Recaps

Mia gave Arnold Bugbear Growth Hormone and warned him to follow the dosage, but he took the remaining doses at once to win a strength contest. The sudden boost helped him dominate the contest, but it left him with an unexpected side effect, while Jia Xiu received notice that the Biochemical Warrior project had advanced.

• Mia gave Arnold five units of Bugbear Growth Hormone, instructed him to take one every two days, and warned him to report any adverse reactions.
• Arnold took his first dose and entered a log-lifting contest at Larven's training hall, where he narrowly fell behind Ronnie in the first round.
• Arnold secretly drank his remaining four doses and returned to lift the log forty-four times in the next round.
• Arnold won the contest but discovered that his genitals had become extremely small, and the female instructor tried to comfort him.
• Jia Xiu received a notification that the Biochemical Warrior project's progress had risen from 2% to 10%, followed by notice that the test subject had used the entire dose ahead of schedule.

Jia Xiu and Mia discovered that Arnold had taken five units of Bugbear Growth Hormone and survived, though it caused an embarrassing side effect. At the Caster Association, they learned the Ukmak Empire wanted to meet him, and Jia Xiu agreed to go with Mia despite her fear.

• Jia Xiu told Mia his prophecy suggested Arnold had taken all five units of Growth Hormone, and they went to find him at the training hall.
• Arnold admitted he had taken five units and revealed that the drug had made his genitals smaller, but he wanted to continue the trial for his muscles.
• Mia agreed to let Arnold continue at a lower dose and brought him to the Caster Association to report the serious side effect.
• An Association staff member told Mia that Ukmak Empire researchers had reported test subjects dying after taking three units and had offered a reward to meet any survivor of a higher dose.
• Mia worried about meeting the Ukmak team, but Jia Xiu said he wanted to meet them too.

Jia Xiu and Mia met with the Ukmak Empire’s alchemy team, which examined Arnold and offered to take over research on his Growth Hormone resistance. Arnold agreed to join the Biochemical Warrior Project, while Jia Xiu arranged for a spectrometer and confirmed she would compete in the Grand Five-Academy Tournament.

• Staudinger led the Ukmak team in examining Arnold and confirmed he had taken at least five units of Growth Hormone without life-threatening effects.
• Staudinger explained that the Empire wanted to study Arnold’s drug resistance to develop enhanced soldiers against the Demonfolk, and Arnold agreed to participate.
• The Ukmak team transferred the Biochemical Warrior Project to its Third Alchemy Research Institute and gave Jia Xiu and Mia a box of gold.
• Jia Xiu declined Staudinger’s offer to join the Ukmak Royal Caster Academy and promised to go all out against his nephew in the tournament.
• Jia Xiu asked the Ukmak team to build a spectrometer, then Arnold thanked her and Mia before they parted.

Jia Xiu used a spectrometer to discover that vampires were hurt by ultraviolet light and lost the ability to use Blood Clan magic in sunlight. He began investigating whether Blood Clan spells relied on a different set of rune functions, leaving that theory unconfirmed.

• Jia Xiu tested five spectrometer designs in his laboratory with a vampire Derivative as his subject.
• The Derivative showed no reaction to visible colors but felt mild pain from ultraviolet light, which Jia Xiu estimated had a wavelength between 200 and 400 nanometers.
• The Derivative explained that sunlight prevented Blood Clan members from using some of their magic, though they could still teleport.
• Jia Xiu had the Derivative shape duck blood into a cube, then confirmed that ultraviolet light made the cube collapse.
• The Derivative said she still understood the runes in the light but could identify which ones would fail, leading Jia Xiu to suspect different races used different rune libraries.

Jia Xiu found a possible way to recreate other races’ magic by developing his own rune effects, after Bubu helped him see that runes were only one way to channel magical energy. Margaret sent Jia Xiu, Mia, and Ram to register for the Five-School Tournament and explained the competition, which was being held in the Elven Holy Land.

• Jia Xiu worried that he could not access other races’ rune libraries until Bubu suggested he recreate their rune effects himself.
• Jia Xiu decided he could theoretically write a Blood Clan Magic library, beginning with the enchantment on Vampire fangs, and promised to knight Bubu after he was promoted.
• Margaret sent Jia Xiu, Mia, and Ram to register for the Five-School Tournament, and Jia Xiu learned that Juan was busy overseeing production at the alchemy factory.
• Margaret explained that the tournament’s five schools included Saint Dero, Holy Light Divine Academy, the Court of Silver Moon, Ukemak Royal Academy, and Vita Sage Institute, and that the Elven Holy Land would host.
• Jia Xiu learned that Saint Dero had won only six tournaments and found a long registration line of students signing up their roommates for the campus broadcast.

Jia Xiu registered for the Grand Five-Academy Tournament and received a five percent cafeteria discount from Dean Nico, who encouraged him to compete. Meanwhile, Belial heard a spy’s recommendation of a wicked soul as the Demonfolk prepared to sabotage the tournament.

• Jia Xiu considered how to recreate Blood Clan rune effects while waiting to register for the tournament.
• Dean Nico gave Jia Xiu a five percent cafeteria discount and argued that his background made him a likely champion.
• Dean Nico told Jia Xiu that the academy would support him regardless of the tournament’s outcome.
• John recommended a supposedly exceptionally wicked soul to Belial, who questioned whether the target merited the Demonfolk’s attention.

Belial agreed to John’s plan to capture Jia Xiu during the Five-School Tournament, alongside the Devils’ planned invasion. Meanwhile, Jia Xiu and his companions packed for their trip and entered a portal to the Elven Holy Land.

• John told Belial about Jia Xiu’s bizarre deeds, and Belial decided Jia Xiu was worth capturing.
• Belial assigned John command of the Devils hiding in the Elven Holy Land and demanded a concrete plan.
• John planned to manipulate Jia Xiu before the tournament and use undercover Devils to drive him toward a breakdown during the invasion.
• Jia Xiu packed luggage into Da Huang, who swallowed Margaret’s many suitcases as well.
• Jia Xiu, Margaret, three students, an Undead, and Da Huang entered the portal to Seldarian, Forest of the Ancestors.

Jia Xiu and his classmates arrived in the Elven Holy Land, where Mia arranged to stay with her wealthy great-great-great-grandmother, Gillianis. The visit revealed that Gillianis was casual and forgetful behind her elegant appearance.

• Jia Xiu and his classmates reached Thaldarian and were shown to cramped lodgings during the tourist season.
• Mia took Jia Xiu and Ram to a market to buy gifts and visit her relative, hoping to stay at her mansion.
• Gillianis struggled to remember Mia but welcomed her and the others into her luxurious home.
• After they entered, Gillianis changed into loose clothes and admitted she enjoyed tobacco and liquor in private.

Jia Xiu and Mia visited Gillianis, who explained how Elves came to uphold their legendary public image while privately breaking its rules. Gillianis offered them a place to stay and lent Jia Xiu her extensive notebook on Blood Clan magic for up to two years.

• Gillianis explained that Elves had embraced the idealized image other races gave them and enforced rules requiring them to act accordingly in public.
• Gillianis welcomed Jia Xiu, Mia, and Bubu to stay at her home while they attended the magic school competition in Thaldarian.
• Gillianis recognized Jia Xiu’s connection to the Blood Clan and recounted killing a Vampire who had sought a powerful Elf Derivative.
• Gillianis revealed that she had studied Blood Clan magic and summoned her notebook for Jia Xiu to examine.
• Jia Xiu asked to borrow the notebook, and Gillianis agreed to lend it to him for up to two years.

Jia Xiu studied Gillianis's notes and developed an enchantment that reproduced the pleasurable effect of a Vampire's bite. He tested it on his right hand, and Margaret's accidental high five left her visibly shaken as she fled the room.

• Jia Xiu studied Gillianis's notes with her help and learned the story of her human lover, Mia's great-great-grandfather.
• Jia Xiu used his growing understanding of Blood Clan spells to create an enchantment that took effect when it touched skin.
• Jia Xiu enchanted his right hand and prepared to test the spell on himself.
• Margaret arrived to summon Jia Xiu to rehearsal and accidentally high-fived his enchanted hand.
• Margaret shuddered, struggled to maintain her composure, and slammed the door as she left.

Jia Xiu was chosen to carry Saint Dero’s flag at the Grand Five-Academy Tournament’s opening ceremony. As he entered the arena, the Dwarf announcer recognized him and feared another humiliating encounter.

• Saint Dero’s head team leader named Jia Xiu the school’s flag-bearer because he had the best betting odds among its contestants.
• Jia Xiu learned that he ranked ninth overall at eight to one and checked the joint Biochemical Warrior project, which had reached twelve percent.
• The head team leader gave Jia Xiu Saint Dero’s red flag, marked with the school crest and a single star.
• Fifty thousand spectators gathered at the Thousand-Leaf Dome Arena for the tournament’s opening ceremony.
• The Dwarf announcer recognized Jia Xiu entering with Saint Dero’s team and froze, remembering how Jia Xiu had embarrassed him before.

Jia Xiu and his companions prepared for the first competition round, in which contestants had to subdue poisoned Hellhounds and treat them. The chapter ended with a disguised Demonfolk finding the Hellhound assigned to Jia Xiu.

• The opening ceremony ended, and Professor Stanley announced the first-round Hellhound challenge.
• Stanley explained that contestants had to subdue a Hellhound, identify its toxin, and treat it before it died.
• Jia Xiu said the healing task suited him, while Ram felt confident and Mia considered how she might manage.
• A person in work clothes surveyed the Hellhound holding area, quieting the animals with their powerful Demonfolk presence.
• The disguised Demonfolk stopped at the cage whose number matched Jia Xiu's assignment.

Jacob swiftly treated a poisoned Hellhound, while Mia Oak slowed hers with an unexplained method and prepared to advance. As Jia Xiu warmed up for his match, a judge plotted to rig it under Belial’s orders and push him toward corruption.

• Jacob pinned the Hellhound with a Holy Light sword, removed its toxins, and finished in 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
• Jia Xiu watched Jacob’s performance, then found Ram calmly restraining a Hellhound and identifying its poison.
• Mia Oak dodged her Hellhound until it slowed and lay down, leaving the commentators puzzled about what she had done.
• Jia Xiu warmed up for his upcoming match and considered how to meet the requirements quickly.
• The next match’s judge prepared a poisoned Hellhound and planned to unfairly eliminate Jia Xiu as part of Belial’s scheme.

Jia Xiu fought a poisoned Hellhound in the seeded contestants’ first round and used an unconventional Healing Spell to kill it while arguing that he had followed the rules. The Devil referee’s plan to provoke Jia Xiu into falling under the Demonfolk’s influence stalled when Jia Xiu remained confident and the referee lost his temper.

• The Dwarf commentator introduced Jia Xiu, whose strange reputation had made him unpopular with the audience.
• Jia Xiu taunted the Hellhound, then used Mage Armor to block its bite and a Healing Spell to overgrow its fur and restrain it.
• Jia Xiu examined the Hellhound and found symptoms of several poisons, but the referee denied that anything was wrong.
• Jia Xiu decided the rules only required the Hellhound not to die from poison, then used a Healing Spell to enlarge a tumor until the Hellhound bled to death.
• The referee tried to eliminate Jia Xiu, but Jia Xiu argued that the Hellhound had died from the tumor rather than poison and that he had used a Healing Spell as required.
• The referee realized his plan to manipulate Jia Xiu had stalled and wondered whether something was wrong with Jia Xiu’s head.

Jia Xiu passed the first round after the Ukemak professor ruled that he had broken no rules, then reporters turned his denial of a mysterious organization into an apparent confession. The chapter ended with Jia Xiu discovering the fabricated headline and edited footage in the morning paper.

• The scar-faced Ukemak professor ruled that Jia Xiu had completed the challenge without breaking any rules, with a time of three minutes and forty-four seconds.
• Justus Staudinger admired Jia Xiu’s unconventional approach and developed an interest in the Jia Xiu School.
• Jia Xiu reunited with Mia, Ram, and Margaret, and Margaret warned them that reporters would swarm them outside the arena.
• Jia Xiu told reporters that he knew nothing about a mysterious organization, hoping to stop the rumors.
• The next morning, Jia Xiu read a newspaper headline claiming he had admitted he was not unaware of the mysterious organization, accompanied by edited footage of his answer.

Jia Xiu and Gillianis frightened a newspaper owner into publishing a dramatic retraction that blamed the false rumors on the Devils. The next day, undercover Devils learned their operation had been exposed, putting their mission to corrupt Jia Xiu at risk.

• Jia Xiu asked Gillianis how to answer the newspapers' false claims, and she joined him in planning to force the owner to print a correction.
• Gillianis transformed Jia Xiu into a Pit Fiend and herself into a Hellhound, and they broke into the newspaper owner's house.
• Jia Xiu threatened the owner with a coin game and a mace until the owner agreed to sign a Devil's contract.
• Jia Xiu ordered the owner to announce that Devils had spread the rumors to prove how easily the city's people could be fooled.
• Lust Demon John gathered the undercover Devils, and the referee arrived with a newspaper announcing the Devils' supposed victory and warning that they had been exposed.

John rallied his devil spies to continue targeting Jia Xiu, while Jia Xiu shared a meal with Dwarves Taco and the commentator. Taco enchanted Jia Xiu’s amulet for the next exam, though Jia Xiu sensed it might do more than bring good luck.

• John learned that one of his spies had invented and spread the rumor about Jia Xiu, then ordered the squad to keep pursuing him.
• Jia Xiu enjoyed a free lunch at Taco’s restaurant and met Taco, the younger brother of Headmaster Nico.
• The Dwarf commentator and Taco tested each other with coded jokes, then teased Jia Xiu into telling a joke about Dwarves and technology.
• Taco gave Jia Xiu cakes and enchanted the amulet Professor Aurelius had given him, telling him to wear it during the exam.

The second round of the competition required contestants to create viewing illusions that would attract Thaldarian residents, with the top eighty percent advancing. Jia Xiu formed a team with Mia and Ram, then received a challenge from Justus Staudinger, who planned to prove his Imperial Spirit through his illusion.

• The first-round results placed Jia Xiu fifth, Ram 34th, and Mia 113th, while most Saint Dero contestants were eliminated and began enjoying Thaldarian.
• Professor Tanshur announced that contestants had three days to make viewing illusions, with audience numbers determining who advanced, and allowed teams and professional support.
• Jia Xiu asked to add a marking spell to his illusion, and Professor Tanshur allowed it as long as it followed the rules.
• Jia Xiu, Mia, and Ram formed a team, while Ukemak's contestants were assigned to groups by their leader.
• Justus Staudinger approached Jia Xiu and declared that he would prove he had the truest Imperial Spirit through his illusion.

Jia Xiu organized Ram and Mia to help create a story-driven phantom set in Thaldarian, while the neighboring teams struggled to shape their own competition entries. The chapter left the contestants working under a three-day deadline, with Jacob forcing his team’s comedy into a tearful moral fable and Justus calling for a phantom about the Ukemak people’s hardships.

• Jia Xiu assigned Ram to request illusion resources and assemble backgrounds, Mia to create illusion circuits, and began writing a story about a half-elf mage in Thaldarian.
• Jia Xiu planned to use the assigned studios and their research materials to produce his phantom during the three-day competition period.
• Jacob insisted that his team’s phantom promote the Holy Light, then accepted a student’s suggestion to make it a comedy with a gospel message.
• Jacob criticized the student’s comedy scripts and ordered the student to revise one with a more uplifting, tearful ending.
• Justus told his team to show the hardships the Ukemak people endured as they grew up and convey the Empire’s spirit.

John and the devils secretly cast an emotion-affecting spell on the base of Jia Xiu’s exhibit, hoping to sour visitors’ opinions and drive Jia Xiu to despair. When the exhibition opened, Simon followed Mick to the crowded booth for Omnipotent Mage: Casting Spells Increases Proficiency and stepped into its magic device.

• John led the devil squad into the dark exhibition hall and guided them to Jia Xiu’s booth.
• The Chain Devil cast a spell on the exhibit’s base to make nearby visitors feel gloomy and dissatisfied, and the devils escaped before the next patrol arrived.
• Simon visited the exhibition and met Mick, who warned him about several works before urging him to see Omnipotent Mage: Casting Spells Increases Proficiency.
• Simon saw visitors crowding the booth and acting as if they were hooked on the phantom, then Mick pushed him into the magic device’s range.

Simon experienced a Phantom that mirrored his struggles, then became absorbed in a fantasy about overcoming humiliation and challenging his tormentors. The viewing ended on a duel cliffhanger, and he learned he had to invite five new viewers to unlock the next episode for free.

• Simon’s financial stress and memories of being rejected resurfaced as the Phantom began.
• In the Phantom, Simon experienced a half-Elf’s humiliation, broken engagement, and meeting with the mage Elminster, who gave him the tenth-circle spell Magic Infusion.
• The Phantom’s Simon mastered an enhanced Magic Missile and challenged an Elf who had mocked him to a duel.
• Just as Simon’s anger peaked and the duel was about to begin, the Phantom ended with a “To be continued” notice.
• Simon learned his free viewing time had expired and that he needed to invite five new viewers to unlock the next episode for free.

Simon and the other viewers competed to recruit people for Jia Xiu’s Phantom, offering bread, shoe repairs, and cash to get them to watch. Professor Tanshur watched the first half and found himself wanting more, while Jia Xiu received notice that Tanshur was interested in the Jia Xiu School.

• Simon realized viewers had to recruit five new people before they could watch the next episode, and he joined the effort to find recruits.
• Simon offered free bread to new viewers, prompting other viewers to compete with their own freebies and cash rewards.
• Professor Tanshur arrived, suspected viewers were being bribed, and learned that the Phantom’s cliffhanger was driving the recruitment rush.
• Professor Tanshur and his assistant waited in line and watched the first half of Jia Xiu’s Phantom; despite listing its flaws, the assistant wanted to see what happened next.
• Jia Xiu received a notification that Tanshur had developed a strong interest in the Jia Xiu School.

John failed to explain away the failure of his schemes against Jia Xiu, so Belial ordered him to capture Jia Xiu during the attack on Thaldarian and gave him a Pit Fiend as backup. Unaware of the threat, Jia Xiu finished a Vampire rune library in his studio, but his attempt to submit it for experience was rejected.

• John told Belial that Jia Xiu had thwarted their plans, and Belial concluded the schemes had never affected Jia Xiu.
• Belial ordered John to seize Jia Xiu on the day the competition closed and take him away with the attacking force.
• Belial gave John teleportation scrolls and promised a Pit Fiend to help capture Jia Xiu.
• Jia Xiu completed a Magic Grimoire library that reproduced more than a dozen Vampire runes.
• Jia Xiu submitted the library to gain experience, but the system rejected it.

After the Sect Master rejected Jia Xiu’s Vampire Rune Library for lacking general applicability, Jia Xiu devised a way to adapt the Enlightenment Spell so other spellcasters could use it. On the final day of confinement, he rushed to the Association to find information about the spell, leaving Margaret behind as she checked the squad’s results.

• The Sect Master rejected Jia Xiu’s Third-party Vampire Rune Library because its method depended on the Magic Grimoire and could not be replicated by other spellcasters.
• Jia Xiu asked the Sect Master to teach him the Magic Grimoire’s invocation function, but the Sect Master said the implementation was far beyond his ability to master.
• After venting his frustration, Jia Xiu realized he could modify the Enlightenment Spell to grant a temporary Vampire rune library and make his method more broadly usable.
• Mia told Jia Xiu that it was the squad’s last day in the studio, and Margaret arrived to collect the Jia Xiu Squad.
• Jia Xiu announced his new idea, asked Margaret to check the second-round results, and hurried off to the Association to look for information on the Enlightenment Spell.

Jia Xiu searched for the obscure Enlightenment Spell and found a memory fragment in Thaldarian’s Grand Library that showed how it worked. He modified the spell to import Blood Clan runes as a separate library, tested it successfully, and submitted his work to the system.

• Jia Xiu learned that the Caster Association had a copy of the Enlightenment Spell but directed him to Thaldarian’s Grand Library for faster access.
• Jia Xiu pressured an unhelpful elf librarian into finding a memory fragment of an elf learning the Enlightenment Spell.
• Jia Xiu studied the spell’s circuit and modified it to grant access to Blood Clan runes without interfering with his human spells.
• Jia Xiu cast Blood-to-Key after enlightening himself and confirmed that his modified spell worked.
• Jia Xiu submitted the modified Enlightenment Spell and Blood Clan rune library, earning 1,150 experience points and an evaluation that his achievement would appear in textbooks.