Clone Ascension

Evan and FangBro walked at the back of the freshman formation, listening carefully as the instructors explained wilderness survival.

These instructors were seasoned border soldiers.

Their evolution levels weren’t necessarily high,

but their real‑combat experience and survival instincts were unmatched.

Everything they taught was basic—yet extremely practical.

“You’re all top students of Dongli University.

Most of you will become powerful evolvers in the future.

“So in the wild, your greatest enemy

is not harsh weather,

nor lack of food or water.

“No storm will kill you.

You won’t starve.

“Your greatest threat

is always other living beings.”

He emphasized the words.

“Because what threatens you

is not only beasts and spirit plants—

but also humans.”

Many freshmen looked confused.

The instructor continued:

“You’ve all heard about the ‘Filthbearers’ incident online.

They’re traitors to humanity—

vermin who love ambushing evolvers in the wild

and turning them into extracts.

“And elites like you from Dongli University

are their favorite prey.”

A chill ran down many students’ spines.

Evan remained expressionless.

He had already dealt with the Filthsoil Organization.

The instructor was right—

those sewer rats loved hunting human geniuses.

The instructor went on:

“Besides Filthbearers,

you’ll encounter other human evolvers in the wild.

“They may be hunters from other nations,

or private hunting squads from major factions.

“You never know why they might attack you—

maybe for your valuables,

maybe because they hate Dongli citizens,

or maybe because they’ve been in the wild too long

and took a liking to your body.

“Don’t laugh.

This happens to both men and women.

“So remember—

strangers in the wild

can be more dangerous than beasts.”

Just then, a battered hunting squad appeared ahead—

seven or eight people, clothes torn, stained with blood,

several of them wounded.

The instructors and teachers subtly stepped in front of the students.

One of the hunters raised a Dongli military salute from afar,

signaling they were Dongli citizens and meant no harm.

As they approached, several instructors recognized them.

“Old Fang? Why are there so few of you left?”

A middle‑aged man covered in blood sighed.

“We found a Honey‑Pot Ant nest…

with evolved Honey‑Pot Ants.”

Honey‑Pot Ant nest?

Evolved Honey‑Pot Ants?

The instructors’ eyes lit up.

“That should be good news.

Your squad had thirteen or fourteen people when you left.

With your strength, you should’ve handled it.

So what happened—”

A fiery‑tempered female hunter cursed:

“Damn it!

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

We almost had it!

Then a bunch of little brats showed up!

Got half our team killed!

If someone hadn’t stopped me,

I would’ve chopped them up!”

Old Fang waved his hand.

“Forget it.

We were unlucky.

We’ll just divide the earnings among the families of the dead.”

An instructor frowned.

“Someone attacked you?”

Old Fang shook his head and explained.

He was a veteran hunter from Fenshire City,

a peak Cocoon‑tier evolver.

He had formed a reliable hunting squad over the years.

This time, they entered Bloodsoil Forest as usual.

Their entire squad consisted of Cocoon‑tier evolvers—

strong enough as long as they avoided the core region.

They were lucky.

After several days of hunting,

they discovered a Honey‑Pot Ant nest.

Not all animals could evolve into beasts—

just like not all humans could become evolvers.

For ants and bees,

only a tiny portion of the colony evolved.

A nest might have thousands of ants,

but only a dozen or so would become beasts.

Honey‑Pot Ants were special.

Their large worker ants stored nectar in their swollen, translucent abdomens—

like living honey jars.

Once they evolved,

the nectar inside transformed into natural evolution medicine.

Non‑evolved ants who consumed this nectar

had a much higher chance of evolving.

Thus, once a Honey‑Pot Ant nest produced one evolved ant,

the number of evolved Honey‑Pot Ants would rapidly increase.

And according to evolution scholars,

this evolved nectar was effective on humans too.

Long‑term consumption

increased the success rate of human evolution.

The higher the ant’s evolution tier,

the stronger the nectar.

Old Fang said:

“There was a Tier‑3 Honey‑Pot Ant in that nest.”

Everyone was shocked.

Tier‑1 Honey‑Pot Ants were common.

Tier‑2 were rare.

Tier‑3 were almost mythical.

Tier‑1 nectar only helped early evolvers.

Tier‑2 nectar was extremely expensive.

Tier‑3 nectar was priceless—

a miracle drug that could help Butterfly‑tier evolvers

break into Saint‑tier.

A Tier‑3 Honey‑Pot Ant

was a fortune.

An instructor said:

“Honey‑Pot Ants aren’t strong fighters.

Even Tier‑3 ones.

Your squad should’ve handled it.”

Old Fang nodded.

“That’s what we thought.

We set traps,

planned to lure the Tier‑3 ant into a kill zone,

and block the Tier‑2 ants with obstacles.

“We wanted a quick kill—

take the loot and leave.

“But just as we were about to finish it,

a group of people rushed into the nest

and destroyed our barriers.

“They didn’t attack us,

but they let the Tier‑2 ants swarm us.

“We lost half our team escaping.”

Obviously, those people came to steal the kill—

ruining Old Fang’s plan

so they could take the Tier‑3 ant for themselves.

Director Warren Pierce frowned.

“Who were they?”

Old Fang replied:

“A group of students and teachers.

Judging by their uniforms—

Linhaven Noble Academy.”

So they were from the Dominion of Linhaven.

No wonder they acted so arrogantly.

Evan had heard of Linhaven’s arrogance—

some of them divided the entire continent

into “Linhaven people” and “outsiders.”

To them,

the lives of Dongli citizens meant nothing.

The instructors comforted Old Fang,

though they all knew

reporting the incident would change nothing.

Linhaven Noble Academy students

were wealthy, powerful,

and protected by strong evolvers.

Old Fang’s squad had no background.

They could only swallow the loss.

The Dongli freshmen finally understood

why the instructor warned them:

Beware of humans.

Old Fang’s squad survived countless beasts—

only to be ruined by people

with no grudge against them.

…

The Dongli University training group continued deeper into Bloodsoil Forest.

Along the way,

they encountered weak beasts,

which the instructors captured

to demonstrate combat techniques.

The deeper they went,

the denser the forest became,

and the more beasts appeared.

But Bloodsoil Forest was vast.

Even after half a day,

they were still in the outer region.

By dusk,

they reached a clearing

and set up camp.

Some students pitched tents.

Others—like Evan—

simply found a clean patch of ground.

They roasted beast meat,

shared food,

and relaxed.

As Evan ate a roasted rabbit leg

handed to him by a girl,

an instructor stepped forward.

“Today’s theory lessons are done.

Tomorrow we test your combat ability.

“You’ll form teams of twenty.

Each team must hunt three Tier‑1 beasts.”

Silence fell.

Only fewer than a hundred freshmen

had completed their first evolution.

The rest were still ordinary humans

with a few extracts absorbed.

Facing Tier‑1 beasts terrified them.

Many looked toward the Cocoon‑tier students for help.

More looked toward Evan.

But Director Warren Pierce cut them off:

“Evan and Yalga will not join any team.

You two will work together

and hunt two Tier‑2 beasts.”

Evan raised both hands in approval.

He didn’t want to babysit Tier‑1 fights anyway.

And this gave him the perfect excuse

to slip away with FangBro

to hunt the Gravity Demon.

That night,

the instructors patrolled the camp.

The exhausted freshmen slept soundly.

Evan lay on a large rock,

staring at the stars—

not because he wanted to,

but because several students snored

with terrifying volume.

FangBro had vanished somewhere

to practice Swan Dance again.

Evan had no one to talk to.

Suddenly,

a tent flap opened.

A girl peeked out.

“Evan… want to sleep inside with me?”

Evan blinked.

Girls these days were bold.

He stood up immediately.

“Can you keep quiet?”

The girl giggled.

“What are you thinking?

I just thought you’d sleep better inside.

I have two sleeping bags.”

“Never mind.”

Evan refused instantly.

This was a trap no man could pass.

Just then—

someone appeared beside him like a ghost.

Evan almost jumped.

It was FangBro.

He whispered excitedly:

“Boss…

I evolved successfully.”