Chapter Summaries

Xia Liang encountered Tang San and the Work-Study Students preparing to duel Xiao Chenyu’s group, but declined to join so he could keep his Skeleton Martial Soul’s abilities hidden. Later, he tested whether he could shape his Black-Purple Ghost Fire into a skull, but the attempt failed because it required more power and control than he could manage.

• Xia Liang arrived at the summit and found Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the Work-Study Students facing Xiao Chenyu and the Noble Students.
• Wang Sheng recognized Xia Liang and invited him to join the duel, but Xia Liang refused and asked Tang San about his Blue Silver Grass’s combat ability.
• Xia Liang left the summit to avoid revealing his Martial Soul while Tang Hao might be watching nearby.
• The next night, Xia Liang meditated in a secluded place and tried to combine Ghost Fire, Spiritual Power, and Soul Power into a skull.
• Xia Liang failed to shape the Black-Purple Ghost Fire into a skull because the form required far more Spiritual Power and Soul Power.

Xia Liang succeeded in shaping Black-Purple Ghost Fire into a minimalist Anomalous Skeleton Head, though it remained vulnerable to sunlight. After receiving early graduation approval and resigning from his work, he left Nuoding City with Teacher Mo and his family, joining Teacher Mo’s Speed Reach Mercenary Group.

• Xia Liang noticed his shadow looked like a stick figure and used the idea to shape Black-Purple Ghost Fire into a simplified skull.
• After two nights of effort, Xia Liang created an Anomalous Skeleton Head with large white eyes, small black pupils, and two fangs.
• Xia Liang discovered that the Anomalous Skeleton Head was an energy body he could recreate, but it could only survive at night.
• Teacher Mo secured his resignation and Xia Liang’s early graduation, and Xia Liang resigned from the Fish Roast Restaurant after explaining his departure to the villages that had offered him work-study quotas.
• Teacher Mo handed Xia Liang a mercenary warrant and told him he had joined the Speed Reach Mercenary Group.

Three years after joining the Speed Reach Mercenary Group, Xia Liang had built up combat experience, savings, and a nine-hundred-year Second Soul Ring. While cooking at their camp near Silvis City, he discussed his rapid cultivation and new enhancement-type Soul Skill with Liu Shu.

• Teacher Mo offered Xia Liang an extra ten percent of the mercenary group's mission rewards, and Aunt Liu and Liu Shu supported the decision.
• Teacher Mo took Xia Liang, Aunt Liu, and Liu Shu to Suotuo City to help a wealthy merchant's son obtain a suitable hundred-year First Soul Ring.
• Over the next three years, Xia Liang worked as the group's cook and Soul Beast hunter, saving fifteen thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• At the camp outside Silvis City, Liu Shu questioned Xia Liang about reaching Level Twenty-Three Soul Power and asked why he chose another enhancement-type Soul Skill.
• Xia Liang explained that he had gained seven Soul Power levels through cultivation and three from his nine-hundred-year Second Soul Ring, which came from an Iron-backed Demonic Scorpion.

Xia Liang agreed to join the Shui Family’s dangerous expedition into the Extreme North Land to search for an Ice Scorpion King, despite his companions’ objections. After meeting the family’s formidable hunting team in Skywater City, he set out with them, hoping to find opportunities while relying on his knowledge of the region.

• Teacher Mo told Xia Liang and the others that the Shui Family wanted the Speed Reach Mercenary Group to help locate an Ice Scorpion King in the Extreme North Land.
• Xia Liang initially advised Teacher Mo to refuse the mission, then changed his mind and insisted on going alone with the Shui Family.
• Teacher Mo, Aunt Liu, and Liu Shu reluctantly accepted Xia Liang’s decision and accompanied him to Skywater City.
• Xia Liang discovered that the Shui Family’s team included its level-eighty-three head, three Soul Saints, and five Soul Emperors.
• After signing the agreement and saying goodbye to Teacher Mo, Aunt Liu, and Liu Shu, Xia Liang departed with the Shui Family’s Soul Hunting Team.

Xia Liang accompanied the Shui Family's Soul Hunting Team into the Extreme North Land to help Shui Bing'er find a Soul Beast. After the group reached the Outer Area, the Shui Family Head explained their target was the rare Ice Scorpion King, and Xia Liang prepared to search for it.

• Xia Liang and the Shui Family's Soul Hunting Team reached the Extreme North Land after traveling north by ship and across frozen ground.
• The Shui Family Head arranged skates for Xia Liang, while Shui Yin produced Hot Drink milk and Shui Bing'er protected the group with Ice Ring Armor.
• A Soul Emperor created an Ice Track, and the group skated into the Outer Area of the Extreme North Land.
• The Shui Family built an Ice Castle and rested overnight before the Shui Family Head said they would go no deeper into the dangerous region.
• The Shui Family Head asked Xia Liang to find Ice Scorpion Kings, explaining that they lived on the Outer Area's Ice Plain and were difficult to locate.

Xia Liang led the Shui Family farther into the Extreme North Land and used his Ghost Fires to search for the Ice Scorpion King while secretly scavenging for Soul Bones and other resources. As the search continued, he learned how his actions had changed Shui Bing’er’s planned Soul Ring and reflected on the unexpected influence his invented theories had on Yu Xiaogang.

• The Shui Family Head agreed to advance another ten miles after Xia Liang reported that his Ghost Fires had found no Ice Plain or Ice Scorpion King nearby.
• The group built an Ice Castle, and Xia Liang summoned Black-Purple Ghost Fires to search the surrounding area while the Shui Family’s Support System Soul Saint and Food System Female Soul Emperor restored his Soul Power.
• Xia Liang sent nearly two thousand Ghost Fires across the Ice Plain to search for the Ice Scorpion King and secretly look for Soul Bones and other valuable remains.
• While waiting in the Ice Castle, Xia Liang learned from Shui Bing’er that her Third Soul Ring had been intended to come from the Frozen Forest before her father hired the Speed Reach Mercenary Group.
• Xia Liang realized that his invented theories had influenced Yu Xiaogang’s published research and that his mercenary group had given Shui Bing’er a chance to gain an Ice Scorpion King’s Soul Ring.

Xia Liang secretly searched the Ice Plain, broke open a frozen Soul Beast skeleton, and retrieved a Left Arm Bone before hiding it from the Shui Family. He also received a Three-colored Ring from Gastly and discovered its storage spaces held supplies and food that vanished when removed.

• Xia Liang left the Ice Castle alone and used Ghost Fire to watch the Shui Family while he traveled across the Ice Plain.
• Xia Liang found a frozen reptilian Soul Beast skeleton and used Iron Bone to shatter the ice around it.
• Xia Liang pulled a Left Arm Bone from the skeleton and hid it in his Silver Bracelet beneath a boulder.
• Gastly brought Xia Liang a Three-colored Ring, which he identified as a Storage Soul Tool with three large spaces.
• Xia Liang removed the ring's supplies and found that its stored food turned into light and vanished outside the ring.

Xia Liang followed Gastly to a hidden ice cave and explored its freezing, maze-like passages in search of Ice Crystal Stones. He reached a vast opening overlooking an endless azure sea.

• Gastly told Xia Liang that the other Gastlies had found a hidden ice cave containing many Ice Crystal Stones, and Xia Liang concealed his left arm bone in the Three-colored Ring.
• Xia Liang broke through the glacier's narrow crevice and entered the cave with the four Gastlies.
• Xia Liang drank Milk Hot Drink to withstand the extreme cold, then descended into the abyss and found piles of glowing Ice Crystal Stones.
• Xia Liang followed the Gastlies through the cave's maze-like passages, marking his route with Black-Purple Ghost Fire.
• Xia Liang reached a huge opening in the rock wall and saw an endless azure sea beyond it.

Xia Liang explored an underground ice cave and concluded it had been the lair of the Million-Year Soul Beast Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, collecting valuable Ten-Thousand Year Icy Marrow before leaving. Several days later, he found an Ice Scorpion King for the Shui Family and sent the Shui Family Head to judge its cultivation.

• Xia Liang found a huge Soul Beast imprint and holes in the ice, then suspected Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had passed through the cave on its way south.
• Xia Liang collected the coldest Ice Crystal Stones, believing they were Ten-Thousand Year Icy Marrow, and stored them in his Three-colored Ring.
• Xia Liang sent four Gastlys down a cliff to scout, but they froze to death in the powerful cold, so he abandoned the descent and returned to the Ice Castle.
• At dawn, Xia Liang concealed the Three-colored Ring and pretended he had only gone out to perform his Ghost Fire rituals before returning to sleep.
• Several days later, Xia Liang found an Ice Scorpion King and sent the Black-Purple Ghost Fire to guide the Shui Family Head to it so he could assess whether its cultivation was suitable.

After the Shui Family Head set out to hunt an Ice Scorpion King, a mysterious ice power destroyed Xia Liang’s Ghost Fire and a colossal Snow Demon King attacked the group. The survivors fled the Extreme North Land, leaving them to fear that the Snow Demon King would make future Soul Masters unable to return.

• Xia Liang warned the Shui Family Head that hunting an Ice Scorpion King could provoke its swarm, so the Shui Family Head flew out with two Agility Attack System Soul Emperors while the others waited at the Ice Castle.
• Xia Liang asked Shui Bing'er about ten-thousand-year whale-type Soul Beasts and explained that he wanted Whale Rubber from their brains.
• Several explosions shook the Ice Castle, and a powerful icy force destroyed Xia Liang’s Ghost Fire as the group realized the Shui Family Head had encountered danger.
• The Shui Family Head and the two Soul Masters fled back, and Shen Qing and Shen Yu used their Martial Soul Avatars to shield everyone inside a giant Condensing Water Flying Phoenix.
• A colossal white giant crushed the Ice Castle, and the Shui Family Head identified it as the Snow Demon King, a humanoid Soul Beast once seen by Shui Bing'er's grandparents in the Extreme North Land.

After the Snow Demon King drove the Shui Family from the Extreme North Land, Xia Liang returned with them to the Shui Family and received his reward. The Shui Family thanked him for his warning with discounted Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber and an Advanced Medicinal Bath.

• The Shui Family Head revealed that the Snow Demon King had once defeated Xia Liang’s grandparents and injured him with a single roar, while the group thanked Xia Liang for warning them to flee.
• Xia Liang recognized the Snow Demon King as the Titan Snow Demon King and feared the even stronger Snow Empress and Ice Empress as the group escaped the Extreme North Land.
• The Shui Family Head confirmed that the captured Ice Scorpion King was frozen and stored for Shui Bing'er’s Third Soul Ring.
• Twenty days later, Xia Liang and the Shui Family arrived at Silvis City and returned to the Shui Family after completing their mission.
• The Shui Family paid Xia Liang one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, sold him two rare pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber at the lowest price, and gifted him its Advanced Medicinal Bath.

After parting ways with the Speed Reach Mercenary Group, Xia Liang traveled to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, hoping to enter as a commoner and gain access to its resources and Dugu Bo. He joined a queue for academy staff positions, planning to work as a cook and find a path toward the Immortal Herbs.

• Xia Liang returned to the Speed Reach Mercenary Group, shared the mission reward with them, and said farewell after Teacher Mo and the others refused his money.
• Xia Liang planned to strengthen his Soul Power and Skeleton Martial Soul with the resources he had gained, aiming for a powerful Third Soul Ring.
• Xia Liang decided to seek entry to Heaven Dou Royal Academy so he could approach Dugu Bo and find the Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Ten days later, Xia Liang arrived at Heaven Dou City and saw Heaven Dou Royal Academy on registration day.
• Xia Liang joined the queue for commoner staff positions, intending to become a cook and later seek access to the academy’s Mimicry Cultivation Field.

Xia Liang bribed Heaven Dou Royal Academy recruiters into hiring him as a chef and quickly won acclaim for his cooking. He revealed to the Head Chef that he had joined the kitchen to gain access to the Academy’s Mimetic Field, and the Head Chef agreed to petition for him.

• Xia Liang used his Iron Bone Martial Soul to make a kitchen knife, then bribed two recruiters to make an exception and hire him as a chef.
• The Head Chef inspected Xia Liang’s cooking skills and hired him for the Academy kitchen.
• Over the next week, Xia Liang’s new dishes made the cafeteria popular among students, teachers, Prince Xue Xing, and the Three Great Committee Members.
• The Head Chef asked Xia Liang about his cooking background and recipes, and Xia Liang gave him ten recipes and explained how he had learned to cook.
• Xia Liang told the Head Chef he had joined the Academy to access its Mimetic Field, and the Head Chef agreed to submit a request on his behalf.

Xia Liang settled into a demanding routine at Heaven Dou Royal Academy while training his Skeleton Martial Soul in the academy’s Mimicry Cultivation Fields. After testing several fields, he entered the plant field and found it resonated less with his Martial Soul than the gloomy cave field.

• Meng Shenji approved Xia Liang’s application to use the academy’s Mimicry Cultivation Field at night.
• Xia Liang trained each day, cooked meals, refined Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Rubber, and kept Soul Beast Meat for his own cooking.
• After a week, Xia Liang began visiting the academy’s Mimicry Cultivation Fields to find the one best suited to his Skeleton Martial Soul.
• Xia Liang recalled that the cave field’s dark atmosphere and piled bones made it the strongest match among the seven fields he had tried.
• Xia Liang showed his permit to the ranger and entered the plant Mimetic Field, where he sensed that his Skeleton Martial Soul resonated less strongly than it had in the cave.

Xia Liang encountered Ye Lingling and suspected Dugu Yan was with her, then decided the Cave Mimetic Field suited his cultivation better. A year later, Yu Tianheng learned that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan planned to send him to Heaven Dou Royal Academy to recruit talent.

• Xia Liang noticed a student named Ling Ling in the Plant Mimetic Field and recognized her as a possible Ye Lingling.
• Xia Liang suspected Dugu Yan had called to Ling Ling and considered Dugu Yan a future route to obtaining Immortal Herbs.
• Xia Liang decided to cultivate in the Cave Mimetic Field because his Ghost Fire frightened other students.
• A year later, Yu Yuanzhen told Yu Tianheng that the clan planned to send him to Heaven Dou Royal Academy instead of Thunder Academy.
• Yu Luomian explained that the choice would keep Yu Tianheng from competing with Yu Tianxin and give him the task of recruiting talented people.

Yu Tianheng learned that his transfer to Heaven Dou Royal Academy was meant to help him befriend Dugu Yan and gain Poison Douluo’s support. A year and a half later, Xia Liang reached Soul Power level twenty-nine and planned to seek a Bone Dragon for his Third Soul Ring, though entering Dragon Valley could bring him into conflict with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

• Yu Luomian persuaded Yu Tianheng that Heaven Dou Royal Academy offered a chance to befriend Dugu Yan, and Yu Tianheng apologized for doubting his great-uncle.
• Yu Yuanzhen ordered Yu Tianheng to leave for Heaven Dou Royal Academy the next day, while Yu Luomian privately voiced confidence in his plan to gain Poison Douluo’s support.
• Half a year later, Xia Liang’s cultivation in Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s Cave Mimetic Field brought his Soul Power to level twenty-nine, and he tested Gastly’s ability to persist in darkness.
• Xia Liang recalled how his cultivation, body, and Skeleton Martial Soul had strengthened, then planned to use an Advanced Medicinal Bath before pursuing his Third Soul Ring.
• Xia Liang chose a Bone Dragon as his first choice for the Third Soul Ring and considered entering Dragon Valley, where Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan disciples trained.

Xia Liang weighed whether to rely on Yu Tianheng or Dugu Yan to help him obtain Soul Beasts, and decided to build a closer relationship with Dugu Yan and seek Dugu Bo’s support. At the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, the Imperial Fighting Team learned that a newcomer called Bone King had challenged Dugu Yan in an Over-Level Soul Battle.

• Xia Liang considered approaching Yu Tianheng for help hunting Bone Dragons, then thought of defeating Dugu Yan in an Over-Level Soul Battle to draw her attention.
• Xia Liang decided that gaining Dugu Bo’s support through Dugu Yan would be a better solution than relying on Yu Tianheng.
• Several days later, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Yu Feng, and Osler waited in the Great Spirit Arena’s VIP Room Number Three for Over-Level Soul Battle challengers.
• Yao Yao reported that a newcomer called Bone King had challenged Dugu Yan, with a record of ten wins and no losses and enough points to qualify for the match.

The Imperial Fighting Team learned that Bone King, a Level 29 Great Soul Master with ten consecutive wins, had challenged Dugu Yan to an over-level Soul Battle. Dugu Yan refused at first, but Yu Tianheng asked the staff member to offer Bone King a chance to challenge him instead.

• Dugu Yan and her teammates reviewed Bone King's record and learned he had won ten battles across multiple Soul Battle types.
• Dugu Yan took offense at the suggestion that Bone King had chosen her because she seemed weak and decided to refuse his challenge.
• Yu Tianheng reasoned that Bone King might have a way to counter Dugu Yan's poison and that accepting challenges was part of pursuing improvement.
• Yu Tianheng asked the staff member to tell Bone King he could challenge him, and she left to deliver the message.
• Dugu Yan stopped the staff member as she was leaving.

Dugu Yan accepted Bone King’s cross-rank challenge and faced him in the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, where she discovered he was Xia Liang, the Academy Kitchen’s chef. Xia Liang revealed his Skeleton Martial Soul and prepared to test his self-created abilities as Dugu Yan transformed for battle.

• Dugu Yan accepted Bone King’s challenge after Yu Tianheng urged her to stand by her principles, and she vowed to defeat him with her Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison.
• Yu Tianheng was pleased that Dugu Yan had taken his advice, hoping to win her affection and gain Dugu Bo’s support.
• At the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena, the host introduced Level Thirty-Six Dugu Yan and the undefeated Level Twenty-Nine Bone King before the cross-tier battle.
• Xia Liang entered the arena, and spectators from Heaven Dou Royal Academy recognized him as Master Xia, the academy chef.
• Dugu Yan and Xia Liang exchanged taunts before Xia Liang summoned his Skeleton Martial Soul and Iron Bone Blade, startling her with his eerie aura.
• Dugu Yan summoned her Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul, formed a snake tail, and revealed her three Soul Rings.

Xia Liang defeated Dugu Yan in a cross-rank Soul Battle by using his self-created Soul Skill, Finger Bullet, and a Giant Bone Hand. After collecting his winnings, he tried to leave the Great Soul Arena, but Dugu Yan blocked his path.

• Dugu Yan offered Xia Liang three moves to attack while she defended, but Yu Feng warned her to dodge his Finger Bullets.
• Xia Liang used Finger Bullet to drive Dugu Yan toward the edge of the platform, then struck her off it with a Giant Bone Hand.
• The host announced Xia Liang's victory, raising his record to eleven wins and zero losses and giving Dugu Yan her first loss.
• Xia Liang collected his reward and wager winnings, earning a total profit of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Dugu Yan ran after Xia Liang and blocked his way, demanding to know if he thought he could leave after beating her.