Chapter Summaries

Zhuang Hong and Yin Zizhong traveled toward Lingjiang City with Qiao Hongxin as the Ash Virus and fleeing beasts devastated the world. After Zhuang Hong captured a fierce tiger, he began imprinting a Beast Taming Steel Seal while it was still conscious, leaving Qiao Hongxin worried that the process would fail.

• Xiao Bai tried to lick Zhuang Hong, who praised it before kicking it away, and Yin Zizhong emerged from meditation with a newly condensed Tiger-shaped Steel Seal.
• Zhuang Hong advised Yin Zizhong to conceal some of his talent, then agreed to travel toward Lingjiang City with him and Qiao Hongxin on her Black Spotted Leopard.
• The travelers saw the Ash Virus spread and beast tides drive people from their homes, while they passed up filthy Fierce Bulls in hopes of finding tigers or leopards.
• Qiao Hongxin guided the group toward a tiger's roar, and Zhuang Hong trapped the enormous tiger with Fine Silk.
• Zhuang Hong began imprinting his Beast Taming Steel Seal into the conscious tiger, while Qiao Hongxin warned Yin Zizhong that a beast's awareness could shatter the seal.

Zhuang Hong completed a contract with a tiger, then gave it to Yin Zizhong while the group traveled northeast toward Lingjiang City. As Yin Zizhong prepared to open his Secret Sea, Qiao Hongxin asked to learn Martial Dao Cultivation, but Zhuang Hong told her to wait three to five years.

• Zhuang Hong finished branding the Beast Taming Steel Seal into the tiger and discovered that he could issue it commands through their mental connection.
• Zhuang Hong gave the tiger to Yin Zizhong, who named it Xiao Hua and became a Rookie Beast Tamer.
• The group traveled northeast, clearing Ash Disease-infected beasts and witnessing the hardships of people along the way.
• Near Lingjiang City, Yin Zizhong asked Zhuang Hong to bind Xiao Hua so he could attempt to open his first Secret Sea.
• Qiao Hongxin offered Zhuang Hong gold to teach her Martial Dao Cultivation, but he told her to wait three to five years.

Yin Zizhong opened the Secret Sea and began adapting to warrior cultivation as Zhuang Hong brought him and Qiao Hongxin to Lingjiang City. There, Zhuang Hong found an Other Self in the Sun-Facing Pet Beast Paradise, failed to obtain it through negotiation, and set out to take it by force.

• Yin Zizhong opened the Secret Sea, and Zhuang Hong warned him to strengthen only designated muscles and bones until he turned sixteen.
• Yin Zizhong refused Qiao Hongxin's offer of gold for warrior cultivation, explaining that Zhuang Hong had forbidden him from teaching it.
• Zhuang Hong, Yin Zizhong, and Qiao Hongxin arrived in Lingjiang City, where Zhuang Hong left the others to investigate his sensed Other Self.
• Zhuang Hong found a color-changing lizard called the Invisible Arrow Tongue Beast in the Sun-Facing Pet Beast Paradise and identified Boss Luo as its keeper.
• Boss Luo said he had promised the beast to Master Lan, and Lan Linzhong refused to sell or trade it to Zhuang Hong.
• Zhuang Hong left, entered the adjacent space, and headed for the beast's cage to take it by force.

Lan Linzhong revealed the lavish prizes for the Beast Taming Assembly, intended to find leaders to fight Ash Disease. Meanwhile, Zhuang Hong secretly drained the Invisible Arrow Tongue Beast of its nutrients and returned its corpse to the cage, where Lan Linzhong and Boss Luo discovered it was dead.

• Lan Linzhong told Boss Luo that third place in the Beast Taming Assembly would win the Invisible Arrow Tongue Beast, second place the Wolf Pack Beast Taming Steel Seal, and first place the Flying Dragon Beast Taming Steel Seal and an Ancient Flying Dragon Cub.
• Lan Linzhong explained that the assembly would choose new leaders to resist Ash Disease, since his efforts to stop it had failed.
• Zhuang Hong restrained the Invisible Arrow Tongue Beast, absorbed all its nutrients, and carried its shriveled corpse back toward its cage.
• Zhuang Hong pushed the corpse into the cage while Lan Linzhong and Boss Luo searched for the invisible beast.
• Lan Linzhong had water sprayed into the cage, revealing the Invisible Arrow Tongue Beast, then pulled it out and found it dead.
• Boss Luo stared at the dried corpse and awkwardly asked Lan Linzhong whether he still wanted it.

After absorbing the Arrow Tongue Beast, Zhuang Hong gained Color Change Invisibility and discovered how to use it to conceal traps and customize his Agile Form armor. Meanwhile, Lan Linzhong replaced the dead beast’s planned prize for the Beast Taming Assembly with a chance to learn his valuable techniques.

• Zhuang Hong finished absorbing the Arrow Tongue Beast and gained its Color Change Invisibility ability, which worked best while he remained still.
• Zhuang Hong tested the ability, found that it could conceal his source-power armor and Fine Silk, and trapped Xiao Bai in an invisible web.
• Zhuang Hong painted his Agile Form armor dark red with blue and silver trim and cloud motifs before returning to Oasis World.
• Lan Linzhong told his Sixteenth Concubine that the Invisible Arrow Tongue Beast had died and that he needed a replacement third-place prize for the Beast Taming Assembly.
• The Sixteenth Concubine suggested offering instruction in Lan Linzhong’s Three Beasts Spirit Method or Beast Taming Steel Seal Crafting Method, and he chose to make the crafting method part of the prize.

Zhuang Hong entered Lingjiang City's Beast Taming Assembly after learning that third place could study Beast Taming Steel Seal crafting under Master Lan Linzhong. He brought Xiao Bai as his pet beast, and the chapter ended with Xiao Bai facing a Gold Giant Scorpion in its first match.

• Yin Zizhong told Zhuang Hong about the upcoming Beast Taming Assembly and its prizes, including a chance for third place to study under Master Lan Linzhong.
• Zhuang Hong changed his mind and registered for the assembly, choosing Xiao Bai as his pet beast despite Yin Zizhong's concerns.
• Yin Zizhong opened his Secret Awareness repository, strengthening his control over Xiao Hua.
• Ten days later, Zhuang Hong, Yin Zizhong, and Qiao Hongxin arrived at the Pet Beast Arena for the group elimination matches.
• When Zhuang Hong's turn came, he sent the groggy Xiao Bai into the arena, where his opponent's Gold Giant Scorpion approached and the Beautiful Tamer questioned whether Xiao Bai was really his pet beast.

Zhuang Hong entered the Beast Taming Assembly with Xiao Bai, whose surprising strength carried them through Group Thirty-Two. As word spread that the supposedly ordinary puppy was a powerful “Thousand Shadow White Dragon,” Zhuang Hong returned to find Yin Zizhong and Qiao Hongxin astonished by his advancement.

• Xiao Bai defeated the Beautiful Tamer’s Gold Giant Scorpion by dodging its attacks and biting through its armor until she conceded.
• Zhuang Hong praised Xiao Bai, criticized its tactics, and inspected its teeth before the next round.
• Xiao Bai defeated a spike-shooting hedgehog, prompting spectators to speculate about its species and Zhuang Hong’s beast-taming technique.
• Zhuang Hong told curious Beast Tamers that Xiao Bai was a Thousand Shadow White Dragon, and Xiao Bai played along as the crowd believed him.
• Xiao Bai kept winning until Zhuang Hong advanced from Group Thirty-Two, while Yin Zizhong and Qiao Hongxin reacted with disbelief.

Lan Linzhong and other elders discussed the Beast Tamers who stood out in the competition, while Boss Luo saw a chance to profit from Zhuang Hong’s unusual pet beast. Later, Yin Zizhong questioned Zhuang Hong about factional infighting against the Ashes, and Zhuang Hong urged him to keep learning because neither of them yet knew how to solve the crisis.

• Lan Linzhong told the elders he hoped a newcomer would break through the clans’ influence and lead the fight against the disaster.
• Master Qiu praised Zhuang Hong and his tiny Thousand Shadow White Dragon, but the other elders doubted his account until the competition three days later.
• Boss Luo recognized Zhuang Hong’s portrait and ordered his assistant to buy puppies in hopes of turning a profit.
• Yin Zizhong told Zhuang Hong that groups formed to fight the Ashes were instead competing for influence and lacked workable plans.
• Zhuang Hong explained that people often fell back on familiar power struggles and advised Yin Zizhong to study until he understood what to do.
• Zhuang Hong told Yin Zizhong he would not lead the fight against the Ashes after placing third because he did not yet know how to eliminate them.

Zhuang Hong watched Lingjiang City's Beast Taming Assembly while remaining focused on learning the world's beast-taming techniques before investigating Ash Disease. In his match, Xiao Bai faced a much larger Thorny Badger, and Zhuang Hong secretly knocked it unconscious, leaving the crowd stunned.

• Zhuang Hong decided to learn the world's beast-taming techniques before investigating Ash Disease, while Yin Zizhong continued seeking direction.
• Zhuang Hong, Yin Zizhong, and Qiao Hongxin attended the second round of the Beast Tamer competition, where Zhuang Hong explained his blunt battle strategy to Xiao Bai.
• Zhuang Hong entered the arena with Xiao Bai, whose puppy-like appearance made the audience and several Beast Tamer masters doubt its strength.
• When Xiao Bai charged at the Thorny Badger, Zhuang Hong used Fine Silk threads to shake its brain and render it unconscious.
• The Thorny Badger collapsed, and the venue erupted in confusion over what had happened.

Zhuang Hong advanced to the top sixteen by making Xiao Bai defeat successive opponents with his hidden trick, then spent the three-day break exploring how to use his Sea of Consciousness World to store information. He realized Mental Attachment might let him acquire information faster and began investigating the idea.

• Zhuang Hong made the Thorny Badger collapse with a subtle hand movement, leaving the spectators astonished while Master Qiu insisted Xiao Bai was a dragon.
• Yin Zizhong asked whether he could learn Zhuang Hong's cheating method, but Zhuang Hong told him he could not.
• Zhuang Hong made Xiao Bai defeat a giant beetle and then another opponent, advancing into the top sixteen as the audience watched closely.
• After the day's matches, Zhuang Hong returned to the inn and used the three-day break to study how to store books and images in his Sea of Consciousness World.
• Zhuang Hong created a dream manor and study within his Sea of Consciousness, then reasoned that Mental Attachment might help him obtain and record information quickly.

Zhuang Hong developed a Mental Power Memorization Method that let him copy books and objects into his Sea of Consciousness World, then recorded an entire bookstore’s collection. The books offered little useful Beast Tamer knowledge, and his fixation on creating an Intelligent Assistant kept him awake before he wandered Lingjiang City and was mobbed by admirers.

• Zhuang Hong used Mental Strength to copy an album and the inn room’s objects into his Sea of Consciousness World, confirming that his memorization method worked.
• Zhuang Hong recorded every book in a Lingjiang City bookstore, exhausted himself, and left after paying for a book he gave to the clerk.
• Zhuang Hong found that his collected books contained no Beast Taming Steel Seal information or Mental Strength training methods, so he resolved to seek instruction from Master Lan, Lan Linzhong.
• Zhuang Hong wondered how to organize his collected information and wished for an Intelligent Assistant, then told Xiao Bai to stay alert and went to sleep.
• Zhuang Hong woke tired after obsessing over how to build an Intelligent Assistant and went out with Xiao Bai to wander Lingjiang City.
• Summoners recognized Zhuang Hong and Xiao Bai, surrounded them, and greeted them as Zhuang Hong realized how popular they had become.

After escaping the attention of the crowd in Oasis World, Zhuang Hong experimented with Mental Strength in the Sea of Consciousness World and discovered that it could attract or repel the Divine Lamp depending on its state. He realized that he lacked the knowledge to build an Intelligent Assistant, so he resolved to study after returning to Earth and went looking for Void Spirits.

• Zhuang Hong distracted the crowd with a false sighting and used his ability to leave Oasis World.
• Zhuang Hong tested ways to make Mental Strength follow imposed rules, but his attempts failed.
• Zhuang Hong observed that white light was drawn to the Divine Lamp, while a black bead was repelled, and identified Mental Attraction and Mental Repulsion as new Mental Characteristics.
• Zhuang Hong considered using Mental Characteristics to build an Intelligent Assistant but realized he did not understand computers or programming.
• Zhuang Hong decided to study after returning to Earth and set out to find Void Spirits.

Zhuang Hong dominated the Beast Taming Assembly before conceding a match, then won third place to earn the chance to study the Beast Steel Seal under Lan Linzhong. Lan Linzhong summoned him and began treating him as a possible leader of the Beast Tamers, despite Zhuang Hong’s refusal of the role.

• Zhuang Hong and Xiao Bai quickly defeated their opponents, advancing through the competition to the semifinals.
• With the crowd expecting him to win, Zhuang Hong conceded his semifinal match and left the arena, baffling the audience.
• Yin Zizhong explained to Qiao Hongxin that Zhuang Hong had planned to take third place and study the Beast Steel Seal under Lan Linzhong.
• Zhuang Hong defeated his opponent in the match for third place, secured his goal, and was invited to meet Lan Linzhong.
• Zhuang Hong told Lan Linzhong he was not suited to lead the Beast Tamers, but Lan Linzhong believed events would force him into the role.

Zhuang Hong began studying the Beast Taming Steel Seal under Lan Linzhong while his growing reputation inspired the White Dragon Legion to form without meeting him. As Qiao Hongxin set out to fight the Ashen Deadlands with Zhu Xu’s team, Yin Zizhong stayed behind to keep learning, and Zhuang Hong found the seal-making system daunting but relied on his enhanced abilities to master it.

• Lan Linzhong agreed to teach Zhuang Hong how to craft Beast Taming Steel Seals, and Zhuang Hong called him Teacher Lan.
• Lingjiang City residents formed teams to fight the Ashen Deadlands, including the White Dragon Legion, which declared Zhuang Hong its leader without having met him.
• Qiao Hongxin told Yin Zizhong she had joined Zhu Xu’s team and would head west to fight the Ashen Deadlands, driven by her father’s death from Ash Disease.
• Yin Zizhong decided to remain with Zhuang Hong to study, and Qiao Hongxin invited him to join the Iron Ape Legion later.
• Qiao Hongxin told Yin Zizhong that a crowd had looted Lingjiang City’s largest Pet Beast Paradise, and he decided to go look for a pet beast.
• Zhuang Hong continued studying the complex Beast Taming Rune system and took comfort in his Secret Awareness, improved memory and comprehension, Mental Shorthand Method, and information-recording mind-sea space.

Zhuang Hong finished familiarizing himself with the Beast Taming Runes and impressed Lan Linzhong with his extraordinary memory. Lan Linzhong took him to an underground collection of beast brains to teach him how Beast Taming Steel Seals controlled beasts, and the lesson began with the Tiger-shaped Steel Seal.

• Zhuang Hong told Lan Linzhong he had learned the symbols in the Beast Taming Rune Manual and answered his test questions flawlessly.
• Lan Linzhong led Zhuang Hong through a hidden passage beneath the ancestral hall to an underground chamber filled with preserved ferocious beast brains.
• Lan Linzhong explained that Beast Tamers used Beast Taming Runes to control a beast through its brain.
• Lan Linzhong proposed using the Dog-shaped Steel Seal to teach canine brains, but Zhuang Hong clarified that he had learned the Tiger-shaped, Leopard-shaped, and Ox-shaped Steel Seals.
• Zhuang Hong said Xiao Bai was only a little dog despite its strength, so Lan Linzhong began teaching him with the Tiger-shaped Steel Seal.

Lan Linzhong taught Zhuang Hong how Beast Taming Steel Seals were built from knowledge of animal brains, and Zhuang Hong quickly learned to create and use a new seal on a leopard. As Lan Linzhong began teaching him classification and templates, he warned that making seals for human brains was an absolute taboo, prompting Zhuang Hong to ask whether he could tame himself.

• Lan Linzhong explained how Beast Taming Steel Seals used Beast Taming Runes to control specific actions and asked Zhuang Hong to preserve and pass on the Beast Tamer legacy.
• Over the next month, Zhuang Hong studied animal brains and runes, analyzed tigers, leopards, and cattle, and created three additional seals.
• Zhuang Hong branded a new seal into a young leopard and successfully controlled its movements before dissolving the contract.
• Zhuang Hong asked how to create seals for unfamiliar creatures, and Lan Linzhong introduced Beast Taming Rune Classification and more than two hundred Steel Seal Templates.
• Lan Linzhong warned Zhuang Hong never to create a Beast Taming Steel Seal for a human brain, and Zhuang Hong asked whether that meant he could not tame himself.

After completing his study of Beast Taming Runes, Zhuang Hong learned from Lan Linzhong that Ash Disease could consume the world within a year. He chose to investigate its source alone with Xiao Bai, leaving the chapter with Lan Linzhong arranging records to aid his search.

• Lan Linzhong told his Sixteenth Concubine that he hoped Zhuang Hong would eventually lead resistance against the ash, though he believed the chances of survival were slim.
• Zhuang Hong spent three months studying Beast Taming Runes while Lingjiang City grew increasingly desolate and Ash Disease spread.
• Lan Linzhong warned Zhuang Hong that Ash Disease was spreading faster and that the world might not last another year.
• Lan Linzhong told Zhuang Hong he had learned enough to continue studying on his own, and Zhuang Hong thanked him before saying he would investigate the source of the ash.
• Zhuang Hong clarified that he would enter the Ashen Deadlands alone with Xiao Bai, and Lan Linzhong offered him a Blue Claw Giant Eagle and arranged to provide his records on Ash Disease.

Zhuang Hong left Lingjiang City to investigate Ash Disease at its suspected source in the Mulin Mountain Range, leaving Yin Zizhong to make his own way in the collapsing world. After reaching Flying Orchid Peak, Zhuang Hong sensed an unexpected spatial fluctuation.

• Zhuang Hong said goodbye to Yin Zizhong, who planned to join Iron Ape Zhu Xu's team and fight the ashes.
• Zhuang Hong packed Xiao Bai into his backpack and flew west on the Blue Claw Giant Eagle toward the Ashen Deadlands.
• Zhuang Hong reviewed what he knew about Ash Disease and reflected that he might not be able to save the world.
• Zhuang Hong reached the Mulin Mountain Range and saw its vast, ash-covered deadlands from above.
• Zhuang Hong flew toward Flying Orchid Peak and sensed a spatial fluctuation coming from its direction.

Zhuang Hong investigated the intense spatial fluctuations around Flying Orchid Peak and found that the mountain caused the Ash Disease in creatures that approached it. He traveled to an adjacent space to examine the phenomenon and sent Xiao Bai ahead to scout the source.

• Zhuang Hong used the Blue Claw Giant Eagle to scout Flying Orchid Peak and found no visible signs of danger.
• After the eagle spent two hours on the mountain, Zhuang Hong detected putrid-space aura on it and concluded it had contracted the Ash Disease, so he killed it.
• Zhuang Hong traveled to an adjacent space and reflected on the connections between different spaces, their landscapes, and their living creatures.
• Zhuang Hong found that Flying Orchid Peak's spatial fluctuations persisted in the adjacent space and traced their source to the mountain's location between the worlds.
• Zhuang Hong sent Xiao Bai to scout the mountain, using the Beast Taming Steel Seal to communicate with it and confirming the seal could control Chaotic Beast Kind Void Spirits.

Zhuang Hong followed Xiao Bai to a mountain and discovered a vortex connecting Oasis World to adjacent space, surrounded by Void Spirit worms that emitted the aura of Ash Disease. He decided not to investigate the dangerous passage himself and sent Xiao Bai to watch it, offering to give it two more legs if they succeeded in hunting together.

• Xiao Bai led Zhuang Hong toward a mountain after encountering a swarm of Void Spirits.
• Zhuang Hong used Dimensional Sight and discovered a vast vortex hollowing out the mountain and connecting Oasis World to adjacent space.
• Zhuang Hong saw gray Void Spirit worms crawling through the mountain and recognized their rotten spatial aura as the source of Ash Disease.
• Zhuang Hong found a large passage leading into the hollow mountain and concluded that a Void Spirit might have created the vortex.
• Zhuang Hong asked Xiao Bai to secretly watch the passage and report who entered and left, promising it two more legs if they hunted successfully.