Chapter Summaries

After a brutal string of battles, Lu PingAn handed the team’s watch to Xia Qin and Guan Xinxian and went to rest. He discovered that the cauldron that had birthed Ajiu was a powerful but costly Taboo Item, then woke before dawn to find Ajiu beside his bed.

• Lu PingAn, still badly injured, put Xia Qin and Guan Xinxian in charge while he recuperated and asked them to look for Spin Force Ore.
• Miss Rou and Miss Lu Lu Lu asked to borrow the cauldron, and Lu PingAn discovered it could improve material fusion and potion-making.
• Lu PingAn learned that the cauldron could also nurture magical pets when paired with the Adversity Survivor's Life Guide, but it was alive, hungry, and unpredictable.
• Lu PingAn gave the Potion Masters notes on the cauldron and asked them to research it and devise rental fees for outside users.
• After confirming the team had no other business, Lu PingAn went to sleep and woke before dawn when Ajiu licked his eye.

Lu PingAn discovered that Ajiu was a growing juvenile creature that needed abundant food, then found it could feed directly on divine bone. He left Ajiu in the mine to keep eating while guards watched over it.

• Lu PingAn found Ajiu clinging to him and learned that others could not see the little snake when it concealed itself.
• Lu PingAn checked Ajiu’s information, fed it extraordinary food and Spin Force Stone, and watched it grow briefly before it shrank back and fell asleep.
• Lu PingAn asked an Independent Regiment staff member where the divine bones came from and learned that only the Aus could provide cut fragments.
• Lu PingAn brought Ajiu to the mine, where it failed to pass through a divine bone but began absorbing its pale radiance by gnawing on it.
• Lu PingAn asked the local guards to watch Ajiu and left it in the mine to feed on the divine bone.

Lu PingAn resumed command and organized the relocation of the beast-taming base while preparing to recruit researchers and other talent from the old Main Camp. He set out with Cat Cat and Xue En, and Wang Xi'er agreed to join him and gather intelligence on nearby camps.

• Lu PingAn ordered the beast-taming base moved to the new location and tasked Marian with gathering taming intelligence and choosing a site for a new Taming Garden.
• Lu PingAn decided to escort the workers himself, brought Cat Cat and Xue En, and asked Wang Xi'er to accompany him.
• Lu PingAn explained that he planned to visit the previous Main Camp and recruit researchers, offering them greater security and a chance to join the Rebirth Warband.
• Wang Xi'er agreed to go with Lu PingAn and arranged for her people to compile intelligence on the other camps so they could bring back more recruits.

Lu PingAn and Wang Xi'er traveled with their teams to recruit teachers from Ninth Vocational High, while Professor Wen worried about his research team's slow progress. Lu PingAn reassured him and kept a future project to demonize and mass-produce Great Forest Trees in reserve until the Aus were dealt with.

• Lu PingAn and Wang Xi'er set out in two vehicles with bodyguards, experts, and Cat Cat scouting from the truck roof.
• Lu PingAn asked Professor Wen to help persuade teachers from Ninth Vocational High to join them.
• Professor Wen admitted his team's research had produced little beyond work on the Plant Rapid Growth Agent and Great Forest Tree gigantification.
• Lu PingAn reassured Professor Wen that foundational research was valuable and explained that he had finished the professor's study notes in one night.
• Lu PingAn privately kept his plan to demonize and mass-produce Great Forest Trees off Professor Wen's team's agenda until the Aus were defeated.

Lu PingAn discussed fourth-tier advancement with Professor Wen, who urged him to strengthen his foundations rather than rush into a mass-produced path. After recruiting Ninth Vocational High’s Flame Art teachers, Lu PingAn and Wang Xi'er learned that the besieged camps could barely operate and considered a large-scale relocation.

• Professor Wen warned Lu PingAn that fourth-tier Gardener advancement required deeper research and advised him to develop his abilities and demonic plants first.
• Lu PingAn decided to build a stronger foundation, possibly by taking on more third-tier side professions, and requested basic materials on Flame Art Professionals.
• Lu PingAn recruited the teachers of Ninth Vocational High by offering protection and the chance to focus on research away from the battlefield.
• The Main Camp’s acting leader explained that repeated Aus attacks had left the camp damaged, overworked, and unable to protect its many non-combat personnel.
• Lu PingAn and Wang Xi'er realized other camps could not leave their positions safely and proposed relocating them together, gathering people camp by camp.

Lu PingAn led a convoy rescuing East Country People from Aus attacks, as survivors demanded revenge for their losses. When an Aus messenger offered him a secret settlement, Lu PingAn killed him publicly and made clear that he would accept no reconciliation.

• Lu PingAn’s convoy rescued scattered camps, where survivors blamed the rescuers for arriving late and called for revenge against the Aus people.
• An Aus Horde Company messenger offered Lu PingAn money, a villa, and a job in exchange for reconciliation, while dismissing the other victims’ chances of legal recourse.
• Lu PingAn exposed the messenger’s offer to the gathered survivors and killed him by crushing his head.
• Lu PingAn declared that anyone who mentioned reconciliation would be treated as having taken Aus money, and warned that he needed only a list of names to punish them.

Lu PingAn slaughtered the Aus ambushers and urged the refugees to broadcast the atrocities they had suffered so their compatriots would seek revenge. He dismissed Wang Xi'er's warning that he was inciting a war and returned to his vehicle as the survivors lined up to share their stories.

• Lu PingAn killed the Aus convoy ambushers with ease, then tried to drive off in one of their vehicles but crashed it.
• Lu PingAn comforted the uneasy Cat Cat and said he wanted the survivors to coordinate and settle their scores.
• Lu PingAn gave Zhao Donglai a microphone and urged him to describe how the Aus had killed his family over the Public Channel.
• Zhao Donglai began recounting his daughter's death, and other survivors gathered to tell their own stories.
• Wang Xi'er warned Lu PingAn that he was inciting hatred and war, but he argued they were already at war and mocked her innocence.

Lu PingAn reflected on his habit of treating himself as an outsider and realized the Aus threatened everyone he had come to care about. He chose to take control of the war, leaving the East Country People united against the Aus and no longer able to rely on staying neutral.

• Lu PingAn recognized that he had always lacked roots and motivation, viewing life in this world as something he could passively endure.
• As the Aus purged their enemies, Lu PingAn saw that only one side could survive and felt anger at the meaningless deaths of young explorers.
• Lu PingAn rejected the Aus envoy’s promises as a delaying tactic and decided the Aus had to be killed to protect his friends.
• Lu PingAn used his anger and the cause of public vengeance to push aside Wang Xi'er and become the team’s true leader.
• Lu PingAn took control of Three-in-One and the Radio Tower, then urged a Vengeful Ghost to speak publicly and warned the East Country People against betrayal.
• Lu PingAn resolved to shatter hopes of avoiding the conflict and take the initiative in the war against the Aus.

Aus hunters tried to drive a group of East Country People toward a swamp, but the fugitives turned and fought back after learning from other victims that the Aus would never let them escape. Survivors across the region began joining forces, leaving the story with new revenge squads forming.

• An Aus hunting squad tracked five East Country People and planned to herd them toward a swamp.
• The East Country People attacked the Aus first, and six Professionals fought desperately, wiping out the hunting squad at the cost of four lives.
• A surviving younger brother took an intact Spin Force Stone Weapon and radioed others, urging the hunted to fight rather than die as cowards.
• Victims' accounts spread through the public channel, convincing other fugitives that negotiation and escape were futile.
• Survivors from separate battles contacted one another and began gathering into squads of revenge.

Lu PingAn organized the Eastern Kingdom survivors as the Aus’ hunting squads hesitated after taking losses, directing air cavalry to deliver supplies and help scattered groups regroup. As the mining camp’s forces grew and defended against two attacks, his Soldier Path skill surged close to its next level.

• The Aus’ hunters began abandoning their pursuits or merging squads after learning that other hunting teams had suffered heavy losses.
• Lu PingAn ordered the survivors to regroup and told Major Qian’s side to use air cavalry to deliver weapons, supplies, and medical aid.
• Lu PingAn encouraged survivors who wanted to fight back while avoiding compulsory orders for those who refused to rejoin the main force.
• The mining camp became the Eastern Kingdom’s main base as more survivors joined, and Lu PingAn focused on gathering people rather than relying on distant reinforcements.
• The mining area’s headquarters endured two attacks over two days, but its stronger patrols repelled them with few casualties.
• Lu PingAn’s Soldier Path skill, “War is Chess,” reached Lv. 9, bringing him close to advancing to a third-tier Soldier.

Lu PingAn and the East Country People expanded their mining district stronghold into Homeland Fortress as they prepared for the Aus’ return. After two failed attacks on Horde Company headquarters, they began dragging out a massive piece of Divine Bone to build the fortress wall.

• Lu PingAn named the expanded mountain stronghold Homeland Fortress, while East Country People gathered there and built underground shelters, factories, and armories.
• The East Country People gathered intelligence about Horde Company’s departments and learned that its strongest Security Department squads were away hunting a Divine Beast.
• Lu PingAn’s group obtained the location of Horde Company headquarters from captured mercenaries and launched two attacks.
• The East Country People failed to break through the headquarters’ entrances because each was sealed by an intact piece of Divine Bone.
• Lu PingAn’s group dragged a massive piece of Divine Bone from a pit to use as a wall for Homeland Fortress.

The Eastern Kingdom people adapted to the Aus hunters’ Spin Force Stone Weapons, trained recruits, and equipped their units to turn the hunters into prey. Lu PingAn then learned that a mysterious group had vanished an entire party of warriors and sent Cat Cat to investigate cautiously.

• The Eastern Kingdom people reorganized after their early losses, trained to evade Spin Force Stone Weapons, and practiced shooting with veterans’ guidance.
• Lu PingAn ordered the production of Spin Force Stone Tower Shields and the integration of armed recruits into veteran units.
• Lu PingAn’s blunt warning that the hunters would target civilians reassured the grassroots forces and strengthened their morale.
• Scouts reported that three Sky Knights had located the group responsible for making warriors vanish, but only one survivor had returned.
• Lu PingAn sent Cat Cat to investigate the disappearance site while keeping a safe distance.

Lu PingAn weighed how to gain divine-profession powers without becoming bound to the deities behind them, and learned that the Scholar path might let him alter those powers. He spent nearly all his Life Points on a Forbidden Library, hoping it could improve his other Rule Buildings and help him pursue that goal.

• Lu PingAn reviewed his neglected cards and professions, deciding that his companions' overall combat power needed improvement.
• Lu PingAn asked Chris and Big Cat whether divine professions could be used without accepting the deities' influence, and Big Cat confirmed that the Scholar path could alter them with enough authority.
• Big Cat explained that Lu PingAn lacked the tier to rewrite divine paths himself, while building an imitation profession from scratch would take too long.
• Big Cat suggested that the Forbidden Library could help improve Lu PingAn's Rule Buildings, including the Taming Garden.
• Lu PingAn paid 4,000 Life Points to build the Forbidden Library, leaving him with 951 Life Points and a negative balance.

Lu PingAn explored the Forbidden Great Library and learned it could create customized Professions by processing knowledge, though its prices were steep. He decided to sell the knowledge of all his Professions to supply the library with raw material.

• Lu PingAn entered the newly built Forbidden Great Library and found its halls empty of books.
• Lu PingAn rang the service bell until Big Cat appeared as the library's administrator and explained its Profession-customization costs.
• Big Cat revealed the library had absorbed her knowledge to supply its system with initial material.
• Lu PingAn sold his Fire Control Technique teaching materials to the library for eleven Life Points, then learned Professionals could sell knowledge of their own Professions.
• Lu PingAn offered to sell all his Profession knowledge, including Gardener, Soldier, Scholar, and Runner.

Lu PingAn endured an exhausting, accelerated transaction to sell knowledge about the Parasitic Tree, earning only forty-one Life Points. After discovering the library’s time services were costly and transactions could not be interrupted, he prepared to test its ability to create a customized profession.

• Lu PingAn entered Automatic Writing mode and copied Forbidden Classics about the Parasitic Tree profession and magical plants.
• Lu PingAn increased his perceived speed by combining the library’s acceleration with the Pillar of Time, but the strain made him tire more quickly.
• Lu PingAn finished writing after a workday in his perception, and the library appraised the knowledge at forty-one Life Points.
• Lu PingAn declined Chris’s suggestion to sell the Runner profession and realized the transaction and accelerated reading service had cost him more than expected.
• Lu PingAn recovered from writing and prepared to test the library’s ability to customize a new profession.

Lu PingAn learned that the library could sell and reproduce profession materials, and Big Cat revealed that the Taming Garden could now create training courses for battle beasts. He agreed to have Big Cat customize professions for his Beast King Army, only to find that she planned to charge him extra.

• Lu PingAn and Big Cat discussed the Life Bank’s limits on selling, copying, and restocking profession materials, along with the points and labor involved.
• Big Cat explained that the Taming Garden could now provide complete profession-training courses for battle beasts.
• Lu PingAn realized that even Tier 1 professions could greatly strengthen his battle beasts, though each animal would need its own suitable materials and a separate purchase.
• Lu PingAn agreed to start customizing professions for his Beast King Army, and Big Cat said she already had the necessary knowledge to serve as material.
• Big Cat revealed that she could adjust prices as administrator and threatened to add a markup based on their past relationship.

Lu PingAn opened the Trading Ground to teachers from Ninth Vocational High, letting them trade professions and knowledge while he gathered fire-related materials for his own profession. As he studied the teachers’ unconventional fire paths, he began considering how to combine their energy-conversion methods into a profession of his own.

• Lu PingAn invited the Ninth Vocational High teachers into the Trading Ground and advised them to use its accelerated time setting, while Fang Wen handed out his instruction manual.
• The teachers discovered they could sell professions and knowledge for Life Points, and they rushed to trade before the Ground stopped accepting their goods.
• Lu PingAn collected and organized their fire-related materials to prepare a custom fire profession template.
• Lu PingAn examined the Runner-path profession Barefoot and saw its flame-producing ritual as a way to convert kinetic energy into thermal energy.
• Lu PingAn studied other non-Awakened fire professions, including Fire Ring Magician, Fire Eater, and Train King, for ideas to incorporate into his own profession.

Lu PingAn asked Big Cat to customize a Rider profession that could control beasts through their bones and complement his other paths. Big Cat developed a bone-manipulation module that could also control Spin Force Stones, and Lu PingAn left the library joking about an Adamantine Wolf.

• Lu PingAn explained that the Life Bank treated life as a resource to be traded and developed through its market.
• Big Cat selected Corpse Controller materials to customize a profession around Lu PingAn's request for a Rider who could control beasts without becoming a Beast Tamer.
• Big Cat assembled a profession module that let its user manipulate bones inside living creatures and use bones as weapons.
• Lu PingAn and Big Cat realized the profession could control Spin Force Stones, which were diluted bone cells from the Valley of the Gods.
• Lu PingAn attached orange bone nails to his fingertips and called out "Adamantine Wolf," then explained that he meant the wolf pack could use metal-transformation professions alongside Hua Xueyi's ability.

Lu Pingan completed the Tier 1 Rider (Bone) profession and began assembling a pseudo Pale Hand path focused on controlling living entities through bone nails. After ten hours of accelerated training and preparation, he returned to the battlefield with new abilities while the countdown to war continued.

• Lu Pingan chose blood as his medium and bone as his control target, completing the Rider (Bone) profession and gaining Bone Manipulation Art and Skeleton Trick.
• Lu Pingan found that his bone control was weak at Tier 1, and Big Cat explained how life- and flame-system development could combine with his abilities.
• Big Cat presented Lu Pingan with the requirements for Pale Hand (Pseudo), a Tier 2 profession built around creating and controlling bone nails to manipulate living entities.
• Lu Pingan completed his Runner-based Fire Driver system with help from his mentors and returned to the battlefield ten hours later.
• Lu Pingan looked forward to the coming fight, while Big Cat said she wanted to go home and Xue En was stopped from saying he wanted to return to his homeworld.

As the Aus approached, Lu PingAn united scattered human teams by making the threat of defeat impossible to ignore, while their preparations left them exhausted. He promised to bring everyone home if they won the coming battle.

• Lu PingAn observed the layered defenses and the growing influx of East Country People preparing to fight.
• Lu PingAn used the broadcast’s accounts of Aus brutality to rally the teams through fear and their shared will to survive.
• Regiment Commander Qian and Wang Xi'er’s appeals for support proved less effective than Lu PingAn’s approach, and people contributed labor and supplies to the war effort.
• Lu PingAn learned that the enemy’s steady advance meant the decisive battle could begin in about two days.
• Lu PingAn interrupted the broadcast and promised that if they won, he would bring everyone home.