Chapter Summaries

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.

Wang Hu and Taowu Squad fought the Weeping Cypress Demon, but the fifth-tier tree creature overwhelmed their attacks. After hurling Wang Hu away, it turned its branches on Shi Ruiyuan and his teammates, leaving Shi Ruiyuan facing an incoming strike.

• Wang Hu dodged the Weeping Cypress Demon's wooden spikes and branches, then continued attacking despite his shallow wounds.
• Shi Ruiyuan and the others supported Wang Hu, with Huang Jun using Flowing Wind to boost his speed and Li Liang illuminating the battlefield.
• The Weeping Cypress Demon changed its branch strikes, used supple force to fling Wang Hu toward the battlefield's edge, and immediately targeted the squad.
• Shi Ruiyuan raised a Rock Barrier, but the demon's wooden spikes pierced and shattered it while his teammates tried to distract the creature.
• A branch sprang up from the ground toward Shi Ruiyuan, who barely had time to turn aside before it reached him.

Shen Heng arrived as Wang Hu retreated from the Weeping Cypress Demon, and the inspectors joined him in confronting it head-on. Elsewhere, Lin Zhaoran killed a group of ambushing Calamity Beasts but faced nearly forty more, including three especially dangerous ones.

• Shen Heng and his teammates reached Shi Ruiyuan, who warned them that the Weeping Cypress Demon’s attacks and defenses were beyond an ordinary Fourth Tier.
• Wang Hu withdrew to the group after enduring the demon’s attacks with only minor injuries, while Shen Heng admitted they had no special method to overcome its defenses.
• The Weeping Cypress Demon charged at Shen Heng and the inspectors, and Wang Hu led the group in attacking it head-on.
• Shi Ruiyuan rallied himself and Huang Jun to join the fight, repeating Shen Heng’s order to kill the demon head-on.
• Lin Zhaoran froze and killed more than a dozen ambushing Calamity Beasts, then faced nearly forty remaining enemies, including a yellow-furred beast, a rock-armored mandrill, and a shadow blade bat.

Lin Zhaoran’s squad fought the Calamity Beasts while Gu Lingxuan’s attack helped Cao Mingyu kill a fourth-tier beast in the main battle. As three squads continued wearing down the Weeping Cypress Demon, Shen Heng understood its order for all Calamity Beasts to gather at its location.

• Lin Zhaoran assigned her teammates to hold off the fourth-tier Calamity Beasts while Li Rui and Zhao Feng dealt with the other beasts.
• Lin Zhaoran escaped the Rock-Armored Mandrill’s bite with a water-and-ice retreat and tossed an object into its mouth.
• Gu Lingxuan used Pressure Collapse to slow three fourth-tier beasts and kill or cripple many lower-tier beasts.
• Cao Mingyu used Tyrant Spear: Mountain Breaker to pierce one of the slowed beasts beneath its throat.
• Shen Heng heard the Weeping Cypress Demon order all Calamity Beasts to converge on it.

As the battle against the Weeping Cypress Demon continued, Shen Heng realized it was preparing to flee and warned the team that they had to kill it before it could reunite with the other Calamity Beasts. He laid out a coordinated forced-kill plan, assigning the team members roles to destabilize, deceive, and strike the demon.

• The Weeping Cypress Demon angrily called for the other Calamity Beasts, then cursed them when none came to help.
• Shen Heng intercepted the demon's thoughts and realized it was about to flee, so he warned the team to prepare for a forced kill.
• Liang Yanhao and Wang Hu questioned whether they could kill the demon before it escaped, and Shen Heng said they would repeatedly attack the same wound.
• Shen Heng told Shi Ruiyuan to use all his Origin Power to raise a stone pillar beneath the demon and throw it off balance, and instructed him to replenish his power with Origin Crystals.
• Shen Heng assigned Lin Xiao to create an illusion after the demon lost its balance, then planned to use sound waves to make it lose consciousness before Zhou Xuan called on Mother of Lightning to attack with lightning.

Shen Heng coordinated an attack on the Weeping Cypress Demon, but the team’s control faltered when the wounded demon launched a desperate counterattack. As Liang Yanhao struggled to reach it, the battlefield fell silent after Shen Heng raised his hand.

• Shen Heng assigned Han Ling to target existing wounds, Wang Hu to follow up, Liang Yanhao to deliver the finishing blow, and the control team to keep restraining the demon.
• Shi Ruiyuan raised stone pillars beneath the Weeping Cypress Demon’s tendrils, while Lin Xiao and Zhou Xuan slowed and paralyzed it with control attacks.
• Han Ling struck a wound, and Wang Hu followed with a Fivefold Force Tiger Claw that dug into the demon before a branch knocked him away.
• The Weeping Cypress Demon recovered and lashed out wildly, preventing Liang Yanhao from reaching it as Zhou Xuan and Lin Xiao ran low on Origin Power.
• Shi Ruiyuan saw Shen Heng step forward and raise his hand, and the battlefield suddenly fell silent.

After Liang Yanhao struck the Weeping Cypress Demon’s exposed wound, the demon fell, and its anguished howl prompted Calamity Beasts across the battlefields to withdraw. Shen Heng ordered the squads to gather crystals and valuable materials before regrouping, while Wang Hu asked how they would transport the Weeping Cypress Demon’s remains.

• A figure threw what he was holding, and the Weeping Cypress Demon paused as its branches continued to swing.
• Liang Yanhao rushed to the demon’s exposed wound and struck it with his flame-wreathed saber, killing it as Shen Heng let its howl carry outward.
• Lin Zhaoran’s team heard the howl, and the Calamity Beasts disengaged and began leaving the valley.
• Shen Heng ordered all squads to follow the beasts at a distance, collect crystals and valuable materials, then regroup at the next Anchor Point.
• The One-Horned Lizard fled with several crystals, and Wang Hu asked Shen Heng how they would transport the Weeping Cypress Demon’s materials.

After defeating the Weeping Cypress Demon, Shen Heng explained his Torrent of Sound technique and helped distribute the spoils among the teams. As the Seventh Advance Team celebrated its earnings, Han Ling worried that events had been going too smoothly.

• Shen Heng told Zhou Xuan and Wang Hu to keep the Origin Crystals and bury other valuable materials for later retrieval.
• Shen Heng explained that his Torrent of Sound briefly dazed the Weeping Cypress Demon by overwhelming its ears, but creatures could instinctively filter out the sounds and recover.
• A One-Horned Lizard fled through the forest with several crystals, planning to claim a reward and fake injuries to avoid punishment.
• Shen Heng discussed the spoils with the team captains, and the Seventh Advance Team members received about one Fourth Tier Origin Crystal each.
• Han Ling told Shen Heng that things had been going a little too smoothly lately.

Shen Heng explained why the team had faced relatively few Calamity Beasts and how their forces were distributed across resource sites and Anchor Points. After destroying ten Anchor Points in half a month, the team reached the next one, where Shen Heng wondered why the Calamity Beasts had not strengthened their defenses.

• Shen Heng compared the team to the ancient Xiongnu, explaining that the Calamity Beasts had too much territory to defend and could not concentrate their forces everywhere.
• Shen Heng explained that resource sites held mostly low-tier Calamity Beasts, while Anchor Points were guarded by more powerful ones, and that three crystal-supplying locations had much larger forces.
• Zhou Xuan asked whether the team could destroy all the Anchor Points, and Shen Heng said they could if they acted before the Calamity Beasts reacted.
• Over nearly half a month, Shen Heng's team destroyed ten Anchor Points and traveled to the next one, leaving only two of the twelve they had found.
• Shen Heng observed that the defenses at the current Anchor Point had not grown stronger and wondered why the Calamity Beasts had not responded to the attacks.

Shen Heng realized the Calamity Beasts might be watching the inspectors from beyond his fifty-kilometer detection range, using signals from the Anchor Points to track their attacks. The group decided to continue their plan despite the risk, until someone objected.

• Shen Heng explained that the Calamity Beasts had not reinforced the Anchor Points, and the inspectors debated why.
• After hearing that no threats were within Shen Heng’s detection range, Shen Heng reasoned that Calamity Beasts might be waiting more than fifty kilometers away between the last two Anchor Points.
• Shen Heng suggested the Calamity Beasts could use a signal fired into the sky to notice when an Anchor Point was attacked.
• The inspectors argued over whether to advance, and Wang Hu urged them not to retreat based on speculation.
• Several inspectors supported continuing the plan while watching for a signal, but an unnamed person objected.

Liang Yanhao argued against risking the team to destroy the Anchor Point, while others debated whether the danger was worth facing. Away from the argument, Han Ling and Gu Lingxuan discussed the likely threat and left the decision to Shen Heng.

• Liang Yanhao urged the team not to approach the Anchor Point because a Calamity Beast might be waiting nearby.
• Team members argued over whether they could destroy the Anchor Point and intercept any signal before the Calamity Beast arrived.
• Han Ling left the arguing crowd, and Gu Lingxuan joined her at the perimeter.
• Han Ling told Gu Lingxuan that the Calamity Beasts had probably taken countermeasures and that the mission would likely be dangerous.
• Han Ling said the decision should ultimately be Shen Heng's, explaining that she trusted him after four years as his teammate.