Chapter Summaries

Antie explained to Lu Xiao why he had faked his death and withdrawn from public view: he planned to steal something valuable from Hell amid the chaos caused by open rivals. He then described the Royal Family as a pitiful race like humanity, leaving Lu Xiao and Ruiqi shaken by what that implied about Hell.

• Antie asked Lu Xiao what he thought of the Royal Family and compared Hell to a manor owned by the Royal Family.
• Antie explained that he and his allies were thieves seeking to take something valuable while robbers drew the Royal Family's attention.
• Lu Xiao understood that Antie had gone into hiding to avoid alerting the Royal Family while pursuing his goal.
• Calamity flirted with Liv while Antie asked Lu Xiao whether he had more questions.
• Antie called the Royal Family a pitiful race like humanity, prompting Lu Xiao and Ruiqi to reconsider what they knew about Hell.

Antie reasoned that the Royal Family may have hidden an invasion by powerful bandits to protect their world, while Lu Xiao warned that an even more terrifying Unknowable Being had begun to get involved. Antie decided his only remaining option was to cooperate directly with the Royal Family.

• Antie argued that the Minotaur Tribe had threatened the safety of the Royal Family's people and suggested other races might also have been bandits.
• Ruiqi challenged Antie's theory, and Antie explained why the Royal Family might have kept the invasion secret from other races.
• Ruiqi recognized the gap between her judgment and Antie's and worried she was unsuited to leadership.
• Antie planned to bring the Wanderers near the Royal City and use them to gain a seat at the table, but Lu Xiao warned he might not have much time.
• Lu Xiao told Antie that an Unknowable Being more terrifying than the one outside the atmosphere had begun to get involved.
• Antie concluded that he had to cooperate directly with the Royal Family, and Lu Xiao questioned whether his judgment could be wrong.

Antie told Lu Xiao that he could not become a pillar of humanity by imitating Shadow and urged him to be himself. After leaving the Underground Cave, Ruiqi tested her charm ability on Lu Xiao and Calamity, with unexpectedly intense results.

• Lu Xiao asked Antie whether he could become a pillar of humanity, and Antie said he lacked the ruthlessness needed for the role.
• Antie questioned whether Lu Xiao could scheme, suppress his feelings, and avoid distractions like Shadow, then told him to stop shackling himself to Shadow's death.
• Lu Xiao thanked Antie and said he knew what to do, while Ruiqi felt unsettled by their conversation.
• After they emerged from the Underground Cave, Ruiqi watched Lu Xiao and Calamity discuss where to go next and doubted her charm ability's effect on them.
• Ruiqi activated her charm ability, causing Lu Xiao's nose to bleed and Calamity to avert his gaze, overwhelmed by her allure.

The Present World watched a live broadcast in which Gambler, leader of the Saints, claimed to have discovered a new energy source. The demonstration ended with the test tube exploding and Gambler engulfed in flames, while the camera continued filming.

• People across the Present World stopped their activities to watch news reports about a newly discovered energy source.
• Reporter Fangfang interviewed Gambler, who introduced himself as the leader of the Saints and claimed the foul-smelling liquid could replace petroleum.
• Gambler transformed a bouquet of roses into a burning match and asked Fangfang to drop it into the test tube.
• The test tube exploded, splashing flaming liquid onto Gambler and setting his clothes and body ablaze.
• Fangfang called for the filming to stop and asked for help, but the camera was raised again moments later.

During a live interview, Gambler revealed his supernatural abilities and claimed to be a god before teasing that his new fuel could be connected to the origins of petroleum. The public awaited a tour of his laboratory and the promised explanation of the discovery.

• Gambler changed into a tailcoat, kissed Fangfang’s hand, and told her he might be a god.
• Fangfang redirected the interview to the new energy source and explained that the liquid they had ignited could be used as fuel.
• Gambler compared the formation of petroleum to animal remains buried underground, then promised to reveal the liquid’s true origins during a laboratory tour.
• Viewers around the world grew eager for the revelation as dwindling oil supplies and the war against monsters made energy crucial to humanity’s survival.

The Warden explained to the Doctor why the Gambler was delaying the reveal during the livestream: lowering expectations would make people doubt the claim about biological blood as fuel immediately, rather than after the lie had already become reality. The Doctor understood the strategy, and the chapter left the Gambler’s reveal still underway.

• The Warden told the Doctor that the Gambler was using awkward performances to stall and lower the audience’s expectations.
• The Warden explained that revealing the claim at the height of anticipation could cause disappointment and later doubts, while exhausting the audience’s patience would make them question it from the start.
• The Doctor asked the Warden to return his Fountain Pen, which the Warden had secretly taken from his White Lab Coat sleeve.
• The Warden used an analogy about claiming to have three pieces of candy to show how a lie could become reality while an audience watched.
• The Doctor agreed that the Gambler’s strategy was clever because doubts arising early could be addressed, while doubts arising at the critical moment would leave no time to resolve them.

During a live broadcast, Gambler showed reporters a rare V8 twin-turbocharged engine and told a story about how he had obtained it. He deliberately used the display to build a mysterious image, and the crowd’s growing admiration convinced him his self-packaging was working.

• Gambler led Fangfang and the reporters into a repair workshop and revealed a massive engine beneath a spotlight.
• Gambler identified it as the first V8 twin-turbocharged engine in human industrial history and said he had nearly lost an arm acquiring it.
• Gambler stroked the engine and recalled how luxury cars made him feel connected to the times, while viewers watched his display live.
• Car enthusiasts and other viewers became impressed by Gambler, and some women grew more curious about him.
• Gambler recognized the crowd’s growing approval and concluded that his self-packaging had succeeded through people’s tendency to follow others.

Gambler demonstrated that the scarlet liquid he had refined could power a V8 engine, then revealed the creature from which the energy source was produced. After its cage fell and it escaped, Gambler stood between it and Fangfang as the livestream captured the encounter.

• Gambler showed Fangfang a fuel can of refined scarlet liquid and explained that it was similar to gasoline.
• Fangfang examined the liquid and told the camera that it felt different from gasoline.
• Gambler poured the liquid into the engine’s fuel tank, and the V8 started and ran smoothly until the fuel was used up.
• Gambler promised to show how the energy source was produced, and the camera revealed a large, five-armed creature locked in an iron cage.
• The cage chains snapped and the creature vanished in a blur before appearing beside Fangfang.
• Gambler stood between Fangfang and the creature and calmly told her not to worry.

Gambler killed the five-armed creature on camera and revealed that its blood was the supposed energy source. As he drained the creature into a bucket, Doctor identified the blood’s appearance as a flaw in Gambler’s deception.

• Gambler tore the creature’s heart from its chest while Fangfang watched, then posed with the heart for the cameras.
• The livestream replay showed Gambler killing the creature, and Warden and Doctor discussed how he had built trust through deliberate suggestions and his past as a casino owner.
• Doctor asked whether Gambler had lured Niclade into a trap in the same way, but Warden said he did not know how Gambler had deceived the deity.
• Gambler wrung the creature’s blood into a plastic bucket and confirmed to the cameraman that it was the energy source.
• Doctor warned that the blood’s appearance, unlike gasoline, could expose Gambler’s deception to anyone who looked closely.

Gambler’s blood-burning demonstration was exposed as a deception, but the audience accepted it amid their appetite for ever-greater shocks. Back at the C01 Containment Facility, Doctor prepared to lead C03 into Hell, and the Warden proposed that Gambler help secure the reassignment of a commander.

• The Warden explained that the livestream audience overlooked inconsistencies because they wanted more shocking revelations, and Gambler used the excitement to tell them Hell Creatures’ blood could fuel industry.
• After the broadcast, Fangfang asked Gambler for a private interview, but he vanished before anyone could react.
• At the C01 Containment Facility, Gambler admitted to Doctor that he had used colored oil for the first blood-burning demonstration.
• Doctor told the Warden that he had nearly worked out how to reproduce the teleportation circle and would take C03’s top combat forces into Hell, leaving Gambler to protect the Present World.
• The Warden suggested assigning Zhang Weidong, commander of the Ninth Group Army, to lead the forces, but Doctor raised concerns about withdrawing the army from the Southeastern Coastline.
• The Warden and Doctor looked to Gambler, then clarified that they wanted him to con someone rather than command an army.

The Warden and the Doctor tasked the Gambler with deceiving R058, the Flying Jellyfish, so the Ninth Group Army could be sent to fight in Hell while it guarded the Southeastern Coastline. In Hell, Lu Xiao took control of a Wanderer tribe and considered making its leader Isaac a deity, but he was puzzled by Isaac’s unusually hard Royal Family horns.

• The Doctor identified R058, the Flying Jellyfish, as the target the Gambler needed to deceive, and the Gambler protested that the task could get him killed.
• The Warden explained that R058 had protected them during the previous tsunami and might guard the Southeastern Coastline, allowing the Ninth Group Army to join the war in Hell.
• The Doctor argued that bringing R058 to Hell was impractical and dangerous for the Present World, so the Warden decided the Gambler would approach it.
• Lu Xiao stayed with a large Wanderer tribe rather than the Minotaur Tribe, hoping to use the Wanderers as leverage in his cooperation with the Minotaur Tribe.
• Lu Xiao had taken control of the tribe behind the scenes and planned to make its leader, Isaac, a deity, potentially by feeding him his own flesh and blood.
• Lu Xiao noticed Isaac’s three Royal Family horns and wondered why they were so hard, since even he struggled to damage horns like them.

Lu Xiao fed his flesh to Isaac and a near-adult Hell Worm, causing the creature to mutate and grow. After leaving the cavern, Calamity asked to taste Lu Xiao’s flesh too.

• Lu Xiao tested Isaac’s horns, then fed him a piece of flesh before sending him away.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity speculated about how the Royal Family originated, with Lu Xiao suspecting someone had placed their species in Hell.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity visited Isaac’s Hell Worm, which had become attached to Lu Xiao after he fed it his flesh and used his authority on it.
• Lu Xiao repeatedly fed the Hell Worm his regenerating flesh, and its tentacles grew thicker as he urged it to grow.
• Calamity asked to try Lu Xiao’s flesh, joking that it might make him a god.

Lu Xiao learned that Wanderers across southern Hell were migrating toward the Holy City, making the South a promising refuge for humanity. He rejected the idea of leading his tribe there and decided to continue north toward the Royal City, which he suspected was the center of Hell’s coming conflict.

• Lu Xiao focused on Hell and visited Ruiqi with Calamity to ask about the Succubus Clan’s scouts.
• Ruiqi told Lu Xiao that southern Wanderers were pledging allegiance to the Holy City and moving toward its new settlement, while northern tribes faced delays because powerful clans controlled the region.
• Lu Xiao considered how the Holy City could shield a human settlement in the South from northern powers.
• Lu Xiao rejected leading his tribe south because he wanted to remain behind the scenes and chose to head farther north toward the Royal City.

Lu Xiao discussed Ruiqi and the Succubus Clan with Calamity, then wondered about the relationship between 'Fate' and 'Death.' Calamity reasoned that 'Death' had spared Lu Xiao because the two entities likely got along, leaving Lu Xiao to consider how their interests might be connected.

• Lu Xiao told Calamity he was avoiding getting involved with Ruiqi because of her Authority, his fear of losing himself in 'Desire,' and the Succubus Clan's connection to him as Kin.
• Ruiqi overheard their conversation and realized why Lu Xiao was keeping his distance.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity returned to the surface and wondered whether the setting sun was a creature's eye; Calamity warned that its owner might be too powerful to face.
• Lu Xiao asked Calamity about the relationship between 'Fate' and 'Death,' and Calamity argued that 'Death' had not retaliated against Lu Xiao because the two likely got along.

Lu Xiao considered why powerful beings in the Universe might embrace madness and focused on securing Authorities for himself and his allies. After returning underground, he followed Big Good Boy and the Wanderer tribe through the tunnels while Calamity debated how the Hell Worm digested dirt.

• Lu Xiao suspected powerful beings feared something so deeply that they drove themselves mad, but he abandoned the thought when he could find no more clues.
• Lu Xiao reflected on the Director's disappearance and considered merging another Authority into his right Eye of Truth, while noting that Big Good Boy and the Omniscient Mirror also needed Authorities.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity returned underground and fed Big Good Boy, which then dug ahead with Isaac and the other Hell creatures following.
• Isaac felt close to becoming a deity and watched Ruiqi as he followed the group through the tunnel.
• Calamity asked how Big Good Boy excreted dirt, and Lu Xiao concluded that it must spit it out through its mouth, making Ruiqi's mouth twitch.

The Prison Doctor and Liu Ni were turned away from the route to Hell because the Teleportation Array had been destroyed. In Hell, Ding Dan’s army reached the Nightmare Demon Clan, whose leader submitted rather than risk extermination, then collapsed after reading a document.

• The Prison Doctor and Liu Ni encountered a Demon Squad blocking their way to Hell and learned the Teleportation Array had been destroyed.
• The Prison Doctor left with Liu Ni, deciding to return and ask Mr. Doctor for another solution.
• Ding Dan traveled through Hell on his Throne with the Holy City Army and approached the Nightmare Demon Clan’s settlement.
• The Nightmare Demon leader ordered his clan to submit to Ding Dan, and the clansmen knelt as the army arrived.
• A Great Two-Horned Demon helped the Nightmare Demon leader up and gave him a roll of cloth, whose contents made his vision go black.

Ding Dan’s campaign swept through northern Hell and reached the Royal City, whose demons submitted to him. Lu Xiao and Calamity speculated about his motives, while Ding Dan confronted the priest who had helped arrange the Royal City’s surrender.

• The Nightmare Demon Deity accepted Ding Dan’s demands and prepared to surrender most of his clan’s wealth.
• Lu Xiao and Calamity discussed whether Ding Dan was eliminating weaker demon clans to prevent them from joining forces before a final battle.
• Ding Dan’s forces reached the Royal City, and the city’s demons offered no resistance as his Throne entered.
• The priest and the Royal City’s demons knelt and hailed Ding Dan as their ruler.
• Ding Dan questioned the priest about the six opposing demon Deities, then challenged him for suggesting they be spared until the battlefield.

Ding Dan appointed Morati lord of the renamed Morati City, and Wayne revealed the truth about Morati’s father and the prophecy. Morati learned that the Royal Family had secretly supported him and planned to draw the attention of “Them” while preparing for a final battle.

• Ding Dan spared the priest, then appointed Morati lord of the Royal City and ordered Wayne to rename it Morati City.
• Wayne and Morati toured the city, and Morati asked him to reveal what had happened to his father.
• Wayne explained that the prophecy’s original Savior was from the Devilfish Clan, which the High Priest’s era had massacred after discovering it.
• Wayne said Morati’s father publicly changed the prophecy to name a one-horned demon as the Savior, leading the Royal Family to hunt him.
• Wayne revealed that the clan had secretly supplied Morati with resources and devised a plan to draw “Them” out while awakening the past Great Lords for the final battle.

Wayne revealed to Morati that outsiders destroyed Hell’s original world and killed its first Great Lord, whose body became the land and whose eye became the sun. He explained that the other races descended from Royal Family members captured by those outsiders, leaving Morati furious and understanding why Ding Dan rejected some races’ surrender.

• Wayne told Morati that past Great Lords had faked their deaths because hidden outsiders wanted them gone.
• Wayne described how the outsiders destroyed the World Will and shattered the planet, and said the first Great Lord’s body and eye became Hell’s land and sun.
• Wayne said the outsiders retreated to Hell’s reverse side after the battle and continued watching over the Royal Family.
• Wayne revealed that the other races were born from Royal Family members captured by the outsiders.
• Morati grew enraged and understood why Ding Dan would not accept the surrender of certain races.

Lu Xiao and Calamity discussed replacing Isaac with another Deity when Old Feis emerged from the ground. Old Feis offered himself as a possible substitute and watched Lu Xiao with unusual interest.

• Lu Xiao complained that Isaac had not become a Deity despite being fed, and suggested killing him and finding a replacement.
• Old Feis spoke from beneath the soil, startling Calamity and prompting Lu Xiao to stomp on the thing emerging from the ground.
• Old Feis grabbed Lu Xiao’s ankle, then asked them to wait while he climbed out.
• Calamity recognized Old Feis and stopped Lu Xiao from attacking; Old Feis complained about Lu Xiao’s stomp.
• Old Feis said he had overheard their discussion and found it interesting, keeping his gaze fixed on Lu Xiao.