Chapter Summaries

Ji Zhixing’s group explored Stone Lake Town, refining a black-haired sighthound into a Gene Source Stone and killing an Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken. They were then confronted by an Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King and two companions charging toward them.

• Zhang Haocheng won rock-paper-scissors and refined the black-haired sighthound, obtaining one Gene Source Stone.
• Ji Zhixing’s group encountered Zhou Yuan’s team after they killed a Mighty Boar King, then continued searching through town.
• The group spotted a One-Eyed Mutant Cat, but it fled before they could catch it.
• Xie Jia bound an Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken with Vine Entanglement, allowing Ji Zhixing and the others to kill it.
• An Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King and two other chickens charged at the group after finding their fallen companion.

Ji Zhixing fought the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King to find the pressure he needed to master the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves. By suppressing the Army-Breaking Staff’s guidance, he discovered army-breaking intent and struck the chicken king hard enough to make it stagger.

• Ji Zhixing took on the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King while his companions divided up the other two chickens.
• The chicken king’s powerful wing strikes pushed Ji Zhixing back, and his staff attacks failed to break through its defenses.
• Ji Zhixing deliberately suppressed the Army-Breaking Staff’s guidance and continued using the eight moves through his own understanding.
• As he fought, Ji Zhixing sensed the staff’s lingering aura and realized that army-breaking intent came from the heart.
• Ji Zhixing trusted his staff and poured his conviction into a strike that made the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King falter and step back.

Ji Zhixing made partial progress in mastering the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves before joining his companions to kill the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King. Refining its corpse produced three items, and Ji Zhixing discovered that one was not a Gene Source Stone.

• Ji Zhixing sometimes infused his staff strikes with his will, but realized he had not yet mastered the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves or awakened his innate staff heart talent.
• Liu Qifan, Zhang Haocheng, Xie Jia, and Luo Yongguang arrived and surrounded the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King with Ji Zhixing.
• Ji Zhixing struck the staggered Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King with the ninth form of the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves, killing it.
• Ji Zhixing collected and refined the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King while his companions each refined another Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken and received only a Gene Source Stone.
• Ji Zhixing's gene furnace produced three items, including two large Gene Source Stones and an unidentified third item.

Ji Zhixing and his companions hunted Gene Beasts, and he discovered that his Gene Furnace consistently yielded two Gene Source Stones. The chapter ended with him learning that Petrified Crabs near Stone Lake could yield the Stone Skin Gene Potion he needed.

• Ji Zhixing refined the Ironfeather Pheasant King and obtained two Gene Source Stones and an Origin Force Gene Potion.
• After resting and replenishing his Gene Source Force, Ji Zhixing joined the others in searching deeper through town for Gene Beasts.
• The group hunted several First Order Gene Beasts and returned to the convoy at dusk; Ji Zhixing noted that each beast he had refined yielded two Gene Source Stones.
• Liu Qifan told Ji Zhixing that Huang Yu's team had found Petrified Crabs near Stone Lake, which could yield a Stone Skin Gene Potion.
• Ji Zhixing eagerly asked where the Petrified Crabs were and learned that blunt weapons or spears worked best against their hard shells.

Ji Zhixing learned that Gu Zheng had fused with a rare fourth-order sword-feather peacock gene, then continued practicing his staff technique despite the day's exhaustion. As Chen Ye recognized how close Ji Zhixing was to mastering a two-star staff technique, Ji's success rate at infusing his will into his strikes kept rising.

• Ji Zhixing and Zhang Haocheng agreed to look for Petrified Crabs at Stone Lake the next day.
• Students discussed the hunting successes of Huang Yu's and Qi Xingzhou's teams, including Qi Xingzhou refining a Blackwater Armored Turtle into a Water Spirit Potion.
• Zhou Hang arrived with five Rain City Middle School students, and Qi Xingzhou and the others learned that four had fused with third-order genes while Gu Zheng had fused with a fourth-order sword-feather peacock gene.
• Ji Zhixing practiced the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves, while Qi Xingzhou doubted his claim about awakening a second-order gene aperture and Gu Zheng dismissed him as unworthy of attention.
• Chen Ye recognized Ji Zhixing's staff technique as a two-star technique nearing mastery, and Ji's ability to infuse his will into his strikes improved with practice.

Ji Zhixing and his classmates went to Stone Lake to hunt Petrified Crabs, and he killed a powerful one with the Army-Breaking Staff. The battle sharpened his grasp of the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves and left him reflecting on the feeling of his final strike.

• Ji Zhixing rested after a long day of fighting and staff practice, then planned to hunt at Stone Lake for a Petrified Crab and a Stone Skin Gene Potion.
• The next morning, Ji Zhixing and his four classmates headed to Stone Lake, where they watched Class Two kill a Petrified Crab before luring out a larger one of their own.
• Luo Yongguang blocked the crab with his shield, Xie Jia restrained it with vines, and Zhang Haocheng and Liu Qifan attacked while Ji Zhixing struck its shell with his staff.
• Ji Zhixing repeatedly struck the trapped crab, refining his focus and will as he used the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves.
• Ji Zhixing shattered the Petrified Crab's head with a final blow and stood panting as he recalled the strike.

Ji Zhixing tested whether his gene furnace increased Gene Potion drops while hunting, then switched targets and fought a flock of Iron-Feather Mountain Chickens. During the battle, he fully mastered the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves and wondered whether he could now develop the innate staff heart ability.

• Ji Zhixing refined a Petrified Crab and secretly obtained a Stone Skin Gene Potion, strengthening his suspicion that his gene furnace boosted potion drops.
• After his group lured only four Petrified Crabs all morning, Ji Zhixing suggested they hunt other Gene Beasts in the afternoon.
• The group encountered and killed several lone Gene Beasts, but refining them yielded nothing worthwhile.
• Near evening, Ji Zhixing and his companions attacked five Iron-Feather Mountain Chickens, including a king, and killed the four ordinary birds while Ji Zhixing held off the king.
• Ji Zhixing mastered the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves during the fight, then helped his companions kill the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King and checked himself for signs of developing the staff heart ability.

Ji Zhixing’s Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene developed the two-star innate staff heart ability, which amplified his staff techniques. He told Sun Dajun he had mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique and asked to learn the Stonewall Staff Technique.

• Ji Zhixing sensed his Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene transforming while his companions refined the Iron-Feather Mountain Chickens, but Zhang Haocheng gained only a Gene Source Stone from the chicken king.
• The group learned that a Class Four student had been seriously injured hunting Gene Beasts, and Ji Zhixing resolved to grow stronger so he could protect himself and those around him.
• After dinner, Ji Zhixing developed the innate staff heart ability and discovered it could enhance his staff talent, training speed, and technique power.
• Ji Zhixing left his companions and asked Sun Dajun to teach him the Stonewall Staff Technique, explaining that he had already mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique and developed his new ability.

Ji Zhixing demonstrated that he had mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique, astonishing his teachers and classmates. Sun Dajun lent him a Bedrock Staff to practice the Stonewall Staff Technique, while He Yanbing worried that the cost of developing his other gene abilities might keep him from Rain City University's admissions this year.

• Ji Zhixing confirmed to Sun Dajun and He Yanbing that he had mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique, then performed all eight moves with Sun Dajun's Bedrock Staff.
• Liu Qifan, Zhang Haocheng, Luo Yongguang, Xie Jia, and the teachers watched in amazement as Ji Zhixing's staff technique displayed powerful army-breaking will.
• Sun Dajun praised Ji Zhixing and let him keep the Bedrock Staff to refine, asking him to return it after mastering the Stonewall Staff Technique or graduating.
• Zhou Yuan questioned the gap between his own progress and Ji Zhixing's, while Qi Xingzhou remained doubtful that Ji Zhixing could evolve his gene and Rain City Middle School students dismissed his achievement.
• He Yanbing and the teachers discussed the high cost of developing Ji Zhixing's Stone Skin and Gigantification abilities, and worried he might miss Rain City University's admissions.
• Liu Qifan and the others caught up with Ji Zhixing before he reached the school bus, and Liu Qifan asked if he had really mastered the technique.

After mastering the Army-Breaking Staff Technique, Ji Zhixing learned the moves of the Stonewall Staff Technique and tried to develop the Stone Skin gene ability with a potion, but one vial was not enough. The next morning, he and his squad returned to Stone Lake, where Rain City Middle School students headed for Lake Center Island.

• Ji Zhixing told Liu Qifan and the others that he had mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique during his fight with the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King, then stayed behind to practice.
• Ji Zhixing refined the Yellowstone Staff and learned the moves of the Stonewall Staff Technique, but he could not enter its steady state without the staff’s guidance.
• Ji Zhixing drank the Stone Skin Gene Potion and contemplated its effects, but the potion’s power was insufficient to develop the ability.
• After resting through the night, Ji Zhixing led his squad back to Stone Lake, where they saw Gu Zheng and the Rain City Middle School students sail toward Lake Center Island.

Ji Zhixing and his classmates hunted Petrified Crabs at Stone Lake until violent disturbances from Lake Center Island sent Giant-Footed Frogs fleeing ashore. As they hurried back to camp, Ji Zhixing discovered that refining one frog had produced a mysterious pendant that might be gene equipment.

• Ji Zhixing and the others killed a Petrified Crab, but refining it yielded only Gene Source Stones.
• The group hunted through the morning and found no potions before stopping for lunch.
• A crash from Lake Center Island shook the ground and churned the lake, sending over a dozen Giant-Footed Frogs scrambling ashore.
• With Zhao Qing's approval, Ji Zhixing and the others quickly killed the frogs and collected their corpses.
• While the group hurried back to camp, Ji Zhixing finished refining his frog and found an amber pendant containing the outline of a curled-up frog in his gene furnace.

Ji Zhixing discovered that the Giant-Footed Frog had yielded a Frog Pendant with a diving ability, but an Otherworld Secret Realm opened near camp and unleashed giant bears and eagles. Fleeing a diving eagle, he plunged through a distorted passage into the realm, narrowly grazed by its talons.

• Ji Zhixing examined the Frog Pendant, learned it granted Frog Stroke and twenty extra minutes of diving time, and decided to name it.
• A new crash and roar announced an Otherworld Secret Realm opening near camp, and four enormous black bears emerged.
• Chen Ye engaged the largest bear while the other bears attacked students, and a Rain City University senior intervened to save Luo Yongguang.
• Black eagles emerged through another passage and seized several students before one targeted Ji Zhixing.
• With no one able to help him, Ji Zhixing rushed into the nearby distorted space as the eagle's talons grazed his back.

Gu Zheng and his companions avoided a third-order Two-Winged Thousand-Steel Python and its valuable hematite, while Ji Zhixing found two classmates after being separated in the Secret Realm. The groups reunited by a lake, where Gu Zheng said he needed their help.

• Gu Zheng's group spotted a Two-Winged Thousand-Steel Python guarding hematite and left rather than risk fighting it.
• Ji Zhixing landed alone in a forest, discovered the spatial passage had vanished, and found that the Black Eagle had only scratched his back.
• Ji Zhixing met Li Qiang and Zhao Gang, and the three continued through the forest together.
• Ji Zhixing's group reached a lake and encountered Gu Zheng's group.
• Gu Zheng greeted them warmly and said he needed their help.

Gu Zheng forced Ji Zhixing, Li Qiang, and Zhao Gang to lure a Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python from its valley so his group could collect hematite. Ji Zhixing escaped into the lake, while Gu Zheng’s group planned to deal with the python and return for him.

• Gu Zheng led Ji Zhixing, Li Qiang, and Zhao Gang to a valley where a Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python guarded hematite, then ordered them to lure it out.
• Gu Zheng’s group threatened the three with an Elf Bow and revealed that Gu Zheng had reached the second order.
• Ji Zhixing, Li Qiang, and Zhao Gang threw stones until the python emerged, then fled in different directions.
• A man on Gu Zheng’s boat shot Li Qiang in the calf and aimed at Ji Zhixing as he ran along the lakeshore.
• Ji Zhixing leaped into the lake to escape, and Liu Qing told Gu Zheng they could collect the hematite before returning for him.

Ji Zhixing slipped past Gu Zheng’s group and used his Gene Furnace to take the largest chunk of hematite ore while the Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python and a Black Eagle fought. He escaped underwater with the ore, while Gu Zheng’s group waited by the lake and prepared to shoot him if he surfaced.

• The Twin-Wing Thousand-Steel Python swallowed Li Qiang and chased Zhao Gang, but a Black Eagle attacked it before it could catch him.
• Gu Zheng’s group rowed away from the valley to avoid the Black Eagle, and the Elf Bow wielder shot at Zhao Gang, who blocked the arrow with a shield and escaped into the woods.
• Liu Qing spotted Ji Zhixing climbing from the water and running to the hematite ore at the valley entrance.
• Ji Zhixing stored the largest chunk of ore in his Gene Furnace, then leaped back into the lake and swam away.
• Gu Zheng ordered the group to watch the lake and shoot Ji Zhixing if he surfaced, while Ji Zhixing used his Frog Pendant to travel underwater.

Ji Zhixing escaped the Secret Realm by swimming past a terrifying presence in the lake and reaching the passage to Stone Lake, but Gu Zheng and his companions pursued him. After he dived into Stone Lake to evade them, Yu Zhirou pointed the pursuers toward the water, leaving Ji Zhixing distrustful of her as he swam away.

• Ji Zhixing used the Frog Pendant's Frog Stroke ability to swim away from Gu Zheng's boat and avoided a massive, ominous shadow on the lakebed.
• As his diving limit approached, Ji Zhixing surfaced, found the boat gone, and searched cautiously through the forest for an exit.
• Ji Zhixing discovered a spatial passage to Stone Lake, but Gu Zheng and his three companions caught sight of him and chased him through it.
• Ji Zhixing reached Stone Lake and dived beneath its surface just before Gu Zheng and his companions emerged from the passage.
• Yu Zhirou told Gu Zheng that someone had come out of the passage and jumped into the lake, while Ji Zhixing heard her and swam away, feeling betrayed.

Ji Zhixing escaped into Lake Center Island to evade Gu Zheng and his companions, then found cover near a Whirlpool Sandworm that devoured a Blood-Horned Deer. He recovered his Gene Source Force with Origin Force Gene Potion and began refining the remainder to advance his cultivation.

• Ji Zhixing swam toward Lake Center Island, passing Petrified Crabs and other lake creatures while avoiding a fight.
• Ji Zhixing saw a Whirlpool Sandworm drag a Blood-Horned Deer beneath the sand and realized its territory could protect him from pursuers.
• Ji Zhixing climbed ashore and hid behind a large rock near the Whirlpool Sandworm's hunting ground.
• Ji Zhixing drank Origin Force Gene Potion and recovered his Gene Source Force in only a few minutes.
• Ji Zhixing refined the remaining potion to advance his cultivation and wished he had more.

Gu Zheng and the others killed the wounded Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle and collected the Earth Core Spirit Liquid. Liu Qing slipped away to confront Ji Zhixing over a valuable piece of hematite, and the two came face to face.

• Gu Zheng took his group to Lake Center Island, where they found Zhou Hang and Jiang Chen fighting the injured Rock-Armored Mystic Turtle.
• Gu Zheng and the others helped kill the turtle, then collected and divided the Earth Core Spirit Liquid, with Gu Zheng taking the largest share.
• Zhou Hang led the group out of the cave, warning that powerful people from the Base City might soon arrive.
• Liu Qing pretended to leave to relieve himself, then used his keen hearing to locate Ji Zhixing near a large rock.
• Liu Qing approached Ji Zhixing, hoping to take his valuable piece of hematite, and Ji Zhixing sprang up as he heard him coming.

Ji Zhixing killed Liu Qing with the help of a Whirlpool Sandworm, collected the items that spilled from Liu Qing’s Gene Furnace, and covered up the fight before escaping underwater. Gu Zheng and the others reached the empty shore after hearing Liu Qing’s scream and found no trace of him.

• Liu Qing cornered Ji Zhixing and demanded the hematite, but Ji Zhixing backed toward the lake and lured him across the sand.
• A Whirlpool Sandworm trapped Liu Qing, allowing Ji Zhixing to strike him with his staff and kill him.
• Ji Zhixing collected Liu Qing’s Origin Force Gene Potions, Gene Source Stones, and short blade, then hid the body and erased signs of the fight.
• Ji Zhixing swam away underwater as Gu Zheng and the others rushed to the shore after hearing Liu Qing scream.
• Gu Zheng searched the smooth, empty sand while Ji Zhixing watched the group from the lake.

Gu Zheng and the others found Liu Qing’s corpse inside a Whirlpool Sandworm and suspected Ji Zhixing was involved in his death. Meanwhile, Ji Zhixing hid on Lake Center Island with Liu Qing’s equipment and spoils, and discovered a mysterious bottle of milky-white liquid.

• A Whirlpool Sandworm attacked the boy carrying the Elf Bow, but Gu Zheng and Zhou Hang killed it and freed him.
• Zhou Hang cut open the sandworm and found Liu Qing’s corpse inside, while Gu Zheng, Chen Wenjie, and Han Shuang silently suspected Ji Zhixing.
• At Stone Lake Town, He Yanbing learned that twenty-three people had died and seventeen were missing, including Ji Zhixing, before the surviving students left for Rain City Base City.
• Ji Zhixing swam to the far side of Lake Center Island to avoid Gu Zheng and the others, believing he had erased the evidence linking him to Liu Qing’s death.
• Ji Zhixing examined Liu Qing’s saber, two Origin Force Gene Potions, and more than twenty Gene Source Stones, then focused on a jade bottle of milky-white liquid that made his heartbeat quicken.