Chapter Summaries

Blackbeard and Sand Heart’s forces witnessed Kuilian Anna and her mummy-like beloved destroy the Church’s delegation inside an impossibly luxurious inn. The inn transformed into an evil coffin, and the Church’s clerics were left dead as the merchants fled.

• The six Grand Archbishops and their clerics entered the inn and marveled at its rare magical materials and artifacts.
• Kuilian Anna appeared and revealed that she had once served the Church before being branded the Dream Witch who assassinated two Popes.
• Kuilian Anna said someone had saved her and her beloved, and that they had become guardians of that family because the Church threatened its bloodline.
• Kuilian Anna summoned her bandage-wrapped beloved, who devoured the souls of the clerics, including the six Grand Archbishops.
• The inn collapsed into a sinister great coffin, and Blackbeard ordered his men to burn the clerics’ bodies as the merchants fled.

After six Church Grand Archbishops were assassinated near Berely, the Emperor and Grand Archbishop Xiyatu investigated the scene and uncovered signs that the killings came from within the Church. The discovery deepened the mystery, and the Emperor learned that a key Ministry of Justice official had been found dead.

• The Emperor arrived at the crude checkpoint with Xiyatu and argued that the Ministry of Justice document used to stop the Church delegation had been forged by an official inside the ministry.
• Xiyatu accepted that the Emperor was likely innocent and suspected that factions within the Church had orchestrated the assassinations.
• A Cardinal showed Xiyatu a charred bone bearing divine power more refined than his own, and Xiyatu recognized its terrifying resemblance to the power of the three Popes.
• Xiyatu concealed the bone and hurried to report his findings to the Popes, asking the Emperor to keep what he had seen secret.
• A messenger reported that Baitu, Minister of Justice Alurang's private secretary, had been found hanged, and the Emperor and Xiyatu realized someone had erased a lead.

Lin Qi ambushed the tiger demoness and crippled her ability to fight, prompting her allies to attack Fat Bear’s group over the meat. As the battle spread, Lin Qi seized the demoness again and overwhelmed her while she wept in humiliation and rage.

• Lin Qi struck the tiger demoness with thirty-six Tiger Step Crashing Fists, badly injuring her and disrupting her battle qi.
• The wounded tiger demoness called for Lin Qi to be killed, and hundreds of her allies rushed at the group.
• Fat Bear attacked Hagulu and rallied his companions to defend the meat, while Hagulu fled into the darkness.
• Lin Qi fought off an attacker and charged the tiger demoness again, with Bilibili burning the eyes of three creatures who blocked his path.
• Lin Qi pinned the recovering tiger demoness and repeatedly struck her chest; she stopped resisting and burst into tears.

Lin Qi fought Hu Die and nearly captured her, while Fat Bear and the hunting party battled her chaotic forces. Hu Die escaped into the darkness, promising to return for revenge.

• Break Mountain fought off a werewolf and leopardman before Xiao killed the leopardman with a stone spear.
• Fat Bear battled three gray elves and killed one with his Great Whirlwind Corpse-Shattering Slash, while the other two escaped together.
• Fat Bear saw Lin Qi pin Hu Die down and strike her with the Profound Tiger Force technique.
• Hu Die began crying, and Lin Qi paused his attack before dodging tentacles from two octopus-like creatures.
• Hu Die escaped into the darkness, threatened Lin Qi, and Fat Bear laughed as he asked how her breasts had felt.

Lin Qi returned with Fat Bear’s hunting team after defeating Hu Die and was rewarded with food and appointed Handsome Bear’s deputy. At Black Abyss Market, the leaders debated the chaos that had followed the King’s death and postponed dividing the team’s prey to discuss who would succeed him.

• After Hu Die fled and the Chaos ones withdrew, Fat Bear rewarded Lin Qi with half a Rock Lizard's tail and named him Handsome Bear’s deputy.
• Handsome Bear told Lin Qi that the hunting team had to surrender most of its prey under a rule established by the now-dead King, but Fat Bear insisted they could not be the first to break it.
• The hunting team returned to its fortress, where Handsome Bear identified Zali, Youyao, Gu Tu, and Yi Feng as Black Abyss Market’s powerful leaders.
• Zali demanded the hunting team’s share of the prey, while Fat Bear challenged Gu Tu over the failure to protect them from Hu Die’s attack.
• Youyao said the King’s death had left the market in chaos, and Zali proposed that the leaders discuss the succession before dividing the prey.
• Fat Bear sent his subordinates to sort out the prey as he and the other leaders went to the central stone building to talk.

Lin Qi followed Handsome Bear to his home after joining Fat Bear's hunting party, where he witnessed the families' grief over their losses and learned how casually the underground community endured death. He settled in the cave with Handsome Bear and his enormous Abyssal Demon Bear mother, determined not to accept a life trapped in Divine Prison.

• Lin Qi followed Handsome Bear through the crowded hunting party city and learned that more than four thousand people from many races lived there.
• Handsome Bear bluntly told families which of their relatives had died, prompting Lin Qi to scold him and recoil from his claim that people eventually got used to losing children.
• Handsome Bear took Lin Qi to meet his mother, a powerful Abyssal Demon Bear, and introduced Lin Qi as someone who would live with them.
• The great bear inspected Lin Qi, accepted him, and went into her cave with the meat Handsome Bear had brought.
• Handsome Bear and his mother ate raw Six-Legged Brute meat and fell asleep, while Lin Qi decided he needed to find cooking pots and utensils.

Lin Qi learned how scarce meat was in the abyss and promised Bilibili he would keep him fed as they went to the market. After trading Rock Lizard meat for cooking utensils, Lin Qi was stopped by men demanding taxes.

• Lin Qi gave Bilibili a piece of Rock Lizard tail, and Bilibili explained that meat was a privilege reserved for the powerful in the abyss.
• Lin Qi promised Bilibili enough meat to fill his belly, and Bilibili pledged himself to Lin Qi in return.
• Lin Qi entered the market with Bilibili and ignored merchants calling out to him as they saw the fresh meat.
• Lin Qi traded a hundred pounds of Rock Lizard meat to Gray Goblins for a set of stone cooking utensils.
• Several burly men blocked Lin Qi and demanded that he pay taxes on his purchases.

Lin Qi was caught in a tax dispute in Black Abyss Market, where Zali’s men tried to charge him for his goods. After Zali singled him out despite the crowd’s threats, Lin Qi kicked her away and her fighters rushed him.

• Zali’s men demanded taxes from Lin Qi and the gray goblin sellers, charging half the value of both purchases and sales.
• Mouguo confronted the tax collectors, prompting powerful heretics in the market to attack and kill them.
• Zali arrived with nearly a hundred armed followers and demanded to know who had killed her men.
• Facing the hostile crowd, Zali exempted powerful heretics and their associates but insisted Lin Qi had to pay because he was weak.
• Lin Qi told Zali he served on Boss Fat Bear’s hunting team, but she still targeted him, so he kicked her across the ground.
• Zali’s followers charged at Lin Qi.

After Lin Qi was thrown into the Black Abyss Divine Prison, he used the brutal lessons he had learned from an old Black Tiger Family veteran to fight off Zali and her enforcers. He and Bilibili routed the attackers, and the chapter ended when a powerful voice announced the arrival of newcomers.

• Lin Qi kicked Zali unconscious, and Mouguo carried her away while the onlookers scattered.
• Lin Qi charged Zali’s enforcers, breaking their weapons and beating several of them with his immense strength.
• Lin Qi gave Bilibili three daggers, and Bilibili joined the fight by slashing at the attackers from between Lin Qi’s legs.
• Lin Qi pushed through the enforcers’ attacks until dozens lay unconscious and the rest fled, calling him a magic beast in human form.
• A deep voice announced that newcomers had arrived and called for everyone to welcome them.

Lin Qi hurried to meet the newcomer and discovered he was Meia, a Saint-realm mage and former chief court archmage of the Caesar Empire. Meia fell from the sky after the prison’s aura disrupted his magic, and Lin Qi caught him, breaking several of his bones before an old man emerged and claimed Meia as his beloved disciple.

• Lin Qi raced to the pool where Xuan Lan had retrieved Meia and learned that the newcomer was a Saint-realm mage.
• Meia introduced himself as the Caesar Empire’s chief court archmage and explained that his disciple had betrayed him during a forbidden summoning, leading the Church to imprison him.
• Meia ordered Lin Qi to become his servant, but Lin Qi refused, and Xuan Lan knocked Meia aside with a stream of urine.
• Meia used magic to fly upward, but the Black Abyss Divine Prison’s aura disrupted it and sent him plunging toward the ground.
• Lin Qi caught Meia, breaking several of the mage’s bones, and an old man emerged from the darkness, calling Meia his beloved little disciple.

Meia reunited with his long-lost teacher Afa Lan in the Black Abyss Divine Prison and explained how his experiments with a summoning array had led to his imprisonment. The reunion turned into a scheme to sell Meia’s treasured staff for a lavish feast, leaving Meia bound and Lin Qi unnerved.

• Afa Lan appeared from the shadows, and Meia recognized his teacher, who revealed that the Church had imprisoned him in an ice cave two hundred years earlier.
• Meia told Afa Lan that a notebook left by his teacher had contained the Great Summoning Array of Rift Evil Spirits, which he used to summon an ancient consciousness that possessed the Caesar Emperor’s princess.
• Meia explained that a disciple had betrayed him to the Church, which sent him to the Black Abyss Divine Prison while allowing him to keep his staff and other possessions.
• Afa Lan admired Meia’s staff, and Meia proudly said it was worth at least one billion gold coins.
• Xuan Lan secured a promise of one hundred bulls from Afa Lan, while other elderly prisoners gathered and demanded a lavish banquet.
• An old man bound Meia with black qi, and Afa Lan tossed Meia’s staff into the pool to arrange the feast, prompting Meia to cry out and Lin Qi to feel a chill.

Lin Qi watched a lavish banquet in the Black Abyss Divine Prison as Mei A explained that its legendary prisoners had lost hope and traded their treasured possessions for food. After warning Lin Qi that he would share their despair, Mei A killed himself, while Lin Qi vowed to escape.

• Lin Qi watched the prisoners dine at a luxurious banquet while he, Xuan Lan, and Bilibili sat apart with ham.
• Mei A wept and told Lin Qi that the prisoners' hearts as mages were dead, identifying them as famous figures who had surrendered treasured belongings for a meal.
• Mei A explained that the cavern weakened their powers, drained their magic, and left them with no hope of escape.
• Mei A warned Lin Qi that he would become like the prisoners or should end his life, then destroyed his head and burned away his soul.
• Lin Qi refused to let Xuan Lan eat Mei A, said he would cast the body into the sea of fire, and vowed to escape the prison.

After Meia died, Afa Lan defended his choice to survive and used his power to subdue Lin Qi and Xuan Lan. Ashinde then surrendered to the Church, and Afa Lan followed, leaving Lin Qi horrified by their betrayal.

• Afa Lan dismissed Meia’s death as foolish and ordered his corpse burned after his robe was taken.
• Afa Lan pinned Lin Qi and Xuan Lan against the wall, then said survival proved he had been right.
• The handsome youths stripped the old people of their robes and valuables and departed in the hanging basket.
• Ashinde knelt in the pool, offered the Church the Sindbi Druid Sect’s treasure vault, and was taken away after receiving absolution.
• Afa Lan knelt in the pool and offered his Grand Summoning Array to the Church, and Lin Qi spat blood and cursed him.

Lin Qi recovered after Xuan Lan knocked him unconscious and learned from Handsome Bear how the Black Abyss Divine Prison weakened and exploited its mage prisoners. The chapter ended when Zali attacked Handsome Bear’s home, accusing Lin Qi of bullying his little sister.

• Xuan Lan knocked Lin Qi unconscious before he could attack Afa Lan, and Bilibili carried Lin Qi away with his purchases.
• Afa Lan faced the red-robed saints and tried to prove that he had submitted to them.
• Lin Qi woke at Handsome Bear’s home, rewarded Bilibili with Rock Lizard tail, and told Handsome Bear what he had seen.
• Handsome Bear explained that the prison’s dark and fire energy drained mages, drove them to trade away their possessions, and let the Church break their defenses.
• Zali attacked the Abyssal Demon Bear and sent green fireballs into the cave, shouting that Lin Qi had bullied his precious little sister.

Zali attacked Handsome Bear’s home, but Handsome Bear’s mother drove him and his men off and wrecked part of the hunting party’s settlement. Lin Qi blamed Zali for the damage, while Youyao’s attempt to recruit Fat Bear ended with Youyao attacking him.

• Zali hurled over a thousand demonic flame balls into Handsome Bear’s cave, enraging Handsome Bear’s mother.
• Handsome Bear’s mother trapped the flames, unleashed Black Crystal Dragon Spear, and killed more than a dozen of Zali’s men.
• Zali fled, but Handsome Bear’s mother caught and battered him before Handsome Bear stopped her by warning that the destruction would cost meat.
• Lin Qi persuaded Fat Bear to demand five thousand jin of meat from Zali for the damage.
• Youyao reminded Fat Bear of their earlier discussion, but Fat Bear refused to support Zali replacing the King, and Youyao shot toward his chest as Gu Tu and Yi Feng watched.

Zali and Youyao tried to force the leaders of Black Abyss Market to recognize their claim to the King's authority, while Fat Bear defended Lin Qi and the Hunting Party. After Gu Tu and Yi Feng withdrew, Zali led hundreds of men in an attack on the Hunting Party's city, leaving Lin Qi caught in the conflict.

• Fat Bear used his ogre soul attack to strike Youyao, forcing the Shadow Devil to scatter and retreat beside Zali.
• Zali accused Lin Qi of killing and injuring his men, but Fat Bear condemned Zali for unfairly taxing Lin Qi at Black Abyss Market.
• Yi Feng and Gu Tu refused to support Zali and left with their followers, declaring they would manage their own territory.
• Zali and Youyao led their forces out of the city, while Fat Bear ordered the Hunting Party to shut the gates and prepare defenses.
• Zali rallied his sister and Youyao, healed his injuries, and sent several hundred men and about a hundred Shadow Devils charging toward the city walls.

Zali and Youyao attacked the hunting party, but Lin Qi, Fat Bear, Bilibili, and Handsome Bear's mother routed their forces. The defenders captured nearly three hundred attackers and demanded meat from Zali and Youyao in exchange for them.

• Lin Qi dodged a poisoned spike from a two-headed monkey-man, then killed him with a thrown stone and knocked down two wolfmen from over a hundred meters away.
• Zali ordered his warriors to activate their battle energy, but Lin Qi's stones and the ranged unit's attacks drove back the attackers and killed or wounded many.
• Bilibili hurled a darkflame fireball at warriors trapped beneath hunting nets, setting them and nearby attackers ablaze.
• Handsome Bear's mother charged from the gates, swept aside attackers with a stone pillar, and impaled hundreds with black crystal pillars.
• Zali and Youyao's forces fled, leaving nearly three hundred warriors trapped beneath the nets; Lin Qi demanded two hundred pounds of meat per captive or Handsome Bear's mother would eat them.

After Lin Qi helped secure the city, Fat Bear invited him and the other Hunting Party leaders to drink, where Lin Qi learned how the Black Abyss King had imposed order on the prison. With the King dead and rival factions pressing for control, the chapter ended as Zali's envoy arrived to demand the return of the captives.

• Lin Qi reorganized the city's defenses and impressed Fat Bear with his efficiency.
• Fat Bear hosted Lin Qi, Break Mountain, Xiao, and Handsome Bear, and they drank together.
• Lin Qi learned that the Black Abyss King had forced the Church to establish rules and protect newcomers by threatening the lives of the imprisoned heretics.
• Lin Qi learned that the King's death had left the prison's factions restless and that the Church was testing the limits of its old protections.
• Fat Bear refused to let Zali and Youyao monopolize the meat supply or take control of the Hunting Party.
• A messenger announced that Zali's envoy had arrived to demand the captives' return.

Lin Qi searched the Black Abyss Market for a Seven-Orifice Ghostface Mushroom to brew a mana potion, but Zali's new tax scheme interrupted him. He rescued a young Easterner from her thugs and fled with the youth and his clothing stall's goods.

• Lin Qi cultivated battle qi and Darkflame mana, traded meat in the market, and sought a Seven-Orifice Ghostface Mushroom for a potion.
• Lin Qi learned that Yi Feng had ordered all the mushrooms ground into juice for the Fire Spirit Stamen harvesters, leaving none for sale.
• Zali demanded half the clothing and boots from a young stall owner, claiming the market now taxed anyone below Heaven Rank and Earth Rank.
• Lin Qi kicked Zali into a wall, knocked out her two lackeys, seized the young Easterner and his goods, and ran from the market.
• Bilibili stabbed Zali in the backside and followed Lin Qi as she screamed.

Zali, Youyao, and Hu Die formed a plan to seize the Hunting Party, targeting Lin Qi and Fat Bear first. Meanwhile, Lin Qi carried off a young clothing seller to buy his goods, but several figures appeared from nearby passages before he could finish.

• Hu Die returned and confronted Zali and Youyao, then told them Lin Qi had injured her and that other lawless factions were eyeing Black Abyss Market.
• Zali and Youyao planned to eliminate Yi Feng and Gu Tu after taking the Hunting Party, while Hu Die proposed capturing Lin Qi as bait for Fat Bear.
• Youyao learned that Lin Qi had knocked out Zali and several of her subordinates, and Zali ordered elite fighters, including Hu Die's people, to capture him alive.
• Lin Qi carried a struggling youth through the cave, explaining that he wanted to buy the youth's clothes and boots.
• The youth told Lin Qi he had made the clothes himself and that his grandfather had made the boots, before several figures emerged from nearby passages.