Recaps

After reflecting on the hardships survivors faced in every region, Lu Heng set out to gather construction materials and seek a Black Iron-tier resource. He found frozen plums and two treasure chests, but a Black Iron-tier Tusked Wild Boar charged him as he tried to return to his Shelter.

• Lu Heng read reports from survivors across the world, then checked that his supplies were secure and rested through the storm.
• After the blizzard eased, Lu Heng planned to collect construction materials and search the forest for a Black Iron-tier special material needed to upgrade his Shelter.
• Lu Heng identified and gathered Cold-Resistant Special Frozen Plums, then stored an ordinary wooden treasure chest without opening it in the wilderness.
• At the Spotted Leopard's former lair, Lu Heng confirmed the hollow was empty and retrieved a Black Iron treasure chest.
• As Lu Heng headed home, a Black Iron-tier Tusked Wild Boar burst from the snow and charged; he prepared to evade it and avoid an unnecessary fight.

Lu Heng escaped a Tusked Boar by climbing a pine and waiting until he could slip away, then recognized that his weapons and strength were inadequate against heavy beasts. He headed back to the Shelter to improve his combat abilities, unaware that the boar had picked up his scent and was following him.

• Lu Heng tried to evade the Tusked Boar, but its charges forced him to climb a pine tree for safety.
• The Tusked Boar repeatedly rammed the tree, nearly knocking Lu Heng down, then waited beneath it when its attacks failed.
• After the boar fell asleep, Lu Heng moved through the trees and escaped beyond its range.
• Lu Heng reviewed his weaknesses, checked that his Frozen Plums and chests were safe, and headed toward the Shelter to improve his weapons and combat abilities.
• The Tusked Boar woke, followed Lu Heng's scent, and silently pursued him through the forest.

After surviving a dangerous encounter with long-tusked boars, Lu Heng secured his Shelter, reviewed valuable supplies from two treasure chests, and crafted fifteen arrows. Just as he began cooking a hot meal, his surveillance bug detected a huge shadow approaching the Shelter through the snow.

• Lu Heng installed and activated a Silk-Peeping Bug beside the Shelter door, giving him a live view of the snowy surroundings.
• Lu Heng opened an ordinary treasure chest and found an iron pot, then opened a black iron chest containing an Arrow Crafting Blueprint, a Mud-Clearing Anti-Inflammatory Pill, a Fine Iron Pickaxe, Fast-Maturing Pumpkin Seeds, and Rough Black Iron Leg Guards.
• Lu Heng dismantled the empty black iron chest and used leopard teeth and wood to craft fifteen arrows for his hand crossbow.
• Lu Heng organized his new supplies and began preparing beast-meat soup in the iron pot.
• The bracelet sounded a red alert as the Silk-Peeping Bug showed a huge black shadow following a trail toward the Shelter door.

Lu Heng killed the Tusked Boar that had tracked him through the snow to his Shelter, then dismantled its carcass for useful materials. He returned inside safely, resolved to conceal his scent better on future outings, and prepared to rest.

• Lu Heng spotted the Tusked Boar waiting outside his Shelter and armed himself with his hand crossbow and Leopard Fang Arrows.
• Lu Heng aimed from the second floor and shot the boar in the forehead while it sniffed at the stone door.
• Lu Heng watched the boar die, checked the surrounding woods for other beasts, then opened the door and dismantled its carcass.
• Lu Heng collected the boar's hide, tusks, meat, and beast core, then cleared the entrance and locked the Shelter.
• Lu Heng recognized that his scent had led the boar to his Shelter and decided to conceal it better before future returns.

After surviving a Tusked Wild Boar, Lu Heng planned to grow pumpkins and noticed Lü Bufan offering a Lighting Building Module. Lu Heng traded one Mud-Clearing Anti-Inflammatory Pill for it, while Lü Bufan used the pill to address his inflamed wound.

• Lu Heng returned to his Shelter, cooked a hot meal, and planned to plant Fast-Maturing Pumpkin Seeds after gathering soil.
• Lu Heng saw Lü Bufan offering a Lighting Building Module on the Regional Channel and asked what he wanted for it.
• Lü Bufan explained that he needed medicine to treat the inflamed wound he had suffered while opening a Black Iron Chest.
• Lu Heng offered one Mud-Clearing Anti-Inflammatory Pill in exchange for the module, and Lü Bufan accepted.
• Lu Heng and Lü Bufan completed the trade, leaving Lu Heng with the Lighting Building Module and Lü Bufan with the pill.

Lu Heng installed the Lighting Building Module and discovered its fixtures could produce special effects using rare materials. A severe blizzard then kept him inside his secure Shelter, where he resolved to train for the day.

• Lu Heng installed the Lighting Building Module, unlocking its infrastructure recipe and recessed ceiling lights.
• Lu Heng learned that ores, gemstones, and other treasures could be placed in the fixtures to create different lighting effects, but noted that such materials were scarce.
• Lu Heng made a warm bed from soft animal hides and fell asleep in the Shelter.
• Lu Heng woke to a powerful snowstorm and saw reports in the Regional Channel of collapsed shelters and survivors in danger.
• Lu Heng decided to spend the storm-bound day practicing his Basic Breath Cultivation Method and Flowing Water Blade Art.

During a blizzard, Lu Heng trained inside his Shelter until a global announcement activated a seven-day extreme cold trial, forcing survivors to kill daily beasts to prevent the temperature from falling. After realizing the outdoor temperature already stood at -10°C, Lu Heng prepared protective gear and weapons and set out to face the trial.

• Lu Heng spent the day practicing the Flowing Water Blade Art and Breathing Technique, then rested safely through the blizzard.
• At dawn, Lu Heng received the announcement that temperatures would drop by 10°C each day for seven days unless survivors killed the trial beast in their area.
• Lu Heng read panicked and defiant messages in the regional channel and resolved to fight the beasts rather than give up.
• Lu Heng checked the outdoor temperature, saw it was already -10°C, and calculated that failing to kill beasts could leave the world near -80°C.
• Lu Heng layered on armor and beast hides, loaded his hand crossbow with leopard-fang bolts, took his Bronze Hunting Blade, and prepared to leave.

Lu Heng followed the Survival Bracelet’s marker to the trial beast, a Mirror-Image Giant-Antlered Deer, and began fighting it in a snowy clearing. After wounding it with a crossbow bolt, he maneuvered with his hunting blade as the battle continued.

• Lu Heng followed the bracelet’s directions through the snow to an exposed clearing and checked his equipment.
• The bracelet identified the Mirror-Image Giant-Antlered Deer as the exclusive Black Iron trial target whose death would cancel that day’s cold penalty.
• The deer charged, and Lu Heng climbed a tree to evade it; its impact cracked the trunk, forcing him to drop into the snow.
• Lu Heng shot the deer in the flank with a leopard-fang bolt, then drew his Bronze Hunting Blade as it turned on him.
• Lu Heng watched the wounded deer’s movements and sought an opening while it repeatedly tried to charge.

Lu Heng killed the Mirror-Image Giant-Antlered Deer in the seven-day trial and earned a Simple Firewood Stove. Having negated the day’s temperature-drop penalty, he headed back to the Shelter through the snowy forest.

• Lu Heng wore down the wounded Mirror-Image Giant-Antlered Deer, avoiding its charges and cutting into its arrow wound.
• Lu Heng killed the exhausted deer with a final strike at the junction of its neck and torso.
• The trial system confirmed that Lu Heng had slain the day-one target and negated the ten-degree temperature-drop penalty, rewarding him with a Simple Firewood Stove.
• Lu Heng collected the reward and read that the stove would improve heating and cooking in the Shelter.
• Lu Heng checked his armor and equipment, then followed his footprints back toward the Shelter.

Lu Heng survived the first day of the Seven-Day Extreme Cold Trial, trained through the night, and faced a coordinated pack of wolves on the second day. After climbing a tree and killing one wolf, he watched the remaining wolves form a ladder to reach him, leaving him in a perilous fight.

• Lu Heng claimed the [Simple Firewood Stove] reward, cooked a hot meal, and recovered in the Shelter.
• Lu Heng read survivors’ advice in regional chat, reflected on using tricks to survive, and spent the evening training with the Flowing Water Blade Art.
• Lu Heng set out for the second day’s trial and found five Grayfang Wolves led by a Black Iron-tier Grayfang Wolf King.
• Lu Heng climbed a tree to escape the pack and used his appraisal screen to identify the wolves and their leader.
• The Grayfang Wolf King dodged Lu Heng’s bolt, but Lu Heng killed an ordinary Grayfang Wolf with his next shot.
• The Grayfang Wolf King ordered the four remaining wolves to stack into a ladder beside the tree, bringing the pack closer to Lu Heng.

Lu Heng killed the four Mirror Grayfang Wolves and entered a Supernormal State as he faced the Grayfang Wolf King. He fought the Black Iron-tier beast head-on and killed it, leaving him alone in the snowy clearing as the battle ended.

• Lu Heng abandoned the tree and killed the three remaining Mirror Grayfang Wolves with his Bronze Hunting Blade.
• The Grayfang Wolf King charged, and Lu Heng entered a Supernormal State and met it head-on.
• Lu Heng traded blows with the wolf king, relying on his armor and increasingly fluid blade work to exploit its wounds.
• Lu Heng seized the wolf king's final lunge and thrust his blade into a vital point, killing it.
• The wolf king disintegrated, and Lu Heng remained standing in the clearing as his fighting fervor subsided.

After defeating the Grayfang Wolf King, Lu Heng returned to his Shelter, prepared for the escalating trials, and equipped himself with poison and new armor. He ended the chapter ready to face the third-day trial.

• Lu Heng collected the Warm Bedding Bundle trial reward and salvaged his ruined leather armor before returning to his Shelter.
• Lu Heng calculated that skipping future trials would leave him facing lethal temperatures and resolved to keep fighting.
• Survivors in the Regional Chat Channel discussed the wolf trial, and one suggested poisoning weapons against the beasts.
• Lu Heng decided to coat his blade with his stored Cold Stiff Poison Gland and Spider Poison Gland for the next trial.
• Lu Heng crafted and donned a new suit of leather armor, then practiced the Flowing Water Blade Art and breathing exercises.
• Lu Heng prepared to enter the third-day trial with his poison plan and new armor.

On the third day of the trial, Lu Heng tracked a Mirror Image-Rock Tiger, a Black Iron beast, and prepared to ambush it with his hand crossbow. The tiger dodged his first bolt and charged straight at his hiding place.

• Lu Heng put on his new Tusked Wild Boar hide armor, loaded his hand crossbow, and followed his bracelet's marker into the forest.
• Lu Heng discovered the Mirror Image-Rock Tiger resting in a clearing and appraised its strength and deadly speed.
• Lu Heng withdrew into the trees and chose a concealed position to ambush the tiger with consecutive crossbow shots.
• Lu Heng fired at the tiger's head, but the tiger shifted aside and the bolt buried itself in the snow.
• Lu Heng tried to ready a second bolt, but the tiger sprang up and charged at his hiding place.

Lu Heng faced the Forest Rock Tiger in the third day's trial, but its cunning tail swipe overwhelmed his defenses and forced him to retreat beyond the combat zone. Safe from pursuit, he recovered outside the boundary and resolved to fight the tiger again so he could pass the trial and counter the extreme cold.

• The Forest Rock Tiger feinted with its forepaws and struck Lu Heng with a powerful tail swipe.
• The blow numbed Lu Heng's arm and chest, and he realized he could not survive a close-range fight.
• Lu Heng fled beyond the trial's combat zone, where the Forest Rock Tiger stopped pursuing him and returned to its resting place.
• Lu Heng recovered outside the zone and decided he still had to defeat the tiger to pass the trial and offset the temperature drop.

Lu Heng’s poisoned meat failed to tempt the Forest Rock Tiger, and the regional chat confirmed that no survivor had cleared the trial. Realizing the tiger hunted only living prey, Lu Heng found a Snow Rabbit beneath the snow and began trying to catch it as bait.

• Lu Heng retreated from the Forest Rock Tiger and used poisoned meat as bait, but the tiger ignored it.
• Lu Heng checked the regional chat and learned that other survivors had also failed to overcome the tiger.
• Lu Heng realized he needed living bait and searched the snow-covered forest for an animal.
• Lu Heng spotted a Snow Rabbit surfacing through the snow to breathe and recognized an opportunity.
• Lu Heng crept toward the rabbit’s snow-covered burrow to try to catch it.

Lu Heng captured a hare and coated it with Cold Stiff and spider venom to use as live bait for the Forest Rock Tiger. After the tiger swallowed the poisoned hare, Lu Heng waited for the poisons to take effect as the real battle began.

• Lu Heng hid in the snow and waited for a hare to emerge from its burrow.
• Lu Heng shot the hare in a hind leg, captured it, and fed it Cold Stiff venom before coating its body with spider venom.
• Lu Heng tossed the poisoned hare across the trial boundary, drawing the Forest Rock Tiger's attention.
• The Forest Rock Tiger toyed with the hare, killed it, and swallowed it whole.
• Lu Heng realized the tiger had consumed both poisons and prepared for the battle to begin.

Lu Heng poisoned and ambushed the Forest Rock Tiger, but his crossbow bolt missed its brain and failed to stop the beast’s charge. Badly injured by the tiger’s tail, he struggled to his feet with his Bronze Hunting Blade as the fight continued.

• Lu Heng observed the Forest Rock Tiger’s breathing and movements change as the toxins began to weaken it.
• Lu Heng entered the Trial Circle and shot at the tiger’s head, but the bolt struck its shoulder instead.
• The Forest Rock Tiger charged immediately, and Lu Heng barely dodged its pounce.
• The tiger struck Lu Heng in the waist and abdomen with its tail, severely injuring him and leaving his left arm limp.
• Lu Heng forced himself to roll away and used his Bronze Hunting Blade to prop himself upright.

Lu Heng endured his severe injuries and used his Hand Crossbow to kill the poisoned Forest Rock Tiger. After taking a pill to stabilize himself and collecting the Tiger Potion card, he struggled toward the trial’s invisible boundary, still in danger from the blood scent and the exposed snowfield.

• Lu Heng and the Forest Rock Tiger collapsed into a stalemate, both too weakened to attack while the scent of blood spread across the snowfield.
• Lu Heng took out his Hand Crossbow and fired three bolts, killing the Forest Rock Tiger with the final shot.
• The tiger dissolved into pale data and left behind a card as Lu Heng collapsed into the snow.
• Lu Heng swallowed his last Mud-Clearing Anti-Inflammatory Pill, which stabilized his injuries enough for him to move.
• Lu Heng collected the Tiger Potion card and used his Bronze Hunting Blade for support as he slowly headed toward the trial’s invisible boundary.

Lu Heng returned to his cabin after killing the Forest Rock Tiger and collapsed from his severe injuries. He woke on the fourth day, drank the Black Iron Tiger Enhancement Potion, recovered completely, and saw that survivors across the region were still suffering against the tiger.

• Lu Heng locked himself inside his cabin and passed out from the injuries he had sustained fighting the tiger.
• Lu Heng woke at noon on the fourth day of the trial, still in severe pain and too weak to face another monster.
• Lu Heng drank the Black Iron Tiger Enhancement Potion and endured its painful transformation as it healed his injuries and strengthened his body.
• Lu Heng checked his attributes and found his Strength and Constitution at 16 and his Agility at 15.
• Lu Heng read the regional chat and learned that most survivors had been unable to defeat the Forest Rock Tiger, realizing his preparations had saved him.

After spending the fourth day recovering and mastering his strengthened body, Lu Heng braved the worsening cold to enter the fifth day's trial. He discovered that the apparently empty trial grounds concealed an invisible supernatural enemy and used himself as bait to draw it out.

• Lu Heng stayed in his Shelter for the fourth day, repeatedly practicing basic movements until he could control his increased strength and balance.
• Lu Heng found that his transformed body required far more food, then rested until his condition stabilized.
• On the fifth day, Lu Heng left his cabin and headed to the trial boundary as the accumulating cold grew more severe.
• Lu Heng cautiously entered the seemingly empty trial area, where the Azure Spirit Water-Pattern Necklace began to heat up.
• Lu Heng realized an invisible supernatural entity was approaching and feigned weakness while secretly preparing to counterattack.

Lu Heng pretended to remain trapped in an illusion until he could ambush and kill the Mirror Image Snow Demon, gaining a Camouflage Disguise Orb that could conceal his Shelter. On his way back, he sensed that a patient apex predator had been following him, but kept his awareness hidden as the hunter continued to stalk him.

• Lu Heng endured the Mirror Image Snow Demon's mental illusion and waited until it moved within arm's reach behind him.
• Lu Heng turned and struck with the Bronze Hunting Blade, killing the Mirror Image Snow Demon and collecting the Camouflage Disguise Orb.
• Lu Heng recognized that the Orb could fill the Lighting Fixture module at his Shelter and conceal its visibility, occupants' auras, and activity sounds.
• Lu Heng headed back through the Snowfield Forest and sensed a powerful, flesh-and-blood predator watching him from behind.
• Lu Heng realized the predator had studied his routine and fighting habits for days, and he concealed his awareness to avoid triggering its ambush.

Lu Heng was ambushed near his cabin by a real Forest Rock Tiger that had stalked him for days. After realizing it would not be driven away or bought off with meat, he prepared to fight the predator to the death.

• The Forest Rock Tiger struck Lu Heng from behind with its tail, injuring him before retreating several meters.
• Lu Heng recognized the predator as a living Forest Rock Tiger, unlike the false one he had fought before.
• Lu Heng tested whether the Bronze Hunting Blade would scare the tiger away, but it remained wary and refused to retreat.
• Lu Heng considered offering the tiger stored exotic beast meat, then rejected the idea because it would only encourage further attacks.
• Lu Heng steadied his blade and resolved to fight the Forest Rock Tiger rather than yield.

Lu Heng struggled to land a blow on the Forest Rock Tiger, whose experience let it evade his every sword strike. He tricked the tiger into closing in and wounded its foreleg with a Hand Crossbow, but the enraged beast prepared to fight to the death.

• Lu Heng chose to face the Forest Rock Tiger rather than retreat to his house, knowing it would otherwise stalk him there.
• Lu Heng attacked with practiced blade combinations, but the tiger dodged each strike and kept him on the defensive.
• Lu Heng feigned exhaustion to draw the tiger closer, then pulled out his Hand Crossbow and shot its foreleg.
• The Forest Rock Tiger staggered in pain, abandoned its cautious approach, and charged with renewed fury.
• Lu Heng held the Hand Crossbow ready as he braced for the deadly fight ahead.

Lu Heng fought the wounded Forest Rock Tiger in the snow to prevent it from continuing to threaten his shelter. He shot it beneath the neck with his Hand Crossbow, and waited at a safe distance as it struggled toward death.

• Lu Heng and the wounded Forest Rock Tiger faced each other, each intent on killing the other.
• Lu Heng used snow and the nearby shrubs to create openings, but the tiger dodged his attacks and battered his injured shoulder.
• Lu Heng deliberately closed the distance, slashed the tiger's flank, and stabbed shallowly at its belly before it rammed him into a tree.
• As the tiger charged again, Lu Heng cocked his Hand Crossbow one-handed and shot a bolt beneath its neck.
• The tiger collapsed in the snow and struggled to rise while Lu Heng watched from a safe distance, waiting for it to stop moving.

Lu Heng safely killed the Forest Rock Tiger, the Frost Forest’s middle-region overlord, and harvested its rare core crystal and valuable materials. With a Bronze-Tier Treasure Chest secured, he headed back toward the Stone Cave Shelter, his fight finally over.

• Lu Heng fired two crossbow bolts into the wounded Forest Rock Tiger’s eye socket to ensure it was dead.
• Lu Heng vented his frustration by kicking the tiger’s head, then received a Bronze-Tier Treasure Chest for killing the regional overlord.
• Lu Heng used the Survival Bracelet to extract the Forest Rock Tiger Overlord Core Crystal and stored it instead of using it as ordinary fuel.
• Lu Heng dismantled the carcass into tiger hide, bones, teeth, gallbladder, and flesh and blood essence.
• Lu Heng looked toward the Stone Cave Shelter, relieved that the battle was over and his injuries had earned him valuable resources.