Chapter Summaries

The narrator realized the Warehouse restricted how much power could enter, then tried to use Jining’s warning about the King of Prison Break’s Calamity Authority against Lui and Old Master Li. Old Master Li broke through his bottleneck and attacked, while the narrator fought back with a Moonfire warrior’s slowing power and invoked the Blood Clan Progenitor’s face.

• The narrator concluded that the Warehouse had a power limit and that Lui’s advice to improve was another trap.
• The narrator explained that Jining had identified the King of Prison Break’s Calamity Authority as a curse that amplified damage.
• Old Master Li spoke of his convictions, awakened to a higher level, and used his ruined sword to cut down the hidden Tree Infants.
• Old Master Li attacked the narrator, who was pierced through the side, while Lui continued trying to secure a cultural victory.
• The narrator transformed into a Moonfire warrior and repeatedly slowed Li He, then confronted him with the Blood Clan Progenitor’s face.

Fu Qian used the ancient majesty of his assumed identity to deepen Old Master Li’s understanding of the Blood Order and block Lui’s chance to recover. He exposed the royal heir hidden inside Li He, but the heir escaped, leaving Lui to ask how Fu Qian had discovered it.

• Fu Qian denied Old Master Li’s guess that he was Annalise and let Li conclude that the Blood Clan Progenitor’s name had long been wrong.
• Fu Qian mocked the Blood Clan and pureblood vampires, further unsettling Old Master Li and undermining Lui’s remaining chance to turn the story around.
• Fu Qian struck Li He with Sage’s Judgment, revealing the newly born royal heir concealed inside his body.
• The royal heir escaped as its exposed form rotted, and Lui asked Fu Qian how he had found it.
• Fu Qian replied that he had not found out.

Fu Qian helped Old Master Li survive Lui’s attack and confronted Lui about his plans and the Blood Order. The task ended with Lui’s scheme thwarted, and Fu Qian received a blank memoir fragment as a reward.

• Fu Qian explained that he had realized Lui’s hidden attack had targeted Old Master Li rather than himself.
• Fu Qian challenged Lui’s confidence and asked whether he was connected to the Native Council and whose power the Blood Order served.
• The task notification confirmed that Fu Qian had successfully contained No. 1-207, and Lui’s plan collapsed.
• The task evaluation revealed that Lui had tried to use his notebook and the Larrea family bloodline to make a false authority real, but an intruder ruined his plan.
• Fu Qian received 26 Sanity Value and a Blank Memoir Fragment, bringing his Sanity Value to 123 and Inspiration to 99.

Fu Qian examined the Blank Memoir Fragment and realized how Lui’s memoir could turn consensus into reality while trapping its participants in the story. After the task restored Benjamin Larrea’s health and left the world peaceful, Fu Qian received permission to leave the Warehouse and put on the Messenger.

• Fu Qian reasoned that the memoir could make its agreed-upon ending real while absorbing its participants, and wondered whether failing the task would have trapped him too.
• Fu Qian identified Rom as a name linked to the Native Council and speculated about Lui’s previous uses of the memoir.
• Fu Qian inspected the Blank Memoir Fragment and learned that it could start a shared reminiscence for up to twelve participants, with one use remaining in its three-use limit.
• Fu Qian concluded that the fragment’s power could force selected people into a story and permanently record them unless they turned the consensus against its intended outcome.
• Fu Qian noted that Benjamin Larrea had recovered his health and that the Li family and Lord Aiko would find no threat in the newborn, then received notice that his work was complete.
• Fu Qian set the fragment on the table, muttered “Blood Order,” and put on the Messenger.

Fu Qian used the lab’s Art of Inverting Black and White to experience the Blood Clan Progenitor’s full moon and discovered it stirred a vivid memory from his past. The experience deepened his questions about Annalise, Red Moon, and the meaning of the moon.

• Fu Qian reflected on Rom’s demonstration of Authority and considered how it supported his fruit-and-sugar hypothesis.
• Fu Qian entered Liu Shuang’s room in the lab and activated the Art of Inverting Black and White.
• Fu Qian summoned the moonlight and endured its effects until a colossal full moon appeared before him.
• Fu Qian recognized the moon’s warmth from a memory of leaving his hospital bed and seeing a werewolf kneel in a courtyard.
• Fu Qian recalled the attending physician’s words and wondered whether the Blood Clan Progenitor’s symbol had inspired his first dream, while considering Red Moon and Dark Moon.

Fu Qian agreed to help the Night Watchers after Ji Liushuang passed on Dean Li’s request, then went with her to eat at the shop where they had drinks before. There, he recognized the golden-haired server as someone familiar and tried to remember whether the Dragon Peak Inn proprietress was named Sunny.

• Ji Liushuang told Fu Qian that Dean Li had sent greetings and wanted him to represent the academy in helping the Night Watchers.
• Fu Qian agreed to take on the work and told Ji Liushuang she could bring up important matters with him directly.
• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang went to the shop where they had drinks before, planning to eat until Professor Lanaia could put the bill on the Department of Punishment’s tab.
• A golden-haired server greeted Fu Qian, and he tried to recall whether the Dragon Peak Inn proprietress was named Sunny.

Sunny took a waitress job at the shop after Fu Qian had advised her to come to the Academy, and she quickly became a welcome part of its lively atmosphere. When Professor Lanaia arrived, Fu Qian got her to pay for the meal, then warned her that trouble was coming.

• Sunny, a former Dragon King oathbound, followed Fu Qian's advice and found work as a waitress at the shop.
• Ji Liushuang noticed that Sunny was a mid-tier transcendent, but Fu Qian told her there was no need to worry.
• Sunny won over the regular customers as the shop filled with diners, while Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang enjoyed their meal.
• Professor Lanaia arrived, hesitated at the sight of Sunny, and joined Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang after Fu Qian called her over.
• Fu Qian admitted that he and Ji Liushuang had no money and had been waiting for Lanaia to pay, then wrote that trouble was coming, cracking her glass.

At dinner, Fu Qian told Lanaia that Sunny might be an incomplete, doll-like being who had come to the academy, and he used their conversation to watch her reaction. The discussion ended when Lanaia discovered that Fu Qian had watered down her wine to make her more willing to pay the bill.

• Fu Qian told Lanaia that Sunny seemed incomplete and might be a fragment, puppet, or doll.
• Lanaia questioned Fu Qian's assessment while Sunny listened nearby and served customers.
• Fu Qian argued that Sunny's presence at the shop suggested she had come for the academy, and Lanaia realized he had spoken openly so Sunny would hear him.
• Lanaia asked whether they should take Sunny in for questioning, but Fu Qian said they were already questioning her by watching her reaction.
• Fu Qian revealed that the wine had been watered down, and Lanaia discovered that he had done it to make her more willing to pay the bill.

Fu Qian used a meal with Professor Lanaia to observe Sunny’s reaction and considered how the academy might protect her from the Dragon King’s oath. The next morning, Dean Li Weixuan visited Fu Qian.

• Lanaia warned Ji Liushuang to report Fu Qian if he withheld her wages, and Fu Qian defended his plan to use the stored item to seek sponsorship.
• Lanaia accepted another glass of wine from Sunny and watched her react cautiously to Fu Qian’s presence.
• Fu Qian recalled that Kelson had chosen A'Long as the original and Sunny as the puppet, while Siren secretly kept track of Sunny to protect her and monitor the Native Council.
• Fu Qian reflected that Sunny had come to the academy seeking protection and possible treatment, but he would leave the choice of pursuing a cure to her.
• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang left after dining with Lanaia, and Dean Li Weixuan visited Fu Qian the next morning.

Li Weixuan asked Fu Qian to examine an unusual item confiscated by the Night Watchers, which might be linked to the victims’ behavior during the Ian incident. Fu Qian agreed to investigate and asked Li Weixuan to help upgrade his laboratory equipment.

• Li Weixuan told Fu Qian that the Night Watchers had accepted the academy’s handling of Ian’s incident without objection.
• Li Weixuan described a confiscated object made of intertwined finger bones that seemed to influence people’s desires, and explained that the Night Watchers wanted the academy to check whether it was connected to the victims’ behavior.
• Li Weixuan said Chang Mo had initially been assigned to assess the object, but he thought Fu Qian was better suited to the task.
• Fu Qian agreed to examine the object, and Li Weixuan arranged for Professor Chang to bring it to him.
• Fu Qian asked Li Weixuan to help upgrade his laboratory equipment.

Fu Qian received a strange sphere linked to the victims of the “invitations” and learned it could slightly improve their condition. He then asked Ji Liushuang to record a long list of supplies for his laboratory, leaving Chang Mo bewildered by how little of it seemed like proper equipment.

• Li Weixuan agreed to provide Fu Qian with equipment for his laboratory and left, trusting Dean Cas's judgment of him.
• Chang Mo arrived with Ji Liushuang and another helper, bringing Fu Qian a pearly sphere seized by the Night Watchers.
• Chang Mo explained that the sphere had slightly improved some victims of the “invitations,” though it had not cured them or produced other known effects.
• Fu Qian reviewed Chang Mo's records and asked Ji Liushuang to write down his supply requests.
• Chang Mo stared in disbelief at Fu Qian's list, which seemed to contain little proper laboratory equipment.

Fu Qian took charge of investigating the Finger Ball and invited Ji Liushuang to join him. After reviewing Chang Mo’s report, he decided they would visit the Honma brothers, planning a bolder investigation than Chang Mo’s tests.

• Chang Mo handed Fu Qian the project and left with the Night Watcher, while Ji Liushuang stayed behind to assist him.
• Fu Qian examined the Finger Ball as Ji Liushuang explained why the Night Watchers confiscated supernatural items with unknown origins.
• Fu Qian asked Ji Liushuang to explore the item’s effects with him, and she agreed to join his investigation.
• Fu Qian reviewed Chang Mo’s report and chose the Honma brothers’ residence as their next destination, judging her testing methods too conservative.

Fu Qian visited Honma to test whether the Finger Ball could help resolve the lingering danger affecting him. Honma had recovered enough to enjoy his food, but he still reacted strongly to the ball and agreed to repeat the experiment.

• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang entered Honma’s home and found him with a crew cut, eating a meal and appearing more ordinary than before.
• Fu Qian explained that Honma’s earlier tests had shown improvement, though he had begun reacting to the Finger Ball much like the other victims.
• Honma recognized Ji Liushuang and cautiously asked whether Fu Qian had come from the academy to conduct more tests.
• Fu Qian set the Finger Ball on the table and asked Honma whether he remembered what he had done during the previous test.
• Honma confirmed that he remembered, then picked up the Finger Ball and held it against his chest as Fu Qian watched.

Fu Qian changed the Finger Ball test by making Honma hold the prayer-like pose in silence while he observed him. After Ji Liushuang judged that Honma had improved, Fu Qian asked her to use her Heart-Questioning Sword Prison on him, then suddenly appeared inside its white expanse.

• Fu Qian told Honma to keep holding the Finger Ball without speaking, and Honma eventually settled back into the pose.
• Ji Liushuang watched Honma and noticed that Fu Qian was making changes to the test.
• Fu Qian asked Ji Liushuang for her Weaver's Limb Tip and asked how it handled while Honma remained in the pose.
• Ji Liushuang said Honma seemed improved and that the Finger Ball appeared to have an effect.
• Fu Qian returned the sword and told Ji Liushuang to show him what she had gained recently.
• Ji Liushuang activated her Heart-Questioning Sword Prison on Honma, and Fu Qian suddenly appeared inside it.

Fu Qian entered Ji Liushuang’s Heart-Questioning Sword Prison and used Clear Dream to test Honma, whose apparent distress concealed an abnormal response to the Finger Ball. He explained that expanding the test’s scale would reveal the ball’s true effect, while Honma remained trapped in the dream.

• Fu Qian forced his way into the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison without destabilizing it and told Ji Liushuang he was a swordsman too.
• Fu Qian asked Honma how he felt, and Honma questioned where he was before protesting that he wanted to leave.
• Ji Liushuang noticed that Honma still clutched the Finger Ball and suspected his behavior hid an abnormality.
• Fu Qian pointed out that Honma had not asked how to leave, then explained to Ji Liushuang that the test needed a larger scale.
• Fu Qian revealed that he had used Clear Dream to make Honma the dream’s core, and that Honma’s restrained urge and the Sword Prison’s truth-forcing effect would expose the Finger Ball’s effects.

Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang watched Honma endure an overwhelming ecstasy in the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison as they tested the Finger Ball. After the feeling abruptly vanished, Honma calmly said he felt good and revealed that he had seen the White-Headed Cathedral inside the ball.

• Ji Liushuang realized Honma was being driven to answer and was concealing the ecstasy building within him.
• Fu Qian recalled Honma's earlier ordeal with soup and decided to wait for his talent to reveal the Finger Ball's effect.
• Ji Liushuang checked the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison while Fu Qian discovered he could not conjure chairs inside it.
• Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang watched Honma's ecstasy intensify until it suddenly shattered.
• Honma said he felt good, then told Fu Qian he had seen the White-Headed Cathedral inside the Finger Ball.

Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang saw Honma’s dream transform into the White-Headed Holy See, a holy place linked to the Finger Ball that calmed desire. Ji Liushuang resisted its alluring peace and warned that something was wrong.

• Fu Qian’s questioning and Ji Liushuang’s Heart-Questioning Sword Prison coincided with Honma’s dream transforming into the White-Headed Holy See.
• Honma confirmed that he had only sensed or vaguely glimpsed the place before, but now recognized it as an exalted holy place.
• Fu Qian considered how the Holy See and Finger Ball affected Ecstasy believers, then asked Ji Liushuang for her view.
• Ji Liushuang resisted the Holy See’s influence and told Fu Qian that something was wrong, recalling his advice to seek clarity amid murk rather than become clarity.

Fu Qian’s grotesque appearance of Professor Ian exposed how the White-Headed Holy See turned desire into pleasure, whether through indulgence or restraint. Ji Liushuang recognized that Honma’s apparent reason had long been serving his desire, and the chapter left her examining the holy place with a new understanding.

• Professor Fu praised Ji Liushuang’s answer and cautioned that his suspicions about the holy place were only personal opinions.
• Fu Qian asked Honma to imagine the White-Headed Holy See as a wedding venue, and Honma described the wonder it could offer.
• A monstrous, many-limbed Professor Ian emerged from behind the silver curtain and dripped fluid onto the table.
• Ji Liushuang recognized Ian, while Honma recoiled and vomited at the sight.
• Professor Ian crawled across the table and desecrated the holy emblem, but Honma soon found the scene wonderful and felt enlightened.
• Ji Liushuang concluded that the holy place elevated desire and that even Honma’s restraint had become a means of pleasure.

Fu Qian tested his theory that the Ecstasy Servants’ restraint only transformed their desire into new forms of pleasure. Ian’s corruption triggered a violent transformation, but Fu Qian destroyed him before he could escape control.

• Fu Qian concluded that the Ecstasy Servants’ apparent relief from fleshly desire was another exaltation of ecstasy, and considered Honma evidence for his theory.
• Fu Qian snapped his fingers at Ian, who bit into the sacred emblem and cracked its surface, releasing a fragrant liquid.
• Fu Qian told Ji Liushuang to keep observing and recording without bias, and she put away her weapon and took up her pen.
• Ian frantically sucked at the crack as his body inverted into a distorted, white-haired form and broke partly free of Fu Qian’s control.
• The transformed Ian locked onto Fu Qian and unleashed an overwhelming force, but Fu Qian blasted him apart.

Fu Qian confronted the White-Headed Holy See inside his dream as it gathered desire to unleash a devastating attack. He answered with Madness Fire, destroying the sanctuary and its giant Finger Ball before returning to Brother Honma’s dining table.

• Fu Qian identified the White-Headed Holy See’s sanctuary as a projection connected to the Tree of Ecstasy and the godlike being he had glimpsed before.
• The sanctuary’s emblem unfolded into a giant Finger Ball woven from white hairs, while strands gathered desire from countless people and strengthened their bond with the dream.
• Fu Qian realized the accumulated desire was about to erupt and waited as the giant Finger Ball blazed with power.
• Fu Qian unleashed boundless Golden Flames, and the Madness Fire engulfed and destroyed Finger Ball, the sanctuary, and the gathered sea of desire.
• Fu Qian returned to a chair beside Brother Honma’s dining table and sensed distant ripples before giving a cold snort.