Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Tang Yue playfully corners Mo Xie, teasing him until he pushes her away in embarrassment.
• She confronts him about a broken Stardust Magic Tool connected to his brother. Mo Xie admits there is a problem after she threatens to ask the principal about it.
• Tang Yue asks him to call her “big sister” in exchange for keeping quiet. He does, and later thanks her sincerely.
• She also questions him about arranging the school’s field training. Mo Xie admits it was his doing, but escapes when Tang Yue offers to do “anything” for him in return for an explanation.
• The school’s Elite Class prepares for its first mage field training, a trip into the wilderness to encounter real Demon Beasts. The hundred students are split into five groups, each led by two instructors.
• Mo Xie’s group is led by Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun, both acquaintances of his. He ends up sitting beside Tang Yue on the bus, falls asleep, and she gently lets him rest on her shoulder.
• The buses depart the city.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie is capable and influential behind the scenes, having arranged the training, but remains shy and easily flustered around Tang Yue. His sincere thanks hints at growing trust and affection.
• Tang Yue enjoys teasing Mo Xie, but her playfulness is paired with genuine warmth and concern. She notices his exhaustion and cares for him while he sleeps.
• Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun greet Mo Xie like a familiar younger friend, surprising his classmates and suggesting he has connections beyond school.
• Mo Xie and Tang Yue shift between playful pressure and tenderness: she teases and corners him, while he resists but ultimately accepts her care.

Significant themes

• Trust and closeness: Tang Yue’s teasing draws out Mo Xie’s vulnerability, while his private gratitude and comfort around her suggest a developing bond.
• Hidden influence and responsibility: Mo Xie’s role in organizing the training hints that his abilities and connections extend beyond what his classmates know.
• Courage and coming-of-age: The students are leaving the safety of the city to face Demon Beasts firsthand, marking a new stage in their mage education.

Plot points and events

• Mo Xie wakes after falling asleep on Tang Yue’s shoulder during the journey. She gently teases him, and they share a brief, comfortable moment.
• The students arrive at Snow Peak Mountain Station, a heavily fortified settlement said to keep dangerous Demon Beasts out of its Safe Zone.
• Military Mage Zhan Kong greets the group. He explains that he had initially opposed the field training because of a past alert, but now considers it safe enough for students to train.
• Zhan Kong reveals that Mo Xie is his apprentice, surprising the students and helping Tang Yue understand Mo Xie’s connections to the military and the training arrangements.
• Mo Fan asks Zhan Kong to give his girlfriend, Zhou Min, a high score. Zhan Kong agrees, while Mo Fan boasts that he can earn a good score on his own.
• The students reach their camp, where they will live in tents for two months. Mo Xie reveals that he has a separate room and will not stay with them.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie is embarrassed by his closeness with Tang Yue, then tries to brush off the attention when Zhan Kong publicly calls him his apprentice. His separate room sets him apart from the other students.
• Tang Yue responds warmly to Mo Xie and pieces together why he has received unusual attention and opportunities.
• Zhan Kong is shown as an accomplished, easygoing fire mage who is affectionate and teasing toward Mo Xie. He also readily indulges Mo Fan’s request.
• Mo Fan shows confidence in his own abilities but also tries to secure an advantage for Zhou Min.
• The students react with admiration to Zhan Kong and surprise at Mo Xie’s status as his apprentice; some complain about the rustic camping conditions.

Significant themes

• Hidden status and reputation: Mo Xie’s military connections become public, changing how others understand his position.
• Training and risk: The field exercise is presented as necessary preparation, despite lingering concern over past danger.
• Confidence, favoritism, and evaluation: Mo Fan’s request highlights the importance students place on scores—and the tension between earning recognition and receiving help.
• Belonging and separation: While the students settle into communal camp life, Mo Xie’s private accommodation marks him as different from the group.

Key plot points and events

• Zhan Kong gathers the hundred Tianlan Magic High School trainees and announces an unusually demanding assessment: any team or individual who completes a low-rated bounty mission will earn everyone an A.
• He says that if nobody succeeds, the entire group will fail. The students and their teachers protest, since bounty missions are normally handled by experienced field teams.
• Zhan Kong challenges the school’s reputation and the trainees’ readiness, then offers a defensive Magic Tool to whoever completes the mission. The veteran Hunters at the Post Station immediately clamor to compete for the reward.
• Zhan Kong clarifies that his apprentice Mo Xie is ineligible, and that the first month will focus on adjusting to military life. He orders the students to run five kilometers before they can eat, explaining that stamina may help them escape Demon Beasts.
• Mo Xie, followed by Mo Fan and Mu Bai, is among the first to start running.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhan Kong shifts from casual and joking to stern and confrontational. He rejects the expected easy training arrangement, using pressure and a valuable reward to test the students’ ambition and toughness.
• The trainees are shocked and anxious; Xu Zhaoting questions the consequences, while Zhou Min openly challenges the assessment. Teacher Zhang Jianguo objects but is publicly rebuked.
• Mo Xie appears unsurprised by Zhan Kong’s refusal to let him claim the prize, recognizing his master’s usual stinginess.
• Mo Fan and Mu Bai follow Mo Xie into the run, as the group begins its first physical test.

Significant themes

• Practical readiness over classroom achievement: Zhan Kong argues that field mages need survival skills and stamina, not merely spell knowledge.
• Merit and accountability: The whole cohort’s result depends on whether someone can succeed, making the trainees responsible for one another.
• Harsh training as motivation: Zhan Kong uses criticism, competition, and a tangible reward to provoke effort—though his methods create resentment and uncertainty.

Plot and events

• After a month of cultivation, Mo Xie advances his Lightning, Fire, and Ice elements to the third tier of the Basic Level.
• He leaves his room to find the usually busy square empty. Mo Fan explains that everyone is watching a basketball game between students and instructors, and hurries him to the court.
• Mo Xie joins the student team. When the ball reaches him, a sudden flood of basketball knowledge comes to mind, though he has little experience playing.
• He passes to Mu Bai for the first score, then makes an astonishing long-range three-pointer past Zhan Kong. As the game continues, his confidence and skill grow: he evades three instructors and finishes with a dunk.
• The crowd cheers, while friends and classmates watch from the sidelines with water bottles and encouragement.

Character development and interactions

• Mo Xie celebrates his cultivation breakthrough by joining the game. His super intuition appears to guide his play, and he discovers an unexpected knack for basketball, growing more relaxed and enthusiastic as he plays.
• Mo Fan enthusiastically brings Mo Xie to the court and calls for passes; Zhou Min cheers when Mo Fan scores, reflecting their closeness.
• Mu Bai contributes an early basket after Mo Xie passes him the ball. Zhan Kong begins by teasing Mo Xie but is left stunned by his long-range shot.
• He Yu shyly holds water for Zhang Xiaohou, while Zhou Min gently teases her. Zhao Kunsan and Wang Sanpang joke about whether bringing water counts as brotherhood.
• Tang Yue wrestles with why she bought Mo Xie a drink, telling herself she is only looking out for him as an older sister. When Mo Xie takes the bottle and thanks her, she overcomes her hesitation and openly cheers him on.

Significant themes

• Unexpected talent and intuition: Mo Xie’s instinctive play suggests abilities can emerge without deliberate training.
• Growing confidence and youthful joy: The game brings out Mo Xie’s playful, competitive side and unites the crowd.
• Affection and emotional hesitation: Small gestures—offering water, teasing, and cheering—reveal relationships and feelings that characters are reluctant to name.

Key events

• Ten days into a self-guided mountain trek, Mo Xie’s group reaches a deep, roughly ten-meter-wide gorge blocking the route to Hundred Herb Valley.
• With the three Wind Element students too frightened to attempt the crossing, Mo Xie ties himself to a rope and makes a dangerous running leap across. He secures the rope so the others can cross safely.
• Zhan Kong and Tang Yue have secretly observed the students. Zhan Kong criticizes the Judgment Hall for branding unusually gifted people as Black Vatican members or heretics, but agrees to let Mo Xie join the Hall because he needs its support.
• The instructors reveal the training is secretly monitored and graded. The destination is a supposed demon-beast lair that has been cleared of real beasts, but a Summoned Beast remains there as the final challenge. They doubt the students can defeat it; Tang Yue privately hopes Mo Xie can.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie shows initiative, courage, and concern for the group by taking a risk no one else will. His leap strengthens the other students’ trust in him.
• Mu Bai helps organize the group, proposes using a rope crossing, and accepts Mo Xie’s decision despite fearing for his safety.
• Tang Yue admits she misjudged Mo Xie and now regards him as a younger brother. Zhan Kong’s criticism leaves her confronting the Judgment Hall’s harsh treatment of suspected heretics.
• Zhan Kong appears cynical about the Hall but puts Mo Xie’s future ahead of his own resentment, agreeing to support his recruitment.
• Zhang Xiaohou is noted for performing especially well during the crossing, earning a high score.

Significant themes

• Courage and responsibility: Mo Xie acts when the group is stuck, accepting personal danger to help everyone advance.
• Trust and teamwork: The rope lets the whole group cross, while Mu Bai’s support and the students’ cooperation make the solution work.
• Institutional injustice and loyalty: Zhan Kong questions the Judgment Hall’s tendency to punish gifted or misunderstood people, yet supports Mo Xie for his own sake.
• Training as a test: The students believe they are on their own, while instructors secretly assess their abilities and prepare a final challenge.

Plot points and events

• Mo Xie leads the students through Hundred Herbs Valley. At its entrance, moving Demon Vines seize Zhao Kunsan, but Mo Xie cuts him free.
• When a frightened Fire Element student cannot complete his spell, Mo Xie calls on Mu Bai, who freezes most of the vines. He Yu then helps by preparing to spread water over the path so the ice can take hold.
• The group reaches the One-Eyed Demon Wolves’ former lair. Because the cave is dark and ominous, they pause at a nearby spring pool to wait for the other students.
• Once Group Three arrives, Mu Bai organizes a scouting party to enter the cave. Mo Xie stays behind, noticing that the pool’s waterline has recently fallen—a sign that creatures may have been drinking there.
• Mo Xie warns that the wolves’ cave may still be occupied. Mu Bai, Mo Fan, and Zhang Xiaohou hurry after the others, but a foul gust escapes the cave just as a huge, fanged beast emerges into the light.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie proves capable under pressure, rescuing Zhao Kunsan and coordinating the students’ elemental abilities. His attention to the spring’s waterline reveals his caution and observational skill.
• Zhao Kunsan’s boastful attempt to impress the girls ends with him trapped and injured by the vines.
• Mu Bai shows leadership by organizing the cave expedition, but immediately reacts when Mo Xie’s warning suggests danger.
• He Yu acts despite her fear, while the other students’ panic contrasts with Mu Bai and Mo Xie’s composure.
• Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou trust Mo Xie’s judgment and follow Mu Bai back toward the cave when they realize the threat.

Significant themes

• Overconfidence versus caution: Zhao Kunsan rushes ahead to show off, while Mo Xie’s careful observation detects a danger others overlook.
• Teamwork under pressure: The students rely on different elemental abilities to overcome the vines.
• Leadership and responsibility: Mo Xie and Mu Bai both try to protect and coordinate the group, though the students may already be in danger.
• Suspense and the unknown: The dark cave’s ominous atmosphere builds to the sudden appearance of a monster, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Plot points and events

• A One-Eyed Demon Wolf attacks at the mountain pass, and the terrified students stampede toward the cave exit. With their ropes missing and many unable to cast, they fear they are trapped.
• Mo Fan rescues Zhou Min from her reckless attempt to face the beast alone, while Zhang Xiaohou drags the frozen He Yu toward safety.
• The instructors watch from above. Zhan Kong is disappointed by the students’ panic, but the teachers notice Zhou Min becomes the first to overcome her fear and cast a spell.
• Zhou Min’s Fire Burst and Xu Zhaoting’s Thunder Seal hit the beast. Wang Sanpang uses an Earth Wave to save Xu from its counterattack. Encouraged, several students join the fight.
• The beast retaliates with blasts of sand and stone, wounding the students and restoring their panic.
• Mu Bai’s Ice Vine briefly restrains the beast, giving Mo Fan time to unleash a powerful Thunder Seal. The injured beast breaks free and plunges into the spring pool.
• As the students wonder if they have won, Mo Xie senses danger and warns everyone to move. The chapter ends with a sudden explosion.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Min shows courage and determination, though her first instinct is dangerously self-sacrificing. Mo Fan forcibly pulls her from danger; later, she helps lead the attack with repeated Fire Bursts.
• Mo Fan acts decisively amid the chaos, protecting Zhou Min and coordinating his attack with Mu Bai’s restraint spell.
• Xu Zhaoting shifts from attacker to rallying point, urging the students to fight together. Wang Sanpang protects him with earth magic.
• Mu Bai demonstrates effective control by holding the beast long enough for Mo Fan to strike.
• Zhang Xiaohou tries to use magic but is too frightened, so he focuses on getting He Yu out.
• Mo Xie appears alert to the danger even when the others think the fight is over.

Significant themes

• Fear versus action: Panic prevents trained students from using their magic, while those who regain their composure can act.
• Cooperation: The students’ combined attacks—and the teamwork between Mu Bai and Mo Fan—offer their best chance against the beast.
• Practical skill and experience: The instructors’ criticism highlights the gap between classroom cultivation and real combat.
• Courage and responsibility: Zhou Min’s bravery is admirable but reckless; the chapter contrasts it with Mo Fan’s protective intervention.

Plot points and events

• Mo Fan and Mu Bai impress the examiners by casting second-level Beginner Magic. Zhan Kong awards both an S grade.
• The Ghost Wolf Beast emerges from the Spring Pool in a sudden, unexplained frenzy. Summoner Bai Yang claims he cannot control it, while secretly celebrating the chance to kill Mo Fan.
• The beast pursues Mo Fan into a cave. Mo Fan uses an ice barrier to withstand its stone attack, then combines his Sharingan, lightning-charged Tang Dao, and magic to wound and paralyze it.
• Though Mo Fan cuts its throat, the beast keeps fighting. He freezes its legs and brings down stalactites with a Fire Burst, killing it. A Spirit Essence rises from its body.
• Mo Fan senses more enemies nearby. He reveals roughly twenty Black Beast Demons—creatures associated with the Black Vatican—surrounding him, and prepares to fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Fan demonstrates exceptional skill, composure, and tactical resourcefulness, adapting when the Ghost Wolf Beast survives his first lethal strike. He also shows respect for his foe by granting it a dignified death.
• Mu Bai gains recognition for his advanced Ice Magic and receives the same top grade as Mo Fan.
• Zhan Kong shifts from surprise to approval of the students, then rushes to the cave when he learns the beast has gone berserk. Tang Yue follows, concerned for Mo Xie.
• Bai Yang presents himself as distressed and helpless, but privately reveals that he engineered or welcomed the attack, hoping to earn a reward for killing a gifted student.
• The Ghost Wolf Beast is both a deadly opponent and a tragic target of betrayal, its green eyes returning only as it dies.

Significant themes

• Talent and earned recognition: Mo Fan and Mu Bai’s advanced magic sets them apart.
• Deception and hidden motives: Bai Yang’s public panic conceals his murderous intent.
• Courage and adaptability: Mo Fan survives through quick thinking and the combination of multiple abilities.
• Dignity amid violence: Mo Fan honors the beast’s final defiance even while killing it.
• Escalating danger: The apparent battle with the beast gives way to a larger threat linked to the Black Vatican.

Plot points

• Chief instructor Zhan Kong arrives at the mountain pass using Wind Wings and rushes into the cave after Mo Xie, who had lured the Ghost Wolf Beast inside.
• In the cavern, Zhan Kong and Tang Yue find the Ghost Wolf Beast dead, along with several Black Beast Demons—evidence that the Black Vatican had been involved. Mo Xie is missing, leading them to fear the worst.
• Mo Xie soon returns, exhausted and dragging a Black Beast Demon corpse, then collapses. He wakes later in the hospital.
• Tang Yue cares for him and asks about the traces of Fire and Ice magic in the cavern. Mo Xie says two black-cloaked figures cast the spells, and Tang Yue promises to investigate.
• Zhan Kong apologizes for Mo Xie’s injuries and reveals that Bai Yang was a Black Vatican member, discovered after Bai Yang was found dead. Mo Xie is shocked and privately wonders whether his aunt, Ye, was involved.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhan Kong demonstrates his formidable power with Wind Wings, then shows guilt and anger over Mo Xie’s injuries and the Black Vatican’s presence.
• Tang Yue is visibly distressed when Mo Xie disappears, then stays by his bedside and comforts him. Their embrace signals deep affection and trust.
• Mo Xie returns from the cavern alive but exhausted. His shock at Bai Yang’s death—and his suspicion regarding Aunt Ye—suggests he may know more than he has revealed.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and responsibility: Mo Xie risks himself to confront the danger, while Zhan Kong blames himself for failing to protect him.
• Loyalty and affection: Tang Yue’s worry and care highlight the strength of her bond with Mo Xie.
• Deception and suspicion: The Black Vatican’s infiltration, Bai Yang’s identity, and Mo Xie’s unanswered doubts about Aunt Ye deepen the chapter’s mystery.

Key plot points and events

• Mo Fan recovers quickly from his wounds and leaves the hospital. Tang Yue takes the Black Vatican evidence back to the Judgment Hall, but the trail ends with Bai Yang. Investigators suspect the unknown informant may be a high-ranking Black Vatican member, yet have no way to pursue the case. The two other alleged cultists Mo Fan mentioned are inventions, so they lead nowhere.
• Zhan Kong reveals that the wilderness training was a planned exercise: the Demon Beast was a Summoned Beast, and the instructors had been monitoring the students. He encourages them to learn from the experience and accept their responsibility to protect people.
• Before the students depart, Zhan Kong announces a bonfire party. He also invites Mo Fan to join his military unit after graduation, but Mo Fan declines because he wants to attend university.
• Mo Fan warns Zhan Kong that the Ghost Wolf Beast’s rampage was probably caused by something at the spring, possibly connected to the Black Vatican. Zhan Kong agrees to investigate.
• At the party, Mo Fan sings while students and military personnel gather around the bonfire.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Fan shows concern about the unresolved danger at the spring and refuses to let the matter rest. He remains focused on his own plans, turning down Zhan Kong’s recruitment offer.
• Zhan Kong shifts from stern instructor to encouraging leader, reminding the students of their duty as mages. He takes Mo Fan’s warning seriously despite the casual exchange.
• Tang Yue reflects on the sacrifices made by military mages and Judgment Hall members as Mo Fan sings. Watching him, she develops a quiet, possibly romantic interest.
• The instructors’ enthusiasm for the party suggests it is as much a reward for them as for the students.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and service: Mages are expected to use their abilities to defend others.
• Growth through hardship: The training exposes the gap between students’ confidence and their readiness for real danger.
• Unresolved corruption and danger: The Black Vatican investigation stalls, while the spring may conceal another threat.
• Camaraderie and hope: The bonfire, song, and shared celebration offer a moment of unity and optimism amid ongoing dangers.

Plot points and events

• After wilderness training, Mo Fan admits to his brother Mo Xie that he wants to become stronger. He proposes joining a hunting team to gain combat experience and collect Demon Beast essences for his pendant.
• Mo Xie recommends the City Demon Hunting Squad, which hunts Demon Beasts within the city and offers good pay and privileges. Since Mo Fan’s Lightning Element is already at the second stage of the Basic Level, Mo Xie says he should apply openly during winter break.
• Two weeks before the break, Mo Xie goes to collect Ye Xinxia from Inscription Girls’ School and learns that a student has gone missing.
• Police reveal this is the second disappearance from the school: the first case went cold, and the school has not requested help from the City Demon Hunting Squad.
• Ye Xinxia identifies the missing student as Lin Yun’er, whom she saw in the library shortly before she vanished. The school cameras show no sign of Lin leaving. Xinxia also recalls a foul, rotten smell near the cafeteria and feeling watched.
• Mo Xie connects her account to a tunnel beneath the cafeteria, which the Black Vatican had dug to bring Giant-Eyed Blood Rats into Bo City. Determined to protect the city, he rushes into the school to investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Fan shifts from feeling helpless after the wilderness training to making a practical plan for growth. Mo Xie guides him toward a safer, structured route into hunting and encourages him to use his public reputation as a Lightning Mage.
• Mo Xie’s concern for Xinxia turns into decisive action when the disappearances suggest a threat connected to the Black Vatican. He promises, in effect, to protect his home city.
• Xinxia shares her troubling memory despite being frightened. She supports Mo Xie’s decision to investigate, offers to go home alone, and shows concern for his safety as he leaves.

Significant themes

• Growth through responsibility: Mo Fan seeks strength not just for its own sake, but to become capable of facing danger.
• Courage and protection: Mo Xie acts to defend both Xinxia and Bo City, even as the danger becomes apparent.
• Institutional concealment: The school’s reluctance to involve specialist hunters suggests that protecting its reputation may be delaying a proper response.
• Uneasy clues and hidden danger: The unexplained disappearances, foul odor, and hidden tunnel point to a threat operating beneath ordinary school life.

Plot points and events

• Mo Xie asks Mo Fan to collect Ye Xinxia, then investigates the school cafeteria alone.
• Using Demon-Seeking Powder, he confirms that a Giant-Eyed Blood Rat has been there. He alerts Zhan Kong and Tang Yue, calls the police to seal off the area, and warns the officers to stay back.
• Inside, Mo Xie finds the enormous rat feeding in the kitchen. He traps it in ice, then attacks with lightning and fire. When it retreats into the kitchen to smother the flames, he detonates a Fire Burst there, leaving it apparently dead.
• The monster springs a trap, pretending to be dead and lunging at Mo Xie. He anticipates the attack and decapitates it, then absorbs its Remnant Soul.
• Searching the rear of the cafeteria, Mo Xie finds a large, dark tunnel entrance and jumps inside to investigate.

Character developments

• Mo Xie demonstrates initiative and confidence by investigating before reinforcements arrive, while carefully protecting the police from danger.
• His combat experience has made him more cautious: remembering his earlier fight with the Ghost Wolf Beast, he refuses to assume the Blood Rat is dead until he has finished it.
• He remains focused on the larger mystery, moving straight from the kill to searching for the tunnel.

Themes

• Vigilance and survival: Dangerous enemies may exploit even a moment of carelessness.
• Resourcefulness in combat: Mo Xie uses the creature’s retreat into the icy kitchen to set up a decisive explosion.
• Duty and risk: He confronts the threat alone while keeping others outside the danger zone.

Character interactions

• Mo Xie coordinates with Mo Fan, the police, Zhan Kong, and Tang Yue, but enters the cafeteria before the latter two can arrive.
• His only direct confrontation in the chapter is with the Giant-Eyed Blood Rat; their battle is a contest of tactics as much as power.

Key plot points and events

• Mo Xie descends a deep shaft by driving his Tang Dao into the stone wall, then follows a man-made sewer tunnel.
• Hearing faint sobs, he discovers Lin Yun’er, the missing student, imprisoned in a cage. A Black-Clothed Cultist is preparing to assault her and turn her into a Black Beast Demon.
• Mo Xie uses a pebble to lure the cultist’s Black Beast Demon toward the tunnel and apparently controls or manipulates it with his Sharingan. The creature attacks and kills its master.
• Mo Xie then kills the demon, breaks open the cage, frees Lin Yun’er, and gives her food and water.
• When Mo Xie goes to investigate another tunnel, Lin Yun’er fears he will abandon her. He promises to return and continues onward.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie remains cautious and resourceful, using stealth, quick thinking, and his unusual eye ability to defeat the cultist without confronting him directly. Afterward, he shows compassion by comforting Lin Yun’er and providing food.
• Lin Yun’er is exhausted and terrified after her captivity, initially wary of Mo Xie because of his bloodied appearance. She gradually accepts his help but remains afraid of being left alone.
• The cultist is revealed as cruel and predatory, intending to exploit Lin Yun’er before transforming her.
• Mo Xie and Lin Yun’er begin a tentative bond: he reassures her, while she clings to him as her only apparent source of safety.

Significant themes

• Rescue and protection: Mo Xie risks himself to save a helpless captive.
• Fear and trust: Lin Yun’er’s terror shapes her reaction even after she is freed; Mo Xie must earn her confidence through gentleness.
• Cunning over direct force: Mo Xie turns the cultist’s own demon against him before finishing the fight.
• Cruelty and dehumanization: The cultist’s plan to assault Lin Yun’er and transform her underscores the horror of the Black Beast Demons.

Key plot points

• Mo Xie follows a claw-marked cave beyond the Safe Zone and suspects the Black Vatican may be using a Psychic Element mage to control Demon Beasts.
• He emerges into a forest near a river and spots a Warrior-level Blood-patterned Giant Demon Rat. Its presence confirms that the cave likely leads into dangerous territory outside the Safe Zone, making it a plausible Black Vatican route into Bo City.
• Mo Xie returns to the underground chamber, where Lin Yun’er has waited in her cage. He carries her back and climbs with her up the deep pit using his Tang Dao.
• They reach the cafeteria, where Tang Yue and Lin Yun’er’s older sister, Lin Yuxin, are waiting. After a brief reunion and scolding, Mo Xie tells Zhan Kong and Tang Yue that he has found a lead on the Black Vatican.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie proves resourceful and courageous: he investigates alone, avoids a powerful Demon Beast, returns for Lin Yun’er, and gets her safely out despite the exhausting climb. He remains modest about helping her and focuses on reporting his discovery.
• Lin Yun’er moves from fear that Mo Xie has abandoned her to deep relief and gratitude. She trusts him enough to cling to him during the climb and develops an evident, shy admiration for him.
• Tang Yue scolds Mo Xie for keeping others away, but her anger gives way to concern when she sees blood on him. Their familiar, affectionate exchange shows her care for him.
• Zhan Kong is relieved to see Mo Xie safe, then becomes serious when he hears about the Black Vatican lead.
• Lin Yuxin thanks Mo Xie for saving her younger sister and offers to repay him.

Significant themes

• Courage and responsibility: Mo Xie risks himself both to investigate the threat and to rescue Lin Yun’er.
• Trust and relief: Lin Yun’er’s fear of being abandoned turns into gratitude and emotional attachment.
• Growing danger: The Demon Beast beyond the cave suggests the Black Vatican’s access point lies in hazardous territory outside the Safe Zone.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Yue teases Mo Xie about rescuing a young woman, and he deflects her jealousy with exaggerated compliments. Zhan Kong interrupts them to investigate a pit beneath the school.
• The group descends into a hidden chamber, where they find two dead men, including a Black Vatican cultist, and evidence of the cult’s presence beneath Inscription Girls’ School.
• A tunnel leads beyond Bo City’s Safe Zone. Mo Xie reports that he encountered a Blood-patterned Giant Demon Rat nearby and suspects the Black Vatican plans to lure Demon Beast colonies into the city.
• Recognizing the danger of a possible invasion—and the possibility of multiple entry tunnels—Tang Yue rushes to alert the authorities. Zhan Kong praises Mo Xie and promises to protect him.
• Zhan Kong agrees that Mo Xie should visit the Judgment Hall during winter break, hinting that joining it could benefit him.
• The scene shifts to the Mu family manor, where Mu He secretly contacts a superior: Salang, a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican. She is also Mo Xie’s Aunt Ye.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie stays alert and decisive, connecting the tunnel and demon-beast sightings to a larger plot. He also uses flattery to calm Tang Yue’s jealousy.
• Tang Yue shifts quickly from playful irritation to professional urgency, prioritizing a warning to the authorities.
• Zhan Kong acts as a mentor, praising Mo Xie and hiding his own concern about the scale of the threat. He vows to protect his apprentice.
• Mu He is shown as a high-ranking Black Vatican member who defers to Salang, whose identity creates a personal connection between the enemy plot and Mo Xie.

Significant themes

• Threat and responsibility: Discovering the tunnels forces the characters to confront the danger facing Bo City.
• Trust and protection: Zhan Kong reassures Mo Xie even as he privately doubts he can stop the invasion.
• Hidden identities and betrayal: Salang’s connection to Mo Xie makes the Black Vatican’s conspiracy more intimate and complicated.
• Personal bonds amid danger: The teasing between Mo Xie and Tang Yue briefly contrasts with the growing crisis.

Plot

• Lady Salang learns that Mo Xie has discovered a tunnel linking Bo City to a Giant-Eyed Red Rat den. Rather than stop him, she lets him investigate, confident he cannot uncover all the entrances.
• Salang reveals that she killed Bai Yang and warns Mu He to keep his subordinates under control: anyone who targets Mo Xie on their own will be killed.
• Mo Fan prepares to join the City Demon Hunting Squad. Before leaving for a week, Mo Xie gives him a Shield Magic Tool capable of blocking a full-strength Servant-level demon attack.
• At the Hunter Alliance, Mo Fan sees how competitive recruitment is and doubts his chances as an inexperienced student. He learns, however, that the squad prioritizes Lightning Element mages, so he approaches the interviewer directly to ask if they are recruiting them.

Character developments and interactions

• Salang shifts from anger at the tunnel’s discovery to amused interest in Mo Xie, whom she calls “Little Evil.” Her protectiveness is fierce: she forbids anyone from targeting him without her permission.
• Mo Xie quietly supports Mo Fan’s ambitions by giving him valuable defensive equipment, then leaves without waiting for thanks.
• Mo Fan moves from uncertainty to confidence once he realizes his Lightning Element gives him an advantage.
• Mu He remains deferential and agrees to enforce Salang’s order. A bespectacled applicant guides Mo Fan to the recruitment desk, while an older hunter dismisses his prospects.

Significant themes

• Power and protection: Mo Xie’s gift improves Mo Fan’s chances of surviving dangerous hunts.
• Hidden danger and intrigue: The tunnel, Salang’s network, and Bai Yang’s death point to a larger, ongoing scheme.
• Ambition and opportunity: Mo Fan’s inexperience is a serious obstacle, but his rare Lightning Element may open a path into the squad.

Plot points and events

• Mo Fan applies to the City Demon Hunting Squad. Captain Xu Dahuang immediately accepts him after seeing his Lightning Element magic, a rare and highly valued ability.
• Mo Fan is surprised to find the squad’s vice-captain is Guo Caitang, an old acquaintance with a strong grudge against him. Xu assigns them to patrol together, despite both clearly disliking the arrangement.
• In a separate scene, Mo Xie arrives at Tang Yue’s apartment and accepts her offer to stay in the spare room. While exploring, he accidentally enters her bedroom and discovers a large collection of stockings and underwear. Tang Yue catches him, sees the mess, and screams.

Character developments

• Mo Fan shows initiative by seeking real combat experience after recognizing his weakness during wilderness training. His Lightning Element quickly earns him a place on the squad.
• Guo Caitang remains proud and hostile toward Mo Fan, though she knows of his recent achievements. Her warning about the dangers of overconfidence hints at the risks of their upcoming patrol.
• Xu Dahuang is practical and enthusiastic, valuing Mo Fan’s rare combat potential above the applicants’ usual qualifications.
• Mo Xie is awkward and easily carried away by his thoughts, while Tang Yue appears unusually warm and playful—until her private belongings are exposed.

Character interactions

• Xu welcomes Mo Fan and pairs him with Guo Caitang, forcing two resentful acquaintances to work together.
• Guo and Mo Fan’s mutual dislike is rooted in old grievances: Guo remembers Mo Fan’s childhood intrusion and his later insult to her uncle.
• Tang Yue offers Mo Xie a room and treats him affectionately. His accidental discovery of her private things abruptly turns their cozy domestic moment into embarrassment.

Significant themes

• Talent and opportunity: Mo Fan’s rare Lightning Element lets him bypass a competitive recruitment process.
• Experience and danger: He seeks practical growth, while Guo cautions that talent does not make him invincible.
• Old grudges and forced cooperation: Mo Fan and Guo must work together despite their shared resentment.
• Comedy and embarrassment: Mo Xie’s intrusive curiosity disrupts his otherwise comfortable stay with Tang Yue.

Key plot points and events

• Mo Xie and Tang Yue drive together to Lingyin Temple’s Judgment Hall. Their ride is awkward because Mo Xie saw Tang Yue’s stockings and clothes at her home the previous night.
• Mo Xie tries to reassure her, but his compliments and questions only embarrass and anger her further. He eventually placates her with an unusually sweet, pleading gesture, and they reconcile.
• At the Hall, Leng Qing greets them on behalf of the Chief Judge, who has heard Mo Xie is coming and arranged to have him welcomed.
• The three cross a lake by boat to an island. Mo Xie reflects on the Totem Black Snake, believed to be sealed beneath West Lake, but conceals what he knows.
• Tang Yue explains that newcomers to the Judgment Hall swear an oath before the Oath Tree. Its mark on the soul helps prevent Black Vatican members from infiltrating the organization.
• The tree was brought from the Qinling Mountains long ago by a female Chief Judge. When Mo Xie’s Qilin Pendant reacts intensely on the island, he suspects the nearby source is the Divine Deer.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie remains teasing and playful, attempting to soothe Tang Yue through humor and affection. He also shows caution, keeping his knowledge about the Totem Black Snake and his suspicions to himself.
• Tang Yue shifts from embarrassment and irritation to reluctant amusement and forgiveness. Her strong reaction reveals how self-conscious she is around Mo Xie, despite their familiar, affectionate dynamic.
• Leng Qing acts as their welcoming guide and explains the Oath Tree’s history and purpose.
• Tang Yue and Leng Qing guide Mo Xie through the Judgment Hall, while Tang Yue’s comment about his soon meeting the Chief Judge briefly suggests she may have misunderstood what he meant.

Significant themes

• Trust and loyalty: The Oath Tree’s soul-mark formalizes commitment and guards against infiltration.
• Hidden knowledge and discovery: Mo Xie conceals his supernatural knowledge while interpreting the pendant’s reaction.
• Affection through teasing: The awkward, comic exchange between Mo Xie and Tang Yue highlights their growing closeness.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: The Oath Tree’s connection to the Qinling Mountains and the pendant’s response point toward the Divine Deer and a deeper secret at the Hall.

• Key events: Mo Xie reaches the Judgment Hall’s heavily guarded island to take an oath at the sacred Oath Tree. As he approaches, his Qilin Pendant suddenly goes still and the tree erupts with powerful golden light, alarming the guards. Chief Judge Tang Zhong arrives and recognizes the phenomenon as the Oath Tree’s rare blessing. A golden beam strikes Mo Xie, lifting him into the air and sending his Divine Sense into the Totem Space. There, the energy illuminates one-third of a spectral Divine Deer statue before stopping. Mo Xie concludes that the remaining energy may be in the Qinling Mountains and resolves to seek it out. The tree returns to normal, and Mo Xie lands unharmed.
• Character developments: Mo Xie gains a new connection to the Totem Divine Deer, though it is incomplete, and learns that the Oath Tree’s blessing is more than ordinary energy. Tang Zhong’s reaction suggests Moie’s experience is exceptionally rare. Tang Yue and Leng Qing show their concern for him.
• Character interactions: Tang Yue explains how to take the oath and later rushes to Mo Xie when the tree’s power engulfs him. Tang Zhong restrains her and Leng Qing, judging that the event may benefit Mo Xie. Afterward, he congratulates Mo Xie on receiving the blessing.
• Significant themes: The chapter emphasizes the mystery and power of ancient sacred forces, the link between the Oath Tree and Mo Xie’s totems, and the idea that major discoveries may be incomplete—setting up a future journey to uncover what is missing.

Plot points and events

• Tang Zhong explains that Mo Xie has received the rare Oath Tree’s blessing, a gift that can strengthen Magic Elements or grant them special abilities. Only four people in the Judgment Hall’s history have received it.
• Mo Xie examines his Spiritual World and discovers that his Lightning, Fire, and Ice Elements have each gained 20% more base power, marked by golden patterns and a sacred aura.
• The blessing had initially been heading toward his Lightning Element, but split into three parts and strengthened all three Elements equally.
• Mo Xie has no Oath Mark, unlike Tang Yue. Tang Zhong concludes this is no problem: receiving the blessing itself shows the Oath Tree trusts Mo Xie. He welcomes him to the Lingyin Temple Judgment Hall and offers to explain the role and its privileges.
• Later, Leng Qing reports Mo Xie’s new affiliation to the Azure Sky Hunter Agency. Song Qiming suggests the blessing may not have been mere luck and hints that Mo Xie’s influence could spread among powerful organizations.
• Qin Zhan teases Leng Qing about dating Mo Xie. She blushes and protests, while her younger sister, Leng Lingling, asks when Mo Xie will visit.

Character developments and interactions

• Mo Xie is delighted by the blessing and accepts Tang Zhong’s friendly offer to call him “Uncle,” quickly building rapport with him.
• Tang Zhong treats Mo Xie warmly and formally welcomes him into the Judgment Hall. His easy affection makes Tang Yue wonder if she is the niece being overlooked.
• Tang Yue is embarrassed by her uncle’s eagerness to claim Mo Xie as family, but she helps explain the Oath Mark.
• Song Qiming remains guarded and perceptive, recognizing that Mo Xie has hidden depths and may have been destined for the blessing.
• Leng Qing is surprised by the missing Oath Mark and becomes flustered when her father suggests Mo Xie as a boyfriend. Leng Lingling eagerly looks forward to seeing him.

Significant themes

• Recognition and belonging: The blessing marks Mo Xie as trusted by the Oath Tree, and Tang Zhong’s welcome gives him a place in the Judgment Hall.
• Power and opportunity: The increase to all three Elements could give Mo Xie a major advantage in future battles.
• Mystery and foreshadowing: Song Qiming’s comments imply Mo Xie’s rise among powerful factions may be more than coincidence.
• Growing personal ties: Family-like affection, romantic teasing, and Leng Lingling’s enthusiasm show Mo Xie’s connections expanding beyond his new organization.