Chapter Summaries

Teks enslaved Makajila and ordered him to gather souls, but Rhodes and Pash arrived and forced the lich to reveal what he knew about the Undead Realm. After Rhodes reduced Teks to a head and spared his life, he and Pash flew north to seek the Undead Lords.

• Teks used Soul Control to enslave Makajila and ordered him to collect the souls of the remaining Saint-level undead.
• Over seven days, the low-level undead died, and Makajila killed the surviving Saint-level undead and brought their souls to Teks.
• Rhodes and Pash approached, so Teks fled and ordered Makajila to stop them; Pash killed Makajila and intercepted Teks.
• Teks told Rhodes about the Undead Realm's domains and the eighteen Undead Lords in its outer domains, and warned that its undead might be hostile to them.
• Rhodes turned Teks's body to ash with a Light Sword, spared his head, and flew north with Pash to meet the Undead Lords.

Rhodes and Pash reached a Dreadlord’s castle at the boundary of the Undead Realm’s Outer Region and Central Region after decades of travel. Pash killed a Skeleton Clan Highgod, and the brothers called on the Dreadlord to come out so they could question him.

• Rhodes and Pash continued toward the Central Region on a Bone Dragon, collecting Soul Gold Beads from the deities they defeated along the way.
• Rhodes spotted a castle guarded by several Highgods and ordered the Bone Dragon to approach it.
• A Skeleton Clan Highgod attacked Rhodes and Pash with Bone Spears, then sent word to the Dreadlord that outsiders were approaching.
• Pash shattered the Highgod’s Bone Spears and Bone Shield with his Battle Blade and killed him with one slash.
• Pash challenged the other Highgod defenders and called for the Dreadlord to emerge from the castle.

Pash defeated and captured the Dreadlord, while Rhodes questioned him about the Undead Realm. The Dreadlord revealed that four emperors ruled its center and that undead creatures were drawn there by a rumored sacred artifact.

• Pash fought the Dreadlord, overcame his halos and poisonous mist, and captured him after severing his horns.
• The Dreadlord said he served the Nether Emperor and asked Rhodes and Pash to spare his life in exchange for information.
• Rhodes killed the remaining Highgods with Heavenly Tribulation after Pash urged him to frighten the Dreadlord into talking.
• The Dreadlord explained that four emperors ruled the center of the Undead Realm, each guarding one direction.
• The Dreadlord said undead creatures were drawn toward the realm's center, where a sacred artifact of the undead race was rumored to be located.

Rhodes and Pash continued toward the core of the Undead Realm after interrogating the Dreadlord and taking his spatial ring. While inspecting its contents, Rhodes found a strange indestructible object whose purpose he could not identify.

• The Dreadlord told Rhodes that the Four Kings guarded the core, where the Nether Emperor and many powerful undead had vanished, and that an unknown expert had fought into the realm.
• Rhodes spared the Dreadlord but took his spatial ring, and he and Pash set off on Ka Ji toward the core region.
• Pash inspected the spatial rings they had collected and found that the Dreadlord's ring held 43,826 Soul Gold Beads and many divine artifacts taken from his subordinates.
• Rhodes examined the Dreadlord's remaining possessions and found an object resembling a ring setting that resisted his sword strike and could not be investigated with divine or soul power.
• Rhodes stored the mysterious object and Soul Gold Beads in his own spatial ring, then destroyed the items that showed no unusual properties.

Rhodes and Pash fought their way through the Undead Calamity toward the center of the Undead Realm, suspecting the undead were hiding a major secret there. After resting and recovering, Pash returned with a captured Highgod, ready to learn what was happening in the central region.

• Rhodes gave Ka Ji a High Godhead and urged the Bone Dragon to refine it and fly faster.
• Pash recounted how he had defeated the First Underworld General in a deadly duel, while Rhodes recalled the relentless undead attacks that followed.
• Rhodes and Pash changed course to escape their pursuers and landed at a barren mountain to rest before heading for the Nether Emperor.
• Rhodes and Pash suspected the undead were trying to keep outsiders from the central region, so they planned to capture a Highgod and uncover the secret.
• Pash went out to search for a deity while Rhodes recovered and studied the Thunder Crystal; after two days, Pash returned carrying a Highgod.
• Rhodes called softly to the system that had accompanied him to the universe.

Rhodes’s second innate divine ability fully awakened, raising his strength to the Asura level and giving him confidence to enter the Undead Realm’s core region. After Pash captured Yakeluo, Rhodes learned that the four undead kings were still fighting an intruder who had seized the Undead Orb.

• Rhodes examined his system panel and realized his fully developed second innate divine ability had raised his strength from Seven-Star Demon to Asura.
• Rhodes tested the gray divine lightning on the Tribulation-Breaking Divine Sword, which created spatial rifts with a casual swing.
• Pash brought the captured zombie Highgod Yakeluo to Rhodes and explained that deities were searching for them in groups.
• Yakeluo told Rhodes and Pash that the four undead kings were still battling a powerful intruder who had taken the Undead Realm’s supreme treasure.
• Yakeluo identified the supreme treasure as the Undead Orb.

Rhodes and Pash traveled to Undead Valley, where they discovered a battle over the Undead Realm’s supreme treasure. The Nether Emperor revealed that Rhodes and Pash had fought their way into the realm and killed his Nether General, leaving the confrontation poised to draw them into the conflict.

• Rhodes questioned Yakeluo about the Undead Orb, learned it had been stolen by a Death Rule Highgod wielding a whip-shaped divine artifact, and spared him after he swore an oath.
• Rhodes and Pash headed toward Undead Valley, concealing their presence and silencing Deities who discovered them.
• Rhodes and Pash entered the strangely lush, silent valley cautiously and sensed no life beyond its plants.
• Rhodes used Willpower to detect four Deities attacking a fifth powerhouse, who was likely the thief of the Undead Orb, and told Pash not to intervene.
• The Nether Emperor identified Rhodes and Pash to his companions as the intruders who had killed his Nether General and evaded his Infernal Three-Headed Hound.

Rhodes saw the beautiful Highgod Hathaway trapped by four Deities and decided to intervene, then fought the Nether Emperor Hades. Their battle left Hades badly pressured as Rhodes landed a powerful lightning-dragon strike.

• The Nether Emperor Hades and his allies focused on recovering their sacred relic and demanded that Hathaway surrender it.
• Rhodes saw Hathaway and told Pash they should save her, then flew toward the battlefield to confront Hades.
• Hades left the others to deal with Hathaway and attacked Rhodes, but their first clash ended evenly.
• Rhodes’s gray divine lightning severed Hades’s sword, forced him to retreat, and shattered his armor despite Hades’s poisonous mist.
• Rhodes sent a lightning dragon at Hades with a powerful strike, and Hades met it with his fist.

Rhodes and Hades fought fiercely, but Hades’s attacks and ultimate soul strike failed to harm Rhodes. Hades tried to end the fight, but Rhodes prepared to unleash his full-power Annihilation Divine Thunder.

• Hades regenerated his arm and used his speed and strength to keep Rhodes on the defensive, while the other three kings stayed with Hathaway to protect the Undead Realm’s supreme treasure.
• Hades condensed a soul attack into a green snake and sent it at Rhodes, but Rhodes’s sword shadows weakened it and his Willpower prevented it from harming him.
• Hades retreated from Rhodes and proposed that they end the fight, offering to let Rhodes leave without consequences for trespassing.
• Rhodes rejected Hades’s offer and summoned a huge divine bird phantom as he began his Innate Divine Ability, Annihilation Divine Thunder.

Rhodes killed Nether Emperor Hades with Annihilation Divine Thunder, then confronted the remaining undead kings and demanded to see the Netherworld’s supreme treasure. The kings introduced themselves and asked him to leave, but Rhodes’s demand left the confrontation unresolved.

• Rhodes used Annihilation Divine Thunder to destroy Hades despite his bone shield and Nether Emperor’s Will, killing the Nether Emperor in one strike.
• Pash praised Rhodes’s strength but became discouraged about falling behind, and Rhodes comforted him before secretly replenishing his soul power with Soul Gold Beads.
• Rhodes and Pash approached the three remaining undead kings, who threatened to fight until Rhodes reminded them of Hades’s fate.
• Lucifer identified himself as King of the Fallen and named Lilith and Stian, then asked Rhodes to leave the undead forbidden grounds and promised they would not avenge Hades.
• Rhodes demanded to see the Netherworld’s supreme treasure and asked the three kings who opposed or supported him.

Rhodes forced Lucifer, Stian, and Lilith to retreat from the valley after defeating Hades, at Hathaway’s request. Hathaway then agreed to show Rhodes the Undead Orb, though he made clear that he and Pash might keep it if they found it useful.

• Rhodes demanded to see the Netherworld treasure, but Lucifer said the Undead Orb had been stolen by Hathaway and offered to let him see it if he helped retrieve it.
• Rhodes refused Lucifer’s terms and threatened the three rulers with his sword, leaving them afraid to fight.
• Lucifer, Stian, and Lilith decided to retreat, and Rhodes let them go after Hathaway secretly asked him not to interfere because she planned to take revenge herself.
• Rhodes introduced himself to Lucifer as the master of the Hall of the Gods in the Infernal Realm Overgod Plane, and Lucifer left the valley with Stian and Lilith.
• Hathaway promised to show Rhodes the Undead Orb, and Rhodes said he and Pash would return it only if it was of no use to them.

Rhodes kept the Undead Orb after learning its powers from Hathaway, then agreed to travel with her and Pash to the Netherworld. As the three headed south, Lucifer and the other undead leaders abandoned their pursuit and began forming opposing alliances.

• Hathaway threw the unclaimable Undead Orb to Rhodes and explained that it strengthened souls and protected against soul attacks.
• Rhodes decided to keep the orb, and Hathaway attacked him before agreeing to travel with him and Pash toward the Netherworld.
• Hathaway offered to guide Rhodes and Pash and promised to tell them where the Netherworld's strongest fighter was.
• Rhodes, Pash, and Hathaway left the valley and flew south, while Lucifer, Stian, and Lilith discussed the orb and their inability to reclaim it.
• Stian and Lilith drew closer as allies against Lucifer, who flew east before the two departed separately.

After realizing he had discovered something important about his Innate Divine Ability, Rhodes hurried to leave the Undead Realm and study it. On the way, Pash began fighting the Infernal Three-Headed Hound, and Rhodes waited with Hathaway while asking her about powerful experts in the Netherworld.

• Rhodes recalled a detail from his battle with Hades and decided to leave the Undead Realm before entering seclusion to investigate his Innate Divine Ability.
• Over a decade later, Pash found a powerful three-headed hound and asked to make it his mount.
• Hathaway identified the creature as the Infernal Three-Headed Hound, Hades's former mount, and warned that Pash might not be strong enough to defeat it.
• Pash and the Infernal Three-Headed Hound fought in a close battle while Rhodes and Hathaway watched.
• Rhodes asked Hathaway which powerful experts currently lived in the Netherworld.

Rhodes questioned Hathaway about the Netherworld and learned that the secretive Nether Mountain was home to a powerful figure he hoped to meet. After Pash subdued the Infernal Three-Headed Hound and formed an Equal Contract with him, the group set off for the Netherworld on the hound’s back.

• Rhodes asked Hathaway about powerful figures in the Netherworld and questioned her about Nether Mountain, which she described as a dangerous, mist-shrouded peak.
• Hathaway confirmed that Nether Mountain matched the mountain Tomato had described, while Rhodes said he wanted to meet its powerful resident.
• Pash defeated the Infernal Three-Headed Hound, and the hound agreed to form an Equal Contract rather than be enslaved.
• Rhodes reflected on the Hall of the Gods’ strength and his Wind Divine Clone’s progress toward mastering the Clone Technique and becoming a Highgod.
• Pash asked the enlarged Infernal Three-Headed Hound to carry the group, and they flew toward the Netherworld.

Rhodes, Pash, and Hathaway traveled toward Nether Mountain after taking the Dreadlord’s Soul Gold Beads, while Rhodes puzzled over the apparent Overgod Token and his Annihilation Divine Thunder. Along the way, they spotted two Seven-Star Demon-level fighters, but the battle ended when both men fled, and the group continued toward Nether Mountain.

• Rhodes and Pash visited the Dreadlord, learned that Hades had been killed, and took the Dreadlord’s spatial ring and nearly ten thousand Soul Gold Beads.
• Rhodes discovered that the Undead Orb and the damaged setting had joined together into what appeared to be part of an Overgod Token, then wondered whether Hathaway was connected to the Sovereign of Death.
• Rhodes considered whether his Annihilation Divine Thunder had destroyed or absorbed Hades’s Divine Spark, but decided to investigate after reaching Nether Mountain.
• Pash asked Cerberus to fly at full speed toward Nether Mountain, and Rhodes shared wine with Hathaway as they traveled through the Undead Realm and into the Netherworld.
• Pash spotted two powerful men fighting and wanted to challenge them, but the black-haired man fled and the purple-haired man pursued him after they noticed the group.
• Rhodes, Pash, and Hathaway resumed their journey, expecting to reach Nether Mountain in about twenty or thirty years.

After decades of traveling and sparring, Rhodes and Hathaway reached Nether Mountain, where Rhodes discovered he could pass through its deadly Heaven and Earth Chains unharmed. Hathaway revealed that she was Nether Mountain’s mistress, and the group headed to Green Leaf Castle as her subordinate Ina Lisi mistook Rhodes for her brother-in-law.

• Rhodes, Pash, and Hathaway reached Nether Mountain and saw its Heaven and Earth Chains, which Hathaway explained could kill even Highgods who tried to cross them.
• Rhodes passed through the chains unharmed, apparently protected by the Thunder Crystal, and refused to explain his secret to Hathaway.
• Hathaway told Rhodes that the proper entrance lay at the northern foot of Nether Mountain, where Green Leaf Castle stood.
• At the castle, Ina Lisi greeted Hathaway as her big sister and was astonished to see her holding Rhodes’s hand.
• Hathaway declared herself the mistress of Nether Mountain, then threatened Ina Lisi for calling Rhodes her brother-in-law before agreeing to enter the castle.

Rhodes, Pash, and Cerberus entered Nether Mountain with Hathaway, crossing its mist zones to reach the summit palace. Meeting Hathaway’s Silver Nine-Headed Serpent, Inawei, convinced Rhodes that Hathaway was the Sovereign of Death, and the chapter ended with him gazing at her on her throne.

• Hathaway told Rhodes she would take him into Nether Mountain at the full moon, and he spent the day resting in Green Leaf Castle with Pash.
• Hathaway led Rhodes, Pash, and Cerberus through Nether Mountain’s entrance and warned them about its disorienting white mist and dangerous lightning.
• Hathaway guided them through the grey mist, then entered the purple mist without explaining its properties.
• Rhodes and Pash met Inawei, a Silver Nine-Headed Serpent who called Hathaway her master, and Rhodes recognized her as the Sovereign of Death’s accompanying spirit beast.
• Hathaway took her throne in the summit palace while Rhodes watched her and imagined a romance with a wealthy woman.

Rhodes told Hathaway how the Power of Faith could help her comprehend the Death Rule, then stayed on Nether Mountain to collect Divine Sparks and cultivate. After a thousand years, he emerged stronger and sparred with an angry Hathaway.

• Rhodes offered to share the secret of the Power of Faith with Hathaway in exchange for her help collecting Divine Sparks and a place to cultivate on Nether Mountain.
• Hathaway agreed to expand her forces, spread faith, and collect Divine Sparks, while Pash went with Cerberus to fight Netherworld experts.
• Rhodes began secluded cultivation on Nether Mountain as Hathaway and Green Leaf Castle subdued nearby factions and took control of the Teleportation Array to the Undead Realm.
• Green Leaf Castle sent Highgods and Midgods through the array to spread faith across the Material Planes.
• After nearly a thousand years, Rhodes emerged having fused the Profound Mysteries of Thunder and Judgment and found a point of convergence with Lightning Magnetism.
• Hathaway attacked Rhodes with her whip, and he drew the Tribulation-Breaking Divine Sword to spar with her.

After reuniting with Hathaway, Rhodes explained how his Midgod strength continued to grow and learned that Pash had become a renowned fighter in the Netherworld. After resting on Nether Mountain, Rhodes tested his innate divine ability and decided to let his Wind Divine Clone advance to Highgod.

• Rhodes explained the profound mysteries of Laws and revealed to Hathaway that he was genuinely a Midgod, astonishing her with his ability to fight her evenly.
• Hathaway told Rhodes that she had occupied one of the Netherworld's teleportation arrays and begun spreading faith, while Pash had spent the past thousand years fighting and had grown close to the strength of the weakest former king of the Undead Realm.
• Rhodes apologized for being unable to help Hathaway and said he would return to seclusion; Hathaway flew down Nether Mountain after he teased her.
• After five days of waiting without Hathaway or Pash returning, Rhodes tested Annihilation Divine Thunder on a Lightning Element High Godhead and watched it disintegrate.
• Rhodes decided to let his Wind Divine Clone break through to Highgod and test whether it would gain a sense of control over heaven and earth.

Rhodes discovered that his Innate Divine Ability could destroy Divine Sparks and extract their essence, then went to Green Leaf Castle to ask Hathaway for test subjects. He stayed to rest and collect wine, while Hathaway gave him another spatial ring.

• Rhodes destroyed five Divine Sparks with his Innate Divine Ability and retrieved a drop of Divine Spark essence from the spatial rift.
• Rhodes decided he needed Deities of different ranks to test whether the essence could strengthen divine bodies and whether it was dangerous.
• Highgods initially blocked Rhodes from entering Green Leaf Castle, but Hathaway identified him as her friend and let him pass.
• Rhodes asked Hathaway to capture Deities for his research, and she agreed to issue the orders.
• Rhodes decided to stay at Green Leaf Castle for a few days, and Hathaway gave him a spatial ring containing wine collected by Ina Lisi.