The Dark Pincer's claws were terrifying up close—thick, curved, and strong enough to smash a five-meter Explosive Black Bear into a stone wall.
Yet Lei Feiyu stood rooted in place, flames swirling around his armored arms, and didn't retreat even half a step. He held those massive pincers with his bare hands like they were nothing more than oversized toys.
Tianyu's jaw tightened in disbelief.
This wasn't just strength.
T
his was overwhelming, absolute domination.
The Dark Pincer flailed wildly, its wings buzzing, its body twisting. But in Lei Feiyu's grasp, all that power amounted to nothing. He tightened his arms, and the Dark Pincer's carapace began to crack under the pressure.
"Exploding Heaven Flames!"
Lei Feiyu's voice echoed through the nest like thunder.
His arms glowed brighter—red first, then gold, then white. Veins bulged across his skin beneath the armor, and green illusory energy wrapped around him before bursting outward as pure flame.
Cracks tore across his gauntlets, and from those cracks, violent flames erupted like geysers.
The temperature in the cavern skyrocketed.
A wave of heat washed over the team. Silver Wolf stepped back instinctively, fur rising.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
A blinding flash filled the underground nest.
Tianyu shielded his face. When he peeked between his fingers, he saw a towering column of fire consuming the Dark Pincer entirely.
The flames swallowed its wings, its body, its claws—everything. The creature screeched once, a shrill metallic cry that echoed off the cavern walls… then went silent.
The explosion ripped through the tunnel.
The ground trembled.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
Chunks of earth fell like rain.
When the flames finally dwindled, Tianyu's ears rang violently. For several seconds, all he heard was a fuzzy hum.
As the smoke cleared, Lei Feiyu stood in the center of the destruction—his armor scorched, the glow around him fading. He held the Dark Pincer's charred, lifeless body in his hands. The black shell was cracked open, completely burned through.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it aside.
It hit the ground and immediately disintegrated into ash.
The armored envoy stood tall, now back in his ordinary clothes as the armor dissolved. It was hard to believe the same man who had just unleashed such terrifying power was now scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
The team wasted no time clearing out the few remaining black devil bugs still crawling along the walls. By the time they exited the nest, the entire underground network was collapsing behind them, the earth sinking inward until the tunnels became nothing more than blocked, useless caverns.
It no longer existed.
*
"Little boy—Tianyu, right?"
As Tianyu nodded, Lei Feiyu walked up to him after the cleanup. His simple, honest face had returned, wiping away the imposing aura of the armored envoy. If not for the scorched earth behind them, Tianyu might've doubted the battle even happened.
"You've got talent," Lei Feiyu said with a laugh, rubbing his head. "Real talent. With that Silver Wolf and your guts, your future will be extraordinary. I'm not kidding."
He pointed a thumb at himself.
"As long as you've got time, our cleaning team will always have a place for you."
The rest of the cleaning team froze.
Their captain—Lei Feiyu, the armored envoy—almost never invited strangers to join them. In fact, he rarely praised people at all.
And now he was lowering his status to offer a place to a high school student?
Sun Xianfeng stumbled forward when the others nudged him. "Uh… Little Tian, what do you think?"
Of course, he couldn't decide for Tianyu. But he looked both proud and nervous.
Tianyu hesitated only for a moment.
He had gained so much today—knowledge, experience, courage. And traveling the wild with a team was far safer than going alone.
He bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Brother Hao. Thank you, Brother Sun Xianfeng. I'm willing to join."
Laughter and applause filled the forest. The team patted Tianyu's shoulders and welcomed him warmly.
By the time they returned to Green Mountain City, the sky was already dark.
*
A Life-Changing Impression
Even after getting home, Tianyu couldn't calm down. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, Lei Feiyu's battle replaying in his mind again and again.
That explosive strike.
The armor transformation.
The overwhelming flames.
It was the first time Tianyu had seen a real armored envoy fight up close. And it shattered every expectation he had.
Back in the nest, even the mighty Explosive Black Bear had been pushed around by the Dark Pincer. But when Lei Feiyu merged with it—when armor transformation activated—everything changed.
The difference in power wasn't just a rank.
It was an entire world.
"If I could become an armored envoy…"
His voice trailed off in the dark.
But then reality hit him.
How could he cultivate illusory power?
He was just a student. Ordinary methods wouldn't work.
If cultivation methods were easy to find, the world would be filled with armored envoys. Even if he had money, such techniques were tightly guarded, controlled, and provided almost exclusively by universities.
That was precisely why the college entrance exam meant everything.
As long as he entered a university, he could learn a proper method and begin cultivation.
But—
He only had three months until the exam.
"Three months… that's not enough," Tianyu muttered. "Not when I have momentum now. Silver Wolf keeps rising. I can't waste time."
He sat up, frowning.
He was stuck between two paths.
He needed an armored envoy method.
But he didn't have access to one.
And then—
He froze.
"Wait."
His pulse quickened.
"I… have a system."
Right on cue, as if listening to his thoughts, the system chimed softly.
[ Ding — 1 unallocated evolution point detected. Begin evolution? ]
Tianyu's eyes widened.
A dangerous, thrilling idea flashed through his mind.
Something bold.
Something insane.
Something no ordinary human could attempt.
His heartbeat quickened.
"System…" he whispered. "can I evolve myself?"
The moment the idea formed in Tianyu's mind, it felt wild—dangerous—almost absurd.
But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
If evolution could strengthen Silver Wolf…
Why couldn't it strengthen him?
If he could evolve his own body, even just once, he might unlock the very thing that separated ordinary people from armored envoys—illusory power.
"At worst," Tianyu muttered, fists clenching, "I'll just waste one evolution point."
His heart pounded with nervous excitement. The risk was real, but so was the opportunity. If this worked, he wouldn't just be catching up—he would be leaping forward.
He inhaled deeply.
Then said clearly: "System, evolve me."
The response arrived instantly.
[ Ding — 1 unallocated evolution point detected. Do you wish to evolve yourself? ]
Tianyu's pulse spiked.
It was possible.
A shiver ran through him.
This wasn't a dream—this was the answer he'd been searching for.
"Yes." His voice trembled, but his eyes were sharp.
The moment he confirmed, his vision went black.
Then—
A burst of white light exploded from his body.
Tianyu's skin reddened as if a fire burned beneath it. His heart hammered in his chest—thump, thump, thump—the sound echoing around him like a drum.
Blood surged through his veins, faster and faster, hot enough that he could feel the burn.
Strength poured into his muscles, his bones, his nerves.
Too much strength.
So much that he thought his skin might rip apart.
He gritted his teeth and roared as every cell in his body woke up—stretching, growing, changing. His mind cleared, and for a moment, he felt every inch of himself as if seeing from the inside out.
Then—
Crack.
A sound like shattering glass echoed in his mind.
His consciousness snapped free.
Suddenly, he was standing in a forest, sunlight streaming through leaves. Then drifting above a lake, the surface calm and endless. Then soaring through the wilderness like a wandering spirit.
"Weng—"
Another crack.
Reality shifted.
He fell.
*
Tianyu gasped as his vision returned. He was floating—literally suspended in mid-air—white light wrapped around him.
Then, like a popped bubble—
"Clang!"
He fell onto his bed and lay still, panting.
Slowly, he exhaled.
"Hu…"
He opened his status window, hands trembling.
*
Host: Tianyu
Level: Black Iron (High-grade)
Talent: Eye Awareness (Normal)
Magical Beast: Silver Moon Wolf
Evolution Points: 0
*
Tianyu blinked at the talent listed.
"Eye Awareness…?"
He touched his face. Everything around him looked sharper—clearer. He could see tiny specks of dust floating in the air. He could read the smallest letters in a book across the room. His vision had transformed.
"Human evolution… strengthens the senses?"
It made sense. Magical beasts had racial talents after evolving. Humans could get similar talents, but based on the five senses.
He extended his hand.
A faint shimmer curled around his fingertips—a thread of invisible force.
Illusory power.
He had actually created it.
It wasn't strong enough yet—he needed bronze-level illusory power for armor fusion—but this was the first step.
For the first time, he could see a path forward.
He just had to get stronger.
*
The next two weeks passed in a blur.
While the special training hadn't begun yet, Tianyu used every free moment to train with the cleaning team. He hunted magical beasts daily, learning survival tricks from Sun Xianfeng and real combat tactics from Lei Feiyu.
The wilderness became his classroom.
Silver Wolf became his blade.
And every day, he sharpened both.
"Xiao Hui, Wolf Howling Bomb!"
"Sun Xianfeng, take the right flank!"
He fought, learned, and adapted quickly. The cleaning team no longer treated him as a newcomer—they treated him as one of their own.
Silver Wolf, too, gained enormous experience and strength. Its movements grew sharper, its aura thicker, and its instincts deadlier.
Time moved quickly.
Before Tianyu realized it, only two days remained before the school's special training began.
The team was camping near a rocky hillside when a shadow passed overhead.
Someone shouted first: ,"Red-spotted goshawks—why are they here?!"
Instantly, everyone shot to their feet.
Tianyu's eyes widened.
Red-spotted goshawks were massive birds—four-meter wingspans, razor-sharp talons, and explosive speed. Individually they were annoying—but in groups…
Lei Feiyu's voice grew tense. "Everyone, stay alert! There are MANY of them!"
Ten goshawks circled overhead.
The cleaning team had only six members.
Even for trained veterans, this was dangerous.
But Tianyu's blood rushed with excitement.
Finally—something strong enough to really push Silver Wolf.