The Mingzhu Ability Academy offers specialized courses that teach students how to assess the danger level of Mutated Beasts.

Once an animal becomes a Mutated Beast, its eyes become more expressive. As its supernatural abilities grow, its eyes exhibit a distinctive glow. This glow is invisible during the day but becomes observable at night upon close inspection.

Beginner-Level Mutated Beasts exhibit a faint white glow in their pupils at night, and the brightness of this glow indicates their rank. As they progress to Intermediate Level, the glow diminishes and transitions from white to green. Advanced Level Mutated Beasts display a blue glow, while Top-Level ones emit red.

Zhang Ping, an inexperienced Awakener, couldn’t precisely gauge the ranks of Mutated Beasts by the brightness of their glow. However, the light in the eyes of the Skyborn Foxes allowed him to approximate their levels. Based on his observations, the Skyborn Foxes in the city generally ranged from Intermediate Level to Advanced Level, equivalent to levels 19 to 25.

Unfortunately, the Skyborn Foxes hadn’t inherited the innate talents of the Nine-Tailed Fox, which would have made determining their levels much simpler and more accurate.

In the wild, certain Mutated Beasts don’t require their eye glow to assess their rank. For instance, the Nine-Tailed Fox develops additional tails as it advances. A Beginner-Level Nine-Tailed Fox will have two tails, progressing to three or four tails at Intermediate Level, five or six at Advanced Level, and seven or eight at Top Level. It is said that the King-Level Nine-Tailed Fox boasts nine tails, making their level easy to determine by count alone.

There are similar ways to judge Awakeners. As far as Zhang Ping knew, fire-element Awakeners at the initial stages had the easiest method to measure their own rank. A Level 1 fire user could summon a single basketball-sized fireball, Level 2 could summon two, and so on, up to nine fireballs at Level 9. This straightforward progression changed at Level 10, where Intermediate-Level Awakeners experienced a qualitative shift in their powers, making rank determination less apparent.

Taking advantage of the night, Zhang Ping documented information about the Skyborn Foxes in the vicinity and returned to the academy. Over the next few days, he focused on gathering data on the city’s Skyborn Foxes, centering his efforts around the school. However, he couldn’t help but notice something odd: several Skyborn Foxes were only at the Beginner Level, yet they managed to elude even Advanced-Level Awakeners.

"Another beginner fox!" Zhang Ping muttered to himself while crouching in a corner near the academy, watching a Skyborn Fox whose eyes glowed faintly white in the distance.

No matter how powerful a Beginner-Level Mutated Beast’s ability was, it couldn’t overcome the inherent level suppression against a higher-ranked opponent. For instance, a Beginner-Level Awakener with ‘Mind Control’ would find it nearly impossible to seriously harm an Intermediate-Level Awakener. Even if control were achieved, it wouldn’t last more than a few seconds before being broken, potentially resulting in a backlash.

Zhang Ping recalled how Mr. Chen, their practical training instructor and an Intermediate-Level Awakener, had easily handled the entire class during a lesson. Their collective efforts failed to inflict significant harm, a result of both his experience and the natural suppression of higher ranks.

This raised a critical question. How could Beginner-Level Mutated Beasts prey on humans in the city while Intermediate-Level and Advanced-Level Awakeners remained unaware? Theoretically, no matter how strong a Skyborn Fox’s abilities were, they couldn’t suppress beings of higher rank. Yet, based on Zhang Ping’s observations, these Beginner-Level Mutated Beasts roamed the city freely, feeding on humans, without drawing any attention.

There was clearly information he was missing—something crucial.

After glancing at another Beginner-Level Mutated Beast walking nonchalantly down the street, Zhang Ping slipped away into the night and headed back to school. By now, he had pieced together a rough understanding of the situation. At least sixteen streets around the academy had been infiltrated by Skyborn Foxes, with over fifty confirmed sightings. Outside the school, the strongest Skyborn Fox he encountered was likely between levels 25 and 27, while the weakest, a young cub, was only level 5 and often spotted near the food street.

Within the academy, however, there was a Skyborn Fox disguised as a teacher whose level surpassed 29—a terrifyingly powerful existence. Yet even that paled compared to the Skyborn Fox that had killed Luo Shiyu.

Zhang Ping didn’t dare to use his Identification Skill on it. Each time he tried, an overwhelming sense of danger stopped him. He felt certain that the moment he activated the skill, the creature would lock onto him immediately. This wasn’t a mere illusion.

In his heart, Zhang Ping speculated that the one responsible for Luo Shiyu’s death was likely a Top-Level Mutated Beast.

"Now that I’ve gathered enough information, it’s clear I can’t handle all these Skyborn Foxes on my own," Zhang Ping thought as he did push-ups in his dorm. "The problem is, their abilities are so bizarre that even low-level Skyborn Foxes can easily deceive Advanced-Level Awakeners. Without solid evidence, no one will believe me."

"The only solution is to kill a Skyborn Fox and present it as proof. With evidence, I might attract the attention of stronger individuals."

However, hunting a Skyborn Fox would undoubtedly alert the others. Zhang Ping wasn’t confident he could escape unscathed after killing one. As he pondered his options, he sighed inwardly. "I’m still too weak. If I were stronger, I wouldn’t have so many concerns. In the end, my lack of strength is the real obstacle."

"Five hundred more sit-ups!" Zhang Ping gritted his teeth and pushed himself harder.

He had been consuming two Contract Gems daily, but no new talents had awakened. Still, his increasing potential made his training more effective. It was this constant sense of improvement that kept despair at bay.

Deep down, Zhang Ping knew the truth: this city had already fallen. It was no longer controlled by humans but by the Skyborn Foxes.

The next day.

Zhang Ping opened his eyes, realizing that he had woken up even earlier than usual.

It was just past 4 a.m., and the sky was still dark. The track was deserted, with only his rhythmic footsteps echoing in the silence.

The chilly wind brushed against him, evoking a fleeting sense of familiarity, as if he were back in the campus life of his previous existence.

If only there were no Skyborn Fox.

The thought of the murdered children and students clenched his fists instinctively.

Suddenly, his foot landed on something unfamiliar. Turning back, he saw a ring lying on the ground.

"Abandon the morning run. Act freely," Zhang Ping instructed himself mentally before retracing his steps to pick up the object.

It was a pitch-black ring, seemingly ordinary but exquisitely crafted, with intricate patterns that hinted at something far from mundane.

"Identify," he whispered.

Identification failed.

"Identify!"

Identification failed.

His surprise deepened.

Ordinary objects rarely resisted identification, yet this ring had defied him twice.

Zhang Ping persisted. After more than ten attempts, the results finally came through:

[Identification Complete]

[Assassin Ring: When worn, the wearer becomes subconsciously ignored by all living beings, except Advanced-Level Awakeners and above.]

As the results appeared, Zhang Ping’s vision blurred, and a scene unfolded before him:

An elderly man with a head of white hair pressed the ring with one hand and a sinister, bound man with the other.

Golden light radiated from the elder’s palms, and the bound man writhed in agony, his seven orifices bleeding as he let out a blood-curdling scream. Crimson streaks of energy were extracted from his body, merging into the ring.

The vision shifted.

Now, Zhang Ping saw a man in white robes wearing a black mask, engaged in combat with ‘Luo Shiyu’ on the track. However, the masked man was clearly outmatched. He not only lost three fingers but also had a kidney forcibly removed.

Before Zhang Ping could see the conclusion, the vision abruptly ended.

"Uh-oh!"

The scene ended abruptly.

Zhang Ping snapped back to reality. Could this ring have been a trap left behind by the Skyborn Fox?

He quickly glanced toward the girls' dormitory but found no sign of the Skyborn Fox. Forcing himself to stay calm, he discreetly slid the ring onto his finger.

Whether or not it was a trap didn’t matter—he had already picked it up. Throwing it away now would only draw more suspicion.

With dawn still a few hours away and the effects of Night Walker active, he needed to return to his dormitory immediately.

Zhang Ping made his decision. Turning swiftly, he vanished into the night.

At the corner of the playground wall, a Skyborn Fox yawned lazily, momentarily distracted.

Something felt off. Snapping to attention, it looked toward the playground. After rubbing its eyes, it realized the ring was gone.

"Not good!"

It leapt into the playground, crouching low to sniff the surrounding scents carefully.

The air was filled with mixed odors, but the Skyborn Fox could distinguish the timing of each scent. However, after a thorough search, it instinctively 'overlooked' one particular scent, leaving it with no leads.

"No one’s been here?"

"Impossible!"

For a moment, the Skyborn Fox was dumbfounded.

It had been following Luo Shiyu’s orders, keeping watch on the playground all night. Even during brief distractions, it remained alert to any movement. How could the ring have vanished into thin air?

"No, someone must have been here. To evade me, they’d need to be at least an Intermediate Level Awakener or higher!"

The Skyborn Fox steadied itself, its narrow, sly eyes narrowing further. It scanned the area but found no suspicious tracks. Turning away, it headed toward the girls' dormitory.

Boys' dormitory.

From his balcony, Zhang Ping watched the Skyborn Fox leave the playground, breathing a small sigh of relief.

Luckily, it was still dark at this hour, just past four in the morning. His presence was nearly undetectable, and wearing the Assassin Ring further diminished it.

From the Skyborn Fox's confused behavior, it was clear that it hadn’t detected him. For now, he was safe.

However, he couldn't risk wearing the Assassin Ring during the day. If Luo Shiyu discovered it, he’d be in real danger.

"So, I’m not the only one who’s noticed Mutated Beasts in the city."

Zhang Ping stepped back into his room, gazing at the Assassin Ring on his finger, lost in thought.

Clearly, the man in white had also noticed the infiltration of Mutated Beasts into the city. But why did he target Luo Shiyu? Could Luo Shiyu hold some special significance among the Skyborn Foxes?

And was there an organization behind the man in white?

"I need more intel."

Zhang Ping rubbed the ring with his fingers. Realizing he couldn’t figure everything out now, he dropped the matter and lay down, determined not to overthink it.

The Assassin Ring, however, made him realize that strength wasn’t limited to personal power. Mingzhu City harbored many magical pieces of equipment.

Most of these items were crafted by Forge Masters and imbued with unique abilities.

His past self—an orphan—had never come across such equipment, and thus his memories held no knowledge of them.

What the original Zhang Ping didn’t know, neither could he.

"I’ll head out tonight to investigate the prices of these items."

With a new goal in mind, Zhang Ping glanced at his clock. It was just after five in the morning—enough time for a quick nap.

He closed his eyes, commanding himself to sleep, and drifted off in no time.

"Zhang Ping, danger! Wake up!"

Half-asleep, Zhang Ping saw Su Jingyao.

Her figure was blurry, except for her clear, water-like eyes. Her delicate almond-shaped eyes stared at him anxiously.

A dream?

No—something was off!

Wake up!

On his bed, Zhang Ping’s eyes flew open.

Without hesitation, he slipped the Assassin Ring off his finger, shoved it into his mouth, and swallowed it. Then he pretended to fall back asleep.

Minutes later, the door swung open.

Luo Shiyu strolled into the dormitory, unhurried.

It wandered around the room before stopping in front of Zhang Ping, staring down at him with a level gaze.