Chapter Summaries

Dijiang alerted Zhujian to the crimson mech that had killed its clones, and Zhujian forced Dijiang to submit. At Youmugu Base, Luo Yan reported Dijiang’s unusual abilities, then wondered whether aberrations had once lived as something else.

• Dijiang fed on a Ming Snake until Zhujian arrived and killed the snake with a tap of its tail.
• Dijiang sent Zhujian images of a crimson mech slaughtering giant beasts and its parasitic clones, and Zhujian made Dijiang collapse before leaving.
• Luo Yan returned to Youmugu Base and told Xu Tao that Dijiang could parasitize giant beasts, create clones, and evade detection by the Giant Beast Radar.
• Xu Tao agreed to report Dijiang to the Strategic Affairs Department for study.
• Luo Yan asked Bai? about Hundred Plays’s use of the term “Mortal World,” and Bai? said Hundred Plays did not know where it had learned the term.
• Luo Yan wondered whether aberrations had not been born as aberrations.

Murong Xuan demonstrated his improved Spring Autumn Saber Technique in a sparring match with Yang Kui, defeating him with a powerful attack that damaged the Training Hall. Luo Yan praised their progress, and the squad went to eat, where they found everyone gathered around screens.

• Yang Kui and Murong Xuan sparred while Luo Yan and Bai? watched from the Training Hall.
• Murong Xuan summoned Guandi Wusheng and used successive Spring Autumn Saber Technique moves to overwhelm Yang Kui.
• Murong Xuan’s final attack smashed Yang Kui into the Training Hall floor, leaving a large pit and toppling equipment.
• Murong Xuan helped Yang Kui up, and the two traded remarks about their progress before Luo Yan praised Murong Xuan’s technique.
• Luo Yan led the group to the restaurant, where they found the others watching the screens.

Luo Yan learned that Freedom Wings had formed the Iron Gull Strategic Chain, a Western alliance that threatened to isolate the Strategic Affairs Department, though its allies and the Golden Apple had weakened the plan. After a peaceful New Year on the Desperate Battlefield, Duoduo told him that Principal Xiao Shi and the school’s third-year students were coming to take part in the next Desperate Trial.

• Yang Kui joined Luo Yan and the others as they watched Freedom Wings announce the Iron Gull Strategic Chain and its allied mecha organizations.
• Xu Tao explained that Freedom Wings had built the chain to coordinate transport and military support, and that the Golden Apple had helped thwart its wider ambitions.
• Xu Tao said the chain still posed a warning and predicted that tensions with the Western world would grow, while Freedom Wings had reportedly found another divine relic.
• Luo Yan spent the New Year and Spring Festival on the battlefield, perfected his Profound Comprehension Realm cultivation, and continued mastering Three Talents United without finding an overlord to test it against.
• Duoduo told Luo Yan that Principal Xiao Shi would soon lead their school’s third-year students to the battlefield for the next Desperate Trial.

Luo Yan reviewed the promising students entering the Desperate Trial, including Hundred Battles Academy’s Jing Yu, who had followed a path similar to his. At Crimson Rock Fortress, Luo Yan arrived in Zhurong and welcomed the students as they prepared to face the Desperate Battlefield.

• Luo Yan and Bai? discussed the growing number of Profound Comprehension Realm graduates and learned that Jing Yu of Hundred Battles Academy had reached the First Layer using techniques Luo Yan had once chosen.
• A week later, Xiao Shi brought Hundred Battles Academy’s students, including Jing Yu, to Crimson Rock Fortress for the Desperate Trial briefing.
• Jing Yu told Li Bohang that Luo Yan was his idol and that he had chosen similar techniques to understand Luo Yan’s path, while Li Bohang urged him to find his own.
• A point of fire rose through the clouds above the Desperate Battlefield, setting them ablaze as Zhurong appeared over Crimson Rock Fortress.
• Luo Yan descended in Zhurong, welcomed the cheering students, and asked whether they were ready to face the trials of the Desperate Battlefield.

Luo Yan gave the students a talk about the Desperate Battlefield, then reunited with Li Bohang and met Li Bohang’s student Jing Yu. After sparring with Jing Yu and offering advice, Luo Yan drew a crowd of students eager to train with him.

• At Bai Shaotang’s request, Luo Yan performed with Zhurong to encourage graduates to join the Tiangang Dragon Riders, then delivered a prepared speech about the Desperate Battlefield.
• Luo Yan reunited with Li Bohang, who explained that he had returned to Hundred Battles Academy to teach and had begun guiding Jing Yu.
• Li Bohang introduced Jing Yu to Luo Yan, and Luo Yan invited the excited student to spar with him.
• Luo Yan repeatedly defeated Jing Yu in the Training Hall and advised him to make his movements less predictable and gain more real-combat experience.
• Students from multiple academies crowded the Training Hall and argued over who would spar with Luo Yan next.

Captain Luo learned that the student trial would be a three-day squad competition with an Overlord in the examination zone, then stood by with the Heavenly Fire Squad as the academies prepared to begin. Jing Yu set out in Bi'an with the Hundred Battles Squad, determined to perform well under Captain Luo’s watch.

• Captain Luo praised Jing Yu and the other students after visiting the Training Hall, then returned to Iron Horse Base.
• Deputy Captain Bai explained that the trial would test squads against giant beasts, including an Overlord that students could earn points for driving off or injuring.
• The Heavenly Fire Squad entered the examination zone, and Captain Luo ordered Hei Wu to monitor the Overlord while the others stood ready to assist.
• Jing Yu learned that Captain Luo would watch the trial and set out in Bi'an with the Hundred Battles Squad.

Luo Yan and the other observers watched the trial teams hunt giant beasts as scores shifted and students decided whether to spend the night on the battlefield. The chapter ended when a mecha belonging to Xinghan Academy started moving on its own, leaving its pilot Xiao Lei unable to control it.

• The Hundred Battles Squad established hidden supply points, then defeated a Spider Ghoul with a steady, coordinated attack while Jing Yu held back his full strength.
• Yujing Academy took the early lead, while the Tiannan Academy team headed toward the examination grounds’ center, apparently aiming to attack a king.
• As giant beasts began hunting in groups, Hundred Battles and Yingtian pulled ahead, but trailing squads formed alliances and narrowed the score gap.
• At night, most teams returned to Iron Horse Base, while several squads stayed on the battlefield; a Xinghan Academy captain persuaded his team to remain despite their lack of supplies.
• Xiao Lei told his squad that his mecha had started up by itself and that he could not control it.

Nephila and Lei attacked several trial squads, but members of the Heavenly Fire Squad rescued them and escorted them back to Iron Horse Base, ending their trials. The next morning, the Hundred Battles Squad was in fourth place when someone stole its kill, and Jing Yu ordered his team to identify the culprit.

• The squad leader recognized Nephila's control over metal, but the beast damaged Xiao Lei's mecha and used its song to turn squadmates against one another.
• Lei joined the attack by setting the mechas ablaze, until sword light wounded the bird and Nephila fled.
• Zhang Tianyi of the Heavenly Fire Squad rescued the squad and escorted it back to Iron Horse Base after declaring its trial over; the squad rescued two other groups that night as well.
• Luo Yan saw that Jing Yu's Hundred Battles Squad had risen to fourth place after defeating two Giant Beasts.
• An unknown attacker destroyed a Giant Beast the Hundred Battles Squad was about to defeat, and Jing Yu ordered his team to find out who had stolen its kill.

Crimson Cloud stole the Hundred Battles Squad’s prey, prompting Jing Yu to pursue them, while Luo Yan monitored Tiannan Academy as it entered Heyu’s swamp. Guan Xuelin’s squad deliberately set off explosions to wake the Overlord, and Heyu rose from the marsh in a fury.

• Crimson Cloud’s captain ordered the squad to flee after stealing the Hundred Battles Squad’s prey, and Jing Yu tracked them down and ordered his squad to pursue.
• Deputy Captain Bai told Luo Yan that Tiannan Academy had entered Heyu’s territory, and Luo Yan reviewed the Overlord’s information and watched the swamp.
• Guan Xuelin led the Tannan Squad into the marsh and explained that they would provoke Heyu with explosions to lure it out.
• Explosions disturbed the swamp’s quiet, and the enraged Heyu emerged from the water.

Heyu was lured out of its swamp by the Tannan Squad, whose mechs surrounded it on shore as Luo Yan watched. Meanwhile, the Hundred Battles Squad defeated an ambush, then agreed to help a team pursued by the Ming Snake and Tai Sui, which the team warned seemed abnormal.

• Heyu sent a Water Clone to drive off a mech that was bombing its marsh, then erupted from the swamp in a massive flood when the mech returned.
• The Tannan Squad lured Heyu onto shore and closed in to fight it, while Luo Yan monitored the confrontation and prepared to intervene if needed.
• The Hundred Battles Squad defeated an ambush by several giant beasts under Jing Yu's command, killing all but one before resting.
• Jing Yu heard that the Tannan Squad was challenging an overlord and told his teammates to focus on learning to fight in harsh conditions rather than taking needless risks.
• The Hundred Battles Squad agreed to help a team pursued by the Ming Snake and Tai Sui, but the team warned Jing Yu that the two giant beasts seemed abnormal.

Jing Yu and the Hundred Battles Squad fought the enraged Tai Sui, whose abnormal strength nearly overwhelmed their defenses. Jing Yu used Ziwei Heavenly Fire to strike its core, but as Tai Sui broke apart, a black shadow sprang from within it.

• Jing Yu split the squads’ targets, assigning A-Nan to lure Tai Sui away while A-Shu covered the team.
• Tai Sui fired a powerful blast that nearly melted the black mech’s shield, but Bi'an severed its cannon barrel and caused the attack to explode.
• Jing Yu found Tai Sui still alive and regenerating, then drove Bi'an through the wind and sand to pursue it.
• Jing Yu used Ziwei Heavenly Fire and the power of the Big Dipper to cleave through Tai Sui’s body and core, opening seven star-patterned holes.
• Tai Sui began scattering in the flames, and a black shadow suddenly sprang from within it.

Jing Yu noticed something strange inside Tai Sui as distress signals revealed that giant beasts across the trial zone were unusually aggressive and powerful. Zhang Tianyi reported similar abnormalities to Luo Yan, who suspected they resembled the beasts parasitized by Dijiang clones at Fenghuo Base.

• Jing Yu killed Tai Sui and sensed something inside its body before a black shadow vanished in Heavenly Fire.
• Iron Horse Base received distress signals from Lingchuan, Yishui, Jinxi, and Xingluo squads, whose giant-beast opponents were unusually irritable and strong.
• Xia Feibai sent reinforcements and asked Youmugu Base to analyze the abnormal beasts.
• Luo Yan watched Tannan Squad coordinate its defense against Heyu while Zhang Tianyi returned from helping Lingchuan Squad.
• Zhang Tianyi reported that Lingchuan Squad's opponents were far stronger than normal, reminding Luo Yan of giant beasts boosted by Dijiang clones at Fenghuo Base.

Luo Yan led the Heavenly Fire Squad to intercept an Overlord-led beast herd and discovered that Shusi and the other giant beasts had all been parasitized by Dijiang. The threat reached the examination area as the Tiannan Squad fought an Overlord in the swamp.

• Xia Feibai warned trial teams about abnormal giant beasts resembling the one encountered by Fenghuo Base and awarded extra points to teams that had killed them.
• Jing Yu's Hundred Battles Squad chose to avoid deliberately hunting abnormal giant beasts and continued searching for normal prey.
• Guan Xuelin, Nie Zhengcheng, and the Tiannan Squad fought Heyu with coordinated attacks and gradually stabilized the battle.
• Luo Yan spotted an Overlord and seven or eight upper-tier giant beasts approaching the examination area, then led his teammates to intercept them.
• Xia Feibai identified the Overlord as Shusi and described its parasitic growths and ability to create monsters.
• Luo Yan used his Golden Eyes of Enlightenment and realized that Shusi and every beast in the herd had been parasitized by Dijiang.

The Heavenly Fire Squad fought off Dijiang-parasitized Giant Beasts as Luo Yan’s team engaged Shusi. Shusi launched parasitic flesh at the squad, but Bai? used Strange to capture and remove it.

• Li Yuqing stopped the charging Spider Ghoul with successive Divine Steel walls and crushed it beneath a wave of stone.
• The Golden Crow dove from the burning clouds, but Yang Kui used Rock to seize it and slam it headfirst into the ground.
• Zhang Tianyi’s sword strikes and Murong Xuan’s Guandi Wusheng tore through the approaching Giant Beasts.
• Shusi flew toward the squad and dropped parasitic lumps of flesh that could attach to mechas.
• Bai? released Strange, whose glove-made cloak caught the lumps, tied them together, and made them disappear.

At Youmugu Base, Xu Tao and Wang Chong detected the Overlord Suan Yu advancing with a horde of Upper-tier Giant Beasts and prepared the defenses. The Lei Xiao Cannon fired at Suan Yu, but the beast dodged the direct hit, leaving the base to rely on Wang Chong’s Special Attack Team.

• Xu Tao and Wang Chong discussed the Heavenly Fire Squad’s growth and suspected Dijiang’s role in the unusual giant beasts.
• The Command Center detected the Overlord Suan Yu approaching Youmugu Base with a group of Upper-tier Giant Beasts, and Xu Tao ordered the base to prepare for battle.
• Xu Tao contacted Luo Yan, who told him to defend the base while the team handled the trial zone; Wang Chong confirmed his Overlord Special Attack Team was ready.
• Xu Tao sent unmanned armored vehicles to draw Suan Yu toward the Lei Xiao Cannon, but Suan Yu’s acid attack wrecked nearly half the convoy.
• Xu Tao ordered the Lei Xiao Cannon to fire, but Suan Yu flattened itself and dodged the direct blast, losing every scale on its back as the shot destroyed distant mountain peaks.

As the base's forces fought Suan Yu and the giant beasts outside Youmugu Valley, Zhujian and a pangolin-like beast invaded Youmugu Base from underground. Xu Tao realized the attacks might be a coordinated diversion, while Wang Chong's Special Attack Team confronted Zhujian in the passage.

• Lei Xiao's shot wounded Suan Yu, and Wang Chong sent the Overlord Special Attack Team to fight it while the Mecha Squad dealt with the other giant beasts.
• Seismic readings revealed tremors approaching the base, and an underground beast burst into the western district's training ground.
• A pangolin-like beast and Zhujian emerged from the hole, prompting Xu Tao to order the Mecha Legion to respond and seal the opening.
• Xu Tao suspected Shusi, Suan Yu, and Zhujian were part of a coordinated attack, and he asked Wang Chong to stop Zhujian and called for Captain Luo Yan.
• Zhujian pierced through the base's armored barriers and destroyed the mechas guarding the passage as it charged toward the Command Building.
• Wang Chong led a Special Attack Team against Zhujian, ordering the mechas to activate their Restraint Devices and use the incomplete Edge Opening Stance.

Luo Yan left the Trial Area to reinforce Youmugu Base, where Zhujian was overwhelming Wang Chong’s special operations team. After destroying or disabling the team’s mechs, Zhujian pressed toward the Command Building while Wang Chong struggled to stop it with his mech’s sensors destroyed.

• Xu Tao alerted Luo Yan that Nightmare Level giant beast Zhujian had invaded Youmugu Base, and Luo Yan’s team urged him to go reinforce it.
• Luo Yan piloted Zhurong toward Youmugu Base while the base’s defenders faced Zhujian, which had already slain the pangolin giant beast.
• Zhujian used its Great Bow to kill one mech pilot and destroy another mech, then evaded Wang Chong’s team as it charged toward the Command Building.
• Zhujian fired toward the shelter, and Wang Chong intercepted the arrow before Zhujian’s second shot destroyed his mech’s sensors and damaged its cockpit.
• Zhujian disabled two more mechs and charged toward the Command Building, while Wang Chong pursued with external cameras in place of his sensors.

Zhujian broke through the base’s defenses and attacked the Command Building, but Luo Yan arrived in Zhurong and used a fire dragon to drive the giant beast toward the outside of the base. The chapter ended with Zhujian being forced through buildings along the route Xu Tao had provided.

• Xu Tao ordered an evacuation as Zhujian shattered the fifth armored wall and charged toward the Command Building.
• Wang Chong used his mecha to drag Zhujian away and shield the building, but Zhujian destroyed the mecha and crippled the special assault team.
• Zhujian reached into the Command Hall and nearly crushed Xu Tao, but a crimson sword strike severed its arm.
• Luo Yan arrived in Zhurong, confirmed Xu Tao and the others were safe, and received a route out of the base.
• Luo Yan unleashed Samadhi True Fire, and its fire dragon drove Zhujian through buildings toward the outside of the base.

The base personnel watched Zhurong confront Zhujian after the monster returned and launched a powerful arrow attack. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Fire Squad struggled against Shusi’s endlessly regenerating monsters until Bai? prepared to act.

• Zhujian escaped the base after losing an arm, and Xu Tao ordered the staff to find its location while Wang Chong returned to the Command Hall.
• The Command Hall watched footage of Zhujian regenerate its arm and unleash a vast rain of arrows at the base.
• Zhurong blocked the arrows with its Samadhi True Fire, and Zhujian showed signs of panic.
• Shusi overwhelmed the Heavenly Fire Squad with regenerating flying heads and monsters created from nearby beast corpses.
• Murong Xuan attacked Shusi with Battle Across the Nine Provinces, but the monsters intercepted the strike and Shusi remained unharmed.
• Bai? opened her left eye and called on Hundred Plays to take its turn.

Hundred Plays defeated Shusi while disguised as Zhurong, then turned against Deputy Captain Bai to sever their connection and remain in the Mortal World. Deputy Captain Bai summoned the fully liberated Headless General, which formed a flaming Bone Dragon to attack Hundred Plays.

• Hundred Plays impersonated Zhurong and killed Shusi with its Heavy Sword and ability to drain energy.
• Hundred Plays refused Deputy Captain Bai's command to return and revealed that it planned to kill her to break their connection.
• Hundred Plays attacked Bridal Escort, but the Headless General emerged and blocked its strike.
• Deputy Captain Bai revealed that the Headless General had achieved Full Liberation and ordered it to suppress the traitor.
• The Headless General assembled a Bone Dragon from the scattered giant-beast bones and sent it diving at Hundred Plays.