Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• The Metal Virus escapes its cracked test tube and spreads across the snow. Snow rabbits inhale it; within minutes they transform into red, half-humanoid monsters and attack nearby trees. A snow fox watches in terror.
• Zhang Ping’s team wakes after an uneventful night in White Iron Town. They have found no obvious threat in the surrounding mountains, leaving the mission’s danger unidentified.
• The team discusses the townspeople’s hostility after the Investigation Team stole their valuable white iron. Zhang Ping acknowledges their anger and says the team should keep helping them; he suggests having the Forest Outlaws deliver food instead.
• Zhang Ping and Zhang Shouzhong head to the mine. Shouzhong reveals he hopes to obtain valuable love-element metal from a device that can induce romantic feelings—even toward Mutated Beasts. Captain Situ Shibai overhears and orders him to write the team rules a thousand times if no fighting occurs.
• Lu Han scouts the area by flying sword while training his ability. He discovers an unexplained patch of red snow and suspects it may signal danger.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows empathy toward White Iron Town’s residents, recognizing that their resentment is understandable given the theft of their hard-won ore.
• Zhang Shouzhong remains opportunistic and flirtatious, seeking valuable metal for personal gain. His banter with Zhang Ping is interrupted by Situ Shibai’s strict reprimand.
• Lu Han takes initiative in scouting and training, using Zhang Ping’s assessment that he is close to advancing as motivation.
• The team balances its protective duty with frustration at being mistreated, while Zhang Ping insists they fulfill their responsibilities.

Significant themes

• Unseen danger: The team believes the night passed safely, but the virus is already turning wildlife into monsters nearby.
• Duty and accountability: Zhang Ping argues that protecting the townspeople matters even when they are hostile; Situ Shibai likewise enforces discipline within the team.
• Consequences of exploitation: The residents’ anger stems from the theft of resources they risked their lives to obtain.
• Transformation and spreading threat: The virus converts ordinary animals into dangerous creatures, foreshadowing a growing crisis.

Key plot points and events

• After mining Whiteiron Ore all day, Zhang Ping and Zhang Shouzhong return to the group’s hall with several tons of ore stored in a gold bracelet.
• Dinner is being prepared. Zhang Shouzhong is reprimanded for crude talk and starts copying the team rules as punishment.
• The group realizes Lu Han has been missing all day. Zhang Ping flies out to search and finds him far from town, gravely infected by the Metal Virus.
• Zhang Ping discovers he can consume the virus. His Metallic Coating counters its rapid reproduction and drives it out of Lu Han’s body; he then uses King-Blood Form to repair Lu Han’s internal injuries.
• The surrounding snowfield has turned red, and powerful infected creatures—including a pack of giant, metal-covered Werewolves—are spreading through it. Zhang Ping rushes back with Lu Han to warn the team.
• Despite the danger, Zhang Ping recognizes a potential advantage: consuming the Metal Virus could greatly increase the Elemental Metal in his coating and strengthen its defense.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping shows resourcefulness and courage, quickly experimenting with his abilities to save Lu Han. He also shifts from treating the mission as an opportunity to mine ore to recognizing its growing threat—and potential tactical value.
• Lu Han is revealed to have been fighting the infection alone and trying to alert the others. His condition underscores the virus’s severity.
• Zhang Shouzhong remains cheerful and impulsive, but his concern for Lu Han shows his loyalty to the group.
• The others, especially Feng Laixian and Bai De, notice Lu Han’s absence and share concern, reinforcing the team’s solidarity.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity under pressure: Zhang Ping adapts his abilities to counter the virus and save Lu Han.
• Danger and opportunity: The outbreak threatens the whole team, yet it may also help Zhang Ping grow stronger.
• Teamwork and responsibility: The group’s concern for Lu Han and Zhang Ping’s rescue highlight their mutual obligations.
• The escalating cost of the mission: What began as a mining expedition becomes a struggle against a spreading, potentially overwhelming enemy.

Character interactions

• Cheng Xuejie serves dinner and scolds Zhang Shouzhong for inappropriate table talk; he responds by starting his assigned copying.
• Bai De and Zhang Ping joke about Zhang Shouzhong’s lack of manners.
• Zhang Ping takes the initiative when the group worries about Lu Han, then rescues and treats him despite the danger.
• Lu Han cannot speak, but his roar and desperate warning convey his attempt to protect Zhang Ping.

Key plot points and events

• A group of hunters crossing the Wolfpack Snowfield are ambushed by huge red Werewolves. The creatures kill several hunters with ease, and the survivors flee toward White Iron Town.
• Four men stay behind to buy time for the women, but they recognize they have little chance against the Werewolves’ strength and metallic defenses.
• Zhang Ping arrives and uses Psychokinesis to knock the monsters away, urging the hunters to escape to White Iron Town.
• He then fights the Werewolves. Since their strength rivals his and they can overwhelm him if they catch him, he avoids direct combat, using flight and Psychokinesis to control their balance.
• Nether mist barely damages a Werewolf’s tough hide. Zhang Ping discovers that biting through its neck works, then absorbs the entire creature.

Character developments

• The hunters’ bravery is tested by the attack: several sacrifice themselves so others can escape, even though they know the odds are hopeless.
• Zhang Ping shows growing confidence and tactical judgment. He understands his limits, avoids a dangerous head-on fight, and uses his abilities strategically.
• His monster-hunting has a practical purpose: consuming Metal Virus creatures gives him metallic elements and makes him stronger.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and survival: The hunters’ attempts to protect one another contrast with the urgency of fleeing.
• Power and vulnerability: Zhang Ping is formidable but not invulnerable; the Werewolves’ strength means careless contact could put him in danger.
• Adaptation and resourcefulness: Victory depends less on brute force than on exploiting weaknesses and controlling the battlefield.
• Power’s cost: Zhang Ping can share his metallic coating with others, as he did to save Lu Han, but the coating is depleted and cannot be recovered.

Character interactions

• The hunters rally around their leader’s orders, with the men staying behind while the women run.
• Zhang Ping rescues the fleeing group without expecting thanks and directs them to safety.
• In the fight, Zhang Ping and the Werewolves repeatedly contest control of balance and positioning, with Zhang Ping ultimately overcoming one through a method suited to its defenses.

Plot and events

• Zhang Ping hunts Metal Virus Werewolves by baiting them into the air and swallowing them, since Metal Eater is the only ability that can overcome their defenses.
• After consuming more than a dozen, he reshapes the Virus coating on his body into armor made of over 500 thin layers. It greatly boosts his defense and power, though he still needs practice to control the added strength.
• At White Iron Town, the residents prepare for an expected attack from the vast red Wolfpack Snowfield. They learn the Metal Virus spreads through snow but cannot pass through soil or rock, so the town itself is protected from the red snow; infected creatures remain the danger.
• Feng Laixian and Bai De approach the snowfield to test the monsters. Three powerful creatures emerge. Feng’s heavy strike is blocked without effect, revealing their strength.
• Feng draws the monsters away from Bai De and fights all three alone. The cold drains his stamina, but Flame Scorpion meat has improved his endurance and strength. After several minutes of combat, he is forced onto the defensive.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows both discomfort at eating struggling Werewolves and pragmatism: he uses the only method that works, then turns the hunt into a major defensive upgrade.
• Liu Sishan and Zhang Shouzhong worry about the threat and the risk Feng and Bai De are taking. Liu asks Bai De to watch over Feng, while accepting that the pair must judge the danger themselves.
• Feng is bold and protective, ordering Bai De to retreat and drawing one monster’s attention to himself. Bai De follows the order, but Feng soon faces a three-on-one fight.
• Bai De’s shock at the monster blocking Feng’s weapon underscores how dangerous the threat is.

Significant themes

• Survival through adaptation: Zhang turns the Virus into armor, while Feng relies on recently acquired stamina and strength to endure the cold and fight.
• Escalating danger and uncertainty: The red snowfield’s immense scale and the monsters’ unexpected toughness leave White Iron Town unsure whether it can withstand an assault.
• Protection and sacrifice: Feng deliberately risks himself to give Bai De a chance to escape.

Key plot points and events

• Feng Laixian battles three powerful monsters before dawn. They match his speed but surpass him in strength and defense, and their tireless attacks force him to retreat. He decides to survive until sunrise, when his Great Sun Red Emperor Form may give him a chance.
• From Great Snow Mountain, Zhang Shouzhong and the others watch Feng’s apparent disadvantage. Cheng Xuejie wants to help, but Liu Sishan stops her, warning that she may hinder rather than assist him.
• Elsewhere, Zhang Ping arrives in a red snowfield and is mobbed by Metal Virus monsters. He devours them, rapidly accumulating metal and thickening his Metallic Coating until he becomes a three-meter “Bald Giant.”
• Zhang Ping’s new strength amazes him, but Situ Shibai cautions that it is not invincible: metal-based abilities can counter his coating, and Zhang is only about one percent as strong as Situ. Zhang also cannot be sure he could defeat the Moon King.
• Rather than risk returning to the city without a way to handle the King-level threat, Zhang decides to seek a suitable weapon first. When he hears Feng’s battle through Wind Whisperer, he shrinks back to his original size for easier, lighter movement.

Character developments

• Feng Laixian shifts from trying to defeat the monsters to focusing on survival until daylight, recognizing the limits of his current strength.
• Zhang Ping gains enormous power by consuming Metal Virus monsters, but keeps his judgment despite feeling exhilarated by his strength. He prioritizes the city’s safety over testing himself.
• Cheng Xuejie shows courage and concern by offering to help Feng, while Liu Sishan takes a cautious, protective role.
• Situ Shibai gives Zhang a realistic assessment of his capabilities and explains the importance of weaknesses and counters.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Sudden strength can be intoxicating, but responsible judgment matters more than confidence.
• Strength has limits: Even formidable abilities can be defeated by a suitable counter.
• Risk and responsibility: Zhang’s choices carry consequences for all of Mingzhu City, so he refuses to gamble.
• Endurance versus advantage: Feng’s immediate goal is to outlast relentless opponents until conditions improve.

Character interactions

• Feng’s struggle prompts concern among the observers; Cheng wants to intervene, while Liu persuades her to wait.
• Zhang consults Situ about his growing power and the possibility of facing the Moon King, receiving a sobering warning.
• Zhang’s awareness of Feng’s fight redirects his attention toward the battle, though he adapts his size and weight before moving.

Key plot points and events

• Feng Laixian is badly outmatched by three Metal Virus monsters and loses an arm. Zhang Ping arrives, effortlessly eats all three, and reveals a dramatic increase in strength.
• Rather than risk leaving White Iron Town undefended, Zhang Ping returns with Feng and stays on guard. He patrols from above, quickly eliminating monsters that approach.
• The monsters attack the animals sheltering in the Great Snow Mountain. A pack of Snow Wolves is slaughtered, and Zhang Ping explains that the creatures are collecting flesh for the Metal Virus Mother Strain.
• At the Zhu Family Base, Zhu Zhaotian and Zhu Shi discuss a plan to kill Zhang Ping in the Wolfpack Snowfield. Zhu Shi doubts the Metal Virus alone will suffice, so he trades a drop of king’s blood for extra help.
• Zhu Zhaotian unveils the Mother Empress Potion, which can trigger a second evolution in the virus Mother Strain. He also introduces researcher Huang Junlong, who can control the resulting giant Metal Mother Emperor.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping demonstrates how much stronger he has become, defeating monsters that even Feng cannot handle. He is cautious and responsible, choosing to protect White Iron Town rather than pursue danger elsewhere.
• Feng Laixian is shaken by Zhang Ping’s sudden transformation and strength, but accepts his help and returns with him to town.
• Zhang Shouzhong recognizes how dangerous the new stage is and worries about becoming a burden. He resolves to study the monsters’ material and find ways to grow stronger.
• Zhu Shi is determined not to leave Zhang Ping’s death to chance. He negotiates aggressively, ultimately paying a drop of king’s blood for a more reliable plan.
• Zhu Zhaotian uses the negotiation to secure the payment and reveals the Mother Empress as his decisive weapon. His confidence is reinforced by Huang Junlong’s expertise.

Significant themes

• Escalating danger: Each new challenge surpasses the previous one, making survival increasingly uncertain.
• Strength and responsibility: Zhang Ping’s power matters not only because it lets him defeat enemies, but because he uses it to protect the group and their mission.
• Preparedness and growth: The others see that they must adapt and become stronger if they are not to become liabilities.
• Calculated brutality: The Metal Virus monsters treat living creatures as resources, while Zhu Shi and Zhu Zhaotian likewise pursue their goal with ruthless pragmatism.

Key plot points and events

• Metal Virus monsters converge on White Iron Town from across the snowfield, drawn by the remaining humans.
• Zhang Ping takes on the defense alone, using metallic coating to extend his arms and seize and devour the attackers. As he consumes them, the coating spreads across his body, eventually making him a huge red giant sheltering the town.
• The assault continues in relentless waves. Cheng Xuejie estimates Zhang Ping has eaten more than 100,000 monsters, and the others realize his strength is still increasing.
• Zhang Ping communicates with Zhang Shouzhong telepathically and asks for food. The group prepares a large supply of meat; unable to stop fighting, Zhang Ping opens a mouth in his leg so they can feed him while he continues swallowing monsters.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows extraordinary endurance and focus, treating the grim, uncomfortable work as worthwhile because each monster makes him stronger. He also jokes about the odd rules of his powers, questioning why a mouth in his palm cannot use his Metal Eater ability.
• Zhang Shouzhong is confused by Zhang Ping’s complaints and later by his telepathic messages, but helps coordinate food for him.
• Feng Laixian quickly interprets Zhang Ping’s message as an application of Psychokinesis and organizes the response.
• Bai De recognizes that Zhang Ping’s ability is not ordinary digestion and is struck by how powerful he has become.
• Cheng Xuejie uses her Bioforce Field to estimate the number of monsters Zhang Ping has consumed.
• The group is impressed—and somewhat amused—by Zhang Ping’s grotesque but practical solution of eating through his leg.

Significant themes

• Relentless sacrifice and duty: Zhang Ping keeps defending the town despite exhaustion and discomfort.
• Power through consumption: Each monster eaten makes him stronger, turning the invasion into fuel for his defense.
• The absurdity of supernatural abilities: Zhang Ping’s transformations and the mouth in his leg mix frightening spectacle with humor.
• Teamwork amid crisis: Though Zhang Ping fights alone, the others support him by tracking the threat and keeping him supplied with food.

Summary of “Parting Gift”

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the entrance to Wolfpack Snowfield, Huang Junlong arrives in a protective suit carrying a weapon designed to combat the Metal Virus. Instead of fighting monsters, he pours the Mother Empress Potion onto the red snow, causing the scattered Metal Virus to gather into a massive sphere.
• Huang cuts his palm and adds his blood, along with an energy crystal, apparently attempting to create and control a new Metal Virus mother body.
• During the night, Zhang Ping consumes every monster formed from the Metal Virus. His body grows to roughly 900 meters and 1.3 million tons, making him one of Mingzhu City’s strongest individuals.
• After the battle, Zhang Ping returns to normal, escapes to sleep, and awakens to find the refugees of White Iron Town treating him as a hero. They thank him for saving them and avenging their loved ones, while some women openly express romantic interest in him.
• Overwhelmed by the crowd’s enthusiasm, Zhang Ping uses Nether Mist to escape into the town’s largest house.
• Zhang Ping and the others discuss whether they have passed the Wolfpack Snowfield trial. Situ Shibai explains that the expected trial likely involved surviving several waves of Snow Wolf attacks over a week, but the Metal Virus outbreak appears abnormal. The group suspects either a malfunction in the snowfield or dangerous experiments conducted by the Investigation Team.
• The group worries about the upcoming battle with the King-level Heavenly Fox, also called the Moon King. Although Zhang Ping’s new strength is enormous, Liu Sishan warns that underestimating the Heavenly Fox could doom Mingzhu City.
• Just as the group begins preparing for the larger mission, Zhao Yanhu reports that a gigantic red spider is charging toward the Great Snow Mountain. Zhang Ping flies up and sees that the creature may destroy White Iron Town if it collides with the mountain.

Character Developments

• Zhang Ping demonstrates the immense power of his Metal Eater ability, becoming a gigantic metal-covered combatant capable of defeating the Metal Virus monsters almost single-handedly.
• Despite gaining overwhelming strength and being praised as a hero, Zhang Ping remains humble and cautious. He initially jokingly revises his claim of being Mingzhu City’s second-strongest person to third-strongest, acknowledging that unknown abilities might counter him.
• His encounter with the grateful refugees shows his discomfort with fame and excessive attention. More importantly, the discussion about the Heavenly Fox causes his confidence to settle into a more responsible determination.
• Huang Junlong reveals a secretive and potentially dangerous plan to create a Metal Virus mother body and bind it to himself through blood and energy.
• Liu Sishan emerges as a voice of caution and strategic responsibility, reminding the group that their mission concerns the survival of all Mingzhu City and that Zhang Ping’s power may not guarantee victory.
• Situ Shibai provides historical knowledge about the intended trial and acknowledges the Investigation Team’s possible negligence.
• Zhang Shouzhong remains suspicious of the Investigation Team and is impressed by Zhang Ping’s transformation, though Liu Sishan forces him to consider the possibility that the Heavenly Fox may still be stronger.

Significant Themes

• Power and responsibility: Zhang Ping’s sudden increase in strength is presented not merely as a victory but as a responsibility, since the city’s survival may depend on him.
• Humility versus overconfidence: The group repeatedly questions whether Zhang Ping’s strength is enough, emphasizing the danger of assuming that overwhelming power guarantees success.
• Unintended consequences of experimentation: The mutated Metal Virus creatures may be the result of Investigation Team experiments, suggesting that human interference has created a new threat.
• Heroism and public gratitude: Zhang Ping is celebrated by survivors as a savior, but his awkward reaction shows the gap between heroic reputation and personal comfort.
• Uncertainty and looming danger: The unclear status of the trial, the unknown strength of the Heavenly Fox, and the sudden appearance of the red spider all reinforce the chapter’s atmosphere of instability.

Character Interactions

• Huang Junlong interacts with the Metal Virus indirectly, using his blood and an energy crystal to impose control over the forming mother body.
• The refugees interact with Zhang Ping through overwhelming gratitude, thanking him for saving them and avenging their dead. Their admiration becomes so intense that he must flee.
• Zhang Shouzhong teases Zhang Ping about becoming a hero, while Zhang Ping admits that the attention is too much.
• Zhang Ping, Zhang Shouzhong, Situ Shibai, Cheng Xuejie, and Liu Sishan debate the nature of the trial and the Investigation Team’s possible role in the disaster.
• Liu Sishan challenges Zhang Shouzhong’s confidence in Zhang Ping, forcing the group to confront the possibility that the Heavenly Fox could surpass him.
• Zhao Yanhu’s urgent warning interrupts the discussion and launches the next crisis: the enormous red spider racing toward White Iron Town and the Great Snow Mountain.

Plot points and events

• Huang Junlong leads a gigantic, record-breaking Metal Virus Mother Empress toward Great Snow Mountain, expecting its power to win him status in the Zhu Family.
• Zhang Ping, transformed into an even larger red giant, overwhelms the Mother Empress, consumes it, and pins Huang Junlong with Psychokinesis.
• Huang Junlong reveals that Zhu Zhaotian, head of the Zhu Family’s research institute, released the Metal Virus to kill Zhang Ping. The outbreak killed many people across Wolfpack Snowfield.
• Zhang Ping briefly considers sparing Huang Junlong, but kills him when he remembers that Huang intended to destroy White Iron Town as well as carry out the assassination. Zhang Ping resolves to avenge the victims and adds Zhu Zhaotian to his list of targets.
• Back in White Iron Town, Zhang Ping avoids the survivors’ cheers. Zhang Shouzhong and the others organize the rebuilding of their home, aided by the Forest Outlaws, who prove capable builders as well as fighters. The group eventually leaves the newly built city.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping learns the Zhu Family is responsible for the disaster and shifts from defending himself to pursuing retribution. His momentary hesitation before killing Huang Junlong reveals some mercy, but his sense of responsibility and anger prevail. He is uncomfortable with the survivors’ gratitude, feeling he has failed those who died.
• Huang Junlong changes from triumphant confidence to terror when Zhang Ping defeats the Mother Empress. He attempts to save himself by invoking the Zhu Family and offering information, but Zhang Ping kills him before he can bargain.
• The confrontation reveals a stark contrast between Huang’s ambition and Zhang Ping’s power: Huang sees the Mother Empress as an unprecedented weapon, while Zhang Ping defeats and consumes it with ease.
• The survivors respond to Zhang Ping’s victory with admiration, while he withdraws from them. Meanwhile, Zhang Shouzhong, Zhou Qingbai, Long Fubo, and their allies help restore the community.

Significant themes

• Retribution and responsibility: Zhang Ping believes the Zhu Family’s bloodshed must be answered, even though he did not cause the deaths himself.
• Ambition and its consequences: Huang Junlong’s hopes of rising within the Zhu Family collapse alongside the weapon he proudly commanded.
• Power and perspective: The immense Mother Empress is rendered insignificant beside Zhang Ping’s transformed form.
• Survivor guilt and rebuilding: Zhang Ping struggles with the deaths and praise, while the survivors begin recovering by constructing a new home together.

Key plot points and events

• After Huang Junlong’s actions altered the Special Scenario’s Time Anchor, the group decides that some members should guard the Training Grounds in case the Zhu Family interferes again.
• Liu Sishan assigns Zhang Ping and Cheng Xuejie to enter Monster Island together, while the others stay behind.
• The island’s challenge is to kill every monster. Zhang Ping grows to his enormous Giant Form, protects Cheng Xuejie with Metallic Coating, and overwhelms the island’s monsters with his size and strength.
• In half an hour, he has flattened the island and killed every monster. Although he calls the stage easy, Cheng Xuejie notes that its creatures were exceptionally dangerous and their attacks could devastate the landscape.
• Back at the Training Grounds, Cheng Xuejie explains how quickly Zhang Ping cleared the stage. When Bai De names the next challenge, Lost Plains, Zhang Ping enters alone before the others can decide whether to accompany him.

Character developments

• Zhang Ping is confident in his newly increased power and increasingly capable of handling Special Scenarios without help. He chooses speed and overwhelming force over a prolonged fight.
• Cheng Xuejie trusts Zhang Ping enough to accompany him and remains observant: she recognizes that Monster Island was genuinely perilous, even if he made it look easy.
• The rest of the group accept that they can no longer contribute much in combat. They shift toward supporting Zhang Ping by guarding the Training Grounds.

Significant themes

• Power and perspective: Zhang Ping’s immense strength makes a deadly challenge seem trivial, while Cheng Xuejie’s account reveals the danger others would face.
• Force as efficiency: Zhang Ping clears Monster Island by using sheer scale rather than tactics or drawn-out battles.
• Changing roles and teamwork: As Zhang Ping outgrows the group’s ability to assist him in combat, their role becomes protecting the base and preventing interference.

Character interactions

• Liu Sishan and the others discuss who should enter the next scenario and agree to stay behind to guard against the Zhu Family.
• Zhang Ping reassures Cheng Xuejie and shields her in his palm during his rampage across the island.
• Cheng Xuejie reacts with disbelief to Zhang Ping’s “easy” victory and explains to the others just how dangerous the monsters were.
• Zhang Shouzhong suggests entering Lost Plains as a group, but Zhang Ping proceeds alone, leaving the others to watch over the Training Grounds.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping arrives in the fog-shrouded Lost Plains, where the clouds announce that he must find a shelter within one week.
• He recognizes the oppressive setting as a possible test of fear and paranoia, but his resilience and lack of companions make him largely immune to its intended psychological pressure.
• He transforms into a colossal, metallic-coated giant and charges through the fog. Hidden monsters and swamps are destroyed underfoot, mostly without him noticing. A One-Legged Fear Beast is also accidentally crushed, leaving only its foot.
• While running, Zhang reflects on his growing strength and on the danger posed by Mountain Ancestor, whose ability may make it especially difficult to defeat.
• He crashes through a mountain and nearly sends rocks flying into a small town. Using Psychokinesis, he diverts the boulders and prevents damage.
• Peering into a house, he sees three gray wraiths. They are frightened by his enormous face and flee; his attempt to call them back causes wraiths throughout the town to scatter.
• Zhang decides to reduce his size by keeping only thirty layers of Metallic Coating, hoping to appear less frightening. He pursues the first wraiths into a forest and finds another town beyond it.

Character developments

• Zhang demonstrates confidence, immense physical power, and a casual attitude toward dangers that would threaten ordinary travelers.
• He gains a clearer understanding of his Infinite-Tier ability: its true advantage lies in eliminating weaknesses and becoming difficult to counter, rather than simply accumulating strength.
• His wish to purify the wraiths reveals compassion beneath his overwhelming appearance. He is also capable of reflecting on how his behavior affects others.

Significant themes

• Psychological terror versus overwhelming power: The plains are designed to make travelers fearful and suspicious, but Zhang’s strength and independence undermine that threat.
• Power and unintended consequences: Zhang’s size and momentum destroy hidden creatures and nearly endanger a town, even though he does not mean harm.
• Strength through adaptability: Zhang’s reflections emphasize overcoming weaknesses and counters as the deeper measure of power.
• Compassion amid horror: Zhang sees the wraiths not merely as monsters, but as suffering beings he wants to help.

Character interactions

• The environment’s monsters pose little real challenge to Zhang; his encounters with them are mostly accidental.
• The three wraiths and the other town spirits react to Zhang with terror, while he responds with curiosity and an urge to purify them.
• Zhang’s interaction with the town is cautious once he realizes it is nearby: he diverts the flying rocks and tries to approach without causing further damage.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping enters the abandoned Black-Robe Town, where he finds hanging corpses and discovers that his arrival has awakened Living Dead.
• A family’s diary reveals that an old man came to town about five years earlier. People around him began turning into corpses, and he killed anyone who resisted. A second diary identifies the man’s surname as Zuo, leading Zhang to conclude he was almost certainly Zuo Xiangming.
• Zhang restrains several attacking Living Corpses and examines them. Their bodies have been cut apart and stitched back together from mismatched organs and body parts. Finding no further clues, he burns them and buries their ashes.
• At Zuo’s former house, Zhang finds a worktable carved with unexplained symbols and a decayed corpse bearing stitched-on fish gills. These clues lead him to infer that Zuo was trying to turn one corpse into two by combining halves of a powerful body with parts from ordinary corpses.

Character developments

• Zhang moves from investigating the town’s history to piecing together the purpose of Zuo’s experiments. His curiosity is paired with compassion: he apologizes to the Living Dead before examining them and gives their remains a burial.
• His discovery sharpens his resolve to confront Zuo, whom he regards as responsible for the town’s suffering.
• Zuo Xiangming remains absent, but the evidence portrays him as a ruthless experimenter seeking to multiply the power of a single corpse.

Significant themes

• The horror of experimentation: The stitched bodies show how human beings were reduced to material for research.
• Death and dignity: Though the Living Dead are dangerous, Zhang treats them as victims and buries their remains.
• Ambition and transgression: Zuo’s attempt to make one powerful corpse into two represents an extreme effort to overcome natural limits.
• Clues and inference: Zhang reconstructs Zuo’s likely goal from diaries, physical evidence, and observation.

Character interactions

• Zhang has no direct encounter with Zuo; he investigates the abandoned town and Zuo’s former home to understand his work.
• The townspeople once welcomed Zuo and built him a house, unaware of the danger he would bring.
• Zhang confronts the awakened Living Dead, restrains and examines them, then burns and buries them rather than leaving them to wander.

Zhang Ping discovers that Zuo Xiangming has been running two experiments: combining Awakened and ordinary corpses in hopes of creating more Awakened, and merging human and animal Living Corpses to give them near-Awakened strength. After burning the ruined corpses in Black-Robe Town, Zhang sets out to find Zuo and stop his work.
Meanwhile, Zuo realizes someone has destroyed his Living Corpses and suspects an Awakened has entered the Lost Plains. Though wary of being discovered, he returns to Black-Robe Town to hide and continue his experiments, ordering his remaining Living Corpses to attack if the intruder comes back.
Zhang eventually remembers why he entered the town: three Vengeful Ghosts had led him there, and he wanted to purify them so they could find peace. He returns and sees Zuo’s Living Corpses attacking the ghosts. Recognizing that Zuo has come back, Zhang intervenes, crushing several Living Corpses and confronting him inside the hut.
Zuo repeatedly escapes by shifting damage onto other Living Corpses and teleporting away. Zhang destroys the hut and strikes at Zuo’s palace, but Zuo escapes again. Zhang grows to enormous size to search the area, while Zuo watches from hiding, frightened by the scale of Zhang’s power.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping is driven both to stop Zuo’s cruel experiments and to help the suffering ghosts. Though he briefly forgets the ghosts, he returns as soon as he remembers, revealing his compassion and sense of priority. His overwhelming strength contrasts with Zuo’s evasive tactics.
• Zuo Xiangming is ambitious and single-minded about completing his research. He is confident enough to set traps, but Zhang’s attack forces him to flee and exposes his fear of being captured.
• The Vengeful Ghosts remain traumatized and vulnerable, but their plight motivates Zhang to protect them.
• Zhang and Zuo clash directly for the first time in this encounter: Zhang attacks with force, while Zuo survives by sacrificing Living Corpses and escaping.

Themes

• The ethical cost of scientific ambition: Zuo treats human and animal bodies as experimental material.
• Compassion and responsibility: Zhang seeks peace for the ghosts as well as justice against Zuo.
• Power and survival: Zhang’s brute strength meets Zuo’s ability to evade danger through his Living Corpses.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping gives up trying to kill Zuo Xiangming, realizing that Zuo can survive as long as one of his Living Corpses remains. He resolves to target the spatially gifted Living Corpse first next time.
• He purifies three dying Vengeful Ghosts, experiencing the horrific torture Zuo inflicted on them and their family. Their suffering leaves Zhang furious at Zuo.
• The child, Hua Min, reveals himself as a Lesser Blessing Spirit. His kiss restores Zhang’s energy and temporarily boosts his luck.
• Zhang searches the Lost Plains but finds neither Zuo nor a town. He eventually discovers a Civilization Refuge and decides to leave: rescuing Mingzhu City takes priority, and he can return to hunt Zuo later.
• Back at the Training Grounds, almost no time has passed for the others. Zhang jokes that he spent a thousand years inside, then tells everyone Zuo is in the Lost Plains.

Character developments

• Zhang’s anger at Zuo deepens after he personally experiences the victims’ pain, but he chooses to act pragmatically rather than pursue an almost impossible search.
• Hua Min emerges as a valuable spirit whose blessing can improve recovery and luck.
• Zhang’s companions remain supportive and curious, while Su Jingyao continues to manage when the spirits are allowed outside the Sanctified World.

Character interactions

• Zhang comforts and purifies the ghosts, then thanks Hua Min for his blessing. Hua Min returns happily to his parents, proud of his new ability.
• The spirits gather around Hua Min to investigate his power, but return inside when Su Jingyao appears.
• Zhang reunites with Cheng Xuejie and Zhang Shouzhong, trades jokes with them, and shares what he learned about Zuo.

Significant themes

• Mercy and bearing witness: Zhang takes on the victims’ suffering to help them pass on.
• Vengeance versus responsibility: Though determined to kill Zuo, Zhang prioritizes the greater danger facing Mingzhu City.
• Luck and fate: Hua Min’s ability introduces the rare, powerful influence of luck.
• Different experiences of time: Zhang’s lengthy ordeal contrasts with the instant that passes for those outside.

Key events

• Zhang Ping’s group works out how time operates in Special Scenarios: events that are inevitable from a future perspective can shape the present, and later entrants can change a scenario’s Time Anchor. This explains why Zuo Xiangming has not yet emerged from the Lost Plains.
• Rather than pursue Zuo, the group decides to guard the Training Grounds and prevent anyone else from entering the Lost Plains. Their immediate priority is the Heavenly Fox, so Zhang Ping and Liu Sishan enter the next stage, the Corpse Plateau.
• The plateau is covered in bones, with no living creatures. Zhang Ping’s examination suggests the animals died of starvation at the same time.
• When an unnatural wind approaches, Zhang Ping senses danger and takes shelter with Liu Sishan in a pit, reinforcing it with Psychokinesis and Contract Gem.
• Watching the bones crumble in the wind, Zhang Ping realizes it is Time Wind—a gust capable of carrying centuries or millennia and causing rapid aging. He suspects it explains the mass deaths.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows quick judgment and protectiveness: he notices the danger before Liu Sishan, shields her with Metallic Coating, and constructs their shelter.
• Liu Sishan remains composed and practical, suggesting they dig a hole and later reminding Zhang Ping that the Investigation Team can choose safer scenarios for its trainees.
• Their close, affectionate partnership is evident as they enter the plateau hand in hand and work together under pressure.
• Zhang Shouzhong jokes that Zhang Ping could defeat Zuo Xiangming through sheer strength, while Feng Laixian initially wants to attack immediately. The group’s discussion ultimately favors patience and guarding the entrance.

Significant themes

• Time and causality: Future inevitabilities can determine present events, making the scenario’s logic seem paradoxical until viewed backward.
• Escalating danger and adaptation: Each stage presents a new, more dangerous challenge, requiring observation and rapid problem-solving.
• Protection and preparedness: Zhang Ping’s instinct to protect Liu Sishan contrasts with the group’s broader strategy of controlling access to the Lost Plains.
• Humility and perspective: Zhang Ping assumes the Investigation Team may send recruits into deadly stages, then recognizes they can select different scenarios.

Key plot points and events

• With the deadly Time Wind approaching, Zhang Ping urges Liu Sishan to hide in her Storage Contract. Before she enters, he gives her a Contract Gem containing one condition: she must not fall into the Lost State or despair.
• Liu Sishan emerges from the gem emotionally renewed, having let go of old attachments. Zhang then takes his Pure Water form and waits underground while she remains protected inside the contract. The Time Wind destroys exposed bones but leaves them unharmed.
• Afterward, Situ Shibai explains that earlier explorers learned how to survive the wind through the sacrifices of their predecessors. He says Zhang and Liu could have survived by digging deeper.
• Zhang objects that Situ withheld crucial information and stresses that the trials are matters of life and death. Situ apologizes and promises to warn them sooner in future.
• Liu chooses to stay in the Storage Contract, finding it peaceful and unusually conducive to meditation.
• From the air, Zhang realizes the Corpse Plateau forms a giant Tai Chi diagram, with black and white exits. Situ explains that both are real: the Black Hole reverses time, while the White Hole accelerates it. Their winds circle the plateau and cancel each other’s effects if someone enters at exactly the right moment.
• Zhang considers how the Black Hole might restore the youth of the elderly Ye Changchun and Su Qingbo.

Character developments

• Liu Sishan finds emotional clarity after accepting Zhang’s condition and discovers unexpected comfort in the Storage Contract.
• Zhang Ping shows strong concern for Liu and becomes more assertive about the danger of the trials and the need for honest guidance.
• Situ Shibai recognizes that he has treated lethal trials too casually and agrees to change his approach.

Significant themes

• Trust and responsibility: Zhang insists that companions deserve timely warnings when their lives are at stake.
• Acceptance and emotional release: Liu’s renewed outlook comes from letting go of what she had been clinging to.
• Time and its consequences: The paired exits offer both reversal and acceleration, but only precise timing prevents harm.
• Survival through inherited knowledge: Past explorers’ sacrifices made it possible for the current group to understand the plateau.

Character interactions

• Zhang protects Liu physically and emotionally, while Liu accepts his help and later chooses when to rejoin him.
• Zhang confronts Situ over withholding information; Situ listens, apologizes, and promises to be more forthcoming.
• Zhang and Situ discuss the exits’ mechanics, leading Zhang to consider whether their powers could help the group’s elderly companions.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Ping imagines using the Corpse Plateau’s time-altering forces to restore youth, heal injuries, or accelerate the Moonchasing Dark Tortoise’s growth. Situ Shibai warns that these ideas are impossible: unless the time force is perfectly canceled, it keeps acting like a curse and can erase its target.
• Zhang Ping tries to catch the Accelerating Wind, which leads toward the Black Hole, but misses it. The next wind comes from the opposite direction: the Reversing Wind, which restores dead things to earlier states. Its power weakens as it crosses the plateau, explaining why the group previously saw only bones revived.
• A small amount of Reversing Wind turns Zhang Ping’s body back a few hours, but leaves his abilities unharmed. To protect the important Metal Eater, he enters Pure Water Form, stores himself in his Storage Contract, and passes through the White Hole.
• Back at the training grounds, Zhang Ping checks that the Storage Contract is safe and tells the others about the plateau. Liu Sishan remains inside her own Storage Contract, which she enjoys for meditation.
• As the group prepares for the final stage, Heaven-Piercing Divine Peak, Zhang Ping proposes bringing Bai De, Zhao Yanlong, and Zhao Yanhu inside Storage Contracts so they can accompany him as summoned beasts.
• Cheng Xuejie and Zhang Shouzhong also volunteer to become his summoned beasts. Zhang Ping creates Contract Gems with the condition that they must avoid the Lost State and corruption; both swallow them.

Character development and interactions

• Zhang Ping’s curiosity and ambition are checked by Situ Shibai’s hard-earned experience. Despite disappointment, Zhang Ping adapts quickly, handles the Reversing Wind cautiously, and prioritizes protecting his companions and Metal Eater.
• Situ Shibai acts as an amused but practical guide, explaining the danger of the time forces and warning Zhang Ping about the winds.
• Liu Sishan’s contentment inside her Storage Contract prompts Bai De to try it himself; he finds it comfortable, though less appealing than she does.
• The group shows growing trust and commitment to Zhang Ping. Cheng Xuejie openly acknowledges the risk of the Contract Gems but is willing to stake her life to help save Mingzhu City; Zhang Shouzhong readily agrees as well.
• Zhang Ping invites others to share the risk of the final trial rather than facing it alone, while setting a clear safeguard against corruption.

Significant themes

• The limits and danger of power: Time manipulation offers tempting possibilities but can destroy its target if not fully controlled.
• Trust and sacrifice: The group’s willingness to accept Zhang Ping’s contracts reflects their loyalty and their shared mission.
• Preparation and cooperation: The final challenge is approached as a collective effort, with Zhang Ping using his abilities to bring allies along.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Ping explains the limits of Absolute Command: it cannot grant someone abilities they lack the knowledge to develop. For instance, becoming ageless would require understanding genetic engineering and changing one’s own genes. Mental states are easier to influence because commands can alter thoughts, which in turn affect the mind.
• Zhang Shouzhong and Cheng Xuejie successfully digest Contract Gems. Zhang Ping recognizes that their willingness to risk their lives comes from their determination to protect Mingzhu City, not simply trust in him.
• The group enters their Storage Contracts and prepares to climb Heaven-Piercing Divine Peak. Feng Laixian stays behind to guard the Training Grounds and prevent Zuo Xiangming from escaping.
• Zhang Ping discovers the mountain imposes a size limit: he cannot climb while taller than three meters. He shrinks and begins ascending by gripping the rock.
• Zhang Shouzhong turns his Fat Energy into equipment for Zhang Ping and supports him from inside a Storage Contract, finding the role more useful than acting as a shield. The others also consider how their abilities can help.
• Cheng Xuejie detects a creature above them. Zhang Ping confirms it is a long-tailed, bamboo-jointed monkey—a Mutated Beast—as they approach a possible threat.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows respect for Zhang Shouzhong and Cheng Xuejie, appreciating the conviction behind their sacrifice. He adapts quickly to the mountain’s restriction and accepts the group’s support.
• Zhang Shouzhong shifts from seeing himself mainly as a human shield to embracing a flexible support role, offering tools, armor, or shields as needed.
• Cheng Xuejie contributes reconnaissance, while Liu Sishan offers Pure Water and Bai De volunteers to take a hit despite Zhang Ping’s reassurance that his defenses are stronger.
• Feng Laixian accepts the less glamorous but essential duty of guarding the Training Grounds.

Significant themes

• Knowledge and the limits of power: Absolute Command can influence thought but cannot replace expertise needed for complex changes.
• Sacrifice and shared purpose: The gem-users’ resolve comes from their commitment to protecting their city.
• Teamwork and adapting roles: Each character looks for a way to contribute, and Zhang Shouzhong discovers that support can be more valuable than direct defense.
• Tests and constraints: The mountain’s size restriction forces Zhang Ping to abandon an overwhelming form and face the climb on its terms.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Ping recalls Liu Tiefeng’s knowledge of Mutated Beasts and recognizes a Bamboo-Jointed-Tailed Monkey, whose powerful, bone-tipped tail makes it dangerous and valuable.
• When the monkey attacks, Zhang Ping catches its tail, knocks it unconscious, removes the bone tip for a spearhead, and heals it with King Blood before climbing out of its territory.
• After resting on the mountainside, Zhang Ping proposes a shortcut: use Giant Form to throw Zhang Shouzhong’s Storage Contract toward the summit, then use Fat Energy to follow.
• The team agrees. Zhang Ping drops back to the ground, grows enormous, and launches the Storage Contract skyward.
• Zhang Shouzhong’s flight carries him through successive cloud layers—thunder, ice, heat, and blinding light—but the indestructible contract survives. He reaches the summit and spots the Ancient Ruins entrance.
• Because reaching the summit by climbing could take too long, and the Time Anchor may be changed in the meantime, Zhang Shouzhong must make the dangerous journey again.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Ping shows confidence, ingenuity, and practical knowledge. He handles the monkey with ease, takes what he needs, and even heals it afterward. He also accepts the risks of an unconventional shortcut to save time.
• Zhang Shouzhong is anxious about heights and increasingly frightened by the launch, but recognizes that his ability may be essential and agrees to continue.
• Bai De supports Zhang Ping’s plan, while Liu Sishan raises a practical concern about the Storage Contract’s durability before ordering Zhang Shouzhong to proceed. Cheng Xuejie offers encouragement.
• Zhang Ping and Zhang Shouzhong’s exchange mixes humor with tension: Zhang Ping treats the plan lightly, while Zhang Shouzhong repeatedly tries to voice his fear.

Significant themes

• Courage despite fear: Zhang Shouzhong must act even though he is terrified, while the team accepts risk to meet an urgent goal.
• Resourcefulness and teamwork: The group adapts to the peak’s restrictions by combining Zhang Ping’s strength and Zhang Shouzhong’s ability.
• Urgency and sacrifice: They risk a frightening, dangerous shortcut because delay could let someone alter the Time Anchor and endanger the people of Mingzhu City.
• Power balanced by restraint: Zhang Ping can defeat the monkey, but leaves rather than wasting time fighting its group.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Shouzhong survives a terrifying fall through the clouds and reports hearing a monstrous roar near them. The group realizes the upper cloud layers are dangerous, so they decide to test Zhang Ping’s method rather than climb normally.
• Zhang Ping throws Zhang Shouzhong’s Storage Contract toward the summit. Its pull carries Zhang Shouzhong upward, though he remains frightened.
• Zhang Ping then uses a Weapon Contract to launch himself toward Heaven-Piercing Divine Peak. The force immobilizes him, but carries him rapidly past the Bamboo-Jointed-Tailed Monkeys and into the cloud layers.
• Lightning in the Thundercloud Layer numbs him; the Ice Cloud Layer strengthens his Metallic Coating, and the Fire Cloud Layer melts the ice. Zhang Ping hears the roar of a huge creature but passes unnoticed.
• In the Golden Cloud Layer, concentrated beams rapidly break through his Metallic Coating. As he nears the summit, a golden beam shoots from the peak. Zhang Ping sees its source: a magnificent golden male lion staring directly at him.

Character development

• Zhang Shouzhong remains comically fearful, but Zhang Ping recognizes that continuing despite fear is genuine courage.
• Zhang Ping shows caution and strategic thinking: he tests the method, prepares layers of defense, and carefully tracks the damage to his Metallic Coating. His confidence is tempered by the realization that his ability has limits.
• The golden lion’s appearance introduces a powerful, potentially hostile presence at the summit.

Character interactions

• Liu Sishan and the others question Zhang Shouzhong about the clouds and agree to test Zhang Ping’s approach.
• Cheng Xuejie teases Zhang Shouzhong for being afraid; Zhang Ping defends him, distinguishing bravery from reckless bravado.
• Zhang Ping guides the group’s ascent, while his companions travel in his pockets. The chapter ends with him confronting the lion’s gaze from afar.

Significant themes

• Courage versus recklessness: bravery means acting despite fear, not ignoring danger.
• Preparation and uncertainty: careful planning helps, but the world’s powers and creatures remain unpredictable.
• Limits of strength: Zhang Ping’s Metallic Coating offers protection, yet the Golden Cloud Layer steadily overwhelms it.
• Escalating danger: each cloud layer presents a different threat, building toward the unexplained golden lion.