Chapter Summaries

Squad 582 won the maze assessment after Xia Liang used her Magic Armament to pass through walls, a controversial tactic the Queen’s laughter effectively allowed. Rose invited Xia Liang to help study her Magic Armament and learned she belonged to Larkspur’s team before sending the group away; afterward, Finance Institute colleagues approached Rose.

• Squad 582’s first-place finish was accepted despite objections that Little Brocade had exploited a loophole, since the Queen had laughed and the tactic broke no explicit rules.
• Xia Liang, Tiger Lily, and Mountain Lily left the maze to applause, and Rose confirmed their team had the highest overall score.
• Rose asked Xia Liang how her Magic Armament could pass through walls and invited her to visit the laboratory after the assessment to help research it.
• Xia Liang told Rose she came from Fangting City, and Rose realized she belonged to Larkspur’s team and asked her to convey greetings to Cornflower.
• Rose urged Xia Liang’s group to leave before spectators approached, then blocked the path of arriving Finance Institute colleagues and asked why they had come.

After Team 277 placed third in the maze assessment, Tudingui admitted she was disappointed because she wanted to take first place overall. Larkspur encouraged her and praised her contribution, and Tudingui ended by asking Larkspur to call her “big sister” instead of “Senior.”

• Team 277 exited the maze after several hundred examinees and finished third overall, despite Tudingui's dissatisfaction with their exit ranking.
• Larkspur asked Tudingui about her disappointment, and Tudingui said she had to place first in the overall examinations.
• Tudingui apologized for the pressure her ambition might put on her teammates, while Larkspur reassured her that the team wanted a good result too.
• Larkspur praised Tudingui as the team's greatest contributor, lifting Tudingui's mood.
• Tudingui asked Larkspur to stop calling her “Senior” and call her “big sister” instead.

After taking first place in the maze assessment, Xia Liang faced criticism and a flood of duel challenges from candidates who doubted her achievement. Her teammates encouraged her as the group celebrated, while the rules for the Magic Armament assessment made clear she would need to fight to defend her standing.

• Larkspur toasted Xia Liang for taking first place, and Lin Xiaolu enthusiastically joined the celebration.
• Xia Liang worried that candidates were criticizing her and sending challenges to her Carrier Pigeon accounts.
• Larkspur told Xia Liang that strong results in the remaining assessments would prove her ability and silence her critics.
• The Examination Institute announced that the second assessment would rate candidates' Magic Armament abilities and allow challenges against candidates rated one grade higher.
• Xia Liang recognized that avoiding all challenges would hurt her ranking, and she intended to fight challengers despite worrying about the strain.

Xia Liang told Larkspur about Rose’s invitation to study her Magic Armament, and Larkspur postponed a decision until after the assessment. Lin Xiaolu then described a suspicious candidate whose ties to Aberrant Beast magic led Larkspur to suspect that Black Ash Dawn had infiltrated the Magical Girls.

• Xia Liang recounted her meeting with Rose and asked Larkspur whether she should accept the Research Institute’s invitation.
• Larkspur recognized the opportunity could help Xia Liang grow stronger but said she would take everyone to the Research Institute after the assessment.
• Lin Xiaolu told Larkspur about Mint, Arrowroot, their dispute with Bai Jingxuan, and her upcoming appointment with Mint.
• Bai Jingxuan said Arrowroot’s aura reminded her of the bad director Moss, prompting Xia Liang and Larkspur to suspect Black Ash Dawn.
• Larkspur wondered whether Black Ash Dawn had placed members among the Magical Girls.

Mint revealed that she was a Beast Child of Black Ash Dawn and mistook Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan for unassimilated Sacrificial Children. After learning that they had become Magical Girls and killed the Ash Soldiers sent to recruit them, she realized Moth had not hidden them in Fangting, and explained how her attempts to signal them during the assessment had instead attracted an Arrowroot.

• Mint told Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan that she was a Beast Child and identified them as Sacrificial Children based on their Aberrant Beast magic fluctuations.
• Mint explained that unassimilated Sacrificial Children were those who had never joined Black Ash Dawn, and said it was unusual for them to become Magical Girls.
• Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan said that Ash Soldiers had come looking for them, but Larkspur and Bai Jingxuan had killed them.
• Mint realized that Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan had not been Moth's Sacrificial Children and that Moth had accomplished nothing in Fangting.
• Mint recounted how she had tried to reveal her identity to her teammates during the assessment, but her signals drew an Arrowroot instead.

Mint gave Lin Xiaolu her Heart Gem to show she wanted to talk, then explained that Lin Xiaolu carried a faint trace of Aberrant Beast mana and described Sacrificial Children and Beast Children. She revealed that Beast Children were Sacrificial Children who survived a month-long cage trial alongside Aberrant Beasts.

• Mint placed her Heart Gem in Lin Xiaolu's hands and asked to talk rather than fight.
• Mint said Black Ash Dawn had sent someone to carry out a mission during the fourth assessment, though she had come to take the exam and earn her White Card.
• Mint insisted Lin Xiaolu had a faint trace of Aberrant Beast mana, and Bai Jingxuan could only sense it vaguely.
• Mint explained that Sacrificial Children could use Aberrant Beast mana while remaining human, and could advance through stages using the Feeding Rite.
• Mint revealed that Beast Children were Sacrificial Children selected after surviving a sealed month-long trial with hundreds of Aberrant Beasts.

Mint offered Lin Xiaolu a list of Black Ash Dawn members infiltrating the assessment in exchange for keeping her identity secret and letting the Kingdom avoid alerting the enemy. Lin Xiaolu called Larkspur to discuss Mint’s conditions, and Mint’s excitement at speaking to her ended in an ecstatic shriek.

• Mint told Lin Xiaolu she could identify the Beast Children involved in the assessment if the Kingdom kept her role secret and did not alert Black Ash Dawn.
• Mint explained that she wanted to protect her family and continue pursuing her future as a Magical Girl, while Lin Xiaolu questioned whether she had truly done nothing wrong.
• Lin Xiaolu decided she could not accept Mint’s offer herself and said she would ask her captain, Larkspur.
• Mint eagerly urged Lin Xiaolu to call Larkspur and insisted on explaining the information herself.
• Larkspur answered Lin Xiaolu’s call and asked to speak with Mint about her conditions.
• Mint greeted Larkspur as Lady Cornflower, then shrieked ecstatically after hearing her voice.

Larkspur agreed to keep Mint undercover while the institutes investigated her information, then monitored Black Ash Dawn’s Beast Children during the Magic Armament test. Watching them brought back evidence that Lin Xiaolu might be one of Black Ash Dawn’s Sacrificial Children, a possibility Larkspur kept to herself.

• Larkspur consulted the Magic Affairs Institute and the Research Institute, which agreed to verify Mint’s list and leave the suspected agents in place while Mint continued the assessment.
• Larkspur gave Mint her Magic Mirror contact information and an autograph signed as Larkspur, taking precautions to hide her magic-power traces and protect the name Cornflower.
• Larkspur arrived early for the Magic Armament test and secretly observed Arrowroot, Butterfly Bush, Yellow Azalea, and Blazing Star, the other Beast Children listed in Mint’s information.
• Larkspur recalled that an Ash Soldier had once muttered about two Sacrificial Children and considered Lin Xiaolu’s claim that she was one of them.
• Larkspur realized Lin Xiaolu could plausibly be a Sacrificial Child but chose not to tell her what she suspected.

Lin Xiaolu, Bai Jingxuan, and Mint waited outside the second assessment room, where candidates were being graded on their Magic Armaments. After a candidate left with a B-grade score and another Magical Girl hinted that she had lied, Mint approached the mysterious speaker and called her Anthurium.

• Lin Xiaolu and Mint stood uneasily alongside Bai Jingxuan as they waited for the individual Magic Armament assessments.
• A candidate emerged carrying a plain white pinwheel Magic Armament that had earned a B-grade evaluation, but she left without explaining its ability.
• An unfamiliar Magical Girl said the candidate looked like she was lying, then refused to elaborate when her companions questioned her.
• Mint left Bai Jingxuan's side, recognized the speaker, and called out to her as Anthurium.

Mint tried to learn about the Magic Armament Assessment from Anthurium, a Silver Gallery Magical Girl, but Anthurium initially did not recognize her and rejected her flattery. After identifying Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan as Cornflower’s students, Anthurium offered to explain the assessment and make their acquaintance.

• Mint approached Anthurium and reminded her that they had met in the Silver Gallery study room.
• Anthurium vaguely remembered Mint as Tudingui’s roommate and questioned why she should share information about the assessment.
• Lin Xiaolu distanced herself from Mint, while Bai Jingxuan followed her away.
• Anthurium recognized Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan as Cornflower’s students from Fangting City.
• Anthurium said she wanted to connect with Cornflower’s promising students and offered to tell them everything about the Magic Armament Assessment.

Anthurium explained how Magic Armament ratings worked and revealed that she could detect lies, while Lin Xiaolu, Mint, and Bai Jingxuan learned more about the assessment. Their conversation ended when Bai Jingxuan was called into the examination room.

• Anthurium explained the Magic Armament rating tiers and said that paired and clustered armaments generally had greater potential than single ones.
• Anthurium told Lin Xiaolu that she could distinguish truth from lies and said the girl who claimed to be B-rank had been pretending.
• Mint asked about paired armaments, and Bai Jingxuan asked about sets; Anthurium said sets were unquestionably S-rank.
• Anthurium revealed that Cornflower had skipped the White Card assessment, so her Magic Armament rating was unknown.
• The group chatted in the corridor until the examination-room door opened and Bai Jingxuan was called.

Bai Jingxuan underwent an examination of her Magic Armament while trying to conceal the Aberrant Beast magic within her. Her test results revealed unusual strength for her rank, and the examiner concluded that she was an Offsetter.

• Bai Jingxuan entered the white examination room and followed the examiners’ instructions to register her Magic Armament.
• Bai Jingxuan materialized Heavenly Tone and stood for a scan, which recorded her data without incident.
• An examiner found that Bai Jingxuan had strong magical activity, low True Form manifestation, and a Level 3 Magic Fluctuation Field despite being Leaf Rank.
• Bai Jingxuan asked the examiner to explain the technical terms and learned that her ability strength was far above average.
• The examiner told Bai Jingxuan that her test results showed she was undoubtedly an Offsetter.

Bai Jingxuan concealed the details of her Offset condition during the Magic Armament assessment and received a Briza- rating for Heavenly Tone. After she rejoined her friends, Lin Xiaolu was called in for her own test, leaving her friends’ reaction to her Magic Armament unexplained.

• Bai Jingxuan told the examiner she knew she was an Offsetter but had never had her specific condition examined, and the examiner accepted her explanation.
• The examiners assessed Heavenly Tone’s abilities, range, applications, potential, and stability, then gave it an overall Briza- rating.
• Bai Jingxuan told Lin Xiaolu, Mint, and Anthurium about her rating; Anthurium was surprised, while Mint asked whether Bai Jingxuan’s base color had been exposed.
• Lin Xiaolu said she hoped to score above C-grade because her Magic Armament could transform, prompting Bai Jingxuan, Mint, and Anthurium to react with surprise.
• The examiners called Lin Xiaolu into the room for her Magic Armament test.

Lin Xiaolu's Magic Armament test exceeded the Bud Stage machine's reporting limits, so the examiners retested it at Flower Rank standards. Her scepter transformed into a spear, and the machine rated her ability at Level 4 with the development potential of Gem Scepter.

• Lin Xiaolu's initial Magic Armament test caused the machine to report an error because her data exceeded the Bud Stage report template's upper limit.
• An examiner inspected the machine and confirmed the error, so her mentor ordered a retest using Flower Rank standards.
• Lin Xiaolu manifested King's Key and deployed its Guard Form, transforming the white scepter into a pale blue spear.
• The examiners were astonished by the transformable Magic Armament, and the mentor saw it as a promising research subject.
• The machine completed the retest and displayed an Ability Rating of Level 4 and Development Potential: Gem Scepter.

Larkspur and Emerald concealed Lin Xiaolu’s unprecedented S+ Magic Armament results from the Royal Court, while Emerald explained the power the results suggested Lin Xiaolu might attain. Larkspur worried about her daughter’s future, and Emerald turned the conversation to the Beast Children.

• Emerald told Larkspur she had hidden Lin Xiaolu’s results among other assessment files and restricted access so the Crown Faction could not view them.
• Larkspur read Lin Xiaolu’s S+ assessment, which rated her development potential at Gem Scepter Tier.
• Emerald explained that Lin Xiaolu might become a Magical Girl on the level of a Gem Scepter without receiving authority from the Queen.
• Larkspur admitted she was worried about Lin Xiaolu’s future, while Emerald pointed out Larkspur’s growing affection for Bai Jingxuan.
• Emerald asked Larkspur for her thoughts about the Beast Children.

Larkspur concluded that the Beast Children shared Bo Xue’s natural Beast Shifter traits and learned that Black Ash Dawn was likely connected to Claw Mark’s forbidden technology. She agreed with Emerald to revise their security plan, but Emerald received a message that Purple Diamond had accessed files with newly adjusted permissions.

• Larkspur told Emerald that the Beast Children seemed much like ordinary Magical Girls, and Emerald said their similarities to Bo Xue showed that her case was not unique.
• Larkspur wondered whether any Beast Children were like Bo Xue, but Emerald warned her not to risk their operation by trying to save everyone.
• Larkspur concluded that Black Ash Dawn had likely supplied Claw Mark’s technology and vowed to stop its plans and expose the person behind them.
• Larkspur and Emerald agreed to meet that night and revise their security plan to account for the Beast Children.
• Emerald received a Magic Mirror message and exclaimed that Purple Diamond had accessed files whose permissions she had just changed.

Purple Diamond visited the Magic Affairs Institute after the Queen postponed her city tour and took over the review of Magic Armament files, condemning employees for favoritism. While Emerald’s plan to hide Lin Xiaolu’s file seemed secure, Purple Diamond found it in a hidden directory and was stunned by its S+ rating.

• The Queen postponed her scheduled city tour, so Purple Diamond told the Crown Faction officials to postpone the event and lead her to the Magic Affairs Institute.
• Purple Diamond entered the Institute’s crowded office and challenged employees who were arguing over submitting a connected examinee’s file.
• Purple Diamond reprimanded the employees, took over their file review, and ordered them to follow her instructions.
• Emerald remained unaware that Purple Diamond had accessed the Institute’s database while searching for unqualified files.
• Purple Diamond traced a hidden directory to Lin Xiaolu’s file, saw its S+ rating, and wondered whether the Research Institute had fabricated it.

After learning that Cotton Tree and Arrowroot had both received S-grade Magic Armament ratings, Xia Liang revealed her own A-grade result. The chapter ended with Cockscomb challenging Xia Liang to a fight during the practical combat stage.

• Mountain Lily told Xia Liang that Cotton Tree and Arrowroot had both received S-grade ratings, while Mountain Lily and Tiger Lily had each earned C+.
• Xia Liang shared that her Magic Armament Diversion had received an A-grade rating, based on Rose's examination and analysis.
• Cockscomb introduced herself to Xia Liang, said she was dissatisfied with her B+ rating, and challenged Xia Liang to fight.

Emerald told Larkspur that Purple Diamond would report Lin Xiaolu’s S+ Magic Armament rating to the Queen, and they could not stop her. Larkspur warned Lin Xiaolu about the danger of the rating becoming public, but Lin Xiaolu chose to keep it and face the expectations that came with it.

• Emerald explained that Purple Diamond intended to report the discovery to the Queen and that they could not prevent it.
• Larkspur realized the Queen might learn of Lin Xiaolu’s connection to her and discussed whether to conceal the S+ rating from the public.
• Larkspur called Lin Xiaolu and learned that she had earned an S+ rating and had told no one else.
• Larkspur suggested lowering Lin Xiaolu’s announced rating to protect her from enemies who might target her.
• Lin Xiaolu chose to have her S+ rating announced, saying she wanted to keep fighting and become someone who protected others.
• Larkspur told Lin Xiaolu that her words made her prouder than the S+ rating.

Lin Xiaolu kept her unusual Magic Armament assessment results secret while Anthurium assured her that she and her team would not challenge her over her rating. The rankings were announced at Silver Gallery, where White Rose’s unprecedented Singularity Soliflor (SS) rating stunned the examinees.

• Lin Xiaolu told Mint that Larkspur had praised her excellent results but refused to reveal her rating before the announcement.
• Anthurium said her rating was A+ and Cotton Tree’s was S, then assured Lin Xiaolu that she and her team would not challenge her over her results.
• Lin Xiaolu explained that Cornflower had asked her not to discuss her results yet, and Anthurium accepted her explanation and left with her companions.
• After the day’s assessments ended, examinees gathered in Silver Gallery’s central plaza to see the announced rankings.
• The top listing named White Rose in first place with a Singularity Soliflor (SS) rating, shocking the examinees.