Recaps

Qiji returned to Class Eight after a month away and learned that his classmates, led by Huomu, had prepared a synchronized welcome for him. As Qiji prepared to face Suyo, Yuejian revealed his bet with Kijika and gave him notes about Suyo, but Qiji refused them, confident that he already knew her better than anyone.

• Huomu welcomed Qiji back and explained that Class Eight had arranged the ceremony because they were grateful to him.
• Qiji told Huomu he had spent the past month having fun, while Setsuna privately worried about her lack of progress and considered asking Qiji for help.
• Teacher Tsukimi, also called Yuejian, enthusiastically greeted Qiji and explained that he had bet Kijika that Qiji would beat Suyo, with the loser covering the winner’s classes for three days.
• Class Eight urged Qiji to win so Kijika could teach them, and Yuejian handed Qiji a booklet of information about Suyo.
• Qiji returned the booklet, confident that his nine years of studying Suyo had made him understand her better than anyone.

Qiji and Suyo prepared to spar in front of a growing crowd of students, while Bai Lili worried over which of them she wanted to win. Liuli pressed Bai Lili to choose between them, after spending the month helping her pursue Suyo.

• Yuejian eagerly arranged for Qiji and Suyo to fight first so he could get his three days off.
• Suyo proposed an opening match, and Teacher Kijika agreed to let them spar after a short wait.
• Students from Class Three and the other first-year classes, along with some upper-year students, gathered to watch.
• Bai Lili fretted that she had caused Suyo to challenge Qiji and did not want either of them to lose.
• Liuli asked Bai Lili which fighter she wanted to win, while the narration revealed how she had coached Bai Lili on pursuing Suyo.

Liuli decided Bai Lili did not truly love Suyo and tried to steer her away from him, while Qiji approached them to ask Liuli for the Sword of No Thought. After Bai Lili offered Qiji a pouch of money, he eagerly promised to deal with Suyo.

• Liuli concluded that Bai Lili was only acting like a fiancée out of duty and should not fall for Qiji.
• Qiji approached Liuli and asked for the Sword of No Thought, but she refused because the crowd was too large.
• Qiji learned that the Kamishiro Family had not contacted Liuli for a month and stopped pressing her for the sword.
• Bai Lili called Qiji back and offered him a bulging money pouch to make up for the trouble she had caused.
• Qiji took the pouch and promised Bai Lili he would beat Suyo for bullying her.

Qiji entered the much-anticipated match against Suyo and placed all of Bai Lili’s money on himself to win at exactly nine minutes and ten seconds. After the referee cleared Yuejian from the arena, Qiji told Suyo his precise bet, and the crowd erupted as the fight was about to begin.

• Bai Lili realized Qiji had mistaken her support for a request to beat Suyo, but the class bell rang before she could correct him.
• Tian Hao pretended to know Qiji well when Panyan asked who would win, then said either Suyo or Qiji could win.
• Qiji heard Yuejian and others discussing bets, gave Yuejian the pouch from Bai Lili, and wagered it all on winning at nine minutes and ten seconds.
• Qiji borrowed Yuejian’s watch to track the match time, and his livestream viewers opened their own betting through a Guessing Card.
• Suyo asked Teacher Kijika to clear the arena, and Kijika dragged Yuejian away from Qiji.
• Qiji told Suyo he had bet on himself to beat her at the nine-minute-ten-second mark, provoking an uproar from the spectators.

Suyo attacked Qiji with ice blades after his taunts enraged her, but he calmly evaded them and appeared behind her. He dismissed her claim that they were equals, leaving Suyo startled and diving forward to escape.

• Qiji taunted Suyo by claiming he could defeat her in one second, and the spectators turned their support toward him.
• Suyo snapped open an ornate fan, changed her mask to a penguin face, and used Thousand Faces: Frost to launch ice blades at Qiji.
• Qiji vanished from the crowd’s view, then Huomu explained that he had simply walked past the attack.
• Qiji appeared behind Suyo and called her arrogant for claiming they were on the same level.
• Suyo heard Qiji behind her, sensed danger, and instinctively dove forward.

Suyo escalated her fight with Qiji by using her Flame Dance Echo to cover the arena in fire, while Qiji remained relaxed and watched her performance. The chapter ended before her attack landed.

• Suyo used Gale to boost her speed, but Qiji evaded her strike with an afterimage and appeared behind her.
• Suyo realized Qiji had completely outmatched her and that she could not sense his Echo resonating with the Sea of Consciousness.
• Suyo used two fans and the Flame Dance Echo, channeling Heart Essence to prepare a sweeping fire attack across the arena.
• Qiji stood still and criticized Suyo’s dancing, which angered her and made her dance faster.
• Suyo warned Qiji that he still had not dodged, then began explaining the power of her Echo.

Suyo unleashed her Flame Dance: Meteor Fire Rain against Qiji, but he emerged completely unharmed, leaving the spectators stunned. Tian Hao declared Qiji the winner, though his classmates doubted his prediction after his earlier contradictions.

• Suyo warned Qiji to leave the arena, then finished her dance and unleashed Flame Dance: Meteor Fire Rain across the arena.
• Bai Lili worried about Qiji, while Liuli reassured her by comparing Suyo's attack to the blood arrows Qiji had survived.
• After the fire rain and dust cleared, Qiji stood unharmed in his clean black trench coat.
• Tian Hao first insisted Suyo would win, then reasoned that Qiji had already won because Suyo had exhausted her strength without hurting him.
• Cao E challenged Tian Hao to swear to his prediction, and he swore that Qiji would win or he would eat it.

Suyo revealed the Thousand Faces Family’s Imagery Forgery and fought through her fear of losing while carrying the burden of her dead brother’s name. The chapter ended by revealing how her family blamed Shi for Suyo’s death and mourned the loss of their status as the main branch.

• Suyo dropped her fans and revealed a prism, which Teacher Jing recognized as a reason to worry about the betting pool.
• Qiji identified the prism as the Thousand Faces Family’s Imagery Forgery and told Suyo he felt sorry for her reliance on it.
• Suyo lost her composure as she confronted her fear that defeat would expose her as an ordinary, frightened person beneath her genius mask.
• Suyo remembered her brother sacrificing himself to save her when she was five.
• Suyo’s mother and father blamed Shi for Suyo’s death and lamented that their family would lose its main-branch status.

Suyo's past revealed why she took her dead brother's identity and trained to live up to his talent, turning the livestream audience sympathetic toward her. As she faced Qiji, she explained her Echo and began constructing her Armament, with the Sea of Consciousness responding to her confession.

• Suyo recalled how her family treated her brother's death as a fortunate loss and how she took his mask and name, resolving to become as strong as he had been.
• The livestream audience learned Suyo's story, regretted their harsh comments, and began cheering for her against Qiji.
• Suyo threatened to beat Qiji until he cried, while the crowd wondered whether she had taken the lead in the match.
• Tian Hao refused to change his prediction that Qiji would win, citing his oath and claiming he had seen the future.
• Suyo poured heart essence into Imagery Forgery, declared her Echo to be Thousand Faces: Mimicry, and explained that she simulated and substituted for other lineages' powers.
• The Sea of Consciousness resonated with Suyo's frank explanation as her aura rose and Imagery Forgery shook.

Suyo revealed that she was preparing a Lineage Investiture and urged Qiji to attack before she completed her Armament, but Qiji chose to wait, confident he could still win. As Suyo continued preparing, Qiji relaxed and called Huomu over, while the crowd worried that he had thrown the match.

• Teacher Jing explained Self-Revelation Resonance to the Class Eight students, and Yuejian complained that she was interfering with his teaching plan.
• Suyo revealed she planned to use Imagery Forgery to activate Lineage Investiture and said she would be unable to fight for up to five minutes while preparing her Armament.
• Suyo challenged Qiji to attack before she finished, hoping his arrogance would make him let her complete the preparation.
• Qiji said he had thousands of ways to beat Suyo and agreed to wait as long as she finished her Armament within six minutes.
• The crowd panicked at Qiji's decision, and referee Kijika stopped spectators from throwing objects into the arena.
• Qiji walked to the arena's edge and beckoned Huomu over while Suyo continued preparing.

Qiji reassured Huomu that he could face Suyo’s Armament and returned to the arena as Suyo forcibly manifested her [Person in the Mirror]. Teacher Jing explained the Imagery Forgery behind Suyo’s early Armament, then challenged its fairness before Kijika defended its legality; the chapter ended with Suyo standing confidently in the arena.

• Qiji told Huomu not to blink because he would demonstrate the Flame Fist, and Huomu became tearfully grateful.
• Suyo shattered the prism and drew its shards into a violent, unstable [Person in the Mirror] Armament, which she had forcibly activated at the second tier.
• Teacher Jing explained that an Imagery Forgery implanted an artificial imagery to let an Echoer manifest an Armament before reaching the third tier, and noted that such devices were privileges of great clans and families.
• Teacher Jing objected to Suyo using an Imagery Forgery, but Kijika said it was an approved tool and that using it was part of Suyo’s strength.
• Yuejian told Teacher Jing to watch as Suyo, having completed her Armament, held her head high in the arena.

Qiji and Suyo began the final minute and a half of their duel after both vowed to win. Suyo used her Armament to read Qiji’s movements and gain the upper hand, but Qiji then revealed the lightning power he had developed through a month of training.

• Suyo asked how much time remained, and Qiji told her about a minute and a half.
• Suyo and Qiji traded boasts before launching into battle as the commentator introduced them to the crowd.
• Suyo sensed Qiji’s movement through her mirror fragments and Heart Essence, then countered his attack with a powerful kick.
• Suyo taunted Qiji after he retreated, and Qiji said he would use thirty percent of his strength.
• Qiji unleashed blue-violet electricity across his body, revealing the power he had gained through arduous training.

Qiji revealed his lightning power and attacked Suyo, who released her Armament’s true name to summon four mirror doubles and overwhelm him with combined attacks. Qiji used Blurring of Illusion and Reality to counter her assault, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Qiji’s lightning revealed his real Echo, surprising the spectators and Huomu, who had expected to see Flame Fist.
• Suyo called the true name of her Armament, Thousand Faces, Myriad Forms, and formed four mirror doubles with different elemental powers.
• Suyo sent the mirror doubles to defend against Qiji’s Thunder Fist and attack him with fire, ice, and wind.
• Qiji used Blurring of Illusion and Reality to respond to Suyo’s coordinated assault.

Qiji overwhelmed Suyo in the arena, countering her mirror doubles with rapidly changing elemental attacks and seemingly impossible Echoes. He broke her mirror and her brother’s mask, leaving her tearful face exposed as the fight ended.

• Qiji shifted between elemental lineages, countering Suyo’s attacks and smashing through her defenses while she struggled to understand his Echo.
• Suyo used Double Deconstruction to exchange places with a mirror double, then overactivated her remaining selves to barrage Qiji with elemental attacks.
• Qiji used the exchange to test his newly mastered techniques while watching his wrist, then located Suyo’s real body in the southeast mirror.
• Suyo drew on her remaining Heart Essence and attacked, but Qiji evaded her Echoes and struck the mirror with Flame Fist.
• Suyo’s headbutt hit Qiji’s knuckles, cracking and splitting her brother’s mask and exposing her tear-streaked face.

Qiji saw Suyo’s face when her mask cracked and realized she was a girl, not the boy he had assumed he understood. He hid her from the crowd, repaired her mask, and left the match with Suyo still crying silently.

• Qiji’s punch cracked Suyo’s mask, and the sight of her face stunned him and extinguished the flames on his fist.
• Qiji realized Suyo was a girl and understood that her identity had been a secret she wanted to keep.
• Qiji raised walls of fire around them to hide Suyo from the spectators, then repaired her mask with frost.
• Qiji returned the mask and tried to comfort Suyo, but she cried harder without making a sound.
• Qiji removed Suyo’s mask again to check on her and found her wailing silently through tears.

Qiji defeated Suyo after his alarm triggered an instinctive kick, leaving her devastated despite the crowd celebrating his victory. After seeing the sympathy for Suyo in the livestream and watching her “Brother and Sister” video, Qiji learned about her painful childhood and reflected on his own decision to treat his sister as more than a way to gain popularity.

• Suyo wiped her tears, put her mask back on, and launched a sneak attack on Qiji, believing his hesitation gave her a chance to win.
• Qiji’s alarm rang, and his body instinctively kicked Suyo through the wall of fire and out of the arena.
• Teacher Kijika declared Qiji the winner, while Suyo sat crying and blamed herself for failing to live up to her brother.
• The crowd cheered for Qiji, but livestream viewers defended Suyo and condemned him for making her cry.
• Qiji watched Suyo’s “Brother and Sister” video and learned that her public life of privilege hid a bleak childhood.
• Qiji thought about his former plan to use his sick little sister to gain popularity and concluded that his sister was not a tool.

After defeating Suyo, Qiji was selected as the candidate for the five-star “Thousand Faces” card and received an Armament-related reward. He took the devastated Suyo to the rooftop, challenged her despair over losing, and left her with a reason to put her mask back on.

• Teacher Kijika praised Qiji’s victory over Suyo and analyzed their match for the first-year students.
• The system selected Qiji as the candidate for the “Thousand Faces” card, began creating the five-star card, and granted him an Armament-related reward.
• Qiji saw Suyo still crying after the match and took her to the rooftop before his classmates could reach him.
• Qiji removed Suyo’s mask, tried to draw her out by invoking her brother, and argued that her defeat did not make her worthless.
• Suyo attacked Qiji in grief, then stopped when he told her to put on her mask and claimed she had nearly beaten him.

Qiji encouraged Suyo to keep fighting and then waited for Yuejian to demonstrate his Echo so he could copy it with a Replication Crystal. Yuejian began his duel with Kijika, eager to win a month off from teaching, and attacked before Kijika finished explaining.

• Qiji told Suyo that one failure did not mean she should give up, and invited her to face him at next month's grand competition.
• Suyo asked how Qiji knew about her brother, and Qiji claimed he and her brother were close friends before leaving the rooftop.
• Qiji hid near the training ground, planning to use his Replication Crystal to copy Yuejian's third-tier Echo, [One Night's Moonfall].
• Kijika deployed his Armament, [Peach and Plum Trees Do Not Speak], and explained its first true name, [Blackboard Writing], to the students.
• Teacher Jing offered to cover Yuejian's classes for a month if he defeated Kijika in one move, and Yuejian immediately accepted.
• Yuejian attacked Kijika before he could finish speaking, tearing a page from the novel in his hand.

Yuejian demonstrated his Echo, One Night's Moonfall, and defeated Teacher Kijika by putting him to sleep. Qiji secretly recorded the move and looked forward to using it himself, while Yuejian prepared to leave for vacation.

• Yuejian covered his eyes with a page and transformed the training ground into a moonlit night, using his Echo to read everyone under the moonlight.
• Yuejian triggered [Final Chapter] and put Teacher Kijika, who had activated [Blackboard Writing], to sleep with a single page turn.
• Qiji completed a recording of One Night's Moonfall with his replication crystal and planned to socket it into Silver Wish.
• Setsuna remembered Qiji's confidence in Yuejian and wondered how much Qiji already knew.
• Yuejian restored daylight, asked Teacher Jing to handle substitute teaching, and stepped down from the arena before spotting Qiji among the Class Eight students.

Qiji celebrated his winnings and new watch after the matches, then shared lunch with Class Eight as they relished their victories. Their meal was interrupted when Tian Hao approached with Panyan and Cao E, who wanted him to introduce them to Qiji.

• Qiji showed Yuejian the watch he had won, and Yuejian accepted that Qiji had earned it after making money on his own bet.
• Teacher Tsukimi gave Qiji the rest of his winnings before leaving, and Qiji offered to pay for Class Eight’s lunch.
• Class Eight students insisted on paying for their own meals as they celebrated Qiji’s and Yuejian’s victories over Class One.
• Tian Hao approached Class Eight with Panyan and Cao E, who had pressured him to introduce them to Qiji.

Qiji invited Tian Hao, Cao E, and Panyan to eat with him, surprising them with his kindness and revealing that he had beaten Suyo without using his right hand. After lunch, Qiji went to the rooftop for a nap and discovered that most of the ice cream in the vending machine was gone, while Suyo was eating the bars she had bought with money.

• Qiji called Tian Hao “Brother Hao,” steadied his tray, and invited him to sit with him.
• Qiji welcomed Cao E and Panyan to the table and told them he had not needed to use his right hand against Suyo.
• Tian Hao left lunch feeling honored, Cao E became lovestruck, and Panyan resolved to grow strong enough to fight alongside Qiji.
• Qiji went to the rooftop with Huomu and Setsuna and found only three ice creams left in the vending machine.
• Suyo ate a large pile of ice cream outside the academy after paying for it, unaware that Qiji had not seen the money she put in the machine.

Suyo mourned her brother as Qiji shared ice cream with Huomu, Setsuna, Liuli, and Bai Lili on the rooftop. Liuli proposed that the group use Bai Lili’s returned money for an outing during their three-day break before next month’s academy tournament, while Qiji quietly planned to avoid going so he could train.

• Suyo remembered how her brother had called her his favorite and cried while eating ice cream.
• Qiji pretended the vending machine was empty, but Huomu spotted the remaining bars and shared his with Qiji.
• Setsuna offered her leftover ice cream to Liuli and Bai Lili, but Liuli passed hers to Qiji, earning his gratitude and making Setsuna suspect Liuli had a clever side.
• Qiji mistook Bai Lili’s visit for a request to repay her, so he tried to return her money, but Bai Lili refused to take it back.
• Liuli pocketed the money and suggested the group go out during their three-day break before the academy tournament, while Qiji decided he would rather train and planned to find an excuse to skip.

Qiji fell asleep between Liuli and Bai Lili, leaving both girls flustered before Liuli pulled Bai Lili to class. After learning of Suyo’s defeat, her family decided to send her into the Sea of Consciousness despite the danger, while Suyo went to her brother’s grave and admitted she had failed to become him.

• Qiji fell asleep against Liuli’s shoulder, but she pushed him away, and he ended up resting on Bai Lili’s shoulder.
• Liuli hurried Bai Lili to class when the bell rang, despite Bai Lili wanting to stay beside the sleeping Qiji.
• Thousand Faces Zhengxing and Xiangyun learned that Suyo had lost to Qiji, and Zhengxing decided to send her into the Sea of Consciousness before she reached the third tier.
• Suyo visited her older brother’s grave, left him half her ice cream, and confessed that she had given up her own wishes trying to become him.
• Suyo concluded that her hard work was futile compared with a true genius.

Suyo recommitted herself to training despite her exhaustion, while Qiji and Xiwang shared an affectionate moment at home. Yuejian was visited by his wanted senior brother Yanyi, who appeared to have made a consequential decision.

• Suyo chose to try again after her fox mask landed face down, then returned home and faced her parents’ anger over losing.
• Suyo learned that her father expected her to enter the Sea of Consciousness despite being only a second-tier Echoer, and Thousand Faces Zhengxing forced her to go along with it.
• Qiji brought Xiwang an ice cream bar, and the siblings exchanged loving words about being each other’s only brother and sister.
• Yuejian turned off the television when he sensed someone on the balcony and greeted his senior brother.
• Yanyi removed his mask and revealed himself as the Fire Thief; Yuejian warned that he would regret his choice, but Yanyi asked him a question instead.

Yuejian abandoned his plan to kill Liuli after recognizing the romance novel she was reading, and instead decided to teach Huomu Flame Fist. When Yuejian began training Huomu, Huomu quickly understood the lesson and demonstrated that he had already mastered the technique.

• Yanyi asked Yuejian to look after Huomu before leaving, and Yuejian agreed to help his senior brother.
• Yuejian prepared to kill Liuli but stopped after recognizing her copy of The Flower Love series and remembering Qiji had chosen to save her.
• Yuejian decided to teach Huomu Flame Fist so Huomu could protect himself.
• Qiji watched Yuejian's livestream from home and realized that Yuejian was giving Huomu extra lessons.
• Huomu recognized the feeling behind his Heart Essence, then shattered a tier-two training dummy with Flame Fist and left Yuejian speechless.