Chapter Summaries

Lu Mingfei faced a deadly attack while Nero offered him a chance to join Cassell College and leave his old life behind. He accepted, asking for time to say goodbye, as Nero prepared to fight the monsters surrounding him.

• Lu Mingfei hesitated to accept Nero's offer because joining Cassell College would mean leaving behind his ordinary life and his feelings for Chen Wenwen.
• Lu Mingfei discovered that the letter was an admission notice from Cassell College, not a rejection from the University of Chicago.
• Nero reached Lu Mingfei's residential complex and watched him struggle to decide while monsters surrounded the crashed elevator.
• Lu Mingfei accepted the offer but asked whether he could say goodbye first, and Nero told him he could.
• Nero unleashed her blade against the monsters in the underground parking garage.

Nero rescued Lu Mingfei from the elevator and explained that the scaled attackers were not human, while academy staff were on their way. As they tried to leave the garage, Jörmungandr attacked, and Nero struck her with her blade.

• Nero cut open the elevator and found Lu Mingfei amid the bloodied bodies of scaled creatures.
• Nero told Lu Mingfei she would have saved him regardless, but that his priorities had to suit joining Cassell.
• Nero and Lu Mingfei heard sinister chanting and headed for the garage exit.
• Jörmungandr attacked Nero with a storm of metal shards, and Nero pushed Lu Mingfei behind her.
• Nero swung her blade and blood spread across Jörmungandr's black-clad figure.

Nero used Yamato against Jörmungandr, who believed Nero’s Word of Power could not kill a Dragon King. Nero then combined Judgment with Time Zero to grievously wound her, forcing Jörmungandr to flee underground.

• Nero struck Jörmungandr with a dimensional slash, but Jörmungandr healed and concluded that Judgment could not kill a Dragon King.
• Jörmungandr turned the metal in her domain into a molten incendiary bomb and hurled it toward Nero and Lu Mingfei.
• Nero cut a Fine Thread and used Time Zero to move through a gap between moments, then struck Jörmungandr with Judgment.
• Jörmungandr’s domain collapsed, and she recognized Nero had used two high-risk Words of Power at once.
• Jörmungandr broke through the foundation and escaped into a cavern.

Nero told Lu Mingfei that his Dragon bloodline had awakened and that he would likely join Cassell College after surviving an attack by a dragon. She also revealed that Chen Wenwen knew he liked her, leaving him to wonder what she had thought of him.

• Nero explained that Lu Mingfei’s Spirit Vision meant his bloodline had awakened and that he might soon develop a Word of Power.
• Lu Mingfei realized he probably could not leave Cassell College and asked Nero about dragons and the attacker.
• Nero said Lu Mingfei’s interview should pass and asked how he planned to say goodbye to Chen Wenwen.
• Nero explained that people in Chen Wenwen’s wider social circle knew Lu Mingfei liked her and had kept that information from him.
• Lu Mingfei imagined Chen Wenwen hearing others mock him and wondered what she had thought when she faced him.

After Nero urged Lu Mingfei to stop tormenting himself over Chen Wenwen, the academy’s Aftermath Team arrived to cover up the dragon attack and reprimand Nero. Lu Mingfei’s call to Professor Guderian established his connection to Cassell College, and he ended the night with his application approved for an upcoming interview and an unread message from Old Tang.

• Nero told Lu Mingfei that Chen Wenwen’s kindness did not mean she returned his feelings, and he said giving up was not the same as letting go.
• The academy’s Aftermath Team sealed off the scene, reported Nero’s unauthorized use of a Word of Power, and ordered her to submit an action report and self-criticism.
• Nero had Lu Mingfei call Professor Guderian, who learned that Lu Mingfei had been caught in a dragon attack and arranged to monitor him instead of subjecting him to Psychological Suggestion.
• The academy covered up the attack as a gas leak and explosion, while Lu Mingfei’s uncle and aunt learned that his application had passed and he would interview in two days.
• Lu Mingfei’s uncle took the phone that came with the academy’s letter, and Lu Mingfei later ignored Old Tang’s message asking to play StarCraft again.

Lu Mingfei chatted with Old Tang about his upcoming move to America, then connected with Nero, who recruited him to write her self-criticism report. Nero identified Old Tang as the not-yet-awakened Norton and reflected that his fate would lead to his death.

• Lu Mingfei replied to Old Tang and asked about American universities, then agreed to meet him in America after he arrived.
• Lu Mingfei realized he no longer needed to wait for messages from Chen Wenwen and tried to laugh at his past feelings.
• Nero contacted Lu Mingfei and ordered him to help write her self-criticism report, sending him the student handbook for reference.
• Nero infiltrated the StarCraft group and identified Old Tang as Norton, the not-yet-awakened King of Bronze and Fire.
• Nero concluded that Norton would awaken after Constantine died and drew an X over Old Tang's panda avatar.

After the battle with Xia Mi, Nero returned to school and prepared an incident report while Lu Mingfei submitted a self-criticism. At Cassell College’s interview, Lu Mingfei arrived confident that he would be accepted, and the interviews began with his classmates.

• Nero returned to school the day after the incident, elbowed Xia Mi when she approached, and escaped her teasing by the end of the day.
• Lu Mingfei sent Nero a self-criticism report, while Nero handled the incident report explaining the enemy’s strength and her use of a Word of Power.
• Lu Mingfei arrived at Cassell College’s interview at the Regent Hotel and surprised his classmates Chen Wenwen, Liu Miaomiao, Su Xiaoqiang, and Zhao Menghua.
• Ye Sheng called Liu Miaomiao into the conference room for her interview, and she later came out with red-rimmed eyes.
• Ye Sheng called Su Xiaoqiang next, while Lu Mingfei reassured Chen Wenwen as she worried about her upcoming interview.

Lu Mingfei confessed his feelings to Chen Wenwen while they waited for their Dragon Slaying Academy interviews, and she gently rejected him. After Chen Wenwen left her interview and encouraged him with a thumbs-up, Lu Mingfei entered the conference room.

• Lu Mingfei and Chen Wenwen talked while Su Xiaoqiang left her interview furious and Zhao Menghua went in next.
• Lu Mingfei admitted that he liked Chen Wenwen, and she said she had known but apologized for not returning his feelings.
• Lu Mingfei accepted Chen Wenwen's rejection and said they could remain classmates and friends.
• Chen Wenwen went into her interview, then gave Lu Mingfei a thumbs-up as they passed each other afterward.
• Lu Mingfei entered the conference room, where Jiude Ya Ji stood up to greet him.

Nero realized Jörmungandr might have caused the earthquake that would expose Norton’s hidden city, but she could not see how to prevent the coming deaths. Meanwhile, Lu Mingfei formally joined Cassell College as an S-rank student and prepared to keep up appearances by repeating the admissions process.

• Nero reviewed what she knew about Norton’s hidden city, the College’s future expedition, and the danger facing Ye Sheng and Jiude Ya Ji.
• Nero connected Jörmungandr’s earthquake powers to the event that would reveal the city and considered whether the earthquake had been deliberately caused.
• Ye Sheng and Jiude Ya Ji offered Lu Mingfei admission to Cassell College, and Lu Mingfei agreed to the formal inquiry.
• Nóma verified Lu Mingfei’s identity, assigned him student number A.D.0013 and S rank, and activated his College account.
• Lu Mingfei learned he would return the next day with his guardian to complete paperwork, then asked to repeat the admissions process so his story would match everyone else’s.

Lu Mingfei attended a family meal with Cassell College representatives after passing his interview, while Ye Sheng introduced the school to his guardians. Nero arrived to submit her internship report, and Lu Mingfei learned she was under seventeen and expected to become his classmate.

• Lu Mingfei told his uncle and aunt that he had passed the interview, and the family gathered for a meal with Professor Guderian, Ye Sheng, and Jiude Ya Ji.
• Guderian welcomed Lu Mingfei and assured him that Cassell College taught in Mandarin.
• Ye Sheng introduced Cassell College while Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze paid more attention to the food than the presentation.
• Nero arrived in a formal dress and handed Ye Sheng her internship report, which she had to submit after violating the School Rules.
• Guderian and Jiude Ya Ji told the family that Nero was under seventeen and expected to graduate from preparatory studies that year, and Lu Mingfei noticed another empty seat at the table.

At a banquet welcoming Lu Mingfei to Cassell College, a letter from his parents moved him, while Nero slipped away after learning about his family. Lu Mingfei followed her, but the black-clad boy from his Spirit Vision appeared again, leaving him fearing that someone nearby was using a Word of Power.

• Professor Guderian told Lu Mingfei's uncle that a scholarship would cover Lu Mingfei's tuition and gave Lu Mingfei a letter from his parents.
• Lu Mingfei was moved when Guderian relayed his parents' message, while Nero left the banquet without explaining why.
• Ye Sheng quietly told Jiude Ya Ji that Nero's adoptive parents had died, and Lu Mingfei overheard them before following Nero.
• The black-clad boy appeared beside Lu Mingfei in Spirit Vision, and Lu Mingfei realized someone might be releasing a Word of Power.

Lu Mingfei spoke with a mysterious boy in a world of consciousness, who argued that power governed love and revealed that he was Lu Mingze, Lu Mingfei's younger brother. After waking, Lu Mingfei found himself nearly entering the women's restroom and got caught by a red-haired girl, who recognized him.

• The boy told Lu Mingfei that he had awakened and argued that power gave people the privilege to make others sad and to dominate what they loved.
• Lu Mingfei asked why Chen Wenwen had rejected his confession, and the boy claimed it was because Lu Mingfei lacked power.
• The boy identified himself as Lu Mingze, Lu Mingfei's younger brother, before Lu Mingfei woke up at the women's restroom entrance.
• Lu Mingfei tried to explain that he was waiting for someone, and Nero teased him instead of helping.
• The dark red-haired girl stopped teasing Lu Mingfei and asked if he was Lu Mingfei.

Nero learned that the Kuimen Project remained dangerously flawed, while Lu Mingfei’s anxious concern for her left him distracted at dinner. After his uncle signed the enrollment documents, Lu Mingfei pressed his fingerprint and officially became a Preparatory Student of Cassell College.

• Nero read a school board member’s response and concluded that the Kuimen Project’s operatives would still face deadly dangers without her direct intervention.
• Lu Mingfei rushed to check whether Nero was all right, then grew nervous when she mentioned religious scriptures.
• Lu Mingfei, Nero, and Nono returned to dinner, where Guderian noticed Lu Mingfei seemed unhappy and Nono joked that he had been dumped.
• Lu Mingfei blamed his mood on people calling him Rice Bucket and worrying about the college food.
• Lu Mingfei pressed his fingerprint onto the documents and officially became a Preparatory Student of Cassell College.

As May arrived, Lu Mingfei still had not apologized to Nero and joined the Literary Club's plans for a graduation party. After walking with Chen Wenwen, he learned that Zhao Menghua planned to humiliate him at the party as an example to others before confessing to her.

• Lu Mingfei failed to message Nero, while the Literary Club agreed to hold a graduation party and assigned him the errands.
• Chen Wenwen accompanied Lu Mingfei to the cinema, then asked which university he planned to attend.
• Chen Wenwen guessed that Lu Mingfei had passed the Cassell interview, and he awkwardly confirmed her intuition.
• Chen Wenwen told Lu Mingfei to pretend to be sick and skip the graduation party because Zhao Menghua planned to make a fool of him during his speech.
• Chen Wenwen explained that Zhao Menghua meant to use Lu Mingfei as an example to other people who liked her before confessing to her.

Lu Mingfei learned that Chen Wenwen planned to accept Zhao Menghua’s confession and that Su Xiaoqiang did not know about it. Seeking a way to protect himself from Zhao Menghua, Lu Mingfei asked Nero how to awaken his Word of Power, but learned it had not appeared yet.

• Chen Wenwen told Lu Mingfei she would probably accept Zhao Menghua and suggested he confess to Su Xiaoqiang instead.
• Lu Mingfei realized Su Xiaoqiang did not know Zhao Menghua planned to confess, but decided he probably would not tell her.
• Lu Mingfei returned home and apologized to Nero for their previous disagreement, and she accepted his apology.
• Lu Mingfei asked Nero how to tell whether his Word of Power had awakened, and she explained that Spirit Vision would reveal a passage of Dragon Language.
• Lu Mingfei told Nero he had not experienced that awakening, and she suggested waiting until he entered the academy.

Nero advised Lu Mingfei on how to handle the Graduation Party, offering to use the college’s money to prevent trouble during his speech. Lu Mingfei decided to skip the event, and Nero ended by encouraging him to accept his choices, though she confirmed the Head of the News Department could access Nóma’s database.

• Nero recalled Lu Mingfei’s earlier self-criticism and warned him about the School Rules and using a Word of Power.
• Lu Mingfei explained that the Graduation Party might go badly because Nono had returned to the college and would not help him there.
• Nero offered to spend the college’s money to ensure nothing unexpected happened during Lu Mingfei’s five-minute speech.
• Lu Mingfei said he would pretend to be sick and skip the party, despite feeling he would regret either choice.
• Nero reassured Lu Mingfei that he should stand by his decision, then confirmed that the Head of the News Department could access Nóma’s database.

Lu Mingfei realized Zhao Menghua had arranged the Graduation Party speech to humiliate him and force him into Zhao's confession to Chen Wenwen. With no way out alone, he called Nero for help, and she suggested using his aura to overwhelm the room.

• Zhao Menghua cornered Lu Mingfei by insisting he attend the Graduation Party, deliver a speech, and wear a suit.
• Lu Mingfei bribed the cinema projectionist and discovered Zhao Menghua's Slideshow would place him in the middle of a message confessing love to Chen Wenwen.
• Lu Mingfei decided he needed a respectable reason to leave the Screening Room during his five-minute speech and called Nero for advice.
• Nero told Lu Mingfei to use his aura to suppress the others, while warning that owing her a favor would cost more than owing her money.

Nero arrived to help Lu Mingfei avoid being made a clown at the Literary Club’s final gathering. After changing into the suit she brought, Lu Mingfei entered the screening room, while Nero planned to intervene when he was about to give his speech.

• Lu Mingfei asked Nero how much money he might need, and she said she would come to the Wanda Cinema where he was waiting.
• Zhao Menghua met Lu Mingfei in the restroom and told him not to stutter during his speech, while Lu Mingfei resolved not to play along with Zhao’s plan to embarrass him.
• Nero arrived at the restroom entrance, gave Lu Mingfei a better-fitting suit, and said she would rush in when he was about to give his speech.
• Lu Mingfei changed suits, packed Zhao Menghua’s suit into the bag, and walked into the screening room.

Lu Mingfei prepared to give a speech at the Literary Club’s screening, fearing Nero had failed to help him. Instead, the projector showed Cassell College’s principal congratulating him on his admission and announcing a $36,000 annual scholarship, leaving the audience stunned.

• Lu Mingfei handed Zhao Menghua the suit and prepared to give his speech while waiting for Nero to arrive.
• Lu Mingfei walked to the front of the Screening Room as the audience watched in silence, and the projector started before he could begin.
• The slideshow showed a video of Cassell College’s principal addressing Lu Mingfei and congratulating him on choosing the college.
• The principal announced Lu Mingfei’s admission and a $36,000 annual scholarship approved by Professor Guderian.
• Lu Mingfei turned toward the stunned audience as the Screening Room door finally opened.

Nero used a congratulatory video from the Principal to extract Lu Mingfei from Zhao Menghua’s Graduation Party without revealing her role in the escape. Lu Mingfei left after settling the ticket costs, while Zhao Menghua began his speech and Lu Mingfei shut out the voices in his hallucination.

• Nero entered the Screening Room after the film and announced that the Principal had approved Lu Mingfei’s early scholarship payment.
• Lu Mingfei handed Zhao Menghua the prepared speech and offered to refund everyone’s movie tickets before leaving with Nero.
• Su Xiaoqiang asked whether Lu Mingfei had really gotten into Cassell College and refused to let him treat her to a meal.
• Lu Mingfei warned Su Xiaoqiang that Zhao Menghua was about to give a speech, then left the party with Nero.
• Zhao Menghua began his slideshow speech as Lu Mingfei closed the door and shut out the voices he imagined hearing.