Chapter Summaries

Gu You reviewed the results of the Star of Heaven Dou Tournament and planned to start a production line, while Qian Renxue dealt with the fallout from the eastern district incident and investigated threats within the Heaven Dou Empire. The chapter ended with Qian Renxue sending She Long to follow a threatened informant and preparing to ensnare the nobles reaching for her side.

• Tang San told Gu You he was willing to become a shadow to help him realize his ideals, then changed the subject before Gu You understood his meaning.
• Gu You decided to begin setting up a production line and visited Qian Renxue, where he read a newspaper praising his tournament performance and the Clear Wing Synchro Dragon.
• She Long explained that Qian Renxue had ordered Heaven Dou Weekly to downplay the eastern district incident, while Gu You said Ma Hongjun and Oscar would soon be ready for the planned retaliation against the nobles.
• Tang San told Qian Renxue that Xue Ke would recover from the anesthetic in about two days, and Qian Renxue sent She Long to deliver letters to Spirit City and Gengxin City.
• Chen Fugui gave Qian Renxue information on Tang Yuehua and Moonlight Pavilion, and she ordered She Long to follow him after realizing someone had threatened him into withholding information.

Tang San recruited Dugu Yan to investigate the Fallen Ones, and she agreed to join his covert effort. Five days later, Dugu Yan and Ma Hongjun inducted Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu into the Crown Prince’s elite assassination unit, the Silencers.

• Gu You and Tang San returned to Dugu Bo’s house, where Dugu Yan said the Title Douluo were still interrogating Death Coffin.
• Tang San visited Dugu Yan privately, told her about the Phoenix Revenge and the suppressed news of the eastern-district explosion, and explained the investigation into the Fallen Ones’ allies.
• Dugu Yan agreed to join the effort and arranged to meet Ma Hongjun, whom Tang San planned to introduce to her after preparing.
• Five days later, Oscar tested Feng Xiaotian with evidence that Godwind Academy had accepted Fallen One sponsorship, and Feng Xiaotian vowed to clear his teacher’s name.
• Oscar led Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu to a hidden chamber, where Dugu Yan identified Ma Hongjun as the Destructive Phoenix Man and introduced the Silencers.
• Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu took the Silencers’ oath, and their rings lit with azure and red flames as Ma Hongjun welcomed them into the unit.

Tang San explained that he was helping Gu You share his burdens and planned to return to Spirit City to advance a Soul Tool-based reform. A week later, sweeping political and educational changes were announced across the Heaven Dou Empire, while a visitor calling herself the Remnant arrived at Dugu Bo's manor seeking the forger of [Huodou].

• Tang San reassured Xiao Wu and Lanta that he would never betray Gu You, and Meng Yiran explained that they wanted to take some of Gu You's work off his hands.
• Tang San revealed he planned to return to Spirit City to recruit Soul Masters and pursue a reform built upon Soul Tools, hoping knowledge and skills would spread beyond Spirit Hall's monopoly.
• On August 1st, 2644, Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire announced new Soul Master subsidy rules, Xue Qinghe's planned accession, and plans for broader academy admissions and a vocational college in Nuoding City.
• Lou Gao announced that he had come to join a Heaven Dou Empire project involving horse-free vehicles, tall buildings, and steel ships.
• A woman identifying herself as the Remnant arrived at Dugu Bo's manor and asked to meet the forger of [Huodou].

Gu You and Meng Yiran suspected that a visitor called Remnant was seeking Tang San, the maker of [Huodou], and Meng Yiran arranged for him to meet them. In the Laboratory, Gu You read Tang San’s paper proposing ways to explain and potentially reproduce External Soul Bones’ growth potential, then called Tang San to the reception room.

• Gu You dismissed Remnant’s message at first, but Meng Yiran decided to investigate the visitor on behalf of Xue Qinghe and asked who knew Xiao San had forged [Huodou].
• Gu You listed the people and groups who knew or might infer Xiao San’s work, including the Spirit Arena, which he explained was itself a giant Soul Tool.
• Meng Yiran concluded that the visitor wanted Xiao San, not Gu You, and ordered Gu You to fetch him from the Laboratory.
• Tang San reported that his tests on the Hellblade Glavenus Pelvis had found no sign of its growth property and began another experiment with a strong acid solution.
• Gu You read Tang San’s paper proposing theories about External Soul Bones’ growth and added a third conjecture involving altered Soul Power.
• After Tang San’s acid test failed, Gu You told Xiao Wu to rest and invited Tang San to meet the visitor who wanted the maker of [Huodou].

Ning Fengzhi and the other Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect elders discussed the Wanshan Family’s visit and the empire-wide reforms in Xue Qinghe’s sample books, while Meng Yiran learned how the Wanshan Family had resisted the Fallen Ones during Spirit City’s construction. Gu You and Tang San arrived and met Wanshan Yue and her steward, Qiangu Baofeng, whose unusual surname caught Gu You’s attention.

• Ning Fengzhi explained that he had arranged for Bai He to watch Dugu Manor and argued that the Wanshan Family would become Gu You’s greatest benefactor.
• Ning Fengzhi showed Chen Xin and Gu Rong Xue Qinghe’s reform proposals, and Chen Xin inferred that Ning Fengzhi had arranged for Wanshan Yue to meet Gu You because the Wanshan Family could build Soul Tools.
• Wanshan Yue told Meng Yiran that Fallen One groups had launched eighty-seven major campaigns to obstruct Spirit City’s construction over fifty years.
• Gu You and Tang San entered the reception room, where Tang San guarded against Qiangu Baofeng and Meng Yiran introduced the visitors.
• Gu You wondered whether Qiangu Baofeng was an ancestor of the Qiangu brothers from the distant future.

Wanshan Yue mistook Gu You and Tang San for descendants of ancient Remnants and invited them to share research, revealing Petra’s failed project and knowledge of the Dragon God. Gu You and his companions seized her and Qiangu Baofeng, then demanded to know how she knew about the Dragon God and epochs.

• Wanshan Yue examined the Soul Kettle and concluded that Gu You was an era Remnant who had improved Soul Tool technology.
• Wanshan Yue apologized, introduced herself as a pureblood from Petra, and asked whether Gu You and Tang San came from one of several ancient Remnant cities.
• Wanshan Yue explained that Petra had evacuated after a monster appeared in the Great Sand Sea and that its research yielded six Element Bodies but no way to awaken their potential.
• Gu You flipped the table and attacked Qiangu Baofeng while Tang San blocked Wanshan Yue’s escape and Meng Yiran erased Qiangu Baofeng’s Soul Skill.
• Gu You strangled Qiangu Baofeng unconscious, Tang San threatened Wanshan Yue with Yama’s Invitation, and Meng Yiran deceived Feng Piaoyang into leaving the room undisturbed.
• Gu You apologized for the sudden attack and asked Wanshan Yue where she had learned the terms Dragon God and epoch.

Wanshan Yue recounted a hidden history of humanity’s wars against Nidhogg and the Dragon God, while Gu You and Tang San secretly tested her honesty. Her questions about Martial Souls and Soul Power triggered Gu You to connect clues that had troubled him for six years, and he announced he had found the answers.

• Wanshan Yue described humanity’s rise, Nidhogg’s conquest, and the betrayal that led to the Dragon God’s death and the current Third Era.
• Gu You and Tang San used Forget-Me-Not Flower seeds to make Wanshan Yue more likely to tell the truth, then questioned her about her resistance and pure bloodline.
• Wanshan Yue asked why humans needed Martial Soul awakenings and faced Soul Power thresholds while Soul Beasts did not, prompting Gu You to consult his secret notebook.
• Gu You pieced together clues about Martial Souls, Soul Power, bloodlines, and the Dragon God, then unleashed Haoshoku Haki and collapsed unconscious.
• Dugu Bo and the other Title Douluo were stopped from approaching while Feng Piaoyang relayed Gu You’s order to leave him alone.
• Gu You recovered, woke Wanshan Yue, and said he had found the answers to her three questions.

In the God Realm, Destruction and Life dismissed their dead former master’s curse while the sealed golden dragon forged the Golden Dragon Spear and prepared for the Fourth Era. On Douluo Continent, Gu You used Wanshan Yue’s information to develop a theory that Soul Power once existed independently of Martial Souls, and that the Dragon God and the later gods had helped turn Martial Souls into a curse that stifled human progress.

• Destruction awoke from a nightmare and shouted Nid-hogg’s name, while Life restored the ruined hall and reminded him their former master was dead.
• The imprisoned golden dragon endured the Divine Thunder of Annihilation, tore out a rib, and forged it into the Golden Dragon Spear with its Dragon Flame.
• The golden dragon entrusted its hatred and ambitions to the spear and declared that the coming Fourth Era would still belong to dragons.
• Gu You reconsidered whether Soul Power was merely an accompaniment to Martial Souls, citing Tang San’s Mysterious Heaven Skill as evidence that Soul Power could exist first.
• After learning about Soul Tool Civilization from Wanshan Yue, Gu You theorized that humans once used Soul Power and Soul Tools without Martial Souls or Soul Rings.
• Gu You concluded that the Dragon God introduced Beast Martial Souls and that later gods rewrote advancement rules, making Martial Souls the basis of cultivation and ending humanity’s exploration of Soul Power.

Gu You rejected the Remnants’ invitation to join their cause, but Tang San offered to cooperate with them in restoring the Soul Guidance Crown. Meanwhile, Xiao Wu carried messages between Gu You’s projects, and Tang San and Lou Gao prepared to test their first train; Lou Gao remembered Titan, who had not lived to see blacksmiths’ fortunes rise.

• Qiangu Baofeng questioned Gu You about being a Remnant, and Tang San revealed his Clear Sky Hammer, easing the Remnants’ doubts about his origins.
• Wanshan Yue invited Gu You and Tang San to join the Remnants, but Gu You challenged their lack of preparation and left the room.
• Tang San declined to join the Remnants but proposed cooperating to restore the glory of the Soul Guidance Crown.
• Xiao Wu delivered documents across Heaven Dou City and passed through the West Gate with Xue Qinghe’s warrant.
• Tang San discussed the upcoming train test with Lou Gao, then left to write his report and told Lou Gao to contact Marshal Ge Long if trouble arose.
• After Tang San left, Lou Gao reflected that Titan had died before witnessing the spring of blacksmiths.

Qian Renxue visited the Iron Dragon Legion’s camp and confirmed Ge Long had kept its secret operation secure. As the empire prepared to unveil the train, Gu You explained his plans for industrialization to Lanta and left her with a question about what people would do after learning life could be better.

• Qian Renxue arrived at the Iron Dragon Legion’s camp with She Long and Chi Xue, then met privately with Ge Long.
• Chi Xue rebuked She Long for pitying Tang Yuehua, who remained under house arrest after her betrayal and ties to Clear Sky Sect were exposed.
• Ge Long told Xue Qinghe that trains seemed of limited military use but could benefit people by carrying travelers to Seaside City.
• Gu You told Lanta she could attend the train’s unveiling at West Gate with their third brother, while he stayed behind to work.
• Gu You described Douluo Continent’s resources as ideal for industrialization and asked Lanta what people would do once they knew their lives could be better.

Gu You connected Jhen Mohran’s appearance in the Great Sand Sea to the fallen Dragon God and concluded that the immortal creature was the uncontrolled power of a God of the Desert. He left Tang San with the revelation that someone could seize that power and become the new God of the Desert.

• Xiao Wu told Gu You that the group was choosing between visiting the Extreme North and Loc Lac City, and she favored Loc Lac for its food.
• Gu You remembered Jhen Mohran’s five-year awakening cycle and realized it would create a wave of valuable ores in the Death Desert two years later.
• Gu You recalled Wanshan Yue’s mention of a super-giant monster appearing after the Dragon God fell and rushed Tang San into a sealed study to explain his theory.
• Gu You argued that Jhen Mohran was not a Soul Beast but an incarnation of the Dragon God’s desert and sandstorm power, and identified it as the active God of the Desert.
• Gu You concluded that Jhen Mohran could revive as long as sand existed, until someone seized its power and became the new God of the Desert.

Gu You and Tang San planned research into Jhen Mohran and began preparing a Soul Tool textbook, while Bibi Dong’s Spirit Hall assembled a major force to strike the Holy Spirit Cult. The briefing revealed the cult’s leaders and its recruits Yu Xiaogang and Dai Mubai, and Yan received permission to face Dai Mubai during the raid planned for five days later.

• Tang San suggested calling Spirit Hall to assist with researching Jhen Mohran, and Gu You explained why the creature was a safer subject than a complete god.
• Gu You and Tang San agreed to finish preparations in three months and produce a Soul Tool manufacturing textbook for Spirit City.
• Yue Guan reported the Holy Spirit Cult’s leadership and abilities to Bibi Dong’s assembled forces, including the Four Apostles and Cult Leader Apocalypse.
• Yue Guan revealed that Yu Xiaogang and Dai Mubai had joined the Holy Spirit Cult, and explained how Funeral Hammer had recruited them.
• Yan asked to deal with Dai Mubai alone, and Bibi Dong granted his request.
• Bibi Dong ordered the assembled forces to annihilate the Holy Spirit Cult in an operation scheduled for five days later.

Qing Luan Douluo and Lor Diarra found a cavern filled with slaughtered victims and abandoned their search for clues, while Lor Diarra rediscovered his conviction to fight evil. Later, Gu You was summoned to the Imperial Palace and learned that Spirit Hall was helping Soul Masters find work under new employment regulations.

• Qing Luan Douluo found a sea of blood in the cavern and ordered Lor Diarra and the team to withdraw because the Holy Spirit Cult had left no useful clues.
• Lor Diarra accepted Qing Luan Douluo's order after learning the danger of pursuing the Cult, then joined hands with Shrike and pledged to fight alongside the Soul Saints.
• Qing Luan Douluo revealed that Spirit Hall would pursue the massacre at the highest level, and Lor Diarra committed the stench of the cavern to memory.
• Lin Qisa woke Gu You in the middle of the night and escorted him by carriage toward the Imperial Palace on behalf of Xue Qinghe.
• Gu You saw Soul Master night watchmen and learned from Lin Qisa that Spirit Hall was registering Soul Masters for suitable jobs, with the empire helping fund their wages.

Gu You examined a map recovered from a Holy Spirit Cult base and identified likely sites, including a blank region he suspected was Slaughter City. Meanwhile, the Cult Leader prepared a potion for newcomer Liang Pojun, whose favored status puzzled Beelzebub.

• Qian Renxue showed Gu You a restored map taken from the Holy Spirit Cult’s secret base and asked him to locate its next hideout.
• She Long explained that Bibi Dong wanted Gu You to identify which of seven marked locations held the cult’s gathered forces.
• Gu You compared the map with a continental map, ruled out three markings outside Douluo Continent, and identified four named regions plus a blank area that might be Slaughter City.
• The Cult Leader told Left Arm that Spirit Hall’s discovery would not help them awaken their Guardian Deity and gave him an improved Blood Soul Fusion Potion for a newcomer.
• Liang Pojun encountered Beelzebub, who asked why the Cult Leader valued him and had left the position of Death vacant for him.

Qian Renxue learned more about Slaughter City and decided to investigate it herself after Douluo Continent was unified. She then discussed Dugu Yan’s plan to give The Silencers public covers and asked Gu You to help bring academy deans to the Imperial Palace for a meeting.

• Chi Xue explained that Spirit Hall used Slaughter City as a prison for fallen ones, and Qian Renxue sensed an unexplained connection to the place.
• Gu You said fallen ones would turn on one another without needing the King of Slaughter, and Qian Renxue resolved to seek Slaughter City’s truth after unification.
• Qian Renxue told Gu You that Tang Yuehua was under house arrest at Moonlight Pavilion and considered letting her go because she had no use for the pavilion.
• Qian Renxue shared Dugu Yan’s proposal to give The Silencers public identities, including Feng Xiaotian working at Godwind Academy, Huo Wu writing for the Academy United Morning Paper, and Oscar helping run a restaurant.
• Gu You suggested using the restaurant as a cover for gathering intelligence and proposed inviting academy deans to meet about his upcoming textbooks.

A masked vigilante killed Pablo, the South District’s underworld leader, while a boy traveled toward Heaven Dou City with his Gale Demon Wolf, gale. In the aftermath, Director Gordon investigated the massacre as the boy’s arrival in the city drew near.

• A winged man interrogated Pablo about his crimes, then killed him with a revolver after Pablo gambled on surviving.
• The twelve-year-old boy traveled toward Heaven Dou City with coachman John and fed his wolf gale, while John warned him about the animal and mentioned a recent murderer in the city.
• At Pablo’s estate, Xiao Louluo told a young investigator that Pablo had recently taken control of the South District and held a banquet the night before.
• The investigator entered the underground chamber and learned that the masked killer had slaughtered Pablo and his trusted subordinates.
• Director Gordon ordered his staff to take the bodies to the bureau and post a notice inviting anyone claiming them to register at the police station.

The Silencers reviewed their recent operations and received lists of potential recruits as Phoenix Man prepared for the next phase of their investigation. A new student arrived in Heaven Dou City, where Bu Le explained the Crown Prince’s sweeping renovation plans and the Soul Masters helping carry them out.

• Snake Eye explained that Fenrir Wolf could only join operations where no survivors remained, while Chef reported that his undercover mission had gone smoothly.
• Phoenix Man received lists of reserve recruits and confirmed new members, including five informants whose identities Snake Eye said he would recognize.
• A twelve-year-old boy arrived in Heaven Dou City after Uncle John left, and he wondered why the city felt so full of vitality.
• Bu Le offered to guide the boy to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and explained how Xue Qinghe’s renovation plans had overcome noble opposition and mobilized Soul Masters across the empire.
• The boy asked how the empire could afford the work, and Bu Le pointed to Elephant Armor Academy students hauling materials before introducing himself as a Control System Soul Elder.

Bu Le befriended Tang Liang, a runaway noble student with a mutated Gale Demon Wolf, and encouraged him to enroll at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and seek out Master Gu You. Tang Liang registered with Yu Feng, who offered to show him the academy’s brand-new examination field.

• Bu Le learned that Tang Liang had left Hangodun Town to study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and explained how his brothers had brought him to Heaven Dou City for construction work.
• Tang Liang revealed that his Gale Demon Wolf was a mutated external martial soul and described his low soul power and his family’s failed attempt to find Yu Xiaogang for guidance.
• Bu Le called Yu Xiaogang a level-twenty-nine failure and urged Tang Liang to trust himself, cultivate patiently, and seek Master Gu You at the academy.
• Bu Le directed Tang Liang toward the blond students he knew, then left to meet E Kao and Tian Ya.
• Tang Liang registered with Yu Feng, who confirmed his details and invited him to the brand-new examination field.

Tang San explained her Soul Tool research to Tang Hao and admitted that Gu You had defeated her in a test, prompting her to announce that she planned to study at Martial Soul Hall Academy with him. Tang Hao sent the pair to test themselves against the Golden Generation in Spirit City, and they prepared to fight.

• Tang San told Tang Hao that she was combining Soul Tool arrays with Hidden Weapons and described her plans to improve the Bone Piercing Nail.
• Tang San confessed that Gu You had outmaneuvered her in a combat test, wasting her Soul Power and making her miss with all her Hidden Weapons.
• Tang Hao became furious at Gu You, but Tang San stopped him and announced that she would attend Martial Soul Hall Academy with Gu You after graduating.
• Outside Nuoding City, Gu You learned that Tang San had blamed him for the plan to visit Spirit Hall and heard that Tang Hao wanted them to prove they could protect themselves in Spirit City.
• Gu You and Tang San agreed they could defeat the Golden Generation, then readied themselves for battle as Tang San summoned her Clear Sky Hammer.

Ning Fengzhi managed a growing workload as the new ministries and bureaus coordinated construction, staffing, and public outreach. At the palace, Gu You explained to Qian Renxue how the Spartacus plan had recruited powerful Soul Masters and began to answer her concern that nobles might win them over.

• Ning Fengzhi assigned the Postal Bureau's relay-station proposal for cross-review and told Lin Qifeng to send Huyan Zhen to investigate material shortages elsewhere.
• Ye Youlan called Ning Fengzhi to ask about Ministry of Health dormitories, and he confirmed they were ready and invited her to his office.
• Meng Yiran arranged an interview with Ning Fengzhi for three days later, while he continued working through his ministry's documents.
• Qian Renxue reviewed the structure and work of the Three Academies, Six Ministries, and Nine Bureaus as she talked with Gu You at the palace.
• Gu You told Qian Renxue that Artificial Spirit Bones alone would not have attracted enough experienced Soul Masters, so the plan relied on alliances, borrowed Spirit Hall personnel, and trained independents.
• Qian Renxue asked whether nobles could win over the recruited Soul Masters, and Gu You replied that Soul Masters who became nobles differed from nobles who became Soul Masters.