Recaps

Xiao Yu slaughtered more than a hundred martial arts experts in a single-player game before exiting and returning to his prison room. After adjusting to prison life, he went to the cafeteria for lunch, where another inmate asked if he was finished with his leftovers.

• Xiao Yu killed the Longquan Swordsman in one strike, then fought and defeated the assembled experts from the righteous and evil factions.
• Xiao Yu exited the game and reflected on being held in custody while awaiting the outcome of his case.
• Xiao Yu discarded the single-player game card and accepted that prison life was comfortable, with food and games available.
• Xiao Yu went to the cafeteria, ordered an A-grade steak set, and ate until he was full.
• A man beside Xiao Yu pointed at the beef and rice left on his plate and asked if he was still eating it.

Xiao Yu met Shu Legao in prison, where Shu Legao learned that Xiao Yu was the famed Azathoth from Sky World. Shen Yuan and Merlin joined them, and Shen Yuan admitted he had little chance of escaping punishment after his failed scheme.

• Xiao Yu shared his beef curry rice with Shu Legao, who introduced himself and explained that he had been imprisoned for killing security guards in Gambling City Las Vegas.
• Xiao Yu told Shu Legao he had been jailed over Sky World, and Shu Legao recognized him as Azathoth and praised the events surrounding Shen Yuan’s scheme.
• Shen Yuan and Merlin sat down with Xiao Yu, and Shen Yuan insulted him for choosing prison over becoming a god.
• Xiao Yu accused Shen Yuan of hiding his plan and forcing him into it, while Merlin asked whether Shen Yuan could escape charges again.
• Shen Yuan said he had already spent his influence to avoid punishment for an earlier scheme and expected to face permanent imprisonment this time.
• Li Mingfei arrived, looking troubled as his game company faced likely bankruptcy.

Xiao Yu noticed Naiser was missing, then met two secret operatives who identified themselves as members of the Heavenly Eye Bureau. They told him his case was essentially settled and began explaining the extraterrestrial origins of a photonic computer they had received.

• Xiao Yu asked where Naiser was, and Shen Yuan and Li Mingfei argued over whether Naiser had been released or taken for questioning.
• Xiao Yu left the group, chose a single-player game from the storage room, and was stopped by Lin Yaoguang and two men in black suits.
• Lin Yaoguang sent Xiao Yu with the two men to an interrogation room, where they assured him the surveillance was off.
• The shorter operative said Xiao Yu was considered innocent and could be released in a few days if there were no accidents.
• The two men introduced themselves as SSS-clearance operatives of the Heavenly Eye Bureau and explained that they had received an advanced photonic computer in a landing capsule, along with a recording about its origins.

Xiao Yu refused to lead a team into the deadly virtual world left by the Phantom Spirit Race, so the agents erased his recent memories and moved on to their backup candidate. The memory wipe failed because of a protective layer in Xiao Yu’s brain, while Naiser listened to the agents’ offer with renewed hope.

• The tall agent told Xiao Yu that the Phantom Spirit Race’s optical computer connected participants to a dangerous virtual world where they could retrieve advanced technology, and that the government wanted him to lead a team.
• Xiao Yu refused the mission despite the agents’ warnings, insisting he would rather face prison than risk his life.
• The agents used an Amnesia Flashlight on Xiao Yu, but his past brain surgery and implanted protective layer appeared to prevent the memory wipe.
• Xiao Yu decided to keep quiet about what he remembered and noticed that he still had the tall agent’s phone number.
• The agents crossed Xiao Yu off their list and went to recruit Naiser, who had been abandoned by his family and hoped their offer might give him a way out.

After being cleared of the charges and returning home, Xiao Yu grew bored of virtual pleasures and received an unexpected call from Li Mingfei. Li Mingfei invited him to try a new game called Earth Online.

• Xiao Yu returned home after the court found him not guilty, while Shen Yuan and Merlin received life sentences and Li Mingfei's company went bankrupt.
• Xiao Yu spent weeks enjoying virtual worlds, but eventually grew tired of their pleasures and wondered what life as a god in Sky World might have been like.
• Li Mingfei contacted Xiao Yu, thanked him for not siding with Shen Yuan to the end, and joked about his own regrets and legal troubles.
• Li Mingfei told Xiao Yu he planned to become a professional player and invited him to try Earth Online.

Li Mingfei told Xiao Yu about Earth Online and tried to recruit him for publicity, but Xiao Yu declined and discovered that his actions during the virtual world crisis had made him famous. After turning down the offers that followed, Xiao Yu received a call from Esmehalda, who told him to turn on the television.

• Li Mingfei described Earth Online’s realistic setting and offered Xiao Yu a free VIP account, but Xiao Yu said he was not interested.
• Li Mingfei revealed that Excellence Technology Game Company wanted Xiao Yu to promote the game because he had become famous for saving millions of players.
• Xiao Yu checked online forums, discovered his celebrity status, and chose not to contact the women who had posted messages for him.
• Xiao Yu received film, autobiography, documentary, and advertising offers, rejected them all, and changed his contact address.
• Esmehalda contacted Xiao Yu and told him to turn on channel 46, calling him the Great Hero of Humanity.

Xiao Yu watched Great Hero of Humanity and realized the supposed mission to save humanity was a reality show, then discovered that Shen Yuan, Merlin, and Naiser were among its contestants. The episode left the twelve contestants exploring the game’s Wilderness Planet while believing their lives and humanity’s future depended on them.

• Esmehalda urged Xiao Yu to watch Great Hero of Humanity on channel 46.
• The host introduced a story in which twelve contestants had to retrieve the Phantom Spirit Race’s technology from a game to protect humanity from an alien threat.
• Xiao Yu recognized the disguised Heavenly Eye Bureau agents’ earlier recruitment attempt as part of the show and felt relieved that he had not joined.
• Esmehalda denied knowing the production team had approached Xiao Yu and told him to keep watching.
• Xiao Yu recognized Shen Yuan, Merlin, and Naiser among the twelve contestants entering the game.
• The contestants began exploring the desert-like Wilderness Planet, unaware that they were participating in a reality show.

Xiao Yu watched Naiser lead his team through dangerous alien ruins while planning revenge on him, then dismissed two National Guard Bureau agents as another hoax by the reality show’s production team. The agents left after Xiao Yu threatened to call the police, and he returned to watching the show.

• Naiser’s team lost two members to an alien monster, then found an armory that supplied them with powerful alien weapons.
• Naiser planned to learn the Phantom Spirit Race’s mental cultivation methods so he could gain powers and take revenge on Xiao Yu.
• Xiao Yu watched Naiser’s adventure at home, unaware that Naiser blamed him for his misfortune.
• Old Li and Young Zhang visited Xiao Yu, claimed a cult called the Future God Religion had marked him as its next target, and asked him to help lure its members out.
• Xiao Yu ordered the two men to leave and threatened to call the police, so Old Li took Young Zhang and departed.
• Xiao Yu turned the television back on and resumed watching Naiser’s adventure.

Xiao Yu went out for a luxury meal and was approached by a beautiful fan, but he grew suspicious when he glimpsed purple light in her eyes. After trying to leave her hotel room, he was confronted with a dagger and her sudden attack.

• Xiao Yu drove his flying car to an upscale hotel, bought expensive clothes, and ordered a meal that disappointed him.
• A blonde woman in a red evening gown recognized Xiao Yu as her fan, joined him for dinner, and invited him to her hotel room for coffee.
• Xiao Yu noticed a hint of purple light in the woman’s eyes and, feeling uneasy, decided to leave.
• The woman blocked the door, drew a dagger from beneath her skirt, and lunged at Xiao Yu.

Xiao Yu killed a woman who attacked him, then learned from the National Guard Bureau that she belonged to the Moha Religion, which planned to create a god through a virtual game. Old Li asked Xiao Yu to help stop the cult’s upcoming game by breaking it.

• Xiao Yu fought off the woman, who called him Azathoth and died after being impaled on the coffee table frame.
• Xiao Yu called Agent Li, and the agents and police arrived to investigate the killing and bring him to the National Guard Bureau.
• Old Li explained that the Future God Religion believed faith could create a real god and had spent centuries pursuing that goal.
• Old Li revealed that Shen Yuan belonged to the Future God Religion and that the cult viewed Xiao Yu as a threat after he disrupted Shen Yuan’s operation.
• Old Li said the cult’s main plan involved an upcoming game and asked Xiao Yu to break it.

Xiao Yu learned that the National Guard Bureau wanted him to enter Excellence Technology's new game, War of the Gods, to draw the Future God Religion's attention and help identify its members. He prepared with his assigned security consultant Chenghong Moli and joined Mofeitosi in the game, then entered it with Chenghong Moli when the open beta began.

• Old Li explained the Bureau's plan and gave Xiao Yu information about War of the Gods, a new game made by Excellence Technology using the computer that had run Sky World.
• Old Li assigned Chenghong Moli to live with Xiao Yu, protect him, and report on his actions in the game; she objected but accepted the order.
• Xiao Yu took Chenghong Moli home and decided not to invite his old friends, but Mofeitosi contacted him and agreed to play under Xiao Yu's leadership.
• After three days of preparation, Xiao Yu and Chenghong Moli entered their gaming pods and logged into War of the Gods together.

Xiao Yu organized a group to play undead characters in War of the Gods, then created his own undead character after choosing the dark faction. The chapter ended with him entering the game as King's Return, still unsure what kind of undead he would become.

• Xiao Yu chose undead characters for himself, Chenghong Moli, and Mofeitosi, but Mofeitosi rejected the plan and decided to play an adventurer alone.
• Xiao Yu failed to recruit Esmehalda and Leah Bloodmoon, then asked Big Water Cunt to play a zombie; Big Water Cunt readily agreed.
• Xiao Yu and Chenghong Moli entered War of the Gods, and Xiao Yu chose the dark faction, undead, and the Burying Ground as his birthplace.
• Xiao Yu selected the Rhine Empire, named his character King's Return after Azathoth was rejected, and chose soldier as his former occupation and age thirty at death.
• Xiao Yu completed character creation and entered the game without being offered a choice of undead subtype.

Xiao Yu found himself controlling a wounded Rhine Empire soldier on a brutal battlefield, where he fought off several Kern Kingdom soldiers and realized the encounter was likely his character’s experience before death. When the Mad Lion Knights arrived, he fled into the woods to escape them and continue trying to influence his character’s attributes.

• Xiao Yu woke inside the body of a Rhine Empire soldier and killed a Kern Kingdom axeman who attacked him.
• Xiao Yu used combat skills and the soldier’s memories to kill three more Kern Kingdom soldiers, causing the survivors to flee.
• Xiao Yu saw the Mad Lion Knights charging toward him and concluded that his battlefield experience was a starting quest that would end in his character’s death.
• Xiao Yu ran into the woods, and the knights stayed at the forest’s edge and sent surviving soldiers after him.

Xiao Yu fought through the enemy soldiers, then sacrificed himself to kill a Mad Lion Knight by throwing them both off a cliff. After years passed, the system offered him a choice of undead form and displayed the known upgrade paths for each type.

• Xiao Yu killed nineteen soldiers but was wounded and nearly exhausted, then fled from four Mad Lion Knights toward a cliff.
• Xiao Yu let a knight stab him, grappled with him, and threw them both off the cliff, killing them.
• Xiao Yu watched the battle continue as the narrator described the war and the passage of years over the two bodies.
• The system asked Xiao Yu to choose his undead form and presented descriptions and upgrade paths for walking corpses, skeletons, and ghosts.

Xiao Yu chose a skeleton and selected talents, including two hidden talents unlocked by his past battlefield kills. He entered the game and awakened by clawing his way out of the earth.

• Xiao Yu chose the skeleton path, while Chenghong Moli was set to take the ghost path.
• Xiao Yu selected Bone Hyperplasia, Memory Fragments, and Loyal Hound Owner as his initial talents.
• Xiao Yu discovered hidden talents unlocked by killing enemies in life, including Weapon Master, Indomitable Will, and the locked Command the Battlefield.
• Xiao Yu replaced Bone Hyperplasia with Weapon Master and Indomitable Will, using all five talent points.
• Xiao Yu entered the game, felt Naraku’s power awaken him, and burst out of the earth.

Xiao Yu became a level 1 skeleton soldier, activated two weapon skills, and named his skeleton dog Ribs. While heading toward the Burying Ground, he encountered an adventurer who turned out to be another player.

• Xiao Yu examined his undead body and pulled the rusted Mad Lion Knight's longsword from his stomach.
• Xiao Yu activated Memory Fragments and Weapon Master, gaining Consecutive Sword Strikes and Longsword Specialization.
• Xiao Yu summoned his skeleton dog and named it Ribs.
• Xiao Yu checked the map and headed from the Death Wilderness toward the Burying Ground.
• Xiao Yu encountered a heavily armored man carrying a torch and weapons, who eagerly approached him to attack.
• Xiao Yu realized the man was a player and prepared to fight with both swords.

Xiao Yu was killed by the Demon Hunter Firas, then reunited with Chenghong Moli and Big Water Cunt in the Burying Ground. The three sought ways to grow stronger, and Andar invited them to join Naraku, God of Death.

• Xiao Yu fought Firas, but Firas killed him with Let the Dead Return to Death.
• Xiao Yu revived in the Burying Ground and discovered that his death had cost him 20 experience points.
• Xiao Yu reunited with Chenghong Moli and Big Water Cunt, and they decided to seek their advancement quests.
• Xiao Yu and his companions met Andar, who offered to strengthen them if they joined Naraku's army.
• Andar's invitation appeared as a system notification, warning that they could not change factions after joining a deity.

Xiao Yu rejected joining Naraku, God of Death's faction and accepted Andar's quest to kill a demon hunter and retrieve his holy emblem. He gathered Chenghong Moli and Big Water Cunt to find help, then met Sword of the Fallen Angel, who argued that Mula, God of Darkness was a better faction choice.

• Xiao Yu reasoned that the Future God Religion might be using the gods and their followers to cultivate a real god, so he decided to avoid every faction and aim to slaughter all the gods.
• Andar offered Xiao Yu a harder path to advancement: kill a demon hunter near the Burying Ground and return with the hunter's holy emblem.
• Xiao Yu accepted the quest and discussed its dangers with Chenghong Moli and Big Water Cunt, deciding they needed more people to face the demon hunter.
• Xiao Yu led his companions to Sword of the Fallen Angel, who was recruiting players for an advancement quest party.
• Sword of the Fallen Angel said he had joined the closed beta and recommended Mula, God of Darkness, over Naraku, God of Death.

Xiao Yu explained how NPC adventurers worked in War of the Gods, then recruited a full party by posing as a closed beta expert leading a leveling expedition. The party headed into the Death Wilderness, where a scout found three adventurers near an abandoned house, leaving Xiao Yu ready to ambush them.

• Sword of the Fallen Angel explained that the demon hunters were NPC adventurers added to War of the Gods, not players.
• Xiao Yu took party leadership and recruited six advanced undead by advertising a leveling expedition led by a closed beta expert.
• Xiao Yu filled the ten-person party and persuaded a questioning member that their unadvanced characters would increase the party's experience gains.
• The party marched from the Great Graveyard toward the Death Wilderness, with Xiao Yu sending a shadow ahead to scout.
• The shadow reported a three-person adventurer party consisting of a warrior, a ranger with a hunting hound, and a mage, and Xiao Yu chose an abandoned house as the site for an ambush.

Xiao Yu and his undead set an ambush in an abandoned farmhouse and killed three adventurers who followed ghostly crying to the house. After dividing the loot, Xiao Yu decided to keep using the farmhouse to hunt more adventurers.

• Xiao Yu arranged the walking corpses around a treasure chest, hid four skeletons in the farmhouse, and sent three ghosts to lure adventurers inside.
• Invincible Sword God, Invincible Magic God, and Invincible Bow God heard a little girl crying and followed it to the farmhouse, where they found the chest and three apparently dead bodies.
• When Invincible Sword God touched the chest, Xiao Yu and the skeletons attacked while the walking corpses and ghosts overwhelmed the warrior.
• The undead killed all three adventurers, and the survivors divided their dropped relics and equipment.
• Xiao Yu gained over 40 experience points and decided to use the farmhouse to ambush more adventurers.

Xiao Yu led his undead party in ambushes until they defeated a powerful priest and took his holy symbol, but a four-person adventurer party exposed and burned out their hiding place. The undead were wiped out, and Xiao Yu respawned at the Great Graveyard before planning to turn in his quest and explore a dungeon.

• Xiao Yu’s undead party lured adventurers into their house and killed them, leveling up as they went.
• The party lured a bearded priest inside; Big Water Cunt weakened his aura with Corpse Fluid Spit, and the undead killed him and took his holy symbol.
• Xiao Yu agreed to ambush one more group, but the four-person party detected the undead inside and refused to enter.
• The mage spread Grease over the house and set it on fire, forcing Xiao Yu and the undead to charge outside into prepared attacks.
• A priest’s Let the Dead Return to Death spell and a warrior’s strike killed Xiao Yu, and the four adventurers wiped out the party.
• Xiao Yu respawned at the Great Graveyard, where Sword of the Fallen Angel planned to change classes and run a dungeon; Xiao Yu decided to turn in his quest first.

Andar rewarded Xiao Yu and his companions with Nerull's Gift, allowing each to advance into a new undead form. After choosing their forms and gaining new abilities, they discussed why Sword of the Fallen Angel had gained access to a skeleton mage advancement.

• The four visited Andar and gave him the holy emblem, which he recognized as belonging to a priest of the God of Order.
• Andar granted them Nerull's Gift, and Xiao Yu chose to advance into a skeleton swordsman, gaining the Parry Counter skill.
• Big Water Cunt advanced into a zombie and gained Enrage, Corpse Poison, and increased health regeneration.
• Chenghong Moli chose to become a wraith, gaining Curse and Possession.
• Sword of the Fallen Angel advanced into a skeleton mage and learned Flame Missiles, surprising Xiao Yu, who asked how he had unlocked that option.

Xiao Yu learned from Sword of the Fallen Angel how a vagrant could unlock the skeleton mage path and discovered that adventurers used limited spell slots rather than mana. He left the conversation understanding why casting classes became vulnerable after exhausting their spells.

• Sword of the Fallen Angel explained that a vagrant with Qatar City-State as a background could unlock the skeleton mage option by dying in a mage's experiment and reviving with magic in their body.
• Sword of the Fallen Angel revealed that Azathoth, or Xiao Yu, was his idol, and Xiao Yu kept his identity secret.
• Sword of the Fallen Angel explained that creature feats such as Flame Missiles did not consume spell slots, unlike spells.
• Xiao Yu looked up the spell system and learned that casting classes used a limited number of slots based on spell level, which they recovered by meditating.
• Xiao Yu realized the earlier mage and priest had likely exhausted their spell slots and that enough undead could have overwhelmed their party.

Xiao Yu led a ten-player party into the Lost Village instance, where undead were tasked with killing the villagers. After scouting the village and finding its defenses, the party used Chenghong Moli’s possession ability to open the barred gate, leaving them poised to attack.

• Xiao Yu chose the beginner Lost Village instance, assembled a party of ten level-two undead players, and entered with them.
• Undead wizard Isaac assigned the group to kill Poli Village’s residents for Lord Andrew’s cause.
• You Can't See Me scouted the village and reported four bosses, scattered villagers, and a church glowing with holy light.
• Xiao Yu devised a plan to avoid the gate’s defenses, and Chenghong Moli infiltrated the palisade by possessing a militiaman.
• Chenghong Moli removed the bar and opened the gate, and Xiao Yu rallied the party to charge into Poli Village.

Xiao Yu’s undead party defeated the militia captain, and Sweet and Sour Ribs claimed a Soul Fire Fragment that granted dual-wielding proficiency. They then confronted the powerful blacksmith Akto, whose hammer sent Big Water Cunt flying as the battle began.

• Xiao Yu and the undead overwhelmed the militia captain and killed him after his militiamen fell.
• The group rolled for the Soul Fire Fragment, and Sweet and Sour Ribs won it and gained Dual-Wield Weapon Specialization.
• A militiaman killed by Big Water Cunt rose again as a wandering zombie, and the party rested before heading to the smithy.
• Akto charged out of the smithy, resisted the party’s curses and fire attack, and swept his hammer into the undead.
• Akto’s blow smashed Big Water Cunt’s brains and sent him flying as the party’s fight with the blacksmith began.