Chapter Summaries

Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao survived a barrage of Intermediate Magic by escaping with Shadow Escape, while their attackers assumed they had been defeated. As Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao turned on the other mages to claim the Shadow Demon Beast, Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao prepared to strike back.

• Dean Xiao ordered Lu Wu's team’s rewards to be deducted for the damage and considered finding a Space Element awakening catalyst for Lu Wu.
• Luo Song urged the mages to attack Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao, who protected themselves with Mu Nujiao’s Kun's Forest: Prison.
• The attackers shattered the vine prison with their spells and mistakenly believed Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao had been defeated or washed away.
• Luo Song used Earth Wave: Collapse to trap the other mages and seize the Shadow Demon Beast, while Shen Mingxiao prepared to help him.
• Mo Fan watched from a distance as Lu Wu revealed that he and Mu Nujiao had escaped with Shadow Escape and prepared to retaliate.
• A mage reported that Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao were missing, alarming Luo Song and confirming Shen Mingxiao’s suspicions.

Lu Wu and his companions defeated the students who had attacked them, and Dean Xiao awarded the group entry to the Three-Step Tower while advising Lu Wu to delay his advancement and keep his principles. After the Magic Court began a major Black Vatican cleanup, Lu Wu agreed to lead Pearl Academy's team for the exchange matches against Imperial Capital Academy.

• Lu Wu swept Luo Song's allies and their cages away with a tornado, then put the Shadow Demon Beast into its cage.
• Dean Xiao granted Lu Wu, Mu Nujiao, Xu Zhaoting, Mo Fan, and Ai Tutu entry to the Three-Step Tower but withheld the other rewards because of the destruction they had caused.
• Dean Xiao urged Lu Wu to wait before entering the Three-Step Tower, seek Space Element guiding materials, and preserve the mindset he had shown in Bo City.
• The Magic Court used the captured blue-clad deacon to uproot Black Vatican cells in H City and nearby cities.
• Lu Wu agreed to lead Pearl Academy's exchange team against Imperial Capital Academy, with Xu Zhaoting, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Jiaojiao, Song Xia, Bai Tingting, Luo Song, and Shen Mingxiao joining.

Lu Wu and the Pearl Academy team arrived at Imperial Capital Academy for an exchange, where they were told the sparring matches would begin the next day. During a lesson on Soul Vessels, Qiu Yuhua revealed that Soul Essences could be used to strengthen Stars.

• Teacher Qiu Yuhua guided the group around the Great Wall and explained its connection to the Ancient King and the First Emperor's sealed tomb.
• The team visited Imperial Capital landmarks before Mentor Lu welcomed them to Imperial Capital Academy and announced the exchange matches for the following afternoon.
• Gu Han told the Pearl Academy students they had to win every match, while Lu Wu urged them to rest and prepare rather than rush to gather intelligence.
• The next morning, Qiu Yuhua called Lu Wu over to join Mo Fan's lesson about Soul Vessels and explained that ancient vessels could condense Soul Remnants into Soul Essences.
• Qiu Yuhua began explaining that Soul Essences could also strengthen Stars, surprising Lu Wu.

Lu Wu learned that Soul Essences could strengthen Stars and increase spell power, then joined Pearl Academy’s tense exchange with Imperial Capital Academy. He let Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao compete in the first match while Gu Han chose the lineup.

• Qiu Yuhua explained that Soul Essences could strengthen Stars, improving spells and increasing mana capacity, though the process consumed many Essences.
• Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao searched an auction house for a Soul Vessel but found none.
• Lu Wu returned to Imperial Capital Academy’s dueling hall and learned that Luo Song and Xu Dalong had stirred up tensions between the academies.
• Xu Zhaoting worried about the strength of the opposing students, and Lu Wu encouraged him to compete and gain experience.
• After learning that the exchange would include multiple matches, Lu Wu let the eager students go first, and Gu Han selected Luo Song, Shen Mingxiao, Zhao Manyan, and Song Xia for the opening match.

Pearl Academy’s team argued before the match, but Lu Wu, Mu Nujiao, Xu Zhaoting, and Song Xia coordinated their attacks against Imperial Capital Academy. The battle left Jingjing caught in Lu Wu’s powerful tornado while the opposing team faced another dangerous wind spell.

• Xu Dalong taunted Luo Song, and Shen Mingxiao, Zhao Manyan, and Song Xia argued with one another before Gu Han sent Lu Wu, Mu Nujiao, and Xu Zhaoting to fight.
• When Mo Fan failed to appear, Gu Han ordered Song Xia onto the field, and Lu Wu learned that she wielded Fire and Light magic.
• Lu Yiming selected Xu Dalong, Liao Mingxuan, Jingjing, and Zhao Mingyue to represent Imperial Capital Academy.
• Song Xia’s Fire magic destroyed Jingjing’s vines, while Xu Dalong used Earth Wave: Shift to move Jingjing out of the attack’s path.
• Lu Wu trapped Jingjing in a tornado with Wind Disk: Heavenly Net as Mu Nujiao and Xu Zhaoting launched attacks, leaving the Imperial Capital Academy team scrambling to protect themselves.

Lu Wu’s precise, rapid attacks gave Pearl Academy an edge over the Imperial Capital Academy, prompting Mu Ningxue to enter the battle herself. She acknowledged that even she might not defeat Lu Wu, and the chapter ended as she prepared to face him with three teammates.

• Lu Wu followed Xu Zhaoting’s attacks with a fast Fire spell, forcing the Imperial Capital Academy students to dodge while Jingjing was eliminated.
• Lu Zhenghe and Lu Yiming recognized Lu Wu’s combat skill, while Gu Han taunted the Imperial Capital Academy about Pearl Academy’s strength.
• Mu Ningxue arrived, judged that her team could not win without her, and took over as Lu Yiming sent Liao Mingxuan, Xu Dalong, and the others off the field.
• Mu Ningxue told Lu Wu that she had grown stronger but admitted that if she could not defeat him, her team would lose.
• Lu Yiming sent Lu Zhenghe, Ming Cong, and Xiao Feng to join Mu Ningxue, while Lu Wu warned Mu Nujiao to be careful and she remarked that Mu Ningxue treated him differently.

Lu Wu and his teammates faced Mu Ningxue’s team in a rematch between Pearl Academy and the Imperial Capital Academy. Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain suppressed Song Xia, but Lu Wu’s Fire magic remained unaffected, and his opening attack struck the opposing team as Mu Ningxue defended herself.

• Lu Wu told Mu Nujiao, Song Xia, and Xu Zhaoting to use their strongest magic and said he would use Fire magic.
• Gu Han refused to substitute Pearl Academy’s students, while Lu Yiming sent Mu Ningxue, Lu Zhenghe, Ming Cong, and Xiao Feng into the arena.
• Mu Ningxue opened with Ice Vine and revealed an Ice Domain that stopped Song Xia from casting Fire magic.
• Xu Zhaoting attacked with Thunderbolt: Yaksha, and Lu Wu followed with Fierce Fist: Nine Palaces, sending nine streams of fire through the frost.
• Mu Ningxue used Ice Lock to bind Lu Zhenghe, Ming Cong, and Xiao Feng near her, then raised thick ice around herself as Lu Wu’s flames broke through her chains.

Lu Wu and Mu Ningxue fought a brief, intense spar, displaying powerful magic and control that stunned the spectators. Mu Ningxue called the match in Lu Wu’s favor, leaving Lu Zhenghe resentful and the other academies wondering how Lu Wu had changed position.

• Lu Wu launched a rapid fire attack, while Mu Ningxue used her Ice Element domain to protect the others and counter with ice chains.
• Song Xia shielded herself and Xu Zhaoting, and Mu Nujiao raised Kun’s Forest to defend against Mu Ningxue’s attack.
• Lu Wu used Little Fire’s Shadow Escape to change position, then redirected nine fire pillars away from Mu Ningxue and the others.
• Mu Ningxue withdrew her domain and declared that they had lost, while Lu Zhenghe objected and tried to summon his savage wolf.
• Lu Yiming stopped Lu Zhenghe and acknowledged the loss, and the spectators from other academies discussed Lu Wu’s speed, control, and mysterious movement.

Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao defeated Imperial Capital Academy, while Mu Ningxue left the arena weighed down by worries. Later, Lu Wu met Jiang Chun at an auction house, where Jiang Chun invited him and Mu Ningxue inside.

• Mu Ningxue approached Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao after their victory, acknowledged how well they had worked together, and left without explaining what troubled her.
• Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao left the arena, and Mu Nujiao teased him about wanting to help Mu Ningxue and warned him not to let anyone steal her away.
• News of Imperial Capital Academy’s second consecutive loss spread, while Mo Fan woke late, learned he had missed the matches, and decided to cultivate and strengthen his Ghost Wolf Beast.
• Dean Xiao and Zhou Zhenghua praised the victory and discussed searching for a rare spatial material.
• Lu Wu went to an Imperial Capital auction house seeking a special Soul Vessel, but staff denied him access to the auction hall without authorization.
• Jiang Chun recognized Lu Wu, explained his role in the chamber of commerce, and invited him and Mu Ningxue into the auction house.

Lu Wu visited an auction house with Mu Nujiao and secured rare Thunder-Winged Cloud Tiger advancement materials for his Golden-Eyed Tiger. He then learned that the Soul Vessel being auctioned had been crafted by his Grandpa Shen.

• Jiang Chun led Lu Wu and Mu Nujiao into his private room at the auction house.
• Luo Long told Lu Wu that Grandpa Shen had asked him to look for Space Element summoning materials and offered to help him at the auction.
• Lu Wu decided to buy the Thunder-Winged Cloud Tiger bones and blood after learning that previous buyers had successfully used them to advance their beasts.
• Xiao Xia told Lu Wu that the materials would cost four hundred million and that he could defer payment for a year.
• Lu Wu heard that the Soul Vessel, which condensed Soul Essences from Soul Remnants, had been made by Shen Shitian.

After Lu Wu’s victories sparked discussion about his and other mages’ talents, Pearl Academy’s instructors warned students that their upcoming expedition beyond the Safe Zone could be deadly. Dean Xiao and Shen Shitian then told Lu Wu that the Black Vatican might target him on the trip and gave him a Wind Element spirit seed, which he refined to strengthen his magic.

• Students discussed the Talent Ranking, which placed Lu Wu and Mo Fan tied for fifth, while Qiu Yuhua urged them to focus on training rather than talent.
• Gu Han, Li Jing, and Qiu Yuhua warned the students that the expedition beyond the Safe Zone could bring serious danger and even death, and advised them to prepare and stay united.
• Mu Nujiao told Gu Han that Lu Wu had gone back and would meet them when the expedition began.
• Shen Shitian and Dean Xiao told Lu Wu that Black Vatican members might target him during the expedition, though they lacked enough information to set a trap.
• Dean Xiao revealed that a team had found a Wind Element spirit seed called Soaring Wind, which Shen Shitian had already paid for.
• Lu Wu refined Soaring Wind and found that it would increase the power of his Wind Element magic by more than threefold.

Lu Wu began helping his mutated Golden-Eyed Tiger advance, learning that its harmful mutation gave it only a fifty percent chance of success. After feeding it the required blood, soul essence, heart, and bone materials, he waited to see whether it would break through.

• Shen Shitian and Dean Xiao reassured Lu Wu about his training expedition, then examined the Golden-Eyed Tiger and explained that its harmful mutation hindered its advancement.
• Dean Xiao and Shen Shitian said the Golden-Eyed Tiger’s persistence in remaining at the servant advancement stage showed its strength, while its chances of advancing were only fifty percent.
• Lu Wu encouraged the Golden-Eyed Tiger and began the advancement process outside the Safe Zone, draining half its blood before injecting commander-level Thunder-Winged Cloud Tiger blood.
• The Golden-Eyed Tiger recovered from the blood infusion, absorbed soul-nourishing essence to strengthen its soul, then swallowed the Thunder-Winged Cloud Tiger heart and bone materials.
• The Golden-Eyed Tiger roared loudly toward the sky after consuming the materials, and Lu Wu waited to see what would happen.

The Golden-Eyed Tiger overcame the mist suppressing its breakthrough, advanced into a Golden-Eyed Winged Tiger, and carried Lu Wu through the night. Elsewhere, a Hunter King pursued a monstrous experiment subject beyond the Safe Zone and faced its attack.

• Lu Wu urged the Golden-Eyed Tiger to keep fighting when the mist suppressed its aura, and it rallied into Bloodthirsty Berserk.
• The Golden-Eyed Tiger broke through into a Golden-Eyed Winged Tiger, grew enormous wings, and carried Lu Wu on its back.
• Passengers on a vehicle saw the Azure Beast Hunter King flying alongside them and learned he was on a mission with his Contract Beast.
• The Hunter King and Demon Man pursued an escaped experiment subject, which swept Demon Man out of the air with a grassland storm.
• The Hunter King warned that the subject was a mutated Advanced Mage, and the monster fixed its blood-red gaze on him.

Qiu Yuhua confronted Lu Nian over his proposal to experiment on two people, while the Imperial Capital and Pearl academies finalized a field-training assignment to survey Jinlin City. Lu Wu joined the students near the desolate city as they prepared to investigate the Demon Beasts there.

• Demon Man shielded nearby vehicles from the shock waves of the Hunter King’s battle with a monster.
• Qiu Yuhua condemned Lu Nian’s experiments, while Lu Nian defended them; Dean Song He tried to calm them and said the higher-ups would decide.
• Song He explained that students from Pearl Academy and Imperial Capital Academy would survey the Demon Beasts in Jinlin City and assess whether the city could be rebuilt.
• Lu Wu joined the team in Kangning City and learned that the Giant Lizard-Skull Demon tribe had once occupied Jinlin City.
• Song Xia and Lu Zhenghe had been chosen as the teams’ leaders, and Lu Wu accepted the arrangement.

Lu Wu and Mo Fan led the team into a railway tunnel toward Jinlin City, where Lu Wu hoped to collect Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. The team discovered demon beasts lurking among a mass of black vines, but had not yet engaged them.

• Song Xia recommended avoiding a two-kilometer tunnel, but Lu Zhenghe and others urged the team to go through it.
• Lu Wu recalled the Slant-Scaled Demon Snake when it revealed that its mate was about to lay eggs, then volunteered to lead the way.
• Mo Fan joined Lu Wu at the front and proposed splitting Soul Remnants and Soul Essences; Lu Wu refused, saying he needed Soul Remnants too.
• Lu Wu sensed something ahead and asked Zhao Manyan and Song Xia to cast Holy Light farther into the tunnel.
• Song Xia's Holy Light revealed interwoven black vines and many pairs of eerie blue eyes watching the team.

Lu Wu and Mo Fan fought through a tunnel full of Cave Demon Slaves, collecting soul remnants but finding no soul essence. After the team made camp, Lu Wu discovered that the remnants in his bamboo-shaped tool were slowly condensing into a soul essence.

• Lu Wu spotted the Cave Demon Slaves and led the team forward, burning through the tunnel with Blazing Fist: Sky Breaker.
• Lu Wu and Mo Fan attacked the side caves from opposite sides, killing Cave Demon Slaves and gathering their soul remnants.
• The team left the tunnel and set up camp near the railway tracks, while Lu Wu and others stood guard near the stream where the women were bathing.
• Late at night, Lu Wu checked his magic tool and saw that its more than one hundred soul remnants were slowly combining into a soul essence.

Lu Wu and the group reached Jinlin City and entered a seemingly suitable building to use as a survey base. After they found fresh signs of human presence and several recently killed mages, they realized the building’s strange tendrils were dangerous, and Xu Dalong discovered their path back had vanished.

• Lu Wu and the group crossed a ridge, reached Jinlin City, and began surveying the ruined city while Lu Wu hunted nearby demon beasts.
• Lu Zhenghe chose a large building as the group’s base, and they split up to inspect it while Lu Wu investigated outside.
• Lu Wu found an opened bag of jerky that seemed far newer than the city’s fifteen-year abandonment, suggesting hunters had recently stayed there.
• Inside the building, Mu Nujiao noticed something caught in the tendrils, and Liao Mingxuan revealed a human skull; the group then found more gruesomely killed mages.
• Mu Nujiao warned everyone about the strange plants, and Xu Dalong reported that the path behind them had disappeared.

The students were trapped by a False Terror Demon, but a powerful leathery-winged giant lizard devoured it before Lu Wu could intervene. After the survivors escaped the collapsed building, Lu Wu and Mo Fan searched the remains for loot, and Mo Fan found a False Terror Demon's seed.

• The False Terror Demon attacked the group, impaling Song Xia, but Mu Ningxue pulled her free and Bai Tingting began healing her.
• Lu Wu recognized the False Terror Demon and sensed a Commander approaching through the sky.
• A leathery-winged giant lizard attacked and devoured the False Terror Demon, snapping its vines and leaving its corpse behind.
• Mo Fan blasted a way out of the lobby, and Lu Wu explained that the giant lizard had killed the demon.
• Lu Wu and Mo Fan headed to the ruins to search for the demon's remains, and Mo Fan summoned his Swift Star Wolf.
• Lu Wu collected a Soul Remnant, while Mo Fan found a False Terror Demon's seed.

Lu Wu and Mo Fan chose to continue surveying the dangerous area while the rest of the team split off, unaware that Lu Nian’s forces were moving toward Desolate City to seize an opportunity involving them. In the Imperial Capital, Zhan Kong warned Dean Song He that Lu Nian’s interest in the two mages with Innate Dual Elements remained dangerous.

• Lu Wu, Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, and Mu Ningxue refused to abandon the expedition, and the team decided to split up to survey different areas.
• Lu Nujiao stayed with the weaker group to help protect Song Xia, while Lu Wu gave her a Shield Magic Tool and promised to regroup after surveying.
• Lu Wu and Mo Fan set out to survey the dangerous locations as the others headed for an area with places to hide.
• Lu Nian led a force of former Military Mages toward Desolate City and learned that Lu Wu and Mo Fan were acting separately.
• Zhan Kong visited Dean Song He and warned him that Lu Nian and his subordinates might act against Lu Wu and Mo Fan because their Innate Dual Elements had been exposed.

Lu Wu hunted demon beasts to build up Soul Essences and planned to break through his Fire Element after field training. At the church shelter, Ming Cong attacked Bai Tingting, but Lu Zhenghe arrived in time to stop him and had him tied up.

• Lu Wu hunted demon beasts, gained a third Soul Essence, and decided to break through his Fire Element in the Three-Step Tower after field training.
• Lu Wu checked on Jiaojiao and headed toward the church shelter where Mu Nujiao and the others were staying.
• Ming Cong fetched water for Bai Tingting, then attacked her while she treated Song Xia’s wounds.
• Lu Zhenghe arrived, ordered his Darkly-Marked Savage Wolf to pin Ming Cong down, and had Xu Dalong and Xiao Feng tie him to a pillar.