Chapter Summaries

Wang Tao tested Han Rui's new Gale Chains awakening and learned that it could control and damage single targets or groups. Yang Changhong then awakened Mental Cutting, a powerful but difficult-to-test mental attack, leaving Wang Tao unsure how to safely gauge its strength.

• Wang Tao experienced Han Rui's Gale Chains, then tested it with the team and found that it could deal damage while controlling targets within a 20-meter single-target range or a 10-meter group-control area.
• Wang Tao concluded that Han Rui's versatile control ability would strengthen the team's combat options, then went to check on the others.
• Yang Changhong woke up and discovered that her awakening was Mental Cutting, a purely offensive mental ability.
• Yang Changhong used Mental Cutting on a cup, learned it only affected living beings, and exhausted all 100 of her Awakening Energy without harming the object.
• Wang Tao reasoned that zombies counted as living targets, but Yang Changhong refused to test the awakening on him because she could not control its strength.

Yang Changhong and Qu Shilin Awakened, and Wang Tao helped them discover their abilities. After an intimate mental exchange brought Wang Tao and Qu Shilin closer, she returned to the research institute, determined to pursue her work.

• Yang Changhong and the other newly Awakened fused Awakening Crystal Cores and sparred in the snowy courtyard.
• Wang Tao sensed Qu Shilin's Awakening and went to congratulate her on her Mental Insight ability.
• Wang Tao and Qu Shilin accidentally shared a deep mental exchange, then repeated it as Qu Shilin explored the experience.
• Qu Shilin and Wang Tao acknowledged their feelings for each other, and Wang Tao gave her Awakening Crystal Cores.
• Wang Tao escorted Qu Shilin to the research institute, where she resolved to focus on research until she made a breakthrough.

Li Qiu Yu awakened the ability to summon a powerful Stone Golem, and Wang Tao tested its strength and learned how the ability worked. By dawn, the group knew the golem could serve as a formidable but slow meat shield, though Li Qiu Yu could summon only one per hour.

• Li Qiu Yu revealed her Stone Golem awakening to Wang Tao and summoned a three-meter-tall golem with 100,000 health.
• Xiang Hongbin sparred with the Stone Golem, trading heavy blows and showing that it had great strength and defense but was slow.
• Wang Tao concluded that the Stone Golem could be used as a meat shield against zombies, while faster opponents could exploit its lack of speed.
• Lan Yulian could not heal the golem, but Li Qiu Yu discovered she could recall it, recover some awakening energy, and summon it again at full health.
• Wang Tao determined that Li Qiu Yu spent 100 awakening energy to summon one Tier 4 golem, recovered energy based on its remaining health when recalling it, and faced a one-hour cooldown between summons.

Wang Tao successfully completed his Third Awakening and gained Heart of Darkness, which let him wield powerful Dark-type attacks that inflicted curses. He began testing the Awakening’s unpredictable curse effects on prisoners.

• Wang Tao helped Li Qiu Yu raise her Awakening Energy limit and discovered that her Stone Golem grew larger and tougher, though it cost more energy to summon.
• After Gu Yun told Wang Tao that the Awakening School was screening applicants, Wang Tao used three Advanced Awakening Keys to attempt his Third Awakening.
• Wang Tao entered the Awakening Space and awakened Heart of Darkness, losing Dark Element as a Hidden Attribute and Fusion Mastery as a supernatural ability.
• Wang Tao tested Dark-type control in the courtyard and found that it could enhance attacks and imitate abilities, but consumed Awakening Energy and inflicted curse damage.
• Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to the prison with Jiang Hui’s permission, where Wang Tao tested his curse on prisoners and found that its effects were random.

Wang Tao tested Heart of Darkness, learned how its curses worked, and discovered that it could fuse with Prairie Fire to create powerful combined attacks. After raising his remaining abilities to maximum, he found he could not advance to the fifth tier without a fourth ability and considered searching the base for a suitable attribute Crystal Core.

• Wang Tao tested curses on prisoners and found that targets could carry up to three at once, with varying effects and durations; the rare Decapitation Curse made a target die when its health fell below 20%.
• Wang Tao realized Heart of Darkness had greatly increased his burst power but left him dependent on scarce Awakening Energy, so he asked Gu Yun about buying Awakening Crystal Cores.
• Wang Tao had Nie Siyan purchase low-grade Awakening Crystal Cores and identified promising students at the crowded Awakening School for Gu Yun to investigate.
• Wang Tao demonstrated Heart of Darkness to Ding Yuqin and the others, then found that it fused smoothly with Prairie Fire to produce Dark Flame Shockwave with additional damage and status effects.
• Wang Tao raised his three remaining abilities to maximum but could not advance to the fifth tier because Heart of Darkness had absorbed one ability; Ding Yuqin suggested buying fourth-tier attribute Crystal Cores.

Wang Tao acquired a large supply of Awakening Crystal Cores and several rare abilities, then fused with the Fire Element ability Scorching Eye. After testing and improving it, he prepared to advance the ability.

• Wang Tao asked Nie Siyan to buy Awakening Crystal Cores and rare attribute crystal cores, offering high prices or trades.
• Nie Siyan delivered more than two thousand fourth-order Awakening Crystal Cores and three rare crystal cores, including Strength Amplification and Scorching Eye.
• Wang Tao fused the Awakening Crystal Cores until his Awakening Energy reached 5,000, then fused with Scorching Eye despite its maximum-health penalty.
• Wang Tao tested Scorching Eye in the courtyard, accidentally setting the gate on fire before demonstrating its long-range High Temperature Rays.
• Wang Tao learned to control Scorching Eye's power and used an All-rounder Crystal Core to raise it to +10 before preparing to advance it.

Wang Tao advanced to the fifth order, then conducted the Awakening School’s final screening and selected two hundred students with Hidden Attributes. He prepared to take them into the underground caverns the next day, where the Municipal Government had found darkness and signal-blocking black fog.

• Wang Tao fused the final Advancement Crystal Core, slept, and advanced to the fifth order, gaining a taller body and 1,000 more awakening energy.
• Wang Tao reviewed the Awakening School and used his spiritual power to screen three thousand candidates, selecting the two hundred with Hidden Attributes.
• Gu Yun told Wang Tao that the underground caverns were dark, blocked radio signals, and had so far been explored only around their outer areas.
• Wang Tao told Gu Yun he would take the selected students into the caverns with the Prairie Fire Society and several fifth-order Night Demon Weapons.
• The school announced the results, and every selected student prepared to depart with Wang Tao the next day.

Wang Tao led Awakening School students into the fissure to explore the cavern, where he used his new ability to clear away the Dark-type black fog temporarily. The group found three fourth-order lord Mutated Plants, which Wang Tao killed with High Temperature Rays.

• Wang Tao gathered the students and led them with Cheng Yiyi toward the fissure, where she explained that explorers had found valuable fruits, rare metals, and crystal cores.
• As the convoy descended into the fissure, Wang Tao used his Heart of Darkness to push aside the black fog and improve visibility, revealing his Dark-type ability to Cheng Yiyi.
• Wang Tao met Shang Heng at the underground base, learned which areas remained unexplored, and chose a direction for the students to explore.
• Wang Tao brought Little Black along as the school's School Guardian Beast and followed it into the cavern with the group.
• Little Black found three fourth-order lord Venus flytrap-like Mutated Plants, and Wang Tao killed all three with two High Temperature Rays.

Wang Tao discovered that his new Scorching Eye could kill three Fourth Order Mutated Plant Lords at once, then shared the rewards and organized the Awakening School’s first cave expedition into teams. As he and his companions hunted through the fissure, Little Black found a Fifth Order Mutated Plant Lord, and Wang Tao prepared to face it.

• Wang Tao used Scorching Eye to kill three Fourth Order Mutated Plant Lords with one attack and collected their crystal cores and Advanced Tree Essence Fluid.
• Wang Tao tested the Advanced Tree Essence Fluid, discovering that it increased maximum health and mana even beyond 100,000, then explained the loot to the teachers and students.
• Wang Tao split the school expedition into teams, assigned teachers to lead students, and lent Pan Jian and the staff Iron Beetles and Night Demon Hearts to protect the main group.
• Wang Tao led Ding Yuqin and the others deeper into the fissure, letting them fight the Fourth Order Mutated Plant Lords while he collected abundant crystal cores and essence fluid.
• Little Black discovered a Fifth Order Mutated Plant Lord, and Wang Tao welcomed the chance to fight it.

Wang Tao entered the Stone Forest and killed the fifth-order Mutated Plant lord, a poisonous trumpet flower, with his Scorching Eye. He collected its loot, including antidote potions and a blueprint, then crafted the Poisonous Trumpet Gun and discovered it could unleash a poisonous rain.

• Wang Tao and the group entered the Stone Forest, where he sent everyone to clear out Mutated Plants while he hunted the fifth-order lord.
• The mutated trumpet flower attacked Wang Tao with corrosive poisonous liquid, then fled into a cave after his High Temperature Ray badly wounded it.
• Wang Tao charged into the cave with an Iron Bone Shield, killed the trumpet flower with Scorching Eye, and collected its drops and loot packages.
• Wang Tao obtained antidote potions and a Poisonous Trumpet Gun blueprint, then used the required materials to craft the gun.
• Wang Tao inspected the enormous fifth-order Poisonous Trumpet Gun and found that its Poison Rain ability could fire a large-area poisonous rain.

Wang Tao discovered that the Stone Forest’s unusually hard, lightweight rocks might be valuable material and cleared the area with his team. After securing the cave with a warning, the group continued deeper underground, where Xiao Hei found a downward passage with dangerous presences.

• Wang Tao examined the Poisonous Trumpet Gun and discovered that its Poison Rain ability could fire all the poisonous bullets in a crystal core at once, but it consumed the core and accelerated the gun’s durability loss.
• After Lightning ate the Mutated Plant, Wang Tao found its roots still had a Health Bar and decided to leave them undamaged to see whether another trumpet flower would grow.
• Wang Tao and his team discovered that the Stone Forest rocks were extraordinarily hard, and Wang Tao used High Temperature Rays to split a boulder before the team blocked the cave entrance and posted a warning.
• Wang Tao led the team through the Stone Forest to find and kill its hidden Mutated Plants, collecting rewards and leaving unused materials for Qu Shilin.
• After clearing the Stone Forest, Wang Tao sent Xiao Hei ahead, and it found a passage leading downward with dangerous presences inside.

Wang Tao descended to the Underground Second Floor with Lightning and fought a Tier 5 Mutated Red Flower hidden on the ceiling. After killing it and collecting its loot, he considered the risks of the Growth Fruit and decided to save the Magical Seed for later study.

• Wang Tao left Ding Yuqin and the others exploring the first level while he and Lightning descended to the Underground Second Floor.
• Wang Tao and Lightning sensed a Tier 5 lord nearby, and Wang Tao used the Ring of Resonance to confirm that Ding Yuqin's group was safe.
• Lightning led Wang Tao to a Tier 5 Mutated Red Flower, which attacked with thorn nets after Wang Tao struck it with High Temperature Rays.
• Wang Tao found the flower clinging to the ceiling, burned through its stalk, and killed it after it fell and became weakened.
• Wang Tao collected a Tier 5 Crystal Core Defense, a Magical Seed, a Growth Fruit, and a Blood-colored Red Flower, then put away the seed and questioned the fruit's deadly risk.

Wang Tao collected the loot from a mutated red flower, then killed two Fifth Order plant lords blocking a hidden cave. He discovered an ornate wooden chest inside and wondered whether someone had reached the cavern before him.

• Wang Tao kept the Growth Fruit for Qu Shilin to study and crafted a Red Flower Ring, whose Capture Net ability had only short range.
• Wang Tao told Ding Yuqin about the mutated red flower, while she reported that her group was hunting Fourth Order plant lords and gathering poison sacs.
• Lightning led Wang Tao to two Fifth Order plant lords, and Wang Tao killed them with his attacks and a Decapitation Curse.
• Wang Tao found a black cave entrance beneath the fallen plant lords and cautiously cleared away the black mist.
• Wang Tao discovered a huge, finely crafted wooden chest in the cave and wondered whether someone had been there before.

Wang Tao opened a Common Treasure Chest and obtained the powerful but immobile Tier 5 Ironwood Guardian, then crafted two massive Giant Wooden Shields that he could not use. He found a Fine Treasure Chest atop an island in a poisonous lake and began approaching it after preparing for the danger.

• Wang Tao opened the Common Treasure Chest and found the Tier 5 Ironwood Guardian, whose million health and immense strength were offset by its inability to move and a twenty-four-hour cooldown.
• Wang Tao tested the Ironwood Guardian, learned that its Automatic Defense could distinguish designated enemies, and stored it in his Space Backpack.
• Wang Tao told Ding Yuqin about treasure chests, inspected the loot from two Mutated Plant roots, and crafted two Giant Wooden Shields that were too large for him to wield.
• Lightning led Wang Tao to a Fine Treasure Chest atop a mound in a lake surrounded by poisonous green mist.
• Wang Tao prepared with his Fortified Riot Set and an antidote, but lost 1,000 health as soon as he touched the lake's poisonous mist.

Wang Tao crossed a poisonous lake, opened a locked Fine Treasure Chest with an Awakening Key, and discovered it contained an Awakening Seed and could store items in a large space. He retrieved the Common Treasure Chest as well and realized that treasure chests might let his Space Backpack hold items it normally could not.

• Wang Tao used an antidote to gain three minutes of Toxin Immunity and swam through the increasingly poisonous lake to its center.
• Wang Tao unlocked the Fine Treasure Chest with an Awakening Key and found an Awakening Seed inside.
• Wang Tao stored the Fine Treasure Chest in his Space Backpack and discovered it had a vast interior space that could preserve items and be locked against others.
• Wang Tao warned others about the poisonous lake, then rode Lightning back to retrieve the Common Treasure Chest.
• Wang Tao stored the Common Treasure Chest too and realized he might be able to use the chests to place otherwise unstoreable items in his Space Backpack.

Wang Tao tested how treasure chests worked with his Space Backpack, then crossed Poison Lake with Lightning and fought a swarm of fifth-tier Mutated Plants. He killed their fifth-tier lord and found another treasure chest among the rubble.

• Wang Tao discovered that he could store treasure chests and their contents in his Space Backpack, but had to take them out to open them.
• Wang Tao and Lightning used antidote injections to cross Poison Lake and defeated the Mutated Plants waiting on the far shore.
• Lightning grew into a giant dog and fought the fifth-tier Elite Grade vines while Wang Tao engaged their fifth-tier Lord.
• Wang Tao dodged the lord's attacks, inflicted multiple curses and burning effects, and killed it with Hellfire.
• Wang Tao and Lightning cleared the remaining vines, and Wang Tao found a treasure chest in the rubble.

Wang Tao defeated a powerful Steel Vine, found an Excellent Treasure Chest he could not yet open, and crafted a Fifth Order Iron Thorn Steel Whip from the loot. He returned to the first floor to meet Ding Yuqin and the others, confirming by radio that Pan Jian’s group was safe and exploring slowly.

• Wang Tao discovered that the Excellent Treasure Chest required an Advanced Awakening Key, so he contacted Ding Yuqin and told her group to wait while he returned to them.
• Wang Tao inspected the Steel Vine’s loot, including Advanced Tree Essence Fluid, a Devouring Seed, and an Iron Thorn Steel Whip crafting blueprint.
• Wang Tao crafted the Iron Thorn Steel Whip, tested its armor-piercing and Iron Thorns modes, and decided to make it his main weapon and give Lu Yingfeng his Sharp Long Blade.
• Wang Tao and Lightning retraced their route to the first floor, where the thinner black mist eased Lightning’s discomfort.
• Wang Tao contacted Pan Jian by walkie-talkie and learned that his group was safe and exploring slowly.

Wang Tao returned to Ding Yuqin’s group, explained the dangers and supplies he had found on the second floor, and led them to hunt fourth-rank lords for Awakening Keys. After gathering enough keys, he told them to head to the Stone Forest while he went back to retrieve a treasure chest.

• Wang Tao told Pan Jian that a Stone Forest ahead was safe for resting and that he would return to meet the students there.
• Wang Tao reunited with Ding Yuqin’s group, described the second floor’s fifth-rank monsters and poisonous hazards, and handed out antidote potions.
• Wang Tao showed the group treasure chests, explained their storage and key requirements, and found that none of them could lift even the Common Treasure Chest.
• Wang Tao led the group to hunt fourth-rank lords, using low-power High Temperature Rays to weaken them so Han Rui could finish them and collect Awakening Keys.
• After Han Rui collected enough keys and the group cleared nearby lord locations, Wang Tao sent them toward the Stone Forest while he went to retrieve the treasure chest on the second floor.

Wang Tao opened an Excellent Treasure Chest and obtained the powerful one-use Explosion Heart, then reunited with Pan Jian’s group and helped them clear the Mutated Plants. After the injured were healed and everyone reached the Stone Forest, Wang Tao offered the three students with the most points an opportunity to awaken.

• Wang Tao opened the Excellent Treasure Chest with an Advanced Awakening Key and found an Explosion Heart with 1,000 Attack Power that exploded thirty seconds after activation.
• Wang Tao returned to the group and found Pan Jian’s students struggling against Mutated Plants; Xiang Hongbin and the others helped clear the enemies.
• Wang Tao asked about casualties, and Lan Yulian healed the injured while Pan Jian reported that no one had died.
• Wang Tao’s group reached the Stone Forest, where the students and teachers marveled at the immense rocks and Wang Tao’s carved inscription.
• Wang Tao checked the students’ recorded points and told Pan Jian to bring him the three highest-scoring students so he could reward each with an opportunity to awaken.

After a dangerous first mission, Yan Hui, Fu Yu, and Zheng Ming received Wang Tao’s personal reward: a chance to awaken. Fu Yu and Zheng Ming awakened immediately, and Wang Tao helped Yan Hui strengthen himself before his second attempt succeeded.

• Yan Hui refused to regret joining the Awakening School, while his two friends worried that the mission might cost them their lives.
• Pan Jian brought Yan Hui, Fu Yu, and Zheng Ming to Wang Tao, who announced that he would reward the three top-scoring students with opportunities to awaken.
• Wang Tao gave the students high-quality Crystal Cores and Physical Awakening Keys, and Fu Yu and Zheng Ming successfully awakened after fusing them.
• Wang Tao took Yan Hui to hunt Mutated Plants and raise his health after Yan Hui’s first awakening attempt failed.
• Yan Hui succeeded on his second awakening attempt, and Wang Tao returned him to Pan Jian asleep.