Chapter Summaries

Lu Xiao and Calamity explored the desires on Gentleman's Paradise's second floor, where Calamity chose Succubi to serve him. Lu Xiao instead confronted Ruiqi, suspecting she was the Succubus Deity who had lured them there, and asserted control over her after accusing her of taking his things.

• Ruiqi explained that visitors became trapped in Gentleman's Paradise by indulging endlessly in the Super Dreamscape, and said Calamity's Wanderer companion was still immersed.
• Calamity told Lu Xiao he had chosen family affection, then asked Ruiqi to take them upstairs to experience the remaining desires.
• Ruiqi said the second floor held sexual desire and advised them not to skip it, while Calamity urged Lu Xiao to experience every floor to test whether desire's Authority threatened him.
• On the second floor, Calamity selected three Succubi, while Lu Xiao dismissed the Succubus who approached him and chose Ruiqi to serve him.
• Lu Xiao questioned Ruiqi about how she knew they were coming and why she had guided them into Gentleman's Paradise, then declared that she had to obey him because she had taken his things.

Lu Xiao confronted Ruiqi over the Humanity Fragments she had taken from him and used their connection to pressure her into cooperating. He offered protection for the Succubus Clan in exchange for renaming the Settlement the Holy Land and having her people provide him with faith, while warning that Hell’s factions would eventually turn against them.

• Lu Xiao deduced that Ruiqi used the Super Dreamscape to collect things that eased the madness caused by her Authority, and that she had taken his Humanity Fragments.
• Ruiqi realized she could not lie to Lu Xiao and asked when he had given her the fragments; Lu Xiao said it happened on the First Layer.
• Lu Xiao demanded that Ruiqi repay him by helping with small tasks, including renaming the Settlement the Holy Land and having her people provide him with faith.
• Ruiqi rejected his proposal to make her clan his Kin, but Lu Xiao insisted they could work together and promised protection and help advancing.
• Lu Xiao warned Ruiqi that the Hell Great Lord would target the Neutral Faction after dealing with the Royal Family, and Ruiqi considered the danger facing her weaker clan.

Lu Xiao pressured Ruiqi into agreeing that the Succubus Clan would provide him with faith, then promised to help her kill a deity. He left to pursue the target while Ruiqi privately hoped the confrontation would either prove his strength or end badly for him.

• Lu Xiao used a small bribe and his ability to convince Ruiqi that she could not lie to him, then let her believe the Succubus Clan risked being sacrificed by the Neutral Faction.
• After agonizing for ten minutes, Ruiqi accepted Lu Xiao's proposal to have her clan worship him in exchange for cooperation.
• Lu Xiao offered to fulfill one request, and Ruiqi asked him to kill a deity; she promised the entire Succubus Clan, including herself, would worship him if he succeeded.
• Lu Xiao confirmed information about the target and left, while Ruiqi secretly hoped the outcome would either prove his power or get him killed.
• Calamity returned after two hours with three flushed succubi, and Lu Xiao scolded him for wanting Ruiqi to serve him too before insisting they focus on business.

Lu Xiao and Calamity traveled to the Flame Demon Clan’s territory to carry out their plan to wipe out the clan and collect its souls. Calamity unleashed a volcanic disaster, and Lu Xiao prepared to amplify it as the attack began.

• Lu Xiao learned from Calamity that the Authority of 'desire' included desires for comfort, knowledge, power, and survival, and wondered how Calamity had discovered this.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity flew toward the Flame Demon Clan’s volcanic territory, planning to use Calamity’s Authority of 'calamity' to destroy the clan while preserving its bodies.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity reached the settlement between two volcanoes, where Lu Xiao confirmed that Calamity understood the plan.
• Calamity stirred the area’s flame elements, causing black smoke and ash to erupt from a volcano and forming a hurricane overhead.
• Lu Xiao grabbed his beating heart and declared that he could amplify the power of disasters ten thousandfold before biting into it.

Lu Xiao endured the strain of his power as Calamity unleashed lava rain and a hurricane on the Flame Demon Clan’s Gathering Area. The clan’s two deities took shelter, realized the disaster might have been caused by the two Outsiders, and discovered that the Flame Demon’s authority had been suppressed.

• Lu Xiao began bleeding from his eyes, mouth, and nose, but told Calamity he could still endure it.
• Calamity marshaled the disasters, sending lava raining down and a hurricane carrying ash and smoke toward the Gathering Area.
• The Flame Demon deity warned the settlement, and the clan fled into underground shelters and soil-built buildings as the lava killed those who could not escape.
• The Flame Demon deity and the information-selling deity fought before abandoning their quarrel and taking shelter from the lava and hurricane.
• The two deities suspected the two Outsiders had caused the disaster, and the Flame Demon deity revealed that his authority had been suppressed.

Flame Demon begged Lu Xiao and Calamity to spare his people after they were trapped in volcanic ash, but Lu Xiao decided he could not be allowed to live because he threatened Lu Xiao’s people. As Lu Xiao recovered from the cost of unleashing the disaster, Calamity warned that they would soon face a furious deity.

• Flame Demon realized that Lu Xiao and Calamity had suppressed his Authority and sent the information-selling deity away, but the deity returned to report that no one could escape.
• Flame Demon found his people suffocating in volcanic ash and begged Lu Xiao and Calamity to spare them, admitting that he had plotted against them.
• Calamity suggested bringing Flame Demon into the fold, but Lu Xiao rejected the idea, saying Flame Demon would seek revenge and that he had to protect his own people.
• Calamity agreed with Lu Xiao and told him to recover before they faced Flame Demon, who would soon be driven mad by his people’s deaths.
• Lu Xiao struggled to heal his half-destroyed heart and resist the madness brought on by using power that did not belong to him.

Lu Xiao and Calamity reached the information-selling Deity as the Flame Demon Deity succumbed to madness and attacked them. Lu Xiao kicked Flame Demon away, then urged Calamity to suppress his flames as he prepared to fight back with a Bone Spur.

• The information-selling Deity failed to escape Flame Demon and begged Lu Xiao and Calamity to save him.
• The information-selling Deity clung to Lu Xiao’s leg, refusing to let go as Flame Demon charged.
• Lu Xiao kicked Flame Demon hundreds of meters away, then patted out flames burning the Deity on his leg.
• Lu Xiao told Calamity to suppress Flame Demon’s fire abilities, and Calamity began trying despite warning that Flame Demon had become part of the rules.
• Flame Demon attacked again with scorching heat, and Lu Xiao drew a Bone Spur.

Lu Xiao used the bone spur’s gravity authority to pin down the Flame Demon, but the strain drained his mental power. Calamity helped seal the Flame Demon underground, though the threat remained unresolved.

• Lu Xiao stabbed himself with the bone spur to draw blood, then used Horizontal Gravity to pin the Flame Demon against a building wall.
• Lu Xiao asked Calamity for a solution, while the Flame Demon’s flames and Lu Xiao’s fear of touching them kept him from taking the demon’s fire authority.
• The Flame Demon broke free and charged as the deity clinging to Lu Xiao’s leg warned that the demon might become fire itself and burn half of Hell.
• Lu Xiao used Vertical Gravity to knock the Flame Demon down, then urged Calamity to act and gave him his severed arm.
• Calamity swallowed Lu Xiao’s arm and used his authority to open a fissure beneath the Flame Demon, sealing him underground.
• Calamity determined that the bone spur had drained Lu Xiao’s mental power, and he helped Lu Xiao up while the Flame Demon remained only temporarily imprisoned.

Lu Xiao forced the Flame Demon to surrender by threatening his clansmen, then obtained the Flame Demon’s authority. He asked Calamity whether he could fuse it with his own authority, and Calamity said he could use its rules to strengthen his own.

• Calamity explained that capturing the mad Flame Demon alive was difficult because of his flames, so Lu Xiao asked him to bring the underground Flame Demon Clan members to the surface.
• Lu Xiao had Calamity restrain the clansmen and the Flame Demon with earth, exposing only their heads beside scalding magma.
• Lu Xiao used a severed finger to calm the Flame Demon, then threatened his clansmen until the Flame Demon agreed to cooperate.
• Lu Xiao stopped the magma and promised to spare the clansmen, then took the Flame Demon’s flame authority.
• Lu Xiao asked Calamity if he could fuse with the authority, and Calamity said he could incorporate its rules to strengthen his own authority.

Lu Xiao learned that wielding the Flame Authority required a dangerous fusion ritual, then let Amilia collect souls while Calamity turned the Flame Demon survivors against one another. The group returned to the Succubus Settlement, where Ruiqi believed the report of the Flame Demon Clan’s destruction after seeing Amilia in Lu Xiao’s grasp.

• Calamity explained that the Flame Authority was like an experience pack and that wielding another authority would require enduring its madness; Lu Xiao decided not to fuse with it immediately.
• Lu Xiao threatened Amilia into collecting the dead souls, while Calamity offered a survivor freedom in exchange for killing a hundred clansmen and bringing him their right eyeballs.
• The Flame Demon survivors began slaughtering one another, and Calamity realized that natural calamities could bring man-made disasters as well.
• Lu Xiao discovered what Calamity had done, objected that he had promised to spare the survivors, then left with Amilia as the hurricane carried news of the settlement’s destruction away.
• Ruiqi heard that the Flame Demon Settlement had been wiped out and believed the report after seeing Amilia helplessly slung over Lu Xiao’s shoulder.
• Lu Xiao returned to Ruiqi’s residence, drank water, and took a bath while Ruiqi abandoned her other plans and kept to their agreement.

After destroying the Flame Demon Clan, Lu Xiao wrestled with guilt and questioned Amilia about Hell, while Yi Hao responded to the news by preparing the Redemption Army for the political and military fallout. The chapter ended with Yi Hao announcing a day of mourning and declaring that the Great Lord would personally punish the two Outsiders.

• Lu Xiao bathed alone, reflected on the Flame Demon Clan’s extinction, and told Amilia to keep drinking the bathwater after joking that he had peed in it.
• Amilia drained the pool, and Lu Xiao chose not to kill him because he wanted the deity’s information about Hell.
• Yi Hao learned that the Flame Demon Clan had been destroyed and decided to speak with Lu Xiao after assessing the consequences.
• Yi Hao ordered the Redemption Army commander to send former raiders to the front, deal with fence-sitters, and pull back the defensive line.
• Yi Hao instructed the army to observe a day of mourning and announced that the Great Lord would personally punish the two Outsiders.

Lu Xiao brought the Flame Demon Clan’s souls to the ravens’ home and questioned the blurred figure who wove feathers from souls. The figure confirmed the number of souls Lu Xiao had delivered, and Lu Xiao left to ask Calamity about the feathers.

• Lu Xiao poured the Flame Demon Clan’s souls into the pit while watching the blurred figure weave feathers from a pale blue thread.
• The blurred figure told Lu Xiao to get lost, but Lu Xiao kept asking what the thread was and whether he could trade for some.
• The blurred figure finally answered that the thread was made of souls, then ignored Lu Xiao’s further questions.
• Lu Xiao asked how many souls he had delivered, and the blurred figure replied, “192,106.”
• Lu Xiao left the bushes, concluded that the ravens’ feathers were woven from souls, and decided to ask Calamity what they were for.

Lu Xiao returned to Gentleman's Paradise and met with Yi Hao, who explained his plan to use a staged battle with Ding Dan to restore the Salvation Army's standing in Hell. Lu Xiao pointed out that the plan relied on Hell's natives understanding humanlike conscience and loyalty, leaving Yi Hao to reconsider its assumptions.

• Lu Xiao returned to Gentleman's Paradise, bathed, and told Ruiqi to bring the visiting high priest, Yi Hao, to him.
• Yi Hao complained that Lu Xiao's recent actions had disrupted his plans and asked him to avoid appearing in public.
• Lu Xiao confronted Yi Hao for using services in Gentleman's Paradise without paying, and Yi Hao promised to send resources from the Holy City.
• Yi Hao told Lu Xiao that he wanted to stage a fierce battle with Ding Dan, who would appear to banish Lu Xiao and be seriously injured, boosting Ding Dan's prestige and setting a trap.
• Lu Xiao warned Yi Hao that Hell's natives might not recognize the intended moral contrast and that the fence-sitters might defect when threatened.

Lu Xiao advised Yi Hao on how to unite Hell’s races behind Ding Dan by making Lu Xiao a terrifying enemy and Ding Dan a fallen Savior, while manipulating rival factions with promises and pressure. He then claimed the Succubus race and Gentleman's Paradise for himself, prompting Yi Hao to protest his use of public property for private pleasure.

• Lu Xiao told Yi Hao to spread rumors portraying him as a catastrophic threat and Ding Dan as Hell’s ordained Savior, then have Lu Xiao defeat Ding Dan to push the races into uniting.
• Lu Xiao advised Yi Hao to offer neutral races substantial rewards and use a conciliatory approach alongside Ding Dan’s forceful rule.
• Lu Xiao warned that fence-sitters might strip resources from abandoned territories and defect, then suggested binding them with nominal fiefs while gradually removing their real power.
• Lu Xiao recommended nominal rewards over making promises and disappearing after the war, to protect Ding Dan’s future prestige.
• Lu Xiao demanded payment for the sex, declared the Succubus race under his protection, and said Gentleman's Paradise would no longer be open to the public; Yi Hao protested that Lu Xiao was using public property for private pleasure.

Lu Xiao outlined plans for the Succubus Clan to become Hell’s second-largest race and serve him through faith, then summoned Amilia to discuss a partnership. Amilia arrived and showered Lu Xiao with shameless flattery, while Lu Xiao made clear that he had no intention of letting him go free.

• Lu Xiao told Ruiqi that the Succubus Clan would receive resources, help Yi Hao unify Hell, and provide Lu Xiao with faith, with Ruiqi serving as his high priestess.
• Lu Xiao proposed that Ruiqi marry Yi Hao to strengthen ties between their peoples, but agreed not to interfere when she said the reasons were complicated.
• Ruiqi described Amilia as a lone Wanderer who traded information for resources and whose Authority was unknown.
• Lu Xiao decided the Succubus Clan could earn more income through a partnership with Amilia and told Ruiqi to bring him in.
• Amilia arrived and praised Lu Xiao extravagantly, while Lu Xiao told him that being caught meant he had little chance of regaining his freedom.

Lu Xiao gave Amilia the choice between becoming experimental material and helping him build an intelligence organization in Hell. He made Ruiqi the organization’s leader and drew Amilia into the plan, leaving the three of them set to work together.

• Lu Xiao offered Amilia a choice between being taken to his world for experiments or serving as his eyes in Hell, and Amilia chose to cooperate.
• Lu Xiao proposed an organization that would gather intelligence across Hell, indirectly control targets, and offer services such as bounties and assassinations.
• Amilia recognized that the succubi’s widespread infiltration of Hell could provide the organization with spies and intelligence sources.
• Amilia inferred that Lu Xiao wanted him to lead the organization, but Lu Xiao named Ruiqi as its leader instead.
• Amilia accepted Ruiqi as his boss and abandoned any thought of escaping, recognizing that the organization would tie their interests together.

Lu Xiao and Ruiqi agreed on plans for an Intelligence Organization to support the Succubus Clan, then Lu Xiao asked Calamity about creating a True Name to attract faith. Calamity revealed he would soon need to sleep, but Lu Xiao proposed the Heart-Nurturing Ground as a place for him to recover, leaving them to consider Lu Xiao’s True Name.

• Lu Xiao presented the Intelligence Organization as a gift to Ruiqi, and they discussed how it could provide the Succubus Clan with intelligence and resources.
• After seeing off Ruiqi and Amilia, Lu Xiao visited Calamity to ask about devising a True Name that pointed to him.
• Calamity said his madness was worsening and he would need to sleep in about ten days, but he intended to stay in Lu Xiao’s world.
• Lu Xiao suggested Doctor’s Heart-Nurturing Ground, where time flowed differently, and Calamity agreed it might help him recover.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity agreed that Calamity would avoid large-scale uses of his authority and began discussing how a True Name could draw lesser life-forms’ attention.

Calamity helped Lu Xiao create the appellation “Man-made Calamity” and explained how its use and related rituals worked. Lu Xiao went to tell Ruiqi, whose new evening gown from Yi Hao left him wondering whether Yi Hao possessed a trait related to beauty.

• Calamity explained that an appellation could let its owner sense and locate whoever recited it, but that powerful beings might ignore a call.
• Calamity helped Lu Xiao shape an appellation around his “Human Heart” authority, and Lu Xiao sensed it connect to him through the Eye of Truth.
• Calamity warned Lu Xiao not to spread his appellation widely and explained that individual communication required a ritual and an offering.
• Lu Xiao called Ruiqi to his room to share the appellation, and she appeared wearing a black evening gown gifted by Yi Hao.
• Lu Xiao admired the gown’s design and suspected Yi Hao had a trait related to beauty.

Lu Xiao told Ruiqi the honorific name that identified him and taught her a ritual for contacting him, then warned her that the Succubus Clan would soon face a conflict with Hell. Ruiqi pledged to trust his plans and stayed to massage him, and Lu Xiao fell asleep in her lap.

• Ruiqi wore Yi Hao's evening gown to see Lu Xiao, but he focused on having more gowns made for the succubi.
• Lu Xiao told Ruiqi his honorific name, Man-made Calamity, and showed her how to contact him by writing a Chinese sentence in blood.
• Lu Xiao told Ruiqi not to inform Amilia and warned that the Succubus Clan might soon oppose the forces of Hell, promising to limit their losses.
• Ruiqi firmly said she trusted Lu Xiao, surprising him with her willingness to follow his arrangements.
• Ruiqi sat beside Lu Xiao and massaged his temples until he drifted into a deep sleep.

After sleeping for a day, Lu Xiao ordered Ruiqi to prepare the Settlement for an attack, then used a magic circle to travel to a meeting place. Calamity contacted him through an improvised ritual, and Lu Xiao decided to bring him into the meeting.

• Lu Xiao woke after a day of sleep and told Ruiqi to move noncombatant Succubi into the inner city while the army prepared to fight.
• Lu Xiao drew a magic circle and teleported away to attend the meeting he had arranged with Doctor and the others.
• Calamity found the circle in Lu Xiao's room, copied it, then erased his copy and used a ritual to contact Lu Xiao.
• Lu Xiao recognized Calamity's voice and told him he was attending a meeting, prompting Calamity to complain that he had not been invited.
• Lu Xiao decided to use their new connection to bring Calamity into the meeting before summoning Doctor and the others.