Recaps

Fink and Leslie, two Windforged adventurers in toad and Honey Badger bodies, discovered that killing other ritual participants granted evolution energy before Xia Nan attacked them. Xia Nan killed both and met a human-minded Brown Sparrow as the ritual announced that he had met the conditions for evolution.

• Fink found Leslie, and the two confirmed each other's identities and joined forces to search for their Windforged teammates.
• Fink and Leslie found a Raging Waves War Gang adventurer in a Goblin den, killed him, and saw blue energy strengthen Leslie.
• Fink sensed Xia Nan, a Black Wolf, approaching and warned Leslie, who drew the Windforged emblem in the dirt.
• Xia Nan used a powerful wolf attack to kill Leslie, then defeated Fink after a Brown Sparrow distracted the toad.
• Xia Nan gained proficiency and evolution energy from the two adventurers, noticed the Brown Sparrow watching him, and received a notification that his evolution conditions were met.

Xia Nan weighed three evolution paths and chose the Winter Wolf for its balanced strength and high compatibility, then evolved and regained the ability to speak. He discovered the sparrow who had aided him was Sarisa, who reported that most of the Oath of Vengeance Blades’ crew had been pulled into the ritual, and began explaining why she had descended nearby.

• Xia Nan compared the Wolf-bodied Winged Beast, Winter Wolf, and Broad-skulled Emerald Forest Jackal, rejecting the first for its limited flight and combat strength and the third for its unfamiliar spellcasting.
• Xia Nan chose the Winter Wolf and underwent a transformation that gave him snow-white fur, icy-blue eyes, a powerful body, and freezing breath.
• Xia Nan noticed that killing evolved adventurers had granted more Combat Skill Proficiency than he expected and suspected that stronger creatures yielded greater gains.
• Xia Nan asked the sparrow who she was, and she wrote the name Sarisa on the ground.
• Xia Nan asked Sarisa about the Oath of Vengeance Blades, and she reported a Murloc attack with few casualties and said the crew had been pulled into the ritual except for Raine and Gordon.
• Xia Nan questioned why Sarisa had descended nearby, and she hesitated before starting to write an explanation.

Sarisa recalled her painful childhood as the daughter of pirate chief Algae Scale Dodd and explained how she entered the Secret Realm, where she could sense nearby adventurers. She and Xia Nan agreed to cooperate against Dodd’s plans, while Dodd rested in his lair, unaware that the balance in the Secret Realm was about to shift.

• Sarisa remembered her mother’s death, her escape from the island at twenty-five, and her later life as an adventurer with the Black Tide Hunter Fleet.
• After the ritual swept Sarisa into the Secret Realm in a sparrow’s body, she discovered she could sense nearby adventurers and set out to find her companions.
• Sarisa recognized Xia Nan by his combat skills, helped him in battle, and proved her identity by answering his questions about their voyage.
• Sarisa told Xia Nan that Algae Scale Dodd was her father and revealed her ability to locate nearby adventurers.
• Xia Nan and Sarisa exchanged information and agreed to work together against Dodd, pursuing their separate goals in the Secret Realm.
• Dodd rested in his sand-hole lair after a difficult fight, believing the other adventurers could not disrupt his plans while he recovered.

Xia Nan defeated a brown-striped tiger and absorbed the Life Energy left by a dead adventurer, bringing his evolution progress to ninety-nine percent. As Sarisa searched for another target, a brilliant mass of blue light descended from the sky, and Xia Nan wondered if it was an airdrop.

• Xia Nan recalled how he had evolved into a Winter Wolf and, with Sarisa’s help, found and defeated two adventurers in the Secret Realm.
• Xia Nan killed a brown-striped tiger with Freezing Breath and approached the Horned Deer corpse it had been eating.
• Sarisa declined the Life Energy, and Xia Nan absorbed it to improve his Combat Skill proficiency and reach ninety-nine percent of the requirement for his third evolution.
• Xia Nan asked Sarisa to find another adventurer, but she struggled to sense one nearby.
• A dazzling mass of blue light descended from the sky, and Xia Nan asked if it was an airdrop.

Flynn used his Horn-Blade Golden Beetle form to ambush adventurers drawn toward the descending Life Energy, but Xia Nan intervened when he recognized the Black Bear adventurer as Sasha. Xia Nan and Sasha confirmed each other’s identities just as Flynn flew out of the grass to continue the fight.

• Flynn waited near the descending Life Energy, hoping to attract adventurers and harvest their Life Energy with his evolved Horn-Blade Golden Beetle body.
• Flynn attacked a cautious Black Bear adventurer from a treetop, but the bear dodged and pinned him before Flynn’s armored body threw it off.
• As Flynn prepared to impale the struggling Black Bear, Xia Nan struck him with a wolf-shaped gale and knocked him aside.
• Xia Nan called out Sasha’s name, and Sasha confirmed his identity by drawing the Oath of Vengeance Blades emblem and Xia Nan’s name in the soil.
• Flynn flew out of the grass as Xia Nan and Sasha had no time to communicate further.

Xia Nan defeated Flynn by combining [Tooth Hunt] and [Whirlwind Slash] with the beetle’s severed horn, then chose the [Spine-Blade Wolf] evolution to develop that fighting style. He ended the chapter with the horn stored in a new scabbard-like slit in his flank, ready to draw it in battle.

• Flynn recognized Xia Nan as a Winter Wolf and tried to flee, but Xia Nan struck his head and sent him flying.
• Xia Nan used Flynn’s severed sword horn with [Tooth Hunt] and [Whirlwind Slash] to cut Flynn in half.
• Flynn’s luminous blue orb entered Xia Nan, increasing his skill proficiencies and revealing three evolution paths.
• Xia Nan chose the [Spine-Blade Wolf] evolution because it suited his weapon-based fighting style.
• Xia Nan’s body grew steel-blue-gray slits near his shoulders, and he stored the sword horn in one of them.

Xia Nan reunited with Sasha and Sarisa, learned that Sefeng had killed Aken and was hunting adventurers to evolve, and headed with his teammates toward the descending blue orb. The chapter then showed Sefeng waiting near the orb with two weak teammates, planning to use it as bait for more prey.

• Xia Nan asked Sasha about his injuries, and Sasha explained that he had met Aken, then lost him when Sefeng killed him and absorbed his Life Energy.
• Sasha told Xia Nan and Sarisa that he had escaped Sefeng's attack and learned that adventurers could evolve by absorbing other participants' Life Energy.
• Xia Nan assessed Sefeng's group as a serious threat but chose to travel with Sasha and Sarisa toward the descending blue orb.
• Sefeng's recollection showed that he had evolved into a silverback gorilla after killing a Grey Weasel adventurer from the Raging Waves War Gang.
• Sefeng traveled with a squirrel and a grasshopper, withheld help that could let them evolve, and planned to ambush adventurers drawn to the blue orb.

Sefeng tried to use a descending mass of Life Energy to lure adventurers into a trap, but Xia Nan killed the Lynx and interrupted Sefeng’s attempt to evolve by killing his teammates. Xia Nan then killed Sefeng and absorbed his Life Energy just as the orb landed.

• Sefeng and his squirrel and grasshopper teammates reached the orb’s projected landing site, set traps, and waited for other adventurers.
• A Lynx attacked the Black Bear, but the Black Bear pinned it until Sefeng intervened, allowing the Lynx to escape.
• Xia Nan emerged from the bushes after killing the Lynx and absorbing its Life Energy, filling Sefeng with fear.
• Sefeng killed his squirrel and grasshopper teammates to begin a second evolution, but Xia Nan struck before it was complete.
• Xia Nan used four battle techniques in a single slash to cut Sefeng in half and absorb his Life Energy as the orb landed.

Xia Nan absorbed the ritual’s Life Energy, gained a major boost to his combat proficiencies, and completed his Fourth Evolution as an elite Steel-Bone Spine-Blade Wolf. He set out with Sarisa and Sasha to find more adventurers, while Dodd woke from an unplanned sleep and hurried to prepare for the next airdrop.

• Sarisa and Sasha agreed to direct the available Life Energy toward Xia Nan, and Sasha offered to contribute his own if necessary.
• Xia Nan absorbed the blue airdrop, rapidly improved his combat techniques, and evolved into a Steel-Bone Spine-Blade Wolf (Elite).
• Xia Nan noticed that Sefeng and two other Windforged adventurers had died, then checked Sasha’s injuries and agreed to continue searching for adventurers with Sarisa.
• Dodd woke when the Secret Realm’s boundary reached his burrow and realized that his unexpected sleep had disrupted his plans.
• Dodd sensed that a powerful group of three adventurers had cleared a large area and planned to prepare for the next airdrop and meet Flynn.

Xia Nan hunted a White-Hoofed Wild Ox and reflected on the need for another Combat Skill to complete his attack combination. He and Sarisa and Sasha went to investigate a fast-falling azure orb, where a Flying Falcon touched it and began transforming amid flames.

• Xia Nan killed a White-Hoofed Wild Ox using Tooth Hunt and Whirlwind Slash, then considered developing another Combat Skill to complete the combination.
• Sarisa reported that the nearest adventurer was northwest, while Sasha suggested they eat the Wild Ox before moving on.
• Xia Nan spotted an unusually fast-falling azure orb and suspected it might be connected to Dodd's ritual or offer a chance to gain strength.
• Xia Nan, Sarisa, and Sasha abandoned their meal and hurried to the orb's landing site, where several adventurers had gathered.
• A Flying Falcon reached the orb just as it landed, but instead of absorbing Life Energy, it was charred and transformed as orange-red flames formed a humanoid silhouette.

Xia Nan watched a Fire Elemental emerge from Life Energy and slaughter several adventurers before a Thorn Demon adventurer attacked it with Shadow Energy. Recognizing the Thorn Demon's combat movements as possibly belonging to Lorraine, Xia Nan intervened and struck the Fire Elemental's core with force-field energy, dispersing its body into a sparkling blue orb.

• A Flying Falcon adventurer touched the Life Energy, which transformed into a Fire Elemental, and the flames killed him and a fleeing gazelle adventurer.
• The Fire Elemental killed a cheetah adventurer and a hyena adventurer, while Xia Nan observed its speed and apparent immunity to physical attacks.
• A Thorn Demon adventurer attacked the Fire Elemental with a Shadow Energy-wrapped spear, then used its wings to strike and retreat.
• Sasha recognized the Thorn Demon's movements as resembling Lorraine's, and Xia Nan decided to help the adventurer confirm whether it was Lorraine.
• Xia Nan charged the Fire Elemental with a Longsword and used force-field energy to scatter its fiery core, dispersing it into a sparkling blue orb.

Xia Nan reunited with Lorraine, learned how she had survived and evolved in the Secret Realm, and absorbed the Life Energy from the battlefield. The energy triggered his fifth evolution, and he chose the mysterious Battle-Hardened Blade Master path.

• Xia Nan confirmed that the Thorn Demon was Lorraine, then introduced her to Sasha and Sarisa.
• Lorraine recounted how she had survived, killed unfamiliar adventurers to absorb their Life Energy, and learned that deaths in the Secret Realm weakened adventurers in the real world.
• Lorraine agreed that Xia Nan should absorb the remaining Life Energy because he had evolved furthest and could use Combat Skills.
• Xia Nan absorbed the Life Energy from four adventurers and the Fire Elemental, improving his Combat Skill proficiency and reaching the Secret Realm's evolution limit.
• Xia Nan rejected the Arcane Hunter Hound and Frost-Source Wolf King paths, then selected Battle-Hardened Blade Master.

After completing his fifth evolution, Xia Nan became a Black Wolf and learned that the Secret Realm’s boundary was contracting faster as Dodd’s ritual neared its end. Elsewhere, Tie Ge fled an Air Elemental into a cave, fell into a dragon’s hoard, and was killed by the Red Dragon Hatchling’s mother.

• Xia Nan evolved into a Black Wolf, grew stronger, and formed a Longsword from black forceful energy.
• Lorraine urged the group to hurry, and Xia Nan saw that the Secret Realm’s boundary was contracting faster.
• Tie Ge, wounded while fleeing an Air Elemental, entered a cave that opened into a vast chamber full of Gold Coins.
• Tie Ge encountered a Red Dragon Hatchling and realized its parent was nearby.
• The mother dragon killed Tie Ge, while the hatchling curiously watched the glowing blue sphere left behind.

Dodd, still short of his fourth evolution, activated the ritual’s final safeguard as the shrinking boundary ushered in the last stage. All surviving Adventurers gained the ability to sense one another, and the Life Energy left by each death doubled.

• Dodd defeated a powerful Water Elemental with crystal spikes but absorbed too little Life Energy to evolve.
• Dodd sensed that fewer Adventurers remained and judged the allied group on the opposite side of the map to be easy prey.
• When the boundary turned crimson, Dodd decided to activate his authority, trading his exclusive location-sensing advantage for doubled Life Energy from fallen Adventurers.
• Dodd triggered the authority, spreading an invisible ripple throughout the Ritual Secret Realm and giving all surviving Adventurers the ability to sense one another.
• A Ground Rat Adventurer and a huge Falcon Adventurer reacted to the new ability, while the Abyssal Black Wolf and its companions noticed it after defeating a Striped Giant Tiger.
• The Red Dragon Hatchling briefly sensed the other Adventurers, then ignored them and tried to glide with its growing wings.

After Dodd gave every participant the ability to sense others’ locations, the Secret Realm’s battles intensified, and Xia Nan’s group accelerated its hunts. Dodd completed his Fourth Evolution and began targeting lone adventurers, leaving Xia Nan’s still-intact group for later.

• Dodd granted every adventurer in the Secret Realm the ability to sense other participants, triggering a surge in hunting and deaths.
• Xia Nan killed a Rhino Adventurer, absorbed its Life Energy, and gained proficiency in his combat techniques.
• Lorraine and Sarisa warned that Dodd was likely beginning his final harvest, so Xia Nan’s group chose to hunt faster.
• Dodd completed his Fourth Evolution after killing a Grey Rat Adventurer, gaining new claws and stronger control over elemental energy.
• Dodd noticed Xia Nan’s four-person group but avoided attacking it until he had adapted to his new body, choosing lone targets instead.

Xia Nan hunted the remaining adventurers during the Secret Realm’s final stage, while Dodd prepared to complete his evolution and become Transcendent. With only a few factions left, Dodd headed toward a lone adventurer he believed would provide the Life Energy he needed for the Fifth Evolution.

• The Thunder Eagle Adventurer sensed a target, but Xia Nan crossed the plains at great speed and killed him with a Wolf Howl and a swift attack.
• A Burrowing Worm Adventurer searched underground for a vanished target, then entered a tunnel and was killed by a Great Dragon.
• Dodd’s Crystal Horned Lizard killed a giant bovine creature and absorbed its Life Energy, bringing Dodd closer to the Fifth Evolution.
• Dodd sensed that one of the two remaining teams had eliminated the other, leaving a four-person team among the last factions.
• Dodd concluded that the lone adventurer at the center of the map was weak and concealed, and moved toward it to gain the Life Energy needed to evolve.

After his Fourth Evolution, Dodd used his earth magic to track a hidden adventurer underground, only to stumble into the lair of Alton, a Red Dragon whose Dragon Might overwhelmed him. Dodd escaped with his life and, still hoping to reach his Fifth Evolution, turned his attention to a nearby party of four adventurers.

• Dodd assessed his new Six-Legged Lizard body and hurried to find a hidden adventurer whose Life Energy could push him toward his Fifth Evolution.
• Dodd summoned a sandstorm, detected that the adventurer was underground, and dug through the earth to reach them.
• Dodd broke into a golden cavern and saw Alton, whose Dragon Might left him terrified and unable to think clearly.
• Dodd used his life-saving ability to flee to the surface, badly weakened, while Alton ignored the disturbance and fell asleep.
• Dodd reasoned that the hidden adventurer was probably relying on the Red Dragon's protection and, seeing four adventurers nearby, resolved that he still had a chance.

As the Secret Realm neared its end, Xia Nan and his companions searched for Alton and Dodd, whose life signs had disappeared underground. Dodd, eager to complete his Fifth Evolution, charged toward the group, only to realize too late that Xia Nan was missing from the figures before him.

• Xia Nan learned that only Dodd and Alton remained alive besides his squad, and the group hurried to support Alton as the two points of light converged.
• Xia Nan arrived at a clearing marked by scattered yellow sand but found no sign of Alton or Dodd; Lorraine suspected they were underground.
• Xia Nan and his companions searched for an underground passage while Dodd, having fled from a Dragon Nest, pursued the adventurers to gather enough Life Energy for his Fifth Evolution.
• Dodd reached the squad and saw Lorraine, Sasha, and Sarisa, but his confidence faltered when he realized Xia Nan was not among them.
• Dodd turned toward his side and saw a darkness deeper than the Abyss.

Xia Nan killed the Earth-Yellow Lizard possessed by Dodd, ending the ritual and triggering the Secret Realm’s collapse. Before returning to the real world, Xia Nan absorbed Dodd’s Life Energy and secured substantial upgrades to his abilities.

• Dodd’s shattered defenses left him unable to resist Xia Nan, who beheaded him with a powerful combined strike.
• Xia Nan saw Dodd’s Life Energy above the corpse, but stayed alert in case the death was a diversion.
• The Key to the [Dreamweaver Corridor] ritual began collapsing after Dodd’s death, shaking the Secret Realm and blurring Xia Nan’s consciousness.
• Xia Nan realized the Lizard had truly been Dodd and leapt to absorb the Life Energy before the Secret Realm vanished.
• Xia Nan gained attributes and proficiency, raising [Ember Echo] to Level 3, [Heavy Tide] to Level 5, and [Meteor Blade Hunt] to Level 4.

After escaping the Ritual Secret Realm, Xia Nan returned to Stodd Island with greatly improved attributes and skills, ready to test his abilities in a decisive battle. As the Windforged and Raging Waves War Gang faced tensions over their actions in the Secret Realm, a group of Shahua Mermen ambushed them and killed Fink.

• Xia Nan returned to his human body, gained four Attribute Points, and found that Gravity Control was one point short of leveling up.
• Xia Nan landed safely in the sea using Gravity Control and Tidal Shaping, then saw that Dodd and the fading Ritual Secret Realm remained at the island's center.
• Leslie confronted Fink for betraying him in the Secret Realm, but captain Sefeng shut down the argument to protect himself and Fink.
• Members of the Raging Waves War Gang turned uneasy looks toward Tie Ge over the poor results of his plan to gather the team in the Secret Realm.
• Fink demanded that Xia Nan explain what had happened in the Secret Realm, but Magic Missiles struck him from behind and Shahua Mermen rose from the sea.

Xia Nan and the weakened adventurers faced a Shahua Merman army as it attacked the coast. After deciding he needed allies to confront Dodd, Xia Nan charged beneath the sea to target the Merman Priests, while the Murloc Commander chose to attack the adventurers on shore.

• The Murloc Commander targeted Xia Nan with three spells, but Xia Nan dodged the Flame Sphere and resisted or blocked the other attacks.
• Xia Nan decided to fight alongside the coastal adventurers so he could gain allies against Dodd and reach the Key to the Dreamweaver Corridor.
• As the mermen came ashore, Xia Nan used [Tooth Hunt] to sprint over the water and dive beneath the sea toward the Merman Priests.
• The Murloc Commander sent guards to intercept Xia Nan, then went ashore to attack the adventurers while they fought off the Murloc Minions.

The weakened adventurers initially pushed back the Shahua Mermen, but the Murloc Commander turned the battle against them and killed Leslie and Tong Yan. As the commander faced Sefeng and Tie Ge, a terrifying black Wolf Beast erupted from the sea and devoured a fleeing Murloc Priest.

• Tie Ge and the Raging Waves War Gang, alongside Sefeng and Windforged, fought off the Shahua Merman Minions while Alton's music strengthened the adventurers.
• The Murloc Commander arrived, hurled a trident through Leslie, and crushed his head, reversing the momentum of the battle.
• Sefeng and Tie Ge led an assault on the commander, but it fought off their group and crushed Tong Yan's skull.
• The commander noticed a sea stained blue with murloc blood and saw a terrified Murloc Priest trying to escape above the water.
• A black Wolf Beast leapt from the sea and snapped up the Murloc Priest, leaving its severed remains to fall into the water.

Xia Nan killed all three Murloc Priests, turning the battle in the adventurers’ favor, while the Murloc Commander badly wounded two adventurers. Tie Ge and Sefeng struck back, and Xia Nan finished the commander from behind.

• Xia Nan used his speed and resistance to mental spells to kill the first Murloc Priest beneath the sea.
• Xia Nan killed a second Priest and broke its summoned Spiritual Weapon, then chased the last Priest to the surface and killed it.
• The Murloc Commander lured Tie Ge, Sefeng, and two other adventurers into an attack, then struck down the two adventurers with its harpoon.
• Tie Ge and Sefeng attacked the commander while the changed Lute music briefly froze it, allowing them to wound its leg and stab its side.
• Xia Nan emerged behind the wounded commander and pierced its head with his sword, destroying its skull.

Xia Nan helped the adventurers defeat the Shahua Mermen, then divided the spoils and discussed the failed ritual and Dodd’s weakened state with Tie Ge and Sefeng. The group set out for the port, fearing the Murlocs had attacked their ships and surrounded the island.

• After the Murloc Commander died, the Shahua Mermen lost morale, and Xia Nan and the adventurers killed or drove off the remaining fighters.
• Xia Nan reviewed how his strengthened skills had performed, while Tie Ge and Sefeng assessed their losses and thanked him for his help.
• The adventurers distributed the spoils, giving Xia Nan the most valuable equipment and recognizing Alton’s contribution to the battle.
• Alton told Xia Nan that he had survived the Secret Realm as a Red Dragon Hatchling, and Xia Nan realized why Alton had lasted until the ritual’s final stage.
• Xia Nan told Tie Ge and Sefeng what he had learned about Dodd’s ritual, and they concluded Dodd had failed to advance and might have suffered a backlash.
• Xia Nan said he needed to return to the port, and Tie Ge and Sefeng hurried to check their ships after realizing the Murlocs might have surrounded the island.

After the advancement ritual failed, Dodd fled toward a hidden ship while the Shahua Mermen attacked the weakened adventurers on Stodd Island. Lorraine struggled against their commander until Xia Nan arrived and killed it, creating an opening in the battle.

• Dodd recovered from the failed ritual, considered the consequences of his betrayal, and decided to escape while the Shahua Mermen slaughtered the adventurers.
• The Shahua Mermen launched a coordinated assault on the island, attacked the adventurers' ships, and scattered their defenses into isolated groups.
• Lorraine fought the Murloc Commander but was pushed back by its harpoon, magic protection, and lightning attacks.
• A zither note restored the adventurers' stamina as Xia Nan raced toward the battle and resisted the mermen's spells.
• Xia Nan used Gravity Control and Heavy Tide to unbalance the Murloc Commander, then cut off its head.