Chapter Summaries

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun lived with their adoptive grandfather Hu Dasheng in Grass Chicken Village and looked forward to awakening their Martial Souls. The next morning, they arrived with the village children at the local Spirit Hall, where Soul Master Chu Luo was ready to begin the ceremony.

• Hu Dasheng recalled how he had adopted Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun after both boys lost their parents and raised them despite his poor finances.
• Ma Hongjun and Ming Lunyu urged Hu Dasheng to eat a piece of meat, then learned that their Martial Soul Awakening would take place the next morning.
• Ming Lunyu hoped to awaken a sword Martial Soul, while Ma Hongjun vowed to become a powerful Soul Master who could protect him and Hu Dasheng.
• Ming Lunyu woke Ma Hongjun early, and the boys followed Hu Dasheng to the village Spirit Hall with the other children of the proper age.
• Hu Dasheng greeted Chu Luo, and Ming Lunyu led Ma Hongjun and the other children into the Spirit Hall.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun awakened their martial souls, with Ming Lunyu showing Level 1 Soul Power and Ma Hongjun revealing a Fire Turkey martial soul with Innate Level 7 Soul Power. After celebrating with Hu Dasheng, the boys learned that he would take them to enroll at a Junior Soul Master Academy in Pearl City.

• Chu Luo guided Ming Lunyu through his awakening, revealing a folding fan martial soul and Level 1 Soul Power.
• Chu Luo invited Ming Lunyu to join Spirit Hall, but Ming Lunyu declined because he did not want to accept a favor without merit.
• Ma Hongjun awakened a flame-wreathed bird martial soul that Chu Luo recorded as a Fire Turkey, and his Innate Soul Power measured Level 7.
• Ma Hongjun refused Spirit Hall's invitation because he wanted to stay with Hu Dasheng and Ming Lunyu, while the other children awakened without Soul Power.
• Hu Dasheng celebrated the boys' success with a family meal, and Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun promised to support him.
• Hu Dasheng told Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun that he would take them to enroll at the Junior Soul Master Academy in Pearl City the day after tomorrow.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun discussed their Martial Souls, and Ming Lunyu revealed that he possessed a mysterious Second Martial Soul called Inverse Yin Yang. As they prepared to leave for Soul Master Academy, Ming Lunyu encouraged Ma Hongjun to face the separation from Grandpa with confidence.

• Ming Lunyu examined Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul and concluded that it was likely a Fire Phoenix rather than a Fire Turkey.
• Ming Lunyu revealed his Second Martial Soul, Inverse Yin Yang, and asked Ma Hongjun to keep it secret from everyone except Grandpa.
• Ming Lunyu explained that Inverse Yin Yang gained Soul Rings through contracts with living beings, but refused to experiment by contracting with Ma Hongjun.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun imagined exploring the moon and the Douluo Continent together when they became strong Soul Masters.
• Ma Hongjun admitted he felt sad about leaving Grandpa for Soul Master Academy, and Ming Lunyu encouraged him to become independent and work hard together.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun returned from gathering firewood to find Grass Chicken Village destroyed and Hu Dasheng dead. When the evil Soul Power left by the attacker began corrupting Ma Hongjun’s Phoenix Martial Soul, Ming Lunyu summoned Inverse Yin Yang and prepared to try an uncertain solution.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun spotted Grass Chicken Village engulfed in flames and black fog, then raced back to find the villagers dead.
• Ming Lunyu found Hu Dasheng dead beneath the ruins of his house and vowed to avenge him.
• Evil Soul Power surrounded Ma Hongjun, resonated with his Phoenix Martial Soul, and began turning it black.
• Ming Lunyu realized Ma Hongjun might be consumed by the corruption and summoned his Second Martial Soul, Inverse Yin Yang, to attempt a contract.

Ming Lunyu contracted Ma Hongjun, saving her life but transforming her into a girl and awakening a noble fire phoenix Martial Soul. After burying Grandpa Hu Dasheng, the two vowed to avenge the villagers and planned to leave for Pearl City to seek help and attend a Soul Master Academy.

• Ming Lunyu contracted Ma Hongjun, whose body changed and whose Soul Power rose as his first Contractor.
• Ma Hongjun woke, learned Grandpa Hu Dasheng had died and that she had become a girl, and thanked Ming Lunyu for saving her.
• Ma Hongjun summoned her transformed fire phoenix Martial Soul and declared her gratitude to Ming Lunyu.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun buried Grandpa Hu Dasheng and vowed to grow stronger and avenge the village.
• Ming Lunyu proposed leaving for Pearl City, reporting the massacre to the authorities, and using the villagers’ remaining money to pay for Soul Master Academy.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun reached Pearl City, bought clothes, and rested at an inn while planning their next steps. As they cultivated together, they discovered their techniques and contract abilities greatly accelerated their growth, leaving them close to level twelve.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun gathered their remaining money and walked all day to reach Pearl City.
• Ming Lunyu bought clothes for them, checked into an inn, and brought back a simple meal.
• Ming Lunyu told Ma Hongjun to adjust to her new body and bathe separately, then practiced the Heavenly Evolution Yin-Yang Art.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun discovered that cultivating together increased their speed and that each gained one percent of the other's cultivation.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun chose to spend the night cultivating, with both nearly ready to break through to level twelve.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun were captured by a powerful Evil Soul Master who planned to devour them to reach Soul Emperor. They disrupted his Soul Power with their abilities, but he carried them away while obsessing over the City of Slaughter.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun went to the inn’s rear courtyard for water and were seized by a man who claimed he would eat them to break through to Soul Emperor.
• The man carried them to a secluded hill, revealed his five Soul Rings, and prepared to use his fifth Soul Skill, Devour Alive.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun learned that the man had slaughtered a village and lunged at his attack with Phoenix Possession and Inverse Yin Yang.
• Their attacks destabilized the man’s Soul Power, sending it surging out of control and leaving him confused.
• The man carried Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun away, muttering about finding the City of Slaughter and eating them.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun woke in the City of Slaughter, where their Soul Power could not be used, and cautiously explored its rules. They learned that residents traded blood for food and safety, while houses could be claimed temporarily with identity tokens.

• Ming Lunyu woke among corpses with Ma Hongjun and realized their Soul Power could not be used in the strange place.
• Ming Lunyu gave Ma Hongjun a short sword and an identity token, and the two disguised themselves in black robes before heading toward town.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun ventured into the town and confirmed that its residents did not attack them openly.
• Ming Lunyu watched residents hand cups of blood to a black-clothed man and guessed that blood bought safety, while the Inner City was more dangerous.
• Ma Hongjun noticed that people exchanged blood for food, and Ming Lunyu learned that residents could claim empty houses with their identity tokens.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun found shelter in the Outer City and discovered they could cultivate despite the City of Slaughter’s restrictions. Ming Lunyu learned that his Inverse Yin Yang could absorb the city’s Killing Qi and convert it into Soul Power, giving them a possible path to grow stronger and escape.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun hid in a secluded room, blocked the window, and kept watch for danger.
• Ming Lunyu discovered that he could still use Inverse Yin Yang, while Ma Hongjun revealed that he could cultivate without using his Martial Soul.
• The two began cultivating the Heavenly Evolution Yin-Yang Art in shifts so one could stay alert.
• Ming Lunyu sensed his black qi absorbing the city’s blood-red Killing Qi and turning it into Soul Power that strengthened him.
• Ming Lunyu found that his black Soul Power nourished his body, his white Soul Power nourished his spirit and expanded his dantian, and Ma Hongjun could absorb the Soul Power produced by the black qi.

After a year of cultivating in the Outer City, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun entered the Inner City of the City of Slaughter, where Ming Lunyu killed an attacker and embraced the danger ahead. The story left them facing the Inner City's violent life as their journey there began.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun spent a year cultivating with black Soul Power, strengthening their bodies while keeping a low profile in the Outer City.
• A year later, Ming Lunyu had reached level nineteen and Ma Hongjun level eighteen, and the two decided they could no longer remain in the Outer City.
• They disguised themselves and entered the Inner City through its Dark Red Pass, where they witnessed open violence and depravity.
• A sharp-faced man attacked them shortly after they arrived, and Ming Lunyu kicked him away.
• Ming Lunyu summoned his evolved folding fan and killed the sharp-faced man, declaring that their journey through the City of Slaughter had begun.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun learned the City of Slaughter’s rules and visited the Hell Slaughter Arena to understand the deadly contests they would face. After witnessing a brutal match, they became even more determined to escape the city.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun questioned two residents, learned the Inner City’s rules, and killed them, with Ma Hongjun completing her first kill.
• Ming Lunyu explained that they would eventually enter the Hell Slaughter Arena but first needed to gather information, and he warned Ma Hongjun not to compete alongside him.
• Ma Hongjun killed a woman to obtain two cups of Bloody Mary, then Ming Lunyu saved her from a sudden attacker with his folding fan.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun handed over the Bloody Mary to enter the spectator stands and watched a ten-person match end with a delicate-looking woman as the sole survivor.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun left the match shaken but more determined to escape the City of Slaughter.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun began fighting in the Hell Slaughter Arena, each surviving a deadly match. After Ma Hongjun was injured, Ming Lunyu used his newly developed Black-White Exchange ability to heal her, and she woke safely beside him.

• Ming Lunyu entered his first arena match, killed all nine opponents, and left as the sole survivor.
• Ma Hongjun protected Ming Lunyu from the Fallen who tried to attack him outside the arena, killing the twentieth before they backed down.
• Ming Lunyu recovered quickly, grew stronger, and reached Soul Power Level twenty before Ma Hongjun's match.
• Ma Hongjun won her own match after narrowly escaping danger, and Ming Lunyu fought to protect her from the Fallen afterward.
• Ming Lunyu used Black-White Exchange to soothe Ma Hongjun's breathing and heal her wounds, and she woke five hours later.

Five years after arriving in the City of Slaughter, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun had become formidable arena champions and prepared to fight their final match. They looked forward to entering the Hell Road the next day and returning to the outside world.

• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun won ninety-nine Hell Slaughter Arena matches, earning the titles Confucian Yama King and Rakshasa Ghost Phoenix.
• The siblings focused on body tempering and used their combat skill to defeat powerful opponents despite their Soul Power reaching only level thirty-five.
• Ming Lunyu began forcing Fallen into arena matches so he and Ma Hongjun could progress, drawing the attention of the City of Slaughter's hidden officials.
• Ming Lunyu returned to the Wooden Cabin after secretly grabbing another batch of contestants and verified the daily signal before entering.
• Ma Hongjun asked Ming Lunyu to paint her toenails, then asked when they could fight their final match.
• Ming Lunyu said the final match could happen the next day, and the siblings wept with joy at the prospect of entering the Hell Road and leaving the City of Slaughter.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun won their hundredth match in the Hell Slaughter Arena, and the King of Slaughter opened the entrance to Hell Road. He warned them that a beast as powerful as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and deadly hazards made the trial seemingly impossible, leaving Ming Lunyu to consider their next move.

• The King of Slaughter ordered his subordinate to leave him to recruit Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun after their hundredth match.
• Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun entered the arena, where they defeated the eight other fighters in less than two minutes.
• The King of Slaughter appeared and congratulated Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun on their hundred victories.
• The King of Slaughter sacrificed the Fallen in the arena to open Hell Road, revealing its blood-red gate.
• The King of Slaughter warned Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun about the powerful beast and dangerous terrain inside Hell Road, while Ma Hongjun took Ming Lunyu's hand.

Ming Lunyu tricked the King of Slaughter into accepting a contract, which transformed him and fused his soul with Tang Chen’s into a new consciousness. The newly created little girl asked Ming Lunyu to give her a name.

• Ming Lunyu realized he could use Inverse Yin Yang’s contract and got the King of Slaughter to agree to let them use their soul skills in the City of Slaughter.
• Ming Lunyu activated the contract, trapping the King of Slaughter in a gray cocoon as Ma Hongjun watched.
• Inside the cocoon, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King and Tang Chen fought until Gray Qi fused their souls into a new one and transformed the body.
• The cocoon burst, revealing a petite, red-haired girl in an outfit that Ming Lunyu thought matched his preferences.
• The girl explained that she was a new consciousness with most of the King of Slaughter’s and Tang Chen’s memories and all their power, then asked Ming Lunyu to give her a name.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun escaped the City of Slaughter with Tang Fu'er, who helped them cross Hell Road and emerge into sunlight after six years. Three days later in Sunset City, Ming Lunyu reflected on their gains and revealed that his Martial Soul had evolved and acquired Divine Slaughter's Domain.

• Ming Lunyu named the little girl Tang Fu'er, and she chose to call him Brother despite being over a hundred years old.
• Tang Fu'er opened the Gates of Hell and carried Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun through Hell Road, defeating the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent along the way.
• The three emerged from the City of Slaughter, where Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun wept with relief at feeling sunlight and fresh air again.
• Three days later in Sunset City, Ming Lunyu reflected on how the City of Slaughter had strengthened his and Ma Hongjun's bodies, combat skills, and control over Killing Qi.
• Ming Lunyu revealed his evolved folding-fan Martial Soul, which bore the mark of Divine Slaughter's Domain.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun traveled with Tang Fu'er to Sunset Forest to seek Soul Rings, and Tang Fu'er advised them that their bodies could withstand rings around twenty thousand years old. She criticized Yu Xiaogang’s Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul for exposing sect secrets and giving flawed guidance, leaving Ming Lunyu reassured that he would not rely on the book.

• Ming Lunyu returned to the room with breakfast and found Ma Hongjun asleep while hugging and gnawing on Tang Fu'er's calf.
• Ming Lunyu, Ma Hongjun, and Tang Fu'er checked out and flew toward Sunset Forest to hunt Soul Rings.
• Tang Fu'er said Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun could attempt to absorb Soul Rings around twenty thousand years old because of their physical strength and resolve.
• Ming Lunyu showed Tang Fu'er Yu Xiaogang's Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, and she quickly read it before criticizing its flaws and leaked secrets.
• Tang Fu'er warned Ming Lunyu not to follow the book blindly and threatened to punish Yu Xiaogang if his advice misled him.

Tang Fu'er took Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun into Sunset Forest to find soul beasts suited to their martial souls and fighting styles. Ma Hongjun absorbed a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring and gained a powerful armor skill, then blushed at Ming Lunyu’s praise.

• Tang Fu'er explained that Ming Lunyu should alternate wind- and metal-element skills, while Ma Hongjun chose to focus on burst damage.
• Tang Fu'er displayed her Dark Gold Sky-Slaying Hammer and used it to subdue a twenty-seven-thousand-year Red Armored Dragon Rhino.
• Ma Hongjun killed the Red Armored Dragon Rhino and absorbed its black Soul Ring while Ming Lunyu and Tang Fu'er stood guard.
• Ma Hongjun gained Overlord Flame Heavy Armor, which increased her defense and strength, added burning damage to her attacks, and reduced her speed.
• Ming Lunyu praised Ma Hongjun’s new armor and reassured her that he liked her regardless of her personality, leaving her too embarrassed to respond.

Ming Lunyu absorbed a Soul Ring from a Five Spirit Immortal Fox and unexpectedly gained its five tails as an External Soul Bone. After learning how rare and valuable External Soul Bones were, he decided he should hide his and considered gathering powerful subordinates for protection.

• Ming Lunyu and Tang Fu'er advised Ma Hongjun to build her future soul skills around close-quarters combat, defense, recovery, and debuffs.
• Tang Fu'er found a nearly thirty-thousand-year-old Five Spirit Immortal Fox, and Ming Lunyu killed it and smoothly absorbed its Soul Ring.
• Ming Lunyu discovered five colorful tails growing from his tailbone, and Tang Fu'er identified them as an External Soul Bone.
• Tang Fu'er explained that External Soul Bones were exceptionally rare, valuable, and able to grow alongside their owners.
• Ming Lunyu resolved to conceal his External Soul Bone from outsiders and considered building a force of powerful subordinates.

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun completed their soul-hunting expedition, gained powerful fourth Soul Rings, and both broke through Rank 40. The group set out to cross Sunset Forest and travel to Heaven Dou City.

• Ming Lunyu demonstrated Five Spirits Gang Wind and explained how his Fox Immortal Tail let him fuse and store the five elements.
• Tang Fu'er, Ming Lunyu, and Ma Hongjun discussed their changed soul-skill plans, with Ma Hongjun developing as a durable tank and Ming Lunyu as an elemental mage.
• After half a month of hunting, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun obtained their first four Soul Rings and both broke through Rank 40; Ming Lunyu reached Rank 43 and Ma Hongjun reached Rank 42.
• Tang Fu'er assessed Ming Lunyu's and Ma Hongjun's full skill sets as exceptionally powerful after seeing them demonstrate their abilities.
• Ming Lunyu pointed out their route across Sunset Forest and led the group toward Heaven Dou City.