Chapter Summaries

Zheng Qing struggled to choose a gift for Ilena and asked Jiang Yu to help him shop. After checking on the little elves and hearing that Jiang Yu had secured more support for Dr. Duzem’s research, he brought her to Luxi Fang, a shop that surprised them both.

• Zheng Qing agonized over what gift to give Ilena while helping Dr. Duzem prepare medicine for the little elves.
• Dr. Duzem said the little elves’ examination data looked stable, and Zheng Qing thanked him for caring for them.
• Jiang Yu told Dr. Duzem that her grandmother had praised his research and agreed to increase support for the Institute of Abnormal Life.
• After leaving the institute, Zheng Qing asked Jiang Yu to accompany him to the Pedestrian Street, and she agreed.
• Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu arrived at Luxi Fang, where Jiang Yu expressed surprise that he had brought her there.

Zheng Qing took Jiang Yu to Luxi Fang to help him choose clothes as a birthday gift, pretending they were for his seventeen-year-old cousin. Jiang Yu agreed to help, while Zheng Qing nervously tried to hide that he had made up the story.

• Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu entered Luxi Fang, where magical displays, dancing elves, and a fashion show filled the showroom.
• Jiang Yu questioned Zheng Qing about why he wanted her help choosing women's clothes, and he claimed the gift was for his cousin.
• Zheng Qing mistook an alchemical display model for a real girl and apologized before realizing what she was.
• Jiang Yu teased Zheng Qing about his cousin story, but then linked her arm through his and led him to the counter to help.
• Zheng Qing complimented Jiang Yu's sense of style, and she told him the gathered hem was called a Fishtail Style.

Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu visited Luxi Fang, where Jiang Yu explained how the shop altered time to serve customers. The old shopkeeper mistook them for a couple and offered a discount, leaving Zheng Qing embarrassed as Jiang Yu led him to view the clothing catalog.

• Zheng Qing noticed customers finished their business at Luxi Fang's counter in seconds, and Jiang Yu explained that the shop used the TC2000 Standard Protocol to alter time.
• Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu crossed a ripple in the shadow near the counter, where Zheng Qing saw the showroom's customers move like sluggish figures in an ink painting.
• The old shopkeeper recognized Zheng Qing as a publicly funded Jiuyou student and offered him a ten percent discount.
• The shopkeeper assumed Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu were a couple and offered an additional discount for a photo of them kissing, while Zheng Qing awkwardly denied the relationship.
• Jiang Yu accepted the discount and asked to see the catalog, then took Zheng Qing to the viewing area as he lamented the misunderstanding.

Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu searched for clothes to give his cousin, but Jiang Yu’s questions exposed that he had been lying about who the gift was for. He confessed that he wanted to buy something for Ilena, and Jiang Yu agreed that he could have asked her directly.

• Zheng Qing nervously chatted with Jiang Yu while they searched for an empty viewing stand among the vines and Firefly Beetles.
• Jiang Yu helped Zheng Qing choose clothing colors and styles based on Ilena’s red hair and appearance.
• Jiang Yu asked Zheng Qing for Ilena’s measurements, and his awkward answers made her suspect he was hiding something.
• Zheng Qing admitted that the gift was for Ilena, who had given him a present and lost credits in astronomy class because of him.
• Jiang Yu said Zheng Qing could have told her the truth because they were classmates.

Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu chose a red dress and pearl accessories as a gift for Ilena, while Jiang Yu teased him about his awkward excuses and embarrassment. They left the shop with the purchase after Zheng Qing paid with his student discount.

• Zheng Qing worried that Jiang Yu would be angry after learning he had deceived her, but she continued helping him choose clothes for Ilena.
• Jiang Yu recommended a red dress and pearl accessories, then arranged for a model to show the outfit before Zheng Qing agreed to buy it.
• Jiang Yu asked why Zheng Qing had chosen clothes as a gift, and he admitted he had considered buying a Pandora's Cursed Box or Bohemian cavalry candy figurines.
• Jiang Yu showed Zheng Qing a matching outfit that included underwear, and he knocked the catalog and teacup to the floor as she laughed at him.
• Zheng Qing bought the dress and pearls with a ten percent student discount, while Jiang Yu teased him about the earlier lie and his reaction to the shopkeeper's mention of a photo.

After Ilena declined another tutoring session, Zheng Qing turned his attention to the little elves whose lives had been temporarily extended by treatment. Xiao Xiao proposed studying the treatment’s effects, while Zheng Qing hoped their research might eventually help the elves gain recognition, though the chapter left him unsure how to begin.

• Ilena apologized and declined Zheng Qing’s proposed tutoring session, and his roommates teased him for being rejected.
• Zheng Qing explained that Dr. Duzem’s treatment had extended the little elves’ lives by about three months and that he needed to record their medical data.
• Xiao Xiao suggested researching how Sand Hour Royal Jelly affected alchemical lifeforms and proposed that he be a coauthor.
• Zheng Qing raised the possibility of using research to challenge the little elves’ status as disposable alchemical products.
• Xiao Xiao warned that gaining recognition under the Wizard Codex had required the tricksters to sacrifice many lives, leaving Zheng Qing to question whether the little elves could make such a choice.

Zheng Qing spent the day hoping to see the gypsy witch, then attended Old Yao’s Sunday class meeting, where he learned the opening ceremony would take place the following Monday. After the meeting, Old Yao told him he might receive an award for his actions at Four Seasons Market and that they needed to discuss his troubling physical examination results.

• Zheng Qing waited all day at Book Mountain Hall for the gypsy witch, but she never appeared.
• At the class meeting, Zheng Qing saw the witch but stayed seated while Xiao Xiao urged him to approach her.
• Professor Yao announced that First University’s opening ceremony would take place Monday and that the afternoon Talisman Class would be rescheduled.
• Old Yao asked Zheng Qing to stay after the meeting and told him someone from the Wizard Alliance might award him for his performance at Four Seasons Market.
• Old Yao said Zheng Qing’s School Hospital examination results were ready and that they would discuss his head illness the next day or the day after.

Zheng Qing’s dream of giving Ilena the Bohemian Dress was ruined when Fatty Xin woke the dormitory in a panic over missing homework. Fatty Xin recovered the assignment just before class, but Old Yao arrived with two enforcers, leaving the class facing an unexpected visit.

• Zheng Qing dreamed that he gave Ilena the Bohemian Dress and woke when Fatty Xin loudly searched for his missing homework.
• Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao left the dormitory for morning practice despite Fatty Xin’s pleas for help.
• Fatty Xin found his homework after Tuantuan retrieved it from outside the window, where it had been used to wrap a midnight snack.
• Fatty Xin made peace with Zheng Qing after Zheng Qing mentioned the cafeteria’s roast chicken, and showed him the crumpled assignment.
• The Stick Figure announced that Old Yao had arrived with two enforcers.

Professor Yao brought a mysterious chest to class, collected the students’ spellbook essays, and explained that their struggles with casting spells came from misunderstanding how spells and spellbooks worked. He introduced spellbooks as carrying magic’s projection and spells as the triggers that set it in motion.

• Professor Yao entered with two Gray Robed School Workers, who set a decorated wooden chest beside the lectern.
• Li Meng asked what was in the chest, but Professor Yao asked whether the class had finished its homework instead.
• The students described their different essays on spellbooks, and Dunton collected the assignments for Professor Yao.
• Professor Yao said he was disappointed that most students still could not cast the Binding Spell or Yuan Chen Shou Hu.
• Professor Yao explained that a spellbook carried the projection of magic while a spell triggered that projection, then demonstrated by making symbols and writing rise from his spellbook.

Professor Yao taught the class about magical books, their connection to wizards, and the Alliance's standards for them. Xiao Xiao recited the international requirements and earned a credit as the class applauded.

• Professor Yao introduced questions about how magical books worked and how the Wizard Alliance regulated them.
• Li Meng described her belief that magical books had souls and said she bowed to hers before class.
• Zheng Qing explained that his custom-made book from Shangyuan Bookstore contained a demon spirit and had undergone blood refinement.
• Dunton explained how a magical book's materials and inclinations could affect spells of different elements.
• Xiao Xiao listed the international standards for magical books, and Professor Yao awarded him one credit.

Professor Yao lectured Zheng Qing’s class on spellbooks and warned them not to use them as weapons, then grew angry again after reviewing a crumpled homework sheet. He held up the assignment, leaving Zheng Qing to suspect Fatty Xin was in trouble.

• Professor Yao explained how modern wizarding schools and spellbooks reconciled ancient magic’s conflicting rules.
• Professor Yao criticized fool-proof spellbooks and threatened to deduct credits from students who used spellbooks to hit people.
• Xiao Xiao explained to Zheng Qing that Kou An Lemos meant stupid and described the spellbooks as fool-proof.
• Professor Yao urged the class to master spellbooks and related subjects, warning that students who failed to work hard might end up as ashes or skeletons.
• Professor Yao found a crumpled homework sheet with a suspicious dark red stain, and Zheng Qing recognized it and teased Fatty Xin about being in trouble.

Professor Yao explained how spellbooks worked and revealed that their souls came from beings captured and exploited by wizards. He urged the students to reject universal compassion and warned them against joining the Spellbook Liberation Association.

• Professor Yao confronted Fatty Xin over his homework, and Fatty Xin blamed the Spirit Cat in his dorm for using it to wrap breakfast.
• Professor Yao reminded Fatty Xin that completing good homework was a condition for meeting Su Shijun, so Fatty Xin and Zhang Jixin vowed to rewrite and supervise the assignment.
• Professor Yao explained how spells were recorded and cast in spellbooks and offered bonus credits to students who mastered five selected spells.
• Professor Yao taught that spellbooks contained trapped souls, which wizards used to draw on the beings' abilities.
• Professor Yao argued that wizards ruled the world because they were cruel enough to exploit and kill other beings, then told the students not to join the Spellbook Liberation Association.

Zheng Qing learned about the Alliance’s term “Noble Syndrome” before Old Yao taught the class why students struggled to cast Yuan Chen Shou Hu. Old Yao assigned an exercise comparing three spellbooks and reminded everyone about the afternoon opening ceremony.

• Zheng Qing recalled being mocked for supposedly having Noble Syndrome after he raised the issue of pixie status among his friends.
• Old Yao asked why the students could not cast Yuan Chen Shou Hu, but they could not identify the problem.
• Old Yao opened the wooden box, revealing a collection of spellbooks, and explained that practice with different spellbooks would help students communicate with them.
• Old Yao assigned students to copy a Binding Spell into three spellbooks, test the spells with partners, and submit analysis reports before Wednesday’s philosophy class.
• Zheng Qing hoped to pair with Ilena, but Dr. Xiao said he needed another practice partner.
• Old Yao reminded the class that no one could be late to the afternoon opening ceremony, then summoned Dunton and Jiang Yu to his office.

As freshmen gathered for First University’s delayed opening ceremony, Zheng Qing worried over a gift for Ilena and searched the school newspaper for his name on the Student Union admission list. He found no name and planned to ask the Student Union Office about it, while the newspaper’s tiny figure protested his accusation of slander.

• Rumors spread among students about why First University had delayed the class of 2008’s opening ceremony.
• Zheng Qing joined his classmates in line for the ceremony as they prepared to keep track of their pets.
• Fatty Xin tried to reclaim the dormitory newspaper for the orange cat, while Zheng Qing insisted he was still reading it.
• Xiao Xiao guessed that Zheng Qing was searching for news about Ilena, prompting Zheng Qing to admit he was checking the Student Union admission list.
• Zheng Qing found no record of his name, accused the newspaper of slander, and said he would ask the Student Union Office about it.
• A tiny figure on the newspaper denied making a mistake, and Zheng Qing rolled the paper up to silence it.

As freshmen gathered for First University's opening ceremony, Zheng Qing endured the chaos caused by their pets and heard about the school emblem's most divisive mystery. The story left him considering the academy rivalry over the unseen side of the Triangular Prism and the school's refusal to reveal it.

• Zhang Jixin pulled Zheng Qing out of the way of a bird dropping as pets caused havoc in the First Grand Hall.
• Trumpet Flowers announced ceremony rules, including restrictions on pets, clothing, and disruptive behavior.
• Li Meng complained about the rules, and Xiao Xiao asked what the most controversial issue at First University was.
• Li Meng and Zhang Jixin explained that the four academies disputed which one the unseen side of the Triangular Prism represented.
• Xiao Xiao said the school refused to rotate its emblem to reveal every side, and Zheng Qing noticed the academy colors remained sharply divided.

At First University’s opening celebration, Zheng Qing and the freshmen heard mysterious music and witnessed visions of life’s evolution and struggles. The experience ended before showing what came after the animals, and Xiao Xiao identified it as the Sound of Life, a baptism of the soul.

• Zheng Qing wondered about the strange sound he heard as the freshmen waited for the celebration to begin.
• Pale mist filled the hall, the performers vanished, and a tiny flame appeared in the darkness as drums and music began.
• Zheng Qing watched visions of the universe, the emergence of life, evolution, and a meteor striking the planet.
• The music ended abruptly, leaving Zheng Qing wondering what its final themes meant and what had come after the animals.
• Xiao Xiao identified the experience as the Sound of Life, a baptism of the soul that let freshmen face the World Origin.

At First University's opening ceremony, Zheng Qing and his classmates watched several principals appear above the hall and learned that the school's principal was known as Principal Nameless. The principals descended toward the freshmen on a stairway formed from clouds, bringing Principal Nameless before them.

• Mythical beasts and stone platforms appeared in the hall, and the freshmen fell silent as several principals arrived.
• Xiao Xiao explained that the principals' immense auras drew the students' attention and that they were beyond the rank of Archwizard.
• Zheng Qing asked which figure was the principal, while Xiao Xiao and Zhang Jixin explained why the principals appeared distant and difficult to see.
• Xiao Xiao told Zheng Qing that the principal had no name and was called Principal Nameless, then showed him notes listing the principal's roles.
• Dunton warned the students to stop talking as the principals descended on a cloud stairway, with Principal Nameless leading the way to the freshmen.

At the First University's opening ceremony, Zheng Qing observed Principal Nameless and reflected on the principal's long, mysterious history and the two current vice principals. The ceremony left Nameless standing at the front with the vice principals, retired vice principals, and college deans behind him.

• Principal Nameless descended the cloud stairs with the other professors as the freshmen watched.
• Zheng Qing studied Nameless's appearance and recalled that he had led the First University for over sixty years, though the details of his life and power remained obscure.
• Zheng Qing considered Vice Principal Ruo Yu's role overseeing the School Labor Committee and his reputation for catching students who broke school rules.
• Zheng Qing regarded Madam Shi Hui, the dean of academic affairs and head of the Professor Joint Conference, as capable, fair, and decisive.
• Retired vice principals and college deans stood behind Nameless at the opening ceremony.

Principal Nameless welcomed First University's freshmen and explained the purpose of its four academies, urging them to respect their differences while avoiding division and hostility. He concluded by calling for the academy deans to present the new students with their badges, while Teaching Assistant Hilda remarked that this year's speech seemed different.

• Principal Nameless welcomed the freshmen and said the four academies offered different paths while all students belonged to First University.
• Zheng Qing privately resented the white-robed Alpha students and questioned why the university used different admissions methods despite the divisions they caused.
• Principal Nameless described each academy's values and warned that the school would not tolerate differences turning into hostility.
• Principal Nameless joked about Starry Sky Academy's damage to school property and hospital admissions, prompting laughter that faded when students saw Madam Shi Hui's stern expression.
• Principal Nameless urged the freshmen to inherit their academies' traditions and called for the deans to hand out university and academy badges.
• Hilda told Thomas that the principal's speech seemed fuller than usual, while Zhang Yu warned them not to spread rumors and Thomas watched Principal Nameless gravely.

Alpha freshmen received their academy and university badges from Dean Professor Emma during the opening ceremony. Emma explained Alpha’s ideals of freedom and justice, then summoned a dazzling white light that enveloped the freshmen.

• Professor Emma called the Alpha freshmen forward to receive their badges, and Lin Guo was first, accompanied by his Black Goat.
• Zheng Qing learned that Professor Emma was Alpha Academy’s dean and wondered whether the academy’s badges were pure silver.
• Professor Emma carefully pinned badges on each freshman while the Little Blue Sprites carried the trays away.
• Emma told the freshmen to reveal their talents and described Alpha’s pursuit of freedom and justice.
• The Alpha freshmen declared their allegiance, and Emma’s spell filled the hall with white light that swallowed the white-robed students.