Recaps

Xu Zhi placed first in the affinity test, surprising the Light Institute’s staff and prompting them to reconsider how they would treat her. As she began the next test, she learned that credits were difficult to earn but could be used like money.

• Xu Zhi chose to continue testing after placing first in affinity, and the guide eagerly escorted her to the next site.
• Ke Yi sent someone a message while following Xu Zhi, and the Light Institute’s administrators discussed her mysterious origins and exceptional talent.
• The administrators agreed that Xu Zhi’s identity mattered less than securing her loyalty and offering her protection.
• The guide explained that Xu Zhi could skip the physical-function test for now and described how students earned and lost credits.
• Xu Zhi learned that credits were more useful than money, suggesting she could spend them on resources.

Xu Zhi took the supernatural-circuit test, which was designed to challenge students with a disruptive Moth-attribute circuit. Her unusual familiarity with Moth energy and circuits let her destroy its core in under a minute, leaving her surprised at how easy the test was.

• The guide explained that Xu Zhi had to activate a hidden circuit, endure its effects, find its core, and destroy it within three hours.
• Xu Zhi entered the testing room and activated the simple-looking circuit, which turned out to be Moth-attribute.
• The Moth energy failed to disrupt Xu Zhi because she had once contained far more of it than the circuit produced.
• Xu Zhi relied on her experience and intuition to identify the circuit's core and strike it with Lamp energy.
• The stone slab shattered and the test ended in under a minute, leaving Xu Zhi wondering whether the entrance test was really that easy.

Xu Zhi finished the Light Institute’s extraordinary assessment in forty-five seconds and ranked first, prompting the institute’s leaders to accept and protect her as a student. As she approached the final test, the principal ordered staff to report anything concerning her while the leaders awaited her next result.

• Xu Zhi completed the test in forty-five seconds, earned an Excellent rating, and placed first in the academy’s overall extraordinary assessment.
• The Light Institute’s leaders agreed to raise Xu Zhi’s student file to the highest level and formally accept and protect her.
• The principal said the knife sent to Gods Heavy Industries was a rootless thing, which meant it could not be proven to have come from Lotus City or be linked to Xu Zhi.
• The principal stayed at the academy and instructed staff to report anything concerning Xu Zhi to him immediately.
• Xu Zhi stood before the final test as the Light Institute’s leaders anticipated another high ranking.

Xu Zhi completed the academy’s Great Dream test and discovered that her affinity with the Mansus was exceptional. After she ranked first in all three tests, the principal and other observers discussed her prospects and worried that her physical condition might keep her from the next Lost Land selection.

• Xu Zhi entered an empty room and followed the glowing circuit’s pull, seeing the complete Great Dream and the path to godhood.
• Xu Zhi returned from the dream to find her Lamp circuit had expanded by a ring and received the academy’s top Great Dream affinity ranking, along with 100 monthly credits.
• The principal and other observers marveled that Xu Zhi had entered the Great Dream so quickly and said her affinity could make future advancements easier.
• The observers decided to meet Xu Zhi and turned their attention to whether they could restore her body before the next Lost Land selection.

After Xu Zhi completed her tests with outstanding results, the Light Institute’s leaders offered her special attention, resources, and care. Xu Zhi accepted their invitation to join, leaving her poised to benefit from the institute’s recruitment.

• The dean and five other Light Institute leaders came down to meet Xu Zhi after she finished her tests.
• The dean and the director of academic affairs exchanged contact information with Xu Zhi and promised to help her at the academy.
• The dean awarded Xu Zhi 500 credits and arranged for the school clinic to cover her recovery, while allowing her to keep visiting the doctor who had given her glasses.
• Xu Zhi asked why the Light Institute was treating her so well, and the dean explained that they wanted to nurture her talent and recruit her.
• Xu Zhi looked to Qi Yanxin, then nodded to show she would join the Light Institute.

The dean welcomed Xu Zhi into the Light Institute, advised her to grow stronger for the upcoming Lost Land selection, and learned that Little One was her Transcendent ability. Ke Yi then took Xu Zhi to the detached house the academy had gifted her as a permanent residence.

• The dean told Xu Zhi to aim for Level Six Insight before the Lost Land selection and excused her from credit GPA assessment while she caught up on classes.
• The dean noticed Little One, and Xu Zhi revealed the black snake as her contracted Transcendent creature and her Transcendent ability.
• The dean warned Xu Zhi that Little One alone would not be enough and encouraged her to strengthen herself as well.
• The dean affirmed that Xu Zhi could rely on the Light Institute, while Xu Zhi kept her dangerous secret from the academy’s leaders.
• Ke Yi escorted Xu Zhi to the detached house the Light Institute had gifted her, which would remain hers after graduation.

Xu Zhi explored her new home and the Light Institute’s trading system, learning how supernatural cores were graded and priced. She spent all 900 of her credits on Attribute Cores, prioritizing resources for raising [Lamp] while also buying a few [Moth] and [Blade] cores.

• Ke Yi explained the academy’s layout and exchanged contact information with Xu Zhi before leaving.
• Xu Zhi checked her wristband and found 900 credits and an extra 100,000 in her personal account.
• Xu Zhi examined the academy’s core exchange and learned how core concentration affected purity, absorption, and price.
• Xu Zhi spent all her credits on Attribute Cores, including several [Moth] and [Blade] cores, to prepare for raising [Lamp].

After reaching Level Five Enlightened, Xu Zhi discovered that Attribute Cores provided the refined energy she needed and sensed the presence of [Authority]. She studied the ranks of supernatural beings and wondered whether her deeds in the Federation qualified as a great achievement, allowing her to become a true Named One.

• Xu Zhi bought Attribute Cores and daily necessities, then went upstairs to check on Qi Yanxin as she prepared Xu Zhi's room.
• Xu Zhi fed a [Blade] core to Little One and absorbed a concentration-20 [Lamp] core, confirming that outside cores matched those from the Federation.
• The core's energy helped Xu Zhi reach Level Five Enlightened, improve her body, and sense the edge of [Authority].
• Xu Zhi studied the supernatural ranks of Enlightened, Immortal, and Named One, and concluded that the Federation's incomplete Great Dream had prevented her from becoming a true Named One there.
• Xu Zhi wondered whether her actions in the Federation counted as a great achievement and meant she had already met the requirements to become a true Named One.

Xu Zhi read about the requirements and significance of becoming Named, then studied the basics of Transcendent Circuits. She realized that her earlier repair of her [Lamp] circuit had been dangerously reckless, but she had survived by sheer luck.

• Xu Zhi learned that advancing to Named required four Trials and a Great Deed, and that each Named received a unique name with supreme authority.
• Xu Zhi concluded that she might naturally advance to Named after completing a Great Deed, though she did not know what name she would receive.
• Xu Zhi found the section on Transcendent Circuits and learned that Talent Circuits contain abilities and can be perilous to repair.
• Xu Zhi realized she had repaired her [Lamp] circuit without remembering its original appearance and recognized how lucky she was to have survived.

Xu Zhi read about general-purpose circuits and speculated that circuits underpinned the world's extraordinary phenomena. Her thoughts triggered a mysterious transformation in her extraordinary circuit, which consumed all her cores before reluctantly stopping when she ran out of energy.

• Xu Zhi learned that general-purpose circuits served many purposes but were difficult and dangerous to memorize and use.
• Xu Zhi speculated that circuits supported extraordinary phenomena and might be connected to rules and godhood.
• A strange sound came from within Xu Zhi as her Lamp-attribute energy was drained and golden threads began weaving through her extraordinary circuit.
• Xu Zhi fed the circuit every core she had bought, but it became hungry again less than a minute later.
• Xu Zhi said she had no money or cores left, and the golden threads stopped weaving and settled against the circuit.

Xu Zhi suspected her Lamp circuit had developed a trace of independent thought, giving her hope that she might one day restore Moth’s circuit and regain two supernatural attributes. After discovering her healing and Cursed Speech had improved, she began walking again while students on the academy forum speculated about the mysterious transfer student who ranked first in three categories.

• Xu Zhi searched for information about circuits expressing emotions and found that supernatural attributes were not believed to have autonomy.
• Xu Zhi considered repairing Moth’s circuit by separating Lamp again and decided she needed more knowledge, possibly from Gods Heavy Industries.
• Xu Zhi noticed her self-healing had improved and Cursed Speech had risen by two levels, though her supernatural level had not changed.
• Xu Zhi tested her recovery by walking around the room and hoped to leave her wheelchair before the Lost Land selection.
• Students on the academy forum speculated about Xu Zhi’s background after she ranked first in three categories.

Xu Zhi spent a week catching up on her studies before returning to the Light Institute as a transfer student. Her first morning in the special admissions class drew curious attention, and she set firm boundaries with an overly familiar classmate.

• Xu Zhi studied foundational subjects at home and arranged a basic literacy course for Qi Yanxin.
• Xu Zhi visited the infirmary, reviewed the academy forum and inner campus rules, then rested before classes began.
• Xu Zhi entered the special admissions classroom, where her classmates and students from other years watched her arrive.
• A red-haired classmate sat beside Xu Zhi, asked her age, and reacted with surprise when Xu Zhi said she was eighteen, almost nineteen.
• Xu Zhi told the red-haired girl to lower her voice and stop sitting so close, leaving the girl intimidated.

Xu Zhi attended a Circuit Studies practical class that the teacher had moved forward to test the limits of her circuit talent. She immediately identified the functions of the first three projected circuits, while the other students struggled to study them.

• The red-haired girl backed away from Xu Zhi, then told her friend that Xu Zhi seemed hostile and might have the Blade attribute.
• The Circuit Studies teacher entered and introduced a practical class using circuits of increasing difficulty.
• The teacher explained that students had to identify each circuit's approximate type before attempting to crack it for reward credits.
• Xu Zhi recognized the projected circuits as cleaning, communication, and levitation as soon as she saw them.

Xu Zhi watched her classmates solve three simple circuits before quickly identifying and cracking the next, more difficult set herself. She asked the stunned teacher to move on to the next question, leaving the class in awe of her ability.

• A [Winter] student identified the first circuit as a cleansing-type circuit and earned ten credits for cracking it, while two [Opening] students solved the other simple circuits.
• The teacher announced that the next sets of circuits were worth thirty, fifty, and seventy credits per circuit, and Xu Zhi immediately stood up.
• Xu Zhi identified the projected circuits as water conversion, combustion, and crystallization circuits.
• After thinking for only a few seconds, Xu Zhi touched and shattered all three circuits in rapid succession.
• Xu Zhi calmly asked the stunned teacher to move on to the next question.

Xu Zhi stunned her classmates and teacher by solving increasingly difficult circuit problems with extraordinary speed. After she cleared the first three questions and two more in under half a minute, the teacher presented three final, graduation-exam-level challenges.

• Xu Zhi quickly solved the second circuit, leaving her classmates amazed and guessing how many more she could handle.
• Xu Zhi identified the third circuit’s functions as tracking, protection, and guidance, then shattered it before the teacher could finish warning her to take another look.
• Xu Zhi solved the remaining two questions in under half a minute and asked whether there were more.
• The teacher revealed three final questions intended to match graduation-exam difficulty, uncertain whether Xu Zhi could solve them.

Xu Zhi solved all three difficult supernatural circuits in class, stunning her classmates and impressing the teacher. News of her feat spread across the school forum, where upperclassmen began to see her as a potential competitor despite her Level 4 Comprehension.

• The teacher warned the class that the final three circuits were difficult and that students should stop if analyzing them made them dizzy.
• Xu Zhi identified the first complex circuit as an offensive corrosion circuit after several minutes of analysis.
• Xu Zhi solved all three circuits before class ended and reminded the teacher to award her credits.
• The teacher added Xu Zhi's contact information, and students flooded the school forum with reactions to her performance.
• The forum spread news that Xu Zhi had solved three graduation-exam-level circuit questions, prompting upperclassmen to worry she might take competition slots and credits.

After consuming her newly purchased cores, Xu Zhi reached Level Six, Comprehension, and considered preparing for the coming Mist Season. She went to afternoon classes, where classmates treated her with new enthusiasm and her potion teacher gave her a set of equipment.

• Xu Zhi exchanged all her credits for [Lamp] Attribute Cores and consumed them in her dormitory.
• The cores transformed her circuits, raised her to Level Six, Comprehension, and strengthened Cursed Speech; Little One also showed faint golden specks in his eyes.
• Xu Zhi sensed she could create a Spirit Vessel that would last around two hours, but decided to focus on constructing [Moth] circuits before the Mist Season.
• Xu Zhi headed to afternoon classes and noticed her classmates greeting her more warmly than before.
• The potion teacher gave Xu Zhi basic potion-making equipment, and Xu Zhi agreed to study the subject.

Xu Zhi attended potion-making class and learned that the Lost Land was the source of most extraordinary materials. She then joined mysticism class, where the teacher explained that the strong attracted others and influenced their paths of destiny.

• Xu Zhi easily memorized potion-making material while noticing that most extraordinary plants and creatures came from the Lost Land.
• The potion-making teacher gave Xu Zhi a set of equipment but did not test her or award her credits.
• Xu Zhi kept up a friendly act as classmates gathered around her on the way to mysticism class.
• Xu Zhi arrived at the open-air classroom and saw that classmates had gathered around her.
• The elderly mysticism teacher acknowledged Xu Zhi's influence over her classmates and taught that strong extraordinary individuals had brighter star fortune and broader destinies.

Xu Zhi attended Teacher Qin’s lesson on a star chart that foretold a hidden disaster, trying to connect it to recent events in the real world. Teacher Qin explained that the chart’s heavenly mist obscured the fate stars and indicated something secret that was about to happen or had already begun.

• Teacher Qin asked the class what they had concluded from the star chart, but the students offered only that it foretold a disaster that might already have begun.
• Xu Zhi studied the projected photograph and reasoned that it was probably recent, since she could find no disaster in the latest headlines.
• Xu Zhi recalled the Great Cataclysm, the Lost Land, and theories about the source of the world’s growing supernatural powers.
• Teacher Qin explained the chart’s possible meanings and said the mist concealing the fate stars was extremely rare and signaled a secret event.

Xu Zhi listened as an old man explained a recent star chart that concealed an unknown event and showed the ominous Kill Star, warning of calamity and a fiendish god’s descent. The teacher urged the students to train for a possible disaster, while Xu Zhi suspected the chart foretold the Federation’s destruction and [Cup]’s return.

• Xu Zhi reasoned that the star chart’s hidden fate must involve a powerful, unnatural force beyond the Archbishop’s reach.
• The old man explained that the Kill Star at the end of the chart signaled calamity and possibly a fiendish god’s descent.
• The old man revealed that a top-level Stargazer had seen the chart only days earlier, shocking the students.
• Xu Zhi connected the chart to the Federation’s destruction and [Cup], and assumed the Kill Star referred to [Cup]’s Archbishop.
• The old man calmed the students, said the Named Ones were investigating, and urged them to strengthen themselves for a possible disaster.

Xu Zhi learned that fate calculation used transcendent energy to gather information, and she found that studying increased the amount of [Lamp]-attribute energy she could draw. Meanwhile, a violent incident in Mijiang City spread alarming rumors across the cities.

• Teacher Qin explained that transcendents could use their sensitivity to fate and transcendent energy to calculate likely outcomes.
• Xu Zhi realized fate calculation worked like information gathering and decided to study harder after noticing her [Lamp]-attribute energy increase with her knowledge.
• The council confiscated the horizontal saber after [Gods Heavy Industries] finished testing it.
• A dozen feral-looking killers appeared during a festival livestream in Mijiang City, and the footage quickly spread before the stream was cut off.
• People across the cities speculated that the killers were linked to cults, Moth, Gods Heavy Industries, or Blade, while rumors claimed a major revelation was coming.

Xu Zhi suspected that the publicized appearance of [Cup] was part of a conspiracy and continued preparing for the upcoming Lost Land selection while caring for Little Aberration. When Meng Chuanling invited her to sneak off and earn credits, Xu Zhi sensed that her classmate had something unusual planned.

• Xu Zhi watched a news report about Fanatics appearing in Minjiang and suspected that someone, possibly Lotus City, had arranged the incident to expose [Cup].
• Xu Zhi reviewed her progress toward Level Seven Comprehension, noted that Cursed Speech had reached Level 20, and prepared for the Lost Land selection.
• Xu Zhi placed Little Aberration in a special flowerpot with extraordinary soil, hoping the seed would soon sprout after being fed her blood.
• Xu Zhi considered asking the principal for money to visit a doctor from Gods Heavy Industries and planned to earn credits for more [Moth] Attribute Cores.
• Meng Chuanling, with Tan Ning following behind, asked Xu Zhi to sneak away with them during the break and earn credits.

Xu Zhi learned that she could earn credits by fighting in arena battles, and Meng Chuanling proposed betting on Xu Zhi to defeat an upperclassman. Xu Zhi agreed in exchange for seventy percent of the winnings, and Meng Chuanling revealed that she and Red Hair had prepared six thousand credits to wager.

• Meng Chuanling explained that first-years rarely fought in arena battles, making their appearances tempting betting opportunities for upperclassmen and the bookmaker.
• Meng Chuanling asked Xu Zhi to challenge a second-year student, saying her Insight suggested Xu Zhi was stronger than ordinary upperclassmen.
• Xu Zhi agreed to fight but demanded seventy percent of Meng Chuanling and Red Hair's earnings because she had no credits to bet herself.
• Meng Chuanling accepted Xu Zhi's terms and said she and Red Hair would borrow more credits using their student IDs as collateral.
• Meng Chuanling told Xu Zhi that they had prepared six thousand credits for the wager.

Meng Chuanling explained the academy’s major competitions and convinced Xu Zhi to join her plan to earn credits by betting on a match during the off-season. Xu Zhi agreed to meet her at the dorm on Saturday, while considering whether the arena might also help her find rivals for the Lost Land slots.

• Meng Chuanling told Xu Zhi that upperclassmen would barely notice a six-thousand-credit bet on a first-year, and Xu Zhi decided to borrow credits to contribute.
• Meng Chuanling explained the Light Institute Ranking Battle, the Intercollegiate League, and the City Ranking Tournament, including how their schedules created the off-season.
• Meng Chuanling said the Light Institute had earned the fourth seed for the Intercollegiate League and guessed that the Lost Land selection would help determine the league team.
• Meng Chuanling arranged to meet Xu Zhi outside their dorm on Saturday at four so they could go to the arena and bet on Xu Zhi’s match.
• Xu Zhi agreed to pursue the credits and privately considered whether she could encounter competitors for the Lost Land slots at the arena.

Xu Zhi borrowed three thousand credits from the Inner Academy and met Meng Chuanling and Red Hair to visit the arena for their planned bet. She agreed to let Meng Chuanling place her wager, making clear that she relied on fear of her strength rather than trust.

• Xu Zhi applied for a new-student loan and received the full three thousand credits available to her.
• Xu Zhi postponed her clinic appointment until the next monthly break and agreed to undergo a full-body examination on her next visit.
• Xu Zhi met Meng Chuanling and Red Hair, and Meng Chuanling reacted with envy and surprise when she learned Xu Zhi's loan limit.
• Meng Chuanling explained that the Student Union ran the arena and described its influence and career opportunities.
• Meng Chuanling led Xu Zhi to the arena and offered to place her bet, and Xu Zhi agreed because she knew Meng Chuanling would not dare betray her.