Chapter Summaries

Zheng Qing struggled to choose a question for Su Shijun, then asked which of two aristocratic suitors she preferred. Su Shijun rejected both as too old and praised promising young talents like Zheng Qing before leaving, setting off an uproar in the classroom.

• Zheng Qing asked Xiao Xiao and his classmates for help choosing a question for Su Shijun, while Fatty Xin and Xiao Xiao warned him against asking about the man who had courted her.
• Li Meng urged Zheng Qing to ask the man's name, but Fatty Xin and Xiao Xiao advised him to avoid a question Su Shijun might refuse to answer.
• Zheng Qing asked Su Shijun whether she preferred Duke Milton or Prince William, two aristocrats who had openly admired her.
• Su Shijun said both men were too old for her and that she appreciated promising young talents like Zheng Qing more.
• Su Shijun left with Su Ya as the classroom erupted, leaving Zheng Qing caught in the commotion.

Su Shijun met with First University students and confirmed that her child, nicknamed Neptune, existed and was living with his Father at the university, though she refused to name him. Her answers fueled speculation about the mysterious Father and left Su Shijun’s supporters celebrating Neptune.

• Su Shijun confirmed she was married, had a child named Neptune, and that the child’s Father was at First University, but she withheld his name.
• Xiao Xiao estimated that about twenty-seven young male wizards at First University could fit the description of Neptune’s Father, with fewer qualifying if they were raising a child.
• Jiang Yu presented Su Shijun with a Blessing Bottle of paper cranes from her supporters, and Su Shijun refused another student’s request to identify the Father.
• Zheng Qing asked whether Su Shijun preferred Duke Milton or Prince William, and she said both were too old and that she appreciated young talents like him more.
• Su Shijun declined to clarify her age and shared skincare advice with the witches, while the report concluded by inviting readers to raise a toast to Neptune.

After Su Shijun's remarks about Zheng Qing spread across First University, he found himself flooded with duel invitations and worried about the trouble they would bring. Xiao Xiao delivered lunch and revealed that Fatty was rushing to publish an extra edition about the meet-and-greet.

• Rumors about Su Shijun's meet-and-greet spread across First University, and students distorted her words about Zheng Qing as they repeated them.
• Zheng Qing complained to Dylan about the rumors, while Dylan warned that Su Shijun's praise of him could provoke male wizards into challenging him.
• Zheng Qing found a stack of duel invitations and considered whether he could avoid the challenges as he had before.
• Xiao Xiao arrived with lunch and explained that Fatty was writing an extra edition about Su Shijun's meet-and-greet to try to become an official school newspaper reporter.

Zheng Qing wrestled with his packed schedule and the pile of challenge letters he had received after Councilor Qingqiu Su praised him. Xiao Xiao gave him an invitation to a hunting painting exhibition, leaving Zheng Qing with a letter that was not another challenge.

• Zheng Qing considered skipping Talisman Class to work on his hunting team plans and other obligations.
• Xiao Xiao asked why Zheng Qing was not eating and handed him an invitation-like envelope.
• Zheng Qing mistook the envelope for another challenge letter and complained about the many duel applications he had received.
• Xiao Xiao read a challenge letter from a second-year Starry Sky Academy student and connected the challenges to Su's praise of Zheng Qing.
• Xiao Xiao clarified that his envelope was an invitation to the opening of the Hunting Painting Exhibition.

Zheng Qing debated whether to attend the Hunting Painting Exhibition despite rumors and threats of challenges, while Xiao Xiao advised him to stay away. He decided to go, but his hopes for protection faded as Ilena’s possible presence and Fatty Xin’s absence made the danger seem unavoidable.

• Xiao Xiao explained that attendance at the Hunting Painting Exhibition was an obligation for scholarship students and offered to help Zheng Qing request leave.
• Zheng Qing insisted he would attend and pulled talisman papers from his Gray Cloth Bag.
• Dylan suggested Zheng Qing bring a companion, but Xiao Xiao warned that Ilena’s presence would make Zheng Qing even less likely to refuse a challenge.
• Dylan left to reserve a School Hospital bed for Zheng Qing.
• Zheng Qing asked whether Fatty Xin would return, and Xiao Xiao said Fatty Xin would likely remain at the school newspaper office until its extra edition was published.

Zheng Qing obtained another Transformation Potion from Professor Li Qihuang and worried about how to use it safely to avoid unwanted attention. He disguised himself in an oversized robe and set out alone for the Hunting Painting Exhibition's opening ceremony.

• Zheng Qing skipped Talisman Class and asked Xiao Xiao where he could buy a Transformation Potion, learning that Wander Bar stocked them and remembering he had a gold-member discount.
• Zheng Qing sneaked to Professor Li Qihuang's office and received another Transformation Potion after filling out forms.
• Zheng Qing considered how to time the potion and manage changing clothes and finding secluded places, deciding to discuss the problem with Xiao Xiao later.
• Xiao Xiao sent a paper crane saying the male wizards seemed calm and suggested Zheng Qing go out and attend the exhibition opening.
• Zheng Qing chose not to invite the Gypsy witch and traveled alone toward the First Grand Hall, wearing an oversized robe and hood to conceal his face.

Zheng Qing visited the crowded Hunting Painting Exhibition with Xiao Xiao and Fatty Xin, but his interest shifted to how outsiders could enter First University. Xiao Xiao explained that guests’ Invitation Letters restricted where they could go, leaving Zheng Qing to ask about the exhibition’s distinction between Living Art and Static Painting.

• Zheng Qing found Xiao Xiao and Fatty Xin beneath a landscape painting and complained that the exhibition seemed boring.
• Xiao Xiao pulled Zheng Qing away from the crowd after he and Fatty Xin disturbed visitors listening to the wizard explain the painting.
• Zheng Qing realized the exhibition was in the First Grand Hall and asked how outsiders had entered while the Guardian Formation was closed.
• Xiao Xiao explained that visitors entered with Invitation Letters that restricted their locations and movements inside the school.
• Zheng Qing asked how Su Shijun could move freely, and Xiao Xiao said she was a council member and senior researcher at First University.
• Zheng Qing returned to asking what the old wizard meant by Living Art and Static Painting.

At a student art exhibition, Zheng Qing ignored Xiao Xiao’s lecture on painting to look at the crowd and then read an extra issue of the First University school newspaper. The paper featured Fatty Xin’s report on Su Shijun’s meet-and-greet, and Fatty Xin proudly defended his skill at leaving out the two questions he had asked.

• Xiao Xiao lectured Zheng Qing on how painting styles had shifted from Living Art toward portraits capturing a single beautiful instant.
• Zheng Qing watched the witches and other visitors at the exhibition instead of listening, prompting Xiao Xiao to scold him.
• Zheng Qing changed the subject by asking Fatty Xin to show him the newspaper Fatty Xin had been reading.
• Zheng Qing discovered that the paper was an extra issue about Su Shijun’s meet-and-greet and that Fatty Xin had written the signed report.
• Zheng Qing teased Fatty Xin for omitting his two questions from the article, and Fatty Xin praised his own writing as a Spring and Autumn Annals style.

Zheng Qing challenged Fatty Xin’s newspaper report for distorting events and speculating about Su Shijun’s child, but Fatty Xin defended its exaggerations as a way truth appeared in news. Andrew Taylor of Alpha Academy arrived and praised Fatty Xin’s insight.

• Zheng Qing read Fatty Xin’s special edition and accused its report of being detached from reality.
• Dr. Xiao reminded Fatty Xin of the indenture contract Zheng Qing had made him sign, and Zheng Qing redirected the discussion to the article.
• Zheng Qing criticized the report’s chronology, its description of Su Ya, and its speculation about Su Shijun’s child.
• Fatty Xin defended the article by comparing news distortion to the fantastical truth of a Sam Hunting Team painting.
• Andrew Taylor of Alpha Academy interrupted to praise Fatty Xin’s remarks.

At the Hunting Painting Exhibition, Zheng Qing and his friends confronted Andrew Taylor over the suspected Nightmare Curse, but Andrew acted unusually polite and revealed that he had recognized Zheng Qing beneath his hood. The chapter left Zheng Qing wary as Andrew claimed his family’s sharp senses had identified him.

• Fatty Xin accused Andrew of casting Nightmare Curses on Zheng Qing, while Andrew calmly denied the accusation and threatened a slander suit.
• Andrew said he was watching Mr. Sephrano’s painting and praised Fatty Xin, making Zheng Qing and his friends suspicious of his motives.
• Fatty Xin tried to leave with Xiao Xiao and Zheng Qing, but Andrew called out to Zheng Qing and identified him as the publicly funded student.
• Zheng Qing admitted Andrew had recognized him and asked how, while Xiao Xiao and Fatty Xin returned to his side and prepared for trouble.
• Andrew extinguished his Magic Rings and said the Taylor Family had exceptionally keen senses, while Fatty Xin compared him to a guard dog under his breath.

Andrew recounted the Sam Hunting Team’s betrayal at the Year Two World Cup before revealing that he had come to propose an alliance with Zheng Qing’s team. Zheng Qing heard Andrew out but remained wary as the proposed cooperation would target the other teams first.

• Andrew described his childhood admiration for the Sam Hunting Team and named the hunters shown in the exhibition painting.
• Andrew explained that seventeen rival teams had encircled the Sam Hunting Team at the Year Two World Cup and forced them out using underhanded tactics.
• Zheng Qing condemned the tactics, and Andrew praised him, making Zheng Qing suspicious of his intentions.
• Andrew proposed that their teams cooperate to eliminate the other hunting teams before competing against each other for the freshman championship.

Andrew proposed an alliance between his hunting team and Zheng Qing’s team for the Freshman Hunting Competition. Zheng Qing remained wary, but Andrew warned that Dunton’s team might be a dangerous partner because two of its members were hostile to Dylan O'Brien Talbot’s heritage.

• Zheng Qing considered how hunting teams could form alliances and asked Andrew why his team should cooperate with him.
• Andrew praised Zheng Qing’s team and said it was an especially strong group of freshmen.
• Andrew listed the three hunting teams formed by members of their class, including teams led by Dunton and Matthew Callan.
• Andrew warned that two Atlas believers on Dunton’s team might be prejudiced against Dylan O'Brien Talbot as a Blood Clan and werewolf hybrid.
• Zheng Qing understood that such hostility could cause dangerous trouble on the hunting ground, while Fatty Xin suggested considering Matthew Callan’s team instead.

Zheng Qing discussed a possible alliance with Andrew Taylor, who revealed that Ilena Jones had joined Matthew's Karen Hunting Team. The talks remained unresolved, and Zheng Qing's friends pointed out that he still needed to talk to Ilena.

• Andrew Taylor told Zheng Qing that Ilena Jones had rejected the Caravan Hunting Team and joined the Karen Hunting Team with Matthew Callan.
• Zheng Qing denied agreeing to cooperate with the Callan Family and explained that an alliance with Andrew's team depended on Sephrano giving a guarantee.
• Andrew said Sephrano would not give such a guarantee, so Zheng Qing proposed discussing cooperation again later.
• Xiao Xiao questioned how Andrew knew so much about the competition, and Andrew credited his team's powerful Diviner.
• Xiao Xiao guessed that the Diviner was Amber, and Andrew left after recognizing that Doctor had uncovered the secret.
• Zheng Qing asked his roommates when they should discuss an alliance, and Fatty Xin reminded him to consider talking to Ilena.

Zheng Qing brooded over Ilena joining Matthew's Hunting Team and struggled to decide how to ask her about it, but she skipped class the next day. As he worried about her mysterious activities, his classes focused on practical demon-hunting skills.

• Fatty Xin told Zheng Qing that Ilena had joined Matthew's Hunting Team, leaving him angry and dejected.
• Zheng Qing spent the evening debating how to question Ilena, while his roommates urged him to speak to her directly.
• Zheng Qing went to class the next day but could not confront Ilena because she skipped class again.
• Zheng Qing heard rumors that Ilena was investigating an Evil God, exploring a sealed garden, or searching the Silent Forest, and he worried for her safety.
• Professor Yi demonstrated practical divination with wild materials and warned students that broken leaves could lead to misleading visions.

Zheng Qing struggled to stay awake during Professor Yi’s Divination Studies lesson until a stern young witch arrived asking for him. He left the classroom with her, bewildered by her suppressed anger and his classmates’ teasing about his supposed trouble.

• Zheng Qing dozed through Professor Yi’s lesson after a sleepless night, while someone knocked at the classroom door.
• Professor Yi ordered the Stick Figure to open the door, and a young witch in a black dress and white apron asked whether Zheng Qing was there.
• Xiao Xiao jabbed Zheng Qing awake, and Fatty Xin teased him by claiming he had gotten the witch pregnant and abandoned her.
• Professor Yi sent Zheng Qing out with the witch and said he would review the lesson with him during tutoring that night.
• Zheng Qing followed the witch from the classroom, still confused as his classmates watched curiously.

Su Shijun’s fox maid brought Zheng Qing to First University’s Dimensional Evolution Research Institute under Councilwoman Su’s authorization. After an awkward exchange with a parrot receptionist, Zheng Qing went inside, still unsure why he had been summoned.

• Zheng Qing worried that Su Shijun’s maid had come to confront him about campus rumors or his dealings with Su Ya as she silently led him through the university.
• The maid brought Zheng Qing to the Applied Magic Institute’s Dimensional Evolution Research Institute and presented Councilwoman Su’s authorization to the parrot receptionist.
• The parrot recognized Zheng Qing from the School Labor Committee Office Building, accepted his bird feed, and explained that it was temporarily assigned to watch over the institute.
• The parrot warned Zheng Qing about wizards becoming involved with foxes and hoped they would not cut off his shadow as the maid led him inside.

Zheng Qing followed a Fox Maidservant into Su Shijun’s enormous laboratory, where he saw strange glowing spheres surrounded by Registered Wizards. He reunited with Su Ya and discovered that Poseidon had been brought to the laboratory while Su Shijun investigated an experiment malfunction.

• Zheng Qing entered the sealed laboratory and saw hundreds of glowing spheres watched over by black-robed researchers.
• Zheng Qing wandered beneath a sphere and was brought back by the Fox Maidservant, who warned him to stay close.
• The Fox Maidservant explained that the laboratory belonged to Su Shijun and was First University’s largest laboratory.
• Zheng Qing met Su Ya, who said Su Shijun had gone to inspect a malfunction alert from Evolution Experiment Platform No. 1016.
• Su Ya revealed that Su Shijun had sent her to the Pet Garden to fetch Poseidon, who greeted Zheng Qing from her arms.

Zheng Qing was summoned to Su Shijun’s laboratory, where she urged him to apply to keep Poseidon with him rather than leave it at the Pet Garden. After taking the unusually quiet fox, Su Shijun called Zheng Qing aside to discuss something, leaving their reason for meeting unresolved.

• Zheng Qing found Su Ya holding Poseidon and offered to authorize her to borrow it from the Pet Garden.
• Su Shijun appeared and criticized Zheng Qing for being careless with Poseidon, suggesting he apply to keep it on campus despite the yearly fee.
• Zheng Qing argued that Poseidon should live with other animals to learn independence, and Su Shijun stopped pressing the issue.
• Su Shijun took Poseidon from Su Ya and held it while Zheng Qing wondered why it was behaving so quietly.
• Su Shijun asked Zheng Qing to come with her to discuss some matters, then told the maidservants to handle any incoming paper cranes.

Su Shijun showed Zheng Qing the Two-Dimensional Evolution Laboratory and explained its research into helping lifeforms transcend their dimensions. The lab had no successful breakthroughs yet, and its plans to adjust experimental worlds left Zheng Qing uneasy.

• Su Shijun led Zheng Qing through the laboratory while Poseidon chattered from her shoulder.
• Su Shijun explained that the Two-Dimensional Evolution Laboratory studied dimensional breakthroughs by simulating a transition from two dimensions into three.
• Su Shijun said the researchers hoped to find a broad path to transcendence that others could follow, unlike the irreproducible paths of existing transcendent beings.
• Su Shijun said no experimental subject had yet broken into three-dimensional spacetime, but the lab planned to adjust world parameters and collect more data.
• Zheng Qing felt chilled and uneasy as he considered the laboratory's experimental subjects and plans.

Su Shijun showed Zheng Qing how her laboratory used shadows from 2D Worlds as experimental subjects, then explained that the shadows were traded from the Bading World. She demonstrated a computer meme, and Zheng Qing encountered a strange pop-up asking whether he wanted to understand life and truly live.

• Su Shijun led Zheng Qing deeper into the laboratory, where he saw researchers handling black mist inside crystal spheres.
• Zheng Qing asked what the laboratory used as test subjects, and Su Shijun explained that shadows entered 2D Worlds for experiments.
• Su Shijun described 2D Worlds as the worlds of works such as anime, novels, films, and fairy tales, and said shadows were their native inhabitants.
• Zheng Qing asked where the shadows came from, and Su Shijun said they were traded from the Bading World.
• Su Shijun showed Zheng Qing a computer meme made by the Curse Research Institute of the Applied Magic Institute.
• Zheng Qing used the computer to visit a reading site and cast votes before a pop-up appeared asking whether he wanted to understand the meaning of life and truly live.