Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Feng Laixian delivers the final blows that kill the Deepfrost Warship Bird. Zhang Ping joins him on the corpse, where the cold is so intense that Zhang Ping must use King Blood to keep his substitute body’s blood flowing.
• Feng Laixian explains that the bird’s swordlike feathers are valuable Biological Metal, but require skilled handling to forge without losing their properties. Zhang Ping identifies the material and offers to make weapons from it, revealing his basic forging experience.
• The group spends most of the day harvesting the feathers, which Zhang Ping stores for custom weapons. They then butcher the bird for its valuable meat and bones, but his storage bracelet fills before all the meat can be collected.
• The group decides to grill and eat the remaining meat on the spot. As they share the meal, they discuss what weapons they would like Zhang Ping to forge from the feathers.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping shows practical knowledge and initiative: he recognizes the feathers’ forging potential, offers to make personalized weapons, and wants to honor his teacher Liu Tiefeng by becoming a capable smith. He is candid about his limits rather than promising work he may not be able to manage.
• Feng Laixian is pleased by Zhang Ping’s offer and requests a heavy, three-meter guandao.
• Zhao Yanlong reveals some discouragement at feeling less useful to the group than his younger brother. He asks for a hollow spear that could carry his blood through its shaft; Zhang Ping reassures him and agrees to discuss the design.
• Zhao Yanhu confidently asks for a six-meter whip. Cheng Xuejie is unsure what she wants and asks to decide later.

Character interactions

• Zhang Ping consults Feng Laixian about the carcass and earns his trust by demonstrating knowledge of Biological Metal. Feng then entrusts him with making a weapon.
• The group cooperates in harvesting and processing the bird. Feng’s agreement to cook the excess meat leads everyone to share in the spoils.
• Around the grill, the group exchanges weapon ideas. Zhang Ping encourages them to specify their needs while acknowledging that some designs may be beyond his current skill.

Significant themes

• Turning danger into sustenance and opportunity: The formidable bird becomes both valuable crafting material and a communal meal.
• Cooperation and shared rewards: The group works together and celebrates their victory together.
• Growth through craft and responsibility: Zhang Ping’s developing forging skills offer him a new way to contribute, while Zhao Yanlong’s concerns highlight the importance of helping every member find a role.
• Humor and relief after danger: The casual banter and meal provide a warm contrast to the deadly battle and the bird’s lingering cold.

Key events

• Zhang Ping comforts Little Sairon with grilled meat after the Mourning Crone Bird’s scream injured him. He recognizes that he was careless to let the baby out in an unsafe area and resolves to be more cautious.
• Ye Changchun and Su Qingbo decline food, having already replenished themselves in the swamp.
• While eating the Deepfrost Warship Bird’s meat, Zhang Shouzhong unexpectedly levels up from 28 to 29. The group congratulates him, but Zhang Ping warns him to make special equipment before reaching level 30, when he will become a Top-Tier Awakened.
• The group realizes the meat may help them advance and eats as much as they can. When the humans are full, Zhang Ping feeds the remains to the Moonchasing Dark Tortoise.
• The tortoise eats everything, levels up from 25 to 28, and gains a white snake half and the ability Cold Moon Energy Cannon, which freezes an area on impact. Zhang Ping shares the appraisal results with his trusted comrades.
• Feng Laixian wonders whether the Dark Tortoise might eventually have ruled the swamp if no outside force had intervened. He notes it had remained underwater until Ah Hu’s ability forced it to surface, prompting the group to wonder what the tortoise had been hiding from.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows greater protectiveness toward Little Sairon and takes responsibility for his own mistake. He also openly shares information about the Dark Tortoise with the team.
• Little Sairon is subdued and shaken but responds to Zhang Ping’s care and food.
• Zhang Shouzhong reaches level 29, bringing him close to Top-Tier status; the others’ surprise and congratulations highlight how much they had underestimated his strength.
• Cheng Xuejie is frustrated by feeling left behind, but channels that feeling into training after she can no longer eat.
• Feng Laixian encourages the group to eat and raises a new theory about the Dark Tortoise’s past and potential.
• Bai De, Liu Sishan, and Lu Han react to the gains from the meat; Liu and Lu even push themselves to keep eating despite being full.

Significant themes

• Care and responsibility: Zhang Ping recognizes the danger of exposing a vulnerable companion to risk.
• Growth and its costs: Leveling up can be valuable, but Zhang Ping stresses that reaching a new tier brings consequences and preparation matters.
• Trust and teamwork: Zhang Ping shares sensitive information because he believes the group’s cooperation will benefit everyone.
• Unanswered mysteries: The Dark Tortoise’s hidden past—and whatever drove it to stay underwater—remains unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• The group discusses the Dark Tortoise’s future strength. Zhang Ping confirms, through their King Blood bond, that it knows about the Deepfrost Warship Bird and has been hiding from it. If it grows into a Top-Tier Mutated Beast, it could become the swamp’s next Overlord.
• Delighted by the Dark Tortoise’s potential, Zhang Ping gives Zhao Yanhu ten Contract Gems. Zhao Yanhu plans to share half with his brother, Zhao Yanlong.
• Feng Laixian explains that he trusts Zhang Ping completely: although Zhang Ping could use the gems to control his companions, he has no need to, because everyone already follows him willingly.
• The group rests safely overnight and eats Deepfrost Warship Bird meat for breakfast. Zhao Yanlong asks Zhang Ping to Appraise him because he senses a change.
• The Appraisal shows that Zhao Yanlong has leveled up and gained the new talent Poison-Blood Insect Nest, likely thanks to the Contract Gems. He can attract venomous insects, strengthen their venom, and incorporate them into his blood as fighters.
• After Zhao Yanlong agrees, Zhang Ping shares everyone’s abilities so the team can understand one another before future battles. Zhang Ping’s unusually extensive powers provoke envy.
• Zhang Shouzhong jokes about becoming Zhang Ping’s subordinate but backs out when reminded that Contract Gems taste terrible. Bai De, however, asks for one, hoping it may help him surpass his apparent growth ceiling.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping demonstrates his growing bond with the Dark Tortoise and his generosity toward Zhao Yanhu and Zhao Yanlong. He also encourages openness among the team, framing shared knowledge as essential to fighting together.
• Feng Laixian reaffirms his deep trust in Zhang Ping, based not on power but on Zhang Ping’s character. He believes Zhang Ping’s influence has quietly made him the group’s de facto leader.
• Zhao Yanlong gains a new ability and shows both gratitude toward Zhang Ping and trust in his judgment about revealing it.
• Zhao Yanhu is delighted by the gems and wants to share them with his brother.
• Bai De reveals his concern that his potential may be capped and takes a hopeful step by requesting a Contract Gem.
• Zhang Shouzhong remains comic and evasive, expressing envy but refusing the unpleasant gem for now.

Significant themes

• Trust and leadership: Zhang Ping leads through integrity and the confidence he inspires, rather than coercion or formal authority.
• Growth and possibility: The Dark Tortoise’s future and Zhao Yanlong’s new talent suggest that creatures and people can develop beyond their current limits.
• Cooperation and transparency: Sharing abilities helps the group prepare to fight as a coordinated team.
• Power balanced by choice: Contract Gems can bind or strengthen others, but the chapter emphasizes that Zhang Ping’s relationships are grounded in voluntary trust.

Plot points and events

• Bai De, a level-25 instructor with only one star of potential, accepts Zhang Ping’s Contract Gem as his last chance to improve. Its condition is that he must avoid entering the Lost State or succumbing to corruption.
• The gem does not raise Bai De’s potential or existing stats, but grants him Insatiable Devouring: eating quickly restores stamina, and surplus energy strengthens his body. The group recognizes that the ability could eventually make him exceptionally powerful.
• Over the next few days, the Dark Tortoise carries the group through the Venomous Marsh. Zhang Ping works on weapon designs while the others practice shooting and train.
• The group discovers what appears to be the stage exit—a mirage-like view of woodland, mountains, and the Mountain Ancestor. They pass through and receive the lights marking completion. Their next stage is the Flame Scorpion Desert.

Character development and interactions

• Bai De moves from quiet desperation to cautious hope. His choice reflects both his trust in Zhang Ping and how much he has suffered from being unable to advance. He is pleased to discover the gem gave him a powerful new path despite leaving his potential unchanged.
• Zhang Ping offers Bai De the gem and checks its effects with his Appraisal Technique. He also continues guiding the group’s training.
• Cheng Xuejie envies Bai De’s new ability but says she will wait until she is truly ready to accept a Contract Gem. Her training has also begun producing an unfamiliar sensation, as though an inner “rope” is stretching, though she has not yet seen a concrete result.
• Zhang Shouzhong spots the exit, while Feng Laixian celebrates its striking appearance. Liu Sishan reminds the group that Special Scenario rules must be accepted, even when they want to move on sooner.
• The narration contrasts Bai De’s voluntary trust with Zhou Qingbai and Long Fubo’s earlier decision to swallow Contract Gems under pressure, seeking survival after accepting their punishment.

Significant themes

• Hope in the face of limits: Bai De’s low potential seems to close off advancement, but the Contract Gem offers an alternative.
• Trust and choice: Bai De accepts the gem through trust and deliberation, while others’ acceptance has sometimes been shaped by coercion and desperation.
• Growth through persistence: The group keeps training during the journey, and Cheng Xuejie’s subtle bodily changes suggest that progress may begin before it becomes visible.

Key plot points

• Zhang Ping and his companions enter the Flame Scorpion Desert together, but the scenario separates them into different areas of an immense, scorching desert.
• Zhang Ping realizes the sun never moves and that ordinary navigation is useless. The group suspects they must reunite to clear the stage.
• Using his King Blood, Zhang Ping contacts each companion. They agree to travel toward one another, with Zhang prioritizing Lu Han and Liu Sishan, who are least able to endure the heat. He also decides to find Zhang Shouzhong for the Fat Energy and tools that could help them travel.
• While Zhang Ping’s awareness is elsewhere, thousands of Flame Scorpions surround his body. He escapes using a weapon stored by Zhang Shouzhong and propelled by Fat Energy, then wraps himself in Nether Mist to fly faster. The scorpions pursue him but quickly fall behind.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping reasons through the desert’s strange rules, coordinates the scattered group, and recognizes his own mistake in leaving his body unguarded while shifting his awareness.
• Liu Sishan stays calm and practical despite the heat melting her Ice Mask and exposing her scars. She agrees that regrouping is the safest priority.
• Feng Laixian notices that the stationary sun cannot be used for navigation. Bai De suggests waiting in place, but the group rejects this because some members might be stranded too long without supplies.
• Zhang Ping shows concern for the more vulnerable Lu Han and Liu Sishan, while relying on Zhang Shouzhong’s abilities and resources to aid the group.

Significant themes

• Survival through cooperation: The group shares information and balances individual risks while separated.
• Adaptability and problem-solving: Zhang Ping and his companions assess unfamiliar conditions and devise a practical plan.
• The dangers of divided attention: Zhang Ping’s remote awareness leaves his body exposed, teaching him to secure himself before using it.
• Trust and mutual reliance: The group depends on Zhang Ping’s ability to locate them and on one another’s distinct strengths.

Chapter Summary: “Four Great Beauties”

Plot Points and Events

• Zhang Shouzhong is trapped in the Flame Scorpion Desert, surrounded by endless Flame Scorpions. Although his machine gun kills many, the creatures keep emerging, and the desert’s heat rapidly exhausts him.
• Zhang Ping arrives riding the massive Dark Tortoise. The tortoise crushes numerous Flame Scorpions, allowing Zhang Shouzhong to escape onto its shell.
• Zhang Ping mischievously stores the Dark Tortoise in his Storage Contract while Zhang Shouzhong is standing on it, causing him to fall into the sand.
• The two regroup, roast and eat Flame Scorpion meat, and share water. Zhang Ping is unconcerned about possible poison because his Other-Eater ability protects him, while Zhang Shouzhong remains more cautious.
• They discuss the Dark Tortoise’s inability to function well in extreme heat. Prolonged exposure might force it to evolve a heat-related ability, but Zhang Ping prefers testing it near a volcano rather than risking an unpredictable evolution in the desert.
• Because the desert appears to have no night or moon, the Dark Tortoise cannot easily replenish or use its Moonlight Energy-based spatial ability. Zhang Ping therefore intends to conserve it for emergencies.
• Zhang Shouzhong suggests that gathering scattered team members might be the stage’s solution, but Situ Shibai corrects him, explaining that this is only a test and that the correct method has not been revealed.
• The pair debate whether the objective could be exterminating all the Flame Scorpions, but they conclude this is impractical because the creatures hide beneath the sand and attack in overwhelming numbers.
• After resting, Zhang Ping and Zhang Shouzhong set out to locate the other team members, deciding to search for Sisi before Senior Lu.
• Their conversation shifts into teasing and gossip about the appearances of Sisi and “Senior Sister,” leading into Zhang Shouzhong’s mention of Mingzhu City’s unofficial “Four Great Beauties.”

Character Developments

• Zhang Shouzhong demonstrates endurance and resourcefulness by holding off the Flame Scorpions with a machine gun and creating useful items with Fat Energy. However, he is also portrayed as weary, humorous, and somewhat flirtatious.
• Zhang Ping continues to show confidence, cleverness, and a playful personality, rescuing Zhang Shouzhong while simultaneously teasing him. He also displays strategic concern for the Dark Tortoise’s health and energy.
• Zhang Ping’s determination remains rooted in his larger goal of protecting Mingzhu City and destroying the Beast-Taming Zhu Family, though he rejects inappropriate romantic or sexual speculation.
• Situ Shibai acts as a strict mentor, emphasizing that the trial requires independent thought rather than relying on assumptions.

Significant Themes

• Survival and adaptation: The desert’s heat, lack of water, and endless Flame Scorpions create a test of endurance and planning. The Dark Tortoise’s possible evolution highlights the risks and benefits of adapting to hostile environments.
• Critical thinking: The characters are warned not to assume that gathering survivors or killing every Flame Scorpion is the intended solution. The true purpose of the trial must be deduced.
• Resource management: Water, Fat Energy, Moonlight Energy, and the Dark Tortoise’s stamina must all be carefully conserved.
• Humor amid danger: Casual jokes, teasing, and eating roasted scorpion meat provide comic relief despite the characters’ perilous situation.
• Personal priorities and restraint: Zhang Ping’s rejection of lewd speculation contrasts with Zhang Shouzhong’s playful gossip, while both remain focused on rescuing their allies.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping rescues Zhang Shouzhong but immediately pranks him by storing the Dark Tortoise, creating a humorous exchange about maturity.
• The two bond while eating Flame Scorpion meat and sharing water, though Zhang Shouzhong is uneasy about Zhang Ping’s lack of concern over possible poison.
• Situ Shibai challenges their assumptions and reminds them that the desert is an examination requiring them to discover the solution themselves.
• While traveling, Zhang Shouzhong teases Zhang Ping about his interest in Sisi and compares Sisi’s fuller figure with Senior Sister’s long legs. Zhang Ping answers analytically but insists he has no improper intentions.
• The chapter ends with Zhang Shouzhong preparing to reveal the identities of Mingzhu City’s rumored “Four Great Beauties,” setting up the next conversation.

Plot points and events

• While crossing the desert, Zhang Shouzhong explains Mingzhu City’s four famous beauties—Bai Yating, Su Su, Huang Zhenru, and Zhuge Hongfang—and mentions two lesser-known Cleanup Team members, Chen Luowei and Lin Bingbing. He and Zhang Ping joke about which women Shouzhong likes.
• Their banter ends when they find a woman’s skeleton partly buried in the sand. Shouzhong estimates she died about three months earlier, possibly after being bitten by Flame Scorpions. With no clothing or other means of identification, they cannot determine who she was.
• Shouzhong turns sand into glass, cremates the remains, and packs the ashes so they can give her a proper burial in Mingzhu City.
• Worried about the others, Zhang Ping places his body inside the Storage Contract and checks their condition. Liu Sishan is being pursued by Flame Scorpions but appears safe for now. Cheng Xuejie is in much worse shape: feverish, wounded, and surrounded.
• Zhang Ping takes control of the King Blood to heal Cheng. She recognizes him and calls out as he begins helping her.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Shouzhong and Zhang Ping share teasing, easygoing banter, showing their familiarity and affection. Shouzhong’s playful talk gives way to competence and compassion when they find the remains.
• Shouzhong treats the unidentified dead woman with dignity, choosing to preserve her ashes and arrange a proper burial despite knowing nothing about her.
• Zhang Ping’s concern for his companions prompts him to check on them immediately. His ability to shift between bodies lets him respond directly to Cheng’s crisis.

Significant themes

• Death and anonymity: The woman’s remains represent how people can disappear in the wilderness without anyone knowing their fate or identity.
• Dignity and compassion: Even when little can be done, Shouzhong insists on giving the dead a respectful burial.
• Survival and mutual care: The Flame Scorpions threaten the group, while Zhang Ping’s intervention shows the importance of watching over and helping one another.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping finds Cheng Xuejie surrounded by Flame Scorpions and heals her. She insists she is prepared to die rather than disgrace the Cleanup Team.
• As she fights on, Cheng Xuejie grows exhausted. Zhang Ping urges her to discover the source of her extraordinary strength, speed, endurance, and defense.
• When she collapses, Zhang Ping gives her half of his remaining King Blood to restore her strength, then leaves his own body as a Blood Serpent to hold the scorpions back.
• Cheng Xuejie finally senses and recognizes her power: a Biofield, formed by the force emitted from her cells. She focuses it into a line, instantly killing the nearby scorpions.
• Zhang Ping congratulates her, but his Blood Serpent evaporates in the heat before he can fully return to her. Cheng Xuejie silently thanks him and sees that more scorpions are still approaching.

Character development

• Cheng Xuejie moves from grim acceptance of death to discovering control over her ability. Her determination and loyalty to the Cleanup Team remain central, but she gains a new understanding of her own power.
• Zhang Ping acts as both healer and mentor, risking his limited King Blood to protect Cheng Xuejie and help her reach that breakthrough.

Character interactions

• Cheng Xuejie initially rejects Zhang Ping’s encouragement, convinced the odds are overwhelming. He persists, asking her to sense the source of her abilities.
• She trusts him enough to follow his final instruction and close her eyes, while he protects her from the scorpions.
• After surviving, she expresses gratitude through a quiet resolve to remember his sacrifice.

Significant themes

• Self-discovery: Cheng Xuejie’s breakthrough comes from understanding and consciously directing a power she had never been able to perceive.
• Perseverance and courage: She fights until her body fails, while Zhang Ping refuses to let her give up.
• Sacrifice and trust: Zhang Ping risks his scarce resources to save her, and Cheng Xuejie relies on him at her most vulnerable.
• Survival is not the end: Despite her victory, the danger remains—the larger battle has only begun.

Key events

• After controlling his Blood Splitting bodies in battle, Zhang Ping suffers severe Mental Strength exhaustion. He rests inside the Storage Contract for three hours before emerging—accidentally landing on Zhang Shouzhong and breaking his backpack.
• Zhang Ping checks on their companions. Sisi and Cheng Xuejie are likely safe, though he has not yet checked on everyone.
• He discovers he has advanced from level 15 to 16 and gained Super Psion, which lets him convert Mental Strength into Psychokinesis with the special attribute Extrasensory Analysis.
• Zhang Ping realizes Psychokinesis had begun appearing during the fight: it extended the reach of his attacks even as his Blood Splitting bodies evaporated.
• Testing the ability, he can sense his organs and analyze his progress toward the next level. He learns that training, food, and combat affect advancement, though their effects vary.
• He playfully pinches Zhang Shouzhong with Psychokinesis. Zhang Shouzhong retaliates by throwing him, but Zhang Ping stops himself from hitting the sand—and then lifts Zhang Shouzhong, too.

Character development and interactions

• Zhang Ping’s rapid growth continues: in only a few months, he has gone from level zero to level 16. His new ability also gives him a clearer understanding of how Awakened advancement works, though he has only begun to explore it.
• Zhang Shouzhong is protective and practical, rebuilding the damaged backpack, but their reunion quickly turns into friendly teasing and roughhousing. He is impressed—and envious—of Zhang Ping’s unusually valuable analysis attribute.

Significant themes

• Growth through hardship: Zhang Ping’s exhausting battle both pushes him toward a new level and awakens a powerful ability.
• Knowledge as power: Extrasensory Analysis lets him perceive his body and progression with unusual precision, though mastery will take time.
• The cost and uncertainty of advancement: Training can help reliably, while food and combat may speed or hinder progress depending on their effects.
• Camaraderie and levity: The playful exchange between Zhang Ping and Zhang Shouzhong provides warmth after the danger and strain of battle.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Shouzhong explains the rare attributes of Psychokinetic Force: Manifestation, which creates tangible matter; Analysis, which reveals hidden information and weaknesses; and Displacement, which swaps the user’s position with objects.
• Zhang Ping confirms his Analysis is especially valuable, but chooses not to probe Zhang Shouzhong further after he begs him to stop.
• The two travel through the desert on a sofa Zhang Shouzhong creates with Fat Energy, sharing grilled meat. Zhang Ping discovers that food can speed leveling, with stronger creatures generally offering more benefit. Corpse-Eating Ape meat, however, has no value for Zhang Ping and actually slows Zhang Shouzhong’s progress.
• They find an apparently pristine oasis. Zhang Shouzhong suspects a trap, and they leave rather than investigate. The oasis rises out of the sand, revealed as the back of a huge Medium Flame Scorpion, which sprays red liquid at them. Zhang Ping blocks the attack and escapes.
• As they continue, the sun abruptly transforms into a moon, leaving them stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping learns more about his ability’s rarity and practical uses, while showing restraint by respecting Zhang Shouzhong’s privacy.
• Zhang Shouzhong is wary and pragmatic: he rejects Zhang Ping’s teasing suggestion to hunt another Deepfrost Warship Bird and correctly suspects the oasis is dangerous.
• Their friendship comes through in their joking, shared meal, and stories about school. They also cooperate effectively during the scorpion encounter, with Zhang Ping protecting them and prioritizing escape.

Significant themes

• Power and responsibility: Analysis offers great insight but does not justify invading others’ secrets.
• Growth and resourcefulness: The pair assess food by its value for advancement and avoid wasting effort on an unprofitable fight.
• Caution in an unfamiliar world: The oasis looks inviting but is a disguised predator, underscoring how appearances can be deceptive.
• Unpredictability: The sudden change from sun to moon hints that the desert trial operates by strange, potentially dangerous rules.

Chapter summary

Zhang Ping and Zhang Shouzhong are caught off guard when night falls abruptly in the desert, bringing a sharp drop in temperature. From a dune, they see red blooms covering the sand: Zhang Ping deduces that they are Flame Scorpion tails, which emerge at night to absorb heat.
Zhang Ping pulls up a scorpion to examine it. While Zhang Shouzhong jokingly “interviews” it—and then cooks and eats it—Zhang Ping discovers that its tail contains a heat-absorbing crystal core linked to its venom sac. By using Psychokinesis to remove the trigger nerve before separating the parts, he safely extracts a core. He gives it to Zhang Shouzhong, who recognizes its potential for making heat-absorbing materials.
The pair continue traveling, cooking more scorpions along the way, and meet up with Liu Sishan several hours later. Zhang Shouzhong offers her a padded coat and food. Liu recognizes from Zhang Ping’s bracelet that Situ Shibai has likely reminded the team to follow its rules; Zhang Shouzhong quickly denies having meant his earlier joke about joining Zhang Ping’s assignments. Since Liu is in better condition than some of the others, they decide to find the more vulnerable Cheng Xuejie first. Zhang Ping switches from carrying the group with Psychokinesis to traveling on the Dark Tortoise, while checking that the others remain safe.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows growing control and precision with his newly awakened Psychokinesis, using it to travel, dissect scorpions, and extract a dangerous crystal core. He shares the core with Zhang Shouzhong and prioritizes rescuing Cheng Xuejie.
• Zhang Shouzhong remains playful and food-loving, but is also resourceful: he creates a windproof blanket, stove, coat, and other supplies. His eagerness to travel with Zhang Ping is checked by Situ Shibai’s reminder that Cleanup Team assignments follow strict rules.
• Liu Sishan accepts the group’s help and understands the unspoken reason for Zhang Shouzhong’s sudden formality, showing awareness of the team’s discipline.
• Situ Shibai, though not physically present, keeps watch from Zhang Ping’s bracelet and enforces team rules.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and resourcefulness: The group responds creatively to the desert’s sudden darkness and cold, while turning dangerous creatures into food and useful materials.
• Cooperation and care: Zhang Ping shares discoveries and carries his companions; Zhang Shouzhong provides practical comforts; the group chooses to help the member in greatest need.
• Discipline versus camaraderie: Zhang Shouzhong’s joking loyalty to Zhang Ping contrasts with the Cleanup Team’s formal rules and chain of command.

Key plot points and events

• Most of the group withstands the Flame Scorpions with little difficulty. Bai De grows stronger by eating them, while Feng Laixian treats the desert as an easy meal stop. Cheng Xuejie is the exception: she is exhausted and nearly dies before mastering her true power.
• Zhang Ping discovers through his new Analysis ability that Flame Scorpion meat would slow Liu Sishan’s leveling. He gives her food better suited to her constitution and realizes his ability could help Awakened choose what to eat.
• The group catches up with Cheng Xuejie at night. After she recovers with water, Zhang Ping congratulates her on mastering her power, and she thanks him for saving her.
• Meanwhile, A-Jiu and A-Shi—undying Specimen Soldiers sent by Zhu Jiuyang to kill Zhang Ping—cross the desert. They easily cut down a giant Flame Scorpion and continue toward their target.
• The pair ambush Zhang Ping on the Moonchasing Dark Tortoise, but the tortoise evades their attacks. Zhang Ping’s Analysis reveals that the attackers are already dead. He opens Sanctified World, and the tortoise transports them into it as their Jester Coins scream.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping learns that Analysis can reveal how food affects an Awakened person’s growth, adding a practical dimension to his powers. He remains generous and treats helping teammates as a natural duty.
• Liu Sishan accepts his advice and gives him the unsuitable meat.
• Cheng Xuejie survives a near-fatal ordeal and achieves a breakthrough in her power; her gratitude highlights her trust in Zhang Ping and the team.
• Bai De discovers that his “Insatiable Devouring” talent can turn Flame Scorpions into a source of strength.
• A-Jiu and A-Shi show relentless, coordinated pursuit, while Zhang Ping and the tortoise respond swiftly to their attack.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and mutual obligation: Zhang Ping sees rescue as part of being comrades, not a debt.
• Knowledge as an advantage: Understanding which foods help or hinder someone can affect their progress.
• Adaptation and growth: Characters endure the desert in different ways, and danger can become an opportunity to develop.
• Relentless threats: The undying pursuers signal that Zhang Ping’s enemies can persist through extreme obstacles.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping discovers that his Sanctified World projection can purify the corruption binding A-Jiu and A-Shi. After it removes the paint and malevolent power from their bodies, Su Jingyao breaks the Jester Coins that held their consciousness captive.
• The women’s spirits emerge, reunite, and thank Zhang Ping. They reveal their true names: Chen Shuang and Cao Bing. Zhang orders their decaying remains collected and stored.
• Zhang identifies their captor as Zhu Jiuyang of the Zhu Family. His Appraisal and Analysis reveal that the women were Specimen Soldiers—powerful, near-immortal fighters controlled through their corrupted bodies and coins.
• After resting in the Sanctified World, Chen Shuang and Cao Bing return as Servant Spirits, retaining formidable combat abilities and pledging themselves to Zhang Ping.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping learns a new use for his Sanctified World and feels both compassion for the women and anger at their abuse. He accepts their gratitude while treating them gently.
• Chen Shuang and Cao Bing move from enslavement and despair to freedom and renewed existence as spirits. Their gratitude is so deep that they make Zhang Ping their purpose and are willing to risk everything for him.
• Su Jingyao helps free the women, showing empathy for their suffering.
• Zhang Shouzhong assists by preserving their remains.

Character interactions

• Zhang Ping reassures the newly freed women, invites them to recover in the Sanctified World, and later receives their formal pledge of service.
• Su Jingyao tenderly helps release their spirits.
• Zhang Ping tells Zhang Shouzhong that the Zhu Family was responsible, linking the rescue to a larger conflict.

Significant themes

• Liberation and healing: The Sanctified World purifies both physical corruption and the suffering bound to it.
• Gratitude and devotion: The women’s rescue leads them to dedicate themselves to Zhang Ping.
• Cruelty and justice: Their ordeal exposes Zhu Jiuyang’s brutality and fuels Zhang Ping’s anger.
• Power with purpose: Zhang Ping’s abilities, especially purification, succeed where the Specimen Soldiers’ apparent immortality might otherwise make them nearly unstoppable.

Key plot points and events

• Chen Shuang and Cao Bing reveal more about the Zhu Family’s crimes and hidden practices. Although the group is furious, the women urge them to postpone retaliation: saving Mingzhu City must come first.
• The Zhu Family’s base remains difficult to find. Its entrance array appears at a different random location each week, and the women had left through an unusual route into the Training Grounds.
• Zhang Ping sends the exhausted women back to Sanctified World to rest.
• Rather than act on his anger, Zhang Ping begins forging weapons for the group. With Zhang Shouzhong’s help, he makes Feng Laixian a custom Azure Dragon Crescent Blade from Deepfrost Warship Bird feathers, then continues working on the others’ weapons.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping stays composed despite his anger over the women’s suffering. He focuses on the immediate mission and channels his feelings into forging, while showing ambition and care in designing a worthy weapon for Feng Laixian.
• Zhang Shouzhong shares the group’s outrage and eagerly helps Zhang Ping by shaping the blade.
• Chen Shuang and Cao Bing show resolve and practical judgment by putting the city’s safety ahead of revenge.
• Liu Sishan questions the vulnerability of Biological Metal weapons. Zhang Ping explains that blacksmiths protect them with secret, paired formulas—knowledge he shares because he trusts the group.
• Zhang Ping’s trust in Liu Tiefeng is emphasized: his master taught him the craft’s secret recipes and techniques without reservation.

Significant themes

• Duty before revenge: The characters defer personal vengeance to protect Mingzhu City.
• Anger transformed into useful action: Zhang Ping turns grief and fury into preparation for the coming fight.
• Trust and inherited craft: Blacksmithing knowledge is closely guarded, but Zhang Ping’s willingness to share reflects the group’s loyalty and his master’s faith in him.
• Preparation for future conflict: The weapons represent the group’s determination to confront both the Heavenly Fox and the Zhu Family later.

Summary

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Ping and his group spend two days traveling toward Feng Laixian while evading Flame Scorpions by day and riding the Moonchasing Dark Tortoise at night. Lu Han, Bai De, and Zhao Yanlong and Zhao Yanhu join them along the way.
• Zhang Ping distributes weapons, and the group spends the nights learning to use them and sparring.
• Using his Analysis ability, Zhang Ping discovers unusual conditions that affect some people’s leveling: sunlight slows Liu Sishan’s progress, meat slows Zhao Yanhu’s, and hearty laughter slightly slows Bai De’s. The discoveries make the group anxious about their everyday habits, prompting several to ask Zhang Ping to check them.
• Zhang Ping is preoccupied with whether he can gain a new ability by consuming a Deepfrost Warship Bird feather. The others mistake his brooding for a sign of despair and, at Zhang Shouzhong’s prompting, try to cheer him up. When they learn Zhang Shouzhong exaggerated the situation, they gang up on him in playful punishment.
• Zhang Ping coats the feather in a special oil, swallows it, and gains Metal Eater. The ability lets him consume metal, convert it into elemental metal, and form a coating over his body that inherits the properties of metals he has eaten.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping continues investigating the limits of his abilities and helping his companions, but recognizes that his practical offensive and defensive options remain limited. Gaining Metal Eater offers a promising path to stronger defense, though its potential depends on consuming more metals.
• Lu Han shows humility and gratitude, feeling indebted to Zhang Ping for food and a weapon.
• Zhang Shouzhong tries to rally the group around Zhang Ping, but his exaggerated story backfires and earns him a beating.
• The group grows more cautious after learning how seemingly ordinary behavior can affect leveling.

Character interactions

• Companions repeatedly consult Zhang Ping about possible restrictions, illustrating both their trust in his ability and their dependence on his findings.
• Cheng Xuejie checks on Zhang Ping and takes his hand, while the others gather around out of concern. Their concern turns to comic anger when they discover Zhang Shouzhong fabricated a dramatic explanation.
• The group’s teasing and roughhousing reassure Zhang Ping that he has companions and need not rush into risky experimentation.

Significant themes

• Individual differences and hidden limitations: Awakened people can have highly specific conditions that affect their growth.
• Experimentation and risk: Zhang Ping tests an uncertain method to gain an ability, balancing caution against the possibility of failure.
• Companionship and reassurance: The group’s concern and humor help ease Zhang Ping’s worries and reinforce that he is not facing the journey alone.
• Long-term potential: Metal Eater is not an immediate solution, but its strength can grow as Zhang Ping consumes more kinds of metal.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping consumes the Deepfrost Warship Bird feathers he had saved, discovering that Metal Eater can digest them—and ordinary metal ores—without any obvious limit.
• The ability forms a silver metallic coating over his body. He tests it with a biological-metal knife and finds it highly resistant to piercing. By activating Flame Eater, he also makes the coated hand red-hot and its nails sharply dangerous.
• After eating all the remaining feathers overnight, Zhang Ping can cover his entire body in metal, with defenses comparable to a Deepfrost Warship Bird’s. He also realizes the coating should insulate him from the desert’s extreme heat.
• The group continues through the Flame Scorpion Desert and reunites with Feng Laixian around noon. They debate the trial’s purpose: perhaps it tests solitary survival, requires killing Flame Scorpions, or simply lasts a set number of days. They decide to prepare for both waiting it out and continuing to kill scorpions.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping experiments methodically with Metal Eater and learns that its growth depends on consuming special metals. He is pleased by the protection and comfort his new coating provides.
• Zhang Shouzhong asks about Zhang Ping’s ability and envies its strong defenses, though he notes he could use Deepfrost feathers to make protective armor himself.
• Cheng Xuejie voices anger and confusion about being separated, pointing out that she might have died without Zhang Ping’s help mastering her bioforce field.
• Zhao Yanlong, unusually, offers a theory about the trial, while Feng Laixian counters that his enormous Flame Scorpion kill count makes a simple quota unlikely. Zhang Shouzhong and Bai De suggest survival time may be the test; Liu Sishan recommends preparing for multiple possibilities.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and resourcefulness: Zhang Ping turns collected materials into new strength, while the group responds to an unclear trial by considering several strategies.
• Uncertainty and survival: The desert’s purpose remains unknown, and the characters must make decisions without reliable rules.
• Power and its costs: Metal Eater appears to have no immediate limit, but its growth depends on obtaining increasingly valuable special metals.

Key plot points and events

• Feng Laixian, Zhang Ping, Cheng Xuejie, and the others battle a seemingly endless swarm of Flame Scorpions in the desert. Feng enjoys wielding his new Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, while Zhang harvests scorpion-tail crystals and metal from the sand.
• Zhang observes that his Metal Eater coating has brought him close to Feng’s combat strength, though Feng’s superior stamina and physical attributes would likely decide a prolonged fight.
• Cheng demonstrates how much her bioforce-field control has improved: she can leap great distances, repel and kill scorpions, and manipulate a large sphere of sand.
• Cheng confides that she fears she is mentally ill because she can influence other people’s bodies and thinks she may be able to help them awaken similar abilities.
• Zhang analyzes her with Psychokinesis and concludes that this is a genuine development of her bioforce field, not mental illness. He encourages her to investigate whether she can help others control their own weaker fields.
• The possibility alarms Cheng: if everyone gained meaningful powers, Mingzhu City’s social order and labor system could be destabilized. Zhang notes that ordinary people’s bioforce fields would likely remain far weaker than hers.

Character development

• Zhang Ping is resourceful and patient, collecting useful materials while waiting for the battle’s outcome rather than acting rashly. He also shows confidence in analyzing unfamiliar powers.
• Cheng Xuejie has gained remarkable control and strength with her bioforce field. Her concern about being mentally ill reveals both anxiety about her changing ability and awareness of its wider consequences.
• Feng Laixian displays enthusiasm for his new weapon and remains a formidable combatant, though Zhang’s growing strength has narrowed the gap between them.

Character interactions

• Zhang and Cheng discuss her weapons, with Cheng saying the Silver Moon Twin Blades are useful as concealed weapons despite feeling light.
• Cheng proudly demonstrates her training progress; Zhang praises her potential.
• When Cheng reveals her frightening new ability, Zhang reassures her through examination and reframes it as a promising power rather than an illness.

Significant themes

• Power and its consequences: A new ability could protect ordinary people but also disrupt society, work, resources, and political balance.
• Growth through adaptation: Cheng’s training expands her control, while Zhang’s varied abilities make him increasingly capable.
• Strength and limits: Zhang can now challenge a top-tier fighter, yet differences in endurance and rank still matter.
• The uncertain nature of awakening: The chapter raises the possibility that abilities may be shared or cultivated, potentially changing who counts as “ordinary.”

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Ping reflects that bioforce fields might eventually develop into a formal cultivation system—if people can awaken one another’s fields. He reassures Cheng Xuejie, then spends the remaining time collecting Flame Scorpion tails.
• Zhang Ping’s group completes seven days in the Flame Scorpion Desert and is teleported out at midnight, receiving motes of light as they leave.
• At the Zhu Family Base, Zhu Jiuyang’s latest game fails, worsening his Ability Sickness. In a rage, he sends his Specimen Soldiers to kill Zhang Ping and Zhu Zeming and retrieve a fishman.
• Zhu Shi stops the attack, slaps Jiuyang, and lends him the Aie Suppression Ring to restrain his sickness. Jiuyang briefly becomes compliant, but secretly remains resentful and orders his soldiers to continue toward the Trial Grounds.
• Zhu Shi considers how to deal with Zhang Ping, an Infinite-Tier Ability User, since the Zhu Family wants to regain control of Mingzhu City and already sees Situ Shibai as a major obstacle.
• Back at the Training Grounds, Zhang Ping’s group prepares carefully for the Wolfpack Snowfield, stocking up on water, food, warm clothes, medicine, and travel equipment before entering together.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows strategic foresight about the long-term potential of bioforce fields and applies lessons from the previous scenario by insisting on preparation.
• Cheng Xuejie is reassured by Zhang Ping, though the future of bioforce-field awakening remains uncertain.
• Zhu Jiuyang is volatile and dangerously fixated on revenge. The ring suppresses his Ability Sickness but does not change his underlying hostility; he defies Zhu Shi as soon as his brother leaves.
• Zhu Shi acts as Jiuyang’s reluctant guardian, balancing concern with threats and political calculation. He regards Jiuyang as useful but also as a potential menace.
• Zhang Ping’s group cooperates in dividing responsibilities and supplies, with Zhang Shouzhong maintaining an upbeat attitude as they set out.

Significant themes

• Power and systems: A seemingly modest ability could, over generations, become the foundation of a broader discipline.
• Suppression versus resolution: The ring restrains Jiuyang’s sickness but only postpones its consequences—and does nothing to reform him.
• Preparation and adaptation: The team learns from past hardship and plans for the next extreme environment.
• Family rivalry and political ambition: The Zhu family’s shared goal masks internal factional tensions, while its leaders weigh threats to their hold on Mingzhu City.

Chapter Summary: “White Iron Town”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The group enters Wolfpack Snowfield and receives the mission: defend White Iron Town for one week.
• Since the town is nowhere in sight, Zhang Ping and Lu Han fly in separate directions to scout for it.
• Zhang Ping encounters three heavily disguised travelers, who cautiously direct him toward a snowy mountain. He respects their suspicion and leaves without pressing them.
• From the mountain, Zhang Ping discovers White Iron Town, a small settlement built on exposed ground near the mountain rather than buried under the snow.
• He disguises himself and enters the town to investigate before introducing himself, hoping to avoid unnecessary conflict.
• The townspeople immediately surround him with weapons. Their leader, Boss Hu, accuses him of belonging to the Investigation Team, which previously stole three tons of White Iron from the town.
• Zhang Ping denies involvement and offers to help identify the thieves, but the townspeople refuse to trust him and attempt to capture him.
• Zhang Ping immobilizes the group with telekinetic force. Boss Hu reveals himself to be an Awakened and attacks Zhang Ping with deadly red beams from his eyes.
• Zhang Ping withstands and catches the beams, then defeats Boss Hu with a single punch. He realizes the residents are likely from Mingzhu City and possess supernatural abilities.
• Their hostility destroys Zhang Ping’s willingness to cooperate warmly. He decides that fulfilling the mission may simply mean protecting the town, regardless of whether its residents welcome him.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping demonstrates caution, empathy, and restraint. He understands why strangers in a dangerous snowfield would be suspicious and initially tries to avoid alarming the townspeople.
• His patience has limits, however. After repeated attempts on his life, he shifts from seeking friendly communication to treating the residents as people he may need to restrain forcibly.
• Zhang Ping’s power and confidence are emphasized: he easily freezes the attackers, survives Boss Hu’s energy beams, catches them barehanded, and defeats Boss Hu without killing him.
• Boss Hu is introduced as White Iron Town’s aggressive leader. His mistrust stems from the Investigation Team’s theft, but his refusal to listen and repeated lethal attacks make him appear reckless and hostile.
• Lu Han, Feng Laixian, and the rest of the group remain outside the town during Zhang Ping’s initial investigation, though Zhang Ping reflects that Feng Laixian might have killed the residents instead of merely subduing them.

Significant Themes

• Mistrust and prejudice: The townspeople assume Zhang Ping is connected to the Investigation Team because he is an outsider, showing how past betrayal has shaped their behavior.
• Communication versus violence: Zhang Ping repeatedly attempts to explain himself, but the residents respond with threats and attacks, demonstrating how fear prevents peaceful understanding.
• Restraint and moral strength: Despite being far stronger than the townspeople, Zhang Ping avoids killing them and uses only enough force to stop their attacks.
• The consequences of exploitation: The Investigation Team’s theft of White Iron has damaged the town’s trust in outsiders and may have harmed future visitors who come to train in the region.
• Duty versus cooperation: Zhang Ping begins questioning whether protecting White Iron Town requires earning the residents’ trust, or merely completing the mission despite their hostility.

Character Interactions

• Zhang Ping politely asks the three masked travelers for directions, successfully avoiding conflict.
• The townspeople surround and accuse Zhang Ping of being part of the Investigation Team.
• Zhang attempts to reason with Boss Hu and even offers to help seek justice, but the crowd interprets his words as proof that he is an outsider.
• Zhang uses telekinesis to restrain the attackers after they try to capture him.
• Boss Hu escalates the confrontation by firing lethal beams at Zhang Ping. Zhang responds with overwhelming but controlled force, defeating him while sparing his life.
• The chapter ends with Zhang Ping emotionally distancing himself from the residents, preparing to fulfill the mission without expecting gratitude or cooperation.

Plot and events

• Zhang Ping’s group reaches White Iron Town to defend it for a week, but binds the hostile residents and locks them in the largest house. With no idea what danger is coming, the team divides up to scout, gather food, inspect buildings, and prepare defenses.
• Zhang Ping summons Zhou Qingbai and Long Fubo, whose Forest Outlaws take up guard positions. He also examines the town’s white iron, a metal that can copy the properties of any metal it touches. He considers consuming it to improve his Metallic Coating, but delays until he can assess the risk of losing its existing properties.
• At Wolfpack Snowfield, Zhu Zhaotian uses his Mission Pointer to locate the Great Snow Mountain and releases the Metal Virus, intending to kill Zhang Ping. He then returns to the Zhu Family Base, where he reveals that he developed the virus from particles taken from a powerful metal organism.
• Zhu Shi suggests sending the organism itself, but Zhu Zhaotian refuses: it is too valuable to risk. He believes the virus should be enough to defeat Zhang Ping.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping takes a cautious, practical approach: he avoids making plans without knowing the threat, calls in reinforcements, and weighs the potential benefits and dangers of white iron.
• The group’s members show distinct priorities as they prepare: Feng Laixian and Bai De scout the mountain; Liu Sishan and Cheng Xuejie take the chance to bathe; others inspect the town and its outskirts.
• Zhu Zhaotian is revealed as a calculating researcher willing to deploy a dangerous biological weapon. Zhu Shi is more inclined toward certainty, urging him to use the far stronger metal organism, but Zhu Zhaotian prioritizes its research value.

Significant themes

• Preparation under uncertainty: Zhang Ping’s team must defend the town without knowing what they will face.
• Power and risk: White iron could greatly enhance Zhang Ping, but might overwrite his abilities; the Metal Virus is a weapon whose effects remain to be seen.
• Human conflict amid survival: The defenders’ mistreatment of the townspeople contrasts with their stated role as protectors, while the Zhu family turns scientific research into an attack.