Chapter Summaries

Richard arranged for Baji to dispose of Gu Tas’s corpse, then investigated why his Antique Ring reacted to My Autobiography - Moratos. He found a strange symbol on the book’s final page that seemed connected to the White Stone Tower’s secret.

• Richard confirmed that Pandora had killed Gu Tas and considered how to dispose of his corpse.
• Richard summoned Baji and asked him to take Gu Tas’s body away; Baji and his companion carried it off in a carriage.
• Baji examined the corpse during the trip and became alarmed by its injuries and the marks on its mouth.
• Richard read My Autobiography - Moratos but found no obvious hidden content, despite the Antique Ring burning hot.
• Richard noticed a symbol on the final page resembling the Deathly Hallows sign and suspected it was a clue to the White Stone Tower’s secret.

On a rainy afternoon, Richard went to meet Great Scholar Su La Di and discovered that his granddaughter secretly kept many cats. The granddaughter tried to hide them from Richard, but a cat meowed from behind her as the chapter ended.

• Richard left Pandora at the laboratory and traveled by carriage to Great Scholar Su La Di's residence.
• Su La Di's granddaughter welcomed Richard and asked him to wait while her grandfather spoke with another visitor.
• Richard heard meows and the girl's surprised cry from a nearby room, then went to investigate.
• Richard saw the girl among many cats and realized she was keeping them as pets.
• The girl tried to block Richard's view of the cats, but one of them meowed loudly.

Richard reassured Hai Di that he would not harm her cats, then agreed to watch them while she made tea for her grandfather. When a hostile tabby attacked, Richard immobilized it by clipping its scruff, prompting the other cats to charge him.

• Hai Di explained that the cats were gentle pets and asked Richard not to make her kill them.
• Richard introduced himself, assured Hai Di that he had no prejudice against cats, and agreed to watch them while she made tea.
• After Hai Di left, the cats watched Richard warily, and the tabby suddenly lunged at him.
• Richard caught the tabby by its scruff, clipped it with a metal clip, and released it immobilized on the floor.
• The other cats rushed at Richard as though trying to rescue the tabby.

Richard visited Scholar Su La Di for an afternoon appointment after incapacitating the attacking cats with clips. He discussed a stone brought by Wei Fu, then faced Hai Di’s anger, apparently because of what he had done to the cats.

• Richard clipped the attacking cats until they lay motionless across the floor.
• Richard overheard Wei Fu and Scholar Su La Di arguing, then introduced himself to Su La Di and followed him into the study.
• Su La Di explained that his former student Wei Fu had tried to sell him cave stones, and Richard identified the stone as unsuitable calcite.
• Su La Di’s granddaughter Hai Di brought tea and angrily slammed Richard’s cup down, apparently upset about the cats.

Richard asked Scholar Su La Di to identify a strange symbol in My Autobiography - Moratos, and Su La Di traced it to the Black Spirit Empire. The chapter left Richard with a new lead: finding other items marked with the empire’s symbol and numbered copies.

• Hai Di left after her grandfather told her to be more polite to Richard.
• Richard showed Scholar Su La Di the black triangle, circle, and vertical line symbol in My Autobiography - Moratos.
• Su La Di found the same symbol in another book and identified it as a symbol of the Black Spirit Empire.
• Su La Di told Richard that the Black Spirit Empire had been ruled by a Black Spirit King who suddenly died, after which the empire descended into chaos and war.
• Su La Di spotted a small number 9 on Richard’s book and advised him to seek other numbered items bearing the Black Spirit Empire symbol.

Richard cleared up Hai Di’s belief that he had killed her cats and received an invitation from Scholar Su La Di to a grand auction in White Stone City. He left by carriage as Hai Di returned home with several cats still hiding in her clothes.

• Richard left Scholar Su La Di’s study, and Hai Di accused him of killing her cats while she had been making tea.
• Richard showed Hai Di that the cats were alive by removing the clamps he had placed on their necks, then explained why the clamps had calmed them.
• Hai Di apologized to Richard, but her cats crowded around her and kept her from seeing him out.
• Hai Di caught up with Richard in the rain and gave him an invitation to an upcoming auction in White Stone City on her grandfather’s behalf.
• Hai Di accidentally pulled two kittens from her clothes before finding the invitation, then discovered a third kitten hiding there after Richard’s carriage departed.

Richard tested the magic patterns he had engraved on five White Jade Shards, investigating how energy input and pattern structure affected their operation. The fifth shard absorbed a vast amount of energy before vibrating violently, leaving Richard facing an unexpected reaction.

• Richard inspected and passaged suitable cell cultures while destroying contaminated and failed samples.
• Richard engraved delicate magic patterns on five White Jade Shards and prepared to test how they worked.
• Richard activated the first shard, which produced a flame for about twelve seconds before cracking.
• Richard found that doubling the energy output made the second shard produce a larger flame but break in just over five seconds.
• Richard altered the third and fourth patterns, causing the shards to fail without producing a flame or to crack immediately.
• Richard engraved a second spell on the fifth shard; after absorbing a huge amount of energy without responding, it began to vibrate and strain against his palm.

Richard’s experiment with the White Jade Shard caused an explosion that wrecked part of his laboratory and collapsed Pandora’s bed. He decided to attend the upcoming auction to find magic-pattern spell items for his research, against the backdrop of how Wizards on the East Coast studied different spell disciplines.

• Richard’s Wind Brute Force shattered the White Jade Shard, and the resulting fireball exploded, shaking the Main Laboratory and collapsing Pandora’s bed.
• Richard promised Pandora a better bed, and she went back to sleep contentedly.
• Richard reconsidered the auction invitation and decided to attend so he could acquire relics and magic-pattern spell items to study.
• Richard explained that most East Coast Wizards focused on Evocation Spells, while other disciplines were less popular, more difficult, or poorly preserved.

Richard decided to attend an auction to obtain magic rune items for reverse-engineering, then completed his notes on the White Jade Shard experiments. Meanwhile, Somen and Mu Keni met in the Golden Boot Tavern as darkness surged through White Stone City, and the night’s rain intensified.

• Richard decided to attend the auction so he could acquire magic rune items and analyze their runes.
• Richard cleaned his laboratory and recorded the methods, results, and deductions from his White Jade Shard tests.
• Richard opened the window and rested as rain fell over White Stone City.
• The tavern owner performed his familiar golden-boot story for the customers at the Golden Boot Tavern.
• Somen asked Mu Keni why she wanted to become a woman while keeping a male voice, and Mu Keni told him he did not understand.
• The rain intensified outside as darkness convulsed through the night.

Somen and Mu Keni discussed their mission to stop Molotov Flower from spreading through the White Stone Tower, then tracked the target to a cellar beneath a tavern. Mu Keni woke the guard and used mental control spells on him as Somen stood by.

• Mu Keni explained that she had shaped her appearance by combining a woman's body with her original male voice, while Somen redirected their conversation to the mission.
• Somen told Mu Keni that the mission was to kill a pharmacist and destroy the Hallucinogenic Potion, which he identified as Molotov Flower.
• Somen said the target was in the cellar beneath the tavern, and he and Mu Keni entered through a concealed passage in the back kitchen.
• Somen and Mu Keni found a strong man guarding a heavy wooden door, and Mu Keni woke him and asked whether she was pretty.
• Mu Keni used Bernie's Gentle Warning and Bernie's Stern Rebuke mental control spells as the guard became increasingly frightened.

Somen and Mu Keni raided a cellar where a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice was producing Molotov Flower potions and learned that more had been sent to a city auction. They destroyed the tavern and went their separate ways, planning to meet again at the auction.

• Mu Keni used Mental Control Spells to interrogate the strong man, and Somen killed him before they entered the cellar.
• Mu Keni subdued the old potion-maker and forced him to reveal that he alone knew the formula and that Maxi Well sold the potions.
• Somen and Mu Keni learned that a batch of potions had been sent to an upcoming auction, so they planned to retrieve and destroy it.
• Mu Keni took some of the Molotov Flower potions while Somen set a Forbidden Flame to destroy the Golden Boot Tavern.
• The tavern exploded, and Somen and Mu Keni parted ways, agreeing to meet again for the auction.

At a secret auction in White Stone City, Richard watched a princess be sold and then witnessed the potion Heaven tested on a condemned thief. The potion appeared to make its drinker feel pleasure even as he was strangled, leaving Richard to question how Great Scholar Su La Di had secured his invitation.

• An auctioneer sold a bound princess to a greasy noble for 100 Low-grade Crystal Coins, and Strong Men carried her away.
• The auctioneer introduced Heaven, a potion that supposedly caused pleasure without any tangible benefit, and had a bound thief named Ma Luosi drink it.
• Ma Luosi smiled and did not resist as a Strong Man strangled him, then died onstage while the audience watched.
• Richard noted the auction's disregard for human life and wondered how Great Scholar Su La Di had obtained an invitation for him.

Richard watched the auction of sixty bottles of Paradise Potion, which sparked a fierce bidding contest between Guest No. 111 and a Black-Robed Man. Guest No. 111 won for 2,100 Low-grade Crystal Coins, and the auction moved on to books from the former Black Spirit Empire.

• The auctioneer offered sixty bottles of Paradise Potion for a starting bid of 600 Low-grade Crystal Coins, and cautious bidders slowly raised the price to 700.
• A confident young man, Guest No. 111, bid 800 Low-grade Crystal Coins, but a Black-Robed Man quickly countered with 1,000.
• Guest No. 111 and the Black-Robed Man repeatedly raised their bids as the price climbed to 2,000 Low-grade Crystal Coins.
• Guest No. 111 bid 2,100 Low-grade Crystal Coins, and his black-robed rival stopped bidding after consulting a companion.
• The auctioneer awarded the Paradise Potion to Guest No. 111 and introduced seven cultural relic books from the former Black Spirit Empire.

Richard attended the auction, where a confident young man outbid the Black-Robed Man for several lots, including the antiquarian books and the Paradise Potion. After the auction, Somen and Mu Keni confronted the young man, intending to destroy the potion and learn how he recognized the value of prohibited items.

• Richard outbid other bidders for the seven antiquarian books until the young man raised the price to 200 Low-grade Crystal Coins and eventually won them for 1,000.
• The young man repeatedly won auction lots at high prices, while Richard bought several small magic-pattern spell tools and noticed the Black-Robed Man and his companion watching the young man.
• After the auction ended, Richard saw the young man carrying his winnings along a secluded street but did not approach him.
• Somen and Mu Keni appeared before the young man and said they wanted to take and destroy the Paradise Potion while questioning how he knew the value of prohibited items.

Richard killed the badly injured young man who had tried to trick him and took several items, including the seven Black Spirit Empire antiquarian books he wanted. Somen and Mu Keni later found the corpse, and Somen noticed something amiss while inspecting the suitcase.

• The young man attacked Somen and Mu Keni with blood-red flames, but Somen suppressed the flames before the young man used a glowing gemstone ring.
• Richard encountered the injured young man, who tried to lure him close and bite his neck, but Richard restrained him.
• Richard identified the seven Black Spirit Empire antiquarian books in the suitcase as his target, killed the young man, removed several items, concealed his traces, and left.
• Somen and Mu Keni found the young man's corpse and argued over who was to blame for his death and the failed interrogation.
• Somen inspected the suitcase and looked sharply around the area after noticing something wrong.

Somen and Mu Keni discovered that confidential books from the Black Spirit Empire were missing and went to investigate their disappearance at the Auction House. Richard, who had overheard them while hiding, returned to the laboratory and examined the magical artifacts he had bought.

• Somen found all sixty Hallucinogenic Potion tubes in the suitcase but discovered that the books passed down from the Black Spirit Empire were missing.
• Somen explained that the books might contain secrets left by the Black Spirit King and ordered Mu Keni to help investigate their disappearance at the Auction House.
• Somen destroyed the corpse and removed the suitcase and potions before leaving with Mu Keni.
• Richard emerged from hiding, inspected the spotless street, and considered what he had learned about Somen and Mu Keni's cleanup methods.
• Richard returned to the laboratory, checked the culture dishes, and took out three magic-pattern spell artifacts from his Space Iron Ring.

Richard studied the spell devices and tested the auctioned Paradise potion, discovering that it was a powerful drug. He reasoned that the people who destroyed it belonged to an organization that opposed drugs, but he could not identify the group.

• Richard transcribed the magical patterns on three rune-engraved spell devices and put them away for later research.
• Richard tested a sample of the Paradise potion and found that it caused mild hallucinations, eased pain, and produced euphoria.
• Richard concluded that the potion was a drug and wondered why the man and woman had destroyed it as soon as it appeared.
• Richard reasoned that the unknown organization understood the dangers of drugs and had a motive to prohibit them.
• Richard ruled out the White Stone Tower Wizard Association and the Frank Kingdom as likely identities for the organization.

Richard pieced together clues about a powerful outside organization, the Black Spirit King's secret, and the possibility that Somen was the Mysterious Wizard who killed Gregory. He left the mystery unresolved but found his mind clear again after Pandora tried to comfort him.

• Richard inferred that a powerful outside organization had reached White Stone City and might be targeting the White Stone Tower Wizard Association.
• Richard connected the organization's interest in the Black Spirit King's secret to the secret of the White Stone Tower and raised deciphering it to high priority.
• Richard wondered whether Somen, who claimed to have died after slaying a dragon, was the Mysterious Wizard who had killed Gregory.
• Richard considered telling Pandora that Somen might be Gregory's murderer, but woke her only to send her back to sleep.
• Pandora noticed Richard was troubled, rubbed and patted his head to comfort him, then returned to bed as Richard's mind cleared.

Somen and Mu Keni broke into an elderly man's home, stole his research scrolls, destroyed his machine, and killed him before burning the courtyard. Two dark figures arrived afterward, extinguished the fire, and left.

• Somen and Mu Keni confirmed the elderly man was their target and knocked at his courtyard gate.
• The elderly man found Somen and Mu Keni in his study, where they ignored him and examined his belongings.
• Somen took the elderly man's research scrolls, and Mu Keni destroyed his mechanical creation.
• Somen killed the elderly man with a tap to his brow, then set the courtyard ablaze as he and Mu Keni departed.
• Two dark figures arrived at the burning courtyard, extinguished the flames with an ice core, and left.

Katelin challenged the council’s Seclusion Rules after a traitor nearly exposed her, and the members began the trial of Keli, who denied betraying them. The hearing was interrupted when an elderly man in a black robe arrived carrying a black cat.

• The council members reported their recent losses and recruits during a secret meeting underground.
• Katelin argued that the council’s secrecy and patience were leading it toward ruin, while the first speaker defended the rules.
• The first speaker revealed Keli bound in the chamber and opened his mouth so he could defend himself at trial.
• Keli denied leaking the council’s secrets and threatened the members with his teacher’s retaliation.
• An elderly man in a black robe entered the chamber carrying a black cat and ordered Keli to shut up.