Chapter Summaries

As Jia Xiu’s strange spellwork sparked speculation and sent Justina a flood of prayers about intimate problems, his team advanced through the shrinking safe zone toward Jacob’s Church team. The final confrontation began as Jacob prepared to fight, but Jia Xiu stopped at the edge of the safe zone and called for him to come over.

• Spectators speculated about the spell Jia Xiu had used, while Gillianis questioned Margaret about whether it involved Blood Clan Magic and Bubu called out Margaret’s lie.
• Justina studied Guidance magic before receiving a wave of prayers about romantic and marital troubles; she advised one wife to give her husband a break, then shut off the prayer channel and suspected Jia Xiu was responsible.
• Jia Xiu’s team and Jacob’s five-person Church team became the only teams left in the tournament as the safe zone shrank toward the forest’s center.
• Margaret anxiously watched Jia Xiu’s team move slowly along the safe zone’s edge, while Bubu trusted that Jia Xiu had a reason for it.
• Jacob prepared to fight when Jia Xiu’s team came into view, but Jia Xiu stopped at the edge of the safe zone and called for Jacob to come over.

Jacob planned to defeat Jia Xiu by using an Anti-Magic Field Scroll and winning a physical fight, while Jia Xiu tested the Theology Academy squad with his spells and tactics. The chapter ended with Jia Xiu telling a blasphemous joke about the Radiant Knight as Jacob tried to ignore him.

• Jacob prepared to outlast Jia Xiu until the safe zone shrank, then use an Anti-Magic Field Scroll to force a fight without magic.
• Jia Xiu cast Guidance, but Jacob and his teammates quickly answered every question about the Radiant Knight.
• Mia's enchanted bacteria failed to break the Theology Academy squad's resolve, and Jacob led his teammates in reciting scripture.
• Mia turned Ram gaseous so he could repeatedly materialize, shoot, and disappear, prompting Jacob to protect his team behind a barrier.
• Jia Xiu prayed to Justina and received her permission to tell a joke about the Radiant Knight's sacrifice.
• Jacob warned his teammates not to listen as Jia Xiu asked why the Radiant Knight could whistle with a hand over her mouth, then answered that she had a hole in her hand.

Jia Xiu defeated Jacob by exploiting the poison mist, a modified shield spell, and a huge stockpile of potions, winning the tournament without a direct fight. Before the champions could be teleported out, a gigantic Demonfolk magic array appeared over Thaldarian and a small teleportation array activated beneath them.

• Jia Xiu's joke about the Radiant Knight enraged Holy Light believers, but Margaret and the Dwarf commentator calmed them by pointing out that Jia Xiu had received the Radiant Knight's power.
• Meryl abandoned the Theology Academy team's barrier to attack Jia Xiu, allowing Ram's gunfire to break through and force Jacob's team into an attrition battle.
• Jacob activated a Magic Prohibition Field for the final circle, but Jia Xiu's team used their potion supply to endure the poison mist while Jacob's team ran short.
• Jacob restored his shield with spells after the field vanished, but Jia Xiu used a modified Damage Boost Scroll to keep his shield from decaying to zero and outlasted him.
• Jacob surrendered, and Jia Xiu claimed the championship; when neither champion was teleported out, a gigantic Crimson Magic Array appeared over Thaldarian and a teleportation array lit beneath them.

Belial led the Devils’ invasion of Thaldarian into a prepared trap, where a Crystal Barrier and allied forces surrounded them. Meanwhile, Jia Xiu and Jacob fought John’s squad until the Pit Fiend arrived and demanded that Jia Xiu come with him.

• Belial sent thousands of Devils through a portal into Thaldarian, then discovered that a Crystal Barrier had trapped them and that the city’s defenders had anticipated the invasion.
• Dean Nico and four other academy heads confronted Belial as allied military forces arrived to surround the Devils.
• Margaret discovered that Jia Xiu was missing from the protected spectator area and feared the Devils would capture his soul.
• John’s squad teleported Jia Xiu and Jacob to a barren area, where Jia Xiu and Jacob teamed up to fight the Devils.
• Jacob killed several Devils with Divine Smite while Jia Xiu disrupted John and enchanted the Bone Devil, but the Pit Fiend arrived and demanded Jia Xiu’s surrender.

Jia Xiu negotiated with the Pit Fiend to spare Jacob, but Jacob powered up with Holy Light and fought the devil instead. As Jacob struggled, Jia Xiu used his knowledge of light magic to create a flash the Pit Fiend could see but Jacob could not, leaving the devil blinded and vulnerable.

• Jia Xiu faced the Pit Fiend and offered to go with the devils if Jacob was released, threatening to sacrifice his soul to Asmodeus if the devil refused his conditions.
• Jacob transformed with Holy Light, challenged the Pit Fiend, and began fighting it while Jia Xiu watched for a way to help.
• Jia Xiu realized the Pit Fiend took longer than Jacob to recover from bright flashes and used a Light Spell to blind it.
• Jia Xiu modified his spell to combine infrared and ultraviolet light, then blinded the Pit Fiend while Jacob could not see the flash.

Jacob and Jia Xiu nearly defeated a Pit Fiend before more devils arrived, but Manager Taco, Aurelius, and Siloshak intervened to protect Jia Xiu. Justina then joined them, and the three devils chose her as their target as they launched an attack.

• Jia Xiu's flashes helped Jacob wound the Pit Fiend, but two more devils arrived and destroyed Jia Xiu's Magic Grimoire.
• Manager Taco revealed he had been watching Jia Xiu and stopped the new devils from pulling him toward them with magic.
• The Pit Fiend charged Taco, but Aurelius struck the battlefield with a powerful fireball while another devil teleported the Pit Fiend away.
• Siloshak arrived and intimidated the devils with his dragon's aura, and Justina appeared after escaping trouble in the city.
• The three devils chose Justina as the weakest target and sprang to attack her.

Justina defeated the high-ranking devils, and Jia Xiu learned how the forces had prepared for the invasion of Thaldarian. As the city’s remaining devils were hunted, Bubu confronted a Chain Devil and was ambushed by a Horned Devil.

• Justina cut the three high-ranking devils apart, and the group discussed how to seal them and what to do with their remains.
• Siloshak read John’s memories, revealing the ghost in Jia Xiu’s Mimic and John’s intense hatred of Jia Xiu; Jia Xiu arranged to have John sealed.
• Siloshak carried the group back to Thaldarian, where Manager Taco explained the coalition’s plan to let the devil invasion begin and contain it.
• Jia Xiu realized they had left Holy Son Jacob behind, but Justina explained that the Holy Light Church could resurrect him from his ashes.
• Bubu found a hiding Chain Devil and sliced off all four of his limbs with its enchanted scissors, but a Horned Devil ambushed Bubu from above.

Bubu reunited with Arnold and learned about his advanced Ukmak armor while the deans defeated Belial. Nico concealed the true reason he had acted: a false prophecy had revealed Jia Xiu’s supposedly unforeseeable future, and Nico had protected him from others’ prophecies.

• Bubu defeated the Chain Devil and nearly attacked the Horned Devil before Arnold killed it with his battle axe and tried to heal it for research.
• Arnold recognized Bubu, explained that his armor was Ukmak Legion equipment, and agreed to take Bubu to the competition venue to see Jia Xiu and Mia.
• The five deans overwhelmed Belial, and Nico mocked his attempt to use a staged death to learn what Nico had foreseen.
• Belial’s lingering consciousness vanished after Nico claimed he had foreseen a stone tablet warning of the invasion, and the Vita Sage Institute dean confirmed Belial was dead.
• Nico revealed that his detailed prophecy of the tournament had been false because it included Jia Xiu, whose future could not normally be foretold, so Nico had concealed and protected him.

Jia Xiu arrived at Silver Moon Forest with Siloshak after the Biochemical Warrior project earned a reward, where he reunited with his friends and learned Arnold had tested the project’s prototype armor against Devils. Arnold then gave Jia Xiu a model containing the armor’s classified technologies so he could try to find ways to destroy them and help improve the project.

• Jia Xiu received a Sage Time Aura reward after the Biochemical Warrior project passed combat testing, and Siloshak carried him to the cleared Silver Moon Forest.
• Orion transformed young Necromancy School interns into older-looking doctors so the families would trust them to resurrect the dead.
• Margaret searched for Jia Xiu among the dead, then saw him arrive with Justina, Aurelius, and Manager Taco on Siloshak’s back.
• Jia Xiu reunited with Bubu and discovered that Arnold had used the Biochemical Warrior prototype armor against Devils in the field.
• Arnold explained the armor project and gave Jia Xiu a model containing classified technologies, asking him to find ways to destroy them.

After Thaldarian’s Devil invasion ended, Jia Xiu helped Justina turn casual prayers into a faith-building strategy and learned that he had won the tournament. The award ceremony was delayed, but Jia Xiu hurried to claim his replica Primordial Crystal prize.

• Arnold gave Jia Xiu a combat-armor model and invited him to find ways to sabotage its technologies for the Alchemy Research Institute.
• The city’s barriers came down after the Devils were eliminated, and Arnold and the other members of Jia Xiu Squad left for a meeting about the invasion’s aftermath.
• Justina asked Jia Xiu how to gain faith, and he proposed a Hell joke contest and public events to attract casual believers.
• Jia Xiu learned from Margaret that the remaining tournament recording confirmed him as the ultimate winner, and that he could claim his prize at a Caster Association branch.
• Jia Xiu set off to claim the replica Primordial Crystal from the storage vault.

Jia Xiu visited the Caster Association’s Treasure plane to claim a replica Primordial Crystal and discovered that Rune Eye could read spell code from certain crystals. He chose a crystal containing the parent class for healing skills, and the staff member said successful research could earn him earlier access to genuine Primordial Crystals.

• Jia Xiu rushed to the Thaldarian branch of the Caster Association with Bubu and insisted on claiming his reward despite feeling dizzy.
• A staff member escorted Jia Xiu through heavy security and an interdimensional gate to the Treasure plane, where the association stored its Primordial Crystals.
• Jia Xiu learned that replica and genuine crystals could be borrowed for research after passing the association’s review.
• Jia Xiu examined the healing-related crystals while Bubu restrained itself from eating one of them.
• Jia Xiu used Rune Eye to see code inside a crystal, compared the healing-related options, and selected one containing several thousand lines of the healing-skills parent class.
• The staff member congratulated Jia Xiu on gaining insight quickly and said successful research could help him qualify to borrow genuine Primordial Crystals sooner.

Jia Xiu learned about the Primordial Crystal application process and was summoned to a meeting with a Holy Light Church bishop. In Nessus, Asmodeus spared Belial after Belial proposed a new scheme, while the continent’s leaders concluded a largely inconclusive meeting just as Jia Xiu arrived.

• Jia Xiu learned that the Healing Source, Primordial Crystal No. 24, was held by the Riel Theocracy’s Falan Theological Research Institute and heard that using a Primordial Crystal required a résumé, research proposal, and defense.
• Jia Xiu completed the paperwork for his replica crystal, was warned that he could not obtain a replacement if it was damaged, and was summoned to the Elf Temple to answer questions from a Holy Light Church bishop.
• Belial blamed the failed invasion of Thaldarian on two fellow Devil nobles, and Asmodeus turned them to ash before threatening to reduce Belial to a Lemure.
• Belial proposed using teleportation traps to send Demons into towns across the continent, and Asmodeus granted him another chance to lead the plan.
• At the Elf Temple, the gathered representatives assigned credit, discussed retaliation and rapid-response forces, and left several major problems unresolved before the secretary-general announced Jia Xiu’s arrival.

Jia Xiu demonstrated that a modified Light Spell could use invisible light to dazzle Devils, earning the approval of the gathered experts and a surge of research experience. He received access to restricted books instead of a Primordial Crystal, then entered seclusion with a replica to pursue the experience needed to level up.

• Jia Xiu explained how he modified Light Spell and demonstrated invisible light by splitting sunlight with a prism and showing that it warmed a thermometer beyond the visible spectrum.
• The gathered casters transformed into Devils and animals, confirmed they could perceive the invisible light, and began testing the spell for use against Devils.
• Jia Xiu described the spell’s uncertain effectiveness against different kinds of invisible light and the risk of eye damage, while the Ukmak Empire offered to test Devils to identify what worked.
• Jia Xiu requested a Primordial Crystal as his reward, but the Holy Light Church and Caster Association instead granted him access to restricted books across major libraries.
• Jia Xiu left the Elf Temple and entered seclusion in Gillianis's laboratory with a Primordial Crystal replica, while the stranded contestants joked about what his next research might do.

Jia Xiu modified the Basic Healing Spell after studying the replica Primordial Crystal, discovering how to intensify pain by increasing sensory nerves. The chapter ended with Gillianis transformed into a toothless crow to escape the agony of his spell.

• Jia Xiu studied the healing-skill code and learned that healing effects ranged from stimulating recovery to restoration and divine creation of life.
• Jia Xiu removed the Basic Healing Spell’s recovery cap, fixed more than a hundred errors, and created a spell that multiplied sensory nerves.
• Margaret and the others returned from sightseeing and shopping, then found Jia Xiu emerging from the laboratory in an alarming, manic state.
• Jia Xiu explained that his spell could amplify pain, but the others doubted its power until Gillianis volunteered to test it.
• Jia Xiu cast the spell on Gillianis, whose teeth and jaw filled with unbearable pain, and she transformed into a crow to escape it.

Jia Xiu’s Toothache Healing Spell left Gillianis transformed into a crow, but she devised a Reversal Formula and recovered. He then explained his modular Basic Healing Spell, which could be adapted to treat many kinds of injuries without changing how casters controlled mana, and submitted it and his more dangerous healing spells to the Sect Master for experience.

• Jia Xiu told crow-form Gillianis he could not reverse his Toothache Healing Spell yet, so she studied his Magic Grimoire and created a Reversal Formula that restored her to human form.
• Gillianis recognized the ingenuity behind Jia Xiu’s spells, and he described his Allergy Healing Spell, which made targets prone to potentially fatal allergic reactions.
• Jia Xiu revealed his modular Basic Healing Spell, with replaceable runes for different body parts and injuries while preserving the same casting method.
• Margaret and the others agreed that Jia Xiu’s modular spell was genuinely useful, and Jia Xiu decided to submit it to the Caster Association for certification.
• Jia Xiu submitted his modular spell and other Healing Spells to the Sect Master, earning experience and an evaluation that his understanding of Healing Spells had become extraordinary.

After reaching level six, Jia Xiu tested his new Descent spell and summoned an indestructible statue of himself that unleashed a powerful area attack. The spell left him embarrassed when Gillianis, Margaret, and Bubu arrived, while Margaret privately wondered whether the Sect Master had a special relationship with Jia Xiu.

• Jia Xiu reached Warlock level six, gained new abilities and a contract slot, and considered Justina and Siloshak as possible auxiliary Sect Masters.
• Jia Xiu cast Descent in Gillianis's garden and summoned a statue of himself whose radiance blinded, confused, and damaged hostile targets.
• Jia Xiu learned the statue was indestructible and would vanish after three minutes, then decided to save the spell for emergencies because of its embarrassing appearance.
• Gillianis, Margaret, and Bubu arrived, and Gillianis laughed at the statue while Jia Xiu explained that his Sect Master had created it.
• Margaret wondered whether the Sect Master and Jia Xiu had a relationship beyond their contract, then questioned why the thought made her nervous.

Jia Xiu disguised two pain-inducing spells as auxiliary healing magic to avoid having them classified as restricted, then entered Thaldarian’s restricted-loan library. He found a strange leather-bound book titled The Laws of All Races, which began whispering and showing him disturbing visions.

• Jia Xiu used Lesser Illusion to improve his Descent spell and prepared to return to Larven after the teleportation array was repaired.
• A Caster Association staff member warned Jia Xiu that his nerve-amplification healing spell might be restricted, so Jia Xiu withdrew it for revisions.
• Jia Xiu resubmitted the nerve-amplification and allergy spells as auxiliary healing spells and attached documents describing their side effects.
• A drow librarian explained the restricted section’s rules, and Jia Xiu entered to search for damage and protective spells.
• Jia Xiu picked up The Laws of All Races, whose leather cover seemed to pulse as whispers and disturbing visions urged him to open it.

Jia Xiu reported a cursed spellbook to the Drow librarian, learning that it was a restricted illustrated guide whose disturbing contents caused mental contamination. He asked for spells useful against Vampires, and the librarian introduced several unconventional options before showing him a protective barrier that combined offense and defense.

• Jia Xiu resisted The Ten Thousand Races' Guide's seductive voice, shoved it back onto the shelf, and alerted the Drow librarian.
• The Drow librarian explained that the book was restricted for its graphic accounts and illustrations of customs industries across many races, which could cause mental contamination.
• Jia Xiu asked the librarian to recommend direct-damage and protective spells that would work well against Vampires.
• The librarian introduced Weather Forecast Spell, Tree Bark Spell, and Blessing of a Hundred Years, and Jia Xiu decided to copy down the first two while considering the blessing.
• The librarian described an unusually powerful Lightning Arrow whose changing current increased its damage, and Jia Xiu excitedly asked how its current fluctuated.
• The librarian began introducing a special protective barrier that combined offense and defense.

Jia Xiu learned a barrier spell that could slash enemies and devised a way to disguise it as a weak shield. To strengthen his plans for the Vampire village, he asked Justina to learn alternating-current magic, then rejected her as a potential assistant Sect Master because her Knight abilities did not fit.

• Jia Xiu learned that Louis XVI's Happy Barrier could close with lethal force and copied it into his Magic Grimoire.
• Jia Xiu modified a weak-looking barrier to conceal the real slashing barrier and planned to combine it with alternating-current shocks and ultraviolet light against Vampires.
• Jia Xiu considered Storm Domain magic as a way to strengthen his alternating current and prayed to Justina for help.
• Justina agreed to try learning alternating current after Jia Xiu suggested it might lead to divine authority over the spell.
• Justina listed her Knight abilities when Jia Xiu asked about her traits, but he cut her off and ruled her out as a candidate for assistant Sect Master.

Jia Xiu returned to Saint Dero after winning the Grand Five-Academy Tournament, discussed plans to research Blood Clan Magic and investigate Vampires during winter break, and was greeted with a ceremony. The celebration ended with Senior Brother Juan promoting their mass-produced magic devices, prompting Jia Xiu to silence him.

• Jia Xiu told Margaret that he was sending the Radiant Knight materials on alternating-current spells and asked Margaret to help analyze higher-level Blood Clan Magic.
• Jia Xiu told Margaret he planned to take a winter-break mission to Csejthe Town, investigate Vampires, and bring Bubu along.
• Jia Xiu and Margaret returned to Saint Dero, where students welcomed Jia Xiu as champion of the 500th Grand Five-Academy Tournament.
• Senior Brother Juan pushed through the reporters and advertised the Happy Rod and Happy Cup as the champion’s choice.
• Jia Xiu cast Silence to stop Juan from continuing his advertisement and demonstrating the devices.