Recaps

Dean Loren learned that Lanchi had lost a friendship match to Adams, with the wager forcing Loren to apologize to Juliana and go on a date with her. Adams was carried away in critical condition, leaving Loren to realize he had no choice but to accept the date.

• Loren asked Lanchi about his match with Adams, and Lanchi said he had lost inside the Shadow World.
• Hughberlian explained that Lanchi had wagered a date between Loren and Juliana, which would happen if Loren apologized and earned her forgiveness.
• A medical team carried a frost-covered, badly injured Adams out of the Learning and Education Building.
• Adams saw that Lanchi was unharmed and, misunderstanding the situation, concluded that Lanchi had done something to him before passing out.
• Lanchi encouraged Loren to go on his date with Juliana, and Loren accepted his fate with a miserable smile.

Phoenix revealed himself to Loren as a Resurrection Cultist and handed over intelligence about a plot against the Hutton Kingdom, while Lanchi encouraged Loren to work with Juliana. Lanchi then planned to make a Transformation Card for the Poet of Great Love.

• Loren worried about facing Juliana and pleaded with Lanchi to ensure the visiting students returned safely.
• Phoenix confessed to being an elite operative under Destruction Bishop Ivanos and described a plan to kill Hughberlian and provoke conflict between the Hutton Kingdom and the Yarolan Kingdom.
• Phoenix gave Loren his confession and intelligence, asking him to protect his innocent younger sister Filis from retaliation.
• Lanchi advised Loren to share the intelligence with a trusted major figure in the Yarolan Kingdom, prompting Loren to leave with Phoenix.
• Lanchi told Hughberlian he planned to take leave, buy card-making materials, and make a Transformation Card for the Poet of Great Love.
• Hughberlian lent Lanchi Transformation Art: Human so he could study it.

Lanchi began making new skins for the Poet of Great Love, while Cat Boss watched suspiciously from outside the workshop. The chapter left Lanchi and the Poet of Great Love planning a Dragon Demon skin with red hair.

• The Poet of Great Love urged Lanchi to make her Magic Cards, and he said he had prepared the materials after experimenting the night before.
• Cat Boss woke on Lanchi's sofa, met the Poet of Great Love, and was astonished to learn she was Lanchi's Lifebound Card.
• Lanchi and the Poet of Great Love went into the Card Making Workshop, while Cat Boss peeked through the partly open door to investigate them.
• Lanchi asked the Poet of Great Love what demon she wanted to resemble, and she chose a Dragon Demon with red hair.
• Lanchi sketched the new skin as the Poet of Great Love reviewed the design and suggested revisions.

Lanqi and the Poet of Great Love made transformation Spell Cards in the Card Making Workshop, successfully creating one that changed her into a Dragon Demon. After several failed attempts, they also completed a Human transformation card, and continued their work in the workshop.

• Lanqi and the Poet of Great Love collaborated to make a Dragon Demon transformation card, with Cat Boss watching in surprise.
• The Poet of Great Love used the card and transformed into a red-haired Dragon Demon with imposing armor and an aura.
• Cat Boss questioned Lanqi about his lack of attraction to the transformed Poet of Great Love, and Lanqi calmly denied feeling any.
• Lanqi and the Poet of Great Love began making a Human transformation card and continued working together in the Dragon Demon form.
• After several cards exploded during production, Lanqi and the Poet of Great Love successfully completed the Human transformation card that afternoon.

Lanchi finished a Magic Card that gave the Poet of Great Love a human form, but Talia arrived and became furious when she saw the beautiful woman in his home. The Poet of Great Love then appeared to provoke Talia while possibly helping Lanchi defuse the confrontation.

• Lanchi let the Poet of Great Love use his Mana to activate the newly made Magic Card.
• Cat Boss alerted Lanchi that someone had been knocking, and he opened the door to Hughberlian and Talia.
• Hughberlian and Talia saw the Poet of Great Love in human form, resembling Lanchi, and Talia pinned Lanchi against a wall in anger.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian explained that the disguise would help conceal the Poet of Great Love on their journey to the Northern Continent.
• The Poet of Great Love told Lanchi that he seemed to find Talia more beautiful, leaving Hughberlian unsure whether she was provoking Talia or helping Lanchi.

Talia softened toward Lanchi after the Poet of Great Love convinced her that he had no designs on her. After Talia left, Lanchi kept making teasing remarks about her, and Hughberlian warned him that his behavior might get him into trouble.

• The Poet of Great Love dismissed her summoning after reassuring Talia that Lanchi was not attracted to her.
• Talia reconsidered her suspicions, released Lanchi, and took Cat Boss home, while Hughberlian stayed behind.
• Talia returned to ask whether Hughberlian would eat dinner with Lanchi or come home, and Hughberlian chose to go home.
• After Talia left again, Hughberlian realized that Lanchi's own teasing often provoked Talia and urged him to stop.
• Lanchi claimed he was doing good deeds and that the Goddess of Fate would protect him, leaving Hughberlian worried about the trouble he might cause.

Karen invited Enoer and Sophia to observe the Primordial Slab - Wind with her, but her pleading and Sophia’s jealousy led to a painful confrontation. Sophia ran off in tears and wished for someone to help her deal with Karen.

• Karen told Enoer and Sophia that Dean Loren had arranged for her to observe the Primordial Slab - Wind that weekend and offered to bring them along.
• Sophia declined Karen’s offer, and Karen then asked Enoer to accompany her because she felt unsafe at the academy.
• Sophia angrily told Enoer to go with Karen, and Karen began crying as Enoer tried to comfort her.
• Enoer accused Sophia of targeting Karen, and Sophia shouted that she hated him before realizing how hurt he looked.
• Sophia burst into tears, ran away, and sat beneath the Old Liberal Arts Building, praying for help dealing with Karen.

Lanchi and Hughberlian learned that Knight Commander Juliana had been contacting Dean Loren, then found Countess Sophia crying in the Student Union Room. Lanchi offered to help Sophia with her trouble involving Karen and Prince Enoer, and promised he could even help her become a princess.

• Hughberlian told Lanchi that Juliana had repeatedly contacted Dean Loren and had considered visiting Ikelite.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian met Frei at the Magic Engineering Institute, and Hughberlian asked him not to spread the news around the Knight Institute.
• Lanchi and Hughberlian joined President Monast and Vice President Asina in the Student Union Room, where they found Sophia crying.
• Sophia began explaining a problem involving Karen and Prince Enoer after Lanchi and Hughberlian reassured her.
• Lanchi promised to help Sophia and said he could guide her until she became a princess, making Hughberlian suspect trouble was coming.

Lanchi encouraged Sophia to take control of her feelings for Prince Enoer and agreed to coach her, beginning with the trouble Karen had caused. He planned to speak with Dean Loren about the Primordial Slab - Wind, while Hughberlian worried that Lanchi’s romance coaching would lead the school astray.

• Lanchi told Sophia that she had to actively pursue Enoer instead of relying on fate, and Sophia asked him to teach her how to win Enoer’s heart.
• Lanchi agreed to guide Sophia and asked her to explain what had happened over the past few days.
• Sophia described Karen inviting Enoer to examine the Primordial Slab - Wind and said Karen’s behavior had made her feel mocked and pitied.
• Lanchi offered to help Sophia deal with Karen and said she could meet with him and Hughberlian for further guidance.
• Lanchi decided to visit Dean Loren about the slab examination, while Hughberlian worried that his matchmaking advice would spread through the school.

Enoer and Karen met Lanchi at the Ancient Tower Library before their appointment to observe the Primordial Slab. Karen realized Enoer was far closer to Lanchi than she had expected, leaving her feeling awkward and challenged.

• Enoer and Karen arrived early at the Ancient Tower Library, where Enoer explained the hall and its use for academic events.
• Lanchi greeted them in the central hall and said he had agreed to observe the slab with Karen so Dean Loren would not need to schedule another visit.
• Karen learned that Lanchi was the Iketerite student she had been allowed to cut ahead of, and apologized for the trouble Adams had caused him.
• Enoer introduced Lanchi as his best friend and promptly walked arm in arm with him, leaving Karen out of their conversation.
• Lanchi gave Karen a helpless smile, and she clenched her fist as she wondered whether it carried a hint of humiliation.

Lanchi used his words to make Karen hesitate while Prince Enoer struggled over whether to keep his promise to her or join Sophia. Hughberlian explained Lanchi’s tactic to Sophia, then wondered whether understanding him had changed her too.

• Hughberlian and Sophia secretly watched Lanchi, Enoer, and Karen from the sixth floor of the Ancient Tower Library.
• Lanchi reminded Enoer that Sophia had once planned to invite him to view the Primordial Slab, leaving Enoer conflicted about his promise to Karen.
• Karen tried to ease Enoer’s guilt by blaming herself, but Lanchi said he would not put his best friend in a difficult position.
• Karen fell silent after Lanchi’s words made her seem selfishly intent on pressuring Enoer.
• Hughberlian told Sophia that Lanchi had framed himself as the only one who truly felt sorry for Enoer, and Sophia asked how Hughberlian could understand him so well.

Enoer chose to go with Sophia, and Karen used his broken promise to present herself as the injured party. Lanchi calmly defended Enoer and praised Karen, leaving her to reconsider how to handle him as the confrontation continued.

• Enoer apologized to Karen and said he still wanted to go with Sophia, while Karen appeared hurt and left him flustered.
• Sophia recognized Karen's tactic from their earlier encounter and worried that she had put Enoer and Lanchi in a difficult position.
• Lanchi defended Enoer's character and told Karen that her talent would make her a treasure to any royal family.
• Karen realized Lanchi might be genuinely kind or deliberately disrupting her plans, and decided to engage with him seriously.

After Enoer left, Karen teased Lanchi about wanting to be alone with her, while Lanchi answered with humble praise and accepted her offer to teach him. Loren arrived at the library and froze when he spotted Lanchi beside Karen.

• Enoer apologized to Karen, then said goodbye to her and Lanchi so he could find Sophia and apologize to her.
• Karen and Lanchi were left alone in the hall, where Karen suggested he had wanted time alone with her and offered to teach him during the tour.
• Sophia worried that Karen was maneuvering Lanchi into an awkward situation, while Hughberlian dismissed Karen as foolish.
• Lanchi praised Karen's Card Maker skills and accepted her offer of guidance, leaving Sophia unsure whether his humility concealed another motive.
• Loren entered the central hall, saw Lanchi beside Karen, and abruptly froze.

Dean Loren let Lanchi and Karen observe the Primordial Slab together, trusting Lanchi to look after Karen during her visit. He opened a Void Gate into the Slab’s domain, and Lanchi and Karen entered.

• Dean Loren asked Lanchi to ensure Karen stayed safe and enjoyed her time at the school, and Lanchi promised she would have a wonderful visit.
• Dean Loren reminded Lanchi to get along with Karen, then completed the preparations to open the Primordial Slab’s domain.
• Karen asked Lanchi about his card-making skills, and he modestly said he knew a little.
• Dean Loren summoned the Primordial Slab, revealed its crystal-clear Magic Card form, and opened a miniature Void Gate.
• Lanchi and Karen passed through the gate into the Slab’s domain.

Lanchi and Karen explored a realm formed around the prototype of the Primordial Slab - Wind, where Karen expected him to study its barrier arts and make cards. Lanchi remained captivated by the mural and watched Karen craft a card, treating the experience as practice for potentially examining her in the future.

• Lanchi admired the temple and wilderness, while Karen explained that the realm was a limited projection supported by a mural resembling the prototype of the Primordial Slab - Wind.
• Karen urged Lanchi to study the mural’s magical arts, but he focused on its artistic qualities and the story it depicted.
• After exploring the realm, Lanchi admitted he understood little about Wind Attribute Magic and chose to keep looking at the mural.
• Karen began making cards and invited Lanchi to watch, hoping to expose his lack of skill and humiliate him.
• Lanchi watched Karen, considering her a suitable future candidate for the Platinum Tier Card Maker Exam he might help judge.

Lanchi watched Karen make a Wind Magic Card in the Primordial Slab realm while the Poet of Great Love examined the slab through his eye. Karen returned to the library with a Pink Divine card, and Lanchi emerged from the realm as the Void Gate vanished.

• Lanchi watched Karen carefully craft a Wind Spell Card from natural materials and a disassembled blank card.
• The Poet of Great Love borrowed Lanchi's eye to study the Primordial Slab - Wind, then asked to make a card with his assistance.
• While waiting, Hughberlian and Sophia discussed Lanchi's laid-back attitude and whether he could match Karen's card.
• Karen returned to the library holding Phantom of Wind, a Pink Divine Tier 4 Spell Card with an Ultimate Evasion effect.
• Sophia worried that Karen would outshine Lanchi, while Hughberlian said he was unlikely to care about competing.
• Lanchi teleported out of the Primordial Slab realm as Dean Loren's Void Gate disappeared.

Lanchi returned from the Card Making session with a White Common imitation of the Primordial Slab - Wind, while Karen mistook him for a weak novice and mocked him. Loren realized Karen had unknowingly earned a humiliating future reckoning, and Lanchi left with plans to use the card in the Northern Continent.

• Lanchi returned to the Ancient Tower Library as Karen presented her improved Pink Divine Magic Card to the scholars.
• Karen saw Lanchi's bleak white card, mocked his skill, and challenged him to meet her at a future Platinum Tier Card Maker Exam.
• Loren realized Karen had badly underestimated Lanchi and worried about what would happen when they met again.
• Lanchi showed Loren his Imitation Stone Slab - Wind, a White Common card that could imitate the Primordial Slab - Wind without its enhancement effects.
• Lanchi left, intending to take the imitation card to the Northern Continent and use Loren's identity and the Great High Priest's image to promote Ikelite culture.

As the Yarolan Royal Academy visit neared its end, Lanchi and Hughberlian watched a brutal Shadow World team battle in the Student Union Room. Lanchi connected the spectacle to his reading about natural selection and wondered whether education worked the same way, just as Monast and Frei returned from the Knight Institute.

• Hughberlian and Lanchi watched fighters in an Artificial Shadow World battle, where one team brutally overwhelmed the other.
• Hughberlian suggested that competition could motivate students, and Lanchi compared her point to the book The Origin of Species and Evolution.
• Lanchi mused that education might follow the principle of survival of the fittest, while Hughberlian worried that his outlook reflected his experiences at Purgatory Corridor Academy.
• Monast entered the Student Union Room with Frei after they had dealt with troublesome matters at the Knight Institute.

Monast explained that the Soul of a Fighter team would face Yarolan Royal Academy again in two days, with the result deciding whether Cerveny would be pressured to fight. He asked Lanchi and Hughberlian to help prepare the team, and Lanchi eagerly accepted as the chapter ended.

• Monast told Lanchi and Hughberlian that Cerveny had transferred to the Alchemy Institute to study law and quit fighting, prompting Yarolan’s fighters to challenge her team.
• Monast explained that Iketerite’s fighters had lost the first match and that the visiting delegation demanded the interrupted duel continue as the academic exchange’s closing event.
• Monast said Iketerite’s original Soul of a Fighter members had to fight without powerful reinforcements, and asked Lanchi and Hughberlian to help them.
• Lanchi accepted the responsibility and set off with Hughberlian and Frei to prepare the team.

Frei, Lanchi, and Hughberlian arrived at the Knight Institute Arena and found Kuse and the Yarolan Royal Academy fighters attacking the Soul of a Fighter Team ahead of the official match. Lanchi tried to stop the beating, but Kuse mocked him and challenged him to fight.

• Frei explained that the public match would take place in the arena as a real battle, and Lanchi said he did not know which side would win.
• The three reached the arena and saw Kuse's fighters standing over the defeated Soul of a Fighter Team members.
• Kuse said the Iketerite fighters had agreed to a preliminary match after being provoked, and Lanchi told his group to return for the official competition.
• Kuse threatened Lanchi for interfering, then recognized him and taunted him about his past losses and his victory over the Saintess of Destruction.

Kuse insulted Hughberlian and threatened the injured Iketerite Academy fighters, but Frei stopped him from advancing. Lanchi stirred the fighters’ resolve and promised to help them defeat Kuse, leaving Hughberlian worried about what his plan would demand.

• Kuse leered at Hughberlian, insulted her, and threatened the Iketerite Academy fighters before the public matches.
• Frei aimed a crossbow and held magic-engineering bombs ready, forcing Kuse and his fighters to leave the arena.
• Lanchi patted Hughberlian on the head and then asked the battered fighters whether they wanted to win.
• Lanchi described what Kuse might do to Cerveny, reigniting the fighters’ anger and determination.
• Lanchi offered to help the fighters defeat Kuse if they accepted a price, and they agreed.
• Lanchi promised to make their wish come true, while Hughberlian grew worried about his intentions.

The Soul of a Fighter Team arrived at Iketerite Academy’s arena after two days of Lanchi’s secret training, unnerving the crowd and their former friends. Lanchi ended the chapter by having both teams sign a Life and Death Agreement before their match.

• A huge crowd gathered at Iketerite Academy to watch the team combat match, while Loren worried that Lanchi would cause trouble.
• Hughberlian and Talia watched from the front row as Noe eagerly anticipated the spectacle, and Cerveny wondered whether to join the fight.
• Lanchi led the Soul of a Fighter Team into the arena, where the five fighters’ menacing appearance shocked Cerveny and Talia.
• Kuse taunted the Iketerite fighters, but they stared back in silence as Lanchi asked the referee for a risk agreement.
• The Soul of a Fighter Team signed the document, and Lanchi handed it to Kuse to sign.

Lanchi’s Iketerite Academy fighters signed a life-and-death agreement and faced Yarolan Royal Academy in a match that spectators expected them to lose. When the fight began, the Iketerite fighters charged in heavy armor and with brutal weapons, appearing so frenzied that their opponents and Loren were alarmed.

• Lanchi presented Kuse and the other Yarolan fighters with a formal life-and-death agreement, and all ten contestants signed it.
• The referee sent the coaches off the platform, and the spectators discussed the long odds against Iketerite Academy.
• After the bell, both teams advanced, but Iketerite’s fighters surprised the crowd by equipping heavy armor and oversized weapons.
• Kuse’s team hesitated at the sight of the Iketerite fighters’ bloodshot eyes and unsettling behavior.
• Loren wondered whether the five fighters were really Iketerite students as they charged toward their opponents, shouting for battle.

The Iketerite Academy team’s brutal, pain-suppressing fighting style overwhelmed Kuse and the Yarolan martial artists, turning their match into a bloody struggle. As the crowd cheered the Demon King Army, Talia grew uncomfortable and asked Hughberlian to leave.

• Kuse rallied the hesitant Yarolan martial artists, and both teams began fighting in a thunderstorm.
• The Iketerite fighters ignored injuries and attacked lethally, while the Yarolan fighters struggled to hurt them and began suffering severe wounds.
• Kuse fought on as the other Yarolan martial artists were battered aside, and the Iketerite team closed in on him.
• Lu Weixier mistakenly called the Iketerite team the Demon King Army during his commentary, while the crowd cheered the match.
• Talia gripped Hughberlian’s hand and asked her to go home, afraid others would notice her connection to Lanchi and the Poet of Great Love.

Hughberlian watched the brutal match between the modified Fighters from Iketerite Academy and Yarolan Kingdom, then learned how Lanchi had used a horror-themed Artificial Shadow World to condition his team. The five Fighters had defeated everyone except Kuse, and the match was left on the verge of his likely slaughter.

• Talia left the arena after Hughberlian gently encouraged her to go home, while Hughberlian stayed to watch the match.
• Lanchi's five modified Fighters savagely defeated the Yarolan Kingdom team, leaving only Kuse conscious and surrounded.
• Kuse grew terrified as the Fighters muttered about Cerveny and repeatedly rose after he knocked them down.
• Hughberlian joined Lanchi in the coaches' area and demanded to know what he had done to the Fighters.
• Lanchi explained that he and Professor Bora Ao had put the five Fighters through more than thirty hours of personalized horror scenarios in the Artificial Shadow World, repeatedly making them witness Cerveny's death and crushing their hopes.