Chapter Summaries

Zheng Qing and Ilena cleared up rumors about him saying her name, discussed his new club, and arranged to study together and attend the Hunting Dance Party. After Ilena left, Zheng Qing summoned his Yuanchen for the first time, but the two apparitions disappointed him.

• Ilena asked whether Zheng Qing had really said her name every day, and he denied casting a spell on her while admitting he had said her name in his spare time.
• Zheng Qing explained the Sin Absolution Knight Order and its plans for the rookie hunting tournament, reassuring Ilena that the event was relatively safe.
• Ilena invited Zheng Qing to study a talisman at the library and visit Pedestrian Street in Beta Town on Sunday, and he agreed.
• Zheng Qing stumbled through an invitation to the Hunting Dance Party, and Ilena accepted, saying Zhang Jixin had already mentioned it.
• After Ilena left, Zheng Qing recited an incantation and summoned his Yuanchen, then dismissed the two phantoms and said he did not like them.

Zheng Qing learned that the Student Union Federation had rejected his application to establish the Sin Absolution Knight Order because of its name. Xiao Xiao also brought news that the Hunting Moon Festival had been postponed a week, giving Zheng Qing another chance to prepare.

• Zheng Qing planned a team-building gathering for his Knight Order and wrote down friends, professors, and staff members he wanted to invite.
• Zheng Qing confronted Xiao Xiao, Fatty Xin, and Zhang Jixin with a row of Inferior Talismans after they returned to the dormitory.
• Xiao Xiao told Zheng Qing that the Student Union Federation had rejected his organization application, and Zheng Qing read the official notice and regulations.
• Fatty Xin secretly pocketed Zheng Qing's Inferior Talismans while Zheng Qing was distracted by the rejection.
• Xiao Xiao reported that the Professor Joint Conference had postponed the Hunting Moon Festival by a week, giving the group more time.

Zheng Qing’s friends suspected an Amish student had altered their club application review, rejecting its name as a violation of public order and good morals. They decided to appeal within seven days, their only chance to join the School Hunting Meet, while Zheng Qing joked about renaming the club the Cat’s Group.

• Lin Guo and the others puzzled over why the Student Union Federation had rejected their club name on public-order and morality grounds.
• Xiao Xiao recalled that an Amish Atlas Academy student had handed him the review letter, and the group suspected the student had altered the report.
• Xiao Xiao explained the Amish community’s conservative beliefs, while Fatty Xin suggested those beliefs could have motivated the suspected interference.
• Zheng Qing noted they could appeal within seven days, and Xiao Xiao emphasized that an appeal was their only timely route into the School Hunting Meet.
• Zheng Qing proposed naming a new club the Cat’s Group if the appeal failed, but Fatty Xin pointed out that forming a new club would not help them make the meet.
• Zhang Jixin suggested Fatty Xin could write an article about the Amish student, but Fatty Xin said the school newspaper would not publish anything that harmed campus unity.

Professor Li announced that the School Hunting Meet opening ceremony had been postponed until mid-October and used belladonna juice to warn students about the dangers of cosmetic potions. The class ended with his reminder to focus on their studies and avoid risking their health for beauty.

• Professor Li told the class that campus security concerns had postponed the School Hunting Meet opening ceremony until mid-October, with the exact date still undecided.
• Xiao Xiao identified Professor Li’s purple-black liquid as belladonna juice and explained that it was used as a cosmetic to enlarge pupils.
• Professor Li described belladonna juice’s medicinal uses and warned that its alkaloids could be poisonous and prolonged use could impair vision.
• Professor Li cautioned the students, especially the girls, against using beauty potions and urged them to focus on their studies and the wider events of Hunting Month.

Zheng Qing went to Professor Li Qihuang after Potions Class to collect Transformation Potion for his approaching full moon. He signed a stack of forms without reading them, and the chapter ended as Professor Li searched a cabinet for the potion.

• Zheng Qing stayed behind after class and asked Professor Li Qihuang for Transformation Potion because he had begun experiencing headaches.
• Professor Li took Zheng Qing to his foul-smelling office and explained that the potion was already prepared and only required paperwork.
• Professor Li gave Zheng Qing forms covering potion access, student benefits, biometric records, and legal registration.
• Zheng Qing signed the documents without reading them, then admitted he had no guardian in the Magic World.
• Professor Li warned Zheng Qing not to sign documents carelessly and began searching a glass cabinet for the Transformation Potion.

Professor Li Qihuang explained how to use the Transformation Potion he gave Zheng Qing and reassured him that transforming would be painless. Zheng Qing left with detailed notes on the potion’s effects and instructions, but had not yet taken it.

• Professor Li Qihuang gave Zheng Qing a sealed ampoule of Transformation Potion and explained how its talisman seal and bottle preserved the potion.
• Professor Li told Zheng Qing that one dose could transform an adult wizard for six to twelve hours and could be taken alone or mixed into food or drink.
• Professor Li described injection as a faster option, but explained that oral doses took five to eight hours to work and varied by user and drink.
• Zheng Qing took careful notes on the potion’s use and asked whether the transformation would hurt.
• Professor Li reassured Zheng Qing that the potion contained Anesthetic Powder and suggested mixing it into hot milk before bed.

Zheng Qing worried that his bloodshot right eye was affecting his vision, then successfully tested a slingshot method for firing talismans. As the dormitory prepared for a club meeting, he insisted he could clear up rumors about his relationships.

• Zheng Qing complained that his right eye gave him double vision while trying to shoot a squirrel with a slingshot.
• Dylan woke from his Coffin and explained that he followed a reversed schedule because he was less tolerant of sunlight.
• Zheng Qing fired a talisman from his slingshot and bound the Gray Squirrel with vines, demonstrating his new long-range attack method.
• Fatty Xin teased Zheng Qing about having three girlfriends, and Zheng Qing said he would clear things up that night.
• Dylan asked Zheng Qing to help choose cufflinks and a belt before the club meeting's guests arrived.

Xiao Xiao brought back the Student Union Federation’s reply confirming that a religious extremist had altered the Sin Absolution Knight Order’s rejection notice. Zheng Qing tried to clear up rumors that he was dating three girls, but his friends’ teasing left the matter no clearer.

• Xiao Xiao gave Zheng Qing the Student Union Federation’s reply, which confirmed that an Atlas Academy student had altered the club’s rejection notice because he considered its name blasphemous.
• Xiao Xiao explained that the student had been expelled from the Student Union Federation, given a Level Two warning, and assigned mandatory labor.
• Zheng Qing announced that rumors about him dating three girls were baseless, then described his two encounters with Student Union vice president Colmar or Coleman.
• Zhang Jixin, Dylan, Fatty Xin, and the others teased Zheng Qing about the vice president pushing him, and Zheng Qing ended up collapsing onto his bed.

The Sin Absolution Knight Order held a long meeting and party, then its members struggled through hangovers the next day. That night, Zheng Qing secretly drank Transformation Potion and went to sleep, hoping to transform safely.

• Zheng Qing assigned club tasks during the Knight Order meeting, and Zhang Jixin volunteered Xiao Xiao to submit the weekly work report.
• Zheng Qing and the others toasted at the party, while Xiao Xiao explained that Xiong Na'er was a rare creature refined from polar bears.
• Zheng Qing, Xiao Xiao, Fatty Xin, and Dylan suffered hangovers the next morning, while Zhang Jixin said Lan Que, Shi Yuan, and Lin Guo had only drunk water.
• Zheng Qing prepared Transformation Potion in secret, mixed it into warm milk, and drank it before bed.
• Zheng Qing clutched Ilena's Knight of Scepter Tarot Card and soon fell asleep.

Zheng Qing dreamed of a young man with an old man and an ox before awakening as a black cat in Fen River Park, where it lured a student toward a familiar building. The cat vanished in a crimson blaze and thunder, and Zheng Qing fell back asleep as black fur spread across his arms.

• A young man read a Dao Scripture while the old man prepared to scout ahead and extend the mountain road.
• The old man flicked his arm, sending the young man tumbling down the slope with a scream.
• A black cat rolled out of the mist at Fen River Park and encountered a secondary school student, whom it lured away.
• The black cat entered a familiar ocher building, then emerged back at the willow grove as evening fell.
• Crimson flames and thunder consumed the black cat, leaving a sleeping young man in its place.
• Zheng Qing woke in his dormitory, fell asleep again, and began growing black fur on his bare arms.

After a strange potion turned Zheng Qing into a black cat, he discovered his new appearance and feline abilities. He left the dormitory by leaping down the cliff, eager to enjoy life as a cat.

• Zheng Qing woke beneath the covers as a black cat and startled the sleeping dormitory with his yowl.
• Zheng Qing used Tuantuan’s mirror to confirm his transformation and examined his black fur, white paws, and mismatched eyes.
• Zheng Qing tested his claws and movements while the Elves watched him warily.
• Zheng Qing decided to escape before the dormitory residents woke, but Tuantuan refused to join him.
• Zheng Qing climbed out through the balcony window, bounded down the cliff, and howled that he would be a happy cat.

Zheng Qing, transformed into a black cat, clashed with a Two-tailed Mountain Squirrel and encountered rowdy Starry Sky Academy students. He headed to Book Mountain Hall to investigate the Gypsy witch’s talisman before his date with Ilena.

• A Two-tailed Mountain Squirrel pelted Zheng Qing with hazelnuts, and Starry Sky Academy students gathered to bet on their fight.
• Zheng Qing climbed the oak, but the squirrel escaped by spinning its two tails like propellers and flying away.
• The shorter student won a bun after betting that the black cat would not touch the squirrel, while the bearded student tried to lure Zheng Qing with a meat bun.
• Zheng Qing fled the bearded student’s disgusting offer and heard the students speculate that the black cat might be a professor in disguise.
• Zheng Qing ran toward Book Mountain Hall, hoping to find the original version of the Gypsy witch’s talisman before his date with Ilena.

Zheng Qing, transformed into a black cat, ran across campus toward Book Mountain Hall on a cold morning, passing Hunting Moon decorations and club promoters. At the library entrance, groundskeepers stopped him because he had no identification, leaving him unable to enter.

• Zheng Qing left the dormitory and ran across the frosty campus, taking to the grass to escape the cold flagstones.
• Zheng Qing passed Student Union Federation banners and received a YPO bone tag from an Alchemy Doll promoting the Young Hunters Association.
• Zheng Qing reached Book Mountain Hall, where students had gathered to study for the approaching midterm exams.
• A groundskeeper demanded Zheng Qing show his Student Card or staff identification, and another questioned whether he had only recently learned the Transformation Spell.
• Zheng Qing gave up on sneaking into the library after the groundskeepers refused him entry without identification.

Zheng Qing, transformed into a black cat, basked on a bench at First University until Li Meng and Jiang Yu found him. Li Meng suspected the clever cat was a transformed wizard and warned Jiang Yu that she had been defiled, leaving Zheng Qing sneezing in her arms.

• Zheng Qing abandoned his attempt to enter the library and settled on a sunny bench in his black cat form.
• Li Meng rushed over and grabbed Zheng Qing's tail, but Jiang Yu stopped her before he could claw her.
• Jiang Yu picked up the black cat and checked him over, while Li Meng worried that he might be sick or a transformed wizard.
• Li Meng threatened to neuter the cat and declared that Jiang Yu had been defiled, prompting Zheng Qing to sneeze repeatedly.

Jiang Yu told Li Meng and Zheng Qing about the kitten she had rescued and the unsolved circumstances of its death. She remained determined to find its killer, while explaining that the suspects named in the investigation had not been responsible.

• Jiang Yu warned Li Meng not to torment the black cat, then carried him to a bench and began recounting how she had found a tiny, shivering kitten beneath a lakeside bluestone.
• Jiang Yu described making the kitten a nest and secretly borrowing Li Neng's enchanted cloak to keep it warm, while Li Meng recalled trying to feed it milk mixed with Dragon Bone Powder.
• Jiang Yu said the kitten later died with its neck snapped, and that the School Labor Committee and Student Union had dismissed her complaints, so she began investigating on her own.
• Jiang Yu explained that the kappa, the Red-banded Snake, and the Sand Hour Worm were not the killer, while Li Meng joked that Horus might have eaten the kitten's eyes.
• Jiang Yu stopped Li Meng from threatening the black cat with her spellbook and reminded her not to wave it at strangers on campus.

Zheng Qing returned to the dormitory as a black cat and slept until the Transformation Potion wore off. After waking as a human, he learned that Xiao Xiao and Dylan had figured out his transformation, and Xiao Xiao asked him what becoming a cat felt like.

• Zheng Qing hurried back to the dormitory to avoid changing back into a human in public.
• Zheng Qing found the dormitory empty and curled up in bed, where he fell asleep as the potion began to wear off.
• Zheng Qing awoke from a dream about the Calamity-Averting Method and found that he had changed back into a human.
• Xiao Xiao revealed that he had found black hairs in his notebook and worked out that Zheng Qing had transformed into a cat.
• Xiao Xiao told Zheng Qing that Dylan had also suspected the transformation, while Fatty Xin still did not know.
• Xiao Xiao asked Zheng Qing what it felt like to become a cat.

Xiao Xiao explained how Transformation Spells affected a wizard’s soul, personality, and sense of self after Zheng Qing described becoming a cat. The discussion left Zheng Qing wondering whether learning transformation magic had made him mentally ill.

• Xiao Xiao pressed Zheng Qing to describe what he had done as a cat, and Zheng Qing blushed as he remembered a woman’s embrace.
• Xiao Xiao guessed that Zheng Qing had sneaked into the girls’ dormitory, but Zheng Qing denied it.
• Xiao Xiao explained that Transformation Spells could reshape a wizard according to their inner beliefs and that potion-based transformations produced a fixed form.
• Xiao Xiao said a transformed wizard’s soul remained intact while their preferences shifted toward those of the transformed creature.
• Xiao Xiao described Transformation Spells as high-risk magic and claimed that every wizard who learned them was, by ordinary standards, schizophrenic, leaving Zheng Qing stunned.

Xiao Xiao hypnotized Zheng Qing into recalling the habits he had developed while transformed into a cat, and explained that confronting such memories could prevent dangerous effects on his sense of self. Zheng Qing then prepared to report for his night patrol and planned to discuss Lin Guo’s Timeline with him.

• Xiao Xiao guided Zheng Qing through his memories as a cat, and Zheng Qing remembered fighting puppies, bullying mice, and licking his paws and fur before repeatedly vomiting.
• Xiao Xiao explained that transformation could mildly affect preferences and habits, and that buried memories might form a separate soul projection if Zheng Qing refused to confront them.
• Xiao Xiao revealed that Professor Yi had assigned him to help Zheng Qing recover the memories and that the task had earned him a credit.
• Xiao Xiao reminded Zheng Qing that they needed to submit an overdue work report and that Zheng Qing had a night patrol scheduled.
• Zheng Qing collected materials about Lin Guo’s Timeline so he could discuss it with him, while Xiao Xiao wondered where Dylan and the dormitory’s other absent resident had gone.

Zheng Qing tried to persuade Lin Guo to consult a professor about the dangers of chaotic time, then joined him on a cold night patrol. Their patrol was interrupted when a member of a hunting team approached Zheng Qing and introduced himself as Deng Xiaojian.

• Zheng Qing urged Lin Guo to talk to a professor about the dangers of chaotic time, but Lin Guo stiffly said he thought it was fine.
• A middle-aged school worker assigned Zheng Qing and Lin Guo their usual lakeside patrol, and Zheng Qing declined the chance to go home sick.
• While patrolling, Zheng Qing and Lin Guo discussed kappa, Poseidon, and rumors that Old Man Vernal had been dismissed from his school position.
• Zheng Qing mistook figures in the woods for possible intruders, and Lin Guo explained they were hunting teams training for the approaching Hunting Moon.
• Deng Xiaojian approached Zheng Qing, greeted him, and introduced himself by name.

Zheng Qing met Deng Xiaojian, a Starry Sky Academy senior who had come to greet him and pass along a message from his cousin Deng Xiaoxian. After the two cleared up an awkward misunderstanding, Deng Xiaojian praised Zheng Qing’s patrol and spoke with him and Lin Guo by the lake.

• Lin Guo greeted Deng Xiaojian as “Senior Xiaojian,” while Poseidon and the Black Goat reacted to his name and Zheng Qing tried to smooth over the awkwardness.
• Deng Xiaojian explained that he disliked introducing himself because his name had started many fights, and Zheng Qing mistakenly assumed he had come to ask for an autograph.
• Deng Xiaojian said he had come only to meet Zheng Qing and then revealed that his cousin Deng Xiaoxian had asked him to look after Zheng at school.
• Zheng Qing recognized Deng Xiaoxian by his nickname, Pan Lü’er, and explained that the two used nicknames for each other.
• Zheng Qing changed the subject to the hunting team’s night training, and Deng Xiaojian praised Zheng Qing’s handling of the wild demon during patrol.
• Lin Guo compared himself unfavorably with Deng Xiaojian’s hunting team, and Zheng Qing reassured him while Poseidon licked his cheek.