Chapter Summaries

Chen Xiaojun learned that thirty-nine years earlier, his grandfather had been gravely injured while obtaining his eighth soul ring and had been rescued by Xue Chuxin. He suspected the incident explained Xue Shiqiong and Ji Tiantian’s connection to the Chen family, and concluded that Xue Chuxin was the source of the secret.

• Chen Xiaojun asked what had happened thirty-nine years earlier, and Chen Cong recalled that his grandfather had become a Soul Douluo at fifty before returning badly injured with Xue Chuxin.
• Chen Cong explained that Xue Chuxin had saved Chen Xiaojun’s grandfather after he fought and killed a powerful Saint King Level soul beast.
• Chen Xiaojun and Chen Cong inferred that Chen Xiaojun’s grandmother may have noticed something between his grandfather and Xue Chuxin.
• Chen Xiaojun said he wanted to protect Ji Tiantian from being hurt, while Chen Menglin argued that the Chen family should demand an explanation about her Seven Kill Sword martial soul.
• Chen Xiaojun reasoned that the Ji family might not know about Ji Tiantian’s martial soul and that Xue Chuxin, Xue Shiqiong, and Ji Tiantian were hiding the truth.
• Chen Xiaojun described their silence as an ostrich mentality and concluded that Xue Chuxin was the one avoiding something she did not dare reveal.

Chen Cong explained the Apocalypse Society’s factions and the old divisions among the Three Heavenly Sects while the Chen family discussed Ji Tiantian’s Seven Kill Sword and how to respond. The chapter left them recognizing her exceptional potential and needing to settle on a plan before Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt returned.

• Chen Menglin set aside Xue Chuxin’s matter and said the Chen family could not ignore Ji Tiantian’s Seven Kill Sword Martial Soul.
• Chen Cong explained that the Ji family’s Wen Hua Brush was a top-tier Eighth Grade Spirit within the Apocalypse Society, whose families were divided between Ritual Weapon and Sacrificial Weapon factions.
• Chen Cong described how the Heavenly Weapon Sect, Heavenly Beast Sect, and Heavenly Lineage Sect each had their own historic conflicts and divisions.
• Chen Menglin urged the others to focus on deciding how to handle Ji Tiantian before Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt returned.
• Chen Xiaojun said ten-year-old Ji Tiantian had reached Rank 28, and Chen Cong concluded she likely had Innate Full Soul Power and astonishing potential.

Chen Xiaojun, Chen Cong, and Chen Menglin discussed recruiting Ji Tiantian into the Chen Clan and agreed that Xiaojun should contact her family without pressuring them. While reviewing Ji Tiantian’s background, Xiaojun recalled that she had moved to Chang'an Academy three years earlier, recognizing that he had overlooked an important detail.

• Chen Menglin and Chen Cong agreed that Ji Tiantian’s talent made her too important for the Chen Clan to give up on, while Chen Xiaojun cautioned that she must choose freely.
• Chen Menglin proposed sending someone to sound out Ji Tiantian and her family, and Chen Xiaojun accepted the task of meeting them discreetly.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that Chen Mu had uncovered information about Ji Tiantian and Xue Shiqiong, and he noted that Ji Tiantian admired him and other Chen Clan members.
• Chen Xiaojun reasoned that Ji Tiantian’s interest in his books suggested Xue Shiqiong was not strongly opposed to the Chen Clan.
• After studying the information sheet, Chen Xiaojun announced that Ji Tiantian had moved to Chang'an Academy three years earlier.

Chen Xiaojun explained his theory that Xue Shiqiong and her family moved to Chang'an Academy hoping the Chen Clan would discover their connection to Ji Tiantian’s Seven Kill Sword bloodline. Chen Cong left him to handle the matter, and Chen Xiaojun chose to observe the family’s intentions before telling the elders.

• Chen Xiaojun argued that Xue Shiqiong’s family had moved to Chang'an Academy to draw the Chen Clan’s attention without openly revealing their secret.
• Chen Xiaojun speculated that Ji Tiantian’s Seven Kill Sword awakening prompted the family to move closer to the Chen Clan, while fear and uncertainty kept them from speaking directly.
• Chen Xiaojun cited the Chen Clan’s gifts to Senior Chuxin and Xue Churan as signs that the clan would welcome them.
• Chen Cong acknowledged that Chen Xiaojun’s theory was speculation but entrusted him with handling the matter.
• Chen Xiaojun decided to quietly learn the attitudes of the family of three and Senior Xue Chuxin before informing the elders.

Chen Xiaojun discussed whether to accept Ma Wencai as a follower and reassured Chen Cong and Chen Menglin about the Chen Clan’s finances after the Skywolf Forging Market losses. The chapter left the market’s recovery and compensation in Yun Xiao’s hands.

• Chen Xiaojun explained that Ma Zhibin wanted Ma Wencai to follow him, and argued that Ma Wencai’s Sunlight Brocade Chicken might evolve into a Top Martial Soul.
• Chen Xiaojun agreed to take Ma Wencai in but said he would not enter Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches unless he proved his ability and aptitude.
• Chen Menglin reported that losses at Skywolf Forging Market and related expenses had cost the Chen Clan more than thirty million in supplies and compensation.
• Chen Xiaojun reassured Chen Menglin that the Clan’s products and investments could replenish its funds, and promised to maintain a reserve.
• Chen Menglin reported that two or three hundred craftsmen had died, more than a hundred Brocade-Clad Guards were killed or wounded, and Ma Zhaoyang had survived his clash with the Wolf Bandit Leader with injuries.

After the Moonlight Tribe’s attack on Skywolf Forging Market, Chen Xiaojun urged the Chen Clan to improve its defenses, protect its business partnerships, and establish an Emergency Management Division. He then obtained Chen Cong’s Five Elements research notes for Xiao Yi to study.

• Chen Menglin explained that the Moonlight Tribe, a powerful band of Howling Moon Wolf Bandits accompanied by Gale Wolf Bandits, had attacked Skywolf Forging Market.
• Chen Xiaojun and the elders discussed the attack’s losses and resolved to reinforce the market, improve information-sharing, and strengthen defenses at the Chen Clan’s other markets.
• Chen Xiaojun warned that rumors could damage the Chen Clan’s joint ventures, and Chen Menglin ordered the clan and its partners to protect their markets and reputation.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed creating an Emergency Management Division to oversee safety, contingency plans, emergency resources, rescue, and recovery, and Chen Menglin and Chen Cong approved.
• Chen Xiaojun asked Chen Cong for Five Elements research materials for Xiao Yi, and Chen Cong directed him to retrieve his notes from a secret chamber.

Chen Xiaojun reunited with Liu Ruyan and spent time with his young cousin, Chen Jiarou, at the Duke Residence. Xiao Rou Rou grew fond of Xiao Yi, who held her and shared snacks with her.

• Chen Xiaojun entered the courtyard and greeted Liu Ruyan, Xiao Yi, Su Ningxia, and Gao Cuilan.
• Chen Xiaojun picked up Xiao Rou Rou, Liu Yueyi and Chen Chen's young daughter, and joined everyone in the pavilion.
• Xiao Rou Rou told Chen Xiaojun that Xiao Yi was beautiful and agreed to sit on her lap.
• Xiao Yi offered Xiao Rou Rou candy and snacks, and Xiao Rou Rou happily accepted them.

Chen Xiaojun asked Liu Ruyan to publicize Skywolf Forging Market’s successful defense and seed mixed reports to blunt possible Crimson Church rumors. After learning his Sixth Uncle had returned, Chen Xiaojun planned to visit him, then joined the others for a meal.

• Liu Ruyan brought new clothing styles for Xiao Yi, and Chen Xiaojun asked her to publicize the market guards’ defense against the three great Wolf Bandit Leaders.
• Chen Xiaojun told Liu Ruyan to mix positive reports with some negative information so the market could counter possible Crimson Church rumors and downplay its losses.
• Liu Yueyi came to take Xiao Rou Rou home, and Xiao Rou Rou cried and resisted before Liu Yueyi carried her away.
• Liu Yueyi told Chen Xiaojun that his Sixth Uncle had returned and was drinking with Eleventh Uncle, so Chen Xiaojun said he would visit him.
• Zhu Wuneng announced that the meal was ready, and Chen Xiaojun and the others gathered around a table of dishes.

Chen Xiaojun approved Liu Ruyan’s celebrity endorsement plans while warning her to manage the risks carefully. Liu Ruyan described the academy’s failed counterattack against the wolf bandits and the fear spreading after Dean Chen was injured.

• Chen Xiaojun approved Liu Ruyan’s promotional plans and cautioned her that inviting powerful figures to endorse products could cause serious trouble if mishandled.
• Liu Ruyan told Chen Xiaojun that academy students and teachers had been angered by the camp’s capture and had joined the Security Department in a counterattack.
• Liu Ruyan recounted how thousands of wolf bandits and powerful soul beasts ambushed the roughly two hundred attackers, forcing Old Zhuo and Old Wang to cover their retreat.
• Liu Ruyan said He Qiang and Chen Ze were badly injured, while Wu Yan and Liu Ruyan escaped serious harm because Bo Da and Older Sister You Wei protected them.
• Liu Ruyan reported that news of Dean Chen’s injury devastated the academy, leaving students and teachers frightened and uncertain.

Liu Ruyan explained how Chen Xiaojun’s mountain battle achievements restored Chang'an Academy’s morale and reputation as the academy prepared for the preliminary competition. With several team members injured, the chapter outlined who could compete and described the cooperation between the academy and Chang'an’s aristocratic families.

• Liu Ruyan said Dean Chen’s stand against four enemies and Chen Xiaojun’s rescue of teachers and students had lifted the academy’s morale and enhanced its reputation.
• Chen Mu, Chen Shurui, and Chen Bin joked that Chen Xiaojun had claimed all the credit and should pay them, prompting the group to agree they needed money.
• Liu Ruyan said He Qiang, Chen Ze, Ji Boda, Chu Youwei, and You Chu were unlikely to compete, while Wuyan and she could still fight.
• Liu Ruyan praised Chen Mu’s strength despite his Soul Power level, and explained that the Golden Generation’s six Soul Kings and one Support Type Soul Master were central to the academy’s team.
• The chapter described how the Academy Faction and Aristocratic Family Faction cooperated to support the Golden Generation and defend Chang'an City.

The chapter explained the three types of advanced academies and how their funding, politics, and student recruitment shaped their competition interests. Fasinuo Province’s twenty-one academies settled on a single round-robin format, making team depth and the selection of fifteen registered students crucial.

• The chapter described directly administered, private, and official-private joint academies, outlining their funding sources and organizational strengths.
• Chang'an Academy was presented as an officially run institution whose power was divided among the Aristocratic Family Faction, the Academy Faction, and the Three Elders of Chang'an.
• The chapter explained that directly administered academies drew many top students, while private and joint academies relied on their own influence and competition results to attract talent.
• Directly administered academies favored an elimination format, but other academies demanded a single round-robin so teams could compete in more than one match.
• The academies agreed on a format requiring Fasinuo Province’s twenty-one teams to play for twenty days, and each team could register fifteen students to handle fatigue, injuries, and poor form.

Xiao Yi and the others served Liu Ruyan nourishing soup while the chapter explained how the Chen Clan’s follower families helped supply the Duke Residence. The group discussed the tournament roster and Chen Xiaojun’s authority to choose the candidates, and Liu Ruyan asked him how he planned to build the team for the preliminary round.

• Xiao Yi served Liu Ruyan pork tripe chicken soup, and Gao Cuilan and Su Ningxia encouraged her to eat.
• The narration explained how the Jiao, Tao, and Xin families worked together to prepare dishes and how follower families supported the Chen Clan.
• Zhu Wuneng counted the proposed participants and said the group was two people short of a full team.
• Chen Mu told Liu Ruyan that the academy had given Sixth Child the right to submit the final participation list.
• Chen Mu said Ma Wencai had reached Level 37 and possessed two soul bones, making him a possible reserve member.
• Liu Ruyan asked Chen Xiaojun how he planned to form the team and approach the preliminary round.

Chen Xiaojun explained that the preliminary rounds would train the team’s coordination while preserving Chang'an Academy’s control-and-Fast-Attack style. After considering Ji Bochang for the control lineup, he revealed that Gao Cuilan would be the main controller during the preliminary rounds, not Xiao Yi.

• Chen Xiaojun told Liu Ruyan that the team would use the preliminary rounds to prepare for later stages and integrate Xiao Yi into its established style.
• Liu Ruyan assessed the lineup and recommended Ji Bochang as a control master who could train with Xiao Yi, Gao Cuilan, and Du Gu Fu.
• Chen Xiaojun agreed to give Ji Bochang a chance to adapt to the team’s tactics.
• Liu Ruyan inferred that Xiao Yi might eventually become the main controller and asked Chen Xiaojun about his plans for her role.
• Chen Xiaojun said Xiao Yi would not handle control during the preliminary rounds and named Gao Cuilan as the main controller.

Chen Xiaojun urged his team to hide their true strength and adapt their tactics, warning them that the National Competition would bring formidable rivals. He revealed that Chen Xiaojun’s brother and Ximen Chuixue had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with at least Soul Saint-level strength, leaving the team sobered by the threats ahead.

• Chen Xiaojun proposed using flexible tactics and special arrangements for Gao Cuilan and Ma Wencai to obscure the team’s true strength.
• Gao Cuilan pledged to contribute despite her lower Soul Power Level, and Liu Ruyan encouraged her.
• Zhu Wuneng argued that the team was strong enough to crush its opponents, but Chen Xiaojun warned everyone not to underestimate other academies and geniuses.
• Chen Xiaojun listed powerful competitors from Spirit Hall, Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Moonlight Academy, Sword Rain Academy, and Soul Fighting Academy.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that his brother and Ximen Chuixue had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill that had reached at least Soul Saint Level, silencing the team.

Chen Xiaojun rallied his companions after revealing that Soul Fighting Academy had another Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and they discussed rebuilding their competition lineup. He ended the gathering by asking Gao Cuilan to tell her family he would visit her grandfather and father in three days.

• Chen Xiaojun revealed that Soul Fighting Academy knew the Seven Kill Sword and possessed the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Baxia, but Chen Mu and the others vowed to face them without fear.
• Liu Ruyan proposed withdrawing herself and Wu Yan from the preliminary lineup to focus on publicity, and Chen Xiaojun agreed.
• Liu Ruyan recommended defensive soul master Sai Wennier for one of the remaining team positions, and Du Gu Fu and Zhu Wuneng supported the choice.
• After Liu Ruyan left, Chen Xiaojun sent Zhu Wuneng to fetch a gold-stamped name card and gave it to Gao Cuilan, asking her to tell her family he would visit in three days.

Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu discussed how they uncovered a secret about Chu Xin, then assessed Soul Fighting Academy and the challenges ahead in the competition. Chen Xiaojun hinted that someone would arrive with useful information the next day.

• Chen Mu explained that he had sent Uncle Yuqi to secretly learn about the relationship between Chen Xiaojun's Third Aunt Xue Shiqiong and Senior Chu Xin.
• Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu agreed that Uncle Yuqi would keep Ji Tiantian's Twin Martial Souls and the relationship secret.
• Chen Xiaojun said Soul Fighting Academy might not know it was participating in the competition, and recalled that it had last competed nearly forty years earlier under his eldest aunt.
• Chen Xiaojun admitted he had little confidence against Soul Fighting Academy and said the outcome depended on his recovery, Xiao Yi's performance, and a secret trump card.
• Chen Xiaojun warned that other academies also posed unknown threats and hinted that someone would bring them information the next day.

Chen Xiaojun helped Chen Mu rethink how to develop his Sixteenth Sword and offered a clue toward the Eighteenth Sword. Their relaxed family gathering turned to Chen Mu’s father returning home and his plan to take Chen Mu’s mother to Soul Fighting City.

• Chen Mu told Chen Xiaojun that balancing the Light and Dark Attributes for his Sixteenth Sword was difficult, and Chen Xiaojun suggested turning their imbalance into an attack.
• Chen Mu realized he could use his Agility Attack traits to make the new sword unpredictable and close-range, naming it the Seventeenth Sword.
• Chen Xiaojun pointed out that Chen Mu’s sword techniques needed to suit his soul and combat style, prompting Chen Mu to wonder what would drive the Eighteenth Sword.
• Su Ningxia brought fruit as Chen Xiaojun, Chen Mu, Chen Bin, Chen Shurui, and the others relaxed after their meal.
• Chen Mu told Chen Xiaojun that his father had returned after hearing of his grandfather’s injury and would stay for about a month.
• Chen Mu revealed that his father planned to take his mother to Soul Fighting City, and Chen Xiaojun asked why.

Chen Mu and Chen Xiaojun discussed the Chen Clan’s Population Growth Program, the family’s growing number of children, and whether Chen Hong might reach level 96 and become a Super Douluo. The chapter ended with a rundown of the middle generation’s families and children, while Chen Chenghui remained unmarried and the clan continued urging its relatives to have more children.

• Chen Mu and Chen Xiaojun discussed how the clan’s new children had delighted Chen Hong and wondered whether his refined state of mind could help him break through to level 96.
• Chen Bin happily confirmed that he had a little brother, and Chen Mu joked about the elders pressuring the family’s unmarried relatives to marry and have children.
• Chen Mu teased Chen Xiaojun about being kidnapped and forced into marriage, leaving the girls nearby blushing and laughing.
• The chapter described Chen Xiyuan’s daughter Qing Ke, Chen Wu’s son Chen Yun, and the children of Chen Yinzu, Chen Qingrui, and Chen Chen.
• Chen Chenghui remained unmarried, while Chen Surong had not remarried after being widowed and her father left her free to seek happiness in her own way.

The Chen family’s younger generation grew rapidly as medical formulas, cultivation methods, and gathered fortune were credited with helping fuel a village-wide baby boom. Chen Lin Village’s population passed five hundred among the Chen Main Lineage and followers and continued growing toward seven or eight hundred residents.

• The Chen family elders celebrated the growing number of juniors, which brought the younger generation close to matching Chen Yu’s generation.
• Ye Xiuxin and Zhu Clan physicians supported the Chen family’s birth plan with medical care, health formulas, and virility-boosting medicines.
• The Research Department and Martial Soul Office investigated whether cultivation methods and gathered fortune contributed to the family’s rising fertility.
• Follower families and Branch Families and Separate Lineages bought the formulas and pills, while the Chen family opened simplified cultivation methods for exchange.
• The Chen family considered sharing its health-preserving resources with allies, as families including the Ximen Family and Ma Family sought access.
• After seven years of development, Chen Lin Village’s registered Chen Main Lineage and follower population exceeded five hundred, with the village approaching seven or eight hundred residents.

Chen Xiaojun explained Chen Lin Village’s role as a training center and revealed the Chen Clan’s abundant resources, including nearly thirty Soul Bones and plans to support senior clan members’ cultivation. The chapter ended with an account of the clan’s branches and the current cultivation levels of its Soul Douluo as Chen Wenchao and Chen Yaoting pursued breakthroughs in seclusion.

• Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu discussed the benefits of Chen Lin Village, where follower families trained, pursued their trades, and built relationships alongside the Chen Clan.
• Chen Mu said Sixth Uncle was Level 79, and Chen Bin said his father was also Level 79 and hoped to reach Soul Douluo this year.
• Chen Xiaojun said the clan would increase support for Fourth Uncle, Sixth Uncle, and Fifth Uncle, including access to Fifty Thousand Year Soul Bones.
• Chen Xiaojun calculated that the inner treasury held nearly thirty Soul Bones, about half of them Fifty Thousand Year ones, alongside abundant other resources.
• Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu discussed how the clan’s five Titled Douluo came from three lineages, while Chen Wenchao and Chen Yaoting cultivated in seclusion to pursue breakthroughs.
• The chapter listed the main lineage’s Soul Douluo levels, including Chen Wenchao at Level 89 and Chen Yaoting at Level 87.