Chapter Summaries

Jiang Mian used her fish-shaped clone to hunt a Tide Hunter while Ye Chenyang defeated a Fifth-tier red-robed Aberrant. After Ye Chenyang revealed that he was Fourth-tier, the pair headed back, unaware that Jiang Mian’s clone had swallowed the Aberrant’s remains and removed his mark.

• Jiang Mian extended her perception through the seawater and sent her three-core fish-shaped clone into the Second Order zone.
• Jiang Mian’s clone killed a Third-tier Tide Hunter with a wind-powered strike followed by flames.
• Ye Chenyang defeated the red-robed Fifth-tier Aberrant, which dissolved into a puddle of red liquid.
• Jiang Mian questioned Ye Chenyang about his strength, and he admitted that he was Fourth-tier rather than Second-tier.
• Deafening booms interrupted Ye Chenyang’s explanation, so he and Jiang Mian headed back together.
• Jiang Mian’s clone swallowed the Aberrant’s remains, and Ye Chenyang noticed that his mark had disappeared.

Jiang Mian used her clone to absorb powerful targets while pretending to feel insecure so Ye Chenyang would give their relationship some distance. As she filled her core storage again, a giant water hand seized her clone, leaving its fate uncertain.

• Jiang Mian sensed that the creature her clone had digested carried a [Radiance] beacon, but Ye Chenyang assumed the signal had vanished because something in the sea had destroyed it.
• Jiang Mian hinted that Ye Chenyang’s rapid advancement suggested he was more powerful than he had let on, then acted insecure to pull their relationship back to a safer distance.
• Ye Chenyang reassured Jiang Mian that they were friends and offered to teach her how to process cores for a better price.
• While walking with Ye Chenyang, Jiang Mian guided her fish-shaped clone into the level-two zone and had it defeat two [Tide Hunters], filling her core storage.
• A huge hand made of water grabbed Jiang Mian’s clone and hauled it upward, while a familiar voice reacted in shock at what it had found.

Jiang Mian destroyed her water-element clone before Qin Xiao could identify its creator, then learned about refining cores from Ye Chenyang and demonstrated an exceptionally successful first attempt. She began considering whether refining cores could become a way to make money, and prepared to refine more.

• Qin Xiao caught Jiang Mian’s water-element clone near the edge of the Second-tier zone, but Jiang Mian ignited its cores and made it vanish before he could inspect it.
• Jiang Mian and Ye Chenyang returned to the buffer zone as strange winds and dark clouds signaled trouble ahead.
• Ye Chenyang explained how Awakeners refined cores, and Jiang Mian quickly purified a Second Order Wind Element core.
• Ye Chenyang praised the core’s quality, while Jiang Mian wondered if she could buy and refine cores for profit.
• Jiang Mian lined up her collected Wind Element cores and prepared to refine them.

Jiang Mian and Ye Chenyang sold refined cores, then Ye Chenyang left to investigate the Mutual Aid Society. Jiang Mian used his absence to prepare her clone for another outing and approached a night-market stall to buy a Mutant Remains.

• Jiang Mian refined four wind-element cores without a failure, and she and Ye Chenyang sold their cores at the Resource Management and Recycling Office.
• Ye Chenyang explained the Mutual Aid Society to Jiang Mian before leaving the hotel to deal with it.
• After Ye Chenyang left, Jiang Mian went to the commercial district, bought supplies and a surveillance camera, and prepared to deploy her clone again.
• Jiang Mian's clone visited a night market and approached Wang Meng's stall after most vendors had packed up.
• Jiang Mian pointed to one of Wang Meng's Mutant Remains and asked him to pack it.

Jiang Mian used a cheap half-skin to create a petite clone and sent it through a side path toward the coast. After learning that Calamities were surging ashore, she headed for the cordoned beach to gather cores and food.

• Jiang Mian formed a clone, equipped it with refined cores and a monitor, and gave it clothes and spare cores.
• Jiang Mian controlled the clone through a forest path toward East City's activity zone and encountered Li Kui, Old Zhao, and a tall, thin man.
• Li Kui warned Jiang Mian that Calamities were rushing ashore and that a cordon had been set up near the beach.
• Jiang Mian crossed the gravel beach and saw a dense group of low-tier Calamities, calling the scene a late-night buffet.

Jiang Mian sent her clone to hunt Calamities for Third-tier cores while a battle erupted between Sea of Misfortune and Everbright’s defenders. Li Jun realized the Calamity might be drawn to [Doom] inside Base City No. 7, but Sea of Misfortune attacked before he could stop it.

• Jiang Mian stored twelve cores inside her clone and guided it toward the shore to hunt Third-tier creatures.
• Jiang Mian sensed a high-tier Awakened using [Heavenly Fire] against a huge creature beyond Everbright’s boundary, then kept her clone away from the battle.
• Li Jun recognized that Sea of Misfortune had gained abilities of Wind and inferred that it might be drawn to [Doom] in Base City No. 7.
• Sea of Misfortune pushed through Everbright’s boundary, and its wind blades destroyed the heavy cannon shells fired at it.
• Li Jun unleashed his Seventh-tier domain, [Heavenly Flame Without Limit], warned Sea of Misfortune to stay out of human territory, and faced its attack.

Jiang Mian’s clone fled as a mysterious object entered its body, while Li Jun discovered that the Sea of Misfortune had sent most of its core away before the battle. As he tried to react, a colossal dragon emerged from the Mist.

• Jiang Mian watched Li Jun’s battle with the Sea of Misfortune and scavenged fifteen Third-tier cores before her clone’s energy ran low.
• Jiang Mian sensed a massive object charging toward her clone, dove deeper to escape, and watched it enter the clone’s body.
• Li Jun noticed the Sea of Misfortune was weakening too quickly and ordered cryo rounds to freeze the water around it.
• Li Jun broke through the Sea of Misfortune’s weakened head and found that most of its core had been stripped away and sent elsewhere.
• Li Jun prepared to pursue the missing core, but a dragon-shaped Calamity emerged from the Mist.

Jiang Mian brought her cores to the buffer zone collection area, where she exchanged twelve for nearly twenty-seven thousand. She sensed a strange, gentle connection between the Wind Element core and the Sea of Misfortune, but a red alert forced her to evacuate before she could investigate.

• At the buffer zone entrance, Jiang Mian arrived alone in her bloodstained clone and focused on a strange core that seemed drawn to her.
• Jiang Mian exchanged twelve refined cores for nearly twenty-seven thousand in cash, while nearby people speculated about her circumstances.
• Jiang Mian tested the Wind Element core against the Sea of Misfortune's aura and sensed a gentle response without hostility.
• An emergency broadcast ordered all activity zones to close and all Awakened to evacuate because an eighth-tier-or-higher Calamity was nearby.
• Jiang Mian followed the fleeing crowd out of the buffer zone after taking one last look at the distant Sea Defense.

Jiang Mian met the [Sea of Misfortune] core and learned why it had sought her out: it wanted her to use [Doom]'s limited Domination positions to escape its shackles and evolve. She agreed to consider giving it a position when she reached the Fourth Tier, and the core offered itself to help her begin her transformation.

• Jiang Mian avoided the hotel cameras and went through the storm to retrieve her clone and the [Sea of Misfortune] core.
• The core told Jiang Mian that complete Domination could let it break free of its limits and evolve, and that it had changed into a wind-element being to qualify for one of her limited positions.
• Jiang Mian demanded an explanation, and the core admitted that it and the old mud loach had joined forces to approach [Doom].
• Jiang Mian remained wary but told the core she could give it a position when she reached the Fourth Tier.
• The [Sea of Misfortune] offered to help Jiang Mian begin her transformation early and asked her to use it.

Jiang Mian completed her transformation into a Fourth-tier Awakened, dominated [Sea of Misfortune], and gained a new skill and a separate space anchored to her core. Outside, Li Jun and Yang Xin faced the far stronger [World-Overturning Torrent], which returned to its lair near Base City No. 7 and seemed poised to stay.

• Jiang Mian leaped into the sea and used [Sea of Misfortune]'s core to accelerate her transformation, gaining scales and claws as her power surged.
• Jiang Mian acquired [Element Control] and [Doomsday Domination], then chose to dominate [Sea of Misfortune].
• Jiang Mian's [Whirlwind] upgraded to [Storm Feast] with the new trait Void, and [Sea of Misfortune]'s core vanished into a newly formed space anchored to her chest core.
• Li Jun and Yang Xin faced the immense [World-Overturning Torrent] near Base City No. 7 and held their fire, judging it too dangerous to attack.
• The [World-Overturning Torrent] gathered [Sea of Misfortune]'s remains and returned to its lair, appearing to settle nearby.

After reaching Fourth-tier, Jiang Mian explored her new abilities and learned that a King of Cysts cyst beneath the human city could satisfy her next advancement requirement for a spatial target. The lead pointed her toward Formless of Chaos, a pinnacle she already knew about, and she prepared to pursue it.

• Jiang Mian returned to the hotel, tested her Fourth-tier abilities, and reviewed the requirements for her next advancement.
• Jiang Mian entered her space and spoke with the Sea of Misfortune, which had gained wind and void properties after accepting Domination.
• Jiang Mian asked the Sea of Misfortune about finding a spatial-attribute target, and it explained that the King of Cysts could dwell in the Void Realm.
• The Sea of Misfortune revealed that a King of Cysts cyst lay beneath the human city, and Jiang Mian connected the lead to Formless of Chaos.

Jiang Mian tested her new space-linked clone and sent it to investigate the underground Mutual Aid Society in Base City No. 7. There, she confronted No. 9 and demanded to know where the Society's headquarters was.

• Jiang Mian learned that a modified Third-tier Wind Element core could let her clone open a one-use door and share her vision.
• Jiang Mian created a lifelike clone and sent it into an underground passage in Base City No. 7.
• No. 9 bullied A Long and his companion while guarding the entrance, then ordered them to restrain a newcomer clutching a purple flower.
• The newcomer lunged at A Long, and Jiang Mian's clone entered as the three of them grappled.
• No. 9 questioned Jiang Mian's clone and tried to attack, but she appeared beside him, grabbed his throat, and demanded the location of headquarters.

Jiang Mian uncovered a shadow that escaped through a hidden door after No. 9 and the others transformed into Chaos, then pursued it through the sewers. Elsewhere, Ye Chenyang and Xiao Song traced the veins of fake cysts toward Formless’s lair and found a likely route forward.

• No. 9 attacked Jiang Mian mentally, but his power had no effect on her clone, and she restrained him as the three captives began transforming into Chaos.
• Jiang Mian killed No. 9 and burned the transformed bodies, then noticed a shadow escape from the charred patch and inferred that an Aberrant served as an anchor for a hidden door.
• Jiang Mian pursued the shadow as it raced through the sewer current toward a drain.
• Ye Chenyang and Xiao Song searched an unknown space for the source of Formless’s cysts, avoiding fake cysts that could alert Formless if disturbed.
• Ye Chenyang located a support point in the flesh wall and told Xiao Song they had reached the place.

Number One learned that the space’s doors were disappearing while Formless continued merging with her and taunting her about seeing someone dear to her. Jiang Mian opened a passage with her clone and entered the hidden town, where Number Three found her.

• Number One ordered Number Three to investigate the disappearance of several doors.
• Formless emerged from Number One’s shadow, and Number One asked when she would be able to see someone dear to her.
• Jiang Mian heated the black mass with orange-gold flame, causing it to open a passage into another space.
• Jiang Mian sent her clone through the passage and explored a corridor overlooking a town beneath a blood-red sky.
• Number Three crawled out of a shadow behind Jiang Mian and asked whose child she was.

Jiang Mian entered the Mutual Aid Society’s pocket dimension and defeated Number Three after he attacked her with wind. She discovered that the apparent world was a smokescreen and prepared to investigate the outskirts as its inhabitants turned hostile.

• Number Three mistook Jiang Mian for a possible investigator and attacked after sensing her wind and water abilities.
• Jiang Mian absorbed Number Three’s wind blades, froze him in place, and knocked him unconscious.
• Jiang Mian burned Number Three and found no anchor point in him, though the lump of flesh in her space grew larger.
• Jiang Mian opened the door with her Wind Element core, sent modified cores into the pocket dimension, and found its passersby were solid, mindless husks.
• Jiang Mian suspected the pocket dimension was a decoy for the Mutual Aid Society’s real headquarters and considered punching through the outskirts.
• The passersby’s eyes glowed scarlet as they stared at Jiang Mian.

Jiang Mian explored a false space created by [Formless] and broke through its boundary into a dark passage connected to a King of Cysts. She continued through the passage, unsure where it led or how to reach the Mutual Aid Society’s headquarters.

• Jiang Mian killed the weak flesh-and-blood offspring surrounding her and suspected the false space had nearly fused with a cyst.
• Jiang Mian flew through the Mist and drilled a hole in the space’s edge with an ice spear wrapped in void-infused wind.
• Jiang Mian sent her clone through the opening and found that the darkness beyond repelled it and destabilized its core.
• Jiang Mian discovered the false space collapsing after her breach and punched another hole in its boundary.
• Jiang Mian found dark-red flesh connected by thin strands, broke through into a passage, and recognized it as resembling the inside of a King of Cysts.

Jiang Mian traced an unfamiliar wind to Formless’s hidden headquarters, while Number One and Formless realized a Seventh-tier intruder had arrived. Formless persuaded Number One to lend it her body so it could delay the intruders and give its main body time to advance.

• Jiang Mian spread wind through the passages and detected an unfamiliar current, allowing her to locate Formless’s headquarters.
• Number One sensed the powerful intruder and realized that a Seventh-tier Awakened had bypassed the outer defenses.
• Formless recognized the threat but decided that taking control of Number One’s body could buy time for its main body to break through to the Fifth Tier.
• Number One agreed to let Formless control her Sixth-tier body, despite knowing it would likely be ruined and that her spirit would ultimately be absorbed into Formless.

Xiao Song and Ye Chenyang reached Formless’s core and confronted Number One, the leader of its Aberrants. As Xiao Song destroyed her with Ye Chenyang’s crystal sword, Formless began advancing, and Ye Chenyang located its core.

• Xiao Song cleared out the Aberrants attacking them and watched their remains sink into the earth.
• Ye Chenyang led Xiao Song to a hospital-like building where Formless’s core was likely nearby.
• Number One emerged and tried to weaken Xiao Song by opening a door to the Void Realm, but his wind blades severed her head.
• Ye Chenyang gave Xiao Song a crystal sword and located Formless’s core while Number One attacked them with Decaying Shadow.
• Xiao Song’s wind-infused sword destroyed Number One, and Formless began its advancement as the sky turned black.

Ye Chenyang and Xiao Song attacked Formless’s domain, exposing and destroying its true body. Ye Chenyang caught Formless after it shed a piece of its core tissue to escape, but a sudden premonition made him slash at empty air before finishing it off.

• Ye Chenyang used crystal swords to help Xiao Song turn Formless’s dark domain gold with beams of Radiance.
• Jiang Mian entered the bubble and watched the attack, spotting Formless’s heart-shaped body and yellow eyeball beyond the ruptured sky.
• Ye Chenyang and Xiao Song’s attacks destroyed Formless’s eyeball and true body, scattering tissue that turned to ash.
• Jiang Mian sensed an unnatural shadow near the fallen flesh, while Ye Chenyang found and pulled Formless’s surviving core tissue out of hiding.
• Ye Chenyang prepared to kill Formless, but a powerful sense of foreboding made him slash at the empty air.

Ye Chenyang struck the newly born [Formless] while Xiao Song cut off the [King of Cysts]' tentacles, and Ye Chenyang’s attack appeared to finish [Formless]. Jiang Mian collected [Formless]’s remains, but its Mental Body merged with the flesh and revived inside her space.

• The [King of Cysts] attacked Ye Chenyang as he tried to kill [Formless], and Xiao Song arrived to drive back its tentacles.
• Xiao Song used his crystal sword to sever the tentacles while Ye Chenyang struck [Formless] with a slash empowered by [Breaking Dawn].
• Jiang Mian flew to [Formless]’s remains, burned a piece for nourishment, and opened a door to pack the flesh into her space.
• The Mental Body in Jiang Mian’s space rose from the seabed and merged with [Formless]’s remains, causing the flesh to revive.
• Jiang Mian kneaded the revived [Formless] into a ball with wind and walked toward it.