Chapter Summaries

Old Yao discussed the university’s rumored Forbidden Spell Management Committee with Thomas and Zhang Yu while they watched the red-lit laboratory. He identified the site as Su Shijun’s Two-Dimensional Evolution Laboratory, where the dimensional accident was unfolding, and the chapter left Thomas watching the fox as it seemed to smile at them.

• Thomas asked Old Yao who the unfamiliar old wizard was, and Old Yao identified him as Master Baoyangzi, who handled dimensional fluctuations for First University’s Relevant Department.
• Thomas and Zhang Yu shared rumors about the Forbidden Spell Management Committee, its Nameless Ones, and the recruitment of alchemist Terry Duzem.
• Old Yao warned Thomas and Zhang Yu to treat their claims as speculation because the Safety Affairs Committee could punish them for discussing sensitive matters.
• Old Yao asked the teaching assistants to recall the Dimension School’s theory that magic harnessed energy from dimensional transitions.
• Old Yao identified the laboratory as the Dimensional Evolution Research Institute’s Two-Dimensional Evolution Laboratory and named Su Shijun as its director.
• Thomas looked at Su Shijun’s fox form and thought it had shifted, twitched its ears, and smiled toward them.

Professor Yao explained that the Two-dimensional Evolution Laboratory studied how two-dimensional life could ascend into three dimensions, while the accident investigation team tried to determine what caused its catastrophic surge of Magic Power. Su Shijun returned from the red light with the researchers alive and offered two possible explanations, favoring the idea that someone in a 2D World had ascended and triggered a natural Forbidden Curse.

• Professor Yao explained the laboratory’s purpose and said its equipment should only have supported a one-way Dimensional Ascension Experiment.
• Thomas worried that the accident might have involved a forbidden Dimensional Fluctuation Experiment, but Professor Yao said the school believed its research complied with Alliance law.
• Su Shijun emerged from the red light carrying an orb of light and confirmed that the other researchers were alive.
• Su Shijun told Professor Yao she could only guess what had happened and proposed that either a Forbidden Curse had been cast in a 2D World or someone’s ascension had caused a natural Forbidden Curse.
• Su Shijun said she was more inclined to believe that someone had ascended from a 2D World and triggered the dimensional catastrophe.

After the red-light accident, Bao Yangzi collected its remnants and debated its cause and power with Professor Yao and Su Shijun. As the researchers began recovering, Zhang Yu arranged generous compensation for a traumatized budgerigar, leaving it proudly perched on Yao’s shoulder.

• Bao Yangzi sealed the red light in his spellbook after everyone escaped the accident site, then dismissed Su Shijun’s theory that a shadow had cast a Forbidden Curse.
• Su Shijun challenged Bao Yangzi about Forbidden Curse research, and he agreed that the accident could have resulted from the laboratory’s Dimensional Fluctuation Experiment.
• Bao Yangzi explained that the event had been an aftershock of a Forbidden Curse from a 2D World, while the damaged laboratory building returned to its original state.
• A budgerigar complained about the danger of its reception work, and Professor Yao promised it a raise, promotion, and emotional-distress compensation.
• Zhang Yu told Thomas that treating the bird well could help restore the researchers’ confidence, while the newly rewarded budgerigar proudly perched on Yao’s shoulder.

With the Freshman Competition only hours away, the You Zui Hunting Team struggled to prepare while captain Zheng Qing remained asleep from a concentrated Sleeping Potion. The team faced the competition without Zheng Qing awake and without Poseidon, and Xiao Xiao warned that their luck looked terrible.

• The School Labor Committee suppressed news of the laboratory accident because First University had suffered several recent incidents and the Freshman Competition was about to begin.
• Zhang Jixin urged the team to focus on the competition, but Zheng Qing remained unconscious despite their attempts to wake him.
• The team discussed entering the competition with Zheng Qing asleep, while Lin Guo offered to take his place and was rejected.
• Xiao Xiao explained that Zheng Qing, as captain, could not be absent, and Zhang Jixin ordered him and Fatty Xin to dress Zheng Qing for the competition.
• Xiao Xiao revealed that Su Ya had taken Poseidon, leaving the team without one of its two hunting beasts.
• After Fatty Xin asked about their luck, Xiao Xiao predicted that the team might be eliminated within ten minutes.

The You Zui Hunting Team attended the Freshman Competition’s pre-competition inspection, where the Hunting Committee warned hunters about prohibited items and drugs. The inspection began with Andrew Taylor, while a member of You Zui appeared unable to wake from a Sleeping Potion.

• A Hunting Committee officer explained the rules for surrendering prohibited items and submitting blood and urine samples.
• Fatty Xin asked whether Sleeping Potion counted as a prohibited mental sedative, and the officer said it was allowed.
• Other hunters noticed a seemingly unconscious member of the You Zui Hunting Team, but the team gave no sign it would withdraw.
• Andrew Taylor displayed his gemstone rings and claimed they were luxury goods without magic attached.
• Andrew asked how hunters were meant to measure three taels of urine, and the officer told him measuring cups were available.
• The officer called Andrew Taylor first for inspection.

During the freshman hunters’ pre-match inspections, Zheng Qing remained unconscious while his teammates worried about the competition and discussed the inspection officers. He woke to warn that danger was coming, and the auditorium lights went out as an unfamiliar voice addressed the crowd.

• Andrew Taylor endured an unusually thorough inspection before the Hunting Committee let him pass.
• Fatty Xin and Zhang Jixin complained about the student-run inspections, while Xiao Xiao explained that staff were busy after an accident at a First University laboratory.
• Ilena examined the groggy Zheng Qing and questioned his teammates about the potion they had given him.
• Zheng Qing suddenly woke, warned that danger was near, and stared at the ceiling.
• The Firefly Beetles went dark, plunging the auditorium into darkness, and a cheerful voice called out to the crowd.

While Zheng Qing's body remained asleep from a Sleeping Potion, his consciousness stayed outside it, unable to return. Mr. Wu visited, explained that Zheng Qing's soul had exceeded what his body could hold, and said rest would let him move back in.

• Zheng Qing watched his companions try to wake him until a School Hospital healer ordered them to stop and prescribed twenty-four hours of rest.
• Mr. Wu appeared beside Zheng Qing and said he had noticed unusual movement in Zheng Qing's soul the previous night.
• Mr. Wu calmed Zheng Qing's wandering thoughts and revealed that he had left a talisman to protect him.
• Mr. Wu explained that Zheng Qing's body had rejected his consciousness because it could not hold the soul's increased strength, and that rest would let him return.

Mr. Wu explained that Zheng Qing’s soul had rapidly developed after his shadow returned from experiences in other worlds, and warned that the process was dangerous. The chapter left Mr. Wu contemplating the laboratory accident and asking whether Zheng Qing had felt anything unusual afterward.

• Zheng Qing asked Mr. Wu why his body had been unable to contain his soul, and Mr. Wu explained that a Psionic Field could not cause such rapid growth.
• Mr. Wu deduced that Zheng Qing’s soul had gained experience from many worlds through a method involving divided soul fragments, and warned that experiencing so many worlds was dangerous.
• Zheng Qing said he had never knowingly traveled to other worlds and explained that the Dimensional Evolution Research Institute had borrowed his shadow for experiments.
• Zheng Qing connected his shadow’s return to the laboratory explosion the previous night, and Mr. Wu said shadows could serve as clever substitutes for souls in low-dimensional worlds.
• Mr. Wu asked Zheng Qing about the explosion’s red light and tremor, then looked up at the dormitory ceiling after Zheng Qing said he remembered nothing further.

As the You Zui Hunting Team headed to the Freshman Competition, Zheng Qing spoke with Mr. Wu while his consciousness remained outside his body. Mr. Wu warned him about uninvited guests, and Zheng Qing woke during the pre-match inspection to spot a malicious puppet before the auditorium went dark.

• The You Zui hunters carried the sleeping Zheng Qing on a Flying Carpet and met Professor Yi, who searched for inspiration beneath a sycamore tree.
• Mr. Wu explained to Zheng Qing that he was an out-of-body consciousness and had entered the school with an invitation.
• Near the small auditorium, Mr. Wu warned Zheng Qing that uninvited guests had arrived and urged him to return to his body and alert the professors.
• Zheng Qing woke during the pre-match inspection, saw a puppet among the floating light orbs, and tried to warn his companions.
• All the light orbs in the small auditorium went out.

His Highness the Puppet seized control of the pre-match gathering at Hunting Ground No. 1 and announced that it would host the hunting match. It enforced its first rule by killing a wizard who mocked its name, leaving the young hunters terrified.

• His Highness the Puppet appeared onstage, ignored Xin Xiangbian's orders, and snapped his fingers to have a shadow drag the Senior Officer into the darkness.
• Zheng Qing quietly warned the young wizards around him to stay alert while deciding to observe the Puppet for the moment.
• The Puppet introduced itself as His Highness the Puppet and declared that the host's words were the rules on the hunting grounds.
• After a wizard mocked its name, the Puppet announced that rule-breakers would be punished and summoned a gigantic mouth that swallowed and killed him.

A mutated Grumbling Mouth attacked the students in the small auditorium, while a bloody membrane sealed the exits and trapped them inside. Zheng Qing’s team chose to hold a defensive formation as Xiao Xiao identified the hidden plant as a Shadow Plant, suggesting their enemy had formidable abilities.

• Blood dripped from the ceiling, and a Grumbling Mouth devoured a male wizard who had mocked the attack.
• Students rushed for the exits, but a bloody membrane sealed the doors and gray-green tendrils threw back anyone who approached.
• Zheng Qing ordered the You Zui Hunting Team to form a defensive triangle instead of joining the panicked assault on the barrier.
• Zheng Qing asked what had attacked the wizard, and Doctor identified it as a likely mutated Grumbling Mouth.
• Xiao Xiao concluded that the Grumbling Mouth was concealed in the ceiling’s shadows and had likely been transformed into a Shadow Plant.

Zheng Qing and the other hunters realized the competition roster could expose their names to the Puppet, while the trapped contestants failed to break through the barrier. The Puppet announced that the hunt had no rules and only the victor would be allowed to leave, ending with a hungry voice speaking from its hat.

• Zhang Jixin cursed as Zheng Qing explained that the Freshman Competition's roster could leave the hunters vulnerable.
• The hunters' attempts to escape the auditorium failed, and the Puppet conducted their noise as if it were music.
• The Puppet delivered a speech about life and death, then demanded applause from the silent contestants.
• Zheng Qing and Xiao Xiao started a round of reluctant applause, and the Puppet announced that there were no rules in the hunt.
• The Puppet declared that only the victor could leave and that deaths were necessary to feed the Secret Garden Elves.
• An old voice from the Puppet's hat complained that it was hungry.

The Puppet argued with the aged voice inside its top hat, then revealed the little old man sitting on its head. The little old man invited the young wizards into the Secret Garden, but the Puppet warned that sacrifices were not its concern until the garden opened.

• The Puppet and the aged voice quarreled until the Puppet removed its top hat.
• The young wizards below the platform regrouped into hunting teams and treated the injured.
• A fist-sized little old man was revealed sitting in a golden chair atop the Puppet's head.
• The little old man addressed the young wizards and promised that the Secret Garden held wealth, long life, and power.
• The Puppet interrupted the little old man's demand for sacrifices and said it would be the little old man's business after the young wizards entered the garden.

The Puppet forced the contestants to enter his hunting grounds, where they would have to risk their lives to pursue the promised treasure. Zheng Qing arrived in a dark forest with Youzui’s other four hunters, while the other teams were nowhere to be seen.

• Xiao Xiao challenged the Puppet about whether the contestants would be allowed to leave the hunting grounds safely, and the Puppet admitted they could not know his intentions or identity.
• The Puppet had the ceiling monster swallow a wizard who tried to bargain with gold.
• The Puppet announced that contestants had to leave behind souls and shed blood before he transported them into his hunting grounds.
• Zheng Qing used a Bright-Eyes Talisman to see the dark forest and found Youzui’s other four hunters nearby, but the other teams had disappeared.

Zheng Qing and the You Zui Hunter Team found themselves in a secret garden after being taken hostage by alchemical lifeforms, and he tried to understand their surroundings and find a way out. As his teammates gathered around him, Zheng Qing realized that hunters needed time to adjust after entering a hunting ground.

• Zheng Qing recalled the Puppet's warning and decided that escaping the hunting ground mattered more than searching for the Great Secret Treasure.
• Zheng Qing used knowledge from his returned shadow to recall how secret gardens were discovered and how the Wizard Alliance classified worlds.
• Zheng Qing and the You Zui Hunter Team lay beneath a banyan-like tree in a dim, overgrown jungle.
• Zheng Qing tried to sense the secret garden but found only discordant auras and felt his movements were out of control.
• The You Zui Hunter Team members regained consciousness and gathered around Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing led Youzui Hunting Team in securing their temporary camp and testing their equipment and magic in the unfamiliar world. The team found that basic tools and potions still worked, but some effects were weakened, and Xiao Xiao began a divination to guide their next move.

• Zheng Qing ordered the team to check their equipment and losses, then sent out fifteen talisman paper cranes to form a defensive barrier around the camp.
• Xiao Xiao released Firefly Beetles, which gathered on a banyan Tree’s aerial roots and began providing light and early warning.
• Zheng Qing tested the team’s Calming Spells and talismans, and the members reported no obvious loss of effect.
• Zhang Jixin measured gravity at about 0.8g, while Zheng Qing ordered him to test nearby fire, freezing, and lightning effects.
• Fatty Xin reported that basic potions remained effective but mental-effect potions were weakened, and Zheng Qing concluded the world’s consciousness favored decay.
• Xiao Xiao began divination over a spirit flame as a turtle shell cracked above it.

Zheng Qing’s hunting team assessed the dangerous rainforest hunting ground after all the freshmen were kidnapped, and Xiao Xiao urged them to seek an alliance while they gathered information. The team remained wary of hidden threats and debated whether other teams could be trusted.

• Xiao Xiao performed tortoise-shell divination and concluded that the team would face trouble, then suggested allying with Andrew Taylor.
• Zheng Qing asked for a clear assessment, and Xiao Xiao reported nearby demons, the rainforest conditions, and the risks to magic.
• Xiao Xiao advised avoiding conflicts and cooperating with other hunting teams until the situation became clear.
• Fatty Xin questioned whether the Puppet’s rule that only one team could win made cooperation possible, and Xiao Xiao argued that other teams would have wise diviners.
• Zhang Jixin challenged Xiao Xiao for failing to foresee the kidnapping, and Xiao Xiao explained that the omens had been misread and the kidnappers could interfere with divination.

Zheng Qing considered using the hunting team's resources and the fatty's croton-coated meat to survive the dangerous hunting ground, while Xiao Xiao questioned whether Zheng Qing's changed behavior was under control. Zheng Qing recalled a prophecy and then cast a spell to seize the sparrows overhead.

• Lan Que left to scout the surrounding area with the Purple Sable.
• Zheng Qing declined to summon Nose Ring and Ear Ring for now, and the fatty showed the team his croton-coated cured meat as a possible way to hinder enemies.
• Zheng Qing said his changed personality was controllable and repeated Nanjian's prophecy, which Xiao Xiao recorded.
• Zheng Qing prepared to return Nanjian's gift and cast a spell that sent vines to capture the sparrows above the team.

Zheng Qing’s team examined the sparrows he had caught and argued over his plan to give Nanjian Xiao Xiao’s Xuan Gui paperweight. As Zheng Qing explained how he might afford a replacement, Zhang Jixin spotted trouble nearby.

• Zheng Qing caught several sparrows and began dissecting them while his teammates warned that the birds could be dangerous.
• Fatty Xin, Zhang Jixin, and Xiao Xiao questioned Zheng Qing about promising Nanjian Xiao Xiao’s Xuan Gui paperweight as a gift.
• Zheng Qing explained that he could replace Xiao Xiao’s paperweight at Wander Bar and suggested he could profit from the wealth stored in his shadow.
• Zheng Qing assigned Fatty Xin to test the sparrow remains and gave Xiao Xiao their bones for divination.
• Zhang Jixin called the others over after noticing trouble.

Zheng Qing and the You Zui Hunter Team were attacked after their Firefly Bugs began exploding, despite the camp’s protective formation. Xiao Xiao used a defensive spell that shielded the team but also prevented them from striking back, while unseen creatures continued probing them.

• Zheng Qing found that the Firefly Bugs’ unstable lights signaled demonic aura, and a bug on Zhang Jixin’s fingertip exploded.
• Zheng Qing warned the team they were under attack, and Zhang Jixin ordered everyone into a triangular defensive formation.
• Zheng Qing asked Xiao Xiao to call back Blue Sparrow, who had gone scouting, while Fatty Xin questioned how the attackers had breached the camp’s Five Elements Bagua formation.
• More Firefly Bugs exploded, and Xiao Xiao cast Ram's Grave Head, Three Stars in the Net, making the hunters untouchable but unable to attack.
• Whip-like appendages swept through the team, and Fatty Xin and Xiao Xiao speculated that their attackers might be snake, toad, or lizard demons.