Recaps

Shen Heng and the others waited out the Profound Crystal Griffin’s repeated searches, then chipped off a small piece of the crystal and escaped after Qin Yu masked its presence. The Griffin returned to the ruined hiding place and, realizing it had been tricked, roared in fury.

• Shen Heng warned the group that the Profound Crystal Griffin might double back, and they remained hidden as it circled and searched several times.
• After the Griffin flew away, Shen Heng cut a palm-sized piece from the crystal while Qin Yu weakened its presence and Zhou Xuan raised the group to the surface.
• Shen Heng led everyone away, monitoring the sounds around them as they traveled to a distant mountaintop.
• The Profound Crystal Griffin returned to their former hiding place and paused when it sensed the crystal had been there before.
• Qin Yu guessed that the Griffin was trying to understand the repeated crystal signal, and the Griffin roared before diving toward the ground.

Shen Heng and his companions returned to the base after escaping a marked Profound Crystal Griffin, then Li Daoyi examined them and questioned them about their mission. He sent the group to rest and asked Shen Heng to report the details.

• Shen Heng and Zhou Xuan watched the Profound Crystal Griffin attack the ground before Shen Heng decided the group should return to base.
• Two days later, a wall guard spotted five unidentified humanoids, and the base confirmed they were Supervision Bureau members returning from a mission.
• Li Daoyi examined Shen Heng and his companions, then heard how they escaped the late fifth-tier Profound Crystal Griffin without using the Azure Talisman Jade.
• Li Daoyi praised Qin Yu's useful ability and scolded Zhou Xuan for wanting to invoke Ultraman, then sent the group away to rest.
• Li Daoyi stopped Shen Heng and told him to report the mission details.

Shen Heng reported his exploration of the Plateau Erosion Zone, including an unfamiliar crystal that might aid the Ruins Realm’s invasion of Blue Star. The command center reviewed the zone’s immense size and Calamity Beast numbers, then discussed the uncertain consequences of its collapse.

• Shen Heng presented the ice-blue crystal, and Li Daoyi said it was unknown and might be ore unique to the Plateau Erosion Zone.
• Shen Heng proposed that the crystal was either a cultivation resource for a high-tier Calamity Beast or a means of helping the Ruins Realm invade Blue Star, and Zhang Weijun ordered the Research Department to investigate the latter possibility.
• Zhang Weijun and the others examined a map showing more than a dozen Calamity Beast groups, while Shen Heng reported that he had found neither a Light Gate nor the zone’s boundary after traveling over a thousand kilometers.
• Zhou Zhenguo and Zhang Weijun estimated that the Erosion Zone could contain tens of thousands of Calamity Beasts, and Li Daoyi said even their numbers would have little effect on Jiang Lin.
• Li Daoyi explained that the Erosion Zone might return to the Ruins Realm, disappear, or descend onto Blue Star if it collapsed, and said both humans and Calamity Beasts were trying to prevent its collapse.

After returning from their mission, Shen Heng and the commanders discussed the Calamity Beasts’ guarded positions and the dangers within the Erosion Zone. Shen Heng later advised Gu Lingxuan on assembling an exploration team, while he began considering forming a team of his own.

• Zhang Weijun, Zhou Zhenguo, and Wang Yuanshan discussed how the Calamity Beasts had held back to avoid collapsing the Erosion Zone, while Li Daoyi studied locations guarded by large numbers of beasts and possible fifth-tier Calamity Beasts.
• Liang Yanhao asked Wang Hu whether the depths of the Erosion Zone were dangerous, and Wang Hu said they could be either very dangerous or very safe.
• Zhang Weijun praised Shen Heng’s mission and told him his rewards would be deposited and that he should rest.
• Shen Heng met Gu Lingxuan, learned that Qi Yue and Cao Mingyu had joined her exploration team, and advised her to recruit someone with a scouting ability.
• After Gu Lingxuan left, Shen Heng looked toward the city wall and considered forming a team.

Han Ling and Lin Zhaoran discussed the dangers and terrain deep inside the Erosion Zone, while Shen Heng continued searching for suitable squad members. He learned that only about half the base’s inspectors had formed teams, and the chapter ended as Lü Wenrui explained why many were reluctant to go out.

• Han Ling described the towering trees, varied terrain, and dangerous Calamity Beasts inside the Erosion Zone to Lin Zhaoran and Yu Yanhui.
• Lin Zhaoran said her squad included members from two other cities, while Han Ling said her group had only returned the day before.
• Shen Heng declined a middle-aged inspector’s request to join his squad because the man’s abilities did not fit the team’s needs.
• Lü Wenrui told Shen Heng that the base had faced two small beast tides and said he had wanted to explore outside, but his captain had refused.
• Lü Wenrui explained that roughly half the inspectors had formed teams, while others doubted they would be selected, feared the danger, or worried about burdening stronger teammates.

Shen Heng continued assembling his team and accepted Zhou Xuan and his captain, Zheng Guoming, to fill frontline and crowd-control roles. Qin Yu told her captain, Wu Jianping, that Shen Heng had invited them to join, and Wu encouraged her to go without him.

• Lü Wenrui offered to recommend potential teammates to Shen Heng, but Zhou Xuan arrived and asked if he and his captain could join Shen Heng's squad.
• Shen Heng learned that Zhou Xuan's captain, Zheng Guoming, had a B-Class Rockskin Body ability and accepted them both onto the team.
• Zhou Xuan and Lü Wenrui traded barbs while Shen Heng considered whether to recruit two more members before beginning missions.
• A young man praised Qin Yu's ability for helping their group avoid a direct fight with the Profound Crystal Griffin and asked her to decide by that night whether to join his team.
• Qin Yu told Wu Jianping that Shen Heng had invited them to join his team, and Wu Jianping urged her to go while saying he would stay behind.

Shen Heng briefed the Supervision Bureau on supplies, stamina, and other risks of exploring the Erosion Zone before leading his team out. Their mission was to follow the Swooping Wing Bat’s route and search for the crystal, and the chapter ended as they set off.

• Shen Heng explained that teams should manage food, water, and stamina carefully, seek help or return to base when supplies ran low, and use Calamity Beast flesh or blood only as emergency substitutes.
• Zhou Xuan praised Shen Heng’s precautions, and Shen Heng explained that he had considered what could happen if Zhou Xuan’s water supply were unavailable.
• Wang Hu noticed that he was the only member of the temporary team who had left and reflected that Zhou Xuan and Qin Yu did not suit his team’s combat needs.
• A staff officer told the members that their mission details and Calamity Beast maps had been sent to their captains and urged them to protect themselves.
• Shen Heng showed his team a route southeast from their farthest exploration point and said they would follow the Swooping Wing Bat’s path to search for the crystal and discover its purpose.
• Shen Heng ordered the team to move out.

Wang Hu's squad detected an approaching group of Calamity Beasts and prepared to fight. Several days later, Shen Heng's team found a valley containing many Calamity Beasts and crystals, one of which appeared to have been damaged; the crystals emitted faint ripples.

• Huang Jun sensed about a dozen Calamity Beasts approaching from the northwest, led by one likely fourth-tier beast, and Wang Hu ordered his squad to prepare for battle.
• After seven days of exploration without finding the target crystal, Zhou Xuan asked Shen Heng whether they should continue searching, and Shen Heng set a plan to search for two more days before returning.
• Shen Heng's team reached a valley containing over two hundred Calamity Beasts, including an early fifth-tier beast and more than twenty fourth-tier beasts.
• Shen Heng spotted enormous crystals scattered through the valley and noticed that one had an unusually smooth corner and that the crystals released faint ripples.

Shen Heng discovered that the Calamity Beasts had arranged crystals across a valley in an apparent formation, guarded by an overwhelming force. He concluded the crystals likely stabilized the Ruins Realm’s space to let it deploy more or stronger Calamity Beasts, leaving the team to consider the threat this posed to Blue Star.

• Shen Heng reported finding the previously encountered crystal and several similar crystals, which emitted periodic pulses of energy from different locations.
• Shen Heng revealed that over two hundred Calamity Beasts guarded the valley, including twenty-three fourth-tier beasts and one early fifth-tier beast, making an assault impractical.
• Zhou Xuan and Han Ling reasoned that the site was less important than the Profound Crystal Griffin’s location, and Shen Heng suspected there were other sites like it.
• Shen Heng asked how the Ruins Realm could overcome its inability to deploy large or powerful forces, and Han Ling suggested it might seek to stabilize the Erosion Zone.
• Shen Heng concluded that the crystals were probably used to stabilize the Ruins Realm’s space so it could deploy more or stronger Calamity Beasts.

Shen Heng and Zhou Xuan tried to find a way to learn more about the crystals in the valley, so they lured a One-Horned Lizard away from its post with footprints. The One-Horned Lizard followed the trail and was suddenly attacked by several figures, including a familiar two-legged bug.

• Shen Heng warned that the humans might have to abandon the Erosion Zone if nuclear bombs stopped working, and he proposed targeting a crystal at the valley’s edge.
• Zhou Xuan’s plan to burrow in and steal a crystal was dismissed because Fourth Tier beasts could detect nearby disturbances.
• A Shadow Wolf reported strange activity to the One-Horned Lizard, then returned claiming it had found tracks resembling those of humans.
• The One-Horned Lizard examined the footprints, decided three humans had passed through, and followed the trail with the Shadow Wolf.
• The One-Horned Lizard was struck by a sudden attack and glimpsed several figures, including the two-legged bug it recognized.

Shen Heng and his companions captured a fourth-tier One-Horned Lizard and prepared to interrogate it. As the others took up watch, Zhou Xuan wondered how Shen Heng would communicate with the beast.

• Shen Heng recalled how he used his ability to lure a fourth-tier Calamity Beast out after his first attempts went awry.
• Shen Heng suspected the One-Horned Lizard recognized him from their earlier encounter, and he and Zhou Xuan examined a bump beside its horn.
• Shen Heng explained that interrogating the One-Horned Lizard would take time and energy, then asked the others to watch for danger while he worked.
• Han Ling and the others spread out to keep watch, while Zhou Xuan climbed a tree and considered whether the One-Horned Lizard spoke human language or Shen Heng spoke beast language.

Shen Heng questioned a groggy One-Horned Lizard about crystals stabilizing the space and learned that the Ruins Abyss Court Council had ordered its tribe to enter the new world. The chapter left him aware of the threat’s scale and the Council’s involvement, but without knowing where the other sites were or how to destroy them.

• Shen Heng used his powers to keep the One-Horned Lizard drowsy while questioning it.
• The One-Horned Lizard said the crystals stabilized the space and that the Lion King had ordered them guarded.
• The One-Horned Lizard revealed that the crystals could allow fifty thousand third-tier Calamity Beasts to enter each year and seventh-tier lords to enter after three years.
• Shen Heng asked about other sites and how to destroy them, but the One-Horned Lizard knew little about them.
• The One-Horned Lizard said the chief had sent it to the new world under instructions from the Ruins Abyss Court Council.

Shen Heng questioned the One-Horned Lizard about the Ruins Abyss Court Council and its tribe, learning that the council issued orders to tribes and that the beasts mined ore for food. The interrogation ended with the lizard naming its tribe the Arcane Lizards.

• Shen Heng learned that the One-Horned Lizard knew the Ruins Abyss Court Council only by name and had heard of it twice, including an order to travel to a new world.
• The One-Horned Lizard recalled that the council had once directed two nearby tribes to end a conflict, though it did not know why.
• Shen Heng concluded that the council was loosely managed and that most Calamity Beasts likely knew little about it.
• The One-Horned Lizard told Shen Heng that its tribe sent it to watch low-breed creatures mine ore, which the beasts ate and sometimes shipped elsewhere.
• Shen Heng asked the One-Horned Lizard for its tribe's name in the Ruins Realm, and it answered, "Arcane Lizards."

After learning that Seventh Tier beings could enter the Erosion Zone in three years, Shen Heng’s group decided to report their findings and leave the two Calamity Beasts alive to avoid alerting the valley. Shen Heng’s suggestion made the One-Horned Lizard initially forget the encounter, but its memories returned, and it decided to flee its post rather than report the humans.

• Shen Heng told Zhou Xuan and the others that the crystals stabilized the Erosion Zone and that Seventh Tier beings could enter in three years, and the group discussed delaying the Calamity Beasts.
• Shen Heng stopped Zhou Xuan from killing the One-Horned Lizard and the other beast, then suggested the One-Horned Lizard overlook the encounter so it would not report them.
• The One-Horned Lizard woke with a headache, accepted the Shadow Wolf’s explanation for its absence, and returned to the valley without remembering the humans clearly.
• The One-Horned Lizard stole extra food from another Fourth Tier beast and later sat thinking about its meal.
• The One-Horned Lizard’s memories returned as the lump on its forehead grew warm, and it realized the humans had learned the information through it.
• Fearing that reporting the leak would get it killed and that the humans would attack its post, the One-Horned Lizard decided to move somewhere safer.

After returning to base, Shen Heng reported his discoveries about the Arcane Lizards and the Ruins Abyss Court Council to Li Daoyi and the commanders. The chapter ended with Li Daoyi warning that reaching the seventh tier in three years would be difficult and that one person’s advancement would not be enough to face an invasion from an entire world.

• Shen Heng explained to Li Daoyi how the Arcane Lizards grew horns and developed abilities as they advanced through the tiers.
• Li Daoyi agreed to share Shen Heng’s intelligence with headquarters, and they noted that the other exploration teams had not returned yet.
• Shen Heng recounted his expedition to Zhang Weijun, Zhou Zhenguo, and Wang Yuanshan, including what he had learned about the Ruins Abyss Court Council.
• Zhang Weijun asked whether seventh-tier Calamity Beasts could enter the Erosion Zone in three years, and Shen Heng confirmed that they could.
• Li Daoyi said he might reach the seventh tier within three years but warned that crossing the sixth-to-seventh-tier hurdle was uncertain and that one person would not be enough to repel the invasion.

Shen Heng learned that the Calamity Beasts could make the Erosion Zones ready for Seventh Tier invaders in about three years, so Zhang Weijun planned a broad survey before striking the Anchor Points. Shen Heng prepared his squad to explore the entire zone and called his mother beneath the setting sun.

• Zhou Zhenguo and Wang Yuanshan explained that the crystals Shen Heng had submitted could stabilize Erosion Zones, and the command center estimated that at least twenty-three Seventh Tiers would be needed to hold off the invasion.
• Zhang Weijun named the stabilization sites Anchor Points and led a discussion about how to attack them.
• Zhang Weijun chose to delay attacks until inspectors had surveyed the entire Erosion Zone and located its possible Anchor Points, then strike them in quick succession before the Calamity Beasts could react.
• Shen Heng told his squad they would leave the next day to explore the zone, a mission he expected to take one or two months.
• Shen Heng looked at the setting sun outside the Light Gate and called his mother to talk.

Three months after setting out, Shen Heng and his squad reached the edge of the Erosion Zone and returned to the base to prepare for their next operation. Shen Heng reported that they had mapped the Calamity Beasts, though their knowledge of the terrain remained incomplete.

• Shen Heng, Han Ling, Qin Yu, Zheng Guomin, and Zhou Xuan examined the reality-warping boundary at the edge of the Erosion Zone and concluded that they could not safely explore farther.
• Shen Heng led the squad back to the base, where two Supervision Bureau members examined them and the group noticed that the base had expanded.
• Shen Heng told the squad to prepare to set out again within days, explaining that delaying the operation could create more uncertainties.
• Shen Heng went to the command center, where Li Daoyi examined him and Zhang Weijun asked about the exploration.
• Shen Heng told Zhang Weijun that the squad had mapped the Calamity Beasts but had not fully surveyed the terrain.

Shen Heng reported the results of his three-month exploration of the Erosion Zone, and Zhang Weijun began preparing for an operation to investigate its anchor points. Meanwhile, Zhou Xuan returned to the base and noticed the soldiers’ Origin Power as well as the Deep Blue Squad’s latest Calamity Beast haul.

• Shen Heng described the enormous oval Erosion Zone, identified twelve confirmed anchor points, and reported two uninvestigated concentrations of nearly ten thousand Calamity Beasts each.
• Zhang Weijun reviewed the projected map, offered the exploration team a reward, and told Shen Heng the operation would begin after the other teams returned.
• Zhou Xuan walked around the base and sensed Origin Power coming from many of its soldiers.
• Zhou Xuan saw tower cranes bringing Calamity Beast corpses over the wall and recognized one as the Deep Blue Squad’s fifth Fourth Tier Calamity Beast that month.

Zhou Xuan reunited with Lü Wenrui, who explained how he had joined the Deep Blue Squad temporarily and learned to tilt his luck-based ability toward favorable outcomes. As Lü Wenrui led Zhou Xuan to see the exploration squads’ names, Zhou Xuan began describing their three-month journey across the Erosion Zone and its boundary.

• Zhou Xuan recognized Lin Zhaoran and Yu Yanhui as members of the Deep Blue Squad and spotted Lü Wenrui among the returning explorers.
• Lü Wenrui greeted Zhou Xuan and asked whether Brother Heng had returned with him.
• Lü Wenrui explained that fewer Calamity Beast attacks had left people without chances to obtain Origin Crystals, so many were hoping to join exploration squads; he was temporarily filling in for an injured member.
• Lü Wenrui said he had been buying scratch cards and doing other low-odds activities to make his randomly triggered ability more likely to help the squad.
• Lü Wenrui told Zhou Xuan that Wang Hu led the Taowu Squad and offered to show him where the squads’ names were displayed.
• Zhou Xuan told Lü Wenrui that he and Brother Heng had explored the Erosion Zone for three months, traveled thousands of kilometers, and repeatedly reached its boundary.

Shen Heng met Lü Wenrui and Zhou Xuan at a squad ranking screen, then returned to the dorm before calling Le Gu Nan. Le Gu Nan asked for his advice about analyzing cultivation-enhancing plants found inside a Light Gate, and Shen Heng wondered if she feared her father would exploit them for profit.

• Lü Wenrui told Shen Heng that betting on sparring matches had helped him discover a new use for his ability, and Shen Heng urged him to stay safe.
• Shen Heng, Lü Wenrui, and Zhou Xuan watched the squad rankings shift as Deep Blue rose to a tie for third place.
• Shen Heng left the Erosion Zone, checked his messages, and called his mother before replying to Le Gu Nan.
• Le Gu Nan explained that her father had invested in a squad that found Origin Power plants inside a Light Gate and wanted her to analyze them.
• Le Gu Nan worried that developing the plants could affect many people, and Shen Heng asked if she feared her father would become a blackhearted capitalist.

Shen Heng encouraged Le Gu Nan to help her father develop a cultivation aid while negotiating fair prices and possible cooperation with headquarters. Afterward, he distributed forty Origin Crystals among his squad and asked how they planned to use them, leaving Han Ling to ask whether he had a suggestion.

• Shen Heng persuaded Le Gu Nan to analyze the plant for her father and suggest reasonable prices and cooperation with headquarters.
• Le Gu Nan asked about Shen Heng’s mission, and he said it had gone well but that Erosion Zones were larger than expected.
• Shen Heng opened a case of forty Origin Crystals and asked his squad how they wanted to divide them.
• Shen Heng allocated sixteen crystals to himself, eight to Zhou Xuan, six to Qin Yu, and five each to Han Ling and Zheng Guomin.
• Zhou Xuan and Zheng Guomin said they planned to use their crystals for cultivation, and Han Ling asked Shen Heng for his suggestion.

Shen Heng prepared his squad for an operation to destroy a Calamity Beast anchor point and took command of the assembled exploration squads. After explaining how they would target the valley’s strongest beasts, he ordered the operation to begin.

• Shen Heng advised the others to exchange their Origin Crystals for equipment and items that could immediately improve their combat strength, and recommended Fluid Battle Armor for Han Ling.
• Several days later, Liang Yanhao and the other squad members gathered near a valley containing 214 Calamity Beasts, including one early fifth-tier beast and twenty-six fourth-tier beasts.
• Shen Heng noticed that the Sharp-Horned Rat had moved to the opposite side of the valley, but decided its position would not affect the operation.
• Shen Heng used Ringing Sound to share a map and assigned squads to eliminate eight fourth-tier targets before three squads surrounded the fifth-tier beast, while the rest handled the remaining Calamity Beasts.
• When Liang Yanhao questioned whether Shen Heng's squad could handle the fifth-tier beast, Wang Hu assured everyone that the squad was stronger than they imagined.
• Shen Heng clarified that destroying the anchor point took priority over wiping out the beasts and ordered the operation to begin.

Shen Heng sent the Seventh Advance Team to ambush a Fourth Tier Calamity Beast while the One-Horned Lizard tried to interpret an attack on the stronghold. The bird-type Calamity Beast announced that it had figured out the humans’ plan, leaving the One-Horned Lizard waiting to hear its explanation.

• Zhou Xuan asked how the Seventh Advance Team would fight, and Shen Heng ordered Qin Yu to conceal their tracks so they could ambush their target when a commotion drew it out.
• Shen Heng led the team out, with dark shadows spreading over his body as he moved.
• The One-Horned Lizard woke to a roar and heard from a bird-type Calamity Beast that two-legged bugs were attacking the stronghold and Lord Weeping Cypress Demon wanted it to hurry over.
• The One-Horned Lizard argued that the humans were likely staging a feigned attack to lure defenders away while others struck the stronghold.
• The bird-type Calamity Beast said, “I figured it out!” again, and the One-Horned Lizard asked what it had figured out.

The One-Horned Lizard tricked the other Calamity Beasts into leaving to reinforce Lord Weeping Cypress Demon while it stayed behind to avoid danger. Meanwhile, Shen Heng and his allies fought through the valley, where he directed squads toward approaching enemies and warned Wang Hu’s squad about its first encounter.

• The One-Horned Lizard persuaded the avian Calamity Beast to send most of the Calamity Beasts toward Lord Weeping Cypress Demon while leaving the strongest behind in each direction.
• The avian Calamity Beast departed with the low-tier Calamity Beasts, promising that Lord Weeping Cypress Demon would return to support the One-Horned Lizard.
• After they left, the One-Horned Lizard admitted it had tricked the avian Calamity Beast and decided to wait safely for the battle’s outcome.
• Shen Heng stood atop a Calamity Beast’s corpse wearing his new sound-wave Fluid Battle Armor, then joined Han Ling, Zheng Guomin, Zhou Xuan, and Qin Yu.
• Shen Heng directed the squads around the valley, warning the Deep Blue Squad and Howling Wind Squad about approaching Calamity Beasts.
• Shen Heng warned Wang Hu that his squad would be the first to encounter a Calamity Beast.

Wang Hu confronted the early fifth-tier Weeping Cypress Demon, relying on Shi Ruiyuan and the others for support while fighting it alone. After breaking through the demon’s defenses and weathering its counterattacks, Wang Hu struck at one of its roots as the ground began to tremble.

• Wang Hu told Shi Ruiyuan to keep other Calamity Beasts away and assist when possible while he fought the Weeping Cypress Demon alone.
• Wang Hu transformed into a tiger-like beast and charged the early fifth-tier demon, dodging its branches with help from Shi Ruiyuan’s stone pillar.
• Wang Hu used Fivefold Force: Tiger Claw to pierce the demon’s hardened bark, but the Weeping Cypress Demon knocked him into the ground with its branches.
• Wang Hu surged toward the demon’s roots, shattered the branches in his path, and attacked a thick root as the surrounding ground began to shake.