Chapter Summaries

The First Blood Duke’s detonation destroyed the Blood Sea and ruined the bald Plane Child’s three-thousand-year plan, leaving him weak and searching for his old passage out of the Underworld. In the real world, the blast released blood mist that partially dragonified people and animals, and Sandru realized Nasha had targeted the Dragonkin bloodline and resolved to kill him.

• The First Blood Duke exploded, triggering the bald man’s body to reform and the Blood Sea to erupt in blood mist.
• The bald man attacked Adam’s dragon shadow in a fury, destroying it and realizing that his plans had failed and his power was nearly gone.
• The bald man abandoned his claim to the world and began walking toward the passage he had left behind.
• The explosion shook the real world, where blood-red crystals burst from the ground and spread blood mist across the land.
• The blood mist marked the elves and caused scales to grow on the people and wolves of the Fililu Family.
• Sandru recognized the changes as Adam’s partial dragonification, connected them to the Dragonkin bloodline, and decided to kill Nasha for betraying them.

Nasha was killed by a beam from Horus's Eye after his lightning punch accidentally activated Black Gloves's magnifying-glass device. Mand ordered a purge of the Fishmen and began tightening security across the Nether Palace, while mistakenly recording Nasha as already dead.

• After the First Blood Duke self-destructed, Nasha's transformed body filled with power, and he declared himself the Lightning King.
• Nasha punched Black Gloves, and the lightning from the blow activated Black Gloves's abandoned magnifying-glass device, opening a starlit gate.
• Horus's Eye fired through the gate and vaporized Nasha as he tried to flee.
• Mand ordered Black Gloves seized and commanded his forces to kill every Fishman in the Nether Palace grounds, sparing only the eggs.
• Mand examined the blood pool and accidentally disturbed Nasha's remains, which briefly tried to gather before scattering again.
• Mand recorded Nasha's final death and ordered his forces to move on, resolving to defend the Nether Palace's interior, sea area, and glaciers.

Sandru discovered that Black Gloves had become an undead who could recover from fatal injuries, then recruited him as Liu Zhi’s second Subordinate God. He began separating living Netherified creatures from the Netherworld and arranged for the Goblin Pathfinder to help guide the dead back from the real world.

• Sandru saw Black Gloves survive having his neck twisted and examined his stats, which showed that he had consumed the corrupted Dragon Herder’s experience.
• Sandru offered Black Gloves a Subordinate God contract, and Black Gloves accepted after learning he would receive a workshop and funding to research and build mechs.
• Sandru began moving Netherified creatures, including the Fishmen, out of the Nether Palace so only undead would remain in the Netherworld.
• Sandru proposed that the Goblin Pathfinder train guides to ferry the dead from the real world to the Netherworld using Sun Boats.
• The Goblin Pathfinder agreed on the conditions that the guides would not be goblins and would serve only within the Demiplane.

After the Blood Sea vanished, Sandru discovered a distorted passage at the Iron Mine and found the broken statue of the Child of Destiny. Liu Zhi awakened from meditation, merged the Feathered Serpent God's divinity into the Demiplane, and prepared to repair the barrier between the real world and the Underworld.

• Sandru learned that the Blood Sea had disappeared and followed Amanet's mummies toward the Iron Mine.
• At the mine, Sandru sensed a distortion, ordered the mummies to guard the area, and found a cracked diamond statue.
• Liu Zhi contacted Sandru and explained that the bald man's interrupted ritual had let him merge the Feathered Serpent God's divinity into the Demiplane.
• Liu Zhi agreed with Sandru's plan to separate the living from the undead and said he would repair the spatial barrier the next day.
• Liu Zhi told Sandru to move the Underworld Ecosystems into the real world and develop it as an ecosystem to help them reach Level 5.

Sandru moved the Underworld’s transformed creatures into the real world as the Underworld’s deathly cycle began, signaling that Liu Zhi was close to returning. Sandru then reorganized the demiplane’s factions and relocated its creatures, while Duan Xu arranged for the Fishman eggs to grow freely in a river.

• Sandru moved the transformed creatures out of the Nether Palace, and the Underworld filled with powerful yin winds and deathly rain as strange grasses and flowers began to grow.
• A giant tree appeared in the former elven territory and sent Liu Zhi’s Eye of Horus on its daily circuit; Sandru realized the cycle had begun and expected Liu Zhi to return in three to five days.
• Sandru began relocating the transformed creatures, sending the spiders to a volcanic crater and arranging for the Fililu Family to raise the Ghoul Wolves.
• Sandru killed the surviving Fishmen except Duan Xu and promised to transform the Fishmen who had fought alongside him; Duan Xu asked to release the treated eggs into a river to grow on their own.
• Sandru released the Fishman eggs near the Jiao Wei, then moved the surviving factions across the demiplane; the relocation lasted seven days.

Liu Zhi and Sandru organized the relocated Demiplane into twelve major cities, defining the authority, military structure, and development plans for its six large cities in the real world. The cities began developing specialized roles under Liu Zhi’s standards, while Nether Palace and a future underworld barracks city remained exceptions to the common military rules.

• Liu Zhi accepted Sandru’s layout of seven large cities in the real world and five in the underworld, while assigning Nether Palace and Dragon Fortress as the two main cities.
• Liu Zhi gave the other six real-world cities local administrators, requiring them to provide taxes, tribute, troops, and corpses while setting each city a standard hero-and-troop complement.
• Liu Zhi restricted formal battle standards and full military complements across the Demiplane, reserving exceptions for Nether Palace and a planned underworld barracks city.
• Liu Zhi and Sandru assigned distinct development roles to the six cities, including making Rust Iron Port the hub for sea trade and marine resources.
• Liu Zhi made Amphibious Port a home and breeding ground for amphibious races, a defensive harbor for Dragon Fortress, and a route for goblin Sun Boats traveling to the underworld.
• The four remaining cities were set to develop specialized products and needs, trading mainly with Dragon Fortress rather than with one another.

Liu Zhi and Sandru arranged the races and factions across the Demiplane’s territories, matching them with the regions’ resources and negotiating how the elves and Fililu Family would be treated after death. With both factions pledging allegiance, Liu Zhi gained complete control of the physical world but remained focused on the Netherworld, his true battlefield.

• Sandru and Liu Zhi assigned the western races to the Highland Clan Territory and moved the Snake People, Naru, and three noble factions to the former Blood Duke’s territory.
• The mountain people claimed the vacant peaks, while kobolds mined alongside Stone Golems and Boarmen, centaurs, and Swan People supported the Highland Clan Territory through farming, hunting, and sewing.
• The southern territory relied on medicinal herbs, poisonous plants, and blood-crystal iron, while its toxins made the Snake People more poisonous.
• The elves asked Liu Zhi to turn their eligible souls into undead after death while leaving their bodies undisturbed, and the Fililu Family requested that its members and wolves be transformed.
• Liu Zhi accepted both factions’ terms, and the elves and Fililu Family pledged allegiance to him.
• Though Liu Zhi had gained control of the Demiplane’s physical world, he dismissed the idea of becoming king and focused on the five Netherworld cities as his true battlefield.

Liu Zhi assigned distinct roles to the Underworld’s four cities and established a system for sorting, training, and recruiting the dead into his forces. With the Force of Nature inside him exceeding his control, he decided he needed to enter a game and take a class, choosing between the passage near the Blood Sea and Turner’s bronze-colored antique.

• Liu Zhi designated Blood Sea Frontline as a barracks where his undead could train against enemies emerging through the unrepaired rift.
• Liu Zhi turned Amara’s Ghost Realm into a research base for magic, science, and technology.
• Liu Zhi established Return to the Ruins as a sorting point for the dead and made the Training Ground the next step for undead who could join his forces.
• Liu Zhi kept the Nether Palace as the demiplane’s Main City and left its Teleportation Array and Traversal Orb in place.
• Liu Zhi realized the Force of Nature within him exceeded what he could control and decided he needed to enter a game to take a class.
• Liu Zhi considered entering a game through the Blood Sea passage to find Amanet or using the one-time guide item he had obtained from Turner.

Liu Zhi met Mark in Fireblade City to exchange his game-starting antique for an independent-game ticket and learn how game entry worked. The deal was made, and Liu Zhi examined the level-five ticket while continuing to ask questions.

• Mark brought Liu Zhi to his blacksmith shop and explained that he wanted the antique to gain an advantage in his guild's main-tank selection.
• Liu Zhi agreed to trade the antique for an equivalent-value reward, and Mark valued it as a third-tier game item.
• Mark offered Liu Zhi an unregistered ticket for a solo entry into a level-five game world and explained that keywords lowered the world's level.
• Mark warned Liu Zhi that entering a game without a ticket could send him into the void, so Liu Zhi decided not to risk it.
• Liu Zhi placed the antique on the table, and Mark gave him a silver-edged level-five game-entry ticket.

Liu Zhi visited the Rogar'a plane’s registration tree to choose keywords for his next game. He chose to become a Druid and search for a Summoning Tower, then entered a Teleportation Array to begin his new journey.

• After leaving Mark's Blacksmith Shop, Liu Zhi considered his limited keyword choices and decided to seek a Druid class and a Summoning Tower blueprint.
• Liu Zhi arrived at the valley teleportation point with Videnina and joined the queue beneath the large tree.
• The old man explained that Liu Zhi would need a keyword to bring his Undead Servant and showed him the available keyword options.
• Liu Zhi reviewed the ledger, considered the option to avoid Fishmen, and decided not to use a keyword on it.
• Liu Zhi chose the keywords 'Get a class: Druid' and 'Find an item: Summoning Tower,' and the old man recorded them.
• Liu Zhi thanked the old man, entered an empty Teleportation Array, and began his new gaming journey.

Liu Zhi arrived on a deserted island in the body of Sandru Crusoe, a merchant who had drowned at sea, and discovered that his abilities remained intact. He received tasks to fulfill one of Sandru’s obsessions, kill a supernatural being, and become a druid, while the advancement task generated six rivals he would have to kill.

• Liu Zhi regained his senses on a deserted island and checked that his skills and abilities were still available.
• He absorbed Sandru Crusoe’s memories and learned that the merchant had lost his plantation and slaves, then survived a shipwreck that killed him.
• Liu Zhi received a task to fulfill one of Sandru’s three obsessions: leave the island, buy an estate and preferably marry, or become supernatural.
• He received a task to kill at least one supernatural being within seventy-two days and choose which side of the Civil War to support.
• The advancement task required Liu Zhi to find a druid, learn a druid skill, and become the King of the Wilderness, while six rivals were generated for him to kill.

Liu Zhi built a sailboat to escape the island and begin pursuing his quests, but a sulfur-scented wind brought a strange burning ship toward him. As the sun rose, the ship’s flaming skeleton captain transformed into a human.

• Liu Zhi reviewed his quests and decided he had to leave the island before he could make progress.
• Liu Zhi caught and ate fish, then surveyed the island and planned a small seagoing boat.
• Liu Zhi used his supernatural shipbuilding skills to turn the island’s coconut trees into lumber and build a Single-Masted Sailboat.
• Liu Zhi prepared five days’ worth of fish and water, but dragged the boat ashore when a strong sulfur-scented wind raised his suspicions.
• Liu Zhi saw a burning Two-Masted Light Merchant Ship approach, and its flaming skeleton captain transformed into a human at sunrise.

Liu Zhi fought a vengeful stranger who had mistaken him for an enemy, then learned the man was seeking a hidden treasure on the island. The stranger revealed that Christ Island concealed the treasure of a red-robed archbishop of the Church of the Cross, and that he needed one crucial item from it for revenge.

• A silver-haired man transformed, attacked Liu Zhi with a Fine-Thorn Sword, and unleashed explosive strikes.
• Liu Zhi paralyzed the man with the Lightning Coral and convinced him that they were not enemies.
• The man explained that transforming made him lose control of his temper and that he had mistaken Liu Zhi for someone trying to stop his plan.
• Liu Zhi offered to leave the island, but the man said they could share the treasure and warned him to keep it secret.
• The man revealed that Christ Island hid the treasure of a red-robed archbishop of the Church of the Cross.

Liu Zhi met Edmond Dantes, an Evil Spirit Knight seeking revenge, and agreed to help him in the future. Edmond revealed the island's hidden treasure and claimed the Saint Vangsa Contract, while Liu Zhi recognized the souls bound to it.

• Edmond explained that he had escaped the Island Prison after nineteen years and was seeking treasure to obtain something needed for his revenge.
• Edmond gave Liu Zhi a bone whistle so Liu Zhi could summon him, and Liu Zhi told Edmond how he had become stranded on the island and built a ship.
• Edmond recognized Liu Zhi's swordsmanship and shipbuilding skill, then led him to the island's concealed treasure entrance.
• Edmond raised a stone gate from the island and showed Liu Zhi the hidden cache of gold, jewels, armor, and weapons.
• Liu Zhi recognized the corrupted souls bound to a powerful scroll, and Edmond claimed the Saint Vangsa Contract as his prize.

Liu Zhi helped Edmond survive the Saint Vangsa Contract and traded the precious metals from his sunken ship for leads on a druid class path. After Edmond suggested several possible inheritances, Liu Zhi left to pursue his next steps.

• Edmond endured the souls inside the Saint Vangsa Contract for nearly an hour while Liu Zhi used the Gathering Spirit Technique to replenish his vitality.
• When Edmond released the contract, its corrosive force consumed nearby valuables and formed dark golden armor that let him wield more power during the day.
• Liu Zhi offered Edmond the precious metals aboard his sunken ship in exchange for a supernatural class path, explaining that he wanted to become a druid of the nature path.
• Edmond suggested Wakanda's cat-path inheritance, a possible druid inheritance in Sleepy Hollow, and Lincoln's collection of inheritances in the North.
• Liu Zhi left Edmond at the ship's location, set sail, and took one item from the Hidden Treasure as an unexpected reward.

Liu Zhi followed his Hidden Essential Navigation Chart to a nearby island and dug up an ornate iron-and-copper box. After the box was added to his backpack and its marker vanished from the map, he left the island and continued toward his quest.

• Liu Zhi studied the map, decided to investigate a nearby Hidden Treasure, and changed course instead of sailing straight toward the American Continent.
• Liu Zhi anchored offshore, swam to a small sandy island, and dug near a coconut palm as the map instructed.
• Liu Zhi found an ornate iron box with a heart-shaped emblem and heard a ghostly howl warning that it was not ready to be unearthed.
• Liu Zhi opened the box, found only thick velvet inside, and stored it in his backpack as a possible treasure chest.
• Liu Zhi noticed the Hidden Treasure marker had disappeared, then returned to his boat and sailed away.

Liu Zhi reached the coast of the White Eagle Duchy, where a naval officer recruited him to build a legendary ship from the Cherry Tree. Intrigued by the druids who cared for the tree, Liu Zhi agreed to see it, hoping it could help him begin his druid advancement path.

• Liu Zhi spotted seagulls and a paddle steamer, then realized its Stars and Stripes flag meant he had reached Northern Army territory.
• A supernatural sailor with a Bronze Bloodline boarded Liu Zhi’s boat and questioned him.
• Liu Zhi introduced himself as Sandru Crusoe, a shipwright who had escaped a shipwreck by building his own boat.
• The sailor invited Liu Zhi to join the White Eagle Duchy’s navy and help build the legendary Cyclops Washington from the Cherry Tree.
• Liu Zhi recalled the tree’s history and its druids, then agreed to see it before deciding whether to join.

Liu Zhi met Benjamin Stark, the owner of a shipyard assembling a transcendent Mayflower to strengthen the White Eagle Duchy. Liu Zhi agreed to inspect the project’s materials and progress before deciding whether to join, and Benjamin assured him the wood was ready for construction.

• Liu Zhi was brought before Benjamin Stark, who learned that Liu Zhi was a transcendent shipbuilder after examining his ship.
• Benjamin explained that he was organizing shipbuilders to construct a transcendent Mayflower and use it to secure the White Eagle Duchy’s fortune.
• Liu Zhi worried that the project might require years of waiting and that he had only a little over sixty days left.
• Liu Zhi asked to see the Cherry Tree and the construction’s progress before committing to help.
• Benjamin reassured Liu Zhi that specialists had prepared the materials and led him to inspect them.

Liu Zhi inspected the White Eagle Duchy's modified three-masted gaff-rigged ship and identified its intended supernatural capabilities and flaws in its construction. Benjamin led him into the drying room, where mages kiln-dried the cherry wood for the ship.

• Liu Zhi recognized that the shipwrights were modifying the three-masted gaff-rigged ship for spatial jumps, shields, levitation, and flight.
• Liu Zhi's knowledge impressed the veteran shipwrights, while some ordinary shipwrights saw him as a threat to their chance to become transcendent.
• Liu Zhi observed that the White Eagle Duchy was using supernatural methods throughout the shipbuilding process to improve its chances of producing a legendary vessel.
• Liu Zhi warned Benjamin and the shipwrights that kiln-dried cherry wood lacked the natural qualities of air-dried wood, but they kept their accelerated approach because of the Civil War's deadline.
• Benjamin and two shipwrights used their keys to open the drying room, where three mages took turns regulating the temperature.

Liu Zhi discovered how the shipyard preserved the cherry wood and accepted Benjamin’s offer to help build the ship, with a possible path to joining the Thunderwing Druids. While waiting for construction to begin, he studied orthodox shipbuilding and learned how a shipbuilder could reach legendary rank.

• Liu Zhi saw Thunderwing Druids channeling natural energy into the cherry-tree stump to preserve its vitality.
• Benjamin offered to recommend Liu Zhi to the Thunderwing Council and explained that the ship would be built over the next two weeks.
• Liu Zhi settled into the shipyard and spent his days learning from experienced transcendent shipbuilders and studying blueprints.
• Liu Zhi learned nine ship designs and discovered that legendary shipbuilders had to create their own magically modified ship, build a legendary vessel, and send it on a legendary expedition.