Chapter Summaries

Dean Cas recovered after attempting to resolve the Hidden Dangers left by an old ritual, though the attempt also affected Lisha. After explaining what happened, Cas asked Fu Qian what might have caused the problem.

• Cas arrived and joined Fu Qian and Lisha for tea, saying he was feeling much better.
• Fu Qian assessed Cas’s condition as greatly improved, and Cas said he had resolved some of the Hidden Dangers.
• Lisha criticized Cas for not warning her and reminded him that his condition had affected her too.
• Cas explained that an old ritual had left Hidden Dangers, and that his recent attempt to address them had unexpectedly affected Lisha.
• Cas asked Fu Qian what might have caused the incident.

Fu Qian learned that Cas had rushed his ascent to demigod after the academy’s strength collapsed, leaving him with a Hidden Danger that prevented him from using his Mythical Form. Cas revealed that changing back from that form was agonizing, and Fu Qian wondered whether it transformed Cas’s will as well as his body.

• Fu Qian concluded that Professor Lisha had been innocent and understood that Cas had gathered resources to treat the Hidden Danger from his ascension.
• Cas explained that the academy had needed a new demigod after its losses to deter enemies and quiet suspicions that the Night Watchers were responsible.
• Fu Qian asked about Cas’s Hidden Danger, and Cas said he could fully transform into his Mythical Form but could not use it.
• Cas showed Fu Qian the serpent-like scales covering his arm and explained that he could change back freely, but the process was agonizing.
• Fu Qian speculated that Cas’s Mythical Form altered his will, making him instinctively resist returning to human form.

Fu Qian discussed Cas’s Mythical Form and the danger that it might have trapped Cas in a perfect state that concealed his true thoughts. Cas explained why he kept risking the change, and Fu Qian began explaining the strange properties around the Academy by naming their conceptual core: Meria.

• Cas told Fu Qian that Mythical Form made him feel like a perfect version of himself but blurred his path to further progress, even after he deactivated it.
• Fu Qian and Lisha considered whether Cas’s apparent well-being was genuine or a disguise caused by his consciousness losing control, and Cas said that continuing to pretend would make no difference.
• Cas said he kept trying to overcome the Hidden Danger because the Academy might need a Second Order, he wanted to see what lay beyond the next step, and he believed that state could help him deal with the Sea of Ashes.
• Cas praised Fu Qian’s achievements and said he might be better suited to lead the Academy, and Fu Qian agreed to do his best.
• Fu Qian said the unusual properties around the Academy had strengthened some miracles and identified their conceptual core as Meria.

Fu Qian told Cas about Meria and discussed the clues linking her to the Academy, then learned that Nepheli had obtained Kalaodola’s flesh shortly before leaving. He turned to Cas’s predicament and began using the Return Edict to investigate it.

• Fu Qian explained to Cas that Meria might have been an ancient Higher Being connected to life and possibly to the Academy.
• Fu Qian told Cas that Professor A Kai had reached the high ranks, becoming a new demigod of the Institute of Curses, and that A Kai and Professor Rob would conduct related research.
• Cas praised Nepheli’s talent and revealed that he had once taken her to obtain a sample of Kalaodola’s flesh shortly before she left the Academy.
• Fu Qian promised to share any discoveries about Kalaodola, then told Cas that Professor Lisha should keep her distance while he tried to address Cas’s predicament.
• Cas sent Lisha outside, and Fu Qian activated the Return Edict.

Fu Qian used the Return Edict to examine Cas’s complete Mythical Form and concluded that no outside influence was interfering with him. Cas thanked Fu Qian and relayed Weilong’s message that the Spirit Ashes would open their collection to the Apocalypse and honor Wen Li without asking her to join them.

• Fu Qian asked Cas to reveal his complete Mythical Form, then used the Return Edict to help him maintain it.
• Cas transformed into a figure made of linked, tail-biting serpents and confirmed that he could still speak and felt well.
• Fu Qian ended the assessment, saying he had no further way to disprove that Cas was unaffected by outside influence.
• Cas returned to human form, thanked Fu Qian, and said Weilong had visited to convey the Spirit Ashes’ gratitude.
• Cas told Fu Qian that the Spirit Ashes would let Apocalypse mentors apply to use their collection and would treat Wen Li as an honored guest without asking her to join.

Fu Qian explained to Cas how Wen Li had risked herself to help Spirit Ash uncover and eliminate its Hidden Danger, and Cas thanked them both. After asking Apocalypse for a merfolk-luring item, Fu Qian proposed an evening department outing to Ji Liushuang.

• Fu Qian explained that Old Man Weilong had realized Wen Li had served as bait and that Spirit Ash owed her a debt.
• Cas praised Wen Li's courage, thanked Fu Qian and Wen Li, and offered to find Wen Li a suitable reward.
• Fu Qian asked Cas whether Apocalypse had a finished item for luring merfolk, and Cas agreed to arrange one.
• Cas left to speak with Professor Lisha, and Ji Liushuang returned to Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian suggested they go on an evening department outing.

Fu Qian brought his department colleagues to a bar for an outing, where Professor Lanaia reluctantly agreed to pay for the meal. The group relaxed over food and drinks, while Fu Qian’s unusual interaction with Sunny left Lanaia puzzled.

• Fu Qian gathered Liu Shuang, Wen Li, and Professor Lisha for a department outing and joined Professor Lanaia at the bar.
• Lanaia complained that the academy’s growing number of talented Transcendents had made her work as head of the Department of Punishment more complicated.
• After Fu Qian’s offer to pay alarmed her, Lanaia agreed to cover the meal in exchange for a quiet evening.
• Liu Shuang helped Wen Li choose food, while Lisha studied the bar and ordered fish.
• Sunny nervously offered lighter drinks, and Fu Qian agreed to let the group try them.
• Lanaia questioned Fu Qian’s treatment of Sunny, and he said he was checking whether the research assistant was old enough to drink.

Fu Qian recognized that Sunny’s touch had connected him to the Dragon King, who was using Scarlet Fever to corrupt or possess him. He let the corruption deepen and sensed a possible link to the Tyrant’s severed body parts, then welcomed the extra minutes he had to experience.

• Professor Lanaia challenged Fu Qian’s excuse for ordering alcohol, and Lisha asked what the expedition tool was for.
• Sunny brought the drinks, accidentally knocked over the bottle, and touched Fu Qian while steadying it.
• Fu Qian recognized the signs of Scarlet Fever and realized the Dragon King had controlled Sunny and used her touch to connect with him.
• Fu Qian let the corruption spread and sensed that it affected his torso and chest differently from his limbs, suggesting a connection to the Tyrant’s severed body parts.
• Ji Liushuang asked whether Fu Qian was old enough to drink, and Fu Qian said he was older than her before the alcohol’s scent gave way to a familiar line.

After the department gathering, Fu Qian went to Sunny’s home and found a mysterious message from Lord Kelson inviting him to Moore. He prepared to leave for the Sea of Ashes with the invitation in mind.

• Fu Qian ordered drinks for the group and heard Professor Lisha ask whether he was preparing for an expedition.
• After the gathering, Fu Qian told Wen Li she might receive a material reward for helping cooperation between the departments.
• Fu Qian left the others and arrived at Sunny’s home, where he searched for a message from Lord Kelson.
• Fu Qian found an ink mark in one of Sunny’s books that spelled out Moore and recognized it as Lord Kelson’s invitation.

Fu Qian discovered that Sir Kelson had left a message inviting Old Master Lu to meet in Moor, and he decided to investigate. After arriving on a fieldwork route, he found another blank invitation from Yuan Shan and headed out to visit her.

• Fu Qian reasoned that Kelson had left a message for Old Master Lu in a book, unaware that Sunny had not noticed it.
• Fu Qian accepted Kelson's invitation and chose a fieldwork route that would take him to Moor.
• Fu Qian used the Emissary Mask and arrived at the bookstore in an earlier time period.
• Fu Qian found a blank envelope that he believed Yuan Shan had left.
• Fu Qian tucked the letter away and set off to visit Yuan Shan.

Fu Qian boarded a Siren ship in Moore to investigate the organization’s unusual activity and its possible plans for the Sea of Ashes. He realized the ship had turned back into the storm for an unexplained purpose, and his hand suddenly grew heavy as he stayed aboard to watch.

• Fu Qian used a younger version of Old Master Lu’s appearance to board a Siren ship despite the storm.
• Fu Qian noticed the Siren crew could calm the waves and sensed a demigod among the fewer than one hundred people aboard.
• Fu Qian considered why the Siren were active and what Kelson’s message meant, then felt the ship turn around.
• Fu Qian concluded the Siren ship had deliberately entered the storm to surf and decided to stay aboard.
• Fu Qian’s hand abruptly grew heavy as he reached for another piece of dried fruit.

Fu Qian was restrained aboard a ship and secretly taken ashore by bats during a storm. His captors revealed the King of Prison Break’s emblem, leading him to suspect Selena had tracked him down and mistaken him for a Greedy Worm.

• Fu Qian was restrained in the dark as the ship abandoned its stabilizing spell and rocked through the storm.
• The ship neared the harbor, then turned away and zigzagged back out to sea.
• Fu Qian’s body moved on its own as darkness carried him through the ship’s hull and into the water.
• Bats dragged Fu Qian toward shore, and one warned him not to make a sound.
• The bats traced the King of Prison Break’s emblem, and Fu Qian recognized it as his own.
• Fu Qian suspected Selena had tracked him down and that her group had mistaken him for a Greedy Worm.

Fu Qian was captured and interrogated by a disguised woman he suspected was Selena, who had come to Moore searching for Ji Yin. He concealed his identity as Laurie and claimed he was also looking for Ji Yin, but the interrogation turned violent when she decided he was lying.

• A disguised woman captured Fu Qian and questioned him while he was still soaked from the storm.
• Fu Qian cooperated with the interrogation and removed his disguise, revealing a face he had fashioned earlier.
• When the woman asked who he was, Fu Qian called himself Laurie, and she asked where Ji Yin was.
• Fu Qian realized she had come after Ji Yin and claimed he was searching for him too.
• The woman accused Fu Qian of lying and used a strange form of torture that made him feel his back being cut open without pain or blood.

Fu Qian, posing as Laurie, defended his reasons for coming to Moore and questioned Selena about her own search. He realized Selena had come after the Death Master and left her probing to learn how much he knew.

• Selena challenged Fu Qian over why he had come to Moore, and he said he had come to find Ji Yin and stop his dangerous plan.
• Selena questioned Fu Qian's calmness and his behavior around Solondir aboard the ship, and he claimed he was willing to risk himself because he was at the top of the system.
• Fu Qian asked Selena why she had gone to the ship, but she refused to explain and said it made no difference to her where she found her target.
• Fu Qian guessed that Selena had come for the Death Master, and she asked who had told him about the secret.

Fu Qian tried to persuade Selena to work with him against Ji Yin by revealing what he knew about the Death Master and the name Tail. Selena challenged his account, then recognized that his explanation implied he had cut off his perceptual link with the others.

• Fu Qian told Selena that only he knew the Death Master’s true Honored Name, while the others knew Him as the King of Prison Break.
• Fu Qian proposed that they work together to stop Ji Yin, warning that Moore was dangerous and the Death Master might lose any chance to regain His power.
• Selena questioned how Fu Qian had learned the Death Master’s name when his companions had not.
• Fu Qian explained that he had uncovered the name Tail and gradually concluded that the Death Master was the true essence behind the emblem.
• Selena challenged Fu Qian’s claim that he alone had noticed the clues, pointing out that he must have cut off his perceptual link with the others.

Fu Qian persuaded Selena to cooperate by presenting himself as Laurie, then learned that Solondir’s ship had been searching for something near Moor in bad weather. He proposed returning to the ship to investigate, leaving Selena to consider his offer.

• Fu Qian answered Selena’s questions about his plans and explained that he had taken a chance because he suspected Ji Yin might be aboard the ship.
• Selena repaired Fu Qian’s back and warned him not to make a move, while Fu Qian privately decided to use her knowledge to investigate Moor’s secrets.
• Selena told Fu Qian that Solondir was searching for something and that the ship had repeatedly gone out to sea in bad weather without finding it.
• Selena explained that she had sought An Jing’s people but could not find them, so she had gone aboard the conspicuous ship to look for someone connected to them.
• Fu Qian offered to return to the ship and confirm Solondir’s motives, saying he needed to prove his worth as a potential partner.

Fu Qian persuaded Selena to return him to the ship so he could continue his assignment and investigate the Death Master’s followers. Back aboard, he watched the ship head back out to sea and activated Glorious Tyrant.

• Fu Qian admitted that his injuries left him unable to sneak back onto the ship alone and asked Selena to return him there.
• Selena questioned Fu Qian about the apparent death of the mysterious figure, and he said the figure probably still existed but could no longer interfere.
• Selena agreed to take Fu Qian back, explaining that she hoped to use him to learn more about the Honored Name and protect Gulad from hidden dangers.
• Selena returned Fu Qian to the ship, where Solondir remained preoccupied and the vessel headed back out to sea.
• Fu Qian activated Glorious Tyrant.

Aboard Lord Solondir’s ship, Fu Qian used the Glorious Tyrant’s growing effects to test the crew and infer what Solondir was searching for near Moore. After the ship crossed out of the storm, Fu Qian sensed a strange cold force at the window and broke through it, leaving the ship as the Sea of Ashes drew near.

• Fu Qian let the Glorious Tyrant’s effects spread aboard the ship while the crew stayed conspicuously quiet and did not disturb him.
• Fu Qian concluded that the crew had noticed the anomaly and were following a prepared response as the ship sailed away from Moore through the storm.
• The ship crossed the storm’s boundary and continued into clear skies, leading Fu Qian to suspect Solondir was tracking something other than a physical target.
• Fu Qian touched two apparent suns at the window and felt an icy force spread through the room.
• Fu Qian walked through a gap forced open by the cold force and left the ship near the Sea of Ashes.

Fu Qian escaped the ship’s attack and traveled by sea creature to the Sea of Ashes. He entered the remade King of Prison Break and stopped beneath the stars, recalling an earlier star chart.

• Fu Qian ignored the Siren’s barrier and endured a freezing sunlight spear before using Gospel Blast to scatter his pursuers and disappear underwater.
• Fu Qian rode a sea creature toward the Sea of Ashes, hoping Etched Wisdom would reveal itself during the fight, but Lord Solondir did not draw it out.
• Fu Qian thanked his tired mount by feeding it meat from a nearby predator and warned it to avoid the area.
• Fu Qian reached the floating island and entered the Forbidden Place called the remade King of Prison Break.
• Fu Qian walked through the lonely, distorted landscape until he stopped beneath the stars and recalled the star chart.

Fu Qian used the Burial Scroll to restore his senses while searching the Sea of Ashes, and uncovered an enormous ruin containing a headless, winged body impaled on a towering structure. The scene matched the Blasphemy Monarch’s vision, but the creature carrying Fu Qian prepared to attack again.

• Fu Qian narrowed his search area using his knowledge of Star Tethering, though his earlier exploration had found only ashes and ruins.
• Fu Qian rode a colossal Sea of Ashes creature controlled by threads that had burrowed into its flesh.
• Fu Qian opened the Burial Scroll and let a drop of blood fall onto it to restore his senses temporarily.
• A massive shadow appeared nearby, revealing human-made ruins and a headless, six-winged body impaled on a towering structure.
• Fu Qian recognized the scene from the Blasphemy Monarch’s vision at Silver Mist Manor as more fins on the creature beneath him pointed toward him.