Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Annihilating a City in One Strike”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Coiling Dragon Venerable manifests through Zhang Ping, but Zhang admits he cannot truly control it.
• Without warning, the creature turns toward Mingzhu City and fires a massive red beam from its mouth.
• The beam expands as it travels, sweeping across the city and reducing its walls, buildings, and inhabitants to ash.
• Zuo Xiangming survives temporarily by transferring damage to Living Corpses stationed throughout the wilderness. However, the beam kills the Living Corpses so quickly that his substitutes are exhausted within minutes, and he is ultimately annihilated.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable stops attacking and returns behind Zhang Ping, leaving behind a massive scorched depression where Mingzhu City once stood.
• Zhang apologizes and promises to rebuild the city, while asking Qiu Qiang and the others to search for Survivors.
• Situ Shibai suddenly appears and attacks Zhang, enraged that Mingzhu City has been destroyed and that his plans have been ruined.
• Situ’s powers now possess a sinister aura and manifest as black energy, shrieking entities, swords of light, and countless spheres of destructive energy.
• Zhang protects Chen Weihua, Qiu Qiang, and the others with Nether Mist before sending them into the Sewer for safety.
• A battle begins between Situ Shibai and Coiling Dragon Venerable. Situ repeatedly teleports away from the creature’s red beam, while Coiling Dragon Venerable destroys his attacks with ease.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: His enormous power becomes undeniable, but he is also shown to lack complete control over Coiling Dragon Venerable. He accepts responsibility for the city’s destruction and remains concerned for the safety of others, sheltering them instead of focusing solely on combat. He also begins suspecting that Situ Shibai may be connected to the world’s deeper crisis.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable: Demonstrates catastrophic power by erasing an entire city with one attack. Its independent behavior emphasizes that it is a dangerous force beyond Zhang Ping’s full command.
• Zuo Xiangming: His arrogance and confidence collapse as his Living Corpse survival method proves useless. Despite his desperate struggle, he dies when his substitutes are consumed.
• Situ Shibai: Appears radically changed. His abilities now carry an evil, unnatural aura, and his rage over Mingzhu City’s destruction suggests that he has become hostile and possibly corrupted. His ability to evade Coiling Dragon Venerable’s attacks shows that he remains exceptionally powerful.
• Qiu Qiang and the others: Their awe and fear of Zhang Ping increase dramatically after witnessing the city’s destruction. They become largely unable to challenge or criticize him because of the overwhelming gap in power.

Significant Themes

• The danger of uncontrollable power: Zhang Ping possesses access to a force capable of destroying a city, yet he cannot fully direct or restrain it.
• Power and responsibility: Although Zhang did not intentionally order the attack, he accepts blame because Coiling Dragon Venerable belongs to him and promises to repair the damage.
• The fragility of life and defenses: Zuo Xiangming’s extensive network of Living Corpses, once a source of security, is rendered meaningless by Coiling Dragon Venerable’s overwhelming attack.
• Corruption and hidden threats: Situ Shibai’s dark aura and changed behavior raise the possibility that a seemingly trustworthy figure has become one of the world’s greatest dangers.
• Fear and hierarchy: The witnesses’ reactions show how absolute strength can silence anger, criticism, and resistance.

Character Interactions

• Qiu Qiang and the others look to Zhang Ping for reassurance, but they are forced to react when Coiling Dragon Venerable acts independently.
• Zhang’s destruction of Mingzhu City places him in direct conflict with Situ Shibai, who attacks him out of fury and grief.
• Zhang protects his companions from Situ’s assault, demonstrating a contrast between his destructive power and his protective intentions.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable serves as Zhang’s overwhelming defender, repeatedly countering Situ Shibai’s attacks while Situ relies on teleportation to survive.

Chapter Summary: “Suppression”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter opens by comparing the immense scale of the universe with the relatively limited energy humans can control. Situ Shibai’s power, though enormous by human standards, is vastly inferior to that of Coiling Dragon Venerable, whose strength is drawn from countless stars and can destroy planets.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable repeatedly neutralizes Situ Shibai’s attacks with ease. However, Situ Shibai’s exceptional mobility—through teleportation and spatial abilities—allows him to evade every counterattack.
• Zhang Ping is unable to intervene because the battle occurs at speeds beyond his perception. He protects himself with the Black Curtain while observing the fight and reflecting on his own weakness.
• Situ Shibai uses numerous powerful abilities, including Fate-Line Manipulation, Space Cutting, Time Exile, gravity manipulation, atomic disintegration, and quantum attacks. Coiling Dragon Venerable blocks all of them without difficulty.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable eventually reveals that he has been deliberately allowing Situ Shibai to attack while secretly constructing an inescapable trap. He combines Black Curtains with Zhang Ping’s position to seal off Situ Shibai’s escape routes.
• Situ Shibai is destroyed by a barrage of beams. He repeatedly revives through Void Rebirth, only to be killed again before his body can fully regenerate.
• Zhang Ping recalls Situ Shibai’s claim that killing him permanently may take about a year. He becomes uncertain about whether Situ Shibai truly deserves to die, since the circumstances surrounding Mingzhu City’s destruction remain unclear.
• Rather than open a Sewer passage or risk helping Situ Shibai escape, Zhang Ping chooses to wait and let him exhaust himself.
• Situ Shibai repeatedly threatens Zhang Ping as he revives and dies, eventually piecing together the sentence, “I absolutely will not spare you, little bastard. I will kill you!”
• To relieve his boredom, Zhang Ping attempts to converse with stones through his Communion with All Things. One stone only produces meaningless sounds, but another responds—though it is confused and offended by Zhang Ping’s question about whether Situ Shibai can kill him.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping recognizes the vast gap between his own strength and Situ Shibai’s. He realizes that even with Metal Eater and his giant form, he would be unable to fight Situ Shibai directly.
• He displays caution and growing maturity by refusing to act recklessly. Although he could help kill Situ Shibai, he chooses to avoid opening a Sewer passage that might allow him to escape.
• Zhang Ping also develops moral uncertainty. He questions whether he has misunderstood the events surrounding Mingzhu City and considers accepting responsibility if he was at fault.
• Situ Shibai is shown to possess an extraordinary range of abilities and nearly perfect offensive and defensive mobility. Despite this, he becomes increasingly frustrated and emotionally unstable when none of his attacks affect Coiling Dragon Venerable.
• His repeated resurrection demonstrates his persistence, but also reduces him to helpless anger as he is trapped and killed over and over.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable is revealed to be far more strategic than Situ Shibai realizes. Rather than simply overpowering him, he deliberately toys with him and prepares a carefully planned ambush.
• Little Stone provides a brief comic contrast, showing that Zhang Ping’s ability to communicate with objects does not guarantee useful or cooperative answers.

Significant Themes

• The relativity of power: Even immense strength is insignificant when measured against larger scales, from humans to stars to the universe.
• Strength versus strategy: Situ Shibai possesses tremendous abilities, but Coiling Dragon Venerable defeats him through superior power, patience, and planning.
• Moral ambiguity and uncertainty: Zhang Ping questions whether killing Situ Shibai is justified because the truth behind Mingzhu City’s destruction remains unresolved.
• Restraint and responsibility: Zhang Ping chooses observation and caution instead of intervening impulsively, recognizing the risks of his abilities.
• Suppression and helplessness: Situ Shibai, initially dominant and nearly impossible to hit, becomes completely trapped and repeatedly destroyed.
• Comic relief amid violence: Zhang Ping’s conversation with the stones lightens the grim situation and highlights the eccentricity of his abilities.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping and Coiling Dragon Venerable: Zhang Ping remains protected by the Black Curtain while Coiling Dragon Venerable handles the battle. Their cooperation is indirect, with Zhang Ping’s position helping close off Situ Shibai’s escape.
• Zhang Ping and Situ Shibai: Situ Shibai repeatedly threatens and insults Zhang Ping during his forced resurrections, while Zhang Ping remains calm, detached, and unwilling to respond emotionally.
• Zhang Ping and Little Stone: Zhang Ping treats the stone as a conversational partner to pass the time. The stone first responds nonsensically, then questions Zhang Ping’s assumptions and complains that it cannot answer such a profound question.
• Situ Shibai and Coiling Dragon Venerable: Their confrontation shifts from a seemingly balanced chase to a complete reversal once Coiling Dragon Venerable’s hidden trap is revealed.

Chapter Summary: “Who Was He?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping continues waiting beside Situ Shibai, who repeatedly dies and revives under Zhang Ping’s attack. As daylight fades into night, Zhang Ping entertains himself by talking to Little Stone, though the stone mockingly refuses to continue the conversation after Zhang Ping flatters it into believing it is exceptionally wise.
• Zhang catches and roasts a Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit using Psychokinesis and flame, then rests before beginning a physical training routine.
• He performs ten thousand push-ups and sit-ups, but realizes that ordinary exercise has almost no effect on his powerful body. He considers asking Wu Tian to attack him so he can train through combat, then experiments with self-inflicted wounds using a Contract Gem dagger. His rapid regeneration makes this ineffective as well.
• Frustrated by his confinement and lack of progress, Zhang Ping decides that developing his abilities and increasing their Proficiency may be more worthwhile than conventional training. Since he can now create additional Contract Gems, he believes he can improve without exhausting his potential.
• In Mingzhu City, Li Aoxue and Guan Hongying discover that the entire city has been annihilated. Their plan to use it as a base for conquering and unifying the realm is ruined.
• Li Aoxue senses Situ Shibai’s familiar aura and heads toward it, while Zhu Chengmian independently arrives to investigate the city’s destruction. Both want to understand what destroyed Mingzhu City before attempting to rebuild it.
• The two leaders eventually reach Situ Shibai’s vicinity and witness Zhang Ping blast apart another body that Situ Shibai has regenerated. They hide and cautiously observe Zhang Ping, unable to identify him.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains relaxed and playful despite being trapped in the area for an extended period. He has adapted to his circumstances by hunting, eating, exercising, and experimenting with his abilities.
• His confidence in his physical strength is reinforced, but he also recognizes its limitations: routine exercise and self-inflicted injuries no longer provide meaningful training. This pushes him toward a more deliberate focus on increasing ability Proficiency.
• Zhang Ping’s changed appearance and immense growth have erased his recognizable connection to his former identity. Even powerful figures who encounter him do not realize who he is.
• Little Stone displays a sarcastic, proud personality and easily turns Zhang Ping’s flattery against him.
• Li Aoxue reacts coldly to Situ Shibai’s failure to protect Mingzhu City and remains focused on understanding the catastrophe before resuming her ambitions.
• Zhu Chengmian is portrayed as more cautious than Li Aoxue, choosing to investigate from a distance rather than immediately exposing himself.

Significant Themes

• Identity and transformation: Zhang Ping has changed so drastically in appearance and power that former strangers—and potentially former acquaintances—can no longer recognize him.
• Adaptation and self-improvement: Even while confined, Zhang Ping seeks ways to remain productive and improve himself rather than simply surrendering to boredom.
• Limits of conventional strength: Physical training and pain have become ineffective for Zhang Ping, emphasizing how far he has surpassed ordinary human capabilities.
• Power and uncertainty: The destruction of Mingzhu City creates fear and confusion among the realm’s leaders, who must determine what force caused it before rebuilding.
• Humor amid danger: Zhang Ping’s banter with Little Stone, his prayer for a “strong, muscular man,” and his casual eating and exercise contrast with the serious destruction surrounding him.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping flatters Little Stone by calling its remarks profound and proving that it must be wise. Little Stone accepts the praise, then smugly tells him to stop talking so Zhang Ping’s stupidity will not influence it.
• Zhang Ping considers Wu Tian a possible training partner and imagines allowing him to attack without resistance.
• Li Aoxue and Guan Hongying discuss the loss of Mingzhu City and the collapse of their strategic plans.
• Li Aoxue and Zhu Chengmian independently follow Situ Shibai’s aura, then conceal themselves when they see Zhang Ping attacking him. Their shared uncertainty establishes Zhang Ping as a mysterious and potentially dangerous figure.

Chapter Summary: “One Woman, Three Marriages”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhu Chengmian and Li Aoxue secretly observe Zhang Ping for three days using equipment that prevents detection and Appraisal. Zhang remains unaware of their presence.
• During their surveillance, Zhang demonstrates numerous powerful abilities: hunting with Psychokinesis, controlling fire to cook, transforming into Pure Water to clean himself, and producing Contract Gems and King’s Gems.
• Recognizing Zhang as a young powerhouse potentially stronger than Situ Shibai, Zhu Chengmian and Li Aoxue independently conclude that he must be eliminated. They leave to plan their attack.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable notices their departure but does not attack because Situ Shibai revives at that moment, prompting the Venerable to fire another beam at him.
• Zhang develops a new “Rental Contract,” allowing him to lend his abilities to others. The user would expend their own potential while using the ability, but the ability and its accumulated Proficiency would eventually return to Zhang.
• Zhang hopes the contract will solve his Proficiency problem by allowing ordinary people in Mingzhu City to train his abilities for him. He cannot test it yet because Situ Shibai is still alive and there is no suitable test subject.
• After sleeping briefly, Zhang resumes creating Contract Gems. He notices a massive spread of red Metal Virus and recognizes it as the same virus previously encountered on Wolfpack Snowfield.
• Zhang realizes the Beast-Taming Zhu Family may be testing or attempting to kill him, but he welcomes the attack because the Metal Virus could restore his damaged Metallic Coating and allow him to use his Giant Form again.
• Over the next day, the virus consumes the surrounding wilderness, infecting plants and Mutated Beasts and transforming the area into a vast red ocean. Mingzhu City has already been destroyed, so no civilians are immediately endangered.
• From a nearby mountain, Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian observe the spreading virus. Zhu Zhaotian becomes alarmed because he cannot control it, while Zhu Chengmian remains confident.
• Zhu Chengmian releases his ninth son, Zhu Jiuyang, who is immobilized and terrified. He justifies sacrificing him by claiming that Zhu Jiuyang’s cruel nature made him unworthy of becoming an heir.
• Zhu Jiuyang is pushed into the Metal Virus and instantly transformed into a monster. The virus suddenly becomes organized, and all the infected creatures turn toward Zhang Ping.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Shows increasing confidence and ingenuity. He continues expanding his abilities, devises the Rental Contract to overcome Proficiency limitations, and treats the Zhu Family’s deadly attack as a convenient opportunity to recover his Giant Form.
• Zhu Chengmian: Reveals himself to be ruthless, calculating, and willing to sacrifice his own child for strategic gain. His concern is not merely defeating Zhang but controlling the Metal Virus well enough to make it an effective weapon.
• Li Aoxue: Shares Zhu Chengmian’s fear of Zhang’s potential and agrees that he must be eliminated, though she takes no direct action in the chapter.
• Zhu Zhaotian: Becomes increasingly uneasy after releasing the Metal Virus. His lack of control highlights the danger of Zhu Chengmian’s plan and his own dependence on Zhu Chengmian’s assurances.
• Zhu Jiuyang: Is exposed as a disgraced and disposable family member. His terror and helplessness emphasize the brutality of Zhu Chengmian and the Zhu Family.
• Situ Shibai: Continues reviving and remains under attack from Coiling Dragon Venerable, preventing Zhang from testing the Rental Contract.

Significant Themes

• Threat of overwhelming power: Zhang’s rapid growth makes him dangerous enough that powerful factions decide he cannot be allowed to survive.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Zhang views the Metal Virus attack as a useful resource, while Zhu Chengmian treats his own son as expendable material.
• Control and unintended consequences: Zhu Zhaotian’s inability to contain the virus suggests that weapons created for a specific purpose may become uncontrollable.
• Exploitation of others: Zhang’s Rental Contract turns other people into potential tools for improving his abilities, while Zhu Chengmian similarly exploits Zhu Jiuyang for the family’s objectives.
• Power through preparation: Zhang spends his time creating gems and refining contracts, showing that his strength comes not only from combat but also from planning and ability development.

Important Character Interactions

• Zhu Chengmian and Li Aoxue silently observe Zhang and reach the same conclusion: he must die.
• Zhang independently analyzes the Metal Virus attack and interprets it as both a possible assassination attempt and an opportunity.
• Zhu Zhaotian questions Zhu Chengmian about the danger of the uncontrolled virus, but Zhu Chengmian dismisses his concerns and proceeds with the plan.
• Zhu Chengmian condemns and sacrifices Zhu Jiuyang, demonstrating the family’s ruthless internal hierarchy.
• After Zhu Jiuyang’s transformation, the Metal Virus and its monsters become coordinated and focus collectively on Zhang, setting up the next confrontation.

Chapter Summary: “There Was Such a Good Thing?”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping deliberately provokes the Metal Virus monsters, drawing the entire horde toward himself.
• Protected by Metallic Coating and empowered by Metal Eater, he allows the monsters to attack him before swallowing and converting them into metal elements.
• The Metal Virus’s enormous swarm is gradually consumed. The red fungal carpet and monster horde shrink until Zhang Ping devours the entire virus.
• Members of the Beast-Taming Zhu Family, including Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian, observe from hiding. They realize that the Metal Virus is no match for Zhang Ping, making their costly test—including the sacrifice of Zhu Chengmian’s son—pointless.
• Afterward, Zhang Ping taunts the hidden Zhu Family, jokingly asking them to send more food.
• Zhang Ping discovers that he has gained a new ability: the Book of Good Karma. He carefully appraises it before using it and learns that he has advanced from Level 20 to Level 21.
• The Book reveals that Zhang Ping possesses 14,228,265 Good-Karma Points, accumulated from his past good deeds and lives he has saved.
• The points can activate summoned beasts with unusual abilities. The first examples are the Child-Bringing Crane, which improves pregnancy luck, and the Heaven-Swallowing Toad, which guarantees success in winning over a romantic target.
• Although initially unimpressed by the strange abilities, Zhang Ping recognizes that they give him useful versatility. He becomes especially excited by the toad’s romantic ability.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping demonstrates greater confidence and fearlessness, willingly allowing the Metal Virus to overwhelm him because he knows he can absorb it. His playful, greedy attitude toward the “food” highlights his growing strength.
• He also shows prudence by inspecting the Book of Good Karma before opening it, aware that new abilities may have dangerous side effects.
• Zhang Ping’s discovery of his accumulated Good-Karma Points reveals that he has unknowingly performed many altruistic acts. His interest in the ability confirms that he values useful powers, even when they are unconventional.
• Zhu Chengmian becomes frustrated and helpless after realizing that his carefully prepared test has failed.
• Zhu Zhaotian remains observant but visibly anxious as he watches the Metal Virus disappear.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and adaptability: Zhang Ping turns an apparently deadly swarm into nourishment, showing how completely he can exploit his abilities.
• The unpredictability of power: The Book of Good Karma grants bizarre, noncombat abilities rather than simply making Zhang Ping stronger, expanding his potential in unexpected ways.
• Good deeds and moral consequence: Zhang Ping’s accumulated Good-Karma Points suggest that past actions have lasting rewards, even when he was not consciously seeking them.
• Prudence beneath humor: Despite his carefree behavior, Zhang Ping checks the risks of his new ability before using it.
• Versatility over brute strength: Zhang Ping realizes that unusual abilities may fill gaps that his immense combat power cannot address.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping uses the Metal Virus monsters as both enemies and food, actively encouraging them to attack him.
• Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian silently observe Zhang Ping’s victory and discuss the virus’s defeat.
• Zhang Ping calls out to the hidden Zhu Family, thanking them for the “food” and provocatively requesting more.
• Zhang Ping communicates directly with the Book of Good Karma, questioning the source of his points and whether they can be manipulated.
• His reaction to the Heaven-Swallowing Toad introduces a humorous interest in the book’s romantic powers and sets up possible future use of the ability.

Chapter Summary: Healing White Tiger

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping examines the abilities in the Book of Good Karma while ignoring the ongoing battle outside. He discovers the Heaven-Swallowing Toad, whose ability involves swallowing a swan, but chooses not to activate it because he considers using it for romance unfair without mutual consent.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable continues repeatedly attacking Situ Shibai, seemingly unconcerned about the Metal Virus. However, it secretly detects Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian, who are hiding nearby.
• Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian realize that their Metal Virus attack has been completely absorbed by Zhang Ping. Terrified by his power, they conclude that he may be as dangerous—or even more dangerous—than Situ Shibai. They retreat and teleport to a distant base.
• Zhang Ping activates the Treasure Squirrel, which creates a private Treasure Space that can store items permanently but never return them. The squirrel insists that he place something inside, so Zhang Ping sacrifices a finger.
• When Zhang summons another Treasure Squirrel, he discovers that each summon creates a new, empty Treasure Space. This leads him to conclude that the summoned beasts are preset constructs rather than independent, self-aware beings.
• Zhang continues exploring the Book of Good Karma and activates numerous practical summoned beasts, treating the process almost like shopping because of his enormous supply of Good-Karma Points.
• Among them are the Fertilizer Boar, which accelerates plant growth; the White-Cloud Azure Ox, which improves mental recovery during sleep; and the Healing White Tiger, which removes stress and negative emotions through physical contact.
• After petting and lying on the Healing White Tiger, Zhang’s accumulated boredom, irritation, and pressure disappear. He feels mentally refreshed and energetic.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains powerful, curious, and irreverent, but he also shows moral consideration by refusing to use the Heaven-Swallowing Toad for romance without consent.
• His experimentation with the Treasure Squirrel demonstrates his growing understanding of the Book of Good Karma’s mechanics. He realizes that summoned beasts are temporary, functional “templates” rather than true individuals.
• The Healing White Tiger reveals Zhang’s hidden emotional burden. Although he has continued functioning calmly, prolonged confinement and responsibility have gradually made him more irritable and domineering.
• Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian become deeply intimidated by Zhang. Their immediate withdrawal shows that they now regard him as a major threat and avoid further confrontation.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Zhang possesses overwhelming abilities but deliberately avoids using them unfairly.
• The nature of summoned beings: The Treasure Squirrel experiment raises questions about whether the creatures are alive or merely magical tools with programmed behavior.
• Emotional health: The Healing White Tiger emphasizes that suppressed stress can influence a person even when it does not visibly affect their judgment.
• Practical uses of power: Many abilities are not combat-oriented; they provide communication, healing, agriculture, recovery, and emotional support.
• Fear and survival: Zhang’s abilities are so frightening that even powerful enemies immediately retreat after witnessing them.

Character Interactions

• Zhang interacts indirectly with Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Zhaotian by terrifying them through his absorption of the Metal Virus, though he remains unaware that they are observing him.
• He communicates with the Treasure Squirrel through gestures and Communion with All Things, discovering that it behaves according to fixed instincts and rules.
• His main direct interaction is with the Healing White Tiger, whose affectionate presence allows him to release his accumulated stress and regain his emotional balance.

Chapter Summary: “Cat Sniffing Feels Great for a While”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At Sunfire Base, Zhu Chengmian asks his father, Zhu Taihao, for permission to use the Flare Cannon against Zhang Ping, an unknown Infinite Tier Awakened.
• Zhu Chengmian argues that Zhang Ping is even more dangerous than Situ Shibai. Zhu Taihao agrees to let him use the cannon, but only after Situ Shibai has been killed.
• This strategy reflects the Beast-Taming Zhu Family’s goal of securing first place while eliminating or weakening their strongest rivals. Using the cannon too early could allow Situ Shibai to escape while Zhang Ping survives.
• Meanwhile, Zhang Ping has become completely unmotivated after obtaining the Healing White Tiger. He spends his days lying on it, petting it, and inhaling its comforting scent.
• Although Zhang Ping briefly reminds himself of his responsibilities to the Rescue Team and the countless worlds that need saving, he quickly abandons his plan to train and returns to relaxing with the tiger.
• A five-person special operations team approaches Zhang Ping. Their mission is to investigate his abilities, rescue Situ Shibai, and force Zhang Ping to reveal as much of his background and power as possible.
• The team is the Cannon Fodder Squad, an elite unit serving Li Aoxue. Each member can revive once per year, allowing them to undertake missions that are otherwise considered certain death.
• Ma Qi uses a doll containing one of her own eyeballs to spy on Zhang Ping. She sees him enthusiastically huffing the Healing White Tiger and dismisses him as a pervert.
• The squad’s captain plans to exploit Zhang Ping’s attachment to the tiger, possibly using it as a hostage or distraction.
• The team divides its roles: the two Oceanfolk will distract Zhang Ping, the captain will rescue Situ Shibai, and Ma Qi and the other woman will provide support from hiding.
• Even if Situ Shibai is rescued, the squad is ordered to remain and fight until they have gathered more information, confirming that their mission is intended to cost them their lives.

Character Developments

• Zhu Chengmian becomes increasingly aggressive and impatient, viewing Zhang Ping as an urgent threat and seeking permission to deploy overwhelming force.
• Zhu Taihao remains cautious and strategic. He restrains his son’s eagerness and insists on waiting until Situ Shibai is dead before using the Flare Cannon.
• Zhang Ping experiences a sharp decline in motivation and discipline. The Healing White Tiger’s comfort has made him complacent, though he still retains awareness of his greater responsibilities.
• The Cannon Fodder Squad’s captain is pragmatic, ruthless, and obedient to Li Aoxue. He accepts the squad’s likely deaths as part of the mission and suppresses dissent.
• Ma Qi is gloomy, suspicious, and reluctant to save Situ Shibai. She questions Li Aoxue’s orders but ultimately submits to authority.
• The Oceanfolk members show understandable reluctance toward the suicide mission, preferring to retreat once Situ Shibai is rescued.

Significant Themes

• Comfort versus responsibility: Zhang Ping’s peaceful dependence on the Healing White Tiger contrasts with his duty to protect worlds and lead the Rescue Team.
• Strategic patience versus reckless action: Zhu Taihao’s caution clashes with Zhu Chengmian’s desire for immediate destruction.
• Sacrifice and expendability: The Cannon Fodder Squad’s resurrection abilities allow them to be used for missions designed around death, emphasizing how political goals can treat individuals as disposable.
• Obedience and authority: The squad members must follow Li Aoxue’s orders even when they disagree, especially regarding the rescue of Situ Shibai.
• Misjudgment and appearances: The squad interprets Zhang Ping’s relaxed behavior as weakness or degeneracy, unaware of the danger he may still represent.

Character Interactions

• Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Taihao clash over when to use the Flare Cannon, with the father ultimately imposing a cautious condition.
• Zhang Ping interacts almost exclusively with the Healing White Tiger, whose presence provides him with emotional peace but also encourages his laziness.
• Ma Qi and the captain exchange cynical remarks about Zhang Ping and the possibility of using the tiger against him.
• Ma Qi criticizes the captain’s willingness to exploit Zhang Ping’s attachment, while the captain justifies it as necessary warfare.
• Ma Qi questions why Li Aoxue wants Situ Shibai rescued despite previously viewing him as an enemy; the captain silences her challenge by invoking discipline.
• The Oceanfolk question whether they may retreat after rescuing Situ Shibai, but the captain confirms that everyone must continue fighting until the mission’s intelligence-gathering objective is fulfilled.

Chapter Summary: “Cannon Fodder Squad”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Cannon Fodder Squad receives a suicide mission: regardless of success or failure, every member is expected to die, and retreat is forbidden.
• The greatsword-wielding young man, two Oceanfolk, Ma Qi, and the woman with the sewn-shut mouth split up. The first three move ahead to carry out the main operation, while Ma Qi and her companion hide and provide support.
• Their separation is intended to prevent enemies with mind-reading abilities from discovering the entire plan.
• Meanwhile, Zhang Ping rests comfortably on the Healing White Tiger while waiting for events to unfold.
• Two Oceanfolk, Xu Haize and Xu Wanglu, approach Zhang Ping. Their mission is to investigate him and help rescue Situ Shibai, with Captain Chen apparently prepared to make the rescue once they begin their attack.
• Zhang Ping acts completely relaxed and invites the hostile Oceanfolk to sit and talk. Xu Haize accepts, but begins blurting out information—including his real name and his connection to Li Aoxue—despite intending to keep those details secret.
• Zhang Ping denies possessing any truth-forcing or mind-control ability. It becomes clear that the Healing White Tiger’s calming influence is affecting Xu Haize’s emotions and lowering his hostility.
• Zhang Ping casually falls asleep, leaving the Oceanfolk uncertain whether he is genuinely careless or deliberately manipulating them.
• Xu Haize eventually decides that they must attack. Although he orders Xu Wanglu to avoid harming the Healing White Tiger, Xu Wanglu considers it an enemy summoned beast and charges Zhang Ping directly.
• Xu Wanglu transforms into a heavily armored, scaled warrior with a bladed shield, while Xu Haize grows into a massive shark-headed form equipped with a trident.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping remains astonishingly calm and carefree despite being confronted by potential enemies. His casual behavior, humor, and willingness to sleep during a crisis emphasize his confidence and unpredictability.
• Xu Haize is shown to be impulsive and unusually susceptible to the Healing White Tiger’s influence. He repeatedly reveals information unintentionally, then becomes protective of the tiger despite recognizing that it belongs to his enemy.
• Xu Wanglu is more cautious, practical, and mission-focused than Xu Haize. He distrusts the situation and refuses to accept Xu Haize’s emotional attachment to the tiger without making his own judgment.
• The Cannon Fodder Squad demonstrates discipline and acceptance of sacrifice. Their willingness to divide their forces and proceed despite certain death establishes their commitment to the mission.
• The Healing White Tiger is revealed to possess more than healing abilities: its presence can induce calm, gentleness, and emotional disarmament in those who encounter it.

Significant Themes

• Sacrifice and fatalism: The squad’s mission treats death as unavoidable, portraying loyalty and duty as more important than survival.
• Deception and uncertainty: Both sides attempt to conceal their intentions, but Zhang Ping’s relaxed behavior makes it difficult for the Oceanfolk to determine whether he is naïve, powerful, or manipulating them.
• The contrast between aggression and gentleness: The Oceanfolk arrive prepared to fight, but the Healing White Tiger’s aura undermines their hostility and complicates their understanding of Zhang Ping.
• Power expressed through ease: Zhang Ping’s refusal to show fear—even while facing armed enemies—suggests overwhelming confidence and makes his apparent laziness function as a form of dominance.
• Individual judgment versus orders: Xu Wanglu follows the practical logic of attacking an enemy’s summoned beast, while Xu Haize’s altered emotions lead him to question standard battlefield behavior.

Character Interactions

• The squad members exchange brief farewells and fist bumps before separating, reinforcing their camaraderie and shared acceptance of death.
• Zhang Ping treats Xu Haize and Xu Wanglu as guests rather than enemies, inviting them to sit on the Healing White Tiger and attempting to turn a confrontation into a conversation.
• Xu Haize unintentionally exposes personal information to Zhang Ping, creating a humorous but tense exchange.
• Zhang Ping’s indifference frustrates and confuses Xu Haize, especially when he falls asleep in the middle of their encounter.
• The Healing White Tiger silently influences Xu Haize, causing him to feel gentleness and become unwilling to let Xu Wanglu harm it.
• Xu Haize and Xu Wanglu disagree over how to treat the tiger, with Xu Wanglu choosing to attack despite Xu Haize’s warning.

Chapter Summary: “Zhang Ping Fast Asleep”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xu Wanglu and Xu Haize attempt to attack Zhang Ping, who remains asleep and does not actively fight.
• Zhang Ping’s spatial ability manifests as a black curtain that teleports anything passing through it to another location—often redirecting attacks back at the attacker.
• Xu Wanglu realizes that their inability to counter spatial powers makes them essentially powerless against Zhang Ping. He tries to test the ability’s range by moving several thousand meters away.
• Xu Haize attacks from a distance, but the black curtain redirects his trident through his own body. He is gravely wounded, reverts from his shark form, and dies while trying to crawl toward the fallen Healing White Tiger.
• Recognizing that Zhang Ping’s defenses cannot be broken, Xu Wanglu launches a desperate attack. The spatial curtain sends him directly in front of Situ Shibai, where a descending pillar of light annihilates both of them.
• From hiding, Ma Qi witnesses the deaths and becomes alarmed by Zhang Ping’s overwhelming power, especially because he defeats both attackers without waking or making a deliberate move.
• Ma Qi and Zhou Shengmei decide to continue their mission despite its apparent certainty of death. Their primary objective is to rescue Situ Shibai, while probing Zhang Ping’s abilities is secondary.
• Ma Qi sacrifices parts of her own body—pulling out her hair, removing an ear, and detaching her legs—to create multiple distractions and approach the battlefield.
• Her animated hair and detached body parts move toward Zhang Ping and Coiling Dragon Venerable. Meanwhile, Zhang Ping continues sleeping peacefully on Healing White Tiger, entirely undisturbed.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: His terrifying strength is emphasized through passive defense rather than conscious action. His spatial ability automatically neutralizes attacks and turns them against his enemies. His continued sleep makes his power seem even more absurd and intimidating.
• Xu Haize: His shark transformation increases his physical power but diminishes his intelligence and self-control. His aggression ultimately contributes to his death when his own weapon is redirected into his body.
• Xu Wanglu: He displays tactical awareness by deducing that Zhang Ping’s spatial ability must have a range limit. However, after recognizing that Zhang Ping cannot be defeated normally, he chooses a suicidal attack rather than face punishment from his own side.
• Ma Qi: She emerges as a pragmatic and determined survivor. Though frightened by Zhang Ping, she accepts the mission’s dangers and willingly mutilates herself to create distractions and improve the team’s chances.
• Zhou Shengmei: Despite being unable to speak because her mouth is sewn shut, she remains calm and resolute, encouraging Ma Qi to act without relying on luck.
• Healing White Tiger: It remains calm and unconcerned amid the violence, licking its paws while Zhang Ping sleeps on its body.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable: He continues guarding Situ Shibai’s revival point and attacking, functioning as another obstacle between the rescue team and their objective.

Significant Themes

• The overwhelming power of space: Spatial abilities are presented as nearly impossible to overcome without another spatial power, rivaling time-based abilities in superiority.
• The helplessness of ordinary strength: Physical attacks, distance, and numbers are meaningless against Zhang Ping’s automatic defense.
• Sacrifice and duty: The Cannon Fodder Squad knowingly undertakes a mission with a high probability of death because rescuing Situ Shibai is essential.
• Fate versus strategy: Although Xu Wanglu attempts to reason out the limits of Zhang Ping’s ability, even careful planning cannot overcome the gap in power.
• Absurdity and dark humor: Zhang Ping’s casual sleep contrasts with the brutal deaths of his opponents, making their defeat both horrifying and grotesquely comedic.
• Loyalty and coercion: Xu Wanglu attacks partly because he fears retaliation from his own captain, showing how internal pressures influence the soldiers’ choices.

Character Interactions

• Xu Wanglu and Xu Haize cooperate uneasily, with Wanglu providing strategy while Haize’s transformed state makes him hostile and volatile.
• Their attempts to coordinate an attack fail when Zhang Ping’s spatial curtain redirects Haize’s weapon and later sends Wanglu into a fatal trap.
• Ma Qi and Zhou Shengmei discuss whether continuing the mission is worthwhile. Zhou Shengmei’s written response reinforces their commitment to fulfilling their duty despite the danger.
• Zhang Ping remains physically close to Healing White Tiger, using it as a resting place, while the tiger remains indifferent to the surrounding battle.
• Ma Qi’s preparations indicate an attempt to distract Zhang Ping and Coiling Dragon Venerable simultaneously, giving the remaining team a chance to reach Situ Shibai’s revival point.

Chapter Summary: Wandering Azure Bird

Key Plot Points and Events

• Chen Weihua continues hearing her own voice crying “Help!” whenever she sleeps. Although medical examination shows no physical problem beyond mild malnutrition, Cheng Xuejie theorizes that the voice may belong to another version of Chen Weihua from a parallel world.
• The Rescue Team investigates Chen Weihua’s alternate selves. Zhang Shouzhong and Liu Sishan confirm that the versions in World Zero and World Three are safe, leaving the source of the cries unidentified.
• Zhang Ping remains with Healing White Tiger while the group deals with enemies connected to Li Aoxue. A young greatsword-wielding warrior attacks Coiling Dragon Venerable, calling Li Aoxue “Her Majesty,” but is instantly destroyed by Zhang Ping’s attack.
• Ma Qi refuses to participate seriously in the mission, openly criticizing Li Aoxue’s claims about the Human King and announcing her intention to leave the Cannon Fodder Squad.
• Zhang Ping connects Chen Weihua’s mysterious cries to a particular unknown world, but chooses not to investigate immediately because Situ Shibai’s issue remains unresolved.
• While browsing the Book of Good Karma, Zhang Ping activates two creatures: Snake-Slaying Night Hawk, which automatically kills nearby snakes, and Wandering Azure Bird, which can travel across countless worlds and return with local specialties.

Character Developments

• Chen Weihua: Becomes increasingly concerned about the alternate-world voice and wants to rescue whoever is calling for help. Her unusual Mental Strength may allow her to connect psychically with other versions of herself.
• Cheng Xuejie: Shows compassion and initiative by investigating Chen Weihua’s condition and proposing the parallel-world explanation. She reassures Chen that the Rescue Team will help.
• Zhang Ping: Demonstrates confidence and emotional detachment after killing the attacking warrior. He notices the possible connection between Chen Weihua’s cries and an unknown world but postpones action, relying on his usual belief that circumstances will resolve themselves.
• Ma Qi: Grows openly rebellious toward Li Aoxue and the Cannon Fodder Squad. She distrusts Li’s ideology and resents being forced to depend on others because of her unpopular ability.
• Greatsword-wielding youth: Reveals deep loyalty to Li Aoxue, whom he calls “Her Majesty,” and sacrifices himself in a reckless attempt to attack Zhang Ping.
• Zhang Shouzhong and Liu Sishan: Continue supporting the investigation into alternate worlds and confirm that two possible versions of Chen Weihua are unharmed.

Significant Themes

• Parallel worlds and interconnected identities: The chapter suggests that alternate versions of people may communicate across worlds, raising questions about shared consciousness and fate.
• Duty versus personal belief: The greatsword warrior obeys Li Aoxue without hesitation, while Ma Qi rejects Li’s ideology and refuses to follow blindly.
• Power and sacrifice: The warrior’s devotion leads to his immediate death, contrasting with Zhang Ping’s overwhelming strength and casual attitude toward danger.
• Curiosity and delayed action: Zhang Ping identifies a potentially serious mystery but postpones dealing with it, reflecting both his confidence and his tendency to rely on events resolving naturally.
• The strange utility of supernatural abilities: The Book of Good Karma produces abilities that range from potentially world-spanning—such as Wandering Azure Bird—to highly situational, such as the Snake-Slaying Night Hawk.

Character Interactions

• Cheng Xuejie comforts Chen Weihua and discusses the possibility that her cries come from another world.
• Chen Weihua expresses gratitude toward the Rescue Team and confidence in Zhang Ping’s survival.
• Zhang Shouzhong confirms that the known alternate versions of Chen Weihua are safe, deepening the mystery.
• Ma Qi argues with Zhou Shengmei and dismisses Li Aoxue’s claims, while Zhou Shengmei anxiously tries to stop her from speaking so openly.
• The greatsword warrior acts independently after Ma Qi fails to provide support, attacking Coiling Dragon Venerable out of loyalty to Li Aoxue.
• Zhang Ping notices the warrior’s reference to Li Aoxue but does not pursue the matter, then summons the two unusual creatures from the Book of Good Karma.

Summary: “Situ Shibai’s Resistance”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Wandering Azure Bird returns to Zhang Ping, demanding food and gifts for the friends it meets during its travels. After receiving fruit, it leaves again, promising to return in a week.
• Zhang Ping spends a peaceful period reading the Book of Good Karma while watching rain form around the battlefield between Coiling Dragon Venerable and Situ Shibai.
• Situ Shibai repeatedly revives after being destroyed by Coiling Dragon Venerable’s overwhelming attacks. One lightning strike is revealed to be a hidden countermeasure Situ Shibai planted during a previous death, though it fails to turn the battle around.
• Zhang Ping recognizes that Situ Shibai has been resisting continuously, using numerous abilities and backup plans, but Coiling Dragon Venerable’s speed and devastating raw power prevent him from gaining any advantage.
• Reflecting on the battle, Zhang Ping concludes that possessing many abilities is not enough; an ability user must either be well-rounded or possess one exceptional strength.
• Zhang Ping becomes uneasy about his own similarity to Situ Shibai and questions whether Coiling Dragon Venerable is protecting him or merely protecting the Tablet inside his spirit body.
• Seeking to strengthen himself, Zhang Ping begins exercising by carrying the exceptionally heavy Healing White Tiger and doing squats.
• As the rainwater accumulates and floods the area, Zhang Ping suspects that the flooding is another of Situ Shibai’s preparations.
• Situ Shibai revives once more, and the accumulated water forms a gigantic python. The python attacks Coiling Dragon Venerable with a powerful water stream, forcing him to respond.
• Zhang Ping realizes that Situ Shibai is using the water python as a distraction. If Coiling Dragon Venerable focuses on it, Situ Shibai may finally gain the brief opening needed to activate a spatial escape technique.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Remains outwardly relaxed and humorous, but the battle causes him to question his own strength and dependence on Coiling Dragon Venerable. He recognizes that external protection cannot replace personal power and begins physical training to improve himself.
• Situ Shibai: Demonstrates extraordinary persistence, intelligence, and preparation. Despite being repeatedly annihilated, he continues deploying hidden abilities and layered strategies designed to create even a momentary chance of escape.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable: Establishes overwhelming superiority through immense speed and destructive force. It acts independently rather than simply following Zhang Ping’s wishes, increasing Zhang Ping’s distrust and uncertainty.
• Wandering Azure Bird: Shows a playful, demanding personality and treats Zhang Ping as a reliable source of food and supplies.
• Healing White Tiger: Remains calm and dignified, passively cooperating with Zhang Ping’s exercise while observing the rain.

Significant Themes

• Raw power versus versatility: A wide range of abilities is ineffective without enough speed, strength, or a decisive advantage.
• The need for self-reliance: Zhang Ping realizes that relying on Coiling Dragon Venerable or the Tablet is dangerous because their actions are beyond his control.
• Persistence and preparation: Situ Shibai’s repeated revivals and hidden contingencies show that resistance can continue even against an overwhelmingly stronger opponent.
• Uncertainty and trust: Zhang Ping cannot determine whether Coiling Dragon Venerable protects him personally or only the Tablet within him.
• Calm amid destruction: Zhang Ping’s reading, conversation with the bird, and exercise contrast sharply with the catastrophic battle occurring nearby.

Character Interactions

• Wandering Azure Bird playfully demands rations from Zhang Ping, and he indulges it by providing fruit.
• Zhang Ping interacts affectionately with Healing White Tiger, using him as both a companion and an improvised weight.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable repeatedly destroys Situ Shibai, while Situ Shibai counters through hidden lightning, flooding, and the water python.
• Zhang Ping observes and analyzes the conflict rather than intervening, using the battle to reflect on the nature of strength and his uncertain relationship with Coiling Dragon Venerable.

Chapter Summary: “Free at Last”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping observes the battle between Situ Shibai and Coiling Dragon Venerable, hoping Situ can force the mysterious creature to reveal more of its abilities.
• Situ attacks with a giant water serpent, splitting it into countless smaller snakes while regenerating his destroyed body. This creates a dilemma for Coiling Dragon Venerable: attack Situ or defend against the snakes.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable reveals a terrifying new ability. Its body splits open like enormous scissors, cutting through and swallowing a section of space-time. Situ, the water snakes, the surrounding earth, and even part of the sky disappear.
• The creature emerges near Zhang Ping and appears to have sealed Situ inside the strange star-filled space associated with the Great Sun Boundary-Sealing Divine Needle. Zhang suspects Situ may now be trapped somewhere from which resurrection cannot save him.
• Realizing Coiling Dragon Venerable has not attacked him and that he is no longer needed, Zhang Ping leaves with the Healing White Tiger.
• He travels to the ruins of Mingzhu City, where he discovers that the entire city—including its foundations—has been obliterated.
• Zhang reflects on the enormous difference between his own destructive power and Coiling Dragon Venerable’s. He searches the ruins for surviving treasures or equipment, using his X-Ray Eyes.
• As he investigates near the former location of Gui Tower, a green slime-like energy emerges from the ground and rushes toward him.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Becomes increasingly aware of how far he is from the power level of Situ Shibai and Coiling Dragon Venerable. Although intimidated, he remains practical and opportunistic, choosing to leave the battlefield and search the destroyed city for valuable remnants. His anxiety eases when he realizes he is free and when the Healing White Tiger reassures him emotionally.
• Situ Shibai: Demonstrates powerful regeneration and a versatile water-based attack, but these abilities prove insufficient against Coiling Dragon Venerable’s spatial technique. His fate becomes uncertain, with Zhang believing he may be permanently trapped or destroyed.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable: Reveals a previously unseen and extremely frightening ability: cutting away and swallowing a portion of space-time. Its power appears vastly superior to both Zhang Ping and Situ Shibai.
• Healing White Tiger: Continues to serve as Zhang Ping’s source of comfort and emotional stability, helping him regain confidence after witnessing the battle.

Significant Themes

• Overwhelming power and the limits of strength: The battle emphasizes the enormous gap between powerful Awakened figures and Coiling Dragon Venerable.
• Freedom and survival: Zhang Ping’s realization that he can leave marks a major shift from being trapped in the conflict to acting independently.
• Destruction and lost value: Mingzhu City’s destruction demonstrates how quickly an invaluable civilization and defensive stronghold can be erased.
• Adaptability and opportunism: Rather than confronting enemies he cannot defeat, Zhang chooses survival and searches for possible treasures amid the ruins.
• Uncertainty of life and death: Situ Shibai’s regeneration once seemed nearly unstoppable, but Coiling Dragon Venerable’s spatial ability suggests that even resurrection may have limits.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping primarily interacts with Coiling Dragon Venerable as an observer and potential bystander; the creature does not harm him and indirectly frees him from the battlefield.
• Situ Shibai and Coiling Dragon Venerable clash directly, with Situ’s regeneration and water attacks overwhelmed by the latter’s spatial manipulation.
• Zhang Ping comforts and encourages himself through his bond with the Healing White Tiger, then carries it safely toward Mingzhu City.
• The chapter ends with Zhang Ping facing a new threat when the green energy creature targets him.

Chapter Summary: Sun-Moon World-Illuminating Mirror

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping detects a mass of green energy attacking him. His psychokinesis blocks it, transforming it into sticky sludge.
• Appraisal identifies it as Sunken Living Corpse Toxin, an independent ability capable of possessing targets, generating Corpse Poison, transforming victims into Living Corpses, and controlling them.
• Zhang Ping realizes this toxin has developed its own consciousness and is more dangerous than Zuo Xiangming’s original Living Corpse Toxin, which was controlled directly by its user.
• Although Zhang Ping dislikes both the Beast-Taming Zhu Family and Li Aoxue’s faction, he decides the toxin must be removed because it could exterminate the remaining humans in the region.
• He seals the toxin inside a Storage Contract gemstone, considering the possibility of creating a future warehouse for dangerous “Sealed Objects” and potentially negotiating with them through contracts.
• Zhang Ping searches the ruins of Mingzhu City for valuable equipment and materials left behind after the Coiling Dragon Venerable’s devastating attack.
• He discovers Inert Gold, a rare defensive biological metal that blocks psychokinesis, mental power, and many ranged attacks. He copies and absorbs it, recognizing its enormous value.
• During his search, he also finds other remnants, including Mind-Sealing Stone, an unknown bone, and one of the Wave-Treading Boots, leading him to wonder whether this world’s Shi Jun is dead.
• Eventually, he uncovers a large bronze mirror buried underground: the Sun-Moon World-Illuminating Mirror, Bright King’s final masterpiece.
• Appraisal reveals that, together with the Sun-Moon Pearl, the mirror can control vast celestial phenomena, burn the heavens, boil the seas, and freeze everything.
• Zhang Ping cannot activate the mirror using King Blood or Mental Strength. He concludes that it requires a special method, possibly known by Situ Shibai, who understands how to use the Sun-Moon Pearl.

Character Development

• Zhang Ping demonstrates increased caution and responsibility. Despite his hostility toward the local factions, he protects them indirectly by eliminating the Living Corpse Toxin.
• He continues developing a pragmatic and strategic mindset, considering how dangerous objects might be sealed, stored, contracted with, or used in the future.
• His enthusiasm for rare materials and artifacts reveals both his opportunistic nature and his growing awareness of the resources needed to strengthen the Rescue Team.
• His inability to fully appraise or activate the mirror reminds him that his abilities still have limits, especially when dealing with ancient or exceptionally powerful artifacts.

Significant Themes

• Power developing beyond its creator: The Living Corpse Toxin has become self-aware, making abilities themselves potential independent threats.
• Pragmatism versus morality: Zhang Ping dislikes the surviving factions but acts to preserve human life because the alternative would be even more disastrous.
• Discovery and technological inheritance: The ruins of Mingzhu City contain remnants of advanced materials and artifacts, showing how the past can provide tools for rebuilding the future.
• Limits of knowledge and power: Appraisal does not reveal everything, and possessing a legendary artifact does not guarantee the ability to use it.
• Control and containment: Zhang Ping’s idea of Sealed Objects reflects the chapter’s concern with managing dangerous powers rather than simply destroying them.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping directly confronts and neutralizes the autonomous Living Corpse Toxin.
• His thoughts contrast Zuo Xiangming’s user-controlled Living Corpse ability with the toxin’s independent control, emphasizing the danger of abilities that gain their own will.
• Zhang Ping plans to consult Situ Shibai, believing that his knowledge of the Sun-Moon Pearl may help unlock the matching mirror.
• The chapter also references the ongoing conflict between the Beast-Taming Zhu Family and Li Aoxue’s faction, though Zhang Ping remains detached from their struggle.

Chapter Summary: Little Bluebird’s Adventure

Plot Points and Events

• The Beast-Taming Zhu Family continues preparing to kill Zhang Ping with the Sunfire Base’s Flare Cannon. Because the cannon cannot target Mingzhu City—the former headquarters of the Zhu Family—the family sends Zhu Yanbing, Zhu Sanchi, and Zhu Rina to monitor Zhang Ping and notify Zhu Chengmian when he leaves the ruins.
• Zhang Ping has spent several days scavenging Mingzhu City for damaged treasures and materials he can reuse as a blacksmith. His true purpose is to wait for the Wandering Azure Bird, which is due to return soon. He plans to leave only after reuniting with it.
• Meanwhile, the Wandering Azure Bird is pursued through the void by a plump white-and-gold Astral Void Tiger Cat. The bird escapes into an azure realm and collides with a mysterious, beautiful woman.
• The woman examines the bird’s origins and sees a black sun encircled by a gigantic white serpent. The serpent notices her intrusion and injures her through the vision, causing golden blood to flow from her forehead.
• Believing that the bird’s master may be capable of changing the world’s hopeless fate, the woman gives Little Bluebird a ring to deliver to Zhang Ping as an apology.
• The woman restrains the tiger cat and warns it not to harm the bird, implying that a powerful entity connected to Zhang Ping protects Little Bluebird. The bird departs, but the tiger cat uses its strange green power to break free and continue pursuing it.
• The chapter ends by revealing that the woman is trapped on the planet by countless golden threads descending from the sky, preventing her escape.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Demonstrates patience, resourcefulness, and emotional attachment. Though he appears to be scavenging for materials, his main motivation is ensuring that Little Bluebird can find him before he leaves.
• Little Bluebird: Shows its playful, talkative, and mischievous personality, while also displaying loyalty and concern when the woman is injured. Its hidden origins appear far more powerful and mysterious than expected.
• Zhu Yanbing and the Zhu Family: Remain focused on ambushing Zhang Ping. Their preparations reveal both their caution and their dependence on the Flare Cannon’s restrictions and timing.
• The mysterious woman: Is introduced as powerful and perceptive, capable of seeing extraordinary secrets, but she is injured when she looks into Little Bluebird’s nature. She seems to recognize Zhang Ping’s importance and may become an ally.
• Astral Void Tiger Cat: Appears comical and gluttonous, but its ability to chase the bird through the void and break the woman’s restraint suggests considerable power.

Significant Themes

• Hidden power and identity: Little Bluebird appears innocent and insignificant, yet its connection to the black sun and white serpent frightens even the mysterious woman.
• Loyalty and companionship: Zhang Ping waits in danger for the bird’s return, while the bird worries about the woman and carries her ring to its master.
• Fate and hope: The woman’s belief that Zhang Ping may change the “hopeless world” introduces a larger destiny surrounding him.
• Trapped freedom: Both the bird and tiger cat are pursued through the void, while the woman is literally imprisoned by golden threads, emphasizing the limits placed on powerful beings.
• Strategic conflict: The Zhu Family’s planned ambush contrasts with Zhang Ping’s unaware scavenging, creating suspense over whether he will leave Mingzhu City before they can attack.

Character Interactions

• Zhu Yanbing, Zhu Sanchi, and Zhu Rina debate and monitor Zhang Ping, with Rina warning the others not to underestimate him.
• Little Bluebird and the tiger cat engage in a humorous chase, with the bird accusing the cat of being a bully after it eats its gift.
• The woman treats both creatures affectionately but recognizes the bird’s hidden significance and protects it from the tiger cat.
• The woman entrusts Little Bluebird with a ring for Zhang Ping, establishing a mysterious connection between them and hinting at future developments.

Awakening Ring — Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Ping remains asleep while his body, carrying the Healing White Tiger, runs repeatedly around the ruins of Mingzhu City. He completes at least 158 laps, astonishing the Zhu family observers.
• Zhu Sanchi, Zhu Rina, and Zhu Yanbing continue monitoring him but cannot decide how to approach or distract him. Sanchi jokingly suggests using Rina as bait, provoking her anger.
• Zhang eventually stops running, recognizing that the physical training provides only limited improvement compared with fighting powerful opponents such as Wu Tian. He decides to challenge martial halls again in the future while holding back as much as possible.
• After eating, Zhang scavenges Mingzhu City. The ruins force him to confront the reality of the city’s destruction and the disappearance of its tens of millions of residents.
• His attitude toward the parallel worlds changes: he no longer views their tragedies as distant fictional settings. He adds Zuo Xiangming to his active kill list and resolves to search for him in every world.
• The Wandering Azure Bird returns with a ring supposedly given as an apology by a “pretty big sister.” It also unintentionally brings back a fat cat, which the bird identifies as a “big bad guy.”
• Zhang realizes that the fat cat itself may have been transformed into a gift through the Azure Bird’s ability, while the ring may be the more dangerous object.
• He appraises the ring and discovers that it is an Awakening Ring, which gradually connects with its wearer’s mind and can eventually awaken a superpower. However, people with chaotic thoughts may instead transform into monsters.
• Appraising the ring causes Zhang’s soul to be pulled toward another space or time. His inner Tablet protects him from mental collapse, after which mysterious scenes begin unfolding before him.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping: Demonstrates extraordinary endurance and growing emotional maturity. His scavenging makes him empathize with Mingzhu City’s victims, strengthening his determination to pursue Zuo Xiangming across worlds. He also remains cautious and analytical when confronted with the suspicious ring.
• Zhu Rina: Displays patience and discipline while observing Zhang, but reacts fiercely to Sanchi’s crude insinuation, revealing her pride and dangerous temper.
• Zhu Sanchi: Remains comic, opportunistic, and irreverent, suggesting manipulative ways to escape their situation but quickly backing down when Rina threatens him.
• Wandering Azure Bird: Returns proudly from its mission, though it misunderstands the meaning of the ring and the consequences of its ability. It is still instinctively afraid of the fat cat.
• Fat cat: Becomes subject to Zhang’s command, apparently due to the Azure Bird’s power, and is shocked by its sudden loss of control.

Significant themes

• The reality of parallel-world suffering: Zhang’s emotional distance from alternate worlds begins to disappear as he directly encounters the devastation of Mingzhu City.
• Responsibility and revenge: The suffering of the city convinces Zhang that ignoring alternate-world versions of Zuo Xiangming is no longer acceptable.
• Power and unintended consequences: The Awakening Ring can grant supernatural abilities but may also create monsters, emphasizing that power depends on the user’s mental state.
• Caution beneath curiosity: Zhang’s willingness to investigate the ring is balanced by his suspicion that its apparent “gift” may conceal danger.
• Endurance and growth: Zhang’s physical training reflects his continuing effort to improve, even while he recognizes that real advancement comes through meaningful combat.

Character interactions

• The Zhu family members bicker while observing Zhang, with Sanchi teasing Rina and Rina threatening him.
• Zhang knowingly allows the Zhu family to watch him because they no longer pose a meaningful threat.
• The Wandering Azure Bird presents Zhang with the ring and inadvertently delivers the fat cat.
• Zhang tests the fat cat with a single command, confirming that it has temporarily become subject to his control.
• The chapter ends with Zhang examining the ring and experiencing a disturbing spiritual connection to another realm.

Chapter Summary: “One Who Saw God”

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping witnesses a strange scene through an apparent vision or memory. A young woman consults a psychiatrist about her father, who claims to have seen God, believes he is a painter, and covers their home with disturbing symbols and drawings.
• The psychiatrist unexpectedly advises the woman to discharge her father, suggesting that his apparent madness might actually indicate artistic talent.
• Zhang Ping discovers that the doctor’s notebook contains symbols with a powerful, nauseating effect. The graffiti throughout the hospital has the same supernatural influence, affecting even Zhang Ping as he observes it.
• The woman visits her father’s ward and reveals that he is hiding beneath the bed in the form of a white snake. The snake transforms into a grotesque, disheveled man whose body is covered with abnormal organs, eyes, mouths, and baby-like heads.
• The father worships “God” and begs to perceive more of the truth. He uses blood from his nose as paint while creating additional artwork, implying that his supernatural knowledge is destroying and transforming him.
• The vision shifts outside the psychiatric hospital, which has been sealed off by the military. Professor Zhou and the soldiers discuss the existence of supernatural power and the need to master it despite its cost.
• Professor Zhou conducts experiments on death-row prisoners using mysterious runes associated with Chen Changqing. Viewing even one rune causes mental illness; exposure to multiple runes produces varied and horrifying mutations, including exploding heads, extra heads, horns, and a gun growing from one prisoner’s skull and killing him.
• Rather than being horrified, Professor Zhou is delighted by the results because they confirm that the runes can produce genuine supernatural phenomena. Further experiments show that the same runes can cause different effects in different people.

2. Character Developments

• Zhang Ping becomes increasingly disturbed as he realizes that the symbols and artwork possess genuine supernatural power rather than being meaningless products of insanity. His inability to stop seeing or feeling their influence emphasizes his vulnerability as an observer.
• The young woman appears affectionate and trusting toward her father, even kissing his snake form and treating his release from the hospital as good news. However, her comfort with the bizarre environment suggests that she has been deeply influenced by the supernatural conditions around her.
• The father is revealed to be far more than mentally ill. His body has been radically mutated, and his obsession with seeing God and uncovering truth has turned him into a grotesque, fanatical painter. His desire for knowledge appears inseparable from madness, physical corruption, and violence.
• The psychiatrist treats supernatural abnormality as possible artistic talent, suggesting either a distorted worldview or familiarity with the phenomenon.
• Professor Zhou is characterized as ambitious and pragmatic. He recognizes the danger of the runes but is willing to sacrifice prisoners and accept horrific deaths in pursuit of supernatural power.
• The soldiers and researchers represent an organized effort to study and weaponize the supernatural rather than merely contain it.

3. Significant Themes

• The price of knowledge: The father’s desire to see God and understand ultimate truth leads to insanity and grotesque bodily transformation. The experiments likewise show that supernatural understanding comes at the cost of death and mutation.
• Madness versus supernatural insight: Behaviors labeled as delusions may actually reflect contact with forces beyond ordinary human understanding. The chapter repeatedly blurs the line between mental illness and genuine revelation.
• The danger of symbols and perception: The runes, paintings, and graffiti are not passive images; merely seeing them can alter the mind and body. Knowledge enters through vision but carries destructive consequences.
• Scientific ambition and moral sacrifice: Professor Zhou’s research demonstrates how institutions may justify cruelty in the name of national strength, progress, or fear of being left behind.
• The unknowability of truth: The father’s plea to “see more” suggests that truth may be both alluring and fundamentally incompatible with human sanity.

4. Character Interactions

• The young woman speaks with the psychiatrist about her father’s worsening condition, while the doctor responds with unsettling encouragement rather than conventional medical concern.
• She interacts tenderly with her mutated father, calling him “Dad,” kissing him in snake form, and conveying the doctor’s decision to release him.
• The father becomes hostile when he believes she has altered his paintings, threatening to kill her and use her blood as paint. Their affectionate relationship therefore coexists with danger and instability.
• Professor Zhou consults with a female soldier about the military blockade and the possibility of harnessing supernatural power. Their conversation frames the experiments as a national necessity.
• Zhou observes the prisoners’ transformations with fascination, contrasting sharply with the researchers’ shock and the prisoners’ suffering. His response reveals his willingness to prioritize discovery over human life.

Summary of “Form of a God”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Professor Zhou discovers that the mysterious runes can transform a person’s thoughts into reality, though the probability is extraordinarily small.
• He realizes that uncontrolled, continuous contemplation is dangerous: a person’s changing thoughts could produce grotesque or fatal results. He therefore develops a method of “timed contemplation,” in which subjects focus on the runes only at carefully chosen moments.
• Because death-row inmates might become uncontrollable threats, Professor Zhou selects ten loyal soldiers with exceptional willpower for the experiment.
• The soldiers gain extraordinary abilities, but each transformation is distorted by subconscious beliefs and scientific assumptions:
  • Soldier One becomes a gigantic muscular man but loses intelligence and control when angry.
  • Soldier Two turns into a tank-like, gun-armed, silicon-based organism requiring metal and gasoline.
  • Soldier Three becomes living fire but is immobilized by gravity and dependent on combustible material.
• Zhang Ping concludes that the soldiers’ subconscious understanding of reality limits their powers. Their abilities reflect not only their wishes but also their ingrained assumptions.
• The scene returns to the psychiatric hospital, where a girl asks a grotesque doctor about her family’s worsening condition. The doctor, now physically mutated, advises her to kill her uncle to resolve the family conflict.
• The doctor remembers his supposed identity and transforms into a bizarre multi-limbed surgeon. He captures and surgically reshapes a patient into a deformed creature with additional limbs.
• The doctor enters a ward and sees the image of the Black Sun surrounded by the White Giant Serpent. The serpent appears to notice Zhang Ping through the recording.
• A black fist emerges from the image and strikes Zhang Ping despite not physically passing through the screen, causing him to vomit blood. The vision then abruptly ends.

Character Developments

• Professor Zhou becomes increasingly methodical and morally detached, using soldiers as experimental subjects after recognizing the dangers of empowering criminals.
• The soldiers gain supernatural powers but become examples of the limitations and dangers created by subconscious thought. Their bodies and minds are altered in ways they cannot fully control.
• Zhang Ping demonstrates growing insight into the nature of the runes. He recognizes that subconscious assumptions shape supernatural abilities, suggesting he is beginning to understand the deeper mechanism behind the experiments.
• The doctor has completely abandoned normal humanity. His identity as a doctor appears to govern his transformation, producing countless surgical arms and tools. Despite his monstrous form, he retains professional language and a distorted belief that he is helping patients.
• The girl appears frightened and confused but also strangely composed. Her octopus-like lower body and familiarity with the hospital’s horrors suggest that she is deeply involved in the supernatural events.
• The transformed patient becomes another victim of the doctor’s warped “treatment,” illustrating the doctor’s cruelty and lack of concern for individual suffering.

Significant Themes

• Thought as a force of creation: The runes make inner desires capable of becoming physical reality.
• The danger of subconscious beliefs: Powers are shaped and restricted by assumptions, showing that imagination alone cannot escape a person’s mental framework.
• The conflict between science and the supernatural: The soldiers attempt to understand their powers scientifically, but their scientific preconceptions deform the results.
• Loss of identity and humanity: The soldiers, doctor, and patient become monstrous embodiments of their thoughts, roles, or misconceptions.
• Distorted healing and authority: The doctor uses the language of medicine to justify torture and mutilation, turning the idea of curing illness into grotesque violence.
• Cosmic horror and vulnerability: The Black Sun and White Giant Serpent represent forces beyond human understanding. Their ability to attack Zhang Ping through an image reveals that observation itself may expose him to danger.

Character Interactions

• Professor Zhou directs the soldiers’ experiment, while Zhang Ping observes and interprets its results.
• The soldiers’ transformations reflect the relationship between their individual minds and the supernatural power of the runes.
• The girl consults the doctor about her family, but he responds with murderous and irrational advice.
• The doctor captures a hospital patient and forcibly remakes his body, treating him as material for an operation rather than as a person.
• The doctor and the girl share a disturbing dynamic: she expects answers from him, while he repeatedly reinterprets events through his warped medical identity.
• The White Giant Serpent’s gaze and the Black Sun’s attack establish a direct, hostile connection between the supernatural image and Zhang Ping.

Chapter Summary: “Phase-Shift Ring”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Ping is violently affected by the black fist attack shown in the footage. His numerous abilities suddenly become active and behave as though they have developed independent minds.
• His powers run rampant: green chains erupt from his chest, energy rings and lasers fill the air, one arm transforms into blood, and the other becomes an enormous water-based limb.
• Zhang realizes that the Contract Gem is the foundation of his abilities. By concentrating on it, he regains control and uses its green chains to restrain his other powers.
• After suppressing the outbreak, Zhang collapses into an exhausted sleep. The entire incident lasts only about three minutes but drains him more severely than a battle.
• From a distant mountain, Zhu Yanbing and his group observe Zhang’s condition. They recognize that he has been genuinely injured and consider exploiting his vulnerability.
• Zhu Yanbing reveals the Phase-Shift Ring, a device given to him by the Third Elder. It can forcibly teleport a target to a designated location, where Zhu Yanbing intends to have Zhang destroyed by the Flare Cannon.
• The group initially hesitates because Zhang may recover before they act. Zhu Yanbing proposes using Zhu Yanzhi’s summoned hamster, Xiao Zhi, to carry and activate the ring while the others remain at a safer distance.
• Xiao Zhi successfully approaches Zhang in the Mingzhu City Ruins. Coiling Dragon Venerable does not attack, suggesting the hamster does not trigger its counterattack ability.
• The hamster places the Phase-Shift Ring on Zhang and activates it, successfully teleporting him away.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping: Demonstrates both the overwhelming scale of his abilities and the limits of his control. Though injured and exhausted, he remains mentally unaffected and is able to reassert mastery over his powers through discipline and prioritization.
• Zhu Yanbing: Reveals himself as ambitious and opportunistic. He is willing to risk attacking Zhang to gain greater status, but he also presents himself as responsible by promising to hold Zhang back while his followers escape.
• Zhu Rina: Acts as the cautious voice of reason, recognizing that Zhang remains extremely dangerous even while injured. Her reluctance highlights the seriousness of the proposed gamble.
• Zhu Sanchi: Shows loyalty and courage by volunteering to take the main risk himself.
• Zhu Yanzhi: Provides the practical solution by using Xiao Zhi, his summoned beast, to operate the Phase-Shift Ring from a safer distance.
• Xiao Zhi: Moves from reconnaissance support to a crucial active role, successfully infiltrating Zhang’s position and activating the ring.

Significant Themes

• Control versus chaos: Zhang’s powers becoming “alive” symbolizes the danger of possessing immense strength without perfect control. His victory over the outbreak depends on mental focus and establishing priorities.
• Exhaustion and vulnerability: Even a powerful figure like Zhang can be temporarily incapacitated after using or resisting his abilities, creating opportunities for enemies.
• Ambition and risk: Zhu Yanbing and his allies weigh personal advancement against the possibility of death, showing how political ambition drives dangerous decisions.
• Teamwork and strategy: Rather than confronting Zhang directly, the group relies on specialized equipment, distance, and Xiao Zhi’s abilities to exploit his weakness.
• Uncertainty and calculated betrayal: Zhang’s enemies do not know how injured he is, yet they choose to act before he can recover, emphasizing the dangers of incomplete information.

Character Interactions

• Zhang internally prioritizes the Contract Gem and uses it to restrain his other abilities.
• Zhu Yanbing discusses the attack plan with Zhu Rina, Zhu Sanchi, Zhu Yanzhi, Cao Fang, and the rest of his followers, facing both skepticism and support.
• Zhu Rina warns Zhu Yanbing against underestimating Zhang, while Zhu Sanchi openly supports the plan and offers himself as the main attacker.
• Zhu Yanzhi proposes Xiao Zhi as the operative, allowing the group to reach Zhang without exposing their strongest members.
• Xiao Zhi directly interacts with Zhang by placing the Phase-Shift Ring on him, while Coiling Dragon Venerable observes but does not intervene.

Chapter Summary: “One Shot, Up Eight Levels”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At Sunfire Base, Zhu Chengmian waits in the Flare Cannon launch chamber, convinced that the destruction of Mingzhu City and the defeat of Situ Shibai have cleared the way for his rise to power.
• He believes Zhang Ping must die before the Beast-Taming Zhu Family’s “new era” can truly begin.
• Zhu Luanyang contacts Zhu Chengmian and reveals that Zhu Yanbing successfully transferred the Infinite-Tier Ability User away from Mingzhu City. He provides Zhang Ping’s coordinates.
• Zhu Luanyang also questions the origin of the mysterious fox Mutated Beasts allied with the Zhu Family. Zhu Chengmian answers that they came from “Sanctuary” and directs him toward Zhong Dian, Sanctuary’s security captain, for more information.
• Although Zhu Luanyang pretends not to be interested, he immediately orders Zhu Tianhou to investigate Zhong Dian and Sanctuary.
• Zhu Chengmian deliberately gives Zhu Luanyang information he suspects will provoke further investigation, while prioritizing the use of the Flare Cannon against Zhang Ping.
• The Flare Cannon fires a devastating red beam from orbit at Zhang Ping, destroying the valley and vaporizing nearby wildlife.
• Zhang Ping survives because his Nether Mist automatically emerges and forms a defensive barrier. The attack also reveals that his abilities have developed a degree of automatic intelligence and can react without his direct command.
• Zhang discovers that the activated Glutton ability can now absorb external energy through black tentacles. The Energy Eater purifies and distributes that energy among his abilities.
• By channeling the purified energy through the Contract Gem, Zhang’s level rapidly rises from 21 to 29—an increase of eight levels.
• He stops the process before reaching Level 30, recognizing that advancing to the Top-Tier rank requires careful preparation.

Character Developments

• Zhu Chengmian becomes increasingly ambitious and ruthless. He sees Zhang Ping’s death as essential to securing his future leadership and uses the conflict between Zhu Luanyang and Sanctuary to his advantage.
• Zhu Luanyang displays greater intelligence and suspicion than the other Zhu Family members. His doubts about the foxes and Sanctuary lead him to begin investigating the organization.
• Zhang Ping gains a major upgrade in both survival ability and growth potential. His powers now function semi-autonomously, effectively acting as additional organs that can protect him and respond to threats.
• Zhang also becomes more cautious and strategic, choosing not to force a premature major-rank advancement despite his excitement at reaching Level 29.

Significant Themes

• Ambition and internal power struggles: Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Luanyang pursue their own agendas while operating within the same family.
• Hidden forces and mystery: Sanctuary and the origin of the foxes remain unexplained, creating a larger mystery beyond the Zhu Family’s immediate conflict.
• Evolution and adaptation: Zhang’s abilities have developed from passive tools into semi-independent systems capable of automatic decision-making.
• Power and preparation: The chapter emphasizes that raw advancement is not enough; major breakthroughs require planning and readiness.
• Destructive technology versus survival: The Flare Cannon demonstrates overwhelming destructive power, but Zhang’s evolving abilities allow him to withstand and exploit the attack.

Character Interactions

• Zhu Chengmian and Zhu Luanyang converse cautiously, with Chengmian maintaining outward respect while concealing his irritation and ulterior motives.
• Zhu Luanyang questions Chengmian about the foxes, and Chengmian intentionally gives him just enough information to push him toward investigating Sanctuary.
• Zhu Luanyang orders Zhu Tianhou to investigate Zhong Dian after ending the call.
• Zhang Ping has no direct interaction with the Zhu Family in the chapter, but he becomes the target of Zhu Chengmian’s attack and turns the Flare Cannon’s energy into a source of rapid advancement.

Chapter Summary: “Subduing the Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Several days after the Flare Cannon attack, Zhang Ping remains at the Rescue Team’s headquarters in the Mysterious Sewer. Although he identifies the Beast-Taming Zhu Family as responsible, he abandons plans for revenge because he cannot locate Sunfire Base and has more important priorities.
• Zhang Ping studies and experiments with his abilities. By combining Glutton with Linker, he can now forcibly extract abilities from unconscious Awakened or Mutated Beasts without using a Contract Gem.
• His Appraisal Technique evolves through communication into Information Control, allowing him to constantly gather and instantly access detailed information about his surroundings.
• Zhang Ping reflects on the mysterious Black Sun, White Giant Snake, and Li Huatao’s reaction to him, but ultimately sets the unanswered questions aside.
• He travels to Fishing Cliff in World Three to subdue Coiling Dragon Venerable, whose failure to respond during the Flare Cannon attack convinced Zhang Ping that it was a dangerous hidden liability.
• Using the Contract Gem, Zhang Ping gradually invades and infects Coiling Dragon Venerable’s energy. The process takes two days because the weapon’s red energy continually resists him.
• When the green Contract Gem energy reaches the red gemstone on Coiling Dragon Venerable’s forehead, the Extraterrestrial Stone Tablet interferes and temporarily repels the invasion.
• Zhang Ping enters the Sanctified World through the Purifying Realm Gem to isolate the Stone Tablet’s influence rather than risk removing it directly.
• Once the Stone Tablet’s support is cut off, Zhang Ping’s Contract Gem rapidly turns the red gemstone green, successfully subduing Coiling Dragon Venerable.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping becomes more powerful and versatile after absorbing the Flare Cannon’s energy. He is now capable of expanding and mutating the functions of his abilities through communication.
• He demonstrates greater restraint and pragmatism by abandoning revenge against the Zhu Family, while still remaining willing to target genuinely evil individuals.
• His understanding of his own strength improves; he estimates himself at roughly one-tenth of Situ Shibai’s former combat power, though he believes he may now be able to defeat Situ Shibai.
• Zhang Ping becomes increasingly strategic and cautious. Rather than destroying Coiling Dragon Venerable outright, he seeks to control it and understand its connection to the Extraterrestrial Stone Tablet.
• Coiling Dragon Venerable is revealed to possess a degree of autonomy and resistance. Its loyalty appears directed primarily toward the Extraterrestrial Stone Tablet, with Zhang Ping being only a secondary concern.
• The fat cat remains helpless under Zhang Ping’s control, while Zhang’s relationship with his abilities becomes more communicative and collaborative.

Significant Themes

• Power through adaptation: Zhang Ping’s abilities grow not simply through acquisition, but through communication and conceptual expansion.
• Control versus autonomy: The central conflict is Zhang Ping’s attempt to dominate Coiling Dragon Venerable, which possesses its own energy and apparent protective purpose.
• Pragmatism over revenge: Zhang chooses to prioritize useful goals over pursuing an enemy he cannot currently reach.
• Hidden origins and unanswered mysteries: The Black Sun, White Giant Snake, Li Huatao’s visions, and the Extraterrestrial Stone Tablet remain connected mysteries whose significance is not yet understood.
• Strength and limitations: Although Zhang Ping’s abilities are extraordinarily powerful, their use still depends on his physical and Mental Strength.

Character Interactions

• Zhang casually questions and pets the fat cat, which cannot resist because he is its master.
• He communicates with Su Jingyao through Psychokinesis before leaving the Mysterious Sewer.
• Zhang confronts Coiling Dragon Venerable through the Contract Gem, testing its resistance and discovering that it protects the Extraterrestrial Stone Tablet more than it protects him.
• The conflict between Zhang’s green Contract Gem energy and Coiling Dragon Venerable’s red energy becomes a battle of endurance and control.
• The Extraterrestrial Stone Tablet indirectly intervenes to protect Coiling Dragon Venerable, prompting Zhang to enter the Sanctified World and isolate its influence before completing the subjugation.