Chapter Summaries

Lu PingAn attended a lavish Chang Ping State Prefecture gathering, then endured Ancient City's intensive young cadres' training and learned that Ancient City and three other cities intended to develop independently on the Green Planet. The chapter ended with Ancient City openly considering whether it might someday replace the state prefecture as Changping Province's leading city.

• Lu PingAn attended three days of meals and networking at the Chang Ping State Prefecture's young cadres' gathering, where he exchanged contact information with other promising young people.
• Lu PingAn returned to Ancient City and attended a demanding two-day training session featuring lectures, assessments, and private meetings.
• Ancient City's officials outlined a strategy focused on developing the Green Planet and revealed that Ancient City and three other cities had sent garrisons to establish a forward base there.
• A lecturer argued that Ancient City and the other cities needed to bypass the state prefecture because it would claim most profits without reliably protecting them.
• An Ancient City lecturer suggested that Ancient City might eventually become the state prefecture, and the audience raised no objections.

Lu PingAn learned why Ancient City had joined forces with other cities to pursue independent Other World exploration, and decided he would rather remain with Ancient City than join Changping. With departure only half a month away, he accepted Ba Manzhen’s challenge and defeated her and Su Zhizhu in a three-person duel.

• Lu PingAn realized that refugees from the Desert Kingdom had brought Ancient City access to a deity’s transport capacity, giving the city a chance to develop Other Worlds independently and compete with Changping.
• Lu PingAn decided to stay with Ancient City because it would value him as a local, while he did not need Changping’s resources or opportunities.
• Lu PingAn finished his preparations for the expedition and continued maintaining his relationship with Wang Xi'er, while relieving his stress by cuddling Cat Cat.
• Ba Manzhen challenged Lu PingAn to a full-strength duel for 10 Life Points, and Su Zhizhu joined after Lu PingAn taunted them to fight together.
• Lu PingAn defeated Ba Manzhen and Su Zhizhu in three minutes; Ba Manzhen went to train, while Su Zhizhu remained in the arena questioning herself.

Lu PingAn completed the Stiff Spider ritual, gaining several minor improvements but finding that his Breathing Method remained incomplete and potions affected him unusually weakly. He and Big Cat realized the Courtyard was part of his true body and likely contained a missing component of the Breathing Method, prompting Lu PingAn to suggest breaking down another Truth-level Item.

• Lu PingAn drank the Human-Faced Spider Potion, was buried by Miss Lu Lu Lu and Cat Cat, and entered the Fake Death ritual.
• Lu PingAn crawled out after three hours and received improvements to his mental power, reflexes, balance, and several abilities, but his Breathing Method did not advance.
• Big Cat concluded that Lu PingAn’s resistance to potions was unusually high and suggested the body he exposed was not all of him.
• Lu PingAn connected his true self to the Courtyard, which changed alongside his advancement and improvements.
• Big Cat explained that Lu PingAn’s unfinished Breathing Method absorbed other lives’ contamination and essence through a hidden Courtyard module, likely tied to Aidal’s Friendship Teapot.
• Lu PingAn proposed breaking down another Truth-level Item, and Big Cat objected that using a Rule-level or Quasi Rule-level Item for that purpose was extravagant.

As Lu PingAn and his allies prepared for their imminent departure, they spent resources improving their abilities and equipment while researching how to complete the Life Illustrated Handbook. Lu PingAn decided to wait for the Green Planet before choosing the living weapon needed to finish his growing giant.

• Lu PingAn gave up on smashing a Rule-level item for a chance at personal growth, and Big Cat explained that improving the Courtyard could eventually raise his talents.
• Lu PingAn used potions to raise his Reflexes to Black Iron High Rank, while Xia Qin relied on potions and replaced her blade with an Upper Brass Black Knife.
• Cat Cat trained with Ba Manzhen and the others, while Hua Xueyi's group hired two Knight Captains to capture Hamdasda and returned shortly before departure.
• With Fang Wen's help, Hua Xueyi began training as a Beast Tamer, bringing Lu PingAn's Beast Tamer team to four members.
• Lu PingAn assigned the team to study the Life Illustrated Handbook and plan its final pet slot, which he intended for a dragon species.
• Lu PingAn decided to wait until the Green Planet to seek a growing living weapon for his giant, whose other parts were formed by Little Flame, Zhi Xi, and the symbiotic Demon Vine.

Lu PingAn and his group traveled to Xiao An City to board a hastily built Ascension Tower and leave Earth for their expedition. After Red-Yellow Sand Dragons hauled their capsule into orbit, a spatial gate appeared, and they prepared to board.

• Lu PingAn's group chose Xiao An City's Ascension Tower instead of Changping's, whose competitors sought to avoid its surveillance and tariffs.
• Lu PingAn left Catherine behind to manage his affairs while he traveled with colleagues and other members of his group.
• The group reached Xiao An City and boarded its shaky metal-framed tower's cramped capsule.
• Red-Yellow Sand Dragons hauled the capsule skyward, tossing passengers around as it accelerated.
• The capsule entered its predetermined orbit, where a spatial gate appeared for boarding.

Lu PingAn and the other Explorers traveled with the Yellow Sand King’s people, learning about the New Gods’ break with their old rulers while enjoying a comfortable oasis stop and newly transported vehicles. After arriving at the Green Planet, they found a raging forest fire instead of the lush wilderness they had expected.

• Lu PingAn learned that the First Batch had used expensive custom safety seats while the current transport’s flimsy chairs fell apart during takeoff.
• The Yellow Sand King and Lamp Lord brought the desert refugees to Earth after breaking with the three old gods, though Lu PingAn remained unsure whether their account was true.
• The four cities coordinated with the two New Gods to transport their Explorers, and the group saw buses, jeeps, tanks, and desert flying boats among the cargo.
• Lu PingAn and his companions stayed in the oasis under watch, enjoyed the residents’ hospitality, and discussed plans with Wang Xi'er and the others.
• Lu PingAn’s group arrived at the Green Planet and found a raging forest fire and heavy smoke instead of the lush forest they had expected.

Lu PingAn and the other travelers landed far from their intended camp on a world engulfed in fire, then followed a paper dove through the dangerous landscape. They reached the relocated base beside a Blue Lake and learned that its people were still there.

• Lu PingAn and the travelers emerged from their landing pod into a burning forest and discovered they had landed more than ten kilometers from the camp.
• The group found that their equipment and attempts to contact their people were failing, while the injured researchers struggled to cope with the unfamiliar environment.
• Lu PingAn followed a Guide Dove belonging to a Su Family member, which flew south toward its blood relatives.
• The travelers reached a broad river, rested, and confirmed that its water was safe to drink as the paper dove led them downstream.
• Six hours later, Lu PingAn and the group found herds and buildings beside a Blue Lake and learned that the base had been relocated, not abandoned.

Lu PingAn joined the Ancient City convoy at a campsite engulfed in flames and learned that a single enormous plant, the Great Forest Tree, was burning because of a conceptual Self-Immolation Curse. He used his unusual healing ability to revive the curse’s exhausted casters, leaving the tree burning more fiercely and establishing himself as a healer before the Explorers.

• The convoy reached the campsite, where the Ancient City group explained that the burning forest was one plant called the Great Forest Tree.
• Teacher Zhang said the Gardeners and Flame Art teachers had cast a Self-Immolation Curse on the tree, but the casters were suffering its backlash as the tree continued to burn.
• Lu PingAn offered to use his special self-healing ability to help the casters.
• After Lu PingAn went inside with Teacher Zhang, the flames surged and the previously bedridden Flame Art teachers emerged, restored and able to move.
• The group realized Lu PingAn’s healing had strengthened the casters and made the curse burn more fiercely, and he appeared before the Explorers as a healer.

After the Great Forest Tree burned to ash, Lu PingAn used its contaminated remnants to create growth modules and began exploring how to graft them onto his magic plants. The ash storm trapped the Explorers at their base, where they learned that the fire had destroyed their research and industrial facilities and that rebuilding would require local resources.

• Researchers concluded that the Great Forest Tree could not be brought back to Earth alive and gave up on trying to demonize it.
• Lu PingAn used his ability to turn the tree's contaminated remnants into Life Essence Modules and began experimenting with grafting them onto his magic plants.
• Lu PingAn found that only a degraded Elvin Lightwood variant had succeeded and considered using it to create giant treants.
• After Lu PingAn healed the teachers, the cursed flames consumed the Great Forest Tree, leaving black ash that trapped the group inside their base.
• The Explorers discovered that the fire had destroyed their former research bases and learned they would have to rebuild with local resources.

Lu PingAn and the gathered explorers assessed the Gray Peak Clan’s attacks and debated whether the contested world was worth a war. Their concerns shifted when they learned the world also contained four immense Primal Divine Beasts, including two whose battle unleashed natural disasters.

• Lu PingAn reviewed reports on the Gray Peak Clan, a raiding race that had repeatedly fought the explorers and feared fire.
• The attendees discussed whether to fight over the planet, while Wang Xi'er faced scrutiny because the Desert Kingdom had heavily invested in the world as a possible new home.
• A presenter revealed footage of a mountain-sized beast whose back supported mountains, lakes, and Long-Eared Beast Race inhabitants.
• A feathered serpent appeared, and the two colossal beasts fought with lightning, storms, flames, and hellfire as Feathered Snake People battled white-furred beastfolk nearby.
• The managers reported finding four Primal Divine Beasts with power at or above the Rule-level, prompting someone to suggest trying another world.

Lu PingAn used his War Eagle and fire abilities to hunt Gray Fang scouts, while Little Flame helped him find an Edge Clan member. The Gray Peak Clan kept probing the humans’ defenses, and Lu PingAn learned that they attacked every opponent they encountered.

• Lu PingAn used War Eagle to locate Gray Fang Hunters, and his squad eliminated them with cannon fire and magic.
• Lu PingAn trapped a Gray Fang Hunter in a ring of fire and killed it, reflecting on how much the hunt had changed him.
• Lu PingAn learned that Blade Clan members were expendable puppets replenished by Edge Clan members, and that eliminating an Edge was necessary to complete the hunt.
• Little Flame dug an Edge Clan member out from underground, and Lu PingAn fed it to his Hound.
• Lu PingAn asked why the Gray Peak Clan fought humans, and a colleague explained that they attacked every opponent they encountered.

After ordinary staff fell ill from local food and water, Lu PingAn used his ability to help them recover while his team blended into the camp and developed a fast-acting plant fertilizer from Black Ash. He sought to secure the ash before competitors recognized its value, leaving Lu Lu Lu to prepare a misleading, time-limited buying campaign.

• Ordinary camp staff suffered food poisoning after their journey and overtime work, and Lu PingAn weakened their illnesses so their own immunity could handle them.
• Lu PingAn's small team quietly disbanded into the camp, building connections and gathering intelligence while researching Nutrition No. 2 Potion.
• Professor Wen's group found that Black Ash from burned vegetation boosted ordinary crop growth, and Lu PingAn's team tested it with rice seeds.
• When Lu Lu Lu suggested raising the purchase price as Black Ash supplies dwindled, Lu PingAn instead ordered the price cut to fifty per ton and said buying would soon end.
• Lu PingAn instructed Xue En and the others to spread a rumor that collecting Black Ash was government-backed paid cleanup work, hoping to confuse competitors long enough to fill the team's warehouses.

Lu PingAn and the other Explorers learned that the world’s primal divine beasts carried valuable, unpolluted World's Logic and might be awakening in response to outsiders. With major competitors still weeks away, Lu PingAn’s group decided to hunt suitable lower-ranked divine beasts before the powerful newcomers arrived.

• Explorers and local authorities benefited from the Hunting Bounty, safe camps, and logistical support as expeditions brought back valuable intelligence.
• Reports of four mythical giant beasts revealed that some creatures wielded primal rules and might embody the world’s natural laws.
• Observers reasoned that primal divine beasts could shape the world’s evolution and that the aggressive Gray Peak Clan was competing to claim them.
• Lu PingAn’s group concluded that outsiders might have awakened the divine beasts and that later Hunters would not arrive for at least a month.
• Lu PingAn’s group chose to seek suitable prey and profit before stronger rivals entered the field.

Lu PingAn’s group hunted a Tyrant Dragon and assessed the wilderness as they planned their independent operations. Their Beast Tamers said the woodland lacked the herds and complete food chain needed for a Zoo, but promised they could build a Magical Beast Army with enough time and resources.

• Lu PingAn sent a black shadow to attack the Tyrant Dragon, and his companions brought it down with steel cables and blades.
• Zhi Xi grilled the Tyrant Dragon’s tough, bland meat while the group prepared the rest as jerky and discussed stockpiling food and Black Ash.
• Wang Xi'er told Lu PingAn that a team had hunted a weak wind-attributed dire wolf and that the authorities had deliberately spread the rumor to encourage exploration.
• Lu PingAn learned that Wang Xi'er's Baoyu provided a reliable communication link, though it could reveal his group's location.
• Lu PingAn asked whether the woodland could support a Zoo, and the Beast Tamers said it needed larger herds and a more complete food chain before they could build a Magical Beast Army.

Lu PingAn’s group used Spirit Awakening on captured Wolf Beasts, and the unusually high success rate impressed Big Cat. Big Cat planned to turn the promising animals into a breeding stock, but prioritized creating combat forces and a powerful Beast King.

• Cat Cat and Hua Xueyi exhausted themselves using Spirit Awakening on the restrained Wolf Beasts.
• Xue En asked about the results, and the group learned that sixty percent of the beasts passed the first selection round.
• Big Cat recognized the world’s animals had unusually strong spirituality, making it an ideal place for Beast Tamers to cultivate animals.
• Big Cat regretted that there was not enough time to breed superior stock across generations.
• Big Cat told the group to magicalize the rejected beasts as soldiers and first raise a powerful Beast King to control them.

Wang Xi'er struggled to revise the Phosphorus People’s plans after the dangers on Green Planet made their intended colony uncertain. As teams spread out to establish bases, she learned that the local military forces had also run into trouble.

• Wang Xi'er concluded that the Third Homeland Plan had failed because the Gray Peak Clan and divine beasts threatened any future settlement.
• Wang Xi'er weighed whether to risk hunting divine beasts or focus on safer work, since her people already had ample high-end combat power.
• Wang Xi'er proposed establishing an outpost but worried whether it should be shared with Earthlings or remain independent.
• Explorers began setting up small bases around the official camp as the authorities encouraged expansion across the planet.
• Wang Xi'er hoped the Expeditionary Force would return, while the local military units encountered trouble after finding camps belonging to Earthlings of different nationalities.

Major Qian Guozhong learned that the Aus had killed an Eastern Kingdom reconnaissance squad and ordered them hunted down, triggering full-scale fighting. The conflict left the Gu City Official camp fearing the military could no longer protect them, while Lu PingAn received news of the storm and a call for help.

• Major Qian Guozhong learned that the Aus had looted and killed his reconnaissance squad, then confirmed the Aus had shot the squad after it revealed itself and offered goodwill.
• Major Qian ordered his forces to find and kill the Aus, while people in the Other World began discussing the outbreak of fighting.
• Reports spread that an Aus numbered regiment and two mercenary regiments were fighting on the front lines, leaving the Gu City Official camp worried and some people preparing to flee.
• The news of the fighting and cries for assistance reached Lu PingAn.

Lu PingAn rescued three surviving Eastern Kingdom Explorers after killing the Aus soldiers who had ambushed their squad, and he examined the powerful local matchlock gun they had used. Fang Wen discovered the gun contained unusual ores with extreme energy readings, leaving Lu PingAn to suspect that the Aus’ aggression was connected to those materials.

• The Eastern Kingdom military ordered its forces to kill Aus affiliated with the Eastern Kingdom’s enemies and warned them against expecting peaceful coexistence.
• Lu PingAn followed the scent of corpses, ambushed four Aus soldiers who had captured an Explorer squad, and found three injured survivors.
• The survivors explained that the Aus had killed two companions and taken their remaining logistics personnel captive.
• Lu PingAn tested a crude matchlock gun, found it powerful enough to pierce a massive tree, and gave it to Hua Xueyi to examine.
• Lu PingAn sent teams to search the area for more Aus, while Fang Wen identified exceptionally energy-rich ores inside the gun and asked for more samples.

Lu PingAn and Fang Wen tested a Kinetic Energy Conversion Crystal and considered how it might be adapted for use on Earth or turned into a Quasi-Polluted Item. Meanwhile, Cat Cat found an Aus camp, and Lei Shui Yun's team captured three soldiers and seized their electronic equipment.

• Fang Wen demonstrated how the crystal converted heat into kinetic energy, launching a dumbbell through the laboratory ceiling.
• Lu PingAn learned that the crystal's properties would weaken on Earth and discussed using it in Quasi-Polluted Items or acquiring Aus technology.
• Lu PingAn's team searched the area for Aus intruders after suspecting they had a nearby camp or base.
• Cat Cat found an Aus camp, and Lei Shui Yun's team captured three soldiers and took their unencrypted radios and electronic warfare equipment as spoils.

Lu PingAn’s team used Life Essence from the Lake of Divergent Calamity to make powerful growth potions, rapidly maturing their battle beasts with little apparent harm. He then prepared Cat Cat and the other rookie Beast Tamer to test their Bloodline Connection and awaken their core abilities, leaving him anxious about what traits they would draw.

• The wolf pups grew rapidly after taking the growth potions, and the Potion Masters discussed how little the forced maturation seemed to damage their spirituality.
• The Potion Masters explained that Life Essence from the Lake of Divergent Calamity had made their new potion unusually effective, with Gardeners helping refine its formula.
• Lu PingAn planned to use the potions to build combat strength, expand beast breeding, and sell surplus battle beasts and rejected military beasts.
• Lu PingAn told the two Beast Tamers to test their Bloodline Connection and draw for their core abilities.
• Lu PingAn worried that poor awakened traits could seriously undermine his battle-beast training plan.