Clone Ascension

FangBro had completed his third evolution—

he was now a Butterfly‑tier evolver.

Evan felt a surge of relief.

With FangBro’s new strength,

their chances of hunting the Gravity Demon

had increased dramatically.

A Tier‑3 Gravity Demon

wouldn’t be able to threaten FangBro at all.

Everything was ready.

“Then we move tomorrow.”

…

The next morning,

the freshmen split into teams of twenty

for their first wilderness hunt.

Each team had an instructor or teacher escorting them—

not to help,

but to intervene only if lives were in danger.

If an instructor intervened,

the team’s mission was considered a failure.

Evan and FangBro, however,

refused protection.

Director Warren Pierce didn’t insist.

He knew FangBro’s escape abilities were unmatched,

and the instructors were only Cocoon‑tier—

not necessarily stronger than Evan.

“Let’s go.”

Evan signaled FangBro,

and the two vanished underground with Earth‑Dive.

After his third evolution,

FangBro’s stamina had skyrocketed.

Two consecutive Earth‑Dives

brought them near the Thousand‑Hero Mound.

“Rest a bit. We’ll walk the rest,” Evan said.

The Thousand‑Hero Mound was rumored to be strange—

a burial ground for over a thousand evolvers

and countless beasts from the Evolution War.

Evolution energy and residual materials

had seeped into the soil for centuries,

causing bizarre phenomena.

Rumors might be exaggerated,

but Evan didn’t want FangBro

to Earth‑Dive directly into the mound.

After a short break,

they arrived.

The Thousand‑Hero Mound

spanned several football fields.

The soil was pitch‑black—

not pure black,

but the dark, coagulated color

of blood‑soaked earth.

Outside the mound, vegetation thrived.

Inside, nothing grew.

Pits and holes littered the ground,

bones—human and beast—scattered everywhere.

It looked less like a sacred burial ground

and more like a massive, desecrated graveyard.

Treasure hunters had dug here for centuries.

Some believed relics of fallen evolvers remained.

Others believed the corpses,

infused with evolution energy,

might become rare materials.

And indeed,

a few lucky people had found treasures here—

which only attracted more treasure hunters.

Even now,

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Evan saw several figures digging in the black soil.

But he wasn’t here for treasure.

After hundreds of years of excavation,

anything valuable was long gone.

“We’ll dive three to four thousand meters down,” Evan said.

“Let’s go straight for the Gravity Demon.”

FangBro nodded

and grabbed Evan’s arm to Earth‑Dive—

—but his expression changed.

“Earth‑Dive doesn’t work.”

He kicked the black soil.

“This isn’t normal soil.

At least… not pure soil.”

Evan frowned.

So the Thousand‑Hero Mound really was strange.

“Then we dive from outside the mound.”

The black soil couldn’t extend thousands of meters deep.

Their target was beneath the mound,

not the mound itself.

They moved outside the boundary

and Earth‑Dived again—

this time successfully.

But after descending only a dozen meters,

FangBro stopped.

Someone had dug tunnels underground.

The two stood in a man‑made passage

with multiple branching tunnels

leading toward the mound.

Someone else had used Earth‑Dive

to reach this depth

and carved tunnels inward.

Evan tapped the black soil wall.

It was harder than surface soil—

almost like rock.

Just as the rumors said—

the deeper the black soil extended,

the harder it became.

Digging straight down from the surface

would take forever.

Earth‑Dive saved a lot of effort.

Evan stepped into one of the narrow tunnels,

took one glance,

and immediately backed out.

The underground beneath the mound

was a maze—

tunnels everywhere,

like a giant sieve.

Anything valuable

had been dug out long ago.

FangBro continued Earth‑Diving downward.

But everywhere they went,

they found more tunnels.

After circling the mound’s underground perimeter,

they realized the black soil

extended downward like a massive inverted cone,

hundreds of meters deep.

The upper half was riddled with tunnels.

The lower half was untouched—

the soil too hard for most people to dig.

They descended deeper.

At around 100 meters,

they encountered underground beasts—

Giant‑Toothed Moles,

Magma Worms,

Burrow Rats.

These creatures were drawn

to the evolution‑rich black soil,

chewing on it lazily.

At 200 meters,

the beasts grew stronger—

mostly Tier‑2.

“Someone’s here,” FangBro whispered.

Evan heard it too.

From a tunnel carved into the black soil,

sounds of fighting echoed.

Moments later,

four figures emerged.

Three were young students

wearing uniforms labeled:

Linhaven Noble Academy

Behind them was a buzz‑cut middle‑aged man—

their instructor.

One student held a large squirrel‑like beast.

“With this Treasure‑Seeker Rat,

our chances of finding good stuff just skyrocketed.”

Treasure‑Seeker Rats were rare Tier‑2 evolutions

of Burrow Rats—

highly sensitive to evolution materials.

Extremely valuable.

The four soon noticed Evan and FangBro.

In the darkness,

everyone used evolution light to illuminate—

making their tiers obvious.

Two students emitted red light—Cocoon‑tier.

One emitted orange—Chrysalis‑tier.

Their instructor emitted yellow—Butterfly‑tier.

The instructor immediately shielded his students,

eyeing FangBro’s yellow glow warily.

Evan didn’t know

if these were the ones who sabotaged Old Fang’s squad—

and he didn’t care.

He disliked Linhaven Noble Academy,

but he wasn’t going to avenge strangers.

And honestly—

he might not win.

FangBro’s yellow glow looked intimidating,

but in a real fight,

he’d just run.

“Let’s go.”

They passed without a word

and continued downward.

At 300 meters,

they encountered Tier‑3 beasts—

Hell Centipedes,

Abyss Serpents—

aggressive and deadly.

Fortunately, FangBro was fast.

They avoided danger.

At 400 meters,

they found a colony of Burrow Spiders—

a rare species that evolved communal behavior.

Sticky webs covered the area.

Evan and FangBro barely avoided getting caught.

If trapped,

the spiders would swarm,

inject venom,

and wrap prey in silk

for storage.

“We should just dive straight to three thousand meters,” Evan said.

“No point exploring slowly.

Who knows what else we’ll run into.”

FangBro nodded.

“Then let’s Earth‑Dive straight to three or four thousand meters

and check the situation.”