Chapter Summaries

Ansu spent his remaining Devotion Points acquiring a legendary Quenched Redemption Holy Blade from the Alchemy Holy See’s abandoned warehouse, then tested it on the Esoteric Cultists imprisoned at his residence. After sacrificing them, he set out for the meeting, where Chaos Stairway was expected to take over his body.

• Ansu used his crimson robe and discarded Heaven Keys to persuade the Alchemy Priest to show him the Alchemy Holy See’s abandoned warehouse.
• The priest showed Ansu Morgan’s bizarre discarded inventions, including altered summoning arrays and a doll that attended Mass in its owner’s place.
• Ansu chose the warehouse’s most expensive item, the Quenched Redemption Holy Blade, and handed over his remaining 350 Devotion Points.
• Ansu tested the blade on the imprisoned Esoteric Cultists, whose pain and tears came from its ghost-pepper-based sacred-fire effect.
• Ansu sacrificed the Esoteric Cultists and prepared to leave for the meeting, knowing Chaos Stairway would take over his body that night.

Ansu encountered Elvera, disguised as a black cat, stealing study materials in the Saint District and learned she had become a notorious thief who also completed Saints’ homework. When Luojia arrived to help catch the cat, Ansu asked to join her Cat Catching Squad, eager for a chance to spar with Elvera.

• Ansu sensed a dangerous presence behind him, but Elvera, possessing a black cat, stole Saints’ exam study materials instead of attacking him.
• The Saints told Ansu that the cat had stolen books and notes repeatedly, and had once completed half the district’s holiday homework overnight.
• They explained that the Saints had formed a Cat Catching Squad and asked Luojia to help lure the cat spirit.
• Luojia arrived disheveled from bed and turned away when she recognized Ansu, embarrassed that he had seen her like that.
• Ansu decided the cat hunt could give him a chance to train against Elvera and asked Luojia to let him join the squad.

Ansu persuaded Luojia to let him lead the cat-catching mission, then used a tuft of the cat spirit’s fur and Order Return to track it. The spell struck Elvera, who fell from a tree while reading a stolen Radiant Scripture.

• Ansu reminded Luojia that she owed him two hundred gold coins and bargained for leadership of the cat-catching squad.
• Luojia sent the Sacred Knights away and went to change clothes, leaving Ansu without a team.
• Ansu searched the area with his Saint’s soul and found a tuft of black cat fur.
• Ansu and Luojia followed the fur with Order Return, while Ansu secretly infused it with ghost pepper extract.
• The enchanted fur struck Elvera as she read a stolen Radiant Scripture in a Wutong Tree, and she fell from the branch.

Ansu tracked Elvera to her hideout, where he lured the Chaos Saintess into following him by offering Luojia his study notes. The chapter ended with Elvera accepting Ansu’s invitation to his home while secretly planning to infiltrate it.

• Ansu and Luojia followed Elvera’s cat fur to a courtyard where her wutong tree hid stolen homework from the Saints.
• Elvera, trapped in a black cat’s body and suffering from Ansu’s magic, tried to flee but returned when he threatened another attack with his Quenched Kitchen Knife.
• Ansu dangled his exam review notes to tempt Elvera and offered Luojia a copy as repayment for the notebook of notes she had given him in Border City.
• Luojia remembered their parting in Border City, thanked Ansu for keeping her notebook, and said she would use his notes to record important things.
• Ansu finalized his plan to fill the exam’s bottom five places, then invited Elvera to his home, and she accepted while secretly plotting to infiltrate it.

Ansu and Luojia threatened to spay Elvera while she was trapped in her cat form, frightening the Chaos Saintess into staying close to Ansu. The group postponed the surgery, and Ansu named her Little Black before he and Luojia headed home.

• Ansu welcomed the cat-form Elvera into his family, then announced that she needed to be spayed.
• Luojia backed Ansu and described a surgery using a blade, while Elvera struggled to escape their grasp.
• Luojia accepted Ansu's Quenched Redemption Holy Blade and approached Elvera, but Ansu postponed the surgery because it was too dark.
• Elvera hid behind Ansu and decided to stay near him until she could steal a book of Radiant knowledge.
• Ansu named Elvera Little Black and told Luojia it was time to go home; when she mentioned her dorm supervisor, he said his house had one too.

Ansu brought Luojia home to collect his revision materials, while Enya grew jealous and suspicious of the books he planned to give her. Luojia opened the forbidden books and was left shocked by their contents, asking whether Merlin would really include such knowledge on the Promotion Exam.

• Ansu walked home with Luojia following him and Elvera, disguised as a kitten, watching her warily.
• At the estate entrance, Luojia greeted Enya and said Ansu had promised to show her study materials.
• Ansu agreed to give Luojia the materials, and Enya reluctantly retrieved and wrapped the forbidden books for her.
• Luojia opened the books and stared at their table of contents, blushing as she asked whether Merlin would put questions about that knowledge on the nationwide Promotion Exam.

Ansu accidentally gave Luojia a collection of banned Chaos publications instead of her study materials, while Elvera became absorbed in his Radiant notes. Before dawn, Ansu headed toward the Chaos Holy See in his guise as the Chaos Holy Son, as the Three Great Orders prepared to choose their Candidate Holy Sons.

• Luojia accepted the book Ansu gave her, believing she would examine its contents critically, and hurried home with it.
• Enya revealed that Luojia had taken a book of banned Chaos publications, while the actual Radiant study materials remained with Ansu.
• Ansu let Elvera stay in his home, and she became engrossed in his notes about evolution and the origins of Radiant religion.
• Ansu told Enya to watch Elvera, checked the Alchemical Shielding Formation, and left before dawn.
• Ansu headed toward the Chaos Holy See, planning to return as the Chaos Holy Son while the Three Great Orders selected their Candidate Holy Sons.

Ansu arrived at the Esoteric Cult’s stronghold disguised as Chaos Stairway and claimed he had successfully possessed Ansu Morningstar. After revealing his real appearance, he and his allies Liszt and Arthur took control of the leaderless cultists by revealing they had also completed their possession missions.

• The Esoteric Cultists prepared to transform into witches after their plan to possess Ansu failed, while the priests considered offering Miss Yoko and Miss Moon to their superiors.
• Ansu entered the stronghold as Chaos Stairway and claimed he had delayed his arrival to avenge Chaos Ladder and successfully possess Ansu.
• Ansu removed Merlin’s disguise, revealing his true appearance and convincing the cultists that he had taken Ansu Morningstar’s body.
• The priests recognized Ansu as the temporary leader because he had completed a possession mission.
• Liszt and Arthur revealed their original appearances and claimed they had possessed Arthur and Liszt, respectively, leaving the priests with no authority to punish or offer them.

Ansu took over as the Ladder Cult’s Acting Bishop and learned that a mysterious leader was orchestrating the coming Imperial Capital crisis. When a Life Priest urged him to open the borderlands to the heretical army, Ansu agreed outwardly while making clear that the Three Border Families were not to be sacrificed.

• With Elvera, Bishop Bram, and Bishop Rada absent, Ansu became the Ladder Cult’s Acting Bishop, while Arthur and Liszt took acting roles in their respective cults.
• A Chaos Priest told Ansu that the theocracy’s lords would eventually arrive in the Imperial Capital and that only the Saintess might know the identity of their hidden leader; Ansu suspected the elusive Ladder Bishop.
• Ansu ordered the transformed young cultists to attack Saints for Devotion Points and pass the written examination, with Arthur and Liszt leading two teams.
• A Life Priest told Ansu, Arthur, and Liszt to force the Sun, Moon, and Star Families to abandon the borderlands and open the checkpoints to the heretical army.
• Ansu recognized that the border families protected the Empire and his own home, but told the priest he would threaten the Morningstar Family and open the borderlands.

Ansu arrived at the Promotion Exam with Arthur and Liszt, while Luojia remained angry after discovering he had given her the wrong notes. Merlin, newly returned from Heaven, opened the exam with papers so difficult that the bishops feared almost no one would pass.

• Luojia avoided Ansu after he returned the correct notes and she admitted she had already read the first volume of a forbidden book.
• Priest Percy barred Elvera from the examination hall because she was a cat, then warned Ansu, Arthur, and Liszt to behave themselves under Merlin's supervision.
• Ansu entered the waiting hall with Arthur and Liszt, drawing attention as one of the youngest candidates while Cersei remained the most watched participant.
• Ansu mistook disguised heretic witches for good girls, and Luojia grew angry again when she saw him looking at them.
• Merlin revealed that he had written the exam papers and announced the Promotion Exam's first round, alarming the bishops with their extreme difficulty.

Ansu’s examination hall was thrown into chaos when Chaos Elevator and other heretics distracted the Saints, but Merlin ordered the exam to proceed. The written test began with questions so baffling that the other candidates panicked while Ansu rapidly filled in his paper.

• Priest Percy placed three Scales of Order on Ansu’s desk under Merlin’s orders, and Ansu complained about being singled out.
• Chaos Elevator revealed her plan to win the exam, then wore black stockings that distracted many Saints without triggering the Scales of Order.
• Merlin encouraged the heretics’ disruptions, and witches in other examination halls also distracted candidates with their bizarre antics.
• Merlin ordered the exam papers distributed despite the distractions, and the first question on the Radiant Holy See’s paper stumped the Saints.
• Ansu wrote through the test at great speed while the other candidates lost their composure.

Ansu, Arthur, and Liszt stunned the exam halls by answering Merlin’s bizarre Radiant exam at incredible speed, while the other Saints struggled with questions about Holy Light and refining stockings from crude oil. Merlin discovered that Ansu had written the paper under his name and chose to conceal his own absence from Heaven’s Watch by making the Magic Guild experts draw lots to take the blame.

• Ansu finished the essay questions quickly, while Arthur and Liszt caused even greater panic in their examination halls by answering just as fast.
• The Radiant examinees interpreted a question about Holy Light’s highest peak as a reference to black stockings and chose Holy Light Degeneration.
• The Saints struggled with a question about refining black stockings from crude oil, while Ansu answered with petroleum distillation and polymer production steps.
• Merlin learned that the exam questions used knowledge from another world and feared that no examinee would pass and become his internship workhorse.
• A Saint showed Merlin that the exam paper named him as its writer and explained that Merlin had revised it three days earlier.
• Merlin realized Ansu had written the questions while covering for him, decided to keep his own absence from Heaven’s Watch secret, and ordered the experts to draw lots for who would take the blame.

Ansu finished the exam early but stayed after Priest Percy gave him a Scale of Order. Elvera sneaked into the examination grounds as Luo Xiaohei, answered the exam questions faster than the Saints, and left the examinees in despair when the bell rang.

• Ansu asked to submit his paper early, then persuaded Priest Percy to give him one of the Scales of Order in exchange for waiting.
• Elvera appeared as Luo Xiaohei on a poplar branch, copied the exam questions, and began answering them while the Saints watched.
• Elvera paraded her completed paper past the examination halls, causing the Saints to give up and the examination order to collapse.
• Order Knights tried and failed to catch Elvera as she evaded them while continuing to write; the Saints on duty were busy arguing and fighting over who would take the blame.
• When the bell rang, Ansu collected the Scale of Order and left as Elvera handed in her paper with a paw print in the name field.
• Elvera told reporters about her achievement, and Ansu said she thought the questions were too easy and wanted another paper.

After the examination, Ansu drew attention by exposing the witches’ grievances against their absent leader, while Elvera secretly listened as Luo Xiaohei on his shoulder. The chapter left Elvera furious after Ansu named Imperial Princess Cersei Milton as the Chaos Saintess hiding in the Holy See.

• Ansu left the examination hall with the Scales of Order and let reporters believe Luo Xiaohei had gained a surveillance camera from the exam.
• Ansu met Chaos Elevator and the other witches, who praised him and complained about their missing leader, Elvera.
• Luo Xiaohei listened as the witches insulted Elvera, then scratched Chaos Elevator after she said Elvera lacked natural talent for chaos.
• Ansu told the gathered Saints that the Chaos Saintess was hiding in the Holy See but refused to identify her publicly.
• Chaos Elevator offered Ansu Alchemy Magic Crystals to learn the Saintess’s identity, and Ansu named Imperial Princess Cersei Milton as Elvera.

Ansu convinced the Chaos Followers that Elvera was secretly Cersei Milton, then invented a conspiracy in which Elvera planned to become Heaven's heir and seize Heaven. The cultists believed his hints and promised to keep the supposed plan secret, while Elvera watched in disbelief.

• Ansu claimed that Cersei Milton was the Chaos Saintess Elvera in disguise, and the Chaos Followers accepted his explanation.
• Elvera grew furious as the cultists called her a tsundere and speculated about her secret plans, while Ansu laughed at her predicament.
• When Chaos Escalator asked about Elvera's conspiracy, Ansu pretended to reveal a possibility and brought up the rumored agreement between the royal family and the Magic Guild.
• Chaos Elevator connected the agreement to Cersei becoming Merlin's Heaven's Heir, and the cultists concluded that Elvera intended to seize Heaven through her.
• Ansu denied knowing anything about the supposed plot, but the Chaos Followers interpreted his denial as confirmation and vowed to keep the secret.

Ansu turned the Chaos Followers against Elvera by framing her supposed Heaven-inheritance plan as a threat, then promised to handle the Theocracy’s demand concerning the border checkpoints. After returning home in the rain, he asked Enya to connect him to his father’s Magic Communication so he could finally address the border matter.

• Ansu denounced Elvera’s supposed plan to claim Heaven’s inheritance, and the Chaos Followers mistook his words for a factional challenge against her.
• The Chaos Followers pledged to help Ansu oppose Elvera and began discussing schemes to distract her from the examination.
• Chaos Elevator asked Ansu about the Theocracy’s demand that the Three Border Families open their checkpoints, and Ansu said he would handle it.
• Ansu walked home in the rain with Elvera on his head, met Enya under her umbrella, and continued to the examination hall.
• Ansu changed clothes and asked Enya to connect him to his father’s Magic Communication, but Enya warned that Count Carlo rarely answered unless Ansu was asking for money.

Ansu contacted Count Carlo to warn him that the Theocracy and the Esoteric Cult were maneuvering to open the borderlands, while Count Carlo first mistook Ansu’s message about Luo Xiaohei for news of a granddaughter. The chapter ended with Ansu hinting that he had a plan to deal with the Theocracy’s threat.

• Count Carlo rejected the Theocracy envoy’s offer of five thousand ounces of gold and ordered him thrown out, then answered Ansu’s Magic Communication.
• Ansu announced that the family had a new daughter named Luo Xiaohei, leading Count Carlo to imagine becoming a grandfather before Ansu clarified that she was a cat adopted with Luojia.
• Ansu asked Count Carlo to accept the Theocracy’s gold and explained that the Esoteric Cultists believed he had been possessed and had ordered him to make the family open the border gates.
• Count Carlo questioned whether the caller was really Ansu, and Ansu proved his identity by revealing that Luo Xiaohei was a cat, infuriating his father.
• Ansu said the Esoteric Cult envoy had tasked him with pressuring Count Carlo to open the gates, while Count Carlo offered to pay the envoy instead.
• Count Carlo warned that the Theocracy might attack the borderlands by force, and Ansu replied that he had an idea.

Ansu secured preliminary cooperation with Count Carlo and helped the Esoteric Cult advance its negotiations with the Morningstar Family. He then confronted Merlin, accusing him of having taken over the real Merlin Andre’s body.

• Ansu told Count Carlo that Liszt and Arthur had become girls after Merlin performed surgery, and swore he would place among the exam’s bottom five.
• Count Carlo ended their call, then prepared a banquet for the theocracy’s envoys and ordered the servants to put away their gifts.
• The Chaos Elevator told Ansu that the Morningstar Family had preliminarily agreed to the theocracy’s demands, leaving only the Sun and Moon families to negotiate with.
• Ansu left Elvera studying at home and went to the Magic Guild to find Merlin, who attacked him with Second Circuit Judgment Light.
• Ansu used a recording of Merlin and Bishop Rada to stop Merlin’s attack, then claimed that Merlin was an impostor who had taken over Merlin Andre’s body.

Ansu persuaded Merlin to impersonate the missing Ladder Bishop so they could expose the Chaos Bishop or use his authority against the Esoteric Cultists, while shifting blame for their misdeeds onto him. Cersei overheard Ansu's false claim that she had been possessed by the Chaos Saintess, leaving Ansu to awkwardly deny responsibility.

• Ansu accused Merlin of orchestrating a vast conspiracy against the Holy See, mixing real events with invented plans to seize power.
• Merlin realized Ansu wanted him to impersonate the missing Chaos Bishop, and Ansu explained how the plan could expose the bishop or help defeat the Esoteric Cultists.
• Merlin initially refused to take on another job, but agreed after Ansu suggested he could blame the Ladder Bishop for past and future scandals.
• Ansu admitted that he had fabricated the claim that Cersei was possessed by the Chaos Saintess, and Merlin revealed that Cersei had been listening from Heaven's Gate.
• Ansu tried to distance himself from Cersei by claiming he was actually an Esoteric Cultist named Chaos Stairway.

Ansu and Cersei competed to control their playful roles as rival Holy See and heresy agents, while Cersei pressed him about his campaign against the Esoteric Cultists. They agreed to make the Holy See examination decide who would command the other for a month, and Cersei revealed she had a secret plan for Ansu if she won.

• Ansu claimed to be the heretic agent Chaos Stairway, but Cersei countered that she was Chaos Ladder and his superior.
• Ansu and Cersei repeatedly switched between their heresy and Holy See identities, with Cersei insisting her rank gave her authority over him.
• Cersei asked about Ansu's progress against the Esoteric Cultists, and Ansu said he had killed about forty, then jokingly claimed he had killed several hundred million the previous night.
• Cersei told Ansu she wanted to meet the Esoteric Cultists, but he refused and recalled how she had secretly buried victims beneath Golden Trumpet Flowers as a child.
• Ansu and Cersei agreed that the Holy See examination would determine who led the other for a month.
• Cersei revealed she had devised a top-secret plan for Ansu that he would have to carry out if she won.