Chapter Summaries

Saine crossed the Time-Space Rift despite Mentor Moxidu’s warning that the other side was a dangerous Broken Plane, and Moxidu secretly left him a black handle that might help him escape. Saine survived the hazardous passage with the other apprentices and reached the rift’s main entrance, while Moxidu learned that Lady Qiongni and the Dean had a specific reason for wanting to explore the plane.

• Moxidu warned Saine through Mental Strength that the rift led to a harsh Broken Plane and that the academy’s leaders planned to send more apprentices there.
• Saine told Moxidu he had no regrets about crossing because he was worried about his Senior Brother and Senior Sister, then followed directions to retrieve a black handle Moxidu had hidden for him.
• Lady Qiongni told Moxidu that she and the Dean needed something from the plane and promised that his reward would be paid in full.
• Moxidu wondered why Lady Qiongni had referred to the Dean rather than Vice Dean Martin.
• Saine and the Intermediate Apprentices advanced slowly through the rift, where its cracks killed one apprentice and severely injured two others.
• Saine’s group reached the main entrance of the Time-Space Rift without further losses.

Saine entered the Time-Space Rift with the other apprentices and was sent to the scorching Yellow Sand World, where he woke injured and alone. After using a potion and escaping the sand, he set off across the unfamiliar landscape in search of the others.

• Vice Dean Martin explained the mission, gave the apprentices Element Pearls, and sent them into the Time-Space Rift.
• Saine received a message from Moxidu telling him to gather as many Element Pearls as possible before Vice Dean Martin forced him into the rift.
• Saine endured the painful journey through the rift and briefly saw a narrow passage and a bright yellow halo.
• Saine woke partially buried in the sand, treated his weakness with a Low-Level Recovery Potion, and crawled free.
• Saine walked through the Yellow Sand World but found no other apprentices.

Saine struggled to survive alone in the Yellow Sand World, where three suns kept the desert in endless daylight and water was scarce. On the ninth day, he found a fellow apprentice’s desiccated corpse and suspected the apprentice had arrived earlier than he had.

• Saine realized he was in an unfamiliar world with three suns and reasoned that the apprentices had been scattered upon entering it.
• He used his Element Pearl to seek other apprentices and rationed his Nutrient Potion while worrying that those without supplies or water spells would die.
• After nine days in the desert, Saine found a black robe half-buried in the sand and dug up the desiccated corpse of an Intermediate Apprentice from the City of Mozhsuobula.
• Saine judged that the apprentice must have arrived in the world several days before him, then searched the corpse for useful items.

Saine traveled through the Yellow Sand World, scavenged an Element Pearl, and learned how its harsh conditions affected magic and survival. On the sixteenth day, he found the starving apprentices Stanson and Mali, recognized them, and decided to approach them for information despite the cost of sharing his supplies.

• Saine found a dead Intermediate Apprentice and took Magic Beast Cores, a book about magical plants, and an Element Pearl.
• Saine stored the Element Pearl and continued across the Yellow Sand World, noticing that its heat and elemental conditions affected his magic.
• On the twelfth day, Saine experienced the world's unusually long night and reflected on how Lina might be faring.
• On the sixteenth day, Saine found Stanson trying to keep Mali alive by feeding him blood from his own wrist.
• Saine decided to reveal himself and ask Stanson and Mali what they knew, though he would have to share his scarce food and potions.

Saine fought the starving, enraged Stanson after Stanson tracked him down, then defeated him when repeated Bloodline Magic drained his remaining strength. Saine questioned the fallen man about how he and Mali had met in the Time-Space Rift and where the other Advanced Apprentices and Quasi-Magicians were.

• Stanson smelled Saine and charged at him, driven by hunger and his desire to find food for himself and the weakened Mali.
• Saine raised a Fire Wall, but Stanson transformed with Bloodline Magic and forced his way through it.
• Saine vanished beneath his Invisibility Cloak and struck Stanson with Flame Hand, burning him as he transformed again to shield his head.
• After activating Bloodline Magic twice while already exhausted and weakened by blood loss, Stanson collapsed.
• Saine emerged with his Strong Acid Scepter and asked Stanson how he and Mali had met and where the other Advanced Apprentices and Quasi-Magicians were.

Saine subdued Mali and Stanson, then spared them after Mali surrendered and revealed their devotion to each other. Mali told Saine where the other Advanced Apprentices and Quasi-Magicians were and confirmed that Saine was heading in the right direction.

• Mali offered to tell Saine what he knew in exchange for food, water, and freedom, but Saine threatened both him and Stanson.
• Mali threw aside his Magic Short Staff and went to Stanson, prompting Saine to extinguish his Fireball Spell while keeping the Strong Acid Scepter ready.
• Mali told Saine that he and Stanson had survived together for twenty-two years in the City of Mozhsuobula and had grown deeply devoted to each other.
• Mali explained that he had entered the Yellow Sand World seven days before Saine and that its daylight lasted fifteen days by Wizard World standards.
• Mali pointed Saine toward the other Advanced Apprentices and Quasi-Magicians, about ten days away, in the same direction indicated by Saine’s Element Pearls.
• Mali said Stanson had sensed his presence and defied the others in their camp to search for him, entering the desert without enough preparation.

After defeating Stanson and forcing Mali to reveal information, Saine continued through the Yellow Sand World while rationing his potions. When Mali later asked to trade for food, Saine refused, but Mali left Stanson’s belongings behind, giving Saine a cache of valuable items.

• Saine ignored Mali and Stanson after learning what he needed, stored the short staff, and continued toward camp as Mali dragged Stanson after him.
• After traveling for about a day, Saine rested in the shade of a sand dune and rationed his Nutrient Potion before meditating.
• Mali approached Saine, badly injured and desperate, and asked to trade for food using items taken from Stanson.
• Saine refused to help, telling Mali that he would claim their belongings once they died.
• Mali left the tattered robe behind, and Saine found sixteen Element Pearls, several Magic Beast Cores, two Magic Books, and some Black Gold inside.

Saine reached the Black Wizard Apprentices’ camp and reunited with Fei'er, learning that four months had passed for her group despite only about twenty days passing for him. Lina was stationed at a nearby camp and was expected to arrive within half a day, while Zorro offered to modify Saine’s Crystal Ball so they could communicate.

• Saine left Mali and Stanson with the Nutrient Potion and continued through the desert with Mali following him.
• After four days, Saine found the apprentices’ camp and learned that its location had shifted with the moving sand dunes.
• Kantona demanded Saine’s Element Pearl, but Fei'er drove him away and warmly welcomed Saine to the camp.
• Fei'er told Saine that she and the others had been in the Yellow Sand World for four months, and Zorro explained that time was consumed during passage through the Time-Space Rift.
• Fei'er told Saine that Lina was at a nearby camp and would arrive in about half a day, while Zorro offered to modify Saine’s Crystal Ball for short-range communication.

Saine reunited with Lina after reaching the Black Wizard Apprentices’ camp in the Yellow Sand World and settled into a tent with Fei'er and Malina. Exhausted, he fell asleep and woke only vaguely as someone slipped into his arms, while Fei'er angrily fended off Malina’s teasing.

• Saine learned that the apprentices survived in the harsh Yellow Sand World by using magic to make water and grow food.
• Saine reunited with Lina, who had gone months without seeing him, and Fei'er offered to introduce him to one of her sisters.
• Fei'er brought Saine to the camp tent where he met Malina, Meili’s Senior Sister and Fei'er's tentmate.
• Saine fell asleep in the tent, and someone with a familiar scent slipped into his arms.
• Malina teased Fei'er about joining them, but Fei'er told her to scram.

Saine learned that Element Pearls powered the Coordinate Generators and might also help the apprentices return to the Wizard World if the generators failed. Zorro revealed that the generators had only a sixty percent chance of success, while Saine kept Mentor’s personal contingency plan secret.

• Saine asked Fei'er why apprentices received Element Pearls, and she explained their role in powering the Coordinate Generators and guiding a possible rescue.
• Fei'er warned Saine to hide his surplus Element Pearls because they could improve the chances of the Formal Black Wizards locating them.
• Saine went with Fei'er and Lina to find Zorro, who had prepared a Crystal Ball with a reduced communication range.
• Saine asked Zorro whether the Coordinate Generators could fail, and Zorro said their success rate was roughly sixty percent because the shifting sand made the camps’ coordinates unstable.
• Saine kept to himself that Mentor had left him a contingency in case the generators failed and the rescuers overlooked him.

Saine and Lina investigated a safe assignment in the Yellow Sand World, then Saine traded magic items and Black Gold to Advanced Apprentice Modi to learn how to cultivate Element Mushrooms. He left with the craft and invited Lina to learn it with him.

• Saine and Lina recorded information about a sand dune and returned to camp after Saine captured the surroundings in his Crystal Ball.
• Saine submitted the assignment to Senior Brother Zorro and visited Advanced Apprentice Modi to ask for the Element Mushroom cultivation process.
• Saine offered Modi two Low-Level Magic Items, then added a Magic Short Staff and roughly three hundred pieces of Black Gold until Modi accepted the trade.
• Modi agreed to teach Saine how to make Element Mushrooms and offered further cultivation insights for an additional payment.
• Saine asked Lina to learn the cultivation technique with him, and Lina agreed.

Saine learned that the Formal Black Wizards had imposed a final three-month deadline to establish a passage out of the Yellow Sand World, and the camps merged as the apprentices worked under mounting pressure. The Coordinate Generator was finally set to activate in two weeks, but a huge sandstorm on the horizon left Saine and the others uneasy.

• Saine shared mushroom soup with Fei'er, Lina, and Malina, and explained that Mali had repaid him with Magic Beast Jerky.
• Fei'er told Saine that the Twin Coordinate Generator plan had failed and that the Formal Black Wizards had given the apprentices three months to make contact.
• The two camps merged, and Saine grew worried when Baus and Meili still did not appear.
• Under Zorro's protection, Saine and Fei'er maintained the camp's magical equipment while the two Quasi-Magicians locked onto the world's coordinates and contacted the Wizard World.
• Zorro said the Coordinate Generator would activate in two weeks, while a vast sandstorm gathered in the distance.

As the Black Wizards prepared to connect the Underdark with the Yellow Sand World, Martin told Qiongni about their master’s plan to claim a fallen Level-4 creature’s Earth Elemental power. The channel opened amid a violent attack from the Underdark, leaving Saine and the apprentices facing a deadly firestorm and the destruction of the camp.

• Martin reassured Qiongni that their master had left the City of Mozhsuobula to retrieve the fallen Level-4 Biological Heart Core and advance to Level 4.
• Martin told Qiongni that the foreign Level-4 lifeform had been killed by the Guardian of Summer after entering the Wizard World through a Time-Space Rift.
• Saine and the Black Wizard Apprentices watched as their devices and Element Pearls formed a Space Channel between the Yellow Sand World and the Underdark.
• A blast from the Underdark shook the camp, and Quasi-Magician Luke entered the channel before a pillar of fire surged out and killed him.
• The pillar of fire became a rain of flames that caused heavy casualties and cracked the channel.
• A violent hurricane burst through the channel and shattered it along with the surrounding camp.

Saine and Lina survived a devastating wind-and-fire assault as Holy Tower Magicians battled the Black Wizard Academy's headmaster at the Space Channel. After a second Holy Tower Magician persuaded Romwozi to spare the apprentices, the attack weakened, and Saine's Senior Brother urged him to activate the Element Pearl to escape the Yellow Sand World.

• Saine reached the badly wounded Lina and protected them both with the Earth Elemental Shield from his Magic Ring.
• Romwozi of Dawn Holy Tower confronted the Black Wizard Academy's headmaster, and their wind-and-fire battle killed and wounded many Black Wizard Apprentices.
• The headmaster accused Romwozi of sacrificing innocent apprentices, while Romwozi defended the attack as necessary to hunt Black Magicians.
• Another Holy Tower Magician persuaded Romwozi that some apprentices, especially the young Entry-Level Apprentices, were innocent victims, and the wind and fire around the Space Channel weakened.
• Saine's Senior Brother spoke through the crystal ball and told him to activate the Element Pearl to escape the Yellow Sand World.

Saine rushed toward the shattered Space Channel while carrying the badly injured Lina, as surviving apprentices fought and scrambled to escape. After Vice Dean Qiongni pulled Senior Brother Zorro and two Quasi-Magicians through, Huo Bi and two other Intermediate Apprentices blocked Saine and demanded his Element Pearls.

• Saine hurried toward the Space Channel with Lina in his arms as other apprentices rushed ahead or stayed back in fear.
• Senior Brother Zorro signaled Vice Dean Qiongni, who drew him and two Quasi-Magicians through the shattered passage.
• A badly injured Quasi-Magician named Ke Luo Bo attacked nearby apprentices, killing an Intermediate Apprentice who tried to steal his Element Pearls.
• Lina warned Saine that Ke Luo Bo was one of the academy’s strongest Quasi-Magicians, so Saine changed his route to avoid him.
• Huo Bi and two other Intermediate Apprentices confronted Saine and demanded his Element Pearls.

Saine and Lina fought their way toward the Space Channel with help from Fei'er, Mali, and Stanson, but a Level-3 Peak grand mage’s attack destabilized the escape light. When Vice Dean Qiongni chose Saine for rescue, he gave Lina all his Element Pearls, allowing her to escape while he remained behind in the approaching sandstorm.

• Saine and Lina used Flame Hand, Violent Fireball, and the Invisibility Cloak to break through Huo Bi’s group and other Intermediate Apprentices.
• Stanson and Mali cleared enemies from Saine and Lina’s path, while Saine and Lina used their advanced magical items to defeat two more pursuers.
• Fei'er covered Saine as he reached the Space Channel and activated his Element Pearls.
• A Level-3 Peak grand mage’s attack sent a sandstorm toward the Space Channel and weakened the red escape light, and Vice Dean Qiongni said she could save only Saine.
• Saine gave all his Element Pearls to Lina, who vanished through the Space Channel and left behind her Black Crystal Stone Bracelet.
• The sandstorm swallowed Saine and the apprentices still fighting nearby.

After surviving the sandstorm, Saine treated his severe injuries in a strange Sand Valley and decided to search the dead for Element Pearls that could help him escape the Yellow Sand World. He found the corpse of Ke Luo Bo and began digging it out.

• Saine woke in the Sand Valley with severe injuries and realized Lina's Black Crystal Stone Bracelet had protected him during the sandstorm.
• Saine used potions to treat his wounds, rested, and set his dislocated left arm himself.
• Saine decided he needed to find Element Pearls among the other apprentices' corpses to activate the black handle Moxidu had given him.
• Saine found Ke Luo Bo's half-buried corpse and used the Strong Acid Scepter to dig it out.

After recovering from his injuries, Saine explored the center of Sand Valley and discovered a vast colony of Sand Worms feeding on the remains of fallen apprentices. The Sand Worm King and its kin detected him despite his Invisibility Cloak, forcing Saine to retreat while he wondered how they had found him.

• Saine searched the valley for three days, collected damaged magic items and seven Element Pearls, and found no other survivors.
• Once mostly recovered, Saine activated his Invisibility Cloak and headed toward the depths of Sand Valley.
• Saine discovered countless Sand Worms, apprentice robes, and roughly twenty or thirty Element Pearls beside the colony.
• A giant Sand Worm and several others emerged and moved toward Saine, revealing an enormous underground space filled with more worms.
• Saine retreated as the Sand Worms pursued him only a short distance, leaving him unsure how they had detected him.

Saine studied the Sand Worms, then used a Simplified Magic Conductor Cannon to defeat the swarm and retrieve an Element Pearl. He escaped Sand Valley, but his attempt to return to the Underdark failed, leaving him stranded beneath the three suns.

• Saine discovered that Sand Worms detected targets through temperature, feared water, and melted into highly corrosive mucus when exposed to it.
• Saine recorded the Sand Worms’ movements and weaknesses, then decided to use his mentor’s Simplified Magic Conductor Cannon to obtain the Element Pearls.
• Saine fired one shell into the Sand Worm tide, killing most of the swarm, collapsing part of Sand Valley, and splitting a ten-meter Sand Worm in two.
• Saine collected an Element Pearl and fled as a terrifying roar sounded from deeper beneath Sand Valley.
• Saine tried to use the Element Pearl and a black handle to leave the Yellow Sand World, but the familiar force of attraction did not appear, and he feared he was stranded.

Saine realized that he needed to find the Space Channel’s location before the black handle could connect him to the Wizard World, and he set out across the Yellow Sand World in search of it. Six months later, still stranded, he survived by eating mushrooms and recording his observations.

• Saine figured out that he had to reach the Space Channel’s vicinity to use the black handle, and that the Magic Altar in Shadow Valley also had to remain operational.
• Saine clutched the Black Crystal Bracelet and walked into the yellow sands to search for the Space Channel’s structural point.
• After half a year, Saine traveled through the desert in a tattered black robe and prepared mushroom soup as night approached.
• Saine reflected that the Yellow Sand World’s low energy concentration slowed his accumulation of magic power, and he recorded his observations in his notes.