Chapter Summaries

Zhang Weidong tried to wager a Nuclear Warhead against Niu Bo’s Minotaur warriors, but Niu Bo recognized the trap and refused. When raiders threatened Wanderers in the South of Hell, Zhang Weidong sent a large human force to fight them, giving Niu Bo a chance to see how humans battled.

• Zhang Weidong proposed a live combat exercise, offering Niu Bo a Nuclear Warhead if the human soldiers lost.
• Niu Bo refused to wager because he had no stake of equal value and doubted the humans could win.
• The Prison Doctor, Lu Xiao, and Calamity urged Niu Bo to accept, but Niu Bo suspected they were setting a trap.
• Amilia reported that around three thousand raiders led by a King-level being were attacking Wanderers bound for the Holy City.
• Zhang Weidong dispatched a heavy combined-arms brigade and a supporting army brigade, totaling over ten thousand soldiers.
• Niu Bo asked Lu Xiao whether he would intervene, and Calamity mocked him for doubting that the humans could keep the raiders at a distance.

Human forces used aircraft, artillery, infantry, and robotic units to rout the Raiders without casualties, impressing Niu Bo with their technology. Lu Xiao persuaded Niu Bo to send ten thousand Minotaurs to Zhang Weidong for training, while Zhang complained that the battle had cost him more than it gained.

• Fighter jets bombed the Raiders, killing hundreds and scattering their formation, while Niu Bo questioned why they did not make more bombing runs.
• Tanks and rocket launchers unleashed a creeping barrage, and six thousand infantry advanced to clear the battlefield.
• A King-level Raider recognized the human army and ordered the Raiders to flee, but robotic dogs attacked as soldiers and robotic birds moved across the battlefield.
• Niu Bo concluded that human long-range firepower could threaten his Minotaur Legion, and Lu Xiao asked him to honor their wager.
• Niu Bo agreed to send ten thousand Minotaurs to Zhang Weidong for training, and Zhang cursed the expense of the battle.

Zhang Weidong integrated ten thousand Minotaurs into his army, while Ding Dan led the Holy City's forces south to confront an Outsider invasion. At the bone gate, a towering figure emerged, and Ding Dan ordered the Sky Curtain to focus sunlight on it.

• Zhang Weidong recruited ten thousand Minotaurs and distributed them among his units for training.
• Amilia reported that Antie had approached within a little over two hundred kilometers of the Royal City.
• Ding Dan led the Holy City's army south, and Old Feis joined Lu Xiao and Calamity after revealing that another Unknowable Being had entered the conflict.
• Lu Xiao, Calamity, and Old Feis followed Ding Dan to the southern edge of Hell, where King-level Outsiders and Deities poured from a giant bone gate.
• A towering figure emerged from the gate, and Ding Dan directed the demon legion to focus the Sky Curtain's sunlight on it.

A god emerged from the Gate and extinguished Hell’s sun, prompting Old Feis to reveal his true form and attack. Calamity fled with Lu Xiao and the others while the two gods’ battle warped space and destroyed those caught nearby.

• The god asked whether Ding Dan was the current Great Lord and remarked that he smelled death.
• Old Feis transformed into an enormous anglerfish-like creature, and the god revealed his own tentacled true form.
• Old Feis ordered Calamity to take Ding Dan and the others away so he could lure the enemy within range of the Nuclear Bomb.
• Calamity carried Lu Xiao, Ding Dan, the Throne, and the Great Demons away at full speed as the gods’ true forms drove the nearby beings into madness.
• Old Feis charged the god, and their collision twisted space, assimilating those left nearby into its warped lines.
• Old Feis and the god grappled and tore at each other, exchanging curses as they fought.

Lu Xiao and the others lured a pursuing god into the path of a nuclear missile to help Old Feis escape. Old Feis survived and brought Lu Xiao back to the human settlement, where he spat out the injured god’s tentacles and demanded food to recover.

• Ding Dan carried Calamity through the air, while Lu Xiao ran behind them toward the missile’s strike range.
• Lu Xiao activated the targeting beacon, then ran away to escape the nuclear blast radius.
• The missile exploded near Old Feis and the pursuing tentacled god, vaporizing much of the tentacled god and stopping its pursuit.
• Old Feis reached Lu Xiao and swallowed him along with the ground beneath him before carrying him away.
• Half a day later, Old Feis spat out the god’s still-wriggling tentacles at the human settlement and asked for food to replenish himself.

Lu Xiao learned that God flesh could carry a master's divinity and contamination, then prepared to help the Chef complete his dangerous deification ritual. The Chef began making a deliberately disgusting dish under the Eye of Truth's suppression, but the ritual's outcome remained uncertain.

• Old Feis explained that God flesh could contain a master's divinity, erode those who consumed it, and let the master manifest through an anchor.
• Amilia told Lu Xiao that Ding Dan had taken Calamity to the Holy City but had not harmed him.
• Lu Xiao learned that the Chef needed a Deity-ranked taster to enjoy a hideous culinary monstrosity made from ordinary ingredients to complete his deification ritual.
• Lu Xiao proposed using the Eye of Truth to suppress the Chef's ability to make clean, sanitary food, and the Chef agreed to attempt the ritual.
• Lu Xiao activated the Eye of Truth as the Chef tied on his Hello Kitty apron and began preparing the ingredients, while the onlookers feared the consequences of failure.

Chef tried to create a dish disgusting enough to complete a ritual that would let the Ninth Group Army use the flesh and blood of gods. After Ivan suggested that extreme fragrance could become stench, Chef made nine-turn intestines and left Zhang Weidong wondering whether he had done it on purpose.

• Doctor and Zhang Weidong watched Chef attempt to make a revolting dish for the ritual, while Lu Xiao's trait kept Chef's ability from resetting.
• Chef struggled to disgust the onlookers even as the bubbling black broth gave off an appealing aroma.
• Prison Doctor asked Lu Xiao about the worst food he had eaten in the Dark Prison, but Lu Xiao could not remember.
• Ivan suggested that fragrance taken to its extreme became stench, and Chef took inspiration from his idea.
• Chef added barely rinsed pig intestines to the pot, dyed them black, and stuffed smaller intestines into larger ones to make nine-turn intestines.
• Chef said he had preserved the large intestines' flavor, and Zhang Weidong asked whether he had done it on purpose or by accident; Chef told him to guess.

Chef completed his Deification Ritual dish, nine-turn braised intestines covered in a foul, pitch-black sauce, while the spectators struggled to endure the smell. Lu Xiao pressured Zhang Weidong into taking the first bite, leaving the ritual’s outcome unknown.

• Chef continued preparing the intestines, and the growing stench made Zhang Weidong vomit; Doctor handed him a mop and asked him to clean it up.
• Chef reduced the sauce over high heat and poured it onto the plated intestines, making the gathered deities and spectators dry-heave.
• Chef asked who would taste the dish first, but nobody volunteered.
• Lu Xiao tried to persuade and then order Zhang Weidong to taste the intestines, invoking the soldiers waiting for him to return in triumph.
• Zhang Weidong picked up a piece of intestine, shut his eyes, and put it in his mouth.

Chef completed his deification ritual by serving a disgusting-looking but delicious dish, and attained godhood. In the cafeteria afterward, Ivan pressed Lu Xiao to tell him as soon as Mr. Calamity defecated, hoping to pursue his own path to godhood.

• Zhang Weidong tasted Chef's nine-turn pork intestines and said they were both delicious and disgusting.
• Old Feis and Lu Xiao tasted the dish, confirmed it was delicious, and the others ate enough to complete Chef's ritual.
• Shuns explained that the intestines had been cleaned and the foul-smelling broth was made from ordinary ingredients, while Chef's performance made the meal seem revolting.
• Chef's vacant expression faded, and everyone sensed a deity's aura as he attained godhood.
• Ivan asked Lu Xiao when Mr. Calamity would defecate and urged him to report it immediately.

After becoming a god, Chef created another horrifying dish, and Zhang Weidong suffered a catastrophic reaction after tasting it. Meanwhile, Lu Xiao’s reckless driving ended with Niu Bo taking the wheel, as Doctor discussed his plan to ignite a star with a nuclear bomb.

• Lu Xiao explained that Ivan could try to create an alchemy authority, as Doctor Li had once succeeded in creating a new authority.
• Chef served takoyaki topped with live maggots and black sauce, and Zhang Weidong was the first to try it.
• Zhang Weidong’s stomach swelled after he swallowed the food, and he woke a day later on an operating table with sutured wounds.
• Lu Xiao flipped the military off-road vehicle, so Niu Bo took over driving while Doctor and Lu Xiao rode with him.
• Doctor asked Niu Bo whether his plan to ignite a star with a nuclear bomb could work, and Niu Bo said it was nearly impossible and questioned how they could deliver the bomb to the star.

Doctor asked Niu Bo to cooperate if he could solve the problems preventing humans from reigniting their star, and Niu Bo warned that sending their coordinates could draw multiple factions into a galaxy-destroying war. As Doctor and Niu Bo discussed technology, Lu Xiao considered the Chosen Ones and his own abilities before suspecting that the 'driving' rule had rejected him.

• Doctor said a nuclear bomb could not provide enough energy to trigger fusion in the star and that human spacecraft could not deliver one, then asked Niu Bo to cooperate if he solved both problems.
• Niu Bo agreed to work with humans if Doctor could light the star, but warned that sending their coordinates might alert the Order Faction or neutral beings and lead to a destructive war.
• Doctor said he expected 'Technology's' Chosen One to help, while Niu Bo recalled that the rules had rejected him in the human laboratory despite his authority over 'Wisdom.'
• Lu Xiao inferred that Doctor wanted Lu Liangren to send the coordinates and that Lu Liangren might be the Chosen One of 'Technology'; he also recalled that Gambler was his own Chosen One and that Nico might travel to Hell.
• As Doctor explained technology to Niu Bo, Lu Xiao sensed that neither of them was retaining the knowledge and wondered whether the 'driving' rule had rejected him.

Zhang Weidong organized the Ninth Group Army’s recovery and defenses while Liu Ni trained as a doctor, and Lu Xiao’s group reached the Mysterious Post Office. Doctor entered the Post Office with Lu Xiao and Niu Bo, took Lu Liangren’s book, and faced no objection as Lu Liangren began filling out a form.

• Prison Doctor and Liu Ni distributed dumplings made with a God’s flesh and blood to the Ninth Group Army, while Zhang Weidong arranged for Minotaurs to handle supplies and build bricks.
• Zhang Weidong collapsed after eating an extra serving of dumplings, and Prison Doctor and Liu Ni helped him and other soldiers recover.
• Prison Doctor taught Liu Ni medicine, and she quickly earned the soldiers’ respect while showing no interest in their attempts to court her.
• After three days of travel, Lu Xiao, Niu Bo, and Doctor reached the Settlement containing the Mysterious Post Office, carrying their out-of-fuel Off-Road Vehicle.
• Doctor entered the Post Office, took the book Lu Liangren had placed on the counter, and watched as Lu Liangren began filling out a form.

Doctor, Lu Xiao, and Niu Bo left the Post Office to discover that Wanderers had dismantled and stolen their Off-Road Vehicle. Meanwhile, Morati and Wayne awakened sixteen Great Lords of ages past, who fed on the priests and learned about the crisis in Hell.

• Doctor, Lu Xiao, and Niu Bo left the Post Office after Doctor took a book, then discovered Wanderers had dismantled their Off-Road Vehicle and stolen its parts.
• Lu Xiao let a childlike Wanderer keep a screw, and Niu Bo carried Doctor as the three returned from the Settlement on foot.
• Morati questioned Wayne about whether the Great Lords could resist the Gods, and Wayne said he would continue serving His Majesty the Great Lord.
• The priests performed an awakening ritual, and sixteen Great Demons emerged from their coffins and drained the priests to restore their strength.
• Wayne reported the recent events in Hell to the awakened demons, and one of the weaker-looking demons roared, knelt, and plunged a hand into his chest.

A demon sacrificed his life to dispel the darkness over Hell, while Antie and Futiya discussed sacrifice, leadership, and their feelings. In the Holy City, Calamity repaired the ground under Ding Dan’s watch before escaping to the human encampment to complain to Old Feis.

• A demon tore out and shattered his heart, turning into yellow earth as the darkness over Hell lifted and the setting sun returned redder than before.
• The High Priest wrapped the demon’s remains in his ceremonial robes, leaving only fifteen of the sixteen Great Demons, and the tallest demon roared in rage.
• Antie asked Futiya whether she would sacrifice herself for her clan, then told her he thought she was better suited than Ruiqi to lead the Succubus Clan.
• Antie admitted he liked Futiya but had no time for romance, and Futiya embraced him and promised to witness a better future with him.
• Calamity repaired cracks in the ground under Ding Dan’s watch, then escaped to the human encampment and flew to Old Feis to complain.

Calamity complained to Old Feis about being bullied, then was distracted by Lu Xiao’s takoyaki, which contained a live maggot. Meanwhile, Doctor became obsessed with a blank-covered book and showed Shuns its revelations, leaving Shuns frenzied by the possibility of extracting consciousness.

• Calamity told Old Feis that someone had bullied him, but Old Feis scolded him for being weak and for calling himself Death's Chosen One.
• Lu Xiao gave Calamity takoyaki, and Calamity ate maggots hidden inside it without realizing what they were.
• Doctor read the first page of Lu Liangren’s book and concluded that his research team’s approach to controlled nuclear fusion was wrong.
• Doctor covered his office with calculations and told Shuns that he had solved the equations for controlled nuclear fusion.
• Doctor showed Shuns the blank-covered book, and Shuns read a page that convinced him consciousness could be extracted.

Lu Xiao and Calamity persuaded Old Feis to find them more God flesh, offering him leather shoes made from a God’s skin. Old Feis took them to the northernmost part of Hell, where he confronted Daimon, a God of the Demon Clan, over the destruction of his clan.

• Lu Xiao fed God flesh to Big Good Boy and Little Well-Behaved while Calamity joked that beasts had it better than Gods.
• After Calamity said that eating too much could cause the runs, Lu Xiao took him to Old Feis and persuaded Old Feis to help by offering him shoes made from a God’s skin.
• Old Feis carried Lu Xiao and Calamity north, explaining that he knew where to find Gods and that the tentacled monster was too difficult to deal with.
• Old Feis recognized the Demon Clan and said he would take out his anger on Daimon’s clansmen without provoking the Tyrant.
• Daimon confronted Old Feis, who accused him of causing his clan’s destruction and challenged him to fight.
• Old Feis and Daimon transformed into gigantic mythical life-forms, with Daimon wreathed in flames.

Old Feis fought Daimon until Daimon admitted his responsibility for the Devilfish Clan’s destruction and promised to atone. After Daimon left, Old Feis joined Lu Xiao and Calamity, and Lu Xiao considered how eating a god might help him ascend.

• Old Feis and Daimon clashed in their true forms, and Old Feis bit chunks from Daimon’s legs while enduring his attacks.
• Daimon trapped Old Feis in a sea of fire and struck his head, but Old Feis turned intangible and tore more flesh from him with a Death Roll.
• Old Feis begged Daimon to stop, and Daimon promised to atone for his role in destroying the Devilfish Clan.
• Old Feis told Daimon he had only wanted him to drop his high-and-mighty attitude, and Daimon flew away.
• Old Feis joined Lu Xiao and Calamity, while Lu Xiao wondered whether eating a god could help him ascend and recalled Old Feis’s explanation that a god could be killed by erasing its divinity.

Lu Xiao asked Old Feis how Ding Dan could resist being assimilated by an authority, and learned that the fastest option was to separate the authority from him. Old Feis warned that doing so would destroy the Demon Clan’s hope, but Lu Xiao threatened to try anyway, forcing Old Feis to back down.

• Old Feis threatened Chef with being cooked if he prepared dark cuisine again, and Lu Xiao encouraged him.
• Old Feis said Ding Dan could avoid assimilation by surpassing the authority’s original owner before the owner revived, or by reversing the assimilation.
• Lu Xiao suggested separating Ding Dan from the authority, as he had done with his own left eye, and Old Feis admitted it would work fastest.
• Old Feis warned that separating Ding Dan from the authority would destroy the Demon Clan’s hope and threatened Lu Xiao with the gods’ retaliation.
• Lu Xiao threatened to take Ding Dan and try the separation anyway, and Old Feis laughed it off as a joke.

Lu Xiao learned that becoming a Great Old One would put him and his people under the watch of a mysterious “Audience” and expose them to deadly cosmic conflicts. The chapter ended with Calamity admitting that countless beings like him were merely small fry in the universe.

• Old Feis explained that Lu Xiao could become a Great Old One by winning and devouring Hell, but said he had no interest in ascending that way.
• Old Feis warned that Great Old Ones faced madness, the gaze of the “Audience,” and dangers that could bring suffering to their people.
• Old Feis accused Niu Bo of having ulterior motives, and Lu Xiao said he knew Niu Bo was waiting for the right price but that their interests did not yet conflict.
• Old Feis said the “Audience” demanded a climax and would not allow Hell’s Royal Family to surrender, but refused to reveal who the Audience were.
• Lu Xiao reflected on the universe’s cruelty and asked Calamity about his earlier description of it; Calamity said billions of beings like him were only small fry.

Lu Xiao arranged for the Prison Doctor to make leather shoes from a God's skin, then gave Liu Ni a special set of scalpels. He went to visit Ruiqi while she cultivated in a sealed Containment Room, and stood outside deciding how to enter.

• Lu Xiao left Calamity and Old Feis, collected God's skin from the Chef, and went to ask Ivan to make Old Feis leather shoes.
• Ivan sent Lu Xiao to the Prison Doctor, who agreed to make the shoes and then left him alone with Liu Ni.
• Lu Xiao gave Liu Ni a set of scalpels wrapped in leather embroidered with a black cat, and she took them before hurrying away.
• After learning that the shoes would take time, Lu Xiao went to find Ruiqi, who was digesting God's flesh in a sealed Containment Room inside Zhou.
• Lu Xiao knocked on the steel door, realized Ruiqi might not hear him, and decided to break it open.