Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Colossal Creature”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping realizes that the King of Nether Mist’s ordinary-animal counterpart is a giant panda, a discovery that triggers his instinctive desire to pet it.
• He asks the King of Nether Mist when he can return to Mingzhu City. The King explains that the spatial distortion separating them has made the distance enormous and that they must wait for “it” to appear.
• Zhang learns that the explosion of the Eightfold Tower, combined with the King’s intervention, twisted the surrounding space. The location that once corresponded to Mingzhu City has shifted, making a direct return impossible.
• While waiting, Zhang practices controlling the fully evolved Nether Mist. He successfully forms it into weapons, armor, flames, water, and other shapes without losing any of the material.
• Zhang creates a frightening Reaper-like appearance using a black cloak and skeletal mask. The King imitates him, leading to a playful contest in which both expand their bodies to enormous sizes.
• Their competition escalates until the King becomes a ten-thousand-meter-tall giant. At that moment, Zhang senses a terrifying presence approaching.
• A gigantic, pitch-black moose appears—so immense that even the enormous King of Nether Mist seems tiny by comparison.
• The King shrinks and tells Zhang to climb aboard, revealing that this colossal creature is the being they were waiting for and likely their means of returning.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping demonstrates his growing ability to interpret the fragmented, unclear speech of strange beings. His experience communicating with monsters allows him to understand the King’s explanation immediately.
• He remains resourceful and patient despite being stranded, using the waiting period to train and improve his control over Nether Mist.
• Zhang’s confidence and playful competitiveness emerge during his size contest with the King, though he is quickly humbled by the arrival of the colossal moose.
• The King of Nether Mist shows that it cannot independently cross the distorted distance back to Mingzhu City. It also displays a childlike, competitive side by copying Zhang’s appearance and repeatedly enlarging itself.
• The King’s behavior toward Zhang becomes almost companionable, with their matching Reaper forms creating a humorous “father and son” image.

Significant Themes

• Spatial distortion and instability: The destruction of the Eightfold Tower has altered the relationship between the shattered space and reality, emphasizing the unpredictable consequences of immense power.
• Growth and scale: Zhang’s expanding abilities are contrasted with the moose’s incomprehensible size, reminding him that strength is relative.
• Humor amid danger: Zhang’s urge to pet the panda-like King, their appearance-copying, and their size competition provide comedy within an otherwise threatening situation.
• Adaptation and communication: Zhang’s ability to interpret strange creatures and adapt to unfamiliar circumstances allows him to survive in a chaotic environment.
• The unknown: The arrival of the moose introduces a mysterious new force whose size and power far exceed anything Zhang has previously encountered.

Character Interactions

• Zhang repeatedly questions the King about returning home, while the King gives brief, fragmented answers that Zhang must interpret.
• Zhang trains with Nether Mist while the King observes and then imitates his Grim Reaper-like appearance.
• Their playful rivalry escalates into a contest over who can become larger, ending only when the colossal moose arrives.
• The King ultimately directs Zhang to board the moose, confirming that the creature is central to their escape from the distorted space.

Chapter Summary: “Above the Knot”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping is frightened by the enormous moose, an existence far beyond King level, but decides to climb onto it so he can return to Mingzhu City.
• King of Nether Mist reassures him that the moose will not attack unless provoked.
• Zhang Ping lands on one of the moose’s hairs and travels upward. The creature is so huge that its fur resembles massive pillars, and its movements create hurricanes, cloud disturbances, and thunderstorms.
• He discovers that numerous Mutated Beasts live peacefully on the moose’s body, treating it like a moving habitat.
• Zhang eventually reaches a large knot of beard hair occupied by three gibbons, two Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters, and a sloth.
• The beasts initially threaten Zhang and attempt to drive him away. Zhang persuades them to tolerate his presence by warning that any fight might anger the moose and kill them all.
• After being ignored by the sloth and rebuffed by the Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters, Zhang focuses on the three gibbons. He tells them a story based on Journey to the West, eventually winning their interest and beginning to form a friendly connection with them.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Though openly afraid, Zhang demonstrates courage by approaching the terrifying moose. He relies on caution, negotiation, humor, and storytelling rather than force. His curiosity also appears when he studies the unusual hybrid Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters.
• King of Nether Mist: Acts as Zhang’s guide and provides the reassurance needed for him to proceed.
• The Mutated Beasts: Initially suspicious and defensive, they gradually accept Zhang as long as he poses no threat. The three gibbons, in particular, become captivated by his story despite their initial arrogance.
• The sloth: Reveals that its apparent sluggishness is not due to slow thinking; it simply dislikes conversation and bluntly dismisses Zhang.
• The three gibbons: Begin as proud and aloof but become increasingly interested in Zhang’s tale, allowing their hostility to soften.

Significant Themes

• Courage despite fear: Zhang does not stop being afraid; instead, he acts carefully despite recognizing how powerless he is.
• Survival through intelligence and diplomacy: Since physical confrontation would be suicidal, Zhang uses negotiation and social skill to avoid conflict.
• The vastness and mystery of the mutated world: The moose functions almost like an ecosystem, carrying multiple species on its body and demonstrating the immense scale of post-mutation creatures.
• Communication and storytelling: Zhang’s story bridges the gap between humans and Mutated Beasts, showing how entertainment and shared curiosity can create trust.
• Appearance versus reality: The sloth looks slow but is simply uninterested, while the gibbons’ proud exterior hides their strong curiosity.

Character Interactions

• Zhang and King of Nether Mist discuss the danger of approaching the moose, with King of Nether Mist encouraging him.
• Zhang confronts the hostile beasts and convinces them that cooperation is necessary for everyone’s survival.
• He attempts to speak with the sloth but is rejected.
• He then engages the three gibbons by telling them the story of Sun Wukong. Their contempt gradually turns into fascination, ending with them responding warmly and playfully to Zhang.

Chapter Summary: “City Ruins”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping spends several days atop the Giant Moose, telling the Mutated Beasts stories from Journey to the West while eating food supplied by the three Gibbons.
• After Zhang Ping gains influence over the Gibbons and Sloth, the Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters voluntarily cut off their wings as an apology. Zhang reluctantly grills and eats the wings, which frightens the other monsters.
• Zhang’s storytelling is objectively dull and increasingly careless, but his ability, Communion with All Things, translates his words into an engaging experience for the Mutated Beasts. The animals become absorbed in the adventures of Sun Wukong.
• On the eighth day, a highly intelligent White Bear climbs out from the Giant Moose’s fur. It remains wary of Zhang and refuses to answer his questions, though it gradually becomes interested in his story.
• Gray rain falls outside. Zhang discovers that the rain contains materialized Death Qi, deepening the mystery of the desolate world and its unnatural environment.
• Zhang observes that the Giant Moose travels through a lifeless landscape of mountains, abysses, deserts, and clouds. Despite the apparent barrenness, Mutated Beasts repeatedly emerge from beneath the moose’s fur or climb aboard.
• Four days after arriving, the White Bear leaves. Soon afterward, Zhang spots a group of futuristic but ruined buildings in the distance, suggesting the remains of an ancient or apocalyptic city. He does not investigate because he fears missing his opportunity to return home.
• The Gibbons, Sloth, and Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters eventually depart as well, leaving Zhang alone on the moose’s fur.
• Using a Scout Eye Gem, Zhang surveys the Giant Moose and discovers that the King of Nether Mist has also been traveling with it, occupying a large territory that no other creature dares approach.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Becomes an informal leader among the Mutated Beasts through storytelling, food, and his mysterious ability. He demonstrates restraint by avoiding unnecessary conflict with the Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters, while remaining curious and observant about the Death Qi and ruined city.
• Three Gibbons: Grow to trust and revere Zhang, treating him almost like a king and providing him with food through their spatial abilities.
• Sloth: Comes to accept Zhang under the Gibbons’ influence and remains with the group for several days.
• Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters: Shift from potential threats to fearful, submissive companions. Their decision to sacrifice their own wings shows their fear of being outnumbered.
• White Bear: Displays intelligence, caution, and independence. Though initially distant, it becomes emotionally engaged with Zhang’s story before eventually continuing on its journey.
• King of Nether Mist: Is revealed to have been traveling on the Giant Moose all along. His commanding presence and ability to claim territory reinforce his high status among the Mutated Beasts.

Significant Themes

• Communication across differences: Communion with All Things allows Zhang’s crude storytelling to become meaningful to creatures of different kinds, emphasizing that understanding depends on more than language.
• Power and social hierarchy: Zhang gains authority not through direct violence but through influence, food, and control of group dynamics. Fear and perceived strength shape the behavior of the other creatures.
• Survival in a hostile world: The Mutated Beasts rely on unusual abilities, cooperation, or the Giant Moose itself to survive in an environment where ordinary life seems impossible.
• Mystery and isolation: The materialized Death Qi, barren world, ruined futuristic city, and unknown destination all suggest a larger catastrophe that Zhang does not yet understand.
• Temporary companionship: The animals form a brief community around Zhang, but each eventually leaves, highlighting the instability and loneliness of his journey.

Character Interactions

• Zhang uses the Gibbons’ loyalty to keep the Sloth under control and unintentionally intimidates the Harpy Dog-Faced Monsters.
• He bonds with the Gibbons and Sloth through Journey to the West, while the Gibbons reciprocate by supplying his food.
• Zhang attempts to befriend the White Bear, but its cautious silence limits their relationship to quiet coexistence and shared interest in his stories.
• The departing Mutated Beasts remain afraid of Zhang despite their time together, showing that trust has developed unevenly.
• Zhang’s eventual discovery of the King of Nether Mist establishes that a powerful figure has been nearby throughout his stay, silently dominating the broader community on the Giant Moose.

Chapter Summary: “Head Separated from Body”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping spends nearly half a month traveling with the King of Nether Mist atop a giant moose. He grows increasingly anxious about Mingzhu City and worries that Prince Yue may have restrained or mentally controlled Situ Shibai.
• After the giant moose reaches its destination, Zhang Ping and the King of Nether Mist descend and travel across a desolate, blackened landscape.
• The King of Nether Mist opens a spatial passage so Zhang Ping can return to his own world. It forgets to warn him to wrap himself completely in Nether Mist before entering.
• Inside the passage, Zhang Ping is cut by countless dangerous spatial fragments. His attempt to release Nether Mist causes the passage to expand and split into two exits.
• A spatial barrier severs Zhang Ping’s body in half: his head falls through one exit while the rest of his body emerges above Mingzhu City and crashes to the ground.
• Zhang Ping survives by transforming his head into Pure Water Form. His companions—Ye Changchun, Su Qingbo, Zhao Yanlong, Zhao Yanhu, and the others—emerge from Storage Contracts hidden near his heart.
• Zhang Ping begins regenerating his body by absorbing water, then discovers that Mingzhu City has become eerily abandoned. The streets contain corpses, skeletons, bloodstains, and ruined or unattended shops.
• Suspecting that the Beast-Taming Zhu Family or another powerful Mutated Beast may have taken over the city, Zhang Ping heads toward Gui Tower to investigate.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains cautious and secretive around the King of Nether Mist, fearing that prolonged conversation could reveal his identity or disguise.
• Despite losing his body and being separated from his companions, Zhang Ping quickly recovers emotionally. His belief that “as long as no one is dead, there is always hope” shows his resilience and determination not to abandon his allies.
• His ability to survive as a head in Pure Water Form and regenerate afterward demonstrates the extreme versatility and endurance of his powers.
• The King of Nether Mist is revealed to have a panda-like true form, particularly through the chubby paw it creates while opening the passage. It is quiet, socially awkward, and secretly worried about Zhang Ping’s safety.
• Ye Changchun and the others are shown to have remained with Zhang Ping through the Storage Contracts embedded near his heart, emphasizing their loyalty and dependence on him.

Significant Themes

• Survival and perseverance: Zhang Ping survives an almost absurdly dangerous accident and immediately focuses on rebuilding himself and finding his allies.
• Trust and companionship: The hidden presence of Zhang Ping’s companions emphasizes the bonds between them, while Zhang’s resolve not to abandon anyone reinforces the importance of loyalty.
• The dangers of unfamiliar powers: Spatial travel is portrayed as unstable and lethal, with even a small mistake producing catastrophic consequences.
• Isolation and uncertainty: Zhang Ping’s return to an empty, devastated Mingzhu City creates a strong sense of mystery and foreboding. His questions about Situ Shibai, Prince Yue, and the city’s destruction remain unanswered.
• Identity and concealment: Zhang’s fear of exposing himself and the King of Nether Mist’s mysterious true form continue the chapter’s focus on hidden identities and appearances.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping and the King of Nether Mist share an awkward, mostly silent relationship. Both feel uncomfortable speaking, though for different reasons: Zhang fears exposure, while the King simply struggles to find conversation.
• The King of Nether Mist assists Zhang by opening a route home, but its failure to provide a crucial warning indirectly causes Zhang’s body to be severed.
• Zhang’s companions emerge from his body only after he becomes incapacitated, showing both their close connection to him and their willingness to remain hidden until necessary.
• After returning, Zhang has no direct interaction with the citizens of Mingzhu City; instead, the abandoned streets and remains serve as evidence that something disastrous has occurred.

Chapter Summary: A World Without Zhang Ping

Key Plot Points and Events

• A Heavenly Fox hunts through the streets of Mingzhu City, highlighting the city’s brutal, lawless state.
• Zhang Ping is unexpectedly pulled into an alley by Su Jingyao, who hides him from the Heavenly Fox and leads him through a secret underground passage.
• Zhang Ping realizes he has arrived in a parallel world. In this reality, Su Jingyao is alive, while the world’s version of Zhang Ping died long ago.
• Su Jingyao brings Zhang Ping to a hidden basement where Manny, a heavily injured member of the Cleanup Team, is sheltering.
• Manny initially believes Zhang Ping is a Heavenly Fox impersonating the deceased Zhang Ping and warns Su Jingyao to kill him.
• Zhang Ping explains that he is from another world. To prove his identity, he releases the spirit of his world’s Su Jingyao from the gemstone between his brows.
• The two versions of Su Jingyao recognize one another and temporarily merge because they are counterparts from parallel worlds.
• Their fusion confirms Zhang Ping’s story and greatly increases Su Jingyao’s power. The two will separate again when Zhang Ping leaves.
• Su Jingyao explains the history of this alternate world: without Zhang Ping, the Cleanup Team discovered the Heavenly Fox Clan too late. The team’s leaders, including Situ Shibai and Jin Bo, were killed in an ambush by the Beast-Taming Zhu Family.
• Although the Zhu Family was also weakened, the Heavenly Fox Clan emerged dominant and began massacring and eating civilians. Entire districts of Mingzhu City have become abandoned “ghost districts.”

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Quickly deduces that he has entered a parallel world after seeing Su Jingyao alive. He is shocked by the consequences of his absence and remains emotionally affected by encountering another version of someone he lost.
• Su Jingyao: This world’s Su Jingyao is calm, capable, and hardened by tragedy. Zhang Ping’s death triggered the evolution of her Psychokinesis, giving it a “heartache” attribute that causes anyone touched by it to experience unbearable emotional pain.
• Manny: Traumatically injured and distrustful, Manny is initially hostile toward Zhang Ping. Her fear reflects the Heavenly Foxes’ deception and the collapse of the Cleanup Team.
• The two Su Jingyaos: Their compatibility allows them to merge temporarily. The fusion combines their strength, abilities, and spiritual qualities, while separation allows each to retain part of what the other possesses.

Significant Themes

• The consequences of absence: The chapter shows how dramatically the world changes without Zhang Ping’s actions and influence.
• Parallel worlds and identity: The two versions of Zhang Ping and Su Jingyao raise questions about whether shared appearances or memories define a person.
• Loss and survival: In one world Su Jingyao died and Zhang Ping survived; in the other, Zhang Ping died and Su Jingyao endured.
• Hope amid catastrophe: Although this alternate world is devastated, Zhang Ping’s arrival may provide the hope it has lacked.
• Trust and proof: Manny’s suspicion emphasizes how thoroughly the Heavenly Fox Clan has corrupted reality and made appearances unreliable.

Important Character Interactions

• Su Jingyao protects Zhang Ping from the Heavenly Fox and guides him to safety.
• Manny confronts Zhang Ping and urges Su Jingyao to kill him, believing he is a disguised enemy.
• Zhang Ping reveals his connection to the alternate Su Jingyao by releasing his world’s spirit version of her.
• The two Su Jingyaos merge, resolving Manny’s doubts and establishing Zhang Ping’s identity.
• Su Jingyao reassures Zhang Ping that the fusion is temporary while revealing the devastating history of the world without him.

Chapter Summary: “Taking Action”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Mingzhu City has lost nearly 30% of its population after districts were consumed by Heavenly Foxes. Ordinary citizens cannot escape, while most Awakened have fled.
• Su Jingyao reveals that she is the only person who knows the true nature of the Heavenly Foxes. She gained the ability to see through their disguises after eating the Contract Gem left behind by this world’s Zhang Ping, who had died after becoming enraged by his supposedly useless ability.
• Su Jingyao later joined the Cleanup Team and only discovered the Heavenly Foxes’ involvement after Situ Shibai’s death and their attack on the Cleanup Team headquarters. By then, the strongest fighters were gone.
• Outraged by the ongoing slaughter, Zhang Ping decides to kill every Heavenly Fox in Mingzhu City that night, beginning with those concentrated in the City Lord’s Manor.
• Zhang Ping heals Manny using King Blood. Though she remains suspicious of him and Su Jingyao, Manny agrees to accompany them rather than reveal the location of the Cleanup Team’s training camp.
• On the way to the City Lord’s Manor, the group encounters a disguised Heavenly Fox wearing the human skin of Liu Tiefeng, someone Zhang Ping deeply respected.
• Zhang Ping brutally kills the Heavenly Fox, first severing its legs with laser beams, then cutting off its tail and beheading it. The encounter confirms his determination and intensifies his hatred of the creatures.
• Several more Heavenly Foxes detect the group and begin approaching.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping moves from learning about the parallel world’s tragedy to actively taking responsibility for saving it. His anger becomes personal when he sees Liu Tiefeng’s skin being used as a disguise. He also reveals confidence in his overwhelming abilities and his desire to kill Prince Yue in this world.
• Su Jingyao is established as the sole person capable of identifying Heavenly Foxes. Her grief over this world’s Zhang Ping and her willingness to use his Contract Gem show her emotional attachment to him, despite her calm present demeanor.
• Manny begins deeply distrustful of Zhang Ping and Su Jingyao, uncertain whether they are genuine or part of a Heavenly Fox deception. Zhang Ping’s healing ability and emotional reaction to Liu Tiefeng gradually convince her that he is not an enemy. She chooses to follow the group while maintaining her independence.
• This world’s Zhang Ping is revealed to have died because he was overwhelmed by frustration over his ability, leaving behind the Contract Gem that enabled Su Jingyao to expose the Heavenly Foxes.

Significant Themes

• Moral responsibility and action: Zhang Ping refuses to remain passive once he learns that humans are being used as food, choosing to intervene despite the world being an alternate reality.
• Grief and personal identity: The parallel versions of familiar people force the characters to confront the similarities and differences between worlds, especially Zhang Ping’s sorrow over alternate versions of people he knew.
• Trust amid uncertainty: Manny struggles to determine whether Zhang Ping and Su Jingyao are authentic, reflecting the larger threat posed by enemies who can perfectly imitate humans.
• Power versus helplessness: Su Jingyao can identify the Heavenly Foxes but lacks the strength to defeat them, while Zhang Ping possesses immense power and turns knowledge into direct action.
• Dehumanization and revenge: The Heavenly Foxes’ use of human skin emphasizes their cruelty and violation of human identity, fueling Zhang Ping’s resolve to destroy them.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping and Su Jingyao discuss the city’s losses and the limited number of people aware of the Heavenly Fox threat.
• Zhang Ping heals Manny despite her distrust, offering proof of his intentions through action rather than explanation.
• Manny challenges Su Jingyao’s identity and refuses to disclose the Cleanup Team’s training camp, but ultimately agrees to join the hunt.
• Su Jingyao explains Zhang Ping’s emotional reaction to Liu Tiefeng’s skin, helping Manny understand why his attitude suddenly changes.
• The chapter ends with Zhang Ping, Su Jingyao, and Manny advancing together toward the City Lord’s Manor as more Heavenly Foxes converge on them.

Chapter Summary: “Do You Have What It Takes?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• A horde of Heavenly Foxes attacks Zhang Ping, Su Jingyao, and Manny. Zhang Ping effortlessly kills them with his Laser Eye and Psychokinesis.
• Prince Yue arrives, furious over the slaughter, but Zhang immediately destroys his head with twin laser beams.
• The Moon King uses Evermoon Dreamscape to create a fake Prince Yue and save the real one. Zhang recognizes the illusion quickly by destroying the moon in the Dreamscape, awakening in the real world.
• The Moon King emerges from the City Lord’s Manor, burning his blood and vitality to fight Zhang and protect Prince Yue.
• Despite the Moon King’s desperate attacks, Zhang’s greatly enhanced physical strength allows him to block every blow. He eventually cuts the Moon King in half and extracts his flesh, leaving only his fur.
• Zhang pursues the fleeing Prince Yue, using Psychokinesis to track him and Laser Eye to injure and gradually disable him.
• After losing multiple tails and realizing escape is impossible, Prince Yue decides to fight back. Zhang crushes him into the mud in giant form and taunts him, asking whether he truly has what it takes to fight to the death.

Character Development

• Zhang Ping demonstrates a major increase in power. His improved physique, Mental Strength, and Psychokinesis let him massacre the Heavenly Foxes, resist the Moon King’s attacks, escape the Dreamscape almost immediately, and track Prince Yue effortlessly.
• His cautious and tactical nature is emphasized when he destroys the moon to ensure he is not trapped in an illusion. He is also increasingly confident, taking pleasure in psychologically tormenting Prince Yue rather than killing him immediately.
• The Moon King shows unwavering devotion to Prince Yue, sacrificing his Mental Strength, blood, and vitality to save him. However, his self-sacrificial attack fails against Zhang’s enhanced body, leading to his death.
• Prince Yue, once aggressive and proud, is reduced to desperate flight. He recognizes that remaining would endanger the Moon King and reluctantly abandons him. His humiliation and fear eventually turn into reckless determination to fight.

Significant Themes

• Power and transformation: Zhang’s suffering and use of Black Water have dramatically strengthened him, reversing the previous power balance.
• Devotion and sacrifice: The Moon King’s willingness to die for Prince Yue highlights the depth of their bond.
• Fear and psychological domination: Zhang controls the battle not only physically but emotionally, deliberately prolonging Prince Yue’s suffering and exploiting his terror.
• Illusion versus reality: The Dreamscape demonstrates the danger of deception, while Zhang’s quick reaction shows the importance of skepticism and awareness.
• Revenge and humiliation: Zhang’s thoughts of using the Moon King’s fur as a coat reveal his desire to provoke Prince Yue even beyond simply defeating him.

Character Interactions

• The Heavenly Foxes attack Zhang but are completely overwhelmed, establishing his dominance.
• The Moon King repeatedly attempts to protect Prince Yue, first through the Dreamscape and then through a suicidal physical assault.
• Zhang treats the Moon King’s attack with calm disdain and kills him once his strength wanes.
• Zhang relentlessly pursues Prince Yue, injuring him while allowing him to struggle and flee.
• The chapter ends with Zhang physically and psychologically dominating Prince Yue, challenging his claim that he is willing to fight to the death.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After three days without food, Zhang Ping, Su Jingyao, and Manny roast and eat the Moon Prince’s meat. Unlike the Moon King’s foul-tasting flesh, the Moon Prince’s meat is delicious and slightly increases Mental Strength.
• Zhang Ping justifies eating the Moon Prince because the Moon Prince had eaten humans, viewing it as repayment.
• The group returns to Mingzhu City and raids the City Lord’s Manor for useful equipment before the Investigation Team can reclaim it.
• Zhang Ping discovers that the manor contains even more treasures than its counterpart in his original world. The Heavenly Fox had gathered both Cleanup Team property and possessions taken from the Beast-Taming Zhu Family.
• Zhang reclaims a parallel-world version of the Golden Treasury Bracelet and restores control over it with a Treasure Contract. He also finds and stores his Fear War Scythe.
• Su Jingyao and Manny select equipment, while Zhang chooses items that can improve the group’s future survival and combat abilities.
• Zhang consumes a Blue Steel Saber, gaining access to water-based blade attacks through the saber’s special material.
• He also takes a self-repairing, size-changing white trench coat, a strength-enhancing belt with storage space, a bow, and a halberd.
• Su Jingyao discovers a locator that points toward several bases belonging to the Beast-Taming Zhu Family. Zhang realizes it may work in his original world and could lead him to the Zhu Family’s hidden bases.
• The chapter ends with Zhang identifying the locator as potentially his greatest reward, though he still does not know how to return to his own world.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains pragmatic, opportunistic, and confident. He treats the Moon Prince as both food and deserved vengeance, and he eagerly claims useful spoils from the manor.
• His sense of responsibility is also evident: although he could take everything, he deliberately leaves enough equipment for Mingzhu City to defend itself against future threats.
• Zhang becomes stronger and more versatile by absorbing the Blue Steel Saber and acquiring multiple pieces of specialized equipment.
• Su Jingyao demonstrates caution and resourcefulness. She helps identify valuable equipment and discovers the locator, which may become crucial to Zhang’s return.
• Manny participates in the group’s meal and equipment search, remaining a cooperative member of the team.
• The Investigation Team is portrayed as an impending competitor. Zhang expects them to reclaim the manor’s resources, which motivates his raid.
• The Beast-Taming Zhu Family becomes more important to the story because the locator may reveal their bases in Zhang’s original world.

Significant Themes

• Retribution and moral reversal: Zhang sees eating the man-eating Moon Prince as a fitting response to the prince’s crimes.
• Resourcefulness and survival: Food, weapons, storage, and equipment are treated as vital assets in a dangerous world.
• Spoils and compensation: Zhang believes that defeating the Heavenly Foxes entitles him to claim part of the manor’s treasures.
• Parallel worlds: Objects and people have counterparts across worlds, creating opportunities to recover lost possessions and uncover new information.
• Power balanced with responsibility: Zhang takes valuable items but intentionally leaves resources behind so Mingzhu City can continue defending itself.
• Hope of returning home: The locator offers a concrete lead toward the Beast-Taming Zhu Family, but the unresolved problem of crossing back to Zhang’s original world remains central.

Character Interactions

• Zhang jokes with Su Jingyao and Manny while sharing the Moon Prince’s meat, though they are more uncomfortable with the meal because of its resemblance to cannibalism.
• He encourages both companions to choose whatever equipment they need, showing trust and generosity while still controlling the overall division of resources.
• Su Jingyao brings the locator to Zhang rather than keeping it for herself, and the two discuss its possible usefulness across worlds.
• Their exchange reveals a cooperative relationship: Su Jingyao provides important discoveries, while Zhang evaluates and exploits them.
• Zhang’s interactions with the absent Investigation Team and Beast-Taming Zhu Family shape his decisions, as he anticipates future conflict over the manor’s resources and the Zhu Family’s bases.

Chapter Summary: “Laboratory”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping considers detonating the Eightfold Tower again to return to the world of the King of Nether Mist, hoping the King could then send him back to his original world. He abandons the plan because the King might not be nearby, leaving Zhang at risk of dying in the explosion.
• He decides to wait for a safer method, encouraged by the Contract Gem’s increased 10% chance of granting abilities—possibly including space- or time-travel powers.
• After leaving the City Lord’s Manor, Zhang separates from Su Jingyao and Manny. Manny remains suspicious that they may still be trapped in one of the Heavenly Fox’s illusions, while Su Jingyao accompanies her.
• Zhang travels alone to investigate former Beast-Taming Zhu Family bases that were seized by the Heavenly Fox. He wants to gather information and confirm whether equipment or abilities from this world will function after he returns home.
• He reaches a canyon, dives into a hidden pool, and uses an underwater teleportation array to enter a damaged underground research base.
• Inside, he finds the corpses of Zhu Family members killed by the Heavenly Fox and discovers documents describing the facility’s layout and research.
• The base contains four laboratories dedicated to carnivorous plants, Metal Organisms, deadly viruses, and Mutated Beast control.
• Zhang examines the first laboratory, encounters the corpse of Zhu Zhaotian, and witnesses a memory of the Heavenly Fox killing him. He then enters the carnivorous-plant laboratory, where the mutated plants attack him. Zhang realizes some of them are edible and could help him level up, but the powerful flame-like flower retaliates with Fireballs.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping becomes increasingly cautious and strategic. Although eager to return home, he rejects an unnecessarily dangerous plan and prioritizes finding a reliable method.
• His confidence has grown substantially: he believes he can defeat even King Tier Mutated Beasts and moves through dangerous territory without fear.
• Zhang also shows practical foresight by investigating the Zhu Family bases in case his pointer or equipment fails to function in his original world.
• Manny remains deeply traumatized and distrustful because of her experiences with layered illusions. Her inability to confirm reality causes ongoing psychological pain.
• Su Jingyao understands Manny’s condition and supports her decision to keep Zhang at a distance.
• Zhang shows compassion toward Manny, silently hoping she can eventually escape her constant doubt, despite his lack of power to resolve it for her.

Significant Themes

• Risk versus ambition: Zhang balances his desire to return home against the danger of using an uncertain method involving the Eightfold Tower.
• Uncertainty and reality: Manny’s suspicion that everything may still be an illusion highlights the psychological consequences of manipulation and the difficulty of trusting one’s perceptions.
• Adaptation and evolution: Zhang views the Contract Gem’s ability-granting probability as an opportunity for continuous growth, comparing it to repeated chances at evolution.
• Preparation and survival: His investigation of the laboratory reflects the importance of gathering resources and contingency plans in an unstable world.
• Predation and moral ambiguity: The Beast-Taming Zhu Family’s fate reflects betrayal and violence, while Zhang’s willingness to harvest dangerous plants shows the ruthless practicality required for survival.

Character Interactions

• Su Jingyao tactfully tells Zhang to pursue his own objectives while she and Manny handle matters separately, indirectly acknowledging Manny’s lack of trust.
• Zhang accepts their separation without resentment and encourages them to remain cautious.
• His encounter with Zhu Zhaotian’s corpse and the memory of the Heavenly Fox’s attack reinforces Zhang’s condemnation that “evil begets evil.”
• In the laboratory, Zhang’s controlled response to the attacking plants contrasts with their sudden aggression, setting up a confrontation as he attempts to harvest their valuable properties.

Summary of “Two New Abilities”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping tests Energy Eater by catching an incoming fireball and absorbing its energy completely without using Nether Mist.
• He deliberately inhales the poisonous mist of a trumpet flower, using its toxin-balancing effect to reorganize the poisons stored in his body and increase his toxin capacity. He then eats the flower.
• Zhang Ping consumes a Giant Thorn Cherry, enduring its spikes as they attack his body. This grants him the new ability Sharp Thrust, which allows any sharp part of his body to extend outward with greater penetrating force at higher speeds.
• He eats all thirteen Giant Thorn Cherries and swallows the entire tree, demonstrating how far his body has evolved beyond normal human limits.
• Using Sharp Thrust, he pulls another hostile fruit tree toward himself. After it attacks unsuccessfully, he cuts it apart with Nether Mist and eats it.
• Zhang Ping consumes nearly every plant in the laboratory, including the main flame-like research subject. Eating one of its petals grants him Fire Element Manipulation.
• With the new ability, he converts stamina into controllable fire energy and forms a fiery whip. By adding heat through Energy Eater, he turns it white-hot and slices through a metal table.
• He eats the remaining flame flower, confirms that the laboratory contains no more useful plants, and moves on to the next laboratory, which researches lethal viruses.

Character Development

• Zhang Ping continues to exploit his unusual abilities methodically, treating dangerous plants and attacks as sources of power rather than threats.
• His body is shown to be increasingly inhuman: he can swallow entire trees, stretch his mouth widely, crush rocks with his esophagus, and withstand toxins, spikes, fire, and physical attacks.
• Sharp Thrust greatly expands his offensive range and gives even ordinary body parts—such as fingers or his nose—potentially lethal penetrating power.
• Fire Element Manipulation fulfills a long-standing goal. Although he once wanted this ability after obtaining Fire Eater, it arrives only after his abilities have already evolved beyond that stage.
• Zhang Ping’s growing strength is paired with practical experimentation. He immediately tests his new powers and combines them with existing abilities, improving his combat effectiveness.

Significant Themes

• Adaptation and evolution: Zhang Ping repeatedly turns hazards into advantages, absorbing toxins, eating dangerous organisms, and converting biological traits into abilities.
• The body beyond humanity: His increasingly monstrous physiology emphasizes the cost—or consequence—of accumulating powers.
• Resource exploitation: The laboratories and their plants function as a vast storehouse of abilities, allowing Zhang Ping to grow rapidly.
• Delayed fulfillment: Fire Element Manipulation represents a desire achieved too late, showing how his development has outpaced his original ambitions.
• Power through combination: Zhang Ping’s abilities become stronger when used together, as seen when he combines Fire Element Manipulation with Energy Eater to create a superheated weapon.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping has no direct conversation with other characters in this chapter, but his actions are shaped by Heavenly Fox’s conquest of the laboratories. Because Heavenly Fox secured these bases, Zhang Ping can freely harvest their resources.
• He interacts physically with the laboratory’s organisms: the trumpet flower provides toxin-balancing mist, the Giant Thorn Cherry grants Sharp Thrust, the hostile fruit tree attacks him, and the flame flower grants Fire Element Manipulation.
• The chapter ends by introducing the next area of interest: a laboratory studying lethal viruses and bacteria, whose discoveries were originally made possible by Awakened individuals with virus- or bacteria-related abilities.

Chapter Summary: “Fatal Virus”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping enters the Fatal Virus Laboratory, the only laboratory in the base with its door closed, sensing danger inside.
• He protects himself with multiple layers of Metallic Coating and Nether Mist before opening the door.
• Two heavily mutated Zhu Family members, Zhu Tianhao and Zhu Zhaohai, ambush him. Zhang Ping easily evades them and kills both by breaking their necks.
• Appraisal reveals that the men had secretly returned to the abandoned Zhu Family base to retrieve important items. They attacked Zhang Ping to prevent him from discovering them.
• Zhang Ping finds two purple test tubes containing the Disciple Virus. The virus enhances Mental Strength but gradually turns infected organisms into puppets controlled by the virus.
• Rather than fearing the virus, Zhang Ping drinks both samples. His King Blood destroys the virus before it can reach his brain, but he gains a related ability: Virus Activation.
• Virus Activation allows him to enlarge airborne viruses into visible organisms that can observe the surroundings and relay images to him. By transferring energy into them, he can also use them as remote attack points for his Laser Eye.
• Zhang Ping realizes this ability can make his laser attacks extremely difficult to defend against, since he can fire from multiple blind spots.
• He then searches the laboratory and discovers several additional viruses, including the Fire Virus, Incineration Virus, Dragonhide Virus, Fire-Eye Virus, and Bursting Virus, each with a different lethal effect.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains confident and reckless because of his powerful defenses, King Blood, and resistance to dangerous abilities. His lack of fear leads him to consume the Disciple Virus directly.
• He is somewhat disappointed by Virus Activation, initially considering it another inferior ability, but quickly recognizes its tactical value when he experiments with remote surveillance and laser attacks.
• Zhang Ping’s growing collection of abilities continues to expand his combat versatility, though he still prefers Metallic Coating, Nether Mist, and Laser Eye. He remains particularly interested in acquiring a space-related ability.
• The two Zhu Family survivors are shown to be desperate and secretive, but ultimately far weaker than Zhang Ping and unable to threaten him.

Significant Themes

• Power as both success and failure: The opening reference to Xiao He reflects how the same source can bring both achievement and ruin. The Zhu Family’s biological research creates dangerous weapons but also leaves them vulnerable to their own creations.
• Overconfidence versus true danger: Zhang Ping treats potentially civilization-ending viruses as minor curiosities because his abilities protect him, highlighting the gap between his perspective and that of ordinary people.
• Adaptation and exploitation: Rather than merely resisting the Disciple Virus, Zhang Ping absorbs it and converts its properties into a new combat technique.
• Science and supernatural abilities: The laboratory’s viruses function like biological weapons, while Zhang Ping’s powers allow him to manipulate and weaponize them in extraordinary ways.
• Hidden threats: The closed laboratory, the ambush, and the preserved viruses all suggest that the abandoned base still contains secrets and dangers.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping confronts Zhu Tianhao and Zhu Zhaohai after they attempt to ambush him; the encounter ends almost instantly with their deaths.
• Through Appraisal, Zhang Ping learns the men were Zhu Family remnants who had returned secretly and intended to silence him.
• Zhang Ping interacts directly with the Disciple Virus by consuming it, overcoming its parasitic control through King Blood, and gaining Virus Activation.
• He experiments with the enlarged viruses, effectively turning them into remote surveillance units and auxiliary weapons before continuing his investigation of the laboratory.

Chapter Summary: “Dragon Slumber”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping experiments with several viruses connected to the former Sun Clan, discovering that most produce fire-related abilities.
• The Fire Virus grants him Flame Spitter, allowing him to breathe flames, though he considers it weak.
• The Incineration Virus creates Flame Mantle, which coats his body in highly flammable phlogiston. Though unpleasant and difficult to use, the substance is powerful enough to burn a large hole in the ground.
• The Dragonhide Virus produces unsightly dragon scales but grants the valuable ability Dragon Slumber. By forming a nearly indestructible eggshell, Zhang Ping can rapidly restore his stamina and mental strength. Each day of sleep also increases his lifespan by ten days.
• After consuming the Fire-Eye and Bursting Viruses, Zhang Ping gains a second Laser Eye. This version has greater heat, while his original mutated Laser Eye has superior penetrating power. Combining them greatly improves his laser attacks by allowing explosive laser bombs to accumulate more quickly.
• Zhang searches the laboratory for additional viruses but finds nothing else useful.
• He then enters the base’s final laboratory, which was dedicated to controlling Mutated Beasts. The beasts inside have starved to death, while several large cages have been violently broken open.
• Zhang concludes that surviving Mutated Beasts escaped and entered the prison blocks to feed on the imprisoned experimental subjects. He follows the evidence and discovers a giant lizard sleeping among torn-open cells, bloodstains, and scattered feathers.

Character Development

• Zhang Ping continues to demonstrate his characteristic desire to accumulate as many abilities as possible, even when individual powers seem weak or unpleasant.
• He evaluates his new abilities pragmatically, recognizing the limitations of Flame Spitter and Flame Mantle while identifying useful ways to combine the two versions of Laser Eye.
• His confidence grows, but he remains cautious and refuses to underestimate unknown threats.
• The discovery of Dragon Slumber gives him a powerful long-term survival and recovery tool, even if its lifespan-increasing effect is not immediately useful because he is still young.

Significant Themes

• Accumulation and adaptability: Zhang Ping’s strength comes not only from powerful abilities but from possessing many abilities and combining them creatively.
• The value of seemingly useless powers: Abilities Zhang initially dismisses may still provide practical advantages in unexpected situations.
• Human experimentation and cruelty: The abandoned laboratory and blood-filled prison cells reveal the brutal treatment of Mutated Beasts and other experimental subjects.
• Survival and predation: The escaped creatures survive by attacking helpless captives, emphasizing the harsh struggle between humans and Mutated Beasts.
• Life, longevity, and power: Dragon Slumber introduces the theme of extending life, though Zhang Ping views its benefits mainly in terms of future utility rather than immediate necessity.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping primarily interacts with the viruses and the laboratory environment, treating each as a potential source of power.
• He combines his two Laser Eye abilities, demonstrating how his own powers can work together rather than functioning independently.
• His first direct encounter in the chapter is with the giant lizard, whose presence implies that further conflict is imminent.

Chapter Summary: “Terrifying Upright Ape”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping appraises and kills an Intermediate Mutated Beast, the Draconic Venom Lizard, with eye lasers. Though weak at present, it has the potential to evolve into a Giant Dragon.
• He investigates the remaining cages and discovers that many imprisoned Mutated Beasts have starved or killed and eaten one another.
• Zhang Ping offers the surviving beasts a choice: consume a Contract Gem and submit to him, or remain in the laboratory and die. He emphasizes that he does not kill those who become his allies.
• A large Mutant Panda resists, demanding food and lodging in exchange for cooperation. Zhang Ping agrees, partly because he wants the chance to pet a giant panda.
• The panda claims its ancestral memories show that humans once served pandas as treasured national animals. Zhang Ping realizes these memories likely originate from the ancient era of Emperor Sleeping Lotus.
• Zhang Ping uses roasted meat as bait while moving through the prison, killing hostile beasts and pressuring the others to accept the Contract Gems. The deeper cells contain increasingly powerful creatures.
• In the seventh cell, he finds two imprisoned Awakened humans: Liu Dashan, the son of weapons merchant Liu Tiefeng, and Chen Mei, a mineral prospector. Both had been captured by people dressed in white.
• Zhang Ping frees and feeds them. Liu Dashan warns him that a powerful creature called a Terrifying Upright Ape has entered the deeper area of the facility.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping demonstrates overwhelming strength, killing dangerous beasts instantly while remaining calculating and controlled. He combines intimidation, negotiation, and food-based incentives to recruit survivors.
• He shows a practical but somewhat compassionate side by freeing Liu Dashan and Chen Mei, providing them clothing, and feeding them after their captivity.
• The Mutant Panda is proud, argumentative, and unwilling to submit easily, but hunger forces it to reconsider. Its ancestral memories add mystery about the world’s ancient history.
• Liu Dashan is revealed to be Liu Tiefeng’s son, though captivity has left him thin and severely weakened. Despite this, he remains alert enough to warn Zhang Ping about the threat ahead.
• Chen Mei is introduced as Liu Dashan’s fellow captive and a mineral prospector, though she receives less individual development in the chapter.

Significant Themes

• Survival and submission: The starving beasts must choose between pride and survival, with Zhang Ping exploiting their desperate circumstances.
• Power and control: Zhang Ping’s strength allows him to dominate the laboratory, but he also relies on contracts, persuasion, and resource control rather than brute force alone.
• Hunger and desperation: Food becomes a tool of negotiation and a symbol of Zhang Ping’s authority over the imprisoned creatures.
• Ancient memory and distorted history: The panda’s memories suggest that the world’s historical relationship between humans and pandas may be based on copied or artificial traditions.
• Humanity versus monstrosity: The imprisoned beasts and humans are both victims of experimentation and captivity, blurring the distinction between “monsters” and people.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping and the Mutant Panda engage in a humorous negotiation over food, shelter, and dignity. The panda boasts about its former status, while Zhang Ping responds skeptically and pragmatically.
• Zhang Ping repeatedly confronts the captive Mutated Beasts, offering them Contract Gems and roasted meat as incentives for loyalty.
• He meets Liu Dashan and Chen Mei after they call for help. He clothes, frees, and feeds them, establishing a cooperative relationship.
• Liu Dashan returns the favor by warning Zhang Ping about the Terrifying Upright Ape, a humanoid beast so dangerous that adventurers supposedly prefer facing an Overlord-level creature instead.

Summary: “Ape of Extreme Speed”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping leaves Liu Dashan and Chen Mei, first covering himself with Metallic Coating for protection.
• He reflects on the possibility of rescuing Liu Dashan in the original world, where the Beast-Taming Zhu Family may also have captured him.
• While searching the laboratory’s cells, Zhang Ping easily kills and contracts a black panther Mutated Beast. He plans to bring such creatures back to Mingzhu City to serve Su Jingyao as future protection.
• In the ninth cell, he encounters the powerful Terrifying Upright Ape, which immediately attacks him.
• The ape overwhelms Zhang Ping through extraordinary speed and strength, striking him hundreds or thousands of times per second and smashing him through the walls, ceiling, and floor.
• Zhang Ping survives because of his Metallic Coating and Nether Mist defenses. The ape then transforms from its white-furred form into a golden-furred form and later activates its third form, the Warhammer Giant Ape Form.
• After enduring several attacks, Zhang Ping enlarges himself into a seven-meter-tall giant and finally decides that the ape has attacked him too many times to be spared further.
• Realizing it cannot defeat Zhang Ping, the Terrifying Upright Ape attempts to flee. Zhang Ping blocks the exit, but the ape dodges his physical attacks and escapes toward the tenth cell despite being briefly hindered by Psychokinesis.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Demonstrates increasing confidence in his defensive abilities and his responsibility toward Su Jingyao. Although he initially holds back because he wants to subdue the ape, repeated attacks test his patience and force him to become more aggressive. He also recognizes the importance of preserving powerful Mutated Beasts as protection for Mingzhu City.
• Terrifying Upright Ape: Revealed to be extraordinarily fast, powerful, and battle-hardened. It has multiple forms that increase its combat ability. Despite its arrogance and hostility, it is intelligent enough to recognize when it is outmatched and retreat strategically.
• Liu Dashan and Su Jingyao: Liu Dashan’s connection to Zhang Ping’s past and possible fate in the original world is emphasized. Su Jingyao becomes the intended beneficiary of the beasts Zhang Ping gathers, highlighting her importance and the responsibilities Zhang Ping is preparing for after his departure.

Significant Themes

• Protection and preparation: Zhang Ping seeks to leave Su Jingyao powerful allies and safeguards because he expects to leave the world while she remains behind.
• Restraint versus retaliation: Zhang Ping initially tolerates the ape’s attacks and tries to avoid killing it, but repeated aggression eventually pushes him toward decisive action.
• Power and adaptation: The confrontation contrasts the ape’s overwhelming speed with Zhang Ping’s durability, growth ability, and defensive powers.
• Intelligence in combat: Both fighters adjust quickly. The ape changes forms and retreats when necessary, while Zhang Ping enlarges himself, blocks the exit, and uses Psychokinesis to counter its speed.
• Connections across worlds: Zhang Ping’s thoughts about Liu Dashan and Liu Tiefeng reinforce the chapter’s broader theme of alternate worlds, loss, and the hope of rescuing people across realities.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping bids farewell to Liu Dashan and Chen Mei before continuing his mission.
• He interacts briefly with the contracted black panther, treating it as a future asset rather than a personal companion.
• His main interaction is with the Terrifying Upright Ape: the ape attacks without communicating, while Zhang Ping attempts to stop the conflict verbally before ultimately responding with force.
• Their battle becomes a contest between the ape’s extreme speed and Zhang Ping’s durability, size, and supernatural abilities, ending with the ape fleeing toward the next cell.

Chapter Summary: “Broom Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Terrifying Upright Ape, previously hiding in Cell Nine because it sensed a powerful presence in Cell Ten, is forced into Cell Ten and uses Zhang Ping as part of a desperate escape plan.
• Zhang Ping senses danger and shields himself with Nether Mist just before a red beam blasts through the passage.
• The injured ape escapes, carrying its severed arm, while a gigantic dark green dragon bursts from Cell Ten in pursuit.
• The dragon’s charge overwhelms Zhang Ping despite his seven-meter-tall form and Metallic Coating, demonstrating its extraordinary physical strength.
• Fortunately, the dragon is focused on the ape rather than Zhang Ping, allowing it to pass and continue the chase.
• Zhang Ping remembers that Liu Dashan and Chen Mei are still nearby and rushes back to protect them.
• He finds the dragon in Cell Seven, where it has killed and begun eating the Terrifying Upright Ape. Liu Dashan and Chen Mei are hiding nearby and remain unharmed.
• Zhang Ping appraises the creature and learns that it is a Top-Tier Mutated Beast called the Broom Dragon, a mutated ancestral peacock with numerous devastating abilities.
• After finishing the ape, the dragon accidentally kills other caged Mutated Beasts with its tail and begins eating them.
• Zhang Ping realizes the dragon appears frightened of humans. When he removes Metallic Coating and confronts it, the dragon becomes timid and claims that it was merely hungry and had been awakened by the ape.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Demonstrates improved caution and rapid judgment by detecting the dragon’s attack and protecting himself with Nether Mist. He also prioritizes rescuing Liu Dashan and Chen Mei rather than focusing solely on the fleeing ape. His discovery of the dragon’s fear of humans shows his growing ability to analyze and exploit a creature’s behavior.
• Terrifying Upright Ape: Revealed to be far faster than Zhang Ping and capable of surviving briefly against the dragon, though it loses an arm and is ultimately killed and eaten. Zhang Ping’s earlier analysis suggests that the ape is actually a human who has undergone ancestral reversion.
• Broom Dragon: Introduced as overwhelmingly powerful but unexpectedly timid around humans. Despite its terrifying strength and immense arsenal of abilities, it behaves almost apologetically when confronted and explains that hunger drove it to attack.
• Liu Dashan and Chen Mei: Remain hidden and helpless during the dragon’s rampage, but survive because the dragon does not attack them.

Significant Themes

• Power and vulnerability: Zhang Ping’s strength is shown to be insufficient against the Broom Dragon, emphasizing that new levels of power still exist beyond his current capabilities.
• The danger of scientific or biological experimentation: The existence of both the reverted human ape and the ancestral peacock suggests that the Beast-Taming Zhu Family may be conducting research into ancestral reversion.
• Appearance versus nature: The Broom Dragon looks monstrous and possesses world-destroying abilities, yet it is timid, hungry, and seemingly afraid of humans.
• Survival instinct: The ape, dragon, and Zhang Ping all act according to immediate survival needs—escape, pursuit, hunger, and protection of allies.
• Hidden history of the Beast-Taming Zhu Family: The dragon’s apparent connection to the base suggests it may have been born or raised there, revealing that the family’s experiments and creations are more extensive than expected.

Important Character Interactions

• The Terrifying Upright Ape deliberately lures Zhang Ping toward Cell Ten, indirectly placing him between itself and the pursuing dragon.
• The Broom Dragon collides with Zhang Ping but ignores him because its true target is the fleeing ape.
• Zhang Ping finds Liu Dashan and Chen Mei hiding from the dragon and becomes concerned for their safety.
• After observing the dragon’s fear of humans, Zhang Ping removes his intimidating Metallic Coating and confronts it directly.
• The dragon responds submissively, speaking to Zhang Ping in an aggrieved, almost childlike manner and insisting that it attacked only because it was hungry.

Chapter Summary: “It Was Still Just a Child!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping realizes that the enormous Broom Dragon may not be an adult but a juvenile Mutated Beast. Despite its terrifying strength, its furtive, guilty behavior resembles that of a mischievous child.
• He tests whether the dragon will obey him by ordering it back to its cell. The Broom Dragon complies, revealing that it is not entirely hostile.
• Zhang Ping observes the dragon’s unusual appearance: it combines Western and Eastern dragon traits, with a long, flexible body and surprisingly soft scales.
• The Broom Dragon’s “cell” is actually a large ecological enclosure filled with plants, suggesting that the base has raised and cared for it extensively.
• Zhang Ping feeds the dragon meat, including Heavenly Fox meat. The smell triggers the dragon’s anger because it associates the foxes with the death of someone named A-Nian.
• The Broom Dragon explains that A-Nian promised to take it outside once it grew larger. Zhang Ping attempts to use this desire for freedom to persuade it to consume a Contract Gem.
• The dragon refuses, insisting that it only listens to A-Nian. When Zhang Ping bluntly reminds it that A-Nian is dead, the dragon rams him into the wall and then runs away crying.
• Realizing that he has mishandled the dragon’s grief, Zhang Ping apologizes. When he pretends that everyone is leaving permanently, the Broom Dragon becomes anxious and asks whether it will be abandoned.
• The chapter reveals that the dragon had been asleep during the Heavenly Foxes’ invasion. After discovering A-Nian’s corpse, it remained in the enclosure waiting for someone to return. Hunger and frustration eventually caused it to become violent, leading it to kill the Terrifying Upright Ape that disturbed it.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Initially views the Broom Dragon mainly as a powerful potential ally or threat. He gradually recognizes its emotional immaturity and vulnerability. Though he considers killing it when attacked, he instead reflects on his mistake and sincerely apologizes.
• The Broom Dragon: Is established as immensely powerful but emotionally childlike. It is attached to A-Nian, fears abandonment, becomes upset when misunderstood, and is motivated by hunger, affection, and the promise of being allowed outside.
• A-Nian: Though absent and possibly morally questionable, he is revealed to have been deeply important to the Broom Dragon. The dragon remembers him as a trusted caretaker who promised to play with it.
• Liu Dashan and Chen Mei: Their presence helps establish the dragon’s cautious, almost guilty behavior around humans, though they play little direct role in the chapter’s main conflict.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus reality: The Broom Dragon looks like a monstrous, top-tier beast but behaves like a lonely child.
• Grief and misunderstanding: Zhang Ping and the dragon interpret A-Nian’s death differently. Zhang sees a dead enemy, while the dragon sees a beloved caretaker.
• Abandonment and loneliness: The dragon’s violence stems partly from being left alone, hungry, and confused after A-Nian’s death.
• Power and compassion: Zhang Ping has the ability to kill or control the dragon, but choosing empathy and apology proves more effective than force.
• The consequences of treating someone as an object: Zhang initially focuses on the dragon’s potential and obedience, overlooking its emotional needs.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping tests the Broom Dragon’s obedience by ordering it back to its enclosure and rewards it with food.
• The dragon reacts warmly to being fed but becomes defensive when A-Nian’s death and the Contract Gem are mentioned.
• Their confrontation turns physical when the dragon rejects Zhang Ping’s authority, but its subsequent tears reveal that the attack came from emotional pain rather than murderous intent.
• Zhang’s apology begins to rebuild trust, while his threat of leaving exposes the dragon’s fear of being abandoned again.

Chapter Summary: “Return-to-Ancestry Egg”

Key plot points and events

• The Broom Dragon tells Zhang Ping it cannot leave its dwelling because dangerous creatures beneath the area remain dormant only while it is there. It agrees to eat the Contract Gem if Zhang Ping deals with those creatures.
• Zhang Ping opens an entrance through the ground and discovers a lower level filled with countless black, translucent eggs.
• Using Appraisal, he identifies them as Return-to-Ancestry Eggs, failed products created by the Beast-Taming Zhu Family while researching the Atavism Technique. The creatures inside are resentful and will attack living beings once hatched.
• Believing the eggs might grant him abilities, Zhang Ping begins swallowing them. He also continues making and eating Contract Gems while consuming the eggs.
• After eating more than half without gaining any ability, Zhang Ping realizes the eggs may only be valuable after hatching. Nevertheless, he decides to finish eating them rather than waste what he has already consumed.
• One egg hatches before Zhang can reach it. The malformed creature attacks with water arrows, but Zhang protects himself with Nether Mist, captures it, and appraises it.
• The creature is identified as a Genetic Human, a tiny being formed mostly from human genes fused with genes from other creatures through atavistic experimentation.
• Zhang chooses not to kill it, recognizing that its attack was instinctive self-defense, and warns it not to attack him again.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping remains pragmatic, curious, and opportunistic. He accepts the Broom Dragon’s bargain, investigates the underground threat, and experiments by eating the eggs despite repeated disappointment.
• His increasingly powerful body allows him to swallow enormous eggs and withstand the hatchling’s attacks with ease.
• Zhang also shows growing restraint and compassion. Instead of immediately killing the Genetic Human, he acknowledges its intelligence and circumstances.
• The Broom Dragon demonstrates loyalty to A-Nian by wanting to fulfill the task entrusted to it, even though A-Nian is gone. Its fear of the underground creatures explains why it has never left its home.
• The Genetic Human is revealed to be intelligent and capable of reacting to Zhang’s mercy, rather than being merely a mindless monster.

Significant themes

• Experimentation and unnatural creation: The eggs are the result of the Zhu Family’s dangerous attempts to manipulate ancestry and genetics.
• The consequences of scientific ambition: The failed experiments produced resentful beings that threaten all nearby life.
• Appearance versus identity: Although the Genetic Human looks monstrous and is genetically artificial, it possesses intelligence and may deserve consideration as a living person.
• Pragmatism and unexpected compassion: Zhang Ping acts efficiently and selfishly at first, but he does not automatically destroy a creature that attacks him.
• Obligation and loyalty: The Broom Dragon remains committed to A-Nian’s final instructions despite A-Nian’s absence.

Character interactions

• The Broom Dragon negotiates with Zhang Ping, offering to consume the Contract Gem if he eliminates the danger below.
• Zhang and the eggs initially interact through his attempts to eat them, turning the supposedly dangerous underground creatures into food.
• The hatching Genetic Human attacks Zhang immediately with water arrows. Zhang restrains it, appraises it, and then chooses mercy, creating the possibility of a future relationship between them.

Chapter Summary: World Destroyer

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping names the small, silent creature Xiaoxiao after noticing it release his tail.
• Xiaoxiao separates the black eggs into two groups, indicating that some may be eaten while others must remain sealed. He urges Zhang Ping to consume one particular egg first.
• After eating it, Zhang Ping gains the terrifying ability World Destroyer, which consumes all his luck to create a World-Destroying Stone. Seven days later, the entire world would collapse toward it.
• Zhang Ping immediately rejects the idea of using the ability, recognizing both its catastrophic power and the danger of exhausting all his luck.
• Xiaoxiao explains through images formed from water molecules that the unusual egg was sealed because, once hatched, its occupant would kill the other creatures and destroy their spherical world.
• Zhang Ping concludes that the Zhu family had sealed the eggs away and used the Broom Dragon’s aura to suppress them. He jokingly interprets the remaining eggs as “accomplices,” though Xiaoxiao does not actually communicate this.
• Zhang Ping eats all the remaining black eggs, but they provide no new abilities—only nourishment.
• He suggests taking Xiaoxiao and the eggs somewhere safer, but Xiaoxiao refuses or fails to respond. Zhang Ping ultimately agrees to leave them in the sealed ecological base, promising to destroy the teleportation devices so no one can disturb them.
• Before Zhang Ping leaves, Xiaoxiao gives him a piece of Black Ice. When Zhang Ping touches it, it freezes his arm so rapidly that he is forced to sever it with psychokinesis.
• His King Blood stops the bleeding, and he realizes the Black Ice was created collectively by Xiaoxiao and several awakened black eggs still hiding inside their shells.

2. Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains curious, impulsive, and compassionate. Although he casually eats dangerous eggs, he shows sound judgment by refusing to use the World Destroyer ability and respecting Xiaoxiao’s decision to stay.
• His protective or “Saint Mother” instincts become clear when he tries to rescue Xiaoxiao and the other creatures from confinement, despite having no obligation to do so.
• Zhang Ping also demonstrates resilience: after losing an arm to the Black Ice, he focuses on understanding the weapon rather than panicking over his injury.
• Xiaoxiao is established as intelligent but largely nonverbal, communicating through gestures, water-created images, and demonstrations. He is cautious and independent, refusing to leave the familiar base.
• Xiaoxiao also proves capable of loyalty and gratitude by presenting Zhang Ping with the Black Ice, a powerful weapon prepared as a last defense.
• The other black eggs are portrayed as sentient, powerful beings capable of cooperation, even while remaining fearful of emerging.

3. Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Zhang Ping gains an ability capable of destroying an entire world but recognizes that possessing power does not mean it should be used.
• The danger of hidden knowledge: The black eggs conceal both beneficial and catastrophic possibilities, making curiosity potentially deadly.
• Trust and communication: Zhang Ping and Xiaoxiao cannot communicate normally, yet they gradually develop mutual understanding through gestures, images, and inference.
• Freedom versus safety: Zhang Ping wants to liberate Xiaoxiao, while Xiaoxiao prefers the security of the sealed base. The chapter suggests that rescue is not always the same as respecting someone’s wishes.
• Creation through cooperation: The Black Ice represents the combined strength of Xiaoxiao and the awakened eggs, showing that even imprisoned beings can create formidable defenses.
• Moral ambiguity: The eggs are not simply classified as good or evil; some are dangerous, some helpful, and all are victims of the Zhu family’s containment.

4. Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping repeatedly questions Xiaoxiao, while Xiaoxiao answers through nods, silence, floating eggs, and visual scenes made from water molecules.
• Their misunderstanding over the “accomplice” eggs provides comic relief, highlighting Zhang Ping’s tendency to make confident guesses.
• Zhang Ping offers Xiaoxiao a new life elsewhere, but Xiaoxiao’s refusal establishes his independence and causes Zhang Ping to respect his choice.
• Their final exchange is nonverbal but meaningful: Xiaoxiao gives Zhang Ping the Black Ice as a parting gift, demonstrating trust and gratitude despite their limited communication.

Chapter Summary: “New Ability—Mysterious Sewer”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping struggles to decide how to use a rare piece of Black Ice created from Xiaoxiao’s eggshell. He considers eating it to gain an ability, forging it into a weapon, or turning it into special equipment.
• When he asks Xiaoxiao whether more Black Ice can be produced, Xiaoxiao indicates that this particular Black Ice is unique because it was created before its birth. Zhang Ping realizes it cannot be mass-produced.
• The discussion reinforces how the world’s technology depends on individual Awakened people. When those people die, their unique creations and knowledge often become impossible to reproduce, causing civilizations to rise and decline.
• Zhang Ping chooses to swallow the Black Ice. His body rapidly freezes, forcing him to detach his head, transform it into Pure Water, and restore his body by pouring water over himself.
• He gains the ability Low-Temperature Resistance, despite absorbing only a small amount of the Black Ice.
• Zhang considers whether similar Black Ice might still be produced in his original world, where the Broom Dragon and Xiaoxiao still exist. However, Xiaoxiao reveals that creating one took three years, making mass production impractical.
• Zhang repeatedly consumes the remaining Black Ice, enduring repeated freezing and using his unusual body-recovery methods to survive. He fails to gain an ability on one attempt but continues regardless.
• His determination eventually pays off when he obtains a second ability: Mysterious Sewer, which allows him to create a magical manhole cover that leads to an unexplained sewer system.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping demonstrates his characteristic pragmatism and willingness to take extreme risks. Rather than preserving the Black Ice, he gambles on gaining a permanent ability.
• His advanced status as a High-Level Awakened is emphasized: unlike an Intermediate Awakened, he can detach his head, use Pure Water Form, and rapidly reconstruct his body.
• Zhang remains optimistic and accepting of uncertainty, concluding that gains and losses are matters of fate. Nevertheless, he is persistent enough to repeatedly risk death for another chance at an ability.
• Xiaoxiao becomes increasingly contemptuous and bewildered by Zhang’s behavior, especially his willingness to treat a precious creation as food.
• The Broom Dragon becomes frightened of Zhang, privately deciding that obedience is the safest option because Zhang might literally eat it if angered.

Significant Themes

• The uniqueness and fragility of technology: The Black Ice symbolizes technologies that depend on singular Awakened individuals and cannot be recreated after their creators are gone.
• Risk versus reward: Zhang Ping repeatedly risks freezing himself to obtain a potentially valuable ability, showing his preference for permanent personal power over weapons or equipment.
• Adaptability and regeneration: Zhang’s strange physiology allows him to survive situations that would be fatal to others, highlighting how his abilities have made him increasingly inhuman.
• Human fear and alienation: Xiaoxiao and the Broom Dragon view Zhang’s behavior as terrifying, suggesting that his methods place him outside normal human standards.
• Mystery and uncertainty: The newly acquired Mysterious Sewer ability provides almost no information about its actual function, setting up an unexplored supernatural element.

Character Interactions

• Zhang asks Xiaoxiao to produce more Black Ice, but Xiaoxiao communicates that the material was a one-time creation tied to its eggshell and cannot easily be recreated.
• Zhang’s interpretation of Xiaoxiao’s gestures surprises it, since Xiaoxiao does not understand how he correctly infers that the creation process took three years.
• Xiaoxiao watches in horror as Zhang repeatedly swallows the Black Ice and mutilates himself to survive its effects.
• The Broom Dragon observes Zhang from above and becomes convinced that A-Nian’s warnings about Zhang were correct: disobedience could result in Zhang eating it.
• The chapter ends with Zhang discovering the vague Mysterious Sewer ability, leaving both him and the reader unsure what lies beyond its magical manhole cover.

Chapter Summary: “Strange Sewer”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping debates whether to investigate the mysterious sewer ability or continue consuming the Black Ice to obtain more abilities. He stores the Black Ice in his Golden Treasury for later, since it can still be consumed many more times.
• Before leaving, he says goodbye to Xiaoxiao. He worries about her safety but realizes he may already be gone when she encounters danger, and that he cannot meaningfully arrange help for her.
• Zhang convinces Broom Dragon to accompany him. Having witnessed Zhang repeatedly twist his own neck to test his abilities, Broom Dragon is too intimidated to refuse.
• In accordance with their agreement, Broom Dragon swallows and successfully digests the Contract Gem, binding itself to Zhang through its promise-keeping nature.
• Zhang activates the mysterious sewer ability by placing his hand on the ground. The power rapidly drains his stamina and Mental Strength, but after about five minutes it creates an ordinary sewer manhole cover.
• He orders Broom Dragon to protect the others while he investigates. Beneath the cover is a real, foul-smelling sewer, despite the fact that neither Mingzhu City nor the Beast-Taming Zhu Family’s base has any sewers.
• Zhang explores the sewer while using Nether Mist to block the smell and avoid breathing the contaminated air. He finds insects and other signs that the sewer is an existing place rather than something fully generated by his ability.
• After traveling for an entire day and night without reaching an end, Zhang realizes something is abnormal. Different discarded packages bear different writing, suggesting that the sewer may connect multiple countries, worlds, or parallel spaces.
• He remains unable to determine the purpose or true nature of the ability.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: His desire to gain strength is reinforced by his hope of protecting humanity and the people he cares about. He displays both reckless courage—testing dangerous abilities on himself—and practical caution, especially when entering the sewer. His curiosity and analytical thinking grow as he examines the sewer’s unusual properties.
• Broom Dragon: It becomes increasingly intimidated by Zhang’s ruthlessness, particularly after seeing him repeatedly kill or injure himself during ability testing. Nevertheless, it keeps its promise, accepts the Contract Gem, and agrees to follow Zhang.
• Xiaoxiao: Though quiet and unable to communicate openly, she is portrayed as a good and trustworthy child. Zhang feels genuine affection and concern for her, making his departure emotionally difficult.

Significant Themes

• Strength and responsibility: Zhang views power not as an end in itself but as the means to protect others and improve people’s lives.
• Curiosity versus danger: Zhang repeatedly risks himself to understand his abilities, balancing reckless experimentation with careful preparation.
• Promises and trust: Broom Dragon’s willingness to swallow the Contract Gem highlights its strict commitment to agreements.
• Separation and impermanence: Zhang recognizes that he does not belong to this world and may be unable to help Xiaoxiao after leaving, emphasizing the emotional cost of traveling between worlds.
• Mystery and uncertainty: The sewer ability appears far stranger than its name suggests, potentially connecting different locations, countries, or worlds.

Character Interactions

• Zhang and Xiaoxiao share a quiet farewell shaped by mutual but limited communication. Zhang tries to offer advice but realizes he may not be able to protect her.
• Zhang and Broom Dragon establish a clearer partnership after their agreement is fulfilled. Broom Dragon obeys him but remains nervous and fearful of his behavior.
• During the sewer test, Zhang instructs Broom Dragon to guard Xiaoxiao, the people outside, and the remaining black eggs, showing that he trusts it with their protection despite its timidity.