Chapter Summaries

Zheng Qing and Lin Guo discussed the dangers of hunting team training and whether their Knight Order should form a team, while Zheng Qing’s date with Ilena passed quietly as they studied a mysterious talisman. The chapter left Zheng Qing considering how to organize a hunting team for the Sin Absolution Knight Order.

• Deng Xiaojian offered to help Zheng Qing deal with trouble from Friedman and Sephrano, then left with his hunting team.
• Lin Guo explained that hunting team training exposed wizards to harsh conditions and that school hunting grounds used modified, tame demons.
• Lin Guo suggested forming a hunting team for their Knight Order to earn credits, but Zheng Qing refused because Lin Guo was underage.
• Zheng Qing and Ilena studied an unfamiliar talisman, ate dinner, and attended their class meeting together, but their date brought no romantic surprises.
• Zheng Qing gave Ilena a Bohemian Dress, and she teased him about waiting until the Hunting Dance Party to give it to her.
• At the class meeting, Zheng Qing began considering whether and how the Sin Absolution Knight Order should form a hunting team.

Fatty Xin explained that he had spent two days in Beta Town North District researching a story about desperate tricksters. After discussing the risks and his plans to interview Jiuyou Academy leaders, he followed Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao to their regular meeting, where Li Meng beckoned them over.

• Zheng Qing found Fatty Xin outside the teaching building looking exhausted after vanishing for two days.
• Fatty Xin said he had researched the lives of tricksters in Beta Town North District and described their poverty, lack of hope, and fears of bodily harm.
• Xiao Xiao explained that rumors about magical organs had some basis, while Zheng Qing warned Fatty Xin that the North District was dangerous.
• Fatty Xin said he hoped to interview Jiuyou Academy leaders about their charity work, but Xiao Xiao told him the leaders were meeting elsewhere about the Hunting Moon.
• Zheng Qing, Fatty Xin, and Xiao Xiao went to Classroom East 601, where Li Meng called them over.

Zheng Qing noticed Ilena was missing from the classroom and later saw Jiang Yu studying a book about Transformation Spells. Jiang Yu concealed the book and offered an explanation that left Zheng Qing more suspicious.

• Zheng Qing searched the classroom for Ilena but could not find her, despite having seen her enter the building.
• Li Meng angrily called out to Zheng Qing and his friends, then threw a paper ball at the Stick Figure after it scolded her for swearing.
• Jiang Yu apologized for Li Meng and greeted Zheng Qing, who blushed as he remembered her comforting him when he had been a cat.
• Zheng Qing recognized Jiang Yu's book as a guide to Transformation Spells and wondered if she was investigating his transformation.
• Jiang Yu claimed she was studying ahead for higher-year coursework, then hurriedly hid the book and a notebook in her drawer.

Zheng Qing asked Jiang Yu about her search for the person who hurt the kitten, while she kept her new plan secret and agreed to wait until after Moon Hunt. In the classroom, Liu Feifei sat openly beside Nicholas despite the gossip, until a warning that Old Yao was coming sent everyone scrambling.

• Zheng Qing asked Jiang Yu whether she had found new information about the kitten’s attacker and offered to help, but she declined.
• Jiang Yu stopped Li Meng from revealing her dangerous new idea and told her to keep it secret until after Moon Hunt.
• Li Meng suspected Zheng Qing had acted strangely toward Jiang Yu and complained that she would hang the black cat from a tree and whip it.
• Liu Feifei sat beside Nicholas and dismissed his worries about gossip, urging him to practice instead.
• A stick figure announced that Old Yao was coming, and the students hurried to hide their overdue life reports.

Old Yao announced that the School Hunting Meet opening ceremony would take place Thursday afternoon, with missed classes made up Saturday morning. Zheng Qing then read a newspaper report that Biro Star’s Third Elder would visit First University for the ceremony, though the university had not confirmed the news.

• Old Yao announced the School Hunting Meet schedule, prompting students to protest the lost rest time and offer excuses.
• Old Yao reminded the class that their good behavior was required to secure a meeting with Su Shijun, then explained the school’s scheduling decision and safety arrangements for Friday’s practical class.
• Zheng Qing folded paper cranes while Xiao Xiao wrote in his notebook and Zhang Jixin read a newspaper.
• Zheng Qing borrowed Zhang Jixin’s copy of the Beta Town Post and skimmed its reports about events around the wizarding world.
• Zheng Qing read that Biro Star’s Third Elder was scheduled to attend the School Hunting Meet opening ceremony and that First University had not responded to the report.

Zheng Qing read the Beta Town Post during Professor Yao’s meeting and listened as his classmates discussed wizarding news and the Champions League. The conversation left him realizing he still had much to learn about wizarding culture and hunting.

• Zheng Qing became distracted by an animated advertisement in the newspaper and missed Professor Yao speaking.
• Fatty Xin and Duan Xiaojian interrupted Zheng Qing, and Duan Xiaojian asked where to find news about Witch Nightingale.
• Zhang Jixin showed Duan Xiaojian a report about Lark being drenched with Ganges water by a Dark Wizard at her Kolkata concert.
• Fatty Xin explained that the Brahma Times had spun the incident as a blessing, while the others discussed whether the School Hunting Meet would feature singers.
• Zheng Qing asked about the Champions League, and Zhang Jixin and Duan Xiaojian argued over which hunting team had the best chance of winning the Zeus Cup.
• Zheng Qing stopped following the hunting discussion and realized he still knew little about wizarding life.

Professor Yao announced the School Hunting Meet and its Freshman Competition, urging the students to attend the opening ceremony and represent Jiuyou Academy well. After the meeting, Zheng Qing and his companions discussed whether the Sin Absolution Knight Order should enter the competition, and he postponed their decision until a dorm discussion.

• Professor Yao announced that Jiuyou Academy would host the School Hunting Meet’s opening ceremony and that Councilwoman Su Shijun would attend.
• Professor Yao explained that freshmen could enter a low-risk Freshman Competition and earn credits or opportunities to join the school’s hunting teams.
• A student asked when Su Shijun would visit their class, but Professor Yao left without answering, prompting the class to crowd around Dunton and Jiang Yu for information.
• Zheng Qing turned from the Su Shijun commotion to ask his companions whether the Sin Absolution Knight Order had to form a hunting team.
• Xiao Xiao and Zhang Jixin urged the group to enter the Freshman Hunting Competition, and Zheng Qing suggested discussing it in the dorm that night.

At the Sin Absolution Knight Order meeting, the members explained the School Hunting Meet and the requirements for establishing and advancing a hunting team to Zheng Qing. The others continued planning the team despite Zheng Qing wishing they would abandon the idea.

• Xiao Xiao explained the history and purpose of demon-hunting meets to Zheng Qing, while Lin Guo clarified the Three Cup Hunting Competition.
• The Knight Order gathered in Dormitory 403 to discuss establishing its own hunting team and prepare Zheng Qing for questions from the Student Union Federation and School Labor Committee.
• Zhang Jixin and Fatty Xin explained First University's twenty-seven official hunting teams and the strength and benefits of the five school-affiliated teams.
• Xiao Xiao explained that the Knight Order's team would begin as a Reserve Hunting Team and would need to build experience and points to advance.
• Fatty Xin and Zhang Jixin described how difficult it was to complete official hunting competitions and retain team status.
• Zheng Qing suggested giving up on forming a hunting team, but the other members ignored him and continued discussing the plan.

Zhang Jixin and the others planned the composition of their hunting team and assigned several roles. The Scouting Hunter remained undecided after Lan Que recommended Dylan.

• Zhang Jixin explained the standard five-person hunting team structure and urged the group to choose members and prepare for training.
• Zheng Qing assigned Zhang Jixin as Lead Hunter, then Zhang selected Fatty Xin as Left Assistant and Xiao Xiao as Right Assistant.
• Zheng Qing nominated Lan Que as the Scouting Hunter, but Lan Que recommended Dylan instead.
• Fatty Xin noticed the coffin on the bed and muttered that Dylan had left without closing the curtains.

Dormitory 403 debated who should serve as the You Zui Hunting Team’s Scouting Hunter, weighing Dylan and Lan Que’s availability against Lin Guo’s alchemical skills. Zheng Qing volunteered as a backup, but Zhang Jixin explained that a scout needed deep knowledge of demons and monsters, leaving Zheng Qing stumped.

• Lan Que recommended Dylan as Scouting Hunter, and the others agreed that his senses and tracking abilities suited the role.
• Zheng Qing and Zhang Jixin noted that Dylan might not join the team, so Lin Guo nominated himself and demonstrated an unreliable alchemical buzzer.
• Lan Que offered to be a backup Scouting Hunter but warned that he could not guarantee attendance, and Zheng Qing suggested Lin Guo serve as his assistant.
• Zheng Qing volunteered as a second backup, but Zhang Jixin and Xiao Xiao rejected his nomination.
• Zhang Jixin explained that a Scouting Hunter needed to know demons’ and monsters’ types, habits, and characteristics, and Zheng Qing could not answer how much he knew.

Zheng Qing joined the newly formed hunting team as a roaming hunter, while Zhang Jixin proposed a dual-leadership structure with the Knight Order captain as team captain. The group then discussed the need to hire a team manager and began considering candidates from their class.

• Zhang Jixin explained that Zheng Qing lacked the knowledge to serve as a demon hunter, and Zheng Qing suggested handling logistics instead.
• Xiao Xiao doubted Zheng Qing was suited to being a manager, so Zhang Jixin proposed that he serve as a roaming hunter because of his versatile talismans and combat abilities.
• Zheng Qing accepted the roaming hunter role, and Zhang Jixin proposed that the Knight Order captain continue as hunting team captain.
• Zhang Jixin explained the Crimson Hunting Team’s dual-leadership model, dividing hunting missions from logistics, training, discipline, and external affairs.
• The team decided it needed to hire a manager, and Xiao Xiao listed Matthew Karen, Dunton, Jiang Yu, and Liu Feifei as leading candidates, with Li Meng and Ilena as alternatives.

Xiao Xiao and the others narrowed down candidates to manage their hunting team, leaving Zheng Qing to approach Jiang Yu or Liu Feifei and choose one before the School Hunting Meet. The group then moved on to discussing training and coaches.

• Xiao Xiao presented the manager candidates, and the group rejected Li Meng, Liu Feifei, Dunton, and Matthew for different reasons.
• Zheng Qing argued that Matthew might be approachable because he had defended class honor, but Xiao Xiao and Fatty Xin said their relationship with him remained strained.
• The group narrowed the choices to Jiang Yu and Ilena, and Zheng Qing chose Jiang Yu because Ilena was busy studying an ancient Magic Array seal.
• Xiao Xiao assigned Zheng Qing to approach Jiang Yu and Liu Feifei and select a manager within three days, before the team submitted its list for the School Hunting Meet.
• Zhang Jixin moved the dormitory discussion on to training and coaches.

Zheng Qing's hunt team discussed the dangers of the Freshman Hunting Competition and decided to study monsters and find a coach for training. After established coaches proved unavailable, Lin Guo reminded them of Dengzi, and Zheng Qing began writing to ask him for help.

• Zhang Jixin and Xiao Xiao warned the team about the dangers of hunting and past accidents during freshman competitions.
• Lan Que proposed studying and finding a coach, and Xiao Xiao outlined monster research and training as the team's two tasks.
• The team discussed possible coaches, but Zhang Jixin explained that the School Hunt Team was in closed training and available instructors had already been hired.
• Lin Guo remembered meeting Dengzi while patrolling, and Zheng Qing started writing him a paper crane to ask for help.

Zheng Qing arranged for Deng Xiaojian’s hunting team to help train Youzui, but still doubted his ability to lead. On a terrace at Alpha Academy, Sir Friedman told Matthew Callan to form a team for the freshman tournament so Sephrano would not steal the spotlight.

• Deng Xiaojian agreed to have his hunting team train Youzui after finishing their pre-competition training.
• Zhang Jixin told Zheng Qing to arrange a training schedule with Deng Xiaojian and to find a Team Manager.
• Zheng Qing doubted he was suited to lead, but Xiao Xiao said he could coordinate while the others handled the rest.
• Sir Friedman told Matthew Callan he had arranged for him to form a hunting team with promising freshmen and enter the freshman tournament.
• Sir Friedman said he wanted to compete because Sephrano planned to make a name for himself in the tournament.

Matthew learned who would join his Freshman Hunting Competition team and was appointed its Lead Hunter, with one position left to fill from his class. Sir Friedman gave him hunting gear and asked him to attend a future meeting as a trusted Callan family representative.

• Sir Friedman told Matthew that Adam Carlisle O'Brien would be the team's Seeker Hunter and that he planned to bring both young men into the 3A Hunting Team after the competition.
• Matthew learned that Nankai and Nanjian, distant relatives from the Ru'nan Nan Clan, would serve as the team's assistants, with Nanjian as a Diviner and healer and Nankai as her guard.
• Sir Friedman said the remaining listed candidates would be substitutes and named Matthew the Lead Hunter, leaving him to choose a Roving Hunter from his Astronomy 08-1 classmates.
• Matthew considered Dunton, Jiang Yu, and the Dali Duan heir as possible Roving Hunters, while a figure with wine-red hair came to mind.
• Sir Friedman gave Matthew a White Linen Robe, boots, and gloves, then asked him to attend a future meeting because he trusted Matthew to help represent the Callan Family.

Matthew asked Sir Friedman about the banshee statues and the demons rumored to be sealed in the terrace railings, learning that the terrace was tied to seventy-two false gods captured by an old professor and taken to the Black Prison. Meanwhile, Mike Jin Sephrano told a group in another common room that their dealings were too minor to attract the Wizard Court.

• Matthew said goodbye to Sir Friedman, who advised him to prepare spellbooks and offered him access to the club's spare Potions and alchemical supplies.
• Matthew asked whether demons were sealed in the terrace posts, and Sir Friedman explained the terrace's connection to an old professor and seventy-two false gods.
• Sir Friedman warned Matthew that the Black Prison was dangerous, especially for Creatures of the Night, and told him not to consider it before graduating from First University.
• Mike Jin Sephrano dismissed fears that the Wizard Court would pursue his group for trading trinkets through Fishmen in the Linzhong Lake Reserve.

Mike King Sephrano explained his strict faith in rules to the Xiangqi Society and invited Andrew Taylor to enter the Freshman Hunting Competition. He suggested Andrew could use it to beat the new Karen Family student, and watched the little Werewolf for his reaction.

• The chapter described Ouroboros and its importance as a magical symbol and the Xiangqi Society's mark.
• Sephrano criticized Friedman's arrogance and said Sir Ulrich had repeated the same mistake three times.
• Andrew Taylor laughed at the Karen Family's troubles, and Sephrano noted that he had recently joined the society and paid its membership fee.
• Sephrano asked Andrew whether he would enter the Freshman Hunting Competition and suggested he could beat the new Karen Family student.
• Sephrano fixed his gaze on the little Werewolf as he waited for a response.

Sephrano recruited Andrew Taylor to captain Ouroboros's Freshman Competition hunting team, exposing Andrew's underhanded attempt to win his favor and explaining why Andrew's refusal to duel Matthew Karen had earned his respect. Andrew accepted the role and Sephrano recommended Iseni as assistant hunter, promising greater responsibilities if Andrew won.

• Andrew politely tried to decline the hunting-team captaincy, but Sephrano insisted he treat the competition as an opportunity.
• Sephrano revealed that Andrew had caused Zheng Qing nightmares to curry favor after learning that Zheng Qing had subdued Sephrano's younger brother.
• Sephrano condemned Andrew's actions but praised his decision to refuse Matthew Karen's duel challenge, calling that judgment valuable to Ouroboros.
• Andrew accepted the captaincy and asked Sephrano for advice about the hunting-team members.
• Sephrano recommended the merman Iseni as assistant hunter and promised Andrew greater responsibilities if he won the Freshman Competition.

As Hunting Moon distracted Zheng Qing from his studies, Zhang Jixin laid out basic tactics for the Sin Absolution Knight Order and criticized Zheng Qing for not arranging their training. Zheng Qing revealed that a hunting team would coach them after Talisman Class, and his teammates recognized it as the famous Judgement Hunting Team.

• Zhang Jixin explained his plan to have the Assistant Hunters protect his duel with the Wild Demon King while Zheng Qing questioned whether the tactic would hurt their teamwork score.
• Xiao Xiao accused Zhang Jixin of prioritizing a fight over the team's score, and Zhang Jixin blamed Zheng Qing for the team's lack of training.
• Zheng Qing showed his teammates a letter saying Dengzi had arranged personal coaches for their first training session after Talisman Class.
• Zheng Qing identified Dengzi's hunting team as the Judgement Hunting Team, prompting Fatty Xin and Zhang Jixin to react with surprise and excitement.
• Xiao Xiao concluded that Zheng Qing had been somewhat useful, and Zheng Qing asked why the Judgement Hunting Team was famous.

As the Hunting Moon stirred the campus, Zheng Qing learned that the Judgement Hunting Team belonged to Sacred Will and was urged to recruit a team manager. After class, he forgot Zhang Jixin’s advice when he spotted Matthew chatting pleasantly with Ilena.

• Matthew wandered around seeking conversation while students across campus acted restless.
• Fatty Xin explained that the Judgement Hunting Team was Sacred Will’s sole hunting team, and Zheng Qing realized Sacred Will was an inter-academy society.
• Xiao Xiao said the witches were planning a welcome for Su Shijun under Jiang Yu’s direction.
• Zhang Jixin urged Zheng Qing to speak with Liu Feifei and Jiang Yu about becoming the team manager, and Zheng Qing agreed.
• After class, Zheng Qing noticed Matthew chatting pleasantly with Ilena and forgot to approach the two potential managers.