Chapter Summaries

Han Shuo met with Candida, who discussed his political prospects, the Dark Curtain's dependence on Madam Grace, and the powerful figures tied to the women in Han Shuo's life. The chapter left Han Shuo weighing whether he could help Lawrence claim the throne and whether to share his martial technique with King Utrede.

• Candida confirmed Han Shuo's status as a Second Sun Envoy and said King Utrede might make him a marquis, but he doubted the king would approve a Teleportation Array in Brettel City before it could withstand the Seven Grand Duchies.
• Candida warned Han Shuo against risking his influence by supporting Lawrence, then explained that Madam Grace's prophecies guided the king, Carola Ascot, and the Dark Curtain.
• Candida recounted how Stassom had confronted Carola Ascot and Dempsey Gale during the empire's campaign against the Seven Grand Duchies, and Han Shuo wondered whether Grace's earlier gaze at him had held special meaning.
• Candida warned Han Shuo that Emily, Fanny, and Phoebe were connected to powerful figures, including Emias, Van Razer, and Carola Ascot; Han Shuo was shocked to learn that Fanny's father was Van Razer.
• Han Shuo and Candida considered how those connections, together with the Dark Curtain and Madam Grace's support, could give Lawrence a strong chance of inheriting the throne.
• Candida told Han Shuo that King Utrede wanted to learn his martial technique for use in the army, and Han Shuo left to consider the request and the other matters they had discussed.

Han Shuo told Lawrence that Madam Grace’s support could affect his bid for the throne and pledged Brettel City’s backing. After Lawrence left, Han Shuo met Bolands and offered to teach him techniques to control and strengthen his killing intent.

• Lawrence visited Han Shuo and described how Charles’s pressure and the nobles’ lack of support had left him in a difficult position.
• Han Shuo informed Lawrence that Madam Grace’s opinion could bring him considerable support, and Lawrence resolved to approach her.
• Han Shuo pledged that he and Brettel City would support Lawrence, who promised to make Han Shuo the sole leader of the Dark Curtain if he became emperor.
• After Lawrence departed, Han Shuo discovered that Bolands was still concealed nearby and asked why he had stayed.
• Bolands explained that he had given up being an assassin because he could no longer conceal his killing intent, and Han Shuo offered to teach him methods to control and use it.

Han Shuo tried to recruit Bolands into the Heavenly Demon Sect by offering to teach him how to control killing intent, while the Church of Light secretly sought Ashburn and Charles's help to eliminate Han Shuo. The chapter ended with Zhankesi outlining a plan against him.

• Han Shuo demonstrated his control over killing intent, and Bolands asked to learn his martial technique.
• Han Shuo offered to accept Bolands into the Heavenly Demon Sect as a disciple, but told him to consider the restrictions and speak with Carola first.
• Bolands left to consider joining Han Shuo, and Han Shuo privately said he intended to bring the talented fighter under his control.
• Zhankesi met Duke Ashburn and First Prince Charles, warned them that Han Shuo was backed by the Calamity Church, and asked them to help eliminate him.
• Ashburn and Charles agreed to Zhankesi's proposal, and Zhankesi began explaining his plan.

Han Shuo accidentally entered the Necromantic Paradise after his attempt to summon two Old Ghouls at once went awry. As he fled an Old Ghoul, Little Skeleton sensed his arrival and set out to find and protect him.

• Han Shuo used the Skeleton Magic Staff to summon two Old Ghouls, but their distant locations and resistance overwhelmed his control and dragged his consciousness into the Necromantic Paradise.
• Han Shuo formed an incorporeal body, sensed Little Skeleton and the others, and fought off the Old Ghoul with Soul Tremor, Bone Spears, and a Bone Prison Spell before escaping.
• Han Shuo dissolved five hostile Wraiths with Soul Tremor, causing other Wraiths to recognize him as a powerful undead creature and keep their distance.
• Little Skeleton ordered his undead subordinates to guard his palace and territories while he was away, warning them about a powerful being from the Eastern Dead Sea.
• Little Skeleton told Earth Armor Zombie and the others that Han Shuo had arrived without a physical body and might be in danger, then flew away on the modified Bone Demon to find him.

Han Shuo traveled through the undead world toward Little Skeleton while learning to control death energy and form a skeletal body with his Divine Sense. After absorbing blue gas that restored his Mental Power, he entered a valley and found a dark pool containing a sinister plant that held a luminous teardrop.

• Han Shuo drifted toward Little Skeleton, avoided powerful undead, and practiced using his Divine Sense to control death energy.
• Han Shuo condensed death energy into a jade-white skeletal body, but the ordinary bones shattered when he tried to strengthen them further.
• Han Shuo discovered blue gas spreading from a valley and absorbed it, restoring his Mental Power to eighty percent of its former level.
• Han Shuo headed into the valley, destroyed undead that attacked him, and passed through the others after they mistook him for a Skeleton King.
• Han Shuo reached the valley's center and saw a sinister plant floating in a dark pool, holding a blue-smoke cloud and a dazzling teardrop.

Han Shuo discovered three powerful undead creatures fighting over the Netherglow Crystal and learned that Little Skeleton was approaching. He joined the creatures’ alliance in exchange for one-third of the crystal, and they accepted him as a helper against Little Skeleton.

• Han Shuo watched a giant knight, a Mummy Lord, and an evolved wraith battle around the spring and its Netherglow Crystal.
• Han Shuo realized the wraith and the giant knight had likely evolved from lower-level undead creatures.
• The giant knight proposed that the three undead creatures join forces against Little Skeleton, offering the Netherglow Crystal in return for help.
• Han Shuo revealed himself and demanded one-third of the Netherglow Crystal in exchange for fighting Little Skeleton.
• The giant knight tested Han Shuo with an attack, then judged him strong enough to join the alliance, and the Mummy Lord and wraith agreed.

Han Shuo and Little Skeleton confronted the giant knight, the Mummy Lord, and the Wraith, but Han Shuo discovered that a cunning Bone Dragon had been lurking beneath the spring. Little Skeleton seized the Netherglow Crystal and escaped toward Han Shuo as Bone Dragon Zaxika emerged and the other powerful undead fled.

• Han Shuo joined the three undead creatures while Little Skeleton arrived on his Bone Demon and used the Purple Demon Eye to halt the lesser undead.
• Little Skeleton fought off attacks from the giant knight, the Mummy Lord, and the Wraith, while Han Shuo helped defend against them.
• Han Shuo sensed an ancient presence beneath the spring, recognized it as a Bone Dragon, and warned Little Skeleton that it was stronger than him.
• Little Skeleton changed course, struck into the spring to hold the Bone Dragon back, severed the plant holding the Netherglow Crystal, and took the crystal.
• Bone Dragon Zaxika rose from the spring and threatened Little Skeleton, while the giant knight, the Mummy Lord, and the Wraith fled.

Han Shuo absorbed a Netherglow Crystal in the undead world, returned to the Qio Continent, and learned more about the strange beings and territories there from Little Skeleton. Back at the count’s residence, he discovered rumors tied him to the Calamity Church and went with Candida to meet His Majesty Utrede.

• Little Skeleton gave the Netherglow Crystal to Han Shuo, whose Divine Sense absorbed its Mental Power while Zaxika pursued Little Skeleton.
• Han Shuo returned to the Qio Continent, summoned Little Skeleton to his underground Secret Chamber, and heard him explain Netherglow Crystals and the undead world.
• Han Shuo sent Little Skeleton back to the undead world and confirmed that the crystal had increased his Mental Power by creating more Bone Spears than usual.
• Callas told Han Shuo that Phoebe had visited, His Majesty Utrede wanted to see him, and rumors claimed he belonged to the Calamity Church.
• Han Shuo asked Callas to invite Prince Lawrence and Miss Phoebe, then went to Dark Curtain Headquarters to see Candida.
• Candida told Han Shuo that the Church of Light, First Prince Charles, and the duke had spread the rumor, then took him through the Dark Curtain’s Teleportation Array to meet His Majesty Utrede.

Han Shuo learned that Utrede intended to support Lawrence’s succession in exchange for sparing the king’s other three sons, while a prophecy foretold that Han Shuo would determine the empire’s future. After Han Shuo reassured Lawrence and reunited with Phoebe, she discovered his relationship with Emily and rushed off to confront her.

• Utrede asked Han Shuo to spare his three other sons in return for helping Lawrence take the throne, and Han Shuo agreed.
• Utrede granted Han Shuo the title of Marquis and promised to support him, while Madam Grace revealed that her prophecy named Han Shuo as the man who would decide the empire’s future.
• Han Shuo told Lawrence that Utrede’s plans favored him but kept the conversation’s details secret, and Lawrence prepared to act.
• Han Shuo reassured Lawrence that the king would clear the rumors accusing him of ties to the Calamity Church.
• Phoebe questioned Han Shuo about the energy he shared with her, then pressed him about Emily and learned how their relationship began.
• Phoebe accused Han Shuo and Emily of deceiving her, dressed, and left to confront Emily alone.

Han Shuo sent Phoebe to meet Emily alone, then received word that he had been promoted to marquis and accepted Fanny’s invitation to support the Necromancy Department’s recruitment. At the academy, several promising noble students chose necromancy, giving the department a hopeful start to enrollment.

• Han Shuo followed Phoebe’s journey to the Betridge Family residence with Xuan Demons, then withdrew them when Emily sealed her bedroom against observation.
• Callas told Han Shuo that King Utrede had granted him the title of marquis and silenced rumors questioning his loyalty.
• Han Shuo read Fanny’s letter inviting him to the Necromancy Department’s enrollment day and decided to visit the academy.
• Fanny, Gene, Lisa, and the other necromancy students staffed a recruitment station in a remote corner of the academy plaza.
• A well-dressed young man chose the Necromancy Department despite his strong sensitivity to dark magic, then called several other promising students over to join him.

Han Shuo arrived at Babylon Academy during student recruitment, drawing a crowd of admirers and alarming teachers who watched students choose the Necromancy Department. After Emias showed him unusual respect, Chloe challenged Han Shuo to exchange spells, and students and teachers rushed over to watch.

• Gene welcomed students into the Necromancy Department as Kalilai rejected the Darkness Department and chose to study under Han Shuo's example.
• Dio and Chloe discussed Han Shuo's growing reputation, while Emias warned Forlenda not to provoke him.
• Han Shuo arrived at the academy, and Lisa and Fanny reacted with excitement as the new Necromancy Department students gathered to see him.
• Emias rose to greet Han Shuo, surprising Forlenda and reinforcing Emias's warning about Han Shuo's standing.
• Chloe blocked Han Shuo's path and challenged him to exchange spells, prompting Fanny, the students, and nearby teachers to gather as Emias accidentally sprayed tea over Forlenda.

Han Shuo accepted Chloe’s challenge after revealing his history of deadly duels, while Emias and Dio tried to prevent the match from turning fatal. Emma arranged for them to spar safely at the Darkness Department’s Trial Ground One, where the crowd gathered to watch.

• Han Shuo recognized Chloe as a renowned Darkness Archmage whose statue he had once cleaned as a handyman, and Chloe initially mistook his smile for contempt.
• After Dio confirmed Han Shuo’s story, Han Shuo accepted Chloe’s challenge, and Emias offered to witness the match.
• Lisa cheered Han Shuo on while Fanny watched anxiously, and Han Shuo warned Chloe that his past duel opponents had not survived.
• Emias told Chloe that Han Shuo had killed thirteen challengers, prompting Dio to urge them to cancel the match, but Chloe insisted on sparring.
• Emma arrived and ruled out a fight to the death, so Han Shuo and Chloe agreed to spar at the Darkness Department’s Trial Ground One as the crowd followed.

Han Shuo faced Chloe in a public sparring match at the academy and overcame the Darkness Archmage’s spells without revealing how he broke free of Dark Binding. Chloe conceded after Han Shuo summoned a powerful undead army, leaving the spectators amazed by his strength.

• Emma and Emias officiated as Han Shuo and Chloe began their sparring match before the academy’s teachers and students.
• Chloe attacked with six Hands of Death, but Han Shuo’s Soul Vortex drew them into its pull and swallowed them.
• Chloe bound Han Shuo with Dark Binding and prepared five Destruction Orbs, believing he had lost.
• Han Shuo broke free, destroyed the Destruction Orbs with Bone Spears, and summoned an Old Ghoul, Evil Knights, and an undead army.
• Chloe recognized that he could not win against Han Shuo’s summoned forces and conceded.

Han Shuo helped the Necromancy Department recruit enough students to seek independence, then learned that Fanny’s father, Van Razer, knew about their relationship and wanted to meet him. As Han Shuo resolved to face the complications ahead, Emias recognized Fanny as possibly Van Razer’s daughter and hurried to investigate.

• Han Shuo stopped Chloe’s attack, invited him to consider joining Lawrence’s faction, and left him to weigh the offer after Emias revealed that Brian had become a Marquis.
• Han Shuo helped Fanny and the Necromancy Department enroll more than fifty students, bringing the department’s total to 132 and prompting plans to become independent from the Darkness Department.
• After the students left, Han Shuo and Fanny kissed, and she told him that Van Razer would soon come to Osen City and threaten Brettel City if Han Shuo refused to meet him.
• Han Shuo agreed to meet Van Razer and decided that he would face anyone who tried to interfere with his relationship with Fanny.
• Emias saw Fanny again, suspected she was Van Razer’s daughter, and hurried back to Dark Curtain to investigate.

Han Shuo went to comfort Emily after Phoebe left and realized how much Emily had sacrificed for him. He promised Emily that he would give her a recognized place by his side, and Emily told him Phoebe had agreed to their relationship.

• Han Shuo watched through a Xuan Demon as Phoebe comforted Emily and left the Betridge Family estate.
• Han Shuo slipped past the estate’s guards and went to Emily’s room, where he embraced and comforted her.
• After they made love, Han Shuo reflected on how he had hurt Emily and how devoted she had been to him.
• Emily told Han Shuo she did not blame him and that his love was enough, while Han Shuo promised to give her a recognized place by his side.
• Emily told Han Shuo that Phoebe had agreed to their relationship.

Han Shuo warned Emily that Lawrence was likely to win the throne, then met with Bolands, who agreed to learn Han Shuo’s martial techniques and join his sect. At the North Ward Rose Garden, Carola approved Bolands’s choice and asked Han Shuo what he intended to do for the Lancelot Empire.

• Emily told Han Shuo that Phoebe had accepted their relationship, and Han Shuo urged her to warn Old Hahn and her brother not to choose a political side too soon.
• Han Shuo returned home and learned that Bolands wanted to study his martial technique, with Carola’s approval.
• Han Shuo and Bolands traveled to the North Ward Rose Garden, where Han Shuo told Bolands a fabricated story about the Heavenly Demon Sect and promised to teach him after his formal initiation.
• Carola told Han Shuo he would not interfere with Bolands’s decision and said he had summoned Han Shuo to learn what he planned to do for the empire.

Han Shuo explained the Demonic Cultivation Art to Carola and discussed the empire’s future, the path to the demigod realm, and his absent teacher. Carola asked to spar with Han Shuo, and they prepared to test his martial techniques against a Sword Saint.

• Carola told Han Shuo that his actions for himself had also helped the Lancelot Empire, and asked him to guide Bolands without turning him into a mindless killer.
• Han Shuo said Bolands would remain clearheaded, though his early training would draw on his suppressed killing intent, and explained that his martial techniques came from a teacher beyond the Qio Continent.
• Carola asked about Han Shuo’s teacher, but Han Shuo said the teacher had left the continent; he then told Carola about Daxiaxi’s departure and learned from him about the demigod realm and the Plane Guardian.
• Carola invited Han Shuo to spar so he could study the Demonic Cultivation Art, and Han Shuo summoned the Demon-Slaying Edge as Carola took up his sword.

Han Shuo and Sword Saint Carola tested their strength in a fierce underground sparring match that destroyed the chamber’s barrier and shook the Rose Garden above. Carola praised Han Shuo’s martial techniques, and the two parted with new insights from the fight.

• Han Shuo unleashed the Bloodlight Myriad Blades Slash, but Carola’s cross-shaped sword auras neutralized it.
• Han Shuo controlled the Demon-Slaying Edge with the Demon-Control Art, then added demon flames and the twelve Xuan Demons to his relentless attack.
• Carola released an enormous cross sword aura that shattered the chamber’s boulder and barrier, while Han Shuo’s counterattack ended with him crashing into the ceiling.
• The tremors alarmed the nobles and guards above, and Bolands calmed them before hurrying underground to check on Carola and Han Shuo.
• Carola praised Han Shuo’s techniques and strength, Han Shuo acknowledged Carola’s power, and Carola sent Bolands and Han Shuo out so he could reflect on the sparring match.

Han Shuo confronted Woaofu, who revealed that the Calamity Church had inferred Han Shuo visited the Death Cemetery and offered to explain its secrets. Woaofu began describing legends about the site, including a teleportation array connecting planes and the possibility that it came from the realm of the undead.

• Bolands left the Rose Garden and agreed to keep protecting Lawrence until Han Shuo arranged his initiation.
• Han Shuo returned to his mansion and found Woaofu waiting to thank him for restoring his youth with the Skeleton Magic Staff.
• Woaofu deduced that Han Shuo had visited the Death Cemetery and said the Calamity Church regarded him as an honored benefactor, though it would protect him only while he remained useful.
• Woaofu told Han Shuo that the Death Cemetery supposedly contained a teleportation array linking planes and permitting travel to the realm of the undead.
• Woaofu said the Calamity Church's legends claimed the sacred ground had descended onto the Qio Continent from another plane, possibly the realm of the undead.

Woaofu explained the Death Cemetery’s origins and the Three-Colored Skeleton Magic Staff’s powers, prompting Han Shuo to plan a deeper exploration. Before he could begin, Gilbert urgently summoned him to Sun Radiance Valley and reported that Trunks had disappeared.

• Woaofu told Han Shuo that the Death Cemetery might be a movable structure from another plane and that the Skeleton Magic Staff could unlock its Holy Land.
• Woaofu described the staff’s three powers: doubling Necromancy’s potency, restoring youth, and allowing the soul to travel between the Qio Continent and the Undead World.
• Woaofu said the Calamity Church valued Han Shuo for the staff’s powers and offered him the Church’s support before leaving.
• Han Shuo decided to explore a deeper level of the Death Cemetery and teleported there, but Gilbert’s urgent call drew him away.
• Han Shuo hurried to Sun Radiance Valley, where Gilbert introduced Lanya, the Nine-Headed Serpent, and told him that Trunks had disappeared.