Chapter Summaries

Six-year-old Dai Yao, a transmigrator and prince imprisoned in the Cold Palace, endured years of abuse and vowed to avenge his murdered mother. On the eve of his Martial Soul awakening, Dai Hengyu offered to take him to the Council of Elders, but Dai Yao knew his future depended on awakening a powerful Martial Soul.

• A eunuch mocked Dai Yao and passed him cold food through a hole in the Cold Palace wall, while nearby servants laughed at his misery.
• Dai Yao freed his frozen finger from the food container, lit a fire with broken wood, and reflected on his six years of abuse and his mother's murder.
• Dai Yao resolved to stop being honest and become ruthless so he could grow strong and make his tormentors pay.
• Dai Hengyu visited Dai Yao and explained that the White Tiger Spirit was difficult to inherit, but promised to take him to the Council of Elders after his awakening if needed.
• Dai Yao accepted that his survival depended on awakening a powerful Martial Soul the next day.

Dai Yao reflected on the Green Lotus in his spiritual world, discovered that qi could greatly enhance his physical strength, and named his new attack Eight Extremes Collapse. On the morning of his Martial Soul awakening, he found his injured hand had mostly healed and wondered whether the Green Lotus had healing abilities.

• Dai Yao visualized the Green Lotus and tried cultivating qi, but the qi dispersed from his body when he finished.
• Dai Yao mourned his lost family and struck a dead tree, discovering that qi remaining in his hand had strengthened his palm.
• Dai Yao circulated qi into his left hand and severed the tree with a palm strike, nearly injuring his arm.
• Dai Yao named the qi-powered attack Eight Extremes Collapse and replenished his qi while his arm slowly healed.
• Dai Yao woke on the day of his Martial Soul awakening and found that most of his injuries had healed.

Dai Yao arrived at the Imperial Palace’s Awakening Hall, where Dai Mubai insulted him and the Fifth Elder began awakening the children’s Martial Souls. With most candidates showing ordinary talent, Zhu Zhuqing was called forward as one of the final two children awaiting awakening.

• Dai Hengyu escorted Dai Yao to the Awakening Hall and reassured him before leaving him with the Fifth Elder, Dai Weilie.
• Dai Yao recognized Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing among the gathered children, and Dai Mubai mocked him and threatened him over his mother.
• The Fifth Elder intervened, then explained the importance of Martial Souls and began the awakening ceremony.
• The first boy awakened a Red Cat Spirit with rank-four Soul Power, while later children mostly revealed ordinary Martial Souls and modest potential.
• The Fifth Elder called Zhu Zhuqing forward after only she and one other child remained unawakened.

Zhu Zhuqing awakened the Netherworld Cat Spirit with nearly full Innate Soul Power, and Dai Yao then awakened a White Tiger Spirit transformed by the Green Lotus into a powerful winged form. The Fifth Elder eagerly called for Dai Yao to test his Innate Soul Power.

• Zhu Zhuqing awakened the Netherworld Cat Spirit and displayed Rank-nine Soul Power, prompting the Fifth Elder to announce her future marriage to Dai Mubai.
• Dai Mubai mocked Dai Yao and his mother before Dai Yao entered the awakening formation.
• Dai Yao’s Green Lotus repaired the cracking golden egg and strengthened the Martial Soul within it as he absorbed more golden motes.
• A majestic White Tiger with white wings emerged in Dai Yao’s mental world and submitted to the Green Lotus.
• Dai Yao underwent Martial Soul Possession, revealing a winged White Tiger that frightened the children and surprised Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
• The Fifth Elder recognized Dai Yao’s Martial Soul as more powerful than the White Tiger Spirit and urged him to test his Innate Soul Power.

Dai Yao awakened the Sacred White Tiger with Innate Full Soul Power and became the Star Luo Empire’s Fourth Prince, though he remained wary of Dai Mubai. Meanwhile, the Star Luo Emperor learned whose son Dai Yao was and ordered him given a prince’s title before receiving the Empress and Fifth Elder.

• Dai Yao’s Martial Soul awakening revealed Innate Full Soul Power, and Fifth Elder urged him to name his Martial Soul the Sacred White Tiger.
• Dai Mubai warned Dai Yao that he would punish him after he obtained his first Spirit Ring, while Dai Yao chose not to provoke him.
• The Star Luo Emperor learned the White Tiger Legion had lost ground in the Santos Duchy after the Clear Sky Sect withdrew from its alliance.
• The Chief Eunuch told the Star Luo Emperor that a Fourth Prince had awakened the White Tiger Spirit, and the Emperor realized the child was Dai Yao.
• The Star Luo Emperor ordered Dai Yao to receive the normal title and treatment of a prince, then summoned the Empress and Fifth Elder into the hall.

The Star Luo Emperor ruled that Dai Yao and Dai Mubai would duel for the right to marry Zhu Zhuqing, with the contest postponed until Dai Yao obtained his first spirit ring. After Dai Yao returned to the Cold Palace, the eunuchs who had mistreated him begged for forgiveness, but he secretly planned to take revenge once he was secure.

• The Fifth Elder asked the Star Luo Emperor to betroth Zhu Zhuqing to Dai Yao, while the Empress argued that Dai Mubai should have the first opportunity.
• The Star Luo Emperor ordered Dai Yao and Dai Mubai to duel for the marriage arrangement, and agreed to wait until Dai Yao became a Soul Scholar.
• News of Dai Yao's Sacred White Tiger Spirit and his status as Fourth Prince spread, prompting Eunuch Li and the other eunuchs to consider killing him before he grew powerful.
• The eunuchs knelt before Dai Yao and begged him to forgive their past abuse, and he told them their fate would depend on how they behaved.
• Dai Yao privately resolved to take revenge after he officially took his place as a prince, while outwardly keeping the eunuchs from turning against him.

Dai Yao revealed and named his second Martial Soul, the Chaos Cyan Lotus, while hiding it from the empire’s powerful factions. The next day, he used Eunuch Gui’s visit to expose the eunuchs who had starved and bullied him, setting their punishment in motion.

• Dai Yao summoned a twelve-leaf cyan lotus and named it the Chaos Cyan Lotus, unaware that its appearance briefly stirred creatures and plants throughout the Imperial Palace.
• Eunuch Gui and Dai Hengyu arrived at the Cold Palace with gifts, but found Dai Yao lying weakly in bed.
• Dai Yao claimed he had gone hungry because the palace eunuchs had taken his food, and said he had avoided the banquet dishes because he feared they would upset his stomach.
• Eunuch Gui recognized Dai Yao’s ploy to use his authority against the abusive eunuchs and ordered his men to bring Xiao Li Zi and the others before him.

Dai Yao had the eunuchs who bullied him beaten and expelled from the palace, then learned that he would duel Dai Mubai for the right to become engaged to Zhu Zhuqing. After Dai Hengyu outlined the princes’ strengths, Dai Yao understood how steep the struggle for the throne would be.

• Dai Yao stopped the beating once the eunuchs had been punished and ordered them driven out of the palace.
• Eunuch Gui told Dai Yao that he would duel Dai Mubai after obtaining his First Spirit Ring to win the engagement to Zhu Zhuqing.
• Dai Yao refused Maids, choosing to keep his secrets and Twin Martial Souls hidden.
• Dai Hengyu warned Dai Yao that joining the struggle for the throne meant there was no turning back.
• Dai Hengyu described the princes’ ages and Soul Power ranks, and Dai Yao recognized the vast gap between himself and the leading contenders.

Dai Yao recovered in the Cold Palace, learned more about his Sacred White Tiger spirit and Eight Extremes Collapse, and traveled to the Star Luo Royal Beast Garden to obtain his First Spirit Ring. As he began hunting for a Mystic Water Turtle, an Empress's Maid arranged to have a guard drive a stronger beast into a frenzy and attack him.

• Dai Hengyu told Dai Yao that the Fifth Elder had secured his duel with the Third Prince and that he needed to win to prove his potential.
• Dai Yao rested while the Cold Palace was repaired, studying his spirit's two forms and learning that Eight Extremes Collapse injured him when he poured in too much energy.
• Dai Yao traveled to the Star Luo Royal Beast Garden, where a guard explained that the first region housed Mystic Water Turtles and guided him down into the forest.
• An Empress's Maid gave a guard Beast Heart Powder and ordered him to make a high-cultivation Mystic Water Turtle attack Dai Yao after arranging for his soul master escort to be stopped.
• The guard captain confronted the guard, who explained that he had accepted the scheme in hopes of securing a cultivable Martial Soul for his son, but the captain left the decision to him.

Dai Yao searched the Star Luo Royal Beast Garden for a Mystic Water Turtle suitable for his first Spirit Ring, but a guard used Beast Heart Powder to drive a giant turtle into a frenzy and make it attack him. Dai Yao fled using a burst of energy through his feet and lured the beast toward another turtle, leaving their confrontation imminent.

• Dai Yao searched deeper into the forest and marked a three-hundred-year Mystic Water Turtle as a backup while looking for one closer to four hundred years old.
• Dai Yao encountered a giant Mystic Water Turtle, retreated from its territory, and realized the Empress had left him without a Soul Master to protect him.
• The guard secretly blew Beast Heart Powder toward the giant Mystic Water Turtle, causing it to turn bloodshot-eyed and charge at Dai Yao.
• Dai Yao fled and discovered he could use his Green Lotus energy to launch himself forward by stomping the ground.
• Dai Yao used the map to lead the pursuing turtle to the marked Mystic Water Turtle, which saw the giant beast approaching.

Dai Yao outmaneuvered two frenzied Mystic Water Turtles and killed the seven-hundred-year one, then began cultivating to recover. A guard who witnessed the fight decided to kill him, but Dai Yao spotted the approaching guard and recognized someone behind him as the Captain of the Guards.

• Dai Yao found that both Mystic Water Turtles were chasing him and devised a plan to make them collide.
• Dai Yao leapt onto the three-hundred-year Mystic Water Turtle, then used the opening to attack the airborne seven-hundred-year Mystic Water Turtle.
• Dai Yao pierced the Mystic Water Turtle’s barrier and plastron with Eight Extremes—Collapse, killing it as the other turtle fled.
• Dai Yao saw the yellow Spirit Ring above the corpse but could not absorb it, so he began cultivating to recover.
• The guard who had watched Dai Yao’s fight feared he would expose the guard’s clan and decided to kill him.
• Dai Yao noticed the guard approaching and recognized the person behind him as the Captain of the Guards.

After killing the guard sent into the Beast Taming Garden, Dai Yao was unexpectedly forced to absorb a seven-hundred-year spirit ring drawn to him by the green lotus. He survived the ordeal, gained his first spirit skill, and discovered that his soul power was transforming into a much denser liquid form.

• Dai Yao killed the guard after tricking him into looking back, then rested until he had partly recovered.
• Dai Yao named his qi-powered burst of speed Explosive Step and saw the Mystic Water Turtle's spirit ring begin to fade.
• The green lotus drew the seven-hundred-year spirit ring into Dai Yao, forcing him to absorb it while his body was weakened.
• The green lotus repeatedly repaired Dai Yao's damaged meridians as the spirit ring's energy battered his body, while its flames scorched the Sacred White Tiger in his spiritual world.
• Dai Yao gained the First Spirit Skill, White Tiger Body Barrier, and emerged with a stronger body and liquid soul power, but worried that cultivating it would take longer.

Dai Yao finished training against the Mystic Water Turtle and returned to the Cold Palace, where he learned that his duel with Dai Mubai would take place the next day. Facing a stronger opponent and remembering his mother's murder, he resolved to win and make the Empress pay.

• Dai Yao sharpened his three skills through days of combat with the Mystic Water Turtle, then returned to the Cold Palace.
• Dai Yao told Dai Hengyu that his First Spirit Ring was nearly four hundred years old and learned the duel had been scheduled for the next day.
• Dai Hengyu warned Dai Yao that Dai Mubai had rank seventeen Soul Power and urged him to fight with style before the gathered guests.
• Dai Yao recalled witnessing his mother's murder as a newborn and vowed to win the duel without revealing his Twin Martial Souls.

Dai Yao faced Dai Mubai in a public duel for their engagement, drawing the attention of the Star Luo royal family and Spirit Hall. The duel began with Dai Mubai charging without activating his spirit, and Dai Yao decided to test his own enhanced physical strength without using his spirit either.

• The Fifth Elder confirmed to Bishop Ferdinand that Dai Yao had Innate Full Soul Power, and the Empress grew angry that the news had been kept from her.
• Dai Mubai assumed Dai Yao would not appear and asked the Fifth Elder to declare him the winner, but Dai Yao arrived at the arena.
• Dai Yao and Dai Mubai exchanged taunts, then agreed to the duel's rules and began fighting.
• Dai Mubai charged at Dai Yao without activating his spirit, and Dai Yao chose to meet him without activating his own.

Dai Yao surprised Dai Mubai with his strength and revealed his Sacred White Tiger Spirit during their duel. Dai Mubai gained the upper hand through his greater combat experience, and Dai Yao was left exposed to another attack.

• Dai Yao and Dai Mubai collided fists, and Dai Mubai realized Dai Yao's strength nearly matched his own.
• Dai Mubai and Dai Yao introduced themselves as Battle Soul Masters and activated Martial Soul Possession, revealing Dai Yao's white wings and Sacred White Tiger Spirit.
• Bishop Ferdinand recognized Dai Yao's spirit as a potential threat, while the Fifth Elder explained that Dai Yao had named it himself.
• Dai Mubai feinted with one hand and attacked Dai Yao's ribs with the other, but Dai Yao blocked the blow with White Tiger Body Barrier.
• Dai Mubai pressed his attack, and Dai Yao misjudged another feint, leaving himself wide open.

Dai Yao adapted to Dai Mubai’s relentless attacks until Dai Mubai changed tactics and charged recklessly. Dai Yao seized the opening to unleash a Self-Created Soul Skill, shocking the spectators and drawing Bishop Ferdinand’s attention as a potential threat.

• Dai Yao repeatedly defended against Dai Mubai, gradually improving his footwork while the spectators expected him to lose once his Soul Power ran out.
• Fifth Elder noticed Dai Yao adapting to the attacks, while Bishop Ferdinand admired his talent and regretted that he belonged to the White Tiger Family.
• Dai Mubai grew anxious as his attacks failed to break Dai Yao and finally abandoned defense to trade injuries with him.
• Dai Yao recognized the opening and gathered Soul Power into his right hand, creating a powerful spiral of air currents around it.
• Fifth Elder and Bishop Ferdinand recognized Dai Yao’s technique as a Self-Created Soul Skill, and Ferdinand secretly decided Dai Yao must be eliminated before he grew stronger.

Dai Yao defeated Dai Mubai in their duel by combining Eight Extremes Collapse with Explosive Step, securing his place as a rising contender for the throne. Dai Mubai left with the Empress, while Dai Yao helped him up before they parted.

• Dai Yao and Dai Mubai clashed, but Dai Yao's Eight Extremes Collapse cracked Dai Mubai's White Tiger Body Barrier without breaking it.
• Dai Yao used Explosive Step to dodge Dai Mubai's counterattack, then struck him with a second Eight Extremes Collapse and knocked him into the wall.
• The spectators cheered as Dai Yao won, while Dai Mubai lay defeated and regretted following his mother's instructions to end the duel quickly.
• Bishop Ferdinand praised Dai Yao to provoke the Empress, but Fifth Elder threatened him until he backed down.
• The referee declared Dai Yao the winner, and Dai Yao helped Dai Mubai up before Dai Mubai left with the Empress.

After Dai Mubai lost to Dai Yao, the Empress and Dai Weisi condemned him and discussed how to deal with Dai Yao, while the Empress summoned Zhu Zhuqing and offered her a chance at freedom in exchange for a task. Several days later, Dai Yao reflected on his recent ceremonies and awaited Zhu Zhuqing’s arrival at the renovated Cold Palace.

• Dai Weisi entered the Netherworld Cat Palace and found Dai Mubai kneeling with a bleeding forehead after losing to Dai Yao.
• The Empress called Dai Mubai useless, and Dai Weisi dismissed Dai Yao as a threat while discussing the Second Prince and Star Luo Royal Academy.
• Dai Weisi suggested using Zhu Zhuqing against Dai Yao, so the Empress ordered her brought to the palace.
• The Empress offered Zhu Zhuqing a chance to gain freedom if she completed a task, while Dai Mubai left the palace heartbroken.
• Several days later, Dai Yao rested in the Cold Palace after his elders’ visit and title ceremony, and he anticipated fulfilling his engagement with Zhu Zhuqing.

Dai Yao discovered that his cyan lotus had formed a spirit ring and could transform into a spear that decomposed matter, but using it drained him almost completely. After a day of cultivation, he had partly recovered when someone knocked at his door.

• Dai Yao found a yellow spirit ring on the cyan lotus and decided to make it his main martial soul while hiding his identity and treating the White Tiger Spirit as secondary.
• Dai Yao activated the lotus’s first spirit skill, transforming it into the Cyan Lotus Spear, and pierced a stone slab with an attack that decomposed its material.
• Dai Yao feared that the spear’s godlike power could draw the attention of gods and their representatives, and suspected the lotus was the Chaos Cyan Lotus and the spear was the God Slaying Spear.
• Dai Yao collapsed after using the skill, then cultivated as the lotus nourished his depleted spiritual power; one of its petals quietly unfurled.
• Dai Yao cultivated for a day and recovered more than half his strength before someone knocked at his door.

Zhu Zhuqing arrived at Dai Yao’s residence on the day their engagement was to be fulfilled, but she attacked him after he spoke openly about their future. After learning the Empress had promised her freedom if she killed him, Dai Yao offered her a choice between stabbing him and honoring their engagement.

• Dai Yao welcomed Zhu Zhuqing into his residence, and the two sat together in awkward silence.
• Dai Yao told Zhu Zhuqing about himself and asked whether she was willing to accept their engagement.
• Zhu Zhuqing attacked Dai Yao with a blade, but he dodged, subdued her, and then released her.
• Zhu Zhuqing returned and explained that the Empress had promised her freedom from the engagement if she killed Dai Yao.
• Dai Yao exposed his chest and told Zhu Zhuqing to choose between killing him or facing the future with him.