Aila away for Nia to care for, while he and Angela departed through warped space.

• Aila, a blind and mute elf, was ordered to meet Angela, who insulted her and threw her into the icy sea.
• As Angela stepped on Aila's hand and urged her to give up, Aila decided she wanted to live and clung to a piece of wood until she lost consciousness.
• Angela lifted Aila from the sea and told Li Lin that Aila had made a willful choice to keep living despite being a burden.
• Angela explained that she had once been rejected by the world too and had always refused to surrender her life.
• Li Lin used magic to take Aila away so Nia could care for her, then left with Angela as space warped around them.

Li Lin took Angela to Suoxiate and showed her the memory of his former self, Luoxia, defending the Magic Empire before dying from a spell that turned its dead into undead. The scene ended, and Suoxiate welcomed Li Lin back as her master.

• Li Lin brought Angela through the underwater illusion of treasure and into an endless corridor, then led her through a door to show her the past.
• In the memory, Luoxia stood against five heroes who accused him of destroying their country, while the wounded Suoxiate tried to protect him.
• Luoxia fought the heroes despite his weakened power and revealed that they were Magic Controllers who could counter spellcasters.
• Luoxia unleashed a death-mist spell that raised the dead and drove the heroes from the palace, then dissolved into dust as Suoxiate stayed beside him.
• The memory faded, and Li Lin greeted Suoxiate; she appeared in the corridor and welcomed him back as her master.

Li Lin reunited with Suoxiate and explained that he had left the Ring Spirit Envoys behind to protect them from Magic Controllers who could seize control of magic weapons. After Nia and Kalin learned that a larger conspiracy might lie behind the five Magic Controllers, Li Lin decided to activate Ringwraith City.

• Li Lin returned to his ship with Suoxiate and introduced her to Angela, where Nia and Kalin confronted Suoxiate about why she had not summoned them during his battle.
• Suoxiate revealed that Li Lin had ordered her not to summon the others, and Li Lin explained that Magic Controllers could take control of magic weapons and use them against their owners.
• Li Lin said he had chosen to let the Ring Spirit Envoys sleep rather than risk their capture, and promised he had devised a way to resist Magic Controllers.
• Nia questioned why five supposedly rare Magic Controllers had appeared across five countries, and Li Lin agreed that a greater force might be behind them.
• Nia said the fleet was headed toward the Sea-Encircled Country, and Li Lin told Angela to fetch her luggage before announcing that he would activate Ringwraith City.

Li Lin returned to his ruined citadel, Ringwraith City, and mourned the people who had died defending it, including his former student Ailina. He completed the spell he had begun before his death, and its light spread across the ruins as the dead city began to revive.

• Li Lin and his companions returned to the Capital of the Magic Empire and learned that the gods had sent the stranded elves and dwarves back to their homelands.
• Li Lin led the group to Ringwraith City and explained that he had come to complete the magic he had left unfinished.
• Li Lin found the remains of Ailina, remembered her efforts to defend the fortress, and destroyed the sword that had killed her.
• Li Lin walked through the citadel, erasing the preserved remains of those who had died defending it.
• Li Lin took control of the necromantic sphere above his throne and summoned the God of Death to fulfill their bargain.
• Li Lin completed the spell, sending the sphere into the sky and bathing the ruins in light as the dead city began to revive.

Li Lin revived 13,700 mages inside a barrier that bound them to the capital of the Magic Empire, then began organizing the city’s recovery. As the Five-Nation Alliance prepared to investigate and claim the city, Li Lin ordered repairs and defenses, intending to announce the empire’s return.

• Li Lin’s spell dispersed the necromantic fog and restored 13,700 mages to human form, though they could not leave the barrier or attack other countries.
• After collapsing from the spell, Li Lin assigned Nia to help the revived people, Suoxiate to inspect the core, and Kalin to assess damage in the Garden of Verdure.
• The Vila Federation Council learned that the fog around the capital had lifted and ordered an elite force to investigate, while the other nations prepared similar responses.
• Li Lin learned that the surviving mages were cautious about restoring the Magic Empire, the core could be repaired, and Ringwraith City had suffered only minor damage.
• Li Lin ordered Suoxiate and Nia to repair the core by the next day and put Nia in charge of defenses as the Five-Nation Alliance approached.
• Li Lin declared that the time had come to announce their existence.

Li Lin persuaded the surviving mages to help him evacuate the Capital of the Magic Empire and activate its core before the Five-Nation Alliance arrived. As enemy knights reached the ruins, the city began rising into the air.

• Li Lin threatened to stop sustaining any mages who refused to support his plan, and they agreed to help him oppose the Five-Nation Alliance.
• Li Lin ordered the mages to move valuables to Ringwraith City and prepare to activate the core, intending to leave the alliance nothing of the capital.
• The mages worked to evacuate the city while Nia and Suoxiate neared completion of the core's repairs.
• Angela warned Li Lin that humans were approaching, and he ordered Nia to begin activating the core.
• A Five-Nation Alliance force entered the ruined capital and watched in shock as the city glowed and rose from the ground.

Li Lin destroyed the Capital of the Magic Empire, unleashing a catastrophic earthquake that devastated the surrounding land and left the nations’ armies missing. As the Five-Nation Alliance and Mages’ Association struggled to learn what happened, a mysterious man demanded the Mages’ Association return the weapon Hymn of Destruction and threatened to kill them if they refused.

• The armies saw the Capital of the Magic Empire rise from the ground and discovered a vast pit and the city’s enormous shadow overhead.
• Li Lin ordered the magic cores shut down and concentrated their remaining energy in the thirteenth core, causing the floating capital to break apart and fall.
• The collapsing city devastated the surrounding land, and the dispatched armies fled or disappeared in the destruction.
• After the earthquake, the Five-Nation Alliance’s council chairman ordered a new investigation, while a mage secretly contacted the Mages’ Association.
• A mysterious man interrupted the Association’s secret meeting, named Hymn of Destruction as his weapon, and demanded its return within a few days, threatening to kill them if they refused.

Li Lin restored Ringwraith City to the sky and prepared to attack the Mages' Association to recover Hymn of Destruction. He left the city’s restoration and the education of its returning mages to Nia and the others while setting his sights on the Alliance-backed association.

• Li Lin concealed the restored Ringwraith City among the clouds while mages repaired its central district.
• Angela criticized Earth's reliance on science, and Li Lin reflected on the differences between science and magic before dismissing the comparison.
• Angela revealed she had sent Mina and Fina to Suoxiate for strict maid training, while Li Lin had ordered the elves returned to the City of a Thousand Towers.
• Li Lin told Angela they would fight their way into and out of the Mages' Association, and she eagerly agreed to test herself against its mages.
• Suoxiate reported that Hymn of Destruction was bound by a spell and could not move through space, while Gloomy Curse was in Hell.
• Li Lin decided to retrieve Hymn of Destruction and explained that he had publicly announced himself because he intended to destroy the Mages' Association, which he considered a puppet of the Five-Nation Alliance.

Angela attacked the Sealing Tower, killing the guards outside and entering the hall as the Mages' Association's defenders gathered. She summoned her servants to destroy everything before them, and the mages launched a volley of spells at her.

• Yali noticed the Sealing Tower's unusually heavy security and spotted Angela approaching.
• Yali and the other guards tried to stop Angela, but she killed them and raised the dead with blood magic.
• Angela shattered the tower's doors and entered the hall, where the assembled mages found no sign of the Templar Knights or the outer guards.
• Angela counted the mages, ordered her servants to attack, and the defenders fired spells at her.

Angela used undead Temple knights and mages to massacre the mages in the hall, then dispelled their magical defenses with a scroll. She left the slaughter behind and sent her undead onward to kill every living thing in the Sealing Tower.

• The mages discovered that Angela’s undead Temple knights had blocked their attacks, then the creatures and undead patrol mages charged and devoured them.
• The surviving mages held back the undead with fire and protective spells until Angela used a Greater Dispel scroll to remove their defenses.
• The high-level mages watched the battle through a crystal ball and realized Angela was not human and had not used a spell to animate the undead.
• Angela walked through the slaughtered hall and ordered her undead slaves to kill every living thing in the tower in Master’s name.

Li Lin watched Angela’s Ghouls overwhelm the mages and explained why he trusted her despite the danger of an army controlled solely by her. As Angela continued the slaughter, Kalin returned to the Garden of Verdure and unleashed her power against the sealing tower.

• Kalin, Suoxiate, Nia, and Li Lin watched Angela’s Ghouls attack, and Li Lin explained their strengths, weaknesses, and usefulness as an army.
• Nia questioned whether Li Lin could safely trust Angela, and Li Lin admitted she was dangerous but said he trusted her anyway.
• Li Lin ordered Kalin to begin their next move, and Kalin returned through Suoxiate’s portal to the Garden of Verdure.
• Kalin restored her district’s power and transformed into her true form as Ringwraith City shifted one of its rings above the sealing tower.
• Kalin fired thousands of emerald beams from her flowers at the sealing tower with her Light of the Forest.