Volume One: The World of Hell-Level Lords Chapter One: The Hellish Challenge

"Chen Gu, the challenge target, the... Hell-level?"
As this voice echoed from the stage, the students gathered in the plaza of Nanyuan City No. 18 High School erupted into discussion.

"Impossible, hell-level? How is anyone supposed to survive that?"

"Who is this Chen Gu? How did he end up with a hell-level draw?"

"I think I've heard of him—he's the top student in Class Five."

"Isn't that one of the top ten geniuses in the whole year? What a pity."

"Who knows, maybe he has a way to survive."

Amidst the murmurs, Chen Gu stepped forward, his pace measured and calm.

Though Chen Gu was only eighteen, the weariness in his eyes set him apart from his peers. Ever since he crossed over into this magical world, he knew this day would come.

This is a world where every citizen is destined to become a lord. Upon turning eighteen, all are sent, on the first of September, into the Lord’s World for a hundred-day challenge.

Those who succeed and claim territory become lords, attend university, rise to prominence, and gain immortality as a matter of course.

Those who fail must live as ordinary people—quiet lives spanning a hundred years, aging and dying under the protection of others, watching as others bask in glory.

So, every September first, high school seniors gather in the school plaza, awaiting the random assignment of their challenge territory.

Chen Gu’s situation was entirely an accident. Normally, a first-timer enters the Lord’s World with a challenge at one of three levels: easy, normal, or hard.

Nightmare and hell-level are for advanced lords only.

Especially hell-level—even among advanced lords, the death rate exceeds fifty percent.

Therefore, when Chen Gu was randomly assigned a hell-level Lord’s World, no one believed he would make it.

He walked a few steps to the portal of the Lord’s World. The principal of No. 18 High School stood before it, gazing at Chen Gu with reluctant concern.

Finally, he patted Chen Gu’s shoulder and said, "If it doesn’t work out, just give up. You can still attend a regular university and live a normal life."

Chen Gu’s homeroom teacher added, "Yes, don’t force yourself. This is just an accident—if it doesn’t work, come back. We teachers are all ordinary people, and we live just fine."

"Thank you, Principal. Thank you, Teacher. I know what I’m doing."

Unlike the others, Chen Gu understood precisely why he had been assigned a hell-level Lord’s World.

Having crossed over, he possessed dual souls; his mental strength was twice that of a normal person.

Upon learning this was a world of universal lords, he knew what lay ahead.

Though hell-level was daunting, it wasn’t without hope.

Moreover, the Lord’s World rewards risk—the more perilous the challenge, the greater the reward.

For Chen Gu, this hell-level world was an opportunity, a path to greatness.

With this in mind, he stepped calmly onto the teleportation platform.

The universal lord’s teleportation platform was simple, devoid of any technological flair—a circle on the ground, formed from fist-sized stones.

Yet here, every person’s dream begins.

Chen Gu stepped onto the platform, and a cascade of information flashed before his eyes. Finally, only two words appeared:

‘Hell’

Suddenly, his vision was flooded with crimson.

When his senses returned, he was no longer in the plaza of Nanyuan City No. 18 High School, but somewhere else entirely.

Before Chen Gu could react, his eyes caught the blood-red sky, streaked with purple clouds and three moons of varying size.

A massive map unfolded before him.

It was a vast, boundless plain—twisted black forests stretched across it, countless white bones wandering within, ghostly blue owls flitting between the branches.

The scene shifted—a skeleton with a longbow raised its hand, letting an owl perch upon it.

Then, a colossal black city appeared before the skeleton.

Built against a mountain, the black city rose from the ground to the peak, divided into nearly twenty tiers.

Each tier was protected by thick black walls, behind which lay districts of various sizes.

Even in a single glance, Chen Gu could tell that over a hundred million undead resided behind those walls.

White bone dragons flew above the city; on the ground, phalanxes of skeletons marched in formation.

Before Chen Gu could take in the details, the vision vanished.

He found himself standing on a patch of barren earth.

Rotten soil lay beneath his feet. Looking up, the sky matched what he had just seen—blood-red, with three enormous moons of different colors.

[Welcome to the Universal Lord’s World. This is your first challenge. Within 100 days, you must conquer the Lord’s World before you (Hell-level).]

[Background: This world was once the battlefield of humans and elves. The great war between them destroyed it, but the aura of death revived it once more.

All who died on this battlefield became undead. They formed the Nuren Empire, seeking to claim the Lord’s World. The key is to conquer the capital of the Nuren Empire, Black Fortress.]

[Main Quest: Conquer Black Fortress (0/1) or capture ten cities of the Nuren Empire (0/10)]

[Note 1: All undead are ruled by the power of Black Fortress. Lords cannot choose undead or undead-related professions.]

[Note 2: The original elf capital, human capital, and three major battlefields have become undead cities. Capturing these cities may yield useful resources.]

[Note 3: Beware—as a living being, upon entering this territory, you will be quickly discovered by the undead of Black Fortress. They will not wait for you to attack. Survive until you complete the quest.]

[Note 4: Death in the Lord’s World is true death. If you feel hopeless, leave immediately.]

[Would you like to activate your talent?]

[Activating your talent will confirm your entry into the Lord’s World. Please consider your choice carefully.]

Reading this series of prompts, Chen Gu couldn’t help but smile.

No wonder this was called a hell-level Lord’s World.

Others’ first targets were merely to capture a village or an island.

He, on the other hand, had to conquer the capital of an empire.

And from the vision he’d seen, that Black Fortress alone housed at least a million undead troops.

To start from nothing and conquer such a city in a hundred days—

No ordinary person would entertain such thoughts. This sort of world was meant for lords who had grown strong, who would bring a large Lord’s World and spend ten years or more to achieve it.

This situation was, in effect, telling Chen Gu that he was already dead.