Chapter Summaries

After reaching level 10, Shen Hao gained the Demon Bloodline talent and learned that Fear Points could be converted into demon power. As the school transformed into a blood-red ritual ground, Jiang Zhennan sacrificed Shen Hao to the Bloodied Sovereign, and the castle gates opened.

• Shen Hao reached level 10, gained the Demon Bloodline talent, and saw his Constitution rise to 60.
• The school turned blood-red as the blood banquet ritual began, and Shen Hao sensed that the hunt was starting.
• Jiang Zhennan confronted Shen Hao, revealed that he had sacrificed him to the Bloodied Sovereign, and vanished without attacking.
• The school's buildings and trees melted together to form a blood-red castle, while Shen Hao recalled Xiaobai and his classmates gathered nearby.
• The castle gates opened, signaling that the most terrifying part of the ritual was about to begin.

Shen Hao and his classmates were compelled to enter the Blood-Red Castle, where they found a banquet hall and realized they might be food for the Bloodied Sovereign. As a figure began to appear in blood mist around the throne, Shen Hao and the terrified students faced the castle’s ruler.

• The classmates panicked at the sight of the Blood-Red Castle, while Shen Hao mocked their fear and refused to save them.
• One by one, the classmates lost control of their bodies and walked toward the castle, leaving Shen Hao alone outside as his spirit attribute steadily fell.
• Shen Hao chose to enter the castle willingly, which stopped his spirit attribute from dropping and caused it to rise again.
• Shen Hao followed the central passage into a banquet hall, where he found his classmates gathered around a dining table and a portrait of the Bloodied Sovereign.
• Shen Hao told the classmates they were likely to be eaten, deepening their terror, as blood mist spread through the hall and a figure appeared by the throne.

Shen Hao confronted the Bloodied Sovereign during the Blood Banquet Ritual, discovering that the monster controlled the castle and had already trapped everyone inside its body. As the Bloodied Sovereign spread through the castle and began devouring the guests, Shen Hao freed himself with the Demon Blade but remained vastly outmatched.

• Shen Hao inflamed the trapped guests’ fear by warning them that the Bloodied Sovereign would eat them, gaining more than five hundred Fear Points.
• The Bloodied Sovereign pulled Shen Hao into the blood mist, where Shen Hao saw the monster and the immense force sealed beyond the gate.
• Shen Hao cut off the Bloodied Sovereign’s arm with the Demon Blade, but the monster struck him out of the mist and then tried to make him cut his own throat.
• Shen Hao possessed a crying girl and attacked the Bloodied Sovereign again, but the monster threw her aside and roared at him for interfering.
• The Bloodied Sovereign spread blood mist through the castle, making its floors and walls consume the guests as Shen Hao realized the castle was part of the monster.
• Shen Hao stabbed the ground with the Demon Blade and freed his legs from the castle, but he realized the blade could not overcome the Bloodied Sovereign’s immense body.

Shen Hao upgraded Immortal Body while trapped inside the Bloodied Sovereign’s living castle, then endured the evil god’s attempt to control and digest him. He replaced his left eye with the Demon Eye, which made the Bloodied Sovereign afraid.

• Shen Hao converted 1,000 Fear Points into Demon Power and raised Immortal Body to level 2.
• The Bloodied Sovereign’s castle transformed into living flesh that tried to digest Shen Hao, and he cut a shrinking refuge with the Demon Blade.
• The Bloodied Sovereign summoned Shen Hao and tentacles restrained him, forcing him to resist as his spirit attribute rapidly fell.
• Shen Hao pulled out his left eye and inserted the Demon Eye from his inventory, which joined with his body.
• The castle stopped writhing, and Shen Hao saw fear on the Bloodied Sovereign’s face as it reacted to the Demon Eye.

Shen Hao used Gaze into Death to kill the Bloodied Sovereign’s manifestation and discovered that Jiang Zhennan’s barrier still trapped the school. He confronted Jiang Zhennan, who summoned giant warriors, and activated his Demon Eye as the fight began.

• Shen Hao used Gaze into Death to snap the Bloodied Sovereign’s death-line, destroying the castle and killing the evil god’s manifestation.
• Shen Hao found the unconscious students alive, collected Fallen Deity’s Blood, and discovered that Jiang Zhennan’s power still prevented him from leaving the school.
• Shen Hao called Jiang Zhennan out and provoked him over his son’s death, prompting Jiang Zhennan to summon enormous armored warriors inside his domain.
• Shen Hao cut Jiang Zhennan in half with the Demon Blade, but Jiang Zhennan reappeared behind him and claimed he could not be killed in his domain.
• Shen Hao activated Gaze into Death, causing Jiang Zhennan to sense danger and fear as the giant warriors attacked.

Shen Hao killed Jiang Zhennan by collapsing his lifeline, then pretended to be unconscious when Xia Bing and an Alliance Guild leader arrived. The newcomers found Jiang Zhennan dead and the students alive, while the leader claimed he had just killed a cultist and asked Shen Hao if he had seen it.

• Jiang Zhennan ordered his giant warriors to attack Shen Hao, but Shen Hao touched the death points on Jiang Zhennan’s lifeline and caused it to collapse.
• Jiang Zhennan’s domain warriors vanished, and Jiang Zhennan died; Shen Hao gained 1,000 Fear Points.
• Shen Hao lay down among his unconscious classmates and pretended not to know what had happened, while the Demon Power in his left eye ran out.
• Xia Bing and a bearded Alliance Guild leader arrived, recognized Jiang Zhennan’s corpse, and confirmed that the students were alive.
• Shen Hao pretended to wake up and denied knowing how Jiang Zhennan died; the leader then asked whether Shen Hao had seen him kill a cultist.

After Jiang Zhennan’s death, Sun Wanli persuaded Shen Hao and Xia Bing to share credit for the kill and devised a cover story for the Alliance Guild. As Sun Wanli arranged for Shen Hao to join Xia Bing’s team and ordered a routine background check, he admitted he did not intend to investigate who had really killed Jiang Zhennan.

• Shen Hao agreed with Sun Wanli that the three of them would claim credit for killing Jiang Zhennan, while Sun Wanli would be named the main contributor.
• Sun Wanli made up a shared account of the fight, and Shen Hao and Xia Bing agreed to repeat it.
• Sun Wanli boasted to the arriving branch guildmasters about Zhongzhou Branch’s achievement, prompting them to leave in frustration.
• Xia Bing told Sun Wanli she had arranged for the unconscious students to be taken to the hospital.
• After driving Shen Hao home, Sun Wanli told Xia Bing to check Shen Hao’s background and said he would transfer him to her team for development.

Shen Hao improved Possession and upgraded Xiaobai before receiving his Alliance Guild rewards and rising to B-rank. He was then matched with the S-rank Qingshui Village dungeon, where he suspected he would play the Headless Knight.

• Shen Hao spent Demon Power to raise Possession to level 2 and upgrade Xiaobai, whose new aura gradually weakened nearby enemies' spirits and made them easier to frighten.
• Shen Hao received 3 million yuan from Jiang Zhennan's bounty and was promoted to B-rank in the Alliance Guild.
• Sun Wanli transferred Shen Hao to the Field Operations Department and placed him on Xia Bing's team, despite Shen Hao's protest.
• Shen Hao received notice that he would enter the S-rank Qingshui Village dungeon in 24 hours and searched the Alliance Guild's internal website for a guide.
• Shen Hao read that a Headless Knight had roamed Qingshui Village at night, beheading anyone who saw him, and suspected he would take that role.

Shen Hao bought and studied all eight incomplete guides to clearing Qingshui Village, learning the Headless Knight’s weaknesses and how to obtain the tools needed to defeat him. Though the guides suggested the dungeon was now conquerable, Shen Hao believed his arrival as a Demon would change everything.

• Shen Hao learned that viewing the guides was expensive, then spent 970,000 yuan to buy all eight.
• The first two guides warned that the villagers worshipped the goddess fanatically, the statue could erode players’ spirit, and provoking the villagers could be deadly.
• The third and fourth guides revealed that the Headless Knight emerged beneath a dead tree at dusk and could be suppressed with holy water from beneath the goddess statue.
• The fifth and sixth guides reported that the Headless Knight revived after death and had once served the Lord of the Netherworld, who was overthrown by the gods.
• The seventh and eighth guides identified the Rusty Bloodstained Greatsword as the weapon that beheaded the Headless Knight and explained that the Bloodstained Holy Grail fueled his power.
• Shen Hao concluded that the dungeon could likely be cleared with the discoveries in the guides, but expected his presence to change the outcome.

Shen Hao entered the Netherworld instance as the Headless Knight, a Demon tasked with hunting players and guarding the Bloodstained Holy Grail. After destroying the Grail and discovering his formidable abilities, he rode out during the day to surprise the arriving players and harvest Fear Points.

• Shen Hao learned that the Netherworld was ruled by gods afflicted by the dead Lord of the Netherworld’s resentment, and realized players and gods would target him if they discovered he was a Demon.
• Shen Hao entered the instance beside the Undead Tree and took the form of the Headless Knight, once a servant of the Lord of the Netherworld.
• Shen Hao found the Bloodstained Holy Grail, put it in his inventory, and crushed it so players could not complete their quest.
• Shen Hao gained the Headless Knight’s Soulfire, Mental Perception, and Undying Will, and discovered that the instance boss’s power was weakened during the day.
• Shen Hao emerged from the Undead Tree, mounted his flaming warhorse, and rode out to ambush the arriving players and collect Fear Points.

Five players entered an S-rank instance and planned to follow an existing walkthrough to defeat the Headless Knight, with Qi Lin’s Boundary System ability and Han Rui’s acting skills giving them confidence. As they approached Qingshui Village, the Headless Knight appeared in broad daylight, before they had gathered the sword or Holy Water.

• Lin Feng recognized Qi Lin from a previous instance, and Su Su and Han Rui introduced themselves to the famous former singer.
• Yan Dahai urged the group to clear the instance using the available walkthrough, and Qi Lin agreed.
• Qi Lin revealed that he had a Boundary System ability, and the group planned to find the sword and Holy Water before nightfall.
• Lin Feng proposed posing as messengers of the goddess to persuade the villagers to help, and Han Rui volunteered to act because she had studied acting.
• As the group headed toward Qingshui Village, they heard hoofbeats and saw the Headless Knight surrounded by eerie green flames in broad daylight.

The group entered the village and Han Rui convinced its fanatical inhabitants that they were messengers of the goddess. They learned where the sword that could slay the Headless Knight was kept, but it vanished before they could take it, and Qi Lin suspected the thief might be the old man who led them there.

• The group saw the Headless Knight during the day, and Qi Lin reasoned that his appearance might give them an advantage.
• The five entered the village and Han Rui claimed they were messengers sent by the goddess to save the villagers.
• When a villager questioned Han Rui, she denounced him as a blasphemer, and the villagers burned and ate him.
• An old man told Han Rui that the longsword was in his house and led her and Yan Dahai inside.
• Qi Lin spotted faint scorch marks forming a trail of footprints near the old man's home, then heard that the sword had disappeared.
• Qi Lin connected the footprints to the missing sword and feared the old man might have taken it.

Qi Lin suspected the Headless Knight had stolen the sword the group needed to clear the dungeon, but the five decided to keep going and retrieve the holy water. They found the villagers attacking them in a frenzy after the goddess statue and its holy-water pool had been destroyed.

• Qi Lin pointed out scorch-mark footprints and suggested the Headless Knight had stolen the sword, and the group resolved to fight on despite the risk.
• Yan Dahai led the five toward the goddess statue to collect holy water while it was still daytime.
• The group encountered enraged villagers, and Han Rui killed one after he lunged at her, but the others kept advancing.
• Qi Lin spotted that the goddess statue had been smashed and its pool destroyed, with scarlet liquid mixing with the spilled holy water.
• The group realized the destruction of the statue had driven the villagers into a frenzy.

After the villagers attacked them, Qi Lin’s group escaped into the eastern forest with Su Su’s help and decided to focus on surviving for three days. They feared the Headless Knight had anticipated their movements, and the sound of approaching hooves left them facing a possible encounter.

• The group found the goddess statue shattered and the sword, Holy Water, and other supplies missing, then the villagers surrounded them.
• Qi Lin chose the eastern forest as an escape route, and Lin Feng broke a gap in the villagers’ encirclement so the group could flee.
• Qi Lin briefly held the villagers back with a barrier, but they broke through and continued chasing the group.
• Su Su used her ability to grow thorny vines into a net that trapped the villagers, giving the group time to travel deeper into the forest.
• Near the dungeon’s edge, Qi Lin’s group decided to hide and survive until the three days were over, while wondering how the Headless Knight knew their plans.
• Hoofbeats sounded nearby, matching the sound the group had heard when they first encountered the Headless Knight.

The group realized the Headless Knight was anticipating their guide-based plans and decided to leave their hiding place for his lair. Shen Hao, using the Knight’s Mental Perception, watched them and planned to deepen their despair for Fear Points.

• The group heard the Headless Knight approach twice, but each time the hoofbeats faded before he found them.
• Yan Dahai proposed that the Headless Knight had read or anticipated their guide, so they should stop following it and abandon the woods.
• The group agreed to go to the Headless Knight’s lair, hoping to find something that could help them survive.
• Shen Hao used Mental Perception to sense the group and reflected on how his power had helped him sabotage their chances.
• Shen Hao chose not to kill them yet, planning instead to push them toward despair and shatter their last hope for more Fear Points.

Yan Dahai led the group to the Headless Knight’s lair, suspecting that the tree might conceal another way to defeat him. After their digging found nothing, Su Su sensed the tree’s roots reaching toward something far underground to the east, and offered to lead them there.

• Yan Dahai brought Qi Lin, Lin Feng, Han Rui, and Su Su to the Headless Knight’s lair before nightfall.
• Yan Dahai guessed that the Headless Knight’s corpse might be buried beneath the dead tree and could be burned to defeat him.
• The group dug a pit around the tree but found no remains, and Yan Dahai suggested they stop.
• Su Su used her mental power to sense that the roots converged deep underground and stretched east for dozens of meters.
• Su Su sensed that the roots connected to something and offered to take the group there.

Su Su led the group to a hidden underground space they believed held the Headless Knight’s remains, but the coffin they found was empty. As hoofbeats sounded above, Lin Feng leaped out of the pit to confront the Headless Knight, determined to fight even if he died.

• Su Su identified a spot beneath the tree, and Yan Dahai and Lin Feng dug through the ground and broke apart the roots covering a hollow space.
• Yan Dahai led the group underground, where they searched the root-filled chamber and Han Rui spotted an object in the darkness.
• Lin Feng confirmed the object was a coffin, and the group opened it, only to find it completely empty.
• Yan Dahai despaired, and Lin Feng struck the coffin in anger as the others lost hope.
• Hoofbeats sounded above, and Lin Feng jumped out of the pit to fight the Headless Knight.

Lin Feng regained his will to live after the Headless Knight nearly killed him, and Qi Lin’s group pulled him behind a barrier to prepare a united fight. The Headless Knight then revealed that he had been disguised as Lin Feng, striking Qi Lin and plunging the group into despair.

• Lin Feng challenged the Headless Knight, but the knight’s near miss restored Lin Feng’s fear of death.
• Lin Feng fought back with his beast ability, but the Headless Knight sent him crashing to the ground.
• Qi Lin and the others shielded Lin Feng with a barrier, and the group resolved to face the Headless Knight together.
• As the group prepared to let the knight inside the barrier, the apparent Lin Feng slashed Qi Lin with a bloodthirsty blade.
• Yan Dahai realized the attacker was the Headless Knight in disguise, and the group understood they had been deceived again.

Shen Hao, possessing the Headless Knight, killed Qi Lin and then pursued the fleeing survivors. Lin Feng died after charging the knight and being burned by its soul-consuming flames, while three prey remained at nightfall.

• Qi Lin died as the rot spread through his body, and the barrier shattered.
• Shen Hao withdrew Possession, and Lin Feng learned that he had killed Qi Lin while controlled by the Headless Knight.
• Lin Feng attacked the Headless Knight as Su Su and the other two survivors fled in separate directions.
• The Headless Knight passed through Lin Feng and pursued Su Su, while eerie flames ignited Lin Feng and burned him to death.
• Shen Hao gained 500 Fear Points from Lin Feng's death and found that the Headless Knight's spirit attribute had risen to 540 at night.

Shen Hao’s Headless Knight hunted down Su Su and killed her by igniting her with Soulfire, earning 1,200 Fear Points. With Xiaobai pursuing the other woman, Shen Hao turned his attention to Yan Dahai.

• Shen Hao sent Xiaobai to track one fleeing prey and chose Su Su as the Headless Knight’s first target.
• The Headless Knight repeatedly cut off Su Su’s escape, while she panicked at the thought of suffering the same kinds of deaths as Qi Lin and Lin Feng.
• Su Su tried to stab herself with a dagger, but the Headless Knight caught the blade and took it from her.
• The Headless Knight embraced Su Su, passed through her, and left Soulfire inside her, causing her to burn to death in terror.
• Shen Hao gained 1,200 Fear Points from Su Su’s death and decided to pursue Yan Dahai while Xiaobai went after the remaining woman.