Recaps

Fang Ji, Luo Wenshan, Lin Xiaoyu, and Mei Duo discussed the rewards from Light Gate clearings and the Azure Mist Forest before agreeing to attend Su Xingyu’s concert together. At Northern Martial Arts, Shen Shuning finished handing over her duties, and Xiao Bai'er reacted as a pink-haired visitor entered the meeting room.

• Fang Ji explained that guild members split clearing rewards according to their contributions, while the Dust-Cleansing Brigade had earned tens of millions from an Azure Mist Forest and its regrowing Azure Mist Vines.
• Lin Xiaoyu explained that Tiangong Life Sciences, developed jointly by Huaihe Pharmaceuticals and the state, produced Azure Mist Stock Solution.
• Lin Xiaoyu saw a poster calling on martial artists to defend their home and wondered about conditions in the Erosion Zones.
• Luo Wenshan told the group that Su Xingyu would perform in three days, and Mei Duo agreed to join her, Fang Ji, and Lin Xiaoyu at the concert.
• Shen Shuning completed a handover with the new Northern Martial Arts president, then spoke with Xiao Bai'er about their approaching graduation.
• A pink-haired figure entered the meeting room and greeted Shen Shuning and Xiao Bai'er.

Su Xingyu told Xiao Bai'er that she had made the training camp list, and Shen Shuning, Xiao Bai'er, and Su Xingyu later arrived at the camp. Their instructor, Chang Lei, warned them that the three-month training had a death quota, leaving the students to face the possibility that some of them would die.

• Su Xingyu told Xiao Bai'er that she had secured the last place on the training camp list, and Xiao Bai'er celebrated with Shen Shuning and her.
• Shen Shuning asked whether Su Xingyu's upcoming concert in Linhai would interfere with the training camp, and Su Xingyu said she would return promptly afterward.
• Several days later, Shen Shuning, Xiao Bai'er, and Su Xingyu arrived at the training camp and noticed students from other martial arts universities among the recruits.
• Chang Lei introduced himself as their instructor for the next three months and warned the recruits that some of them would die during training unless they performed exceptionally well.

Chang Lei explained that the camp’s next three months would include dangerous Light Gate missions against at least fourth-tier Calamity Beasts, and the students chose whether to stay. Shen Shuning persuaded Xiao Bai'er to remain with her, and Chang Lei led the group onward, clarifying that he would return to the Erosion Zone after his three months of training.

• Chang Lei warned that the students’ Light Gate missions would involve powerful Calamity Beasts and that he would intervene only after the attackers could no longer defeat one.
• Shen Shuning urged Xiao Bai'er to withdraw, while Su Xingyu said she would withdraw too but admitted the university had required her to attend.
• Xiao Bai'er decided to stay because Shen Shuning was staying, and Shen Shuning told her to take the training seriously.
• Chang Lei offered the students a chance to leave, but they all stayed, so he led them toward the buildings.
• A student asked why Chang Lei had said the training lasted three months when the university had announced six, and Chang Lei explained that he would return to the Erosion Zone after three months.

Chang Lei warned the trainees that casualties in the Erosion Zones were already around 40 percent and could rise much higher, despite the first inspectors being highly talented and battle-tested. After showing them the training camps’ wall of honor, he ordered them to prepare to head to the Light Gate the next day.

• Chang Lei told the trainees that Erosion Zones had unusual environments and precautions, but their casualty rate was already around 40 percent and might eventually reach 70 or 80 percent.
• Chang Lei rebuked a trainee who assumed their elite group would fare better, explaining that the first inspectors were talented and experienced fighters and that the new trainees still lacked bloodshed and hardship.
• Xiao Bai'er and Su Xingyu discussed the grim losses and noticed Xiao Xiangtong among the top-ranked members on the wall of honor, while Shen Shuning studied the names and ratings.
• Chang Lei told everyone to take their luggage to the dorms and prepare to head to the Light Gate the next day.

Shen Heng prepared Wu Hao and the soldiers to ambush a Calamity Beast tide in the Plateau Erosion Zone, explaining how to conceal their position and when to abandon the operation. After Shen Heng left Wu Hao in command, Xu Yu said he could not tell which of four possibilities the beasts would use to approach.

• Shen Heng instructed Wu Hao to wait until the beast tide entered the mountain pass and to abandon the ambush if more than 2,000 Calamity Beasts appeared.
• Shen Heng reviewed the ambush preparations, including selecting soldiers and weapons and concealing sound, sight, and Origin Power.
• Headquarters bought the Concealment combat technique and distributed it to the soldiers for free, though they had little time to master it.
• Shen Heng entrusted the ambush site to Wu Hao and flew away, while Wu Hao accepted command despite feeling downcast over his former squadmates.
• Xu Yu joined Wu Hao and said he was unsure which of four possible approaches the Calamity Beasts would take.

Xu Yu explained why the ambush would help determine whether the Calamity Beasts would target Bedrock City or other cities. At Eagle-Sorrow Ravine, Shen Heng reviewed the preparations and warned Xu Ruiyu that the Calamity Beasts’ plans might involve more than attacking another city.

• Xu Yu told Wu Hao that the Calamity Beasts might attack other cities or pause while replacing the dismissed Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi, and that the five-day ambush would help confirm their plans.
• Shen Heng returned to his ambush position and learned from Xu Ruiyu that preparations were underway, with explosives planted along the narrow path at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine.
• Shen Heng assured Xu Ruiyu that clever high-tier Calamity Beasts would scout the route and likely take the mountain path.
• Shen Heng warned Xu Ruiyu that if the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi did not send Calamity Beasts to the ravine, they might attack other cities, then asked him to identify the Calamity Beasts’ fundamental courses of action.

Shen Heng explained to Xu Ruiyu that the Calamity Beasts could either attack Bedrock City or target other cities, and warned that if they skipped this assault, they might return with a force prepared to destroy Bedrock City. Xu Ruiyu found that withdrawal or guerrilla warfare offered no easy solution, leaving him to ask what they could do if the Calamity Beasts did not come.

• Shen Heng told Xu Ruiyu that the Calamity Beasts had two basic choices: target Bedrock City or attack other cities, with several possible strategies under either choice.
• Xu Ruiyu asked whether Shen Heng had devised the possibilities himself, and Shen Heng said much of the analysis came from Elder Zhou and the other staff officers.
• Shen Heng explained that if the Calamity Beasts delayed their attack, they could return with a force strong enough to wipe out Bedrock City.
• Xu Ruiyu suggested withdrawing Bedrock City and then the other cities, but Shen Heng warned that this would send the beast tide elsewhere and undermine the strategy headquarters' plan.
• Shen Heng said a guerrilla war would require a force capable of threatening the Anchor Points, but without cities and supporting firepower that force would suffer unacceptable casualties.
• Xu Ruiyu asked Shen Heng what they could do if the Calamity Beasts did not come.

Shen Heng and Xu Ruiyu debated whether the Calamity Beasts would attack Bedrock City again, knowing that abandoning their strategy could hasten the Erosion Zone’s advance. At the temple, the Lion King rejected Shuofeng’s request for another chance until an unidentified Calamity Beast spoke up.

• Shen Heng told Xu Ruiyu that withdrawing the soldiers could save them but would undermine the strategy and speed the Erosion Zone’s stabilization.
• Shen Heng said the Calamity Beasts had no necessary reason to attack Bedrock City, though the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi might come out of pride or anger.
• Xu Ruiyu guessed that the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi would seek revenge, and Shen Heng agreed that their decision could make an attack possible.
• Shuofeng pleaded with the Lion King for another chance to destroy Bedrock City, while the Molten-Fire Lizard briefly mocked it before voicing support.
• The Lion King refused Shuofeng’s request and ordered it to go back, but another Calamity Beast asked to speak.

Leiya proposed requisitioning Calamity Beasts from Anchor Points to attack the human city, but the Lion King sent him and Shuofeng away for the time being. Eight days into the ambush at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine, Shen Heng decided his group would withdraw the next day.

• Leiya asked the Lion King for another chance and proposed gathering Calamity Beasts from Anchor Points and other locations to attack the human city.
• Shuofeng accused the Lion King of targeting them out of fear they would challenge his position, and the Lion King welcomed a future challenge before sending the brothers away.
• The Lion King praised the Molten-Fire Lizard for his performance after Leiya and Shuofeng left.
• At Eagle-Sorrow Ravine, Shen Heng and Xu Ruiyu ate Tundra Warthog meat and chatted while their group waited in ambush.
• Shen Heng told Xu Ruiyu to inform everyone to pack up, as they would pull out the next day.

Shen Heng concluded that the Calamity Beasts were unlikely to attack the camp, and Xu Ruiyu struggled with the possibility that their preparations would go unused and with the rules for choosing who could withdraw. After Shen Heng helped him recover from his discouragement, an unexpected sign suggested the Calamity Beasts had arrived after all.

• Shen Heng reasoned that the Calamity Beasts had had enough time to arrive from the Ruins Realm, so they probably would not gather forces from other Anchor Points.
• Xu Ruiyu grew tearful and asked how Shen Heng would decide who could withdraw if they failed to stop the next beast tide attacking Bedrock City; Shen Heng said the criteria could not be changed and the remaining places would be assigned by lot.
• Xu Ruiyu admitted he felt discouraged, and Shen Heng told him that victory in the current Erosion Zone strategy was likely but humanity's future remained uncertain.
• After Xu Ruiyu said he had pulled himself together, Shen Heng told him to inform the others, then wondered whether they could win.
• A figure by the campfire looked toward a certain direction and remarked that the Calamity Beasts had taken slacking off to another level.

Zhou Xuan and Zheng Guomin waited for the Calamity Beast tide, which scouts reported would include more than 2,300 beasts and a Fifth Tier One-Horned Tiger. At the command meeting, Qin Yu chose to continue the ambush plan despite the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni’s A+ threat rating.

• Zhou Xuan promised Zheng Guomin he would cultivate for another half hour each day after Zheng caught him playing with ants.
• Kong Xi reported that a beast tide of roughly 2,300 Calamity Beasts was approaching from seventy kilometers away.
• A scout told Han Ling the tide included one Fifth Tier One-Horned Tiger, and Han Ling went to inform the Military Department’s officer in charge.
• Qin Yu studied the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni’s combat report while the group considered abandoning the ambush.
• Qin Yu ordered the group to continue with the original plan, saying she could keep the Suanni occupied and prevent it from reaching them.

Shen Heng prepared an ambush at Eagle-Sorrow Ravine as a beast tide of more than seventeen thousand Calamity Beasts approached, led by a Molten-Fire Lizard. The humans took their concealed positions, and the chapter ended as Zhao Ming saw the enormous tide draw near.

• Shen Heng estimated that the Calamity Beasts would arrive in three hours and ordered Xu Ruiyu to prepare everyone for battle and maintain Concealment.
• Shen Heng noted that the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi was absent and planned to check whether any unidentified fifth-tier Calamity Beasts were among the approaching tide.
• The Sky-Skimming Harrier reported the mountain route to the Molten-Fire Lizard, which ordered the beast tide to continue and reflected on its plans to conquer another city and reach sixth tier.
• The humans completed their preparations, then fell silent and activated Concealment when the command came.
• Kuang Jie pointed out the approaching Calamity Beasts, and Zhao Ming saw the vast tide spreading toward the ambush.

As the Calamity Beast tide moved onto the mountain paths, Zhao Ming and Kuang Jie discussed their confidence in Captain Shen and the planned ambushes. At another ambush point, Wu Hao refused to proceed against a force containing a Fifth Tier Calamity Beast, until Xu Yu proposed changing their objective.

• The Sky-Skimming Harrier watched the Calamity Beasts enter the mountain path while its thoughts drifted to food.
• Zhao Ming worried that his group could not defeat the massive tide, but Kuang Jie trusted Captain Shen and encouraged him to focus on winning.
• Wu Hao refused the officer’s request to attack a force with a Fifth Tier Calamity Beast, saying he trusted Captain Shen to stop the beasts elsewhere.
• Xu Yu questioned Wu Hao’s judgment but believed the opportunity to attack should not be wasted.
• Xu Yu suggested that the group make killing the Calamity Beasts a secondary objective instead of their main one.

Xu Yu persuaded the officer and Wu Hao to use explosives to trigger a landslide, delaying the low-tier Calamity Beasts while they targeted the high-tier ones. At Eagle-Sorrow Ravine, Shen Heng waited for the Molten-Fire Lizard to reach the ambush before ordering an attack, and missiles struck as the beast reacted too late.

• Xu Yu proposed blasting the cliffs after the beast tide entered the gorge, and estimated the plan had a seventy percent chance of success if the explosives were placed and timed correctly.
• The officer accepted Xu Yu's plan, and Wu Hao agreed to proceed as the mountaintop filled with activity.
• At Eagle-Sorrow Ravine, Shen Heng held his ambush team back until the Molten-Fire Lizard reached their position.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard considered its plans to capture human cities while being carried along the path.
• Shen Heng gave the order to attack, and flaming missiles flew toward the Molten-Fire Lizard.

The Molten-Fire Lizard survived a missile barrage and realized humans had prepared an ambush against its horde. It ordered the flying and Fourth Tier Calamity Beasts to attack the human weapons while the others retreated, as Shen Heng judged the horde’s chances slim.

• The Molten-Fire Lizard dodged the missile barrage by rolling off a cliff, then returned to the mountain path injured as the shelling continued.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard suspected the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi had leaked its plans to the humans and saw that the entire horde was under attack.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard tried to rally the Calamity Beasts but found nearby beasts too terrified to respond.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard summoned the Sky-Skimming Harrier and ordered it to relay commands to the horde.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard ordered the Fourth Tier and flying Calamity Beasts to attack the human weapons and told the rest to retreat toward both sides.
• Shen Heng watched the battle and judged that the ambush had greatly weakened the Calamity Beasts’ chances.

The Molten-Fire Lizard pushed through missile fire toward Shen Heng’s position, melting and detonating missiles with its superheated breath before clashing blades and claws with an unseen opponent. Elsewhere, the Shadow Wolf tried to control panicked Calamity Beasts on the mountain road, but a flying object struck a large rat as it began to restore order.

• The Molten-Fire Lizard ordered the Sky-Skimming Harrier to relay its command, then flew toward the mountaintop where Shen Heng and the others were positioned.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard evaded and melted incoming missiles with its breath as it advanced up the mountain.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard spotted something overhead, shot upward, and collided with an opponent’s blade.
• The Shadow Wolf failed to calm the panicked Calamity Beasts as missiles began bombarding its section of the mountain road.
• The Shadow Wolf killed several Calamity Beasts that crowded against it, then ordered the others to quiet down before a flying object struck the large rat in the face.

Shadow Wolf tried to reassure the Calamity Beasts around him while searching for a way to survive the human assault. After receiving Lord Molten-Fire Lizard’s orders to attack, he reluctantly flew toward the human position as Wu Dayong prepared to meet the incoming Calamity Beasts.

• A missile killed a giant rat beside Shadow Wolf, leaving him shaken and abandoning his plan to lead a counterattack.
• Shadow Wolf told the surrounding Calamity Beasts to calm down and promised to lead them out, though he had no plan for how to do it.
• A messenger announced Lord Molten-Fire Lizard’s orders for fourth-tier and flying Calamity Beasts to attack the nearest human position.
• Shadow Wolf told the others he had to obey the orders and flew toward the human position, deciding to move slowly and let the others go first.
• Wu Dayong shifted the artillery fire and recognized that the bird messenger had summoned Calamity Beasts to attack.
• As Calamity Beasts flew toward his troops, Wu Dayong ordered the inspectors and soldiers to prepare to act while diverting some firepower.

The Stone-Armored Beast endured a human bombardment while Calamity Beasts searched for ways to escape, but fear left it unwilling to move. After witnessing a missile blast apart several beasts, it hid in its shell, convinced humans were too terrifying.

• The Stone-Armored Beast stayed curled on the ground as bullets struck its armor during the attack on the human city.
• A Tier 2 Yaksha Ant invited the Stone-Armored Beast to escape by climbing down the rock face, but it refused.
• The Yaksha Ant recruited two Calamity Beasts and set off, while other beasts began climbing up or down the rock face.
• A human missile struck several Calamity Beasts, scattering their blood and limbs and driving the Stone-Armored Beast back inside its shell.

The Calamity Beasts abandoned their retreat plan and tried to escape by climbing the cliffs, turning the horde's attack into a rout. After Chen Hua defeated the Ice Ape at his position, he and the others spotted a fifth-tier battle approaching and realized they were in its path.

• Calamity Beasts began climbing the cliffs to escape, while artillery and falling rocks sent many tumbling to their deaths.
• Chen Hua pinned the wounded Ice Ape and beat it until it stopped moving.
• Chen Hua asked about the battle, and an inspector reported that the front and rear ambush positions were under pressure while the others were holding up.
• Zhao Ming and the others saw white flames and two figures fighting in the distance, realizing the battle was nearing their position.
• Chen Hua ordered everyone to grab the equipment and get out of the way as the fighters came straight toward them.

Chen Hua and the soldiers evacuated the ambush position as Shen Heng’s battle with the Molten-Fire Lizard reached the mountaintop. Shen Heng tried to draw the beast away from the position, then faced its fiery ranged attack with his own Blast technique.

• The commander ordered the soldiers to dismantle their weapons and retreat into the cavern as Shen Heng and the Molten-Fire Lizard’s fight approached.
• Chen Hua helped move ammunition into the cavern and stayed at its entrance, judging that he could not defeat the middle fifth-tier Molten-Fire Lizard.
• Shen Heng struck the Molten-Fire Lizard onto the mountaintop, then decided he needed to lure it away before more Calamity Beasts escaped.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard accused Shen Heng of learning its route from the two Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi and attacked him with blazing fireballs.
• Shen Heng formed Origin Power projectiles with Blast and fired them toward the Molten-Fire Lizard’s incoming attack.

The human forces launched their ambush against the Calamity Beasts, using a mountain collapse, artillery, and coordinated attacks to hold them back. As Qin Yu watched an A+ Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni begin to move, the voice in her mind urged her to attack the weak point where its body joined its tail.

• Xu Yu ordered the soldiers to trigger the explosives, causing the mountainside to collapse onto the Calamity Beasts.
• The commander redirected firing positions three and five to bombard the river as the battle continued.
• Zheng Guomin held back a tiger-like Calamity Beast while the inspectors attacked it.
• Zhou Xuan summoned lightning to strike the wounded beast after telling everyone to clear away.
• Qin Yu spotted the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni moving from the rear and asked whether she could handle it.
• The voice in Qin Yu's mind told her the Suanni's tail joint was its weak point and urged her to break off its hook.

Qin Yu prepared to use her Concealment ability to make the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni believe its weak point was under attack. After deflecting her first hidden arrow and several follow-up shots, the beast stopped and searched the area uncertainly.

• Qin Yu learned that Concealment could hide an attack until it neared the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni’s tail hook, making the beast suspect its weak point was targeted.
• Qin Yu nocked an arrow and waited until the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni approached within range.
• The Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni broke away from the beast tide and dashed toward the humans, puzzled that they did not come to confront it.
• Qin Yu fired a concealed arrow, but the Hook-Tailed Golden Suanni deflected it with its tail hook.
• Qin Yu sent more arrows at the beast, slowing its advance until it stopped and searched uncertainly in her direction.

Shen Heng battled the injured Molten-Fire Lizard and decided to kill it rather than risk letting it return and endanger the Sky-Sundering Kamaitachi. The Molten-Fire Lizard lured him into a narrow rift between two peaks, and Shen Heng pursued it deeper inside.

• The Molten-Fire Lizard struggled to find a way to defeat Shen Heng as he pursued it through the mountains.
• Shen Heng weighed killing the Molten-Fire Lizard against letting it escape, then chose to kill it for its Origin Crystal and materials.
• Shen Heng used his mental power to guide three streaks of light into the Molten-Fire Lizard’s fireballs and continued pursuing it.
• Their battle passed through mountain paths and prepared ambush sites, forcing Calamity Beasts to flee while the humans handled the disruption.
• The Molten-Fire Lizard flew into a narrow rift between two peaks, and Shen Heng followed it deeper inside.

The Molten-Fire Lizard tried to trap its pursuer by blasting the canyon cliff, but the black-armored human appeared above it and struck. Elsewhere, Han Ling used her sniper rifle to kill the One-Horned Tiger as the beast tide advanced.

• The Molten-Fire Lizard fired a Flame Explosion Bullet into the cliff, triggering a rockslide to block the black-armored human’s path.
• Believing the human was forcing through the rubble, the Molten-Fire Lizard prepared to ambush him.
• The black-armored human appeared above the Molten-Fire Lizard and slashed down at it.
• Han Ling reloaded and aimed her sniper rifle at the moving One-Horned Tiger.
• Han Ling fired a series of shots that brought the One-Horned Tiger down and exploded its head.

After killing the Molten-Fire Lizard, Shen Heng learned that the ambush had killed about 60% of the beast tide but lacked ammunition to finish the rest. He planned to use his emotion-influencing ability to drive the remaining Calamity Beasts out, then paused to act on another opportunity.

• Shen Heng returned to the central ambush point carrying the Molten-Fire Lizard's corpse and told Xu Ruiyu that he had killed it.
• Xu Ruiyu reported that the ambush points were holding, about 60% of the Calamity Beasts had been killed, and the remaining ammunition could kill or wound only about 20% more.
• Xu Ruiyu suggested clearing the remaining beasts gradually from both ends, but Shen Heng proposed trying to provoke them into charging out after replenishing his Origin Power.
• Shen Heng considered the problem of recovering materials from the ravine and decided Elder Zhou could handle it while the soldiers collected Origin Crystals and valuable materials.
• After replenishing his Origin Power, Shen Heng prepared to act, then paused and turned toward another direction.