Chapter Summaries

Huo Ling revealed that he had secretly altered his contract with Augustine, binding the emperor’s life and soul to him. Augustine agreed to serve Huo Ling and remain emperor for now, leaving the Alto Empire as Huo Ling’s vassal as Huo Ling began planning to extract its resources.

• Huo Ling showed Augustine the hidden contract that claimed his life and soul, then offered to take him to the Spirit Realm if he submitted.
• Huo Ling threatened to invade the Teri Plane with devils and undead if Augustine refused, and Augustine agreed to obey.
• Huo Ling allowed Augustine to remain emperor for several years, advance to Legendary, choose an heir, and stabilize the plane before departing.
• Augustine addressed Huo Ling as “Your Majesty” and promised to provide the plane’s coordinates and select an heir.
• Huo Ling’s projection vanished, and Huo Ling planned to make the Alto Empire a vassal that paid tribute and gradually lost the nobles’ territories.

Huo Ling assigned Stone to govern the newly conquered Alto Empire in the Teri Plane and outlined reforms to strengthen imperial rule. Stone accepted the mission and prepared to abolish serfdom, reduce noble fiefs, and educate commoners as officials.

• Huo Ling told Stone he would lead a cross-plane colonization mission, and Stone accepted without hesitation.
• Huo Ling explained that Stone would select loyal administrators, officers, trainers, and teachers to help manage the Alto Empire.
• Stone identified the empire’s key problems and proposed cutting down feudal domains, abolishing serfdom, reducing the army, and training commoner officials.
• Huo Ling approved Stone’s plans and ordered him to begin preparing the first three reforms, backed by Augustine, undead forces, and the Death Guard.
• Huo Ling told Stone to crush noble rebellions, fund basic education, and consider establishing a Church of the God of Death to help govern the empire.

Huo Ling mastered five legendary spells, continued studying the rules of death, and reviewed the growing income from his territories and the Alto Empire. With his wealth converted into materials, he prepared to build his own mage tower and gathered spellcasters to help.

• Huo Ling mastered Legendary Mage Shield, Death's Finger, Cloud Incineration, Edict: Intimidate, and Greater Solar Burst.
• Huo Ling continued studying the rules of death in the Death Plane and planned to learn the legendary spell Undead Cataclysm.
• Huo Ling reviewed profits from the Spirit Realm plantations, mineral veins, Purgatory cities, and Alto Empire taxes and seized noble resources.
• Huo Ling decided to prioritize constructing a mage tower over building a demiplane and gathered the territory's available spellcasters to assist.

Huo Ling searched the Outer Void for a fire elemental plane where he could place the mage tower’s energy-storage core. After two failed coordinates, he entered a vast fire elemental plane and began looking for a suitable hidden location.

• Huo Ling oversaw construction of the mage tower in Plains City while creating its mana pool and energy-storage runes.
• Huo Ling used coordinates purchased from Purgatory to search the Outer Void for a fire elemental plane, but the first two locations were empty.
• Huo Ling found a huge fire elemental plane and decided to enter despite the risk of encountering powerful native creatures.
• Huo Ling disguised himself with the complete fire rules and spent several days opening a hole through the plane’s crystal wall.
• Huo Ling entered the plane, recorded his entry point, and flew over its lava-filled landscape to find a hidden site rich in mana and free of powerful creatures.

Huo Ling searched the Fire Elemental Plane for a place to hide but was discovered by a Fire Elemental Elder and forced to flee. As more fire elementals converged, he injured his pursuer with Death's Finger and cut a Sanctuary-tier Large Fire Elemental in two with Sky-Piercing Halberd.

• Huo Ling uprooted a valuable flame tree and fled when dangerous auras approached.
• A Fire Elemental Elder accused Huo Ling of being a thief and attacked him despite his claim that he had come to find allies.
• Huo Ling used Blink to evade the Elder, then struck it with Death's Finger and escaped while it recovered in pain.
• The Elder pursued Huo Ling and its attacks drew other fire elementals toward them.
• Huo Ling Blinked behind a Large Fire Elemental and split it in two with Sky-Piercing Halberd.

Huo Ling escaped a hostile Plane of Fire with an elemental crystal core and moved on to a quieter plane. There, he installed an energy-storage core that began drawing fire mana into his mage tower, then continued hunting fire elementals.

• Huo Ling tore the elemental crystal core from a large fire elemental and fled from the pursuing fire elemental elder.
• He widened the crystal-wall breach with Greater Solar Burst, escaped, and drove the elder away with repeated legendary spells.
• Huo Ling abandoned the first Plane of Fire and found a smaller, less active plane at his fifth set of coordinates.
• He broke through the plane’s crystal wall, killed nearby fire elementals, and set up an energy-storage core that concealed itself and began drawing fire mana into his mage tower.
• Huo Ling spent two more days hunting large fire elementals and collecting their crystal cores.

Huo Ling activated the magic pool in his mage tower, confirming that its first level was already more than halfway complete. On Blue Star, Gu Zhengyuan realized Huo Ling had begun building without the Gu, Zhao, and Ren families’ planned investment, leaving them unable to dictate terms.

• Huo Ling returned to Plains City and activated the magic pool, which filled with compressed liquid flame magic.
• Gu Zhengyuan learned that Huo Ling’s mage tower was under construction and that its magic pool had begun operating.
• Gu Zhengyuan’s aide estimated that Huo Ling could afford only the tower’s first level, but Gu Zhengyuan warned that even one level greatly empowered a Legendary mage.
• Gu Zhengyuan’s son suggested asking Afu to find out whether Huo Ling still needed funds, but Gu Zhengyuan rebuked him because Huo Ling would have more bargaining power if the families approached him.
• Gu Zhengyuan prepared to summon the Zhao and Ren family heads, then changed his mind and concluded that the families could not afford to cast Huo Ling aside.

As Huo Ling’s mage tower rapidly took shape and began producing mana essences, the Gu Family sent Gu Liangjun to negotiate an investment. Gu Liangjun offered resources worth four billion mana stones in exchange for shares in Plains City, and Huo Ling left the proposal hanging by questioning the city’s uncertain future profits.

• Gu Zhengyuan instructed Gu Liangjun to negotiate with Huo Ling quickly and seek shares in Plains City in exchange for funding his mage tower.
• Huo Ling oversaw the tower’s rapid construction as rune arrays appeared above Plains City and mana essences formed in its mana pool.
• Huo Ling welcomed Gu Liangjun at the mana pool and showed him a mana essence, impressing him with his ability to handle liquid fire mana.
• As Huo Ling toured the tower with Gu Liangjun, he said he could afford only one floor without taking on debt.
• Gu Liangjun offered at least four billion mana stones’ worth of resources in exchange for shares in Plains City.
• Huo Ling questioned Gu Liangjun’s confidence in Plains City’s future profits.

Huo Ling negotiated with the Gu Family and other powerful families to sell portions of Plains City's shares in exchange for magic stones and resources. The investments accelerated construction of his mage tower and Plains City's defenses, with Huo Ling giving up thirty-five percent of the city's shares in total.

• Gu Liangjun offered four billion magic stones for twenty percent of Plains City's shares, then lowered his offer to nine percent after Huo Ling rejected his first proposals.
• Huo Ling set his price at five billion magic stones for eight percent of Plains City's shares and told Gu Liangjun to consult Lord Gu if he lacked authority to accept.
• Gu Liangjun left to report back to Blue Star and saw an elder of the Zhao Family arriving at the mage tower construction site.
• Huo Ling received emissaries from one family after another, signing investment contracts as magic stones and resources flowed into Plains City.
• Huo Ling gave the Gu Family, Zhao Family, and Ren Family seven to eight percent of the shares each, distributing thirty-five percent of Plains City's shares overall.
• The influx of investment funded three additional mage tower floors and the completion of Plains City's defensive rune array.

Huo Ling completed the first three floors of his mage tower and secured a suitable wind elemental plane to finish the fourth floor’s core. He returned to Plains City as spellcasters continued building the tower’s defenses and rune arrays.

• Huo Ling activated the completed first floor, gaining powerful defenses, enhanced spell penetration, access to its mana pool, and the ability to cast two Legendary spells at once.
• Huo Ling searched the outer void for a wind elemental plane, but after breaching one’s crystal wall, he was chased away by three wind elemental elders.
• Huo Ling eventually found a suitable wind elemental plane, infiltrated it, and placed an energy-storage core inside.
• Huo Ling returned to Plains City and inspected his mage tower as hired spellcasters worked on its construction.

Miners in Liu Li’s family uncovered a passage into an underground world, and the Liu Family secretly began exploring it to claim its valuable resources. The chapter described the world’s inhabitants and harsh social order as the family’s scouts advanced into the depths.

• Liu Family miners blasted open a vast cavern and found glowing mushrooms, prompting their foreman to report a possible passage to an underground world.
• Liu Li learned of the discovery and ordered his guard warrior to silence the miners and keep the find secret.
• The Liu Family sent trusted warriors and spellcasters through the passage, establishing an outpost and scouting for valuable materials.
• The chapter described underground settlements, their mushroom-based food, and the races living there, including dark elves, gray dwarves, and mind flayers.
• The chapter explained that the underground world was a brutal slave society, where dark elves worshipped Lolth and practiced torture for power and divine favor.

A Liu Family force ambushed and captured a dark elf patrol in the tunnels near a subterranean city. The patrol captain awoke bound before a Veteran Gold knight, who ordered soldiers to take him away.

• A dark elf patrol traveled through the tunnels near the city, where dark elves ruled over a population of slaves and free residents from many races.
• A silent attack struck the patrol, and humans slaughtered the slave soldiers and overwhelmed the dark elves.
• The attackers erased the battlefield, captured the survivors, and withdrew to a designated location.
• The dark elf patrol captain woke up bound before a Liu Family officer and threatened him by invoking the Moni Family.
• The Liu Family knight ordered two Silver-rank soldiers to drag the captain away.

The Liu Family interrogated a captured dark elf patrol captain and learned limited intelligence about Moni City. The family leaders then debated whether to oppose the dark elves, whose forces greatly outmatched theirs.

• The soldiers beat and tortured the dark elf captain until he revealed what he knew about Moni City and the Moni Clan.
• After the interrogation, an officer ordered the dark elves killed, and a soldier stabbed the captain to death.
• The Liu Family’s leaders reviewed intelligence and discussed how to handle the underground world and the dark elf city.
• A spellcaster argued that conflict with the dark elves was inevitable if the family continued mining, while a general warned that Moni City had six Sanctuary experts and tens of thousands of Black Iron-rank individuals.

The Liu Family decided it could not conquer the dark elf city alone and chose to report the underground world to Huo Ling. After reading their intelligence, Huo Ling weighed whether the city was isolated or belonged to a larger power before deciding how to respond.

• The Liu Family general warned that the family lacked the strength to fight the dark elves, and the spellcaster proposed reporting the underground world to the Legendary Mage.
• The Liu Family Patriarch secured the meeting’s agreement and flew to Plains City to report the discovery to Huo Ling.
• Huo Ling received the patriarch beneath his nearly completed mage tower and read the intelligence about the underground dark gnome city.
• Huo Ling considered conquering the city for its resources and residents, but worried that a larger dark elf power might retaliate and constrain his territory.

Huo Ling appointed Liu Ziping to lead Plains City's new Underground Trade Department and negotiate with the dark elves of Moni City. Liu Ziping set out with human and undead guards, beginning the journey through the underground tunnels.

• Liu Ziping advised Huo Ling to gather intelligence and pursue trade with the dark elves before deciding whether to conquer their city.
• Huo Ling created the Underground Trade Department, appointed Liu Ziping as its first director, and granted the Liu Family ten percent of future trade-route profits.
• Huo Ling assigned Liu Ziping to negotiate trade terms in person and sent a Death Vanguard and a Death Guard to accompany him.
• Liu Ziping led an envoy of humans and undead through the mine tunnels toward Moni City.
• The envoy nearly entered the wrong tunnel but noticed the mistake in time.

Liu Ziping led a human delegation into Moni City to request an audience with its city lord, while Huo Ling secretly entered to assess the city's defenses and investigate the Dark Elves. Huo Ling found no Legendary defenders but avoided a Spider Queen church as a sacrificial ceremony approached.

• A Dark Elf patrol stopped Liu Ziping's party, but the captain agreed to let them enter after learning they were envoys seeking an audience with the city lord.
• Moni City's female Dark Elf city lord ordered the humans admitted and summoned the other matrons.
• Huo Ling arrived separately, concealed himself with spells, and followed Liu Ziping's party into the city unnoticed.
• Huo Ling surveyed Moni City's defenses and its many inhabitants, finding no Legendary-level power there.
• Huo Ling discovered a church of Lolth where a sacrificial ceremony was imminent, so he avoided exploring nearby to prevent the Spider Queen from noticing him.

Liu Ziping arrived in Moni City as Huo Ling’s representative and proposed trade with its Dark Elf families, claiming to serve a Legendary Mage. After he left, the city’s Saints debated whether his backing was real and whether they should accept the deal, with Xila deciding they could rely on the Dragon King.

• Liu Ziping met City Lord Xila and the Matron Mothers, presenting himself as an envoy for a Legendary Mage and proposing trade between the surface and Moni City.
• Xila invited the two Saint undead into the manor, and Liu Ziping showed the Dark Elves a scroll listing goods for trade.
• The Matron Mothers questioned Liu Ziping about missing patrols, but he denied knowing what had happened, and they let him depart to rest.
• After Liu Ziping left, Copper Hammer and the martial arts chief argued that his confidence suggested he had powerful backing.
• Molin warned that the Dark Elves had no Legendary ally, but Xila replied that the Dragon King would protect them from the surface humans’ Legendary.

After Liu Ziping signed a trade agreement with Moni City and departed, Huo Ling uncovered the city’s history of submission to the underground Iwa Kingdom and its legendary red dragon ruler, Dragon King Iwa. Huo Ling wondered whether Iwa might be Solz’s father, but was left uncertain how to deal with a dragon far stronger than himself.

• Liu Ziping and Xila signed a trade agreement, and Liu Ziping left someone behind until Moni City was ready to begin trading.
• Huo Ling used Suggestion to gather information from dark elves and learned that Moni City was ruled by eleven families, three of whose matriarchs were Saint-rank priests.
• Huo Ling discovered that Moni City and other subterranean settlements paid tribute and sent soldiers to Dragon King Iwa, a powerful red dragon who ruled the Iwa Kingdom.
• Huo Ling learned that Iwa had defeated Moni City in the past, but the Spider Queen Lolth’s divine servant drove him away after four matriarchs died.
• Huo Ling suspected that Solz might have been Iwa’s offspring and considered whether Solz had escaped to the surface.

Huo Ling abandoned plans to conquer the dark elf city after learning its priests might summon servant gods, then returned to Plains City to strengthen his defenses. He hosted He Wenhan at the completion ceremony for his mage tower, where his family, powerful envoys, and many prospective allies gathered.

• Huo Ling decided not to attack the dark elf city because its remaining matriarchs could summon servant gods, and he feared threats from Lolth, Dragon King Iwa, and the Half-Orc Empire.
• Huo Ling returned to Plains City and continued improving its defenses and mage tower, planning to recruit He Wenhan for the Flesh Modification work.
• He Wenhan arrived through the teleportation gate and was escorted to the mage tower by administrators, Dread Knights, and a Sanctuary-rank Death Warlord.
• Huo Ling held a ceremony for the completed four-story mage tower, attended by powerful envoys, more than a dozen Sanctuary-rank individuals, and his household.
• Huo Ling's two sons had awakened at Black Iron rank, and five of the young women in his household were pregnant.
• Huo Ling's second and third brothers attended with women sent by families seeking ties to the Huo family.

Huo Ling held the inauguration ceremony for his mage tower, honoring his teacher He Wenhan and linking the tower to Plains City’s defensive arrays. After the guests departed, he turned to expanding Flesh Modification and building up his forces.

• Huo Ling welcomed He Wenhan to the mage tower and told him that the tower was his as well.
• Huo Ling led He Wenhan through the tower, then sent him to the Huo family's viewing area, where the guests learned he was Huo Ling's teacher.
• Huo Ling linked the tower's rune arrays and connected them to Plains City's defenses, giving the city a new source of energy.
• Huo Ling prepared the expanded first floor as a Flesh Modification research area for He Wenhan, Wilmot, and several liches.
• Huo Ling continued developing modified warriors while the cities in Purgatory supplied him with growing numbers of undead soldiers.