Chapter Summaries

Kengo received a succession of powerful visitors seeking Ailin, including Ashcroft, a Sovereign's Emissary. After learning Ashcroft served the Overgod who governed Blood Phantom Prefecture, Ailin agreed to meet him.

• Kengo saw Prefect Tulum off and noted that four powerful visitors had come to pay respects to Ailin without meeting him.
• Ashcroft and Bro arrived at the City Lord's Mansion, and Kengo respectfully invited them inside.
• Bro worried that Ailin might refuse to see them, but Ashcroft said they should show respect and could seek help from the Overgod if needed.
• Kengo informed Ailin that Ashcroft wished to visit him, and Linasha identified Ashcroft as the Overgod's Emissary.
• Ailin learned that the Overgod had tacitly approved Linasha's conflict with the Four Divine Beast Family and told Kengo to bring Ashcroft in.

Linasha left Blood Nether City after warning Ailin that the Four Divine Beast Family remained dangerous. Ailin met Ashcroft and Bro, learned about the Ghost Sovereign and the feud that had devastated Ashcroft’s family, and concluded that the Sovereign favored those who opposed the Four Divine Beast Family.

• Linasha left Blood Nether City and urged Ailin to stay alert because the Four Divine Beast Family would not let matters rest.
• Kengo brought Ashcroft and Bro to meet Ailin, who told Ashcroft that he came from a Material Plane.
• Ailin asked Ashcroft about the Ghost Sovereign’s conflict with the Four Divine Beast Family, but Ashcroft said he knew little beyond the Sovereign’s dislike of them.
• Bro explained that the Four Divine Beast Family had killed Ilena while trying to seize Dragon Soul Mountain Range, beginning a feud that cost Ashcroft his wife and children.
• Ashcroft told Ailin that he had become the Ghost Sovereign’s Envoy only after his family’s deaths, and that the Sovereign’s support had helped him resist the Four Divine Beast Family.

Ailin learned from Ashcroft about the strength of the Four Divine Beast Family and its Netherworld branch. Ashcroft left with Bro, believing the family would provoke Ailin again and create an opportunity for the Ashcroft Family to seek revenge.

• Ashcroft told Ailin that the Dragon Soul Mountain Range branch had Ennio, twenty-one remaining elders, four elders near the Asura level, and nearly two hundred Six-star Demons.
• Ashcroft offered the Ashcroft Family’s support, but Ailin said his killing of Ennio had nothing to do with the Nether Snake Family and hinted that the family’s conflict with the Four Divine Beast Family would have its reckoning.
• After leaving the City Lord's Mansion, Ashcroft explained to Bro that they should not try to use Ailin for revenge, but should wait for the Four Divine Beast Family to act against him again.
• Ashcroft ordered Bro to have Lormo monitor the Four Divine Beast Family and report any move immediately.

Ashcroft left Bro in Blood Nether City and went to visit the Overgod, while Ailin’s rise to Paragon prompted the Four Divine Beast Family’s founders to halt their pursuit of Blood Pattern Ice. Gaisreisen and the others left the hall intending to find a supreme expert to confront Ailin and restore the family’s prestige.

• Ashcroft told Bro to remain in Blood Nether City and visit Ailin again if the family received relevant news, then flew off to visit the Overgod.
• The Four Divine Beasts discussed Ailin’s victory over Hamusi and suspected he was Linasha’s Envoy because he had used her Sovereign Artifact.
• Leiding ordered Gaisreisen to put the Blood Pattern Ice matter on hold while Ailin remained in Linasha’s territory.
• Leiding allowed Gaisreisen and the other clan leaders to make their own plans to restore the family’s prestige, and the four founders returned to their secluded research.
• After leaving the hall, Gaisreisen said they needed to invite a supreme expert to deal with Ailin, even if they abandoned the Blood Pattern Ice.

Nearly a hundred years after Ailin became a Paragon High-God, Montro and Uman arrived in Blood Nether City to visit him, with Uman carrying the Light Sovereign’s invitation for Ailin to become an Envoy. Kengo welcomed them into the City Lord’s Mansion, leaving their meeting with Ailin to come.

• News of Ailin’s advancement spread throughout the Divine Planes, and many powerful visitors gathered in Blood Nether City, though Ailin stopped receiving them and left city affairs to Kengo.
• Montro and Uman traveled from the Light God Plane to Blood Nether City, intending to meet Ailin before dealing with the Four Divine Beast Family.
• Montro and Uman reached the City Lord’s Mansion, where the guards recognized their standing and went to announce them.
• Kengo came out to greet Montro and Uman and invited them into the City Lord’s Mansion.

Ailin met Montro and Uman of the Augusta Family, who tried to recruit him as an Envoy of the Light Sovereign, but he refused. Before they left, they gave him a lavish gift from Han Jin, including materials that could aid his Water God Avatar’s cultivation.

• Kengo told Ailin that Montro and Uman had come to visit, and Ailin agreed to meet them.
• Montro explained that Han Jin had sent them after seeing Ailin kill Hamusi, and Ailin made clear he had no reason to grow close to the Augusta Family.
• Uman asked whether Ailin would serve as an Envoy of the Light Sovereign, but Ailin interrupted him and refused.
• Ailin spent two days talking with Montro and Uman before they returned to the Light God Plane to address conflict with the Four Divine Beast Family.
• Montro gave Ailin a Space Ring of gifts from Han Jin, and Ailin found materials that could help his Water God Avatar cultivate.

Ennio learned that Montro and Uman of the Augusta Family had met Ailin and headed toward Cloud Blood Prefecture, while Gaisreisen suspected the Augusta Family was preparing to retaliate against the Four Divine Beast Family. Gaisreisen feared Ennio’s remaining Water God Avatar was the target and ordered him to return to Hell immediately.

• Puxiu told Ennio that Montro and Uman had met Ailin in Blood Nether City and then traveled toward Cloud Blood Prefecture.
• Ennio ordered his clansmen in Cloud Blood Prefecture to return to the Dragon Soul Mountain Range and told Puxiu to report the news to the family.
• A clansman informed Gaisreisen that Montro and Uman had arrived in the Netherworld, prompting him to suspect the Augusta Family was targeting the Four Divine Beast Family.
• Gaisreisen worried that Ennio’s Water God Avatar was the Augusta Family’s target and urgently ordered Ennio to return to Hell.

Gaisreisen issued a Clan Leader's Edict ordering Ennio back to Hell as the Four Divine Beast Family prepared for conflict with the Augusta Family. He deployed forces to the Netherworld and sought allies against Ailin, while suspecting Ailin might no longer follow the Augusta Family's orders.

• Gaisreisen issued a Clan Leader's Edict recalling Ennio and warned that revenge would be meaningless if Ennio died.
• The Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise Clan Leaders met with Gaisreisen after learning that Montro and Uman had appeared in the Netherworld.
• Gaisreisen planned to send Gaia, Andrew, Bru, and elders to the Netherworld, while halting attacks in the other Divine Planes.
• Gaisreisen learned that Aiken had not agreed to help fight Ailin and ordered the family to seek other experts willing to challenge Ailin, even to a draw.
• The White Tiger Clan Leader warned that Han Jin might ask Magnus to intervene, but Gaisreisen doubted it and suspected Ailin might no longer act on the Augusta Family's behalf.

Montro and Uman recruited the Akes Family to strike back against the Four Divine Beast Family. The Akes forces left Cloud Sun City, and the Four Divine Beast Family prepared to surround and kill them.

• The Akes Family patriarch lamented his clan’s persecution as clansmen urged him to fight back.
• Montro and Uman arrived at the Akes estate, and Montro showed Akes a token from the Augusta Family.
• Montro ordered Akes to gather High-Gods and recruit demons to attack the Four Divine Beast Family.
• Akes accepted Montro’s orders, and the Akes forces left Cloud Sun City with Montro leading them.
• A Four Divine Beast Family captain learned the Akes forces were approaching and ordered his clansmen to prepare an ambush.

Montro and Uman helped the Akes Family wipe out a Four Divine Beast Family squad and began preparing a larger counterattack. In Blood Nether City, Linasha warned Ailin that the Four Divine Beast Family had hired a powerful expert to target him.

• Montro and Uman helped Akes's clan kill a Four Divine Beast Family squad, then ordered the battle's Floating Shadow spread to publicize the defeat.
• Four Divine Beast Family squads increasingly suffered counterattacks as Augusta Family clansmen arrived in the Netherworld and joined the fighting.
• Montro and Uman set out for the Dragon Soul Mountain Range, where Uman hoped to eliminate Ennio's surviving Divine Clone for Ailin's sake.
• Ailin learned that the Augusta Family had come on behalf of the Light Sovereign to offer him the position of Envoy, which he had declined.
• Linasha visited Ailin and warned him that the Four Divine Beast Family had hired an extremely powerful expert to deal with him.

Linasha warned Ailin that the Four Divine Beast Family had recruited Keshrolao and Aiken, and Ailin chose to enter seclusion rather than accept her Sovereign Artifact. Meanwhile, Aiken agreed to travel to the Brinia Plane to rescue two missing elders, while the clan leaders prepared for Keshrolao to confront Ailin.

• Linasha told Ailin that Keshrolao and Aiken had contacted the Four Divine Beast Family, and she urged him to keep Crimson Fire for a possible battle with Keshrolao.
• Ailin refused Crimson Fire, said he had a plan, and ordered Kengo to handle Blood Nether City while he entered seclusion.
• Aiken refused to fight Ailin but agreed to go to the Brinia Plane to rescue Youser and Kager after the Four Divine Beast Family asked for his help.
• Gaisreisen and the other clan leaders learned Aiken had agreed and discussed their suspicions that the Brinia Plane connected Ailin to the Augusta Family.
• Gaisreisen said Keshrolao had agreed to fight Ailin, and the clan leaders considered traveling to the Netherworld to witness the battle.
• After the Four Divine Beast Family's representatives left, Aiken flew away from Heavenly Rock Peak, thinking about the Brinia Plane.

Two years after the Four Divine Beast Family’s losses mounted, Gaisreisen arrived in the Netherworld and ordered Ennio to lead a campaign against the Augusta Family. Ten years later, while Montro and Uman prepared to attack Ennio, Ailin abandoned his Trial Ground experiment and sensed someone from Hell arriving in the Brinia Plane.

• Ennio welcomed Gaisreisen and the other Patriarchs, and the Vermillion Bird Clan Leader urged him to apologize and assured him the family would avenge Ailin’s actions.
• Gaisreisen blamed the Augusta Family for backing Ailin, ordered Ennio to form a Hunting Team, and placed the Four Divine Beast Family on war readiness.
• Gaisreisen told Ennio that Keshrolao would fight Ailin, offered him Sovereign’s Might and the Azure Dragon Ring, and accepted Ennio’s refusal of the ring.
• Ennio led ten elders and other clan members out of the Dragon Soul Mountain Range to hunt Augusta Family members in Cloud Blood Prefecture.
• Ten years later, Montro and Uman gathered in Dragon Blood City, where Uman volunteered to kill Ennio and his ten accompanying elders.
• Ailin concluded that building the Trial Ground would not improve his comprehension of the Death Law, then sensed someone from Hell entering the Brinia Plane and returned there.

Aiken arrived on the Brinia Plane seeking the Four Divine Beast Family’s missing elders, but Ailin met him and discovered that Aiken was an ancestor of Ladd. After Aiken described his past in the War of Faith and explained how the Four Divine Beast Family had misled him, Ailin questioned him about ancient relics, while an unnamed man in the Netherworld resolved to prove something connected to an Overgod.

• Hamdan saw Aiken arrive through the Teleportation Array and told him that it had activated a century earlier without anyone appearing.
• Ailin arrived at Wind Thunder Mountain, recognized Aiken, and took him to the Duncan Family’s territory.
• Aiken recognized his bloodline in Ladd, and Ailin learned that Aiken had visited the Brinia Plane during the ancient War of Faith.
• Aiken told Ailin that the Four Divine Beast Family had deceived him into coming to rescue two elders and said he planned to confront them.
• Ailin showed Aiken Divine Artifact fragments and asked about the Brinia Plane’s history, but Aiken could not explain when they had originated.
• In the Netherworld, a blue-robed man told Lia that he was acting to prove something he believed might be connected to an Overgod.

Uman led an Augusta Family force to Wind Source Valley, where he killed Ennio and devastated the Four Divine Beast Family’s Hunting Team. After receiving news of the losses, Gaisreisen declared war, while Lia and the refined man later passed through Cloud Blood Prefecture and continued toward Blood Phantom Prefecture.

• Uman’s group was ambushed by hundreds of Four Divine Beast Family members, but Uman’s strength helped the Augusta Family rout them and kill most of the attackers.
• Ennio and the elders prepared a coordinated assault at Wind Source Valley, using battle arrays, Sovereign’s Might, and their Innate Divine Abilities against Uman and the Augusta Family elders.
• Uman resisted their Soul Attacks and killed Ennio, while the Four Divine Beast Family’s desperate fighting also killed one Augusta Family elder before the battle ended.
• Gaisreisen learned that Ennio and most of the Hunting Team had fallen, then ordered the Four Divine Beast Family to begin the war.
• Nearly five hundred years later, Lia and the refined man reached Cloud Blood Prefecture, but the refined man declined to meet Gaisreisen and continued toward Blood Phantom Prefecture.

Keshrolao, a long-hidden Paragon High-God from the Wind Element Divine Plane, arrived in Blood Nether City and declared that he would challenge Ailin. Because Ailin remained in seclusion, Keshrolao agreed to wait, and Kengo went to report the challenge to the Prefect.

• Bro told Kengo that the Four Divine Beast Family had apparently invited an expert to Blood Nether City, then left to contact the Augusta Family.
• Keshrolao and Lia approached the City Lord's Mansion, where Keshrolao showed a Wind Hunter Badge and announced his challenge to Ailin.
• Kengo recognized Keshrolao as a long-hidden Paragon High-God and brought him into the mansion, but explained that Ailin had been in seclusion for several hundred years.
• Keshrolao said he would wait for Ailin and that ten thousand years without an answer would count as Ailin's admission of defeat.
• After Keshrolao left, Kengo decided to report the challenge to the Prefect.

Keshrolao challenged Ailin and visited Linasha in the Abyssal Sea to explain that his reasons were personal, while the Four Divine Beast Family and the Augusta Family watched the dispute unfold. After five thousand years of rumors that Ailin was avoiding the challenge, Ailin sensed he had reached the final step of his cultivation, and Heavenly Law descended.

• The Four Divine Beast Family learned that Keshrolao had publicly challenged Ailin, and Gaisreisen decided to go to Blood Nether City.
• Keshrolao traveled to the Abyssal Sea and told Linasha that he had challenged Ailin for personal reasons and would not lose.
• Linasha left for Blood Nether City to oversee events while Ailin remained in seclusion.
• Five thousand years passed, and rumors spread that Ailin was delaying the challenge because he feared Keshrolao.
• Ailin sensed that he had reached the final step of his cultivation, and Heavenly Law descended.

Ailin reached Paragon after 5,500 years of cultivation and accepted Keshrolao’s challenge on Steridan Island. As the battle began before a vast crowd, Keshrolao hinted that Ailin’s identity had raised suspicions and promised to explain his own affairs afterward.

• Ailin left the Nether Sea after reaching Paragon and returned to Blood Nether City, where he accepted Keshrolao’s challenge for one month later on Steridan Island.
• The Four Divine Beast Family and the Augusta Family prepared to record and publicize the fight, while Gaisreisen learned that Kende and others might have come to watch.
• A month later, countless spectators gathered around Steridan Island as Keshrolao and Ailin arrived.
• Keshrolao privately asked whether Ailin was a Paragon High-God and said Ailin’s appearance had made him suspicious about matters he had investigated for years.
• Ailin agreed to fight, and Keshrolao began the battle by distorting the space around himself as spectators recorded Floating Shadows.

Ailin and Keshrolao fought on Steridan Island, where Ailin countered Keshrolao’s Mist Shadow Technique and matched his Sovereign Artifact-enhanced material attacks. After they called off the inconclusive battle, Ailin asked Keshrolao why he had intervened for the Four Divine Beast Family.

• Keshrolao used his Mist Shadow Technique to fill the battlefield with concealed phantom images, but Ailin’s icy blossoms restricted the mist and destroyed the phantoms.
• Keshrolao charged with his curved blade, and Ailin used Ice Spikes and the Zhanmadao to identify his true position and carve a vast Space Chasm through the mist.
• Keshrolao abandoned the Mist Shadow Technique, and he and Ailin exchanged material attacks while spectators fled from the destructive aftershocks.
• Linasha and a red-haired young woman watched from a distance and discussed Ailin’s strength, while Gaisreisen and the others worried about the gap between him and Keshrolao.
• Ailin and Keshrolao broke apart after a powerful clash, agreed that neither could gain an advantage, and Keshrolao acknowledged that Ailin had held back when he killed Hamusi.
• Ailin asked Keshrolao why he had appeared on behalf of the Four Divine Beast Family.

Ailin spoke with Keshrolao, who explained how he distinguished true Paragon High-Gods from Overgods’ Divine Clones and revealed what he knew about the missing Sovereign Sparks. After confirming that Ailin was a true Paragon rather than an Overgod’s clone, Keshrolao withdrew from Ailin’s conflict with the Four Divine Beast Family.

• Keshrolao named sixteen true Paragon High-Gods and explained that the other suspected Paragons he knew were Overgods’ Divine Clones, including Andria.
• Keshrolao admitted that he had challenged Ailin because Ailin’s sudden rise made him suspect Ailin was an Overgod’s Divine Clone, but their fight proved Ailin was a true Paragon.
• Keshrolao said seventy-seven Sovereign Sparks had appeared, with seventy-four confirmed refined, and believed the remaining three were an unrefined Water Element Lower Lord Godhead, a Life Lower Main God, and a Death Mid-level Main God.
• Keshrolao revealed that he had a Water God Avatar and was searching for the missing Water Element Sovereign Spark.
• Keshrolao accepted that Ailin was not an Overgod and said he would not interfere in Ailin’s matters with the Four Divine Beast Family.

After Ailin and Keshrolao ended their battle without a clear victor, the Four Divine Beast Family reconsidered its plans while the Death Sovereign declined to interfere in the search for missing Sovereign Sparks or the family’s conflict with the Augusta Family. In Hell, the four Leiding successfully tested a method combining soul power, blood essence, and a Magic Array, but its limits left the results for Tia and the others uncertain.

• Keshrolao left after speaking privately with Ailin, who declared that the city lord’s position would remain unchanged and returned to Blood Nether City.
• Gaisreisen told the Four Divine Beast Family not to discuss Keshrolao’s performance, accepted that Ennio’s matter was over, and ordered the family to leave Blood Nether City while spreading the Floating Shadow of the battle.
• The Death Sovereign rejected using Soul Seeds to send God-level beings into Material Planes to search for Sovereign Sparks and told Linasha not to interfere in the Four Divine Beast Family’s fight with the Augusta Family.
• The four Leiding succeeded in combining soul-power fusion with a Magic Array, but noted that the method required Magic Array knowledge and blood essence and might not work for Tia and the others.