Chapter Summaries

After Bella burned his soul and died, Locke returned to Blood River Prefecture and decided to accelerate the Demon Castle network’s expansion to prepare for threats from the Lord Gods. He summoned Little White to arrange the collection of the network’s Ink Stones, learning that the shipment would take about seventy years.

• Bella admitted he had chosen the wrong path and asked Locke to spare his relatives, and Locke advised them to leave Hell for a Material Plane.
• Bella burned his soul and died, leaving behind a Destruction High Godhead, which Locke collected before leaving the Battle Arena.
• Locke returned to the Demon Castle, gave Little White a Space Ring of refined Amethyst Crystals, and withdrew to the highest floor.
• Spectators discussed Locke and Bella’s battle, while Locke was relieved that none of the seven Lord Gods’ Spiritual Senses contacted him.
• Locke decided to offer one drop of Lord God Power for each new Demon Castle and planned to refine his Ink Stones to fund the expansion.
• Little White estimated that transporting all available Ink Stones from the existing Demon Castles to Blood River Prefecture would take about seventy years.

Locke arranged challenges to ten prefect lords while preparing to refine Sovereign Power from the Ink Stones collected across Hell. After refining the Sovereign Power from one trillion five hundred billion Ink Stones, he condensed it into a single drop and estimated that Sovereigns used about one trillion Ink Stones per drop.

• Locke told Little White to arrange an escort mission and send challenges to the ten nearest prefectures, with each battle scheduled a thousand years apart.
• News of Locke’s victory over Bella Kex spread through Hell, earning him the title “Legendary Asura” as prefect lords accepted his challenges.
• Little White gathered Ink Stones from the Demon Castles, and Locke received deliveries from eighty percent of them after a little over fifty years.
• Locke refined the Sovereign Power in successive batches of Ink Stones, destroying the stones after extracting their power.
• After processing one trillion five hundred billion Ink Stones, Locke condensed the fading black flame into a drop of Sovereign Power and concluded that the ratio was roughly one drop per trillion Ink Stones.

Locke refined the Ink Stones accumulated by Demon Castle into more than thirty drops of Sovereign's Might while his other selves traveled through Hell. After accepting a rescue mission that might involve soul mutation, his Destiny Divine Clone reached the Black Stone Tribe and met its two remaining Low-grade Gods.

• Locke refined Sovereign's Might until he had more than thirty drops, using up the Ink Stones in over thirty thousand Space Rings.
• Locke sent his Water Element Divine Clone to expand Demon Castle while his Destiny Divine Clone and Saint Domain true body traveled through Hell.
• Locke accepted a Demon mission to rescue Oakes, the unconscious leader of the Black Stone Tribe, hoping to investigate a Soul Attack or possible soul mutation.
• Locke's Destiny Divine Clone reached the Black Stone Tribe and revealed his aura, prompting Japar and Koster to greet him respectfully.

Locke saved Oakes from a failing soul mutation by using ten Amethyst Crystals, and Oakes completed the transformation. The next day, Oakes thanked Locke but worried that the Black Stone Tribe could not repay the enormous cost.

• Japar and Koster brought Locke to the Black Stone Tribe’s leader, Oakes, whose soul was failing during a mutation.
• Locke used soulfire to refine Soul Power from Amethyst Crystals and help Oakes’s soul recover and continue mutating.
• Locke spent a week using ten Amethyst Crystals to complete Oakes’s soul mutation and restore him.
• Locke rested and meditated while Oakes recovered, then Oakes visited him the next day to express his gratitude.
• Oakes learned that Locke had used ten Amethyst Crystals and worried that the Black Stone Tribe could not afford to repay him.

Locke recruited Oakes after learning that his completed Soul Mutation had given him greater potential, and promised to nurture him and support the Black Stone Tribe. Oakes accepted, and Locke gave him three wind-element Godheads for his wife Yagonia before Oakes returned to tell the tribe about his new allegiance.

• Oakes offered to repay Locke for the Amethyst Crystals, but Locke instead invited him to swear loyalty and promised to nurture him and reward his brothers if he advanced.
• Oakes accepted Locke's offer, recalling how he had protected the Black Stone Tribe by using its Ink Stones to buy Godheads for Japar and Koster.
• Locke gave Oakes three wind-element Godheads for Yagonia, and Oakes pledged his life to Locke.
• Locke told Oakes to inform the Black Stone Tribe that he would spend more time cultivating at Locke's side and leave the tribe's affairs to others.
• Oakes explained the arrangement to Japar, Koster, and Yagonia, and they accepted his service to Locke while hoping he would grow stronger.

Oakes received Locke’s explanation of Soul Variants and began cultivating the water element, while Yagonia received three wind-element godheads to advance toward High Godhood. Oakes later became a god without weakening his soul, gaining another divine clone as Locke continued researching how to induce soul mutation.

• Oakes gave Yagonia three wind-element godheads from Locke and urged her to refine them so she could become a High God and help avenge her father.
• Locke explained that Oakes’s wind-and-water Soul Variant could fuse divine powers, then directed him to cultivate the water element to godhood first.
• Oakes agreed to follow Locke’s cultivation plan, and Locke returned to studying soul mutation as he prepared to induce it in himself.
• Oakes became a god through the Law of Heaven and Earth and gained another divine clone without choosing to become a god outside his body.
• Japar and Koster congratulated Oakes on gaining his new divine clone.

Oakes became a Water God and received two Mid-grade Godheads from Locke, then earned renown by defeating five God-level challengers. Locke later told Oakes that becoming a god within his body had cost him the chance to gain a third Divine Clone, but admitted his claim about fusing three divine powers was a lie.

• Oakes cultivated the Water Law to godhood, and Locke rewarded him with two Mid-grade Godheads for his effort and strength.
• The Black Stone Tribe celebrated Oakes's breakthrough for a month, during which he defeated five God-level Experts and was praised as having Demon-level strength.
• After the celebration, Japar began guarding the tribe while Koster refined a Mid-grade Godhead, and Yagonia continued refining hers in secret.
• Locke told Oakes that becoming a god within his body had prevented him from gaining a third Divine Clone and potentially reaching High God-level strength.
• Oakes regretted his choice, but Locke stopped him from hurting himself and taught him that Demons grew powerful through more than fused divine power.
• Locke revealed in his thoughts that his claim about Oakes fusing three types of divine power was false, and that he had wanted to test how another Godhead would affect Oakes's soul mutation.

Locke set demanding goals for Oakes and ended his cultivation, then faced Ailiya, the lord of Shadow Moon Prefecture, in a battle that doubled as Ailiya’s assessment for Six-star Demon. Locke agreed to the assessment and easily countered Ailiya’s opening attack, leaving the fight underway.

• Locke explained the fusion of Profound Mysteries to Oakes and warned that he would kill him if he failed to reach Five-star Demon strength within a million years.
• Oakes pledged to meet Locke’s demands and left, while Locke ended his guidance of him.
• Ailiya revealed that he had joined Demon Castle and asked Locke to make their battle his Six-star Demon advancement assessment; Locke agreed.
• Ailiya attacked Locke from his shadow with Shadow Strike, but Locke’s body became Water Element and trapped him in Water Prison Technique.
• Locke released Ailiya and judged that his speed rivaled an ordinary Seven-star Demon, though his attack power was still lacking.

Locke certified Ailiya as a Six-star Demon after their fight and later launched a Hell-wide Demon Castle expansion mission offering Destruction Lord God Power. As the castles spread, Locke’s Destiny Divine Clone advanced to the High God level, and its strength was set to keep growing.

• Locke recognized Ailiya’s Shadow Strike and engraved a crescent moon on his Demon Badge, certifying him as a Six-star Demon.
• Ailiya conceded the fight, and Locke’s Demon Castle in Shadow Moon Prefecture opened for business.
• After another millennium, Locke certified another prefecture lord as a Six-star Demon.
• Locke issued a Demon Castle expansion mission to the prefecture lords, offering one drop of Destruction Lord God Power for establishing castles throughout their territories.
• Prefecture lords rushed to Lionheart Prefecture for construction supplies and mobilized their people to build Demon Castles across Hell.
• As the castles spread, Locke’s Destiny Divine Clone reached the High God level, while Black Stone Tribe grew under Japar and Koster’s leadership.

Locke's expanding Demon Castles drew the attention of Blood Peak Lord God Pash, who sought Muya Lord God's help to seize their power of faith. Muya agreed to their plan while concealing that he had been present in the Sovereign Palace all along.

• Locke stored the upgraded divine spark and judged that his Destiny Divine Clone could reach Paragon level within ten thousand years as Demon Castles spread through Hell.
• Blood Peak Lord God Pash recalled giving the Blood River Prefecture Lord Destruction Lord God Power, but saw that Locke had still overwhelmed him.
• Pash secretly met Muya Lord God through a rule clone and asked who was behind the Demon Castles; Muya initially suspected Pash himself.
• Pash admitted his role in the attack on Locke and warned that the Demon Castles could capture nearly half of Hell's power of faith.
• Pash proposed giving Muya power of faith so his Lightning Element Divine Clone could reach Commander level and defeat Locke, then replacing the Demon Castles with their own force.
• Muya accepted the cooperation, and after Pash's rule clone dispersed, Muya's clone vanished to reveal that his Sovereign True Body had been hidden beneath it.

Muya Lord God concluded that Locke was a Lord God’s divine clone, while Locke spent three millennia expanding the Demon Castle and cultivating. Before his Destiny Divine Clone could reach Paragon, Locke used Amethyst Crystals and the Eye of Hell illusion technique to attempt Soul Mutation, surviving with a vastly strengthened technique and a new understanding of deception.

• Muya Lord God believed Locke was a divine clone from another God Plane and used Pash’s delivered Power of Faith to help his Lightning Element Divine Clone fuse Profound Mysteries.
• Over the next three thousand years, Locke certified three Prefecture Lords as Six-star Demons and expanded the Demon Castle across half the cities in Hell.
• Locke brought his Water Element Divine Clone to the Black Stone Tribe, sealed his cultivation chamber with Magic Arrays, and prepared to experiment with Soul Mutation.
• Locke refined Amethyst Crystals into Soul Power and subjected himself to the Eighteen Layers of Hell through his Eye of Hell illusion technique, pushing his soul to the brink of destruction.
• Locke survived the ordeal and realized that an illusion capable of deceiving the world could become reality, while the experience increased the Eye of Hell’s power by more than a thousandfold.

Locke completed his Soul Mutation and learned that a rival organization called Thunder Punishment Castle, backed by at least two Sovereigns, was obstructing the Demon Castle’s expansion on the Blood Peak Continent. He traveled there to support his Demons and arrived in Haiyun Prefecture.

• Locke completed his Soul Mutation, gained fused divine power, and believed he could contend with anyone below the Paragon level.
• Locke learned from Little White that a powerful figure had defeated five Prefecture Lords and founded Thunder Punishment Castle, stalling the Demon Castle’s expansion on the Blood Peak Continent.
• Locke ordered Little White to prepare a Metal Life so he could go to the Blood Peak Continent, suspecting the rival leader was a Sovereign Envoy.
• The chapter described how Thunder Punishment Castle had displaced the Demon Castle across five prefectures, while Yan Feng and Ryan led the Demon Castle’s resistance.
• More than ten years later, Locke arrived in Haiyun Prefecture, where Yan Feng, Ryan, and the other Demons welcomed him.

Locke arrived in Haiyun Prefecture and prepared Demon Castle’s forces to push Thunder Punishment Castle out of the five prefectures. Meanwhile, Muya Lord God remained short of the Power of Faith needed to finish fusing five Profound Mysteries, leaving Pash unable to provide more.

• Locke praised Yan Feng, Ryan, and Clifford, then gave each of them a drop of Destruction Lord God Power and explained that he would face Thunder Punishment Castle’s Castellan while they handled its Six-star Thunder Punishers.
• Locke stayed in Haiyun Prefecture as Yan Feng, Ryan, and Clifford expanded Demon Castle into cities occupied by Thunder Punishment Castle.
• Demon Castle’s broader reach and Locke’s reputation weakened Thunder Punishment Castle’s hold, while battles between the factions’ demons and Thunder Punishers continued.
• Pash told Muya that Locke had arrived on Blood Peak Continent and asked about Muya’s preparations.
• Muya said he needed ten times more Power of Faith to complete the fusion of five Profound Mysteries, but Pash refused because he also needed faith to cultivate.

Blood Peak Lord God Pash and Muya arranged for Yamu to challenge Locke, hoping to gain influence over Demon Castle and its Power of Faith. Locke accepted the challenge and turned it into an open contest for the title of Legendary Asura, then returned to cultivation as challengers gathered in Tianshan Prefecture.

• Pash explained that Thunder Punishment Castle was meant to draw Locke out and help Muya defeat him, giving them leverage to claim a share of Demon Castle's Power of Faith.
• Yan Feng told Locke that Yamu would fight him in Tianshan Prefecture in three hundred years, after which Thunder Punishment Castle would merge into Demon Castle regardless of the result.
• Locke accepted the challenge and said he would hand over the title of Legendary Demon to anyone strong enough to defeat him.
• Lord Gods encouraged their powerful followers to challenge Locke, turning the duel into a contest for the title of Legendary Asura.
• Locke required challengers to hold Demon Castle's Seven-star Demon Badge, set a test for earning it, and ruled that contenders had to defeat every other challenger to claim the title.
• After arranging the contest, Locke resumed cultivation, while his Saint Domain true body began trying to fuse the Water Body Technique with Fate Law.

Locke completed the fusion of five Water Law Profound Mysteries and traveled to Tianshan Prefecture for the contest to retain his title as Legendary Asura. As six challengers gathered, Muya saw an opportunity to test himself against Locke and gain influence regardless of the outcome.

• Locke gained new insight into the Water and Fate Laws, and his Water Element Divine Clone fused five Water Law Profound Mysteries.
• Locke left Haiyun Prefecture with Clifford, Yan Feng, and Ryan to attend the Legendary Asura contest.
• Experts in Tianshan Prefecture saw Locke's unusually powerful divine energy and grew wary of his possible Soul Attack.
• Muya Lord God's Lightning Element Divine Clone judged that Locke might have fused only four Profound Mysteries and resolved to fight him for the benefits either outcome could bring.
• Locke reviewed the six challengers—Bekel, Sololi, Jiru, Andrelaina, Morman, and Yamu—and concluded that Yamu appeared strongest among them.

Locke fought six Sovereign Envoys sent by the Lord Gods, who sought to challenge him for the title of Legendary Asura. He battled five at once after Jiru escaped, while Muya watched without joining in.

• Locke considered whether the Sovereign Envoys had defensive Sovereign Artifacts and remained confident in his strength.
• At the Battle Arena, Bekel proposed that Locke test the six challengers for the Asura rank, and Locke accepted the challenge.
• Locke attacked with Thousand Mile—Sky-Reaching Palm, prompting Jiru to use Lord God Power and flee the arena while the others also powered up.
• Locke struck again, severely injuring Bekel, Sololi, Jiru, and Morman; Andrelaina resisted better because of his affinity with Destruction Lord God Power.
• Locke used his palm technique to battle the five envoys at once, while Muya recognized Locke's strength and chose not to join the fight.

Locke fought five Sovereign Envoys in the Battle Arena and turned ruthless when they tried to prolong the fight with Lord God Power. He defeated Sololi and Andrelaina with his Eye of Hell, leaving the envoys terrified and the battle’s outcome in Locke’s hands.

• Locke battled Bekel and four other Sovereign Envoys, using overlapping palm strikes to keep them at bay.
• Jiru withdrew to replenish his Lord God Power while the others protected him, so Locke froze the group and kicked Jiru into Spatial Turbulence, where he was doomed without a defensive Sovereign Artifact.
• Bekel and Morman conceded, while Sololi and Andrelaina continued fighting because they could not disobey their Sovereigns.
• Sololi and Andrelaina charged Locke with their Sovereign Artifacts, and Locke used Eye of Hell: Eighteen Layers of Hell to make them experience thousands of years of torture in an instant.
• Sololi and Andrelaina collapsed on the arena, their souls badly damaged and their bodies repeatedly showing wounds as Lord God Power healed them.

Locke’s Soul Attack forced Sololi and Andrelaina to withdraw, and he assessed their group as Seven-star Demons rather than Asuras without reliable access to Sovereign power. As Locke faced Muya’s Lightning Element Divine Clone, Muya revealed Willpower, leaving Locke to suspect that Muya was not truly a Paragon.

• Locke’s Soul Attack badly injured Sololi and Andrelaina despite their Sovereign power, and both conceded the contest.
• Locke recognized Bekel, Morman, Sololi, and Andrelaina as Seven-star Demons but did not accept them as Asura-level without assured Sovereign power in every battle.
• Sololi accepted Locke’s assessment, and the spectators turned their attention to the remaining opponent, Muya’s Lightning Element Divine Clone.
• Muya rose to face Locke, declared that he wanted to see the clone’s true strength, and opened a massive Spatial Rift without being affected by its pull.
• Locke sensed Willpower and initially feared Muya was a Paragon, but then reasoned that Muya was not one because he had called them the same kind of people.

Locke discovered that Yamu was Muya Lord God's Divine Clone and fought him without Sovereign Artifacts or Sovereign's Might, gaining the upper hand. Meanwhile, Reiding realized the fight had put his oath to protect Locke at risk, so he secretly urged his brothers to leave descendants before the oath could kill them all.

• Locke recognized Yamu as Muya Lord God's Divine Clone and agreed with him to forbid Sovereign Artifacts and Sovereign's Might in their battle.
• Locke fused his fate and water divine powers and struck Muya's lightning attack, discovering that Muya's clone was weaker than he had expected.
• Reiding angrily blamed Muya, then persuaded Eus, Nemo, and Bowen to take wives and establish descendants while he stayed to watch the battle.
• After his brothers left, Reiding realized Muya's attack on Locke had cracked the Supreme God oath he had sworn, putting all four sworn brothers at risk of death.
• Reiding privately hoped their descendants might inherit their Sovereign Sparks and vowed to eventually take Muya's Destruction Sovereign Spark.
• Locke continued to suppress Muya's Lightning Element Divine Clone in Tianshan Prefecture, unaware of Reiding's danger.

Locke defeated Muya’s Lightning Element Divine Clone, Yamu, in a title contest, and Muya accepted the title of Thunder Punishment Asura. Afterward, Demon Castle’s success drew growing attention from Hell’s Lord Gods and God-level experts.

• Muya struggled against Locke, retreated, and admitted defeat, recognizing Locke as the Legendary Asura.
• Locke concealed his lack of Willpower and awarded Yamu the title Thunder Punishment Asura.
• Muya warned Locke that other Lord Gods would contact him, and Locke said he was willing to cooperate with Hell’s Lord Gods.
• Yamu left for Muya Continent, ending the title contest as news of Locke’s strength spread through Hell.
• Hell’s eleven Lord Gods gained Power of Faith from Demon Castle’s growth, increasing their interest in it.