Chapter Summaries

Fairy Tail celebrated Natsu’s return as he recounted their adventures in Edolas and Jiang Bai showed the guild recordings of their alternate-world counterparts. On the quiet second floor, Gajeel hinted to Panther Lily that there was a reason he remained unpopular, while keeping his secret mission to infiltrate Raven Tail to himself.

• Natsu told Macao, Wakaba, and the others that their Edolas counterparts had been turned into a giant Magic Crystal, and Gildarts joined the conversation with Jiang Bai and Makarov.
• Jiang Bai played recordings of Edolas Gray, Macao, Cana, Mirajane, and Natsu, prompting laughter and teasing throughout the guild.
• Happy said that Edolas Jiang Bai had no girlfriend, though Edolas Mira and Erza liked him, and the guild criticized Jiang Bai’s alternate counterpart.
• Panther Lily and Gajeel watched the chaotic banquet from the second floor and compared Fairy Tail favorably to Phantom Lord.
• Panther Lily asked Gajeel why he was unpopular, and Gajeel withheld his secret assignment to infiltrate Raven Tail, saying only that there was a reason.

After Cana confided in Lucy that she felt unworthy of the guild, Lucy sought help from Mirajane and Jiang Bai, who connected Cana’s mood to her father, Gildarts. The next morning, guild members suddenly rushed to take jobs alone, leaving Lucy bewildered by the uproar.

• Cana broke into Lucy’s apartment, then confessed during their bath that she felt she no longer deserved to belong to the guild.
• Lucy told Mirajane about Cana’s confession, and Jiang Bai said Cana felt this way around the same time each year and needed to talk more with her father, Gildarts.
• Natsu refused Lucy’s offer to join his job and left to work alone.
• Gray and Elfman hurried out to take jobs, while other guild members began competing over requests and disbanding teams.
• Lucy watched the guild erupt into a scramble for work and wondered what had happened.

As Fairy Tail gathered for a mysterious announcement, Lucy learned that the guild’s S-Class Exam was about to be revealed. The chapter ended with Makarov and all five of the guild’s current S-Class Mages appearing onstage.

• Carla foresaw Wakaba and Macao gossiping about the young guild members, while Lisanna and Wendy asked her about the future.
• Panther Lily sparred with Erza but reverted to his small form when he ran short of magic power.
• Lucy asked Mirajane about the guild’s strange behavior and learned Jiang Bai had gone to buy another house.
• The next morning, Lucy and the guild members gathered in a packed hall, where Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and Juvia showed their excitement.
• Makarov revealed himself onstage with Jiang Bai, Gildarts, Laxus, Erza, and Mirajane, bringing all of Fairy Tail’s current S-Class Mages together.

Makarov announced the eight participants in the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam, which would begin on Tenrou Island in one week and allow only one winner. As the guild reacted to the selections, Carla saw a frightening vision of Jiang Bai, injured guildmates, and a mysterious man in a black robe.

• Makarov announced that Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy McGarden, and Mest Gryder had qualified for the exam.
• Makarov said the exam would take place on Tenrou Island in one week and that only one of the eight participants would pass.
• Gajeel questioned why Juvia had qualified while he had not, and Panther Lily suggested that Gajeel was unpopular in the guild.
• Carla experienced a vision of Jiang Bai forming a gigantic energy sword above the clouds while wounded guildmates lay on the ground.
• Carla saw a man in a black robe standing at a cliff's edge, then hid her fear from Wendy and wondered who Jiang Bai had been fighting.

Makarov announced the rules for the S-Class exam and revealed that Jiang Bai, Gildarts, Erza, and others would serve as obstacles. The eight candidates and their partners were told to meet at Hargeon Port in a week, while the guild erupted into discussion about the difficult exam.

• Makarov explained that the eight selected candidates had one week to choose Fairy Tail members as partners, excluding S-Class Mages.
• Makarov said the exam details would be revealed on Tenrou Island and named Jiang Bai, Gildarts, Erza, and others as examiners.
• Lucy panicked at the thought of facing Jiang Bai, but Gray explained the S-Class Mages would test the candidates rather than require them to be defeated.
• Elfman revealed that Jiang Bai had been the sole final examiner for two years and that no participant had passed his requirements.
• Makarov ordered the candidates and their partners to gather at Hargeon Port in a week, and Natsu and Elfman declared their determination to become S-Class Mages.

Fairy Tail’s mages began choosing partners for the S-Class Exam, and Natsu and Happy rushed off to train together. Gray teamed up with Loke, Lisanna partnered with Juvia, and Gajeel offered to help Levy grow stronger, leaving her flustered.

• Natsu chose Happy as his partner and hurried out with him to train after Lisanna explained how much the exam meant to Natsu.
• Juvia asked Gray to be her partner, but Gray revealed he had already agreed to team up with Loke, who suspended his contract with Lucy for the exam.
• Lisanna chose Juvia as her partner, and she pointed Elfman toward Evergreen after he worried he would be left without one.
• Levy’s teammates Sarukusuke and Droy argued over who should partner with her until Gajeel offered to help her become stronger.
• Gajeel lifted Levy by the collar and promised to train her, leaving her blushing and Sarukusuke and Droy devastated.

Lucy comforted Cana after she confessed that repeated failures in the S-Class Exam made her feel like an embarrassment to her father, Gildarts. Gildarts reconciled with Cana, and Jiang Bai helped Lucy reconsider her estrangement from her father, Jude, before she resolved to help Cana pass the exam.

• Lucy found Cana drinking alone by the river and asked whether the S-Class Exam was behind her distress.
• Cana admitted that she felt ashamed of failing the exam despite being Gildarts's daughter.
• Gildarts arrived, reassured Cana that her safety mattered more than becoming strong, and carried her home as she slept.
• Lucy felt sad thinking about her own strained relationship with Jude, and Jiang Bai told her Jude had once wanted to earn money to give her a happy life.
• Lucy thanked Jiang Bai, decided to think about resolving things with Jude, and vowed to help Cana become S-Class.
• Jiang Bai recalled that he had asked Porlyusica for a health potion and had it delivered to Jude to protect him from dying of overwork.

Jiang Bai, Erza, and Mirajane sailed to Tenrou Island after Gildarts and Laxus left them behind, and enjoyed the journey together. Once they arrived, the examiners began preparing for the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam, where Erza set a far harsher standard than the others expected.

• Jiang Bai found that Gildarts and Laxus had already sailed from Hargeon Port and learned they had booked him, Erza, and Mirajane a ship of their own.
• Jiang Bai, Erza, and Mirajane spent several hours sailing toward Tenrou Island, where Mirajane and Erza changed into swimsuits.
• The three arrived at Tenrou Island and met Gildarts and Laxus on the beach.
• Jiang Bai told Laxus not to let guilt affect his judgment, and Laxus vowed to fail anyone who did not meet the standard.
• Erza insisted the examiners had to be strict and declared that every candidate must defeat her to qualify as an S-Class Mage.

Jiang Bai and the others prepared eight paths on Tenrou Island before Makarov brought the S-Class exam participants there. Makarov explained that the first round would test both strength and luck, leaving the teams to choose their paths.

• Jiang Bai and the others cleared eight paths through the jungle on Tenrou Island.
• Makarov brought Natsu and the other participants by ship from Hargeon Port, where they suffered from the heat and Natsu's motion sickness.
• Wendy tried to cure Natsu with Troia, but said he had become immune to the magic.
• Makarov told the participants that Tenrou Island was the resting place of Mavis Vermillion and explained the first exam's rules.
• Makarov revealed that some paths required teams to fight each other or earn recognition from Jiang Bai, Gildarts, Laxus, Erza, or Mira, while one path allowed a team to pass without a fight.
• Lucy trusted her luck, while Cana prepared to use her cards to choose a path.

Makarov started the S-Class Mage Promotion Exam while the ship was still at sea, and Freed’s barrier stopped the teams from leaving early. Natsu and Happy chose passage E on Tenrou Island, where they ran into Jiang Bai and appeared to have no chance of advancing.

• Makarov declared the exam underway, and Natsu and Happy tried to fly ahead before Freed’s Jutsu Shiki barrier bounced them back.
• Freed and Bickslow flew toward the island, while Levy rewrote the barrier to let herself and Gajeel escape; Evergreen and Elfman also departed.
• When the barrier vanished, Gray and Loke slid toward the island on ice, Lisanna and Juvia swam after them, and Lucy urged Cana to hurry as Mest and Wendy were already gone.
• Natsu and Happy reached Tenrou Island first, and Natsu chose passage E because he believed it would lead to Erza.
• Natsu and Happy reached the end of the passage and found Jiang Bai lounging in a beach chair; Happy despaired that their exam journey was over.

Natsu challenged Jiang Bai in the S-Class trial, but his attacks could not get past Jiang Bai’s defenses. Jiang Bai overwhelmed him with his magic to teach him to face his weakness, and Natsu steadied himself and answered with resolve.

• Natsu charged Jiang Bai with Fire Dragon's Iron Fist, but Jiang Bai restrained him and threw him into a cave wall.
• Natsu kept attacking with his Fire Dragon spells and Dragon Slayer Secret Art, but none of his strikes reached Jiang Bai.
• Jiang Bai praised Natsu’s progress, suggested he improve his flames, and explained that the trial was meant to show him there was always someone stronger.
• Jiang Bai unleashed concentrated magic power that made Natsu tremble, while Makarov sensed the shockwave from Tenrou Island’s shore.
• Jiang Bai told Natsu to face his weakness, and Natsu suppressed his fear and declared that he had always known that.

Natsu compressed his flames into the Crimson Lotus Phoenix Sword, but Jiang Bai stopped the attack with one finger and declared that Natsu had passed his test. As Natsu left determined to continue the S-Class Exam, Cana and Lucy faced Erza in another passage and prepared to fight.

• Natsu compressed his flames into a sword and launched his strongest attack at Jiang Bai, who stopped it effortlessly.
• Natsu admitted defeat, but Jiang Bai told him he had passed the test and explained that S-Class was a starting point, not an endpoint.
• Jiang Bai reassured Natsu that Laxus, Erza, and the others had performed similarly on his test, and Natsu left with Happy, promising not to let him down.
• Cana and Lucy encountered Erza in another passage, accepted that they might lose, and Lucy summoned Taurus.

Lucy and Cana challenged Erza in their bid to become S-Class Mages, but Erza defeated them and explained that they were not yet ready for the responsibility. Lucy and Cana accepted her judgment and vowed to grow stronger before challenging her again next year.

• Cana and Lucy teamed up with Taurus, but Erza blocked their attacks and sent Taurus crashing into a tree.
• Cana and Lucy brought in Sagittarius, yet Erza's Heaven's Wheel Armor deflected their attacks and forced them to dodge her swords.
• Lucy and Cana renewed their resolve, and Lucy summoned Scorpio and Virgo while Cana prepared her strongest spell.
• Erza changed into her Purgatory Armor, shattered Virgo's walls, sent Taurus and Virgo back to the Celestial Spirit World, and stopped Cana's spell with her sword at Cana's neck.
• Erza told Lucy and Cana they were not ready for S-Class responsibilities, and they vowed to become stronger and defeat her next year.

Mest and Wendy passed after choosing a safe route, while Elfman and Evergreen defeated Mirajane by distracting her with a surprise claim that they were getting married. Gray and Loke passed after Gildarts tested Gray and showed him the gulf between his strength and that of an S-Class Mage, while Gajeel and Levy defeated Juvia and Lisanna.

• Mest and Wendy emerged from a cave to find a sign marked “pass” and learned they had passed the exam.
• Evergreen distracted Mirajane by claiming she and Elfman would marry after the exam, then prompted Elfman to help subdue her.
• Gildarts tested Gray, praised his growth, and unleashed his magic power to show Gray and Loke what a real S-Class Mage could do before passing them.
• Juvia and Lisanna fought Levy and Gajeel in a narrow passage, but Gajeel and Levy won through superior strength and teamwork.

Laxus fought Freed and Bickslow to test how much they had improved. He defeated them with his Thunder Dragon’s Roar, leaving both unconscious and declaring that they had failed the assessment.

• Laxus confronted Freed and Bickslow and attacked them with a bolt of lightning.
• Freed defended against Laxus’s opening strike, then he and Bickslow struggled to withstand his Thunder Pressure Raging Waves.
• Bickslow sent his five dolls to surround Laxus and fire magic bullets while Freed transformed into dark armor and charged.
• Laxus unleashed Thunder Dragon’s Roar, destroying Bickslow’s dolls and knocking Bickslow unconscious while badly injuring Freed.
• Freed praised Laxus before collapsing, and Laxus declared that Freed and Bickslow had failed the assessment.

The first exam ended with five teams passing, while Laxus brought the unconscious Freed and Bickslow to the gathering point. As the guild members celebrated and compared results, they nearly uncovered Mest’s secret identity as a spy, but the conversation moved on.

• Laxus carried the unconscious Freed and Bickslow to the gathering point, where the other teams had gathered.
• Levy and Gajeel, and Juvia and Lisanna arrived after losing their matches, leaving five of the eight teams to pass.
• Mirajane explained that Evergreen had distracted her by claiming she would marry Elfman, prompting Laxus to offer Evergreen his blessing.
• Jiang Bai, Natsu, and Happy arrived, and Natsu and Gray bragged about passing their exams with Jiang Bai and Gildarts.
• Wendy said she and Mest had passed by choosing the passage marked pass, and the guild members wondered why they could not remember Mest.
• Mest feared that the others would expose his altered memories, while Jiang Bai and Makarov silently let him worry because they knew his true identity.

The second trial required the candidates to find Mavis Vermillion’s grave on Tenrou Island within six hours. As Lucy and Cana fled a monster and Natsu and Happy headed for a giant tree, Jiang Bai encountered the uninvited Zeref and revealed that he recognized him.

• Makarov announced that the second trial was to find Mavis Vermillion’s grave within six hours.
• Gildarts decided to leave for his unfinished 100-Year Quest, but Cana’s plea persuaded him to stay and support her.
• Lucy and Cana set out to find the grave together, then fled when a large island monster began chasing them.
• Natsu and Happy searched from the air and guessed that the grave might be near the island’s enormous tree.
• Jiang Bai sensed an outsider, found Zeref in a clearing, and told him to leave the island.
• Zeref turned in shock when Jiang Bai called him by name and asked how anyone in the country recognized him.

Jiang Bai survived Zeref's Ankhseram's Curse but refused his plea for death because killing him would also kill Natsu. After Jiang Bai told him someone else would grant his release, Zeref wondered whether that person would be his younger brother.

• Zeref warned Jiang Bai to flee before Ankhseram's Curse erupted and destroyed the surrounding vegetation.
• Jiang Bai remained unharmed because his Infinity prevented the Death Miasma from touching him.
• Zeref pleaded with Jiang Bai to kill him after seeing that he could withstand the curse.
• Jiang Bai refused because Natsu's life remained bound to Zeref through the Book of E.N.D.
• Jiang Bai told Zeref that someone else would end him, transported him to a remote part of the island, and vanished.
• Zeref thought of his younger brother Natsu and wondered whether he would be the one to end his life.

Grimoire Heart, led by Hades, approached Tenrou Island to awaken Zeref, while Ultear warned that Fairy Tail’s ace, Jiang Bai, could threaten their mission. Though Hades dismissed Jiang Bai, Ultear remained wary and focused on Zeref, Gray, and Jiang Bai.

• Ultear told Hades that Grimoire Heart had found Zeref, who still appeared to be asleep.
• Hades ordered the airship toward Tenrou Island and declared that he would awaken Zeref and usher in an age of great magic.
• Ultear warned the guild that Jiang Bai was an enemy they could not afford to ignore, and Meredy offered to deal with him.
• Zancrow, Zoldeo, and Bluenote voiced their confidence that they could eliminate anyone who stood in their way.
• Hades dismissed Jiang Bai as an inexperienced wizard, while Ultear privately remained wary and resolved to pursue her own aims concerning Zeref, Gray Fullbuster, and Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai warned Makarov that Grimoire Heart was approaching Tenrou Island, and Makarov suspended the S-Class Exam and called everyone to regroup. As Levy was attacked by Grimoire Heart’s monsters, Gajeel rescued her and told her not to leave his side again.

• Jiang Bai told Makarov that Grimoire Heart was coming, so Makarov ordered him to fire a signal flare and suspend the exam.
• The exam participants saw the emergency signal and headed for the main gathering point, while Cana continued toward the Tenrou Tree to seek Fairy Glitter and Lucy went to regroup.
• Gajeel’s careless remarks upset Levy, who struck him with her backpack and ran off alone.
• Grimoire Heart’s rooster-headed monster captured Levy, and a samurai beastman tried to kill her.
• Gajeel shielded Levy from the sword, defeated the monsters, and told her not to leave his side again.