Chapter Summaries

Zhang Ming processed a giant electric eel, reminisced about his family while talking to the Black Stone, and built an underground ice-storage setup. Three months later, he had reached the first-stage bottleneck in his attributes and was left searching for a way to break through.

• Zhang Ming butchered the giant eel with the Ice Spear, shared stories about his parents with the Black Stone, and traded the eel's scraps to Sea Turtle.
• Zhang Ming froze water with the Ice Spear and buried his insulated coconut vat to preserve food.
• Three months passed, and Zhang Ming's attribute gains from the eel meat began to fade as his physique and perception reached 200.
• Zhang Ming found that physique, perception, and mind fell back to 200 whenever they rose to 201, so he directed new points into lifespan.
• Zhang Ming considered the bottleneck and worried that his extraordinary strength would not protect him from danger without a further breakthrough.

Zhang Ming examined his stalled growth and concluded that he needed to understand his superpowers and spirit more deeply. Studying ancient Flamehorn Civilization stone slabs stirred his spirit and hinted at a cultivation method, while the Black Stone repeated his belief that no one would rescue him.

• Zhang Ming rejected several unactivated abilities as unlikely to help him overcome his bottleneck and reconsidered the slow-growing Black Tortoise Breathing Technique.
• Zhang Ming compared his limited use of Lightning Control and Strength Burst with the powerful abilities of the creatures he had encountered.
• Zhang Ming reasoned that differences between human and monster bodies could affect how efficiently superpowers worked, and that he needed to understand spirit better.
• Zhang Ming cleaned ancient stone slabs from the sea turtle's cave, whose symbols stirred strange thoughts and caused his spirit to circulate as a warm current.
• Zhang Ming suspected the slabs recorded a cultivation method, and the Black Stone repeated his claim that no one would come to rescue him.

Zhang Ming tried to adapt the Flame-Horned People’s cultivation method for humans and asked the Black Stone to translate the ancient writing. After he named it Stone Mama and promised to share gossip, it produced a vision that revealed details about the Flame-Horn Breathing Technique.

• Zhang Ming found that the Flame-Horned People’s cultivation method barely strengthened him because its spirit circulation obstructed his human body.
• Zhang Ming resolved to combine what he knew of the Black Tortoise Breathing Technique and the Flame-Horned People’s legacy to devise a method suited to humans.
• Zhang Ming worried that Earth’s civilization was facing upheaval and felt an inexplicable conviction that he had to find humanity a way forward.
• Zhang Ming asked the Black Stone to translate the Flame-Horned People’s writing and offered to tell it stories about his first girlfriend.
• Zhang Ming named the Black Stone Stone Mama, and it spoke strange syllables that triggered a vision of an elder explaining how the Flame-Horn Breathing Technique gathered and stored spirit.

Zhang Ming studied the Flame-Horn Breathing Technique but found that its methods did not suit humans, then spent the evening eating with the turtles in the Red Mangrove Forest. A radio broadcast reported a surrender, the coming formation of Pangaea, and a disastrous expedition into the Mysterious Zone, leaving Zhang Ming worried that humanity might be searching for him.

• Zhang Ming tried the Flame-Horn Breathing Technique and realized its cultivation steps relied on features humans lacked, so he asked Stone Mama to repeat the instructions while he studied them.
• Zhang Ming brought Stone Mama to the Red Mangrove Forest, where Little White Turtle invited him to share a large fish.
• Zhang Ming cooked fish head with chopped chilies for the turtles, and they ate together beside the campfire.
• Li Xianfeng reported that a country had surrendered after three months of war and that the seven continents were expected to merge into Pangaea in nine years.
• Li Xianfeng announced that a global expedition into the Mysterious Zone had failed, with two ships and all two thousand special forces personnel aboard lost to supernatural forces.
• Zhang Ming feared the expedition might have been searching for him and wondered whether he should warn people not to come.

Zhang Ming struggled with his stalled abilities until Stone Mama repeated fragments of an ancient Flamehorn conversation about Black Tortoise nearing the end of its life and the race preparing to flee. After Zhang Ming repaid his debt by telling Stone Mama a story about his first girlfriend, Stone Mama revealed more of the Flamehorns’ plans to leave for the Demon God’s Sea.

• Zhang Ming realized that his abilities had reached a bottleneck and that he had no way to help Earth’s researchers understand superpowers.
• Stone Mama repeated memories of Flame-Horned leaders discussing Black Tortoise’s approaching lifespan limit and the danger facing their civilization.
• Zhang Ming urged Stone Mama to continue, but Stone Mama demanded payment for a story about Zhang Ming’s first girlfriend.
• Zhang Ming told Stone Mama how he and his first girlfriend had been caught by the dean of students, and Stone Mama resumed repeating.
• Zhang Ming learned that the Flame-Horned People planned to send their children away through the Demon God’s Sea with precious strange objects so their civilization could survive.
• Stone Mama stopped repeating when the carriage’s occupants fell silent, then repeated Zhang Ming’s instruction to stop repeating others.

Zhang Ming wondered whether the Homeless might seek Earth as a new world and questioned how powerful supernatural beings could be. Meanwhile, Li Xianfeng told Great Xia’s leaders that the Gaia Consciousness may have protected the rescued teams, while the remaining mirage grew unstable and signaled its weakening.

• Zhang Ming failed to get Stone Mama to explain who the Homeless were, then considered whether the Flame-Horned People might view Earth as a new world.
• Zhang Ming wondered whether Earth could be invaded and whether beings in the realm of the gods could withstand a hydrogen bomb.
• The last remaining mirage began flickering and disappearing, suggesting that the Gaia Consciousness was weakening.
• Li Xianfeng reported to Great Xia’s leaders that one warship had been capsized by a huge invisible creature and another crew had gone mad after hearing an unknown song.
• Li Xianfeng proposed that the Gaia Consciousness had protected the two rescued teams because humanity shared a consensus about their safety, but had not intervened for the warships.

Li Xianfeng warned officials that Gaia was declining and that Earth faced a future confrontation with the Mysterious Zone, while they discussed how to strengthen humanity. The meeting ended with officials considering the social consequences of superpowers becoming increasingly common when most people could never awaken one.

• Li Xianfeng said the Mysterious Zone was expanding and Gaia might lose its struggle within a hundred years, leaving Earth exposed to greater horrors.
• Li Xianfeng proposed that greater species diversity or stronger biological abilities might help Gaia, and identified Zhang Ming's discovery of the alien ruins as a possible source of answers.
• Li Xianfeng said people with mental strength like Zhang Ming could explore the Mysterious Zone, though they would still need reconnaissance and powerful weapons against enormous life-forms.
• Officials compared Zhang Ming's exceptional abilities with other superpower users and urged humanity to find a cultivation method.
• Li Xianfeng reported that only 10.112 percent of people awakened superpowers on their first exposure to the Mysterious Zone or monster meat, and the old man warned that a society divided between gifted and ordinary people could face serious conflict.

Li Xianfeng feared that unequal access to superpowers would fracture civilization and wondered whether everyone could learn cultivation. Meanwhile, Zhang Ming explored an ancient training ground and discovered how the Flame-Horned People taught their breathing technique.

• Li Xianfeng worried that a superpowered class would destroy the belief in equality and cause civilization to collapse from within.
• Li Xianfeng concluded that cultivation was crucial and wondered whether everyone could be given superpowers.
• Zhang Ming ate Toad Eggs, gained 2 attribute points, and explored the island for ancient structures.
• Zhang Ming pressured Stone Mama to reveal information about the Flame-Horned People and bargained over its request for stories about his first girlfriend.
• Stone Mama showed Zhang Ming a vision of a Flame-Horned training ground where an instructor pushed trainees to exhaustion, used medicine and silver needles, and taught one the Flame-Horn Breathing Technique.

Zhang Ming analyzed the Flame-Horned People's method for teaching ordinary people superpowers and began adapting the Black Tortoise Breathing Technique for humans. After throwing Stone Mama into the sea to stop its nonstop recitation, he found a glowing Drifting Bottle containing a letter, pills, and pornographic posters.

• Zhang Ming pieced together how the Flame-Horned People used physical training, a special potion, acupuncture, and a breathing technique to awaken ordinary people.
• Zhang Ming began modifying the Black Tortoise Breathing Technique to suit human anatomy, focusing on replacing the turtle's shell with the human spine.
• Stone Mama repeatedly recited Zhang Ming's story about a girl in a yellow sweater, so Zhang Ming hurled the Black Stone into the ocean, but it quickly returned.
• Zhang Ming sensed a glowing Drifting Bottle calling to him, retrieved it, and found a letter, a packet of pills, and pornographic posters inside.

Zhang Ming received a Drifting Bottle from Wang Fumin, who explained that people in China watched him through a mirage and sent him encouragement, antibiotics, and a poster. Reeling from the reminder that he was not forgotten, Zhang Ming wrote back with news of his life and sent dried crab meat, then tossed the bottle into the sea for its return journey.

• Zhang Ming read Wang Fumin’s letter and learned that the Drifting Bottle could carry messages across any distance, though its first delivery had taken more than half a year.
• Zhang Ming realized how much he missed his old life and was moved to learn that people cared about him and watched over him through the mirage.
• Zhang Ming wrote Wang Fumin a reply describing his island life, his plans to explore the Ancient Civilization’s legacy, and his hope to return home.
• Zhang Ming asked Wang Fumin to check on his parents and tell them he was doing well, then added dried crab meat that could awaken a superpower.
• Zhang Ming capped the Drifting Bottle and tossed it into the sea, sending his reply on its long journey back to Wang Fumin.

Zhang Ming recovered a Flame-Horned People stone tablet and learned how their Great Sage improved the Black Tortoise Breathing Technique, giving him a foundation for creating a Human Breathing Technique. Meanwhile, researchers worldwide struggled to decipher the mirage’s ancient inscriptions, while Great Xia’s experts faced growing pressure to find a cultivation method.

• Zhang Ming explored the seabed with the sea turtles and had Scarface Turtle haul an ancient stone tablet to shore.
• Zhang Ming persuaded Stone Mama to recount the tablet’s history, learning the Flame-Horned People’s breathing principles and how their Great Sage improved the Black Tortoise Breathing Technique.
• Zhang Ming studied the recovered knowledge and other Flame-Horned records, making rapid progress toward a Human Breathing Technique.
• Researchers around the world tried to decipher the tablet displayed by the mirage but made almost no progress with the unfamiliar language and concepts.
• Li Xianfeng heard experts explain that the inscriptions might describe concepts unknown to humanity, then urged them to keep trying because people urgently needed a cultivation method.

Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu discussed the growing divide between ordinary people and those with superpowers as the Mysterious Zone spread. At a scientific conference, researchers reported rising rates of superpower awakenings and new abilities, while admitting they still could not detect spiritual energy.

• Lu Tuyu complained to Wang Fumin that ordinary people were being disadvantaged as superpowered people received better jobs and promotions.
• Wang Fumin sensed that the Drifting Bottle had returned and received the message, "Your letter."
• Li Xianfeng and Professor Peter Greer discussed the difficulty of deciphering the alien civilization's writing and the danger keeping Zhang from exploring the island.
• Peter Greer said the rate of people naturally developing superpowers had risen to one in ten thousand and could eventually reach one in ten.
• Researchers described newly emerging abilities such as Hypnosis and Life Sharing, while experts reported that no instrument could detect spiritual energy.

Li Xianfeng worried that the growing divide between people with and without superpowers would lead to violence, and searched for a way to help everyone awaken. Meanwhile, Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu received Zhang Ming’s Drifting Bottle, read his letter, and began planning to send him seeds.

• Li Xianfeng discussed superpower crime and social upheaval with Professor Peter Greer, who said he accepted the rise of a new order.
• Li Xianfeng ended the call and wondered how he could help billions of ordinary people cross the Dragon Gate before the coming storm.
• Wang Fumin retrieved a Drifting Bottle from a toilet, cleaned it, and opened it with Lu Tuyu.
• Wang Fumin read Zhang Ming’s letter, learned he was stranded on the Island, and agreed to check on his parents.
• Wang Fumin shared dried mutated crab meat with Lu Tuyu, and they decided to send Zhang Ming rice, corn, wheat, Sichuan pepper, and other seeds.

Lu Tuyu believed he had failed to awaken a superpower, while Wang Fumin concealed his strange new ability, [Lone Star of Calamity]. Meanwhile, Zhang Ming translated a Flame-Horned lesson that revealed how innate talents could help break through the human limit, leaving him with a possible path for future breakthroughs.

• Lu Tuyu concluded that he had failed to awaken and asked Wang Fumin whether he had succeeded; Wang Fumin hid his awakening and said no.
• Lu Tuyu went looking for reusable crop seeds while soldiers in the mess hall discussed superpowers and the Mysterious Zone.
• Wang Fumin learned that his ability was [Lone Star of Calamity: Extreme sorrow can make you stronger.] and worried that it might be tied to misfortune.
• Zhang Ming asked Stone Mama to translate a Flamehorn Civilization tablet, which showed an elder teaching young Flame-Horned people about their fate attributes and the Flame-Horn Breathing Technique.
• The elder explained that fusing an innate talent with the breathing technique could help break through the human limit, and Zhang Ming realized the lesson described a possible path for his own breakthroughs.

Zhang Ming tested a way to overcome the Flame-Horned People’s cultivation bottleneck and worried about humanity’s approaching crises as Gaia weakened and superpowered conflicts grew. He decided to teach the Human Breathing Technique through the sky mirages, declaring that everyone could cultivate and gain superpowers.

• Zhang Ming raised his Physique to 201 while using Strength Burst, but the pain forced the attribute back to 200 and suggested he needed better control to break through the bottleneck.
• Zhang Ming practiced his inefficient Human Breathing Technique and worried that he had too little time to improve it before humanity faced extinction.
• Li Xianfeng’s Radio broadcast reported that Gaia’s mirages were appearing less often, spiritual energy was rising, and mutations and superpowered crime were increasing.
• Li Xianfeng reported that extremist groups were using Zhang Ming’s identity to swindle billions, and Zhang Ming joked that even his relatives should face the law.
• Zhang Ming decided to give everyone superpowers and used Stone Mama’s Spirit Language illusion to prepare a message teaching the Human Breathing Technique through the mirages.

Zhang Ming studied the Human Breathing Technique as the Spiritual Energy Tide raised the number of Superpowered people, while life in Great Xia grew colder and social divisions widened. Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu saw ordinary people gambling their savings on awakening and watched newly awakened Superpower users separate themselves from everyone else.

• Zhang Ming prepared steel needles to teach the Human Breathing Technique, but Stone Mama, Little White Turtle, and the other turtles disrupted his practice with their rolling and games.
• As Superpowered people reached one percent of the population, a militia camp in Great Xia broadcast warnings about extreme cold, snow, mutated creatures, and registering newly awakened abilities.
• Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu discussed the costly Black Market trade in mutated creature meat as they cleared snow and considered why people were desperate to awaken Superpowers.
• At the cafeteria, a seller offered awakening chances for mutated creature meat while some diners hesitated and others mourned failed attempts.
• Newly awakened Superpower users received better treatment and gathered apart from ordinary diners, prompting Lu Tuyu to complain to Wang Fumin about the growing divide.

As governments and elites moved to privilege superpowered people, Li Xianfeng despaired at humanity’s changing world. A Mirage then revealed the Human Breathing Technique, offering everyone a path to gain superpowers and changing the course of civilization.

• Lu Tuyu and Wang Fumin discussed the return of an alarming group as news reported that the United States had given superpowered citizens greater voting power and was planning a sperm bank.
• Li Xianfeng explained to the Special Affairs Processing Department that governments could not stop society from favoring superpowered people, then broke down alone.
• A high priest in South Asia baptized superpowered believers, while an auction in New York offered superpowered refugees to wealthy bidders and European officials advanced similar policies.
• A Mirage appeared around the world and announced that anyone could learn the Human Breathing Technique and develop superpowers.
• People across the world celebrated as the technique gave ordinary people hope and disrupted the emerging hierarchy between superpowered people and everyone else.

After Zhang Ming’s Human Breathing Technique was verified in trials, researchers concluded that people could learn to cultivate powers and strengthen existing abilities. The technique’s discovery reshaped public expectations and politics worldwide, while people continued debating the mysterious language heard during the mirage.

• Researchers and officials worldwide reacted to the events in the sky, and Li Xianfeng presented the three principles of the Human Breathing Technique to senior figures.
• The first trial succeeded: fifty-nine of one hundred subjects learned the technique, and Li Dakai reported that it complemented his Super Strength and helped address its drawbacks.
• Li Xianfeng and Academician Ge prepared to explain the findings to reporters, confident that the technique path would surpass most innate talents.
• The United States Supreme Court struck down a law limiting superpowered citizens’ voting rights, and the president presented the reversal as a victory for democracy.
• People in a cafeteria discussed the mirage’s unrecordable language and Mysterious Zone 15 as naturally awakened superpowered people rejoined the group.

As the Human Breathing Technique spread across Earth, Zhang Ming celebrated alone on Mysterious Zone 16, listening to news and eating his treasured food. He ended the night playing football with the sea turtles while still longing to return home.

• Wang Fumin and Lu Tuyu discussed the Human Breathing Technique’s public reception and the Drifting Bottle they had sent Zhang Ming.
• Zhang Ming ate expired instant noodles and cooked fish soup while listening to the Radio report on the Human Breathing Technique’s benefits and planned adoption.
• Li Xianfeng thanked Zhang Ming for his contribution and promised that his family would receive care, but said the fading mirage made tracking and rescuing him difficult.
• Zhang Ming cooked his remaining rice and complained that he would have to rely on himself to get home.
• Zhang Ming named a turtle Gao Qiu and organized the sea turtles into teams for a game of football.

After finishing the Human Breathing Technique, Zhang Ming considered how to break through his attribute bottleneck but feared the island’s central threat would target him if he grew stronger. He was still weighing whether to escape by boat when a strange mist rose from the island’s center and Stone Mama began repeating “Sacrifice.”

• Zhang Ming reviewed his attributes and realized that superpowers could help him overcome the essence, qi, and spirit bottlenecks through fate elevation.
• Zhang Ming sensed that breaking through would provoke the island’s central beings, forcing him to leave the island or risk death.
• Zhang Ming considered building a boat to escape but worried about the journey, supplies, and dangers in the Mysterious Zone.
• Zhang Ming and Stone Mama parroted each other until Zhang Ming sensed an ominous mist rising from the island’s center.
• Stone Mama repeatedly said “Sacrifice,” and Zhang Ming wondered whether the sea turtles would have to appease the monsters again.