Chapter Summaries

Niu Dagui absorbed the Armored Fire-Eyed Ox's spirit ring while Hu Haoran and the others kept watch. When a Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard attacked, Hu Haoran shielded Niu Dagui and recognized that it was the spirit beast Taohua needed; he used Taohua's boost and his Lightning Angel Wings to match the leopard's speed, leaving the fight ongoing.

• Niu Dagui began absorbing the Armored Fire-Eyed Ox's spirit ring as Hu Haoran and the others waited nearby.
• The Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard launched a surprise attack on Niu Dagui, and Hu Haoran took the blow on his shoulder to protect him.
• Hu Haoran recognized the leopard as the beast Taohua needed and ordered Taohua to boost him while Bing Yuxin restrained and harassed it.
• Bing Yuxin used Earth Ice Prison to slow the leopard, but it easily dodged her attacks.
• Hu Haoran summoned his Lightning Angel Wings and struck with Sword Dragon Assault, forcing the leopard to struggle to evade him.

Hu Haoran and Bing Yuxin captured a Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard, allowing Taohua to absorb its soul ring while Niu Dagui also meditated. After recovering and joining the guards, Hu Haoran prepared to continue the journey toward Snow Star Mountain once both soul ring absorptions were complete.

• Hu Haoran used Lightning Dash to fight the Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard while Bing Yuxin slowed it with her soul skills.
• Bing Yuxin trapped the leopard's front paws, and Hu Haoran wounded its hind legs to stop it escaping.
• Hu Haoran took a Soul Nourishment Pill to restore his Soul Power while Taohua killed the leopard and began absorbing its soul ring.
• Bai Erli and Sai Fenglei stood guard as Taohua and Niu Dagui entered deep meditation.
• Hu Haoran recovered within a quarter of an hour and joined the guards, while the group planned to travel to Snow Star Mountain after the absorptions ended.

After absorbing their second soul rings, Niu Dagui gained Fiery Golden Eyes and reached level twenty-six, while Taohua discovered that her ring granted her two soul skills. The group returned to their tree hollow, where Hu Haoran tended his wounds and saved the bloody cloths for the next day’s soul-beast hunt.

• Niu Dagui woke with Fiery Golden Eyes after his martial soul evolved, and Sai Fenglei warned the group to keep the ability secret from the Evil Soul Tower.
• Niu Dagui explained that the Soaring Dragon Mad Ox Blood had fused with him during absorption, raising his Soul Power to level twenty-six.
• Taohua tested her second soul ring and boosted Hu Haoran’s speed by twenty percent with Crimson Star Bestows Speed.
• Taohua revealed that her second soul ring also gave her Chasing Lightning Shadowless, which doubled her speed at a heavy Soul Power cost.
• Hu Haoran and the others returned to the tree hollow, where he cleaned his wounds and kept the bloodied cloths for the next day’s hunt.

Hu Haoran led the group to hunt a nine-thousand-year Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake, explaining that he planned to poison it by using a Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard's corpse as bait. The group prepared the trap and waited for the snake to appear.

• Hu Haoran revealed that his target was a nine-thousand-year Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake, alarming Sai Fenglei, Bai Erli, and Bing Yuxin.
• Hu Haoran explained the snake's strength and said he planned to kill it with Nine Absolute Azure Scale Powder.
• Hu Haoran explained that the Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard's corpse would lure the snake, while a bloodstained garment treated with extra-strength anesthetic would distract other spirit beasts.
• Hu Haoran treated the leopard's corpse with poison and the garment with anesthetic, then the group waited for the Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake to emerge.

Hu Haoran and his companions lured the Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake into eating a poisoned Lightning Chasing Shadowless Leopard, then fought it after Niu Dagui accidentally alerted the beast. Their attacks finally wounded the snake, but it became enraged, while a mysterious ancient being briefly awoke after hearing Hu Haoran’s sword dragon roar.

• Hu Haoran’s group waited in ambush until the Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake appeared and swallowed the bait, then followed it while waiting for the poison to take effect.
• Niu Dagui stepped on a branch, alerting the snake, and Hu Haoran ordered everyone to scatter before they entered combat.
• Bing Yuxin entangled the snake, Taohua boosted the group, and Hu Haoran’s first sword attack failed to pierce its defenses.
• Bai Erli, Sai Fenglei, and Hu Haoran unleashed powerful attacks that knocked the snake back and stripped away some of its scales.
• A mysterious ancient presence awoke briefly after hearing Hu Haoran’s dragon roar, then returned to slumber as the snake grew furious under the group’s continued assault.

Hu Haoran and his companions weakened and killed the Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake, allowing him to begin absorbing its soul ring. As the absorption entered its final stage, the Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation Pill’s power awakened and began driving another breakthrough.

• The enraged Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake attacked Hu Haoran and Bai Erli, but they and the others held it off.
• Taohua noticed the Nine Absolute Azure Scale Powder’s poison slowing the snake, and Sai Fenglei battered it with Wind Thunder Impact Slashes.
• Bing Yuxin trapped the weakened snake with Earth Ice Prison, and Hu Haoran killed it with his Soaring Sword.
• Hu Haoran began absorbing the deep-purple soul ring as Bai Erli stood guard, while cracks formed across Hu Haoran’s body and black blood seeped out.
• Hu Haoran endured intense pain as his Soul Power, spiritual power, and martial soul developed, then felt the Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation Pill’s power awaken and circulate again.

After absorbing a nine-thousand-year soul ring and reaching Soul Elder rank, Hu Haoran explored the upgraded Douluo System and chose Spring Thunder Stab as his Third Soul Skill. He demonstrated its power to his companions, leaving himself prepared to use the Qinghua Sword Technique in the coming rematches.

• Hu Haoran finished absorbing the soul ring, and the Douluo System upgraded when he advanced to Soul Elder rank.
• Hu Haoran explored the new skill interface, spent skill points to learn the first two forms of the Qinghua Sword Technique, and discovered the experience costs rose sharply with each form.
• Hu Haoran chose Spring Thunder Stab from the Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake's three soul skill options and received five hundred skill points for unlocking the first Four Seasons Sword Soul Skill.
• Hu Haoran awoke after more than three hours, reassuring Bai Jiali and telling his companions that his Third Soul Skill was Spring Thunder Stab.
• Hu Haoran demonstrated Spring Thunder Stab, sending violet-gold lightning outward like falling rain and astonishing Bai Jiali and the others.

Hu Haoran and his companions settled into a hidden cave on Snow Star Mountain, admiring its unusual blend of ice and life attributes before preparing to hunt soul beasts. The next morning, Hu Haoran practiced the Thunder Sound Swordplay, unlocked its fifth form, and discovered that mastering it could lead to an upgraded sword art.

• Hu Haoran guided the group to a concealed cave, where they prepared shelter and reflected on the burdens of being Soul Masters.
• Hu Haoran proposed that everyone rest and drink before continuing their soul beast hunt the next day, and the group shared wine and roasted rabbit.
• Hu Haoran woke before sunrise and practiced the Thunder Sound Swordplay, using its fourth form, Myriad Thunder Breaking Void, which consumed much of his Soul Power.
• Hu Haoran spent fifty skill points to max out the Thunder Sound Swordplay and learned that it could be upgraded to Purple Lightning Swordplay.
• Hu Haoran gained the fifth form, Purple Lightning Thunder Sound, and continued practicing the swordplay.

Hu Haoran returned from practicing his swordsmanship with a powerful new technique, then led the group into the Snow Forest to find soul beasts for Yu Xin and Teng Fei. Taohua used her Heavenly Heart Physique to guide them and found a suitable Ghost Ice Vine for Bing Yuxin.

• Hu Haoran mastered Myriad Thunder Breaking Void and returned to the cave after Bai Li and Sai Fenglei worried about his absence.
• Hu Haoran explained that the group would search for a Ghost Ice Vine and an Ice Silkworm for Yu Xin and Teng Fei.
• Taohua used her Heavenly Heart Physique to receive information from nearby plants and guide the group around two confronting soul beasts.
• Taohua discovered that using her ability deepened her understanding of her martial soul and rapidly increased her Soul Power.
• Taohua found a Ghost Ice Vine of a suitable age for Bing Yuxin's soul ring.

Hu Haoran and his companions found a nearly five-thousand-year-old Ghost Ice Vine growing on a fifty-thousand-year-old Ice Soul Jade Tree. Bing Yuxin gained the vine’s consent to earn its spirit ring by completing a trial, and the group prepared to hunt an Ice Silkworm that could also provide Hu Tengfei with a spirit ring.

• Taohua led Hu Haoran and the others to an Ice Soul Jade Tree, where Hu Haoran identified the tree’s and Ghost Ice Vine’s ages.
• Hu Haoran explained that plants willingly grant spirit rings, and Bing Yuxin decided to earn the Ghost Ice Vine’s consent through her martial soul.
• Bing Yuxin communicated with the Ghost Ice Vine while Hu Haoran, Bai Erli, and Sai Fenglei guarded her.
• The Ghost Ice Vine gave Bing Yuxin a trial to deal with an Ice Silkworm that had been absorbing the Ice Soul Jade Tree’s essence.
• Bing Yuxin revealed that the Ice Silkworm was over nine hundred years old but under a thousand, and Hu Haoran told Hu Tengfei to prepare to cooperate in hunting it.

Hu Tengfei and his companions hunted the Ice Silkworm that had been draining the Ice Soul Jade Tree, and Hu Tengfei began absorbing its soul ring. As he meditated, the Ice Silkworm’s essence flowed into him, while Hu Haoran watched the Ghost Ice Vine in case it granted a soul bone.

• Bing Yuxin urged the group to deal with the Ice Silkworm on the Ice Soul Jade Tree, and Taohua boosted Hu Tengfei and Hu Yuchen’s speed.
• Hu Tengfei located the Ice Silkworm, and Hu Yuchen climbed the tree and knocked it down with a sword strike.
• Hu Tengfei weakened the Ice Silkworm, Niu Dagui struck it, and Hu Tengfei killed it with the Clear Soul Sword.
• Hu Haoran approved the group’s coordination, and Hu Tengfei began absorbing the Ice Silkworm’s soul ring.
• Bing Yuxin explained that the Ice Silkworm had fed on the Ice Soul Jade Tree for more than eight hundred years, while Hu Haoran waited to see whether the Ghost Ice Vine would grant a soul bone.

After Hu Tengfei absorbed the Ice Silkworm's soul ring, Hu Haoran and his sworn brothers discussed spiritual power and chose which academies to pursue. They settled on separate paths, and Bing Yuxin prepared to absorb her fourth soul ring from the Ghost Ice Vine.

• Hu Tengfei finished absorbing the Ice Silkworm's soul ring, and the others noticed his greatly increased spiritual power.
• Sai Fenglei explained the famous academies and their specialties as the group discussed their plans for further study.
• Hu Tengfei and Hu Yuchen chose to apply to Sun Moon Royal Academy to learn Soul Tool-making, while Hu Haoran approved on the condition that they get in.
• Bing Yuxin chose Emerald Academy, and Bai Li and Sai Fenglei decided to join her there rather than rely on family connections to enter Shrek.
• Hu Haoran planned to win the National Youth Soul Master Competition, put Haori City in order, establish his own force, and later take Shrek Academy's entrance exam.
• Bing Yuxin picked up the Ice Silkworm's corpse and headed to the Ghost Ice Vine to absorb her fourth soul ring.

Bing Yuxin received a soul ring and a fifty-thousand-year soul bone through the Ghost Ice Vine and Ice Soul Jade Tree. As she absorbed them and her Soul Power continued to rise, Hu Haoran prepared the group for their journey to the Myriad Poison Pool.

• Bing Yuxin learned that the Ghost Ice Vine intended to give her a soul ring and soul bone, and she explained that the vine would absorb the Ice Silkworm.
• The Ghost Ice Vine drained the Ice Silkworm and transformed its remains into a purple soul ring.
• The Ghost Ice Vine told Bing Yuxin to absorb the soul ring and soul bone together, while Hu Haoran warned the group to prepare carefully for the Myriad Poison Pool.
• Bing Yuxin explained that the Ice Soul Jade Tree had bestowed a fifty-thousand-year soul bone through the Ghost Ice Vine, then absorbed it with the soul ring.
• Bing Yuxin entered deep meditation as the Azure Patterned Profound Ice Pill's remaining medicinal power pushed her Soul Power past level forty-one, while Hu Haoran prepared supplies for the Myriad Poison Pool.

Bing Yuxin tested the strength of her new ice abilities against Hu Haoran, who later led the group into Myriad Poison Pool to find a suitable soul beast for Hu Yuchen. After fending off two unsuitable Crimson Ghost Scorpions, the group headed toward the sound of a distant battle.

• Bing Yuxin sparred with Hu Haoran and revealed that her strengthened Mysterious Ice Grass could drain Soul Power through her Fourth Soul Skill and Spirit Bone Skill.
• Two days later, Hu Haoran gave the group Miasma Dispelling Pills and led them into Myriad Poison Pool to search for a soul beast for Hu Yuchen.
• Hu Haoran explained that they could not find a safe campsite, so the group would travel cautiously and use sulfur powder and watch shifts when resting.
• A Crimson Ghost Scorpion ambushed Hu Haoran, who broke its pincers with his Second Soul Skill; he stopped Bai Erli and Sai Fenglei from chasing the two scorpions because they were too old for Hu Yuchen.
• After the group heard a distant battle, Sai Fenglei urged them to investigate, and Hu Haoran led them toward the sounds.

Hu Haoran and his companions watched a lion-man Soul King fight a Bitter Poison Scorpion Tail Tiger, but his strength and the beast’s poison left him in danger. When the tiger knocked him down and revealed his face, Hu Haoran recognized him as Shi Zhenhe and called for the group to save him.

• Sai Fenglei explained that the Bitter Poison Scorpion Tail Tiger’s scorpion tail was its weakness, while Bai Erli urged the group to watch cautiously before helping.
• Hu Haoran noticed that the Soul King resembled someone he knew as the man kept fending off the tiger with sharp battle instincts.
• The Soul King used his fifth soul skill, but the tiger’s poisonous projectile burst into miasma that weakened him.
• The Bitter Poison Scorpion Tail Tiger knocked the Soul King down and broke his Soul Power barrier, revealing Shi Zhenhe.
• Hu Haoran recognized Shi Zhenhe, the third leader of the Boulder Mercenary Group, and urged his companions to save him.

Hu Haoran and his companions rescued Shi Zhenhe from a Bitter Poison Scorpion Tail Tiger and learned that he had entered the Myriad Poison Pool to find venom that could cure Zhou Wangchao. Hu Haoran agreed to help locate the Huaman Death Soul Spider, whose soul ring could also serve one of his companions.

• Sai Fenglei, Bing Yuxin, and Bai Erli worked together to kill the Bitter Poison Scorpion Tail Tiger and save Shi Zhenhe.
• Hu Haoran introduced Bai Erli, Sai Fenglei, and Bing Yuxin as his sworn siblings, and Shi Zhenhe urged the group to leave the dangerous Myriad Poison Pool.
• Shi Zhenhe explained that Feng Yixiao had poisoned the Boulder Mercenary Group after Zhou Wangchao became a Soul King, leaving Zhou gravely injured.
• Shi Zhenhe revealed that he needed venom from a roughly nine-hundred-year-old Huaman Death Soul Spider to neutralize Zhou Wangchao's poison.
• Hu Haoran promised to help find the spider, and Shi Zhenhe began treating his injuries before they set out.

Hu Haoran led the group through Myriad Poison Pool to the Huaman Death Soul Spider’s territory, where they planned to use a poisoned snake corpse to lure it out. The spider approached, leaving Hu Yuchen and the others poised to face it while Hu Haoran’s group waited in support.

• Hu Haoran guided the group safely through Myriad Poison Pool and warned them that the Huaman Death Soul Spider’s territory was nearby.
• Shi Zhenhe explained that the spider’s potent yin-cold venom could treat Zhou Wangchao’s poison injury, though the remedy would cause severe pain.
• Hu Haoran learned that Shi Zhenhe’s eldest brother, the Boulder Mercenary Group leader, had created the prescription and considered recruiting him.
• Hu Haoran set out the corpse of an Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake poisoned by Nine Absolute Azure Scale Powder as bait, then assigned Hu Yuchen, Teng Fei, Da Gui, and Taohua to fight the spider with Yu Xin’s help.
• The grass rustled as the Huaman Death Soul Spider approached the bait.

Hu Haoran’s group fought and killed a 972-year Huaman Death Soul Spider so Hu Yuchen could absorb its Soul Ring, while Shi Zhenhe collected its venom. Hu Yuchen began absorbing the ring as the group prepared to escort Shi Zhenhe out of the dangerous Myriad Poison Pool.

• The Huaman Death Soul Spider emerged, seized the Azure Ridge Lightning Devouring Snake, and tried to carry it away.
• Taohua, Hu Tengfei, Niu Dagui, Hu Yuchen, and Bing Yuxin coordinated their attacks to weaken, wound, trap, and kill the spider.
• Shi Zhenhe collected the spider’s venom and a fang after Hu Haoran praised the group’s strength.
• Hu Yuchen calmed himself, summoned the spider’s yellow Soul Ring, and began absorbing it.
• Hu Haoran advised Shi Zhenhe to leave with the group, and the others stood guard over Hu Yuchen.

Hu Haoran's group left the Canglan Mountain Range and reached Fengho Town, where Shi Zhenhe brought them to the Boulder Mercenary Group. Shi Zhenhe delivered the Huaman Death Soul Spider's venom to Zhou Mingyi to treat Zhou Wangchao, while Hu Haoran and the others rested.

• Hu Yuchen absorbed a Soul Ring and his Soul Power rose to level twenty-four, after which Hu Haoran led the group away from the Myriad Poison Pool.
• Shi Zhenhe told the group legends about the Myriad Poison Pool's guardian spirit beast and divine inheritance as they traveled out of the Canglan Mountain Range.
• After a day and a half, Hu Haoran and the others arrived in Fengho Town, where Shi Zhenhe warned them about the town's three powerful factions and led them to the Boulder Mercenary Group's headquarters.
• Shi Zhenhe reassured his grieving brother Zhou Mingyi that he had obtained the Huaman Death Soul Spider's venom with Hu Haoran's help, and Zhou Mingyi hurried to prepare medicine for Zhou Wangchao.
• Hu Haoran and the others washed up and meditated while Shi Zhenhe rested, and the Boulder Mercenary Group's headquarters grew quiet.

Hu Haoran reunited with Gao Zifeng, Bai Feiyu, and Bai Feiling, then arranged a private spar between them and his four inexperienced subordinates. He spent the morning honing his swordsmanship with Bing Yuxin and told his companions about the afternoon match.

• Gao Zifeng, Bai Feiyu, and Bai Feiling visited Hu Haoran to welcome him and invite him out, but he explained that he had to prepare for the National Youth Soul Master Competition semifinals.
• Hu Haoran watched Bai Erli and Sai Fenglei practice their prize techniques, the Heavenly Cold Dust Palm and Lightning Gale Leg Technique.
• Hu Haoran asked the three mercenaries to spar with his four Great Soul Master subordinates, and they agreed to a private match that afternoon.
• Hu Haoran practiced Thunder Sound Swordplay and reflected on how his swordsmanship and Sword Intent were developing.
• Bing Yuxin practiced the Profound Ice Divine Palm and told Hu Haoran that her father had left her the Cold Moon Clan techniques and the Profound Ice Heart Sutra.
• Hu Haoran and his companions spent the morning cultivating, and he told them about the afternoon spar.