Chapter Summaries

Ji Liushuang summoned Fu Qian into her Heart-Questioning Sword Prison to test the new technique and seek his advice. Fu Qian explained the prison’s truth-enforcing property, while Ji Liushuang identified its rules and limits.

• Ji Liushuang drew her sword on Fu Qian and pulled his consciousness into the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison.
• Fu Qian praised Ji Liushuang’s progress and learned that the technique had appeared in her consciousness during practice.
• Ji Liushuang explained that the technique felt familiar and that she had worried it might cause an accident, so she had chosen to consult Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian told Ji Liushuang to sense the prison’s hidden property, and she realized that no one inside could lie.
• Fu Qian explained that lying would collapse the prison and that it could end only if Ji Liushuang canceled it or one side was eliminated.

After helping Ji Liushuang understand her Heart-Questioning Sword Prison ability, Fu Qian returned to the laboratory and explained that he planned to resume his academic duties. He then set out for the Institute of Curses to speak with Professor A Kai about miracles he had encountered on Leaf Island.

• Fu Qian praised Ji Liushuang’s insight and offered to spar with her so she could practice using her ability.
• Ji Liushuang dispelled the Sword Prison and told Fu Qian she had been staying overnight in the laboratory to study.
• Fu Qian learned that Dean Cas had been telling people he was away on a research expedition and that Professor Lisha had shown Ji Liushuang how to use the laboratory clock.
• Fu Qian told Ji Liushuang to keep using the laboratory, then asked for directions to the Institute of Curses.
• Fu Qian explained that he wanted to discuss miracles with Professor A Kai and left for the Institute of Curses.

Fu Qian visited Professor A Kai at the Institute of Curses and asked him to interpret an unusual phenomenon he had encountered. A Kai eagerly agreed to investigate after explaining that the institute’s researchers struggled to discover new miracles beyond those already known.

• Fu Qian and his companion found the deserted Institute of Curses and discovered Professor A Kai asleep among scattered research materials.
• Fu Qian noticed that A Kai's manuscripts showed no signs of recent work, and A Kai admitted that the old discoveries no longer interested him.
• A Kai explained that learning known miracles could not advance a researcher’s rank, leaving the institute struggling to uncover new ones.
• Fu Qian told A Kai that he had found an unusual phenomenon on an expedition and wanted his help interpreting it.
• Fu Qian described the phenomenon as an intelligent, living-like existence with authority-like control in some aspects despite its low rank.

Fu Qian told Professor A Kai about Huo, a seemingly new intelligent being with authority-level control over decay, and asked whether it was connected to miracles. A Kai explained the Institute of Curses’ theory of Miracle Creatures, leaving open whether supernatural traits could activate miracles and bring such beings to life.

• Fu Qian asked A Kai whether a being he had encountered was related to miracles because its power seemed unusually independent of its rank.
• A Kai explained that miracles depended on spirituality and precise activation rather than the user's rank, and described the Institute of Curses' struggle to teach them.
• Fu Qian described Huo as an intelligent, self-preserving being that embodied fear of decay and had strong control over its domain.
• A Kai said Huo’s traits resembled the Institute of Curses’ unproven theory of Miracle Creatures, which might arise when supernatural traits fulfilled a miracle’s requirements.

Fu Qian and Professor A Kai discussed whether divine traits could become living miracles, and Fu Qian confirmed that the Dragon of Decay had been one. The chapter left A Kai asking whether Fu Qian would use a special miracle to recreate an image of the creature.

• Professor A Kai argued that extraordinary creatures were not pure enough to become conceptual beings, while sufficiently high-ranking divine traits might exist independently.
• Fu Qian recognized the traits A Kai meant as divine traits and confirmed that he had encountered examples, including the Cup of Abyssal Mist.
• A Kai proposed that a divine trait could unconsciously fulfill a miracle’s requirements, gain a will, and become a living miracle.
• Fu Qian told A Kai that the Dragon of Decay was dead, disappointing him and making him suspect Fu Qian had killed it.
• A Kai thanked Fu Qian for the information, promised to keep it confidential, and asked him to recreate an image of the Dragon of Decay with a special miracle.
• Fu Qian asked A Kai what made the miracle special.

Fu Qian visited the Institute of Curses to witness a miracle that let its target revisit and manifest past memories. The demonstration revealed that his memories of Los were unusually unclear, leaving him wondering whether the Warehouse had altered that history and what Nepheli had discovered when she used the miracle.

• Fu Qian asked Professor A Kai about the miracle, and A Kai warned that its discoverer had disappeared after revealing it.
• A Kai explained that the miracle let its target manifest projections of past memories and led Fu Qian to a hall for a demonstration.
• A Kai successfully activated the miracle, allowing Fu Qian to examine and interact with his memories.
• Fu Qian found that his experiences in Los were harder to manifest than his later memories and wondered if the Warehouse had tampered with them.
• Fu Qian manifested a hazy image of the shattered, partly purified Question from the end of the mission.

Fu Qian manifested a convincing projection of Huo for Professor A Kai, who recognized it as a living Miracle Creature and received clues for his research. Fu Qian left the Institute of Curses and found another unusual figure waiting outside his laboratory.

• Fu Qian manifested a lifelike projection of the Dragon of Decay, Huo, for Professor A Kai, and the image faded after a few breaths.
• Professor A Kai thanked Fu Qian and said he was certain the manifestation was the living Miracle Creature they had discussed.
• Fu Qian told Professor A Kai that Huo hid in the dreams of humans aged fifty-nine or older and pointed out a decayed chair arm as a research clue.
• Fu Qian left the Institute of Curses, reflecting that Huo's appearance might lead to further decay in the hall and that other unusual phenomena likely existed.
• Fu Qian stopped outside his laboratory and saw a figure waiting there, struggling to remember whether the name was Jia Keke.

After returning to the lab, Fu Qian accepted Ji Liushuang’s invitation to breakfast and joined her and Jia Keke. As he and Ji Liushuang discussed the Ji Clan’s intentions, Lanaia arrived angrily and confronted him.

• Fu Qian returned to the lab after his seminar and found Jia Keke waiting outside Ji Liushuang’s lab.
• Ji Liushuang emerged and invited Fu Qian to join her and Jia Keke for breakfast, which he accepted.
• At breakfast, Fu Qian praised Jia Keke’s choice of restaurant and discussed with Ji Liushuang how her family might respond to her abilities.
• Lanaia appeared and angrily called out Fu Qian while he was eating with Ji Liushuang.

Fu Qian met Professor Lanaia over breakfast and learned that Veil and her sister had arrived seeking help. He arranged for Ji Liushuang and Professor Lisha to handle their reception, then questioned Lanaia about where the sisters were staying.

• Fu Qian greeted Professor Lanaia at breakfast, and she asked when he had returned to the Academy.
• Lanaia told Fu Qian that Veil and her sister had come to see her and explained the trouble they had encountered.
• Fu Qian suggested passing the sisters to Dean Cas, but learned that Cas had left two days earlier.
• Fu Qian assigned Professor Lisha to take charge of the sisters and asked Ji Liushuang to accompany him to greet them.
• Lanaia said the sisters were staying nearby, and Fu Qian pressed her to say whether they were near her favorite little shop.

Fu Qian told Lanaia and Ji Liushuang about Lita’s poor prospects in the supernatural field and her history of limb replacement after being rescued from an illegal organization. The group reached the clinic where Lita was staying, and Ji Liushuang knocked on the door.

• After breakfast, Fu Qian, Lanaia, and Ji Liushuang headed to the clinic, while Jia Keke returned to rest.
• Fu Qian explained that he had told Lita her talent could not match her sister Veil’s and that she should pursue another path.
• Fu Qian denied causing Lita’s limb-replacement procedure and said Veil had rescued her from an illegal organization and helped remove the traces of what had been done to her.
• Lanaia explained that she had brought Lita and her companions to stay nearby, and Fu Qian said Professor Lisha could handle Lita’s lingering arm problems.
• Ji Liushuang confirmed the clinic with Lanaia and knocked on the door.

Fu Qian arranged for Professor Lisha to examine Lita, then privately used Clear Dream to check whether Yarakir had left any trace through the barrier. Lita confirmed that she had forgotten what Fu Qian told her and that repeated checks had revealed no trace.

• Veil welcomed Lanaia, Fu Qian, and Ji Liushuang into the apartment, where Lita also greeted them.
• Fu Qian recommended that Professor Lisha and a consultation team examine Lita, and Veil and Lita agreed.
• Fu Qian asked everyone but Lita to leave so he could conduct a preliminary examination under unusual circumstances.
• Fu Qian activated Clear Dream and asked Lita whether she knew she was dreaming.
• Lita said she had forgotten what Fu Qian told her and had found no trace despite checking repeatedly.

Fu Qian questioned Lita about what she remembered from the dream and learned that supernatural knowledge had vanished when she woke, while other memories remained. Lita revealed she had matured and planned to hide that change from her sister until her treatment ended, then asked Fu Qian to keep the dream private.

• Fu Qian thanked Lita for describing her experience and asked her to explain the boundary between what she remembered and what she forgot.
• Lita said she remembered Fu Qian's explanations of the path of faith in the dream, but forgot the sigil and Honored Name after waking, while retaining other memories.
• Fu Qian trusted Lita's account and considered whether his ability to remember the Honored Name came from his nature as a Messenger.
• Lita explained that she acted less calm outside the dream because she feared her sister would worry more, and planned to reveal her improvement after treatment.
• Lita said she hoped her sister would find her own path to growth and asked Fu Qian to keep what happened in the dream secret.

Fu Qian ended Lita’s dream evaluation and accompanied the Veil sisters to the academy so Professor Lisha could treat one sister’s injured hand. He used his authority as the Apocalypse’s acting leader to assign Lisha the work, while Professor Lanaia came along to observe.

• Fu Qian encouraged Lita not to treat her past actions as a stain, then ended her evaluation and assured the people outside that they could set off.
• Veil thanked Fu Qian after seeing that Lita’s mood had improved, and Professor Lanaia joined them to keep watch.
• Fu Qian and the Veil sisters found Professor Lisha in her lab, still struggling with the Giant Bat’s bone mask.
• Lisha questioned why Fu Qian had chosen her to treat the sister’s hand, and he said he owed the sisters a favor.
• Fu Qian declared that, with Cas away, he was in charge and assigned the task to Lisha, adding that he would owe her a favor.

Fu Qian arranged for Professor Lisha to continue researching a treatment for Lita by returning to the expedition site for comparative materials, with Professor Lanaia supervising. After the project was approved and Veil thanked them, Ji Liushuang asked whether Fu Qian would remain at the academy until the treatment was complete.

• Fu Qian offered Professor Lisha support for her stalled project and proposed returning with her to the expedition site to gather materials.
• Lanaia explained that Spirit Ash Institute had objected to damaging the site, but Fu Qian said Weilong or Professor Yang could raise any objections with him.
• Professor Lisha agreed to the plan, and Fu Qian assigned Lanaia to follow up and supervise the work.
• Veil thanked the professors for approving the project, and Lanaia invited Veil to stay with her while Lita remained with Lisha and the researchers.
• Ji Liushuang asked whether Professor Fu would stay at the academy until Lita's treatment was complete.

Fu Qian accepted responsibility for the academy’s academic environment and returned to Professor Lisha’s lab, where the Warehouse assigned him a new containment mission. He entered the strange, rain-soaked scene, heard a baby crying from the ruined courtyard, and turned away from it.

• Fu Qian agreed to stay and handle some of the academy’s backlog, while Liu Shuang and Ji Liushuang supported his decision.
• Ji Liushuang left for the academy, and Fu Qian returned to Professor Lisha’s lab and removed his Emissary Mask.
• The Warehouse assigned Fu Qian the recontainment of Offspring, Number 1-207, and he entered the containment scene with his skills and equipment.
• Fu Qian found himself on a path beneath dense trees, facing a ruined courtyard lit by a strange rainbow glow.
• Fu Qian heard a rasping baby cry from the courtyard but turned around and walked away.

Fu Qian discovered that he had been reduced to his early-academy state, with many of his skills and items gone, and went looking for a potential ally. He encountered Aiko, who remained a demigod and was suspicious of his security-guard disguise, and the chapter ended with them trying to understand why they had appeared there.

• Fu Qian realized his rank, skills, and items had reverted to the state he had been in when he first entered the academy.
• Fu Qian approached the woman he had spotted, and Aiko ordered him to stop.
• Fu Qian recognized Aiko as a demigod from the Night Watchers and noticed that she had not been rolled back like him.
• Aiko questioned Fu Qian about his identity and security-guard disguise, while Fu Qian admitted he did not know why he was there.
• Aiko grew less aggressive after Fu Qian recognized her and said he did not understand his changed appearance or circumstances.

Fu Qian questioned Aiko about the strange place where they had both awakened, and she identified the distant building as a false version of Ermu Mansion Palace. Aiko revealed that she knew the palace because she had once been invited to a banquet there.

• Fu Qian told Aiko he had awakened in an unfamiliar place wearing a face he did not recognize.
• Aiko identified the distant building as Ermu Mansion Palace, a former royal residence owned by the Larrea family.
• Fu Qian questioned whether anyone could live in the decaying palace, and Aiko said it was not the real building.
• Fu Qian asked how Aiko knew the palace was false, and she revealed that she had been one of the guests invited to its banquet.

Fu Qian and Aiko cautiously joined forces after Aiko attacked him with bloodthirsty insects. Aiko explained that poison fog blocked the way out and revealed that the banquet celebrated a newborn member of the Larrea Royal Family, whose cries they had heard.

• Aiko transformed the tree behind her into an insect nest and sent its bugs after Fu Qian.
• Fu Qian fled while crushing the bugs, and their attack stripped the flesh from his left hand.
• Aiko stopped the insects and decided she might trust Fu Qian, then revealed that her left arm had withered into a wooden form.
• Aiko explained that poison fog caused her body to decay and that the banquet celebrated a new member of the Larrea Royal Family.
• Aiko and Fu Qian heard the newborn cry and looked toward the dilapidated building.

Fu Qian and Aiko investigated the source of the crying and entered the ancient palace, where the child’s voice grew louder and the place began to feel familiar to Fu Qian. They were left facing a growing sense that the palace would trap them as Fu Qian recognized what had seemed familiar.

• Aiko and Fu Qian agreed that the unseen newborn might be key to their predicament, and the mission updated with an objective to find the source of the crying.
• Fu Qian asked about Aiko’s injuries and proposed transforming people to withstand the poisonous fog; Aiko kept the idea as a last resort.
• Aiko asked Fu Qian’s name, and he introduced himself as Anko before joining her to explore the palace.
• Aiko told Fu Qian that she had been near the entrance when the banquet turned into a disaster, and the two passed beneath the archway into the ancient palace.
• Inside, the baby’s crying grew louder in their minds, the outside world seemed to recede, and Fu Qian began to recognize the source of the place’s familiarity.

Fu Qian and Aiko searched Ermu Mansion Palace for the source of the crying, but found the palace deserted and the sound still indistinct. After discussing the danger of the sound growing louder, they decided to head toward the nursery.

• Fu Qian recognized Ermu Mansion Palace as resembling the ancient palace in the Bronze Headband’s vision.
• Aiko admitted she doubted Fu Qian at first, though his actions had increasingly convinced her of his honesty.
• Fu Qian and Aiko reached a grand hall and found no sign of life or a clearer source for the crying.
• Fu Qian noticed the crying growing louder in his mind, and Aiko said she had experienced a dangerous buildup before leaving the palace.
• Fu Qian proposed waiting for the sound to grow stronger as a backup plan, then asked Aiko where the nursery would be.
• Aiko led Fu Qian toward the royal family’s living quarters, saying they were some distance away.