Chapter Summaries

Jia Xiu modified Vampires at the bathhouse while learning about the Blood Clan’s rigid hierarchy and the luxuries of the nobility. He agreed to work with the Caster Association on a plan to profit from Vampire Modification, leaving Margaret upset that Jia Xiu might be named an outstanding young caster before she was.

• Jia Xiu completed modifications for twenty-five Derivatives and took a break, where Margaret explained that the Blood Clan ranked members by their first embrace and described the nobility’s custom-flavored mana potions.
• Carol told Jia Xiu that Caster Association representatives had arrived with Mia, her companions, and Bubu to discuss cooperation.
• Collins proposed licensing Vampire Modification and using legislation to require city-dwelling Vampires to undergo repeated, time-limited modifications before the spell became permanent.
• Collins offered Jia Xiu a recommendation for the Association’s outstanding young caster selection, and Jia Xiu accepted the deal.
• Margaret protested that she had not yet been named Outstanding Youth, even though she had been first.

Jia Xiu and Collins planned a public campaign to promote Blood Clan transformation as a paid benefit, while Jia Xiu claimed the spell came from the Holy Light Church and revealed that transformed Vampires would crave animal organs. After Collins left to lobby city councilors, a report revealed that Juan had already secured organ supplies across multiple cities.

• Jia Xiu and Collins agreed to promote transformation through media and rebrand its fees as funding for a Blood Clan benefit.
• When Collins asked about the spell, Jia Xiu credited the discovery to the Holy Light Church and said animal organs would replace the craving for blood.
• Collins departed to lobby city councilors, and Jia Xiu prepared to return to school with his companions.
• Jia Xiu promised Margaret he would recommend her for Outstanding Youth once he qualified, and she immediately recovered from her daze.
• Angela Tita received a food box of intestines to replace her blood supply and recognized the Juan-Jia Xiu brand on its emblem.
• Collins learned that Juan had contracted to buy organ supplies from slaughterhouses and farms across several cities.

Juan and Jia Xiu arranged to buy unwanted offal cheaply, betting that the Blood Clan would turn it into a fashionable luxury once Vampires began craving it. After submitting research on the tentacle monsters’ spell system, Jia Xiu reached Warlock LV.7 and unlocked a new time-stop ability.

• Juan questioned whether his contracts to buy unwanted farm and slaughterhouse goods would leave them with losses, and Jia Xiu explained that Vampires would soon develop a craving for offal.
• Jia Xiu predicted that the Blood Clan would make offal seem expensive and fashionable, prompting wealthy people to eat it too.
• Juan agreed to name their new brand Double Convergence and returned to expanding the business.
• Elizabeth worked on translating the tentacle monsters’ legacy while Jia Xiu submitted his paper to the Sect Master.
• The Sect Master awarded Jia Xiu 2700 experience points, raising him from Warlock LV.6 to LV.7 and improving Sage Time.
• Jia Xiu’s Little Black Room ranked up into a Time-Stop Little Black Room.

Jia Xiu tested the upgraded Time Stop Little Black Room and discovered that it could freeze, fast-forward, and rewind spells, letting him inspect their intermediate states. He glimpsed the process that converted runes into a spell’s execution encoding but could not understand it, so he used Sage Time to memorize it and search for patterns.

• Jia Xiu installed the upgraded Little Black Room despite its warnings and skipped the new feature guide.
• Jia Xiu used Hannas and a Flame Arrow to test Time Stop, discovering he could pause, fast-forward, and rewind an active spell.
• Jia Xiu realized the spell’s visible encoding might reveal the process by which runes became elemental execution, a crucial gap in magical knowledge.
• Jia Xiu struggled to locate the brief conversion process, then finally captured it and found its encoding incomprehensible, with some portions blurred.
• Jia Xiu concluded he needed to match the clear encoding to its source runes and activate Sage Time to memorize the process for later study.

Jia Xiu planned to use Ram’s luck to test spells and identify how magic worked, but Justina arrived with a warning that Holy Light knew of him and had told her to protect him. The revelation left Jia Xiu wary and Justina flustered after he teased her about doubting Holy Light’s omniscience.

• Jia Xiu recorded the Flame Arrow spell code and organized his many research projects, deciding to test spells with Ram’s Strong Luck buff.
• Justina contacted Jia Xiu and arrived through a spatial rift with her eyes shut from eight days of inspecting the Holy City for Devils.
• Jia Xiu learned that Holy Light had granted Justina the ability to see through Devil disguises, but she had not considered that infiltrators could simply avoid her.
• Justina told Jia Xiu that Holy Light knew of him and had instructed her to protect him.
• Jia Xiu pointed out that Justina’s surprise suggested she doubted Holy Light’s omniscience, then teased her for blaspheming.

Jia Xiu speculated about why Holy Light had singled him out and questioned its motives for granting Justina a power to detect Devil Race infiltrators. Justina demonstrated the ability, and Jia Xiu asked to study how it worked before proposing they try it in a dark room.

• Jia Xiu considered whether his otherworldly origin or his elusive Sect Master had drawn Holy Light's attention, but dismissed the possibility that the Sect Master was Holy Light itself.
• Justina used Holy Light's eye drops while complaining about Jia Xiu's irreverence, then prepared to leave after delivering her warning.
• Jia Xiu asked whether Justina could still use her painful vision ability, and she explained that opening her eyes made tears stream down her face.
• Jia Xiu coaxed Justina into demonstrating the ability, and her eyes shone like searchlights until she cut off the mana feeding them.
• Jia Xiu asked Justina to activate the ability again so he could study its spell process, then suggested taking her into a dark room to test it.

Jia Xiu brought Justina into the Little Black Room to study her Holy Light divine art, discovering that the spell had gained new playback and timeline functions. As he examined the spell, Justina wondered whether Jia Xiu’s Sect Master was a Time God, then reassured herself that Holy Light remained supreme.

• Jia Xiu explained the Little Black Room to Justina and brought her inside to study her High Beams spell.
• Justina sensed that Jia Xiu’s Sect Master was vastly more powerful than she was as Jia Xiu selected Hannas as the spell’s target.
• Jia Xiu discovered update notes that added playback speeds, precise timeline controls, spell archiving, and playback anchors to the Little Black Room.
• Justina cast High Beams at Hannas while Jia Xiu replayed and examined the divine art at different speeds.
• Justina wondered whether Jia Xiu’s Sect Master was a Time God, and Jia Xiu argued that the spell only controlled one spell’s process.
• Jia Xiu continued studying the first milliseconds of Justina’s divine art while Justina reaffirmed her faith in Holy Light.

Jia Xiu analyzed Holy Light’s divine magic in the Little Black Room and discovered that it detected Devil Race disguises by layering a transformation spell from another system over them and sensing the resulting signal. Justina realized they already had a spell that might work: the tentacle monster’s spell that turned the Devil Race into Vampires.

• Justina asked Jia Xiu whether he could understand Holy Light’s divine magic, while privately worrying that his success might undermine her beliefs about the gods.
• Jia Xiu used the Little Black Room’s anchor-point function to compare the divine magic’s code at different stages, then extended his observations after learning from Justina that the spell took several seconds to detect Devil Race members.
• Jia Xiu concluded that the spell layered a transformation disguise from another system over a Devil Race member’s disguise, causing an error signal that became the bell Justina heard.
• Jia Xiu explained that a different transformation spell could reveal Devil Race disguises by producing the same kind of signal, and Justina identified the tentacle monster’s Vampire-transformation spell as a possible solution.

Jia Xiu and Justina explored how to detect Devil Race infiltrators by using the Vampire-transformation spell as a test, but they lacked data on disguised Devil Race targets. Jia Xiu contacted Justus in the Ukmak Empire for help, and Justus suggested there might still be a way to find disguised Devil Race members.

• Jia Xiu explained that the Vampire spell could reveal a detection signal before its transformation completed, giving them time to stop the process.
• Jia Xiu and Justina found that they could not identify the Devil Race signal without studying targets disguised as humans, and the Sect Master could not create such experimental targets.
• Jia Xiu proposed watching Justina inspect people for infiltrators, but they decided it would be too slow and risky as a primary method.
• Jia Xiu contacted Justus in the Ukmak Empire to ask about access to Sealed Devil Race subjects for disguise research.
• Justus said the research institute had no disguised Devil Race subjects and could not force its captives to disguise themselves, but hinted that another method might be possible.

Jia Xiu learned about the border settlements where humans and Devils lived together and considered ways to reach them for a research project. After Mia agreed to join, Jia Xiu explained the project, and she began working out which application route was most likely to succeed.

• Justus told Jia Xiu about mixed border towns, their dangerous lawless conditions, and the official smuggling routes used to reach them.
• Justus described three ways to enter Devil Race territory: approval from the Ukmak Empire or Iris Kingdom, school or Association research approval, and smuggling; Jia Xiu studied a map to compare the routes.
• Jia Xiu asked Justus why he knew so much, and Justus told him not to tell his uncle before Jia Xiu ended the call.
• Jia Xiu brought Mia applications for research access through the Iris Kingdom, the Ukmak Empire, and Saint Dero, then warned her about the risks and secrecy.
• Mia eagerly joined the project, heard Jia Xiu's objective, and began calculating which application was most likely to pass.

Jia Xiu received Dean Nico’s approval to take his research group to the Northern Wasteland, despite the dean’s concerns about safety and the incomplete project details. After they left, Nico risked his life trying to prophesy Jia Xiu’s fate, and the crystal ball left him with a warning that suggested serious trouble lay ahead.

• Jia Xiu explained his research trip to Dean Nico and introduced Margaret, Bubu, and Elizabeth as members of the group.
• Dean Nico questioned the project’s safety and purpose, then approved the trip without explaining his reasons.
• Jia Xiu asked Nico for a prophecy about possible problems, but Nico only urged him to go ahead without worry.
• After the group left, Nico attempted another prophecy about Jia Xiu and nearly died when he pushed the spell beyond its limits.
• The legendary crystal ball healed Nico and displayed the words, “Don't die here.”

Jia Xiu and his group disguised themselves and crossed into the borderlands, where they reached Gawad, a chaotic city shared by humans and Devils. The chapter left them beginning their research in the city, with Margaret reprimanding Jia Xiu for staring at a Succubus.

• Jia Xiu's group adopted false names and elaborate disguises, while Justina stayed behind at the checkpoint to answer her believers' prayers and read stories about herself.
• Jia Xiu discovered that the border checkpoint openly operated separate lines for illegal crossings and legal travelers, and that the official route moved slowly because it was free.
• After hours of checks, Jia Xiu's group crossed into the Northern Wasteland and reached Gawad, a lawless city less than two kilometers from the fortress.
• A Succubus invited Jia Xiu and the others to play with her, and Margaret punched Jia Xiu for looking before he claimed he was observing an experimental subject.

Jia Xiu planned to recruit Devils in Gawad for experiments by cooperating with local powers and offering artworks, then went to a tavern to gather information. There, a Tiefling bard’s bawdy song ended by advertising a Juan-Jia Xiu brand Mage Lock.

• Jia Xiu planned to test a Devil-detection method on Devils and groups connected to the Devil Race, then seek the Caster Association’s support if it proved accurate.
• Jia Xiu prepared gold, mana crystals, and cheap artworks from Larven to use in negotiations with Gawad’s Devils.
• Jia Xiu and Margaret decided to visit a tavern to find information and make contact with local Devils.
• Jia Xiu entered a crowded tavern with Margaret and approached a Tiefling bard who was performing.
• The Tiefling bard sang a crude song about infection and protective measures, then promoted the Juan-Jia Xiu brand Mage Lock.

Jia Xiu questioned a Tiefling bard in Gawad and learned about the city’s Devil and Demon factions while seeking cooperation for a research project involving Devil Race members and half-bloods. The bard began describing the half-blood faction as even more outrageous, leaving Jia Xiu braced for worse.

• Jia Xiu recognized that a Tiefling bard was selling Juan-Jia Xiu Mage Armor, and a Succubus bought several talismans on credit.
• Jia Xiu offered the bard Kroner for information, gave the false name Matthew, and asked how to contact Gawad’s powerful Devil Race groups.
• The bard explained that Devils controlled the east of the city and described their leader, a male Lust Demon who identified as female, wore women’s clothing, and liked art and mathematics.
• The bard told Jia Xiu that the Demon faction occupied the west under a giant slime monster named Jubi, who disliked its appearance and hired people to reshape it into angular forms.
• When Jia Xiu asked about the half-blood faction, the bard declared them more outrageous than the Devils and Demons.

Jia Xiu learned about a faction seeking unity between humans, the Devil Race, and other races, and decided to investigate its unusual leaders. At a tavern, he recognized the human leader as a short former art student giving an impassioned recruitment speech, and began to understand why the faction was so strange.

• The bard told Jia Xiu that a mixed-blood faction sought unity among all races and the Devil Race, and explained that it had many followers and ran farms where humans and Devil Race members lived together.
• The bard described the faction’s leaders as a human woman from Larven and a Flame Demon, prompting Jia Xiu to mark the group for further investigation.
• Jia Xiu planned to negotiate with the Lust Demon and the Slime Monster first, then gather more information about the unity faction.
• Jia Xiu noticed the tavern had gone quiet and found its guests listening to a short human girl speaking from atop a crate.
• The girl called the crowd comrades and urged the races to unite against a crisis threatening the planes, and Jia Xiu recognized clues that connected her to the faction’s unusual origins.

Jia Xiu decided to investigate the Unity Society’s new Dream Manor after watching its leader recruit residents in Gawad. The next day, Mia approached a Lust Demon gang leader with a supposed magical research proposal, then won her over by swiftly solving a difficult calculus proof.

• The Unity Society’s leader announced that Dream Manor would open in two days and offered residents one Kroner for joining and another for each week they stayed.
• Jia Xiu decided his group would visit the manor after first dealing with Gawad’s two factions.
• Mia met the Lust Demon boss at her clothing store and introduced herself as Nisi Jilian, an independent Druid from Larven.
• Mia proposed research into applying Polymorph to Devils and offered paintings in exchange for their cooperation.
• The Lust Demon tested Mia with a calculus proof, and Mia completed it immediately, prompting the boss to ask her to teach her.

Mia coached a Lust Demon in calculus while Ram infiltrated Jubi’s dump as a sculptor and secured more than twenty slaves for Jia Xiu. Jia Xiu, Margaret, and Bubu arrived at the Unity Society estate, where a new mission to investigate its secrets began.

• Mia agreed that the Lust Demon’s textbook was wrong after hours of fruitless calculus lessons.
• Ram used the false name Lala Fat and sculpted Jubi into a Dwarf-style house, impressing the Slime and the other craftsmen.
• Jubi rewarded Ram by sending him to choose human and demon slaves, and Ram left with more than twenty.
• Jia Xiu, Margaret, and Bubu arrived at the peaceful Unity Society estate, and the Sect Master assigned Jia Xiu a mission to investigate its secrets.

Jia Xiu entered the Unity Society manor disguised as a reporter and found a surprisingly orderly community with schools, workshops, farms, and shared meals. His suspicions began to waver until he spotted a Pit Fiend standing beside Aunt Becky, leaving him wondering whom it guarded.

• Jia Xiu, Margaret, and Bubu joined the manor’s registration line under false identities, and Paula Braun stopped them to ask about their visit.
• Jia Xiu claimed they were reporters from Larven, and Paula eagerly welcomed their coverage and assigned Little Jack to guide them.
• Little Jack told Jia Xiu that Paula had adopted the children, who attended school, while adults could learn to read and write for free.
• Little Jack showed Jia Xiu the workshops, fields, orchards, and pastures where residents of both races worked for the community.
• At the dining area, Jia Xiu noticed a Pit Fiend in armor standing beside Aunt Becky and wondered whom it was guarding.

Jia Xiu interviewed Becky at the Unity Society manor and learned she was a human benefactor who supported the society and helped cook for its children. After Becky described the society’s self-reflection ritual and magic-power-sharing array, Jia Xiu asked Little Jack to show him the assembly hall so he could inspect it.

• Jia Xiu questioned Little Jack about Becky and learned she visited often with food, while a Pit Fiend guarded her.
• Jia Xiu interviewed Becky, who explained that she was not a society member but donated money and helped because she believed in its ideals and cared for the children.
• Becky told Jia Xiu that the Unity Society had operated for less than ten years and aimed to make Gawad a city where humans and Devils lived together peacefully.
• Becky explained that members reflected on their work twice daily and used a magic array to share magic power, with the founding Flame Demon contributing the most.
• Jia Xiu asked Little Jack to take him to the assembly hall to inspect the magic array.

Jia Xiu began testing whether magical signals could reveal Devil Race members hiding in human disguises. The disguised subjects produced human-like signals, but Ram suggested the signals might have reached the same result by different means, giving Jia Xiu a new lead to investigate.

• Jia Xiu reviewed his findings about the Unity Society manor and left its unexplained magic array and Becky’s background for later investigation.
• Jia Xiu and Mia prepared the Demon Den’s warehouse as a convincing laboratory, and he began experiments with Elizabeth casting a transformation spell on the subjects.
• Jia Xiu found that two Devil Race subjects in their own forms produced signals unlike human signals, but their signals also differed greatly from each other.
• Jia Xiu discovered that Devil Race subjects disguised as humans produced signals identical to human signals, so he paused the experiments and compared the results.
• Ram suggested that the disguised subjects’ signals might look the same despite being produced differently, and Jia Xiu realized the idea could explain the results.