Chapter Summaries

Tang Lan explained to Chen Xin how soul growth and Soul Skill creation worked, helping him create a new sword technique. The group reached Sunset Forest, where Zhu Zhuqing chose to seek a Soul Ring at the limit of her current physique.

• Tang Lan explained that strengthening and refining the soul could break bottlenecks, and Chen Xin realized he could improve his soul through comprehension and cultivation.
• Tang Lan described how shaping Soul Power could create Self-Created Soul Skills, and Chen Xin used the idea to form a rotating sword-qi attack.
• Tang Lan noticed Chen Xin might be suspicious of his unusual knowledge and reminded himself to be more cautious, while Zhu Zhuqing admired him.
• Tang Lan, Chen Xin, and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at Sunset Forest, and Tang Lan used his Blue Silver Domain to learn about the forest.
• Tang Lan told Zhu Zhuqing that her current physique could handle a Soul Ring of up to four thousand three hundred years, and she chose that limit, surprising Chen Xin.

Tang Lan hunted and marked Soul Beasts in Sunset Forest while searching for Zhu Zhuqing’s Fourth Soul Ring, then deliberately released a Man Faced Demon Spider for a future plan. As dawn approached, a shadow-hidden Soul Beast tore out Tang Lan’s heart, leaving Zhu Zhuqing and Chen Xin stunned.

• Tang Lan used the Blue Silver Domain to drain Soul Beasts and mark promising candidates for Zhu Zhuqing’s Soul Ring.
• Tang Lan suggested a 3,100-year Ghost Tiger, but Zhu Zhuqing hesitated because she believed she could absorb an older Soul Ring.
• Tang Lan captured a 6,000-year Man Faced Demon Spider, planted a Soul Seed in it, and let it escape so he could strengthen it with Herbal Medicine later.
• Tang Lan stored Soul Seeds in his Life Spirit Heart and discovered that even Chen Xin had unknowingly absorbed one.
• A shadow-hidden Soul Beast attacked Tang Lan from behind, shattered his golden defense, and tore out his heart before Chen Xin’s Seven Kill Sword could hit it.
• Zhu Zhuqing stared at the hole in Tang Lan’s chest and wondered if he was dead.

Tang Lan and Chen Xin captured a Shadow Ink Cat born from the Shadow God’s residual divinity, and Tang Lan urged Zhu Zhuqing to absorb it as her Third Soul Ring despite its five-thousand-year age. Zhu Zhuqing fused Tang Lan’s ten-thousand-year Tiger-Eagle Left Arm Bone to strengthen herself, and Tang Lan prepared to examine her increased limit.

• Tang Lan survived the Shadow Ink Cat’s attack, then used the Blue Silver Emperor vines to capture it after Blue Silver Grass revealed it was hiding in a shadow.
• Tang Lan explained that the Shadow Ink Cat was an aberrant Wind Shadow Cat that had absorbed the Shadow God’s residual divinity, and he told Zhu Zhuqing its Soul Ring could be valuable.
• Chen Xin estimated the Shadow Ink Cat was around five thousand years old, too powerful for Zhu Zhuqing’s Third Soul Ring under normal circumstances.
• Tang Lan gave Zhu Zhuqing the ten-thousand-year Tiger-Eagle Left Arm Bone so she could strengthen her physique before absorbing the Shadow Ink Cat.
• Zhu Zhuqing painfully fused the Soul Bone, and Tang Lan received the Batwing Reincarnation hidden weapon technique as a reward for depriving Tang San of it.
• Tang Lan offered to examine Zhu Zhuqing’s increased Soul Ring limit, leaving her startled by his wording.

Tang Lan helped Zhu Zhuqing absorb the Shadow Ink Cat's Soul Ring while using the Life Spirit Heart and his abilities to keep her alive. The Shadow God's divinity transformed her Hell Spirit Cat into an absolute-black Martial Soul and formed a matching black tail behind her.

• Tang Lan measured Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Ring limit at around 5,100 years and merged the Life Spirit Heart into her to protect her during absorption.
• Tang Lan drained the bound Shadow Ink Cat, and Zhu Zhuqing blasted its skull with a Barrett before absorbing its Soul Ring.
• Evil Eye devoured death aura from the corpse and gained four years, while Tang Lan caught the escaping black pearl and let it merge with Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Spirit Cat.
• Tang Lan supported Zhu Zhuqing for an hour as she absorbed the Soul Ring and the black pearl transformed her Martial Soul into absolute black.
• A second streak of black light entered the area behind Zhu Zhuqing's hips, forming a two-meter-long black cat tail made of twenty-three bone segments.

Zhu Zhuqing gained an evolved Shadow Spirit Cat Martial Soul, powerful new soul skills, and an External Soul Bone, then returned to Heaven Dou City with Tang Lan and Chen Xin. At the Tang Sect, Chen Xin drove off Huo Rong, and Tang Lan spotted a familiar-looking girl during the ongoing team battle.

• Zhu Zhuqing kissed Tang Lan after gaining an External Soul Bone, then explained how her Shadow Step, Shadow Scar, and evolved Martial Soul strengthened her fighting ability.
• Tang Lan praised Zhu Zhuqing's new abilities, and Chen Xin decided to stay at the Tang Sect for the night before they returned to Heaven Dou City together.
• Huo Rong confronted Tang Lan outside the Tang Sect with a gift and invoked the Crown Prince's orders, but Chen Xin struck him with sword qi and sent him flying toward the imperial palace.
• Tang Lan and Chen Xin watched Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and Meng Yiran fight Jiang Zhu's seven-person team, where Ning Rongrong evaded Jing Ling using Lingbo Microstep.
• Tang Lan recognized the aqua-haired girl in the center of the battle as someone familiar.

Tang Lan returned to Tang Sect Academy and watched its team battle Dai Mubai and the others, recognizing Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Bai Chenxiang among the new students. After the fight paused, Liu Erlong introduced the students to Tang Lan, and Tailong’s complaint about the Tang Sect Encyclopedia earned him a beating and an order to bring his parent to the academy.

• Shui Bing'er froze Ning Rongrong, defended herself and Tailong with her Ice Ring Armor, and helped Tang Sect Academy's team pressure their opponents.
• Ning Rongrong escaped Tailong and Jing Ling's pincer attack, freed Meng Yiran, and Oscar flew them out of Shui Bing'er's skill range.
• Tang Lan recognized Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Bai Chenxiang as the battle stopped and Zhao Wuji and Liu Erlong greeted him and Chen Xin.
• Liu Erlong introduced Jiang Zhu to Tang Lan, and Jiang Zhu knelt and apologized after Liu Erlong rebuked her attitude.
• Tailong complained that the Tang Sect Encyclopedia was too thick, so Liu Erlong knocked him away and ordered him to bring his parent and kneel at the academy gates.
• Liu Erlong introduced Jing Ling as a level 30 agility-attack Battle Soul Grandmaster with a rare Skeleton martial soul.

Tang Lan recruited Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er into the Tang Sect, explained how martial souls could evolve, and offered Bai Chenxiang a way to bring the Speed Clan into the sect. He ended by challenging the disciples to spar for a chance at martial soul evolution.

• Tang Lan made Jing Ling a second-generation disciple, gave him the Lingbo Microstep, and recruited Huang Yuan as a third-generation inner disciple while instructing him to bring Su Yuntao to the Tang Sect.
• Tang Lan explained that Shui Bing'er's Water-Condensing Luan could evolve into an Ice Phoenix and described the effects of ultimate attributes, then recruited Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er as first-generation disciples.
• Tang Lan linked martial soul fusion skills to higher forms of martial souls and revealed that his own Innate Soul Power had been only level three, inspiring Shui Bing'er and Liu Erlong with hope for evolution.
• Tang Lan showed Bai Chenxiang the Tang Sect's firearm Soul Tools and offered to establish Min Hall if she persuaded the Speed Clan to join; Bai Chenxiang ran off promising to bring good news.
• Tang Lan challenged the disciples to fight him and Zhu Zhuqing for a chance at martial soul evolution.

Tang Lan announced a lopsided challenge to prove Zhu Zhuqing’s strength and offered to fund the disciples’ future soul rings as a prize. Zhu Zhuqing showcased her Shadow Step and eliminated Ning Rongrong, while Shui Bing’er’s team regrouped to defend against her.

• Ning Rongrong and the other disciples questioned Tang Lan’s challenge, and Chen Xin warned them that Zhu Zhuqing could defeat them all despite her low Soul Power.
• Tang Lan explained Zhu Zhuqing’s Shadow Ink Cat and Tiger-Eagle Left Arm Bone, then offered to cover the future soul rings of anyone who defeated him or Zhu Zhuqing.
• Tang San begrudged Zhu Zhuqing receiving the soul bone, while Dai Mubai accepted the challenge and the other disciples agreed to fight.
• Zhu Zhuqing wounded Huang Yuan with her first soul skill, then escaped Tang San’s ice and Blue Silver Grass to ambush Ning Rongrong with Shadow Step.
• Zhu Zhuqing escaped Jiang Zhu’s attempt to seal her, and Shui Bing’er gave the remaining fighters ice-ring armor and ordered them to stand back-to-back.

Zhu Zhuqing used her Shadow Ink Cat abilities and Tang Lan’s support to eliminate six opponents, forcing Tang San and Dai Mubai to concede. The team learned that Zhu Zhuqing’s Shadow Scar came from an External Soul Bone, while Tang Lan remained ready to fight.

• Zhu Zhuqing bypassed Shui Yue'er’s defense, then used Shadow Hundred Claws to break Oscar’s Ice Ring Armor and wound him.
• Tang San gathered the remaining fighters into a defensive formation, but Tang Lan’s Life Spirit Blue Silver Emperor blocked their coordinated attacks.
• Zhu Zhuqing used Shadow Scar to attack Shui Bing’er’s and Jing Ling’s shadows, reflecting the damage onto them and eliminating both.
• Tang Lan warned the remaining fighters that they would have to face him, and Dai Mubai conceded while Tang San stayed silent.
• Ning Rongrong noticed Zhu Zhuqing’s External Soul Bone, and Tang Lan explained that he had replenished Zhu Zhuqing’s Inner Force throughout the fight.

Tang Lan resolved the conflict with Huo Rong by healing his severed arm and accepting his offerings, turning the Soul Douluo’s resentment into loyalty. Qian Renxue changed the venue for the next day’s match to Tang Sect Academy, while Yu Xiaogang watched Tang Lan with a strange look.

• After Zhu Zhuqing’s dramatic increase in strength, Liu Erlong received a call saying Crown Prince Qian Renxue had brought Huo Rong to apologize at Tang Sect Academy.
• Huo Rong admitted his wrongdoing, severed his own arm, and offered Tang Lan a 12,000-year Fire Sprite Left Arm Bone and a Fire Essence Core.
• Tang Lan used a Life Spirit Heart, the Nine Yang Divine Skill, and his Blue Silver Domain to regrow Huo Rong’s arm, earning Huo Rong’s respect and an offer of future service.
• Qian Renxue told Tang Lan that the next day’s match venue had been changed from Heaven Dou Royal Academy to Tang Sect Academy.
• Tang Lan punched Qian Renxue in the chest, prompting her to leave in a panic, while Yu Xiaogang stared at Tang Lan strangely.

Tang Lan tested how to detonate and recover his soul rings, then resolved to learn the Clear Sky Sect’s secret technique from Tang Hao. The next morning, he comforted Zhu Zhuqing, whose fear of the Star Luo Empire still lingered.

• Tang Lan decided to keep the Fire Essence Core for himself and leave the Fire Sprite Left Arm Bone for Xiao Wu, then shared an intimate reunion with Zhu Zhuqing.
• Tang Lan tested detonation with his first two soul rings and used the Undying Imprint Technique to recover more of the released Soul Power, though the process remained inefficient and damaging.
• Tang Lan detonated his third, fourth, and fifth soul rings while using his External Soul Bones and life-based abilities to gather Soul Power, then restored his body and rings with Reset.
• Tang Lan decided to seek instruction from Tang Hao and returned to his room to rest.
• The next morning, Tang Lan found Zhu Zhuqing curled up asleep in his arms and reassured her that she was safe in the Tang Sect.

Tang Lan and Zhu Zhuqing shared breakfast at the Tang Sect cafeteria before preparing for a banquet and auction held ahead of the academy exchange match. When Zhao Wuji asked Tang Lan to provide a finale auction item, Tang Lan devised a plan to make the event more spectacular.

• Tang Lan and Zhu Zhuqing ate at Tailai Cafeteria, where head chef Gou Qi served them and Zhuqing noted that his background seemed suspicious.
• Zhu Zhuqing explained that the exchange match would follow a banquet and grand auction attended by Xue Ye, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo.
• Tang Lan tried on the evening suit Zhu Zhuqing had prepared for him.
• Zhao Wuji told Tang Lan that Tang Sect needed a finale item for the auction, whose proceeds would go to the winning academy as teaching funds.
• Tang Lan came up with a plan for the auction and instructed Zhao Wuji what to do.

Tang Lan hosted a banquet for the Tang Sect and offered Emperor Xue Ye a chance to co-author the next volume of the Tang Sect Encyclopedia, but Xue Ye declined despite being tempted by the fame and knowledge it promised. The banquet left Tang Lan seated beside Crown Prince Qian Renxue as the nobles watched, just before the auction began.

• Tang Lan instructed Zhao Wuji how to attract nobles to the event, and Zhu Zhuqing praised his understanding of their mindset.
• Zhao Wuji and Liu Erlong welcomed prominent guests to the Tang Sect Academy banquet, and Tang Lan arrived late with Zhu Zhuqing.
• Tang Lan offered Xue Ye second-author credit in a future encyclopedia volume, but Xue Ye declined after hearing about its planned material.
• Qian Renxue arranged for Tang Lan to take the seat beside Xue Ye, then made Xue Beng give up the seat beside Tang Lan for herself.
• The gathered nobles settled into their seats as the banquet's auction was about to begin.

Emperor Xue Ye proposed using Tang Lan’s encyclopedia in Soul Master Academies, then opened an auction whose proceeds would fund the winning academy. Tang Lan and Education Committee Member Zhi Lin battled over a Titan Giant Ape skull until Xue Ye turned it into a tournament prize, prompting Tang Lan to add another soul bone.

• Emperor Xue Ye asked Tang Lan to let Soul Master Academies use the Tang Sect Encyclopedia as teaching material, and Tang Lan agreed.
• Dou Dou introduced a three-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape head soul bone, and Ning Fengzhi, Zhi Lin, and others began bidding on it.
• Tang Lan bid against Zhi Lin, who escalated the price to ten million Gold Soul Coins, while Qian Renxue confirmed that Tang Lan could afford it.
• Emperor Xue Ye declared the Titan Giant Ape soul bone and the auction proceeds prizes for the winning academy.
• Tang Lan added a six-thousand-year Flying Wolf Silver Fox Right Leg Bone to the tournament prizes.

Tang Lan outbid Tang San for the Eight Treasures Auspicious Soft Armor, earning a new transformation technique that strengthened his defenses and delayed Tang San’s hidden weapon plans. The auction’s mysterious finale hammer went unsold until Tang San bid on it, prompting Tang Lan to suspect it was valuable and prepare to take it for himself.

• Zhi Lin offered a ten-thousand-year soul bone as a competition prize after Tang Lan’s provocation, and Tang Lan accepted the challenge while the auction continued.
• Tang Lan bought the Divine Wind Boat for 150,000 Gold Soul Coins, and Qian Renxue offered to look for more Soul Tools for him.
• Tang Lan asked Qian Renxue to bid against Tang San for the Eight Treasures Auspicious Soft Armor, which Tang San wanted for his Wrath of the Buddha Tang Lotus.
• Tang San yielded after Tang Lan warned him not to antagonize the Crown Prince, and Qian Renxue won the armor for two million Gold Soul Coins.
• Tang Lan received the Indestructible Divine Skill as a reward for delaying the Wrath of the Buddha Tang Lotus and stealing Tang San’s luck.
• The auction’s palm-sized, ten-thousand-jin hammer attracted no bids until Tang San offered 150,000 Gold Soul Coins, making Tang Lan suspect it had hidden value.

Tang Lan’s auction of the Tang Sect Encyclopedia Volume Two attribution rights earned Xue Ye’s 50-million-Gold-Soul-Coin bid, and Xue Ye announced lavish rewards for the exchange match. Tang Lan accepted extra soul bone prizes while securing a promise that he would not use soul skills, then led the Tang Sect Team into the match, where Ye Lingling discovered his Martial Soul suppressed her Nine Hearted Begonia.

• Qian Renxue bid 200,000 Gold Soul Coins for the earlier item, leaving Tang San with a mysterious sense of loss when the auction ended.
• Tang Lan auctioned the second-author attribution rights for Tang Sect Encyclopedia Volume Two, and Xue Ye won them with a bid of 50 million Gold Soul Coins.
• Xue Ye awarded the winning team titles and funding, then offered the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud to the standout performer; Zhi Lin and Meng Shenji added two soul bones after Tang Lan agreed not to use soul skills.
• Tang Lan and the Tang Sect Team entered the Training Ground to face the Royal Fight Team, while Dugu Yan urged her teammates to finish quickly for Dugu Bo to see.
• The teams released their Martial Souls, and Ye Lingling realized Tang Lan’s Life Spirit Blue Silver Grass was weakening her Nine Hearted Begonia’s healing effect.

The Tang Sect Team gained an early advantage over the Royal Fight Team, with Zhu Zhuqing eliminating Yu Tianheng and Tang Lan secretly sustaining his teammates. Tang Lan then erased Dugu Yan’s poison from the arena, and Dugu Yan accused him of breaking his promise not to use spirit abilities.

• Ning Rongrong boosted the Tang Sect Team as Dai Mubai and Tang San pressured the Shi Brothers, while Zhu Zhuqing struck Yu Tianheng from the shadows and pierced his chest.
• Tang Lan lifted his suppression of the Nine Hearted Begonia, allowing Ye Lingling to keep Yu Tianheng from worsening, and Ma Hongjun stopped Zhu Zhuqing from attacking her.
• Dugu Yan spread poison that enhanced the Royal Fight Team and helped them briefly suppress the Tang Sect Team, but Ning Rongrong kept boosting her allies while evading Ma Hongjun.
• Dou Dou revealed that Tang Lan had remained in place throughout the fight, and Ning Fengzhi explained that his Life Spirit Blue Silver Emperor was sending Soul Power to his teammates.
• Tang Lan used Life Burial to devour Dugu Yan’s poisonous mist, prompting Dugu Yan to accuse him of breaking his agreement not to use spirit abilities.

The Tang Sect Team defeated the Royal Fight Team, prompting Dugu Bo to intervene on behalf of Dugu Yan before Tang Lan revealed that the Poison Douluo was suffering from a deadly poison. Zhu Zhuqing received the thirty-thousand-year torso bone that Zhi Lin had wagered, while Tang San objected to her being chosen.

• Zhu Zhuqing subdued Ye Lingling, and Tang San and Meng Yiran helped the Tang Sect Team defeat the remaining Royal Fight Team members.
• Dugu Bo arrived when Dugu Yan cried, then unleashed his Titled Douluo pressure on the Tang Sect Team; they resisted with the True Martial Seven Intercept Formation.
• Gu Rong and Chen Xin intervened against Dugu Bo, and Tang Lan stepped between them to tell Dugu Bo that he was being poisoned and could be saved.
• Tang Lan described Dugu Bo's symptoms and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent clan's flaw, persuading Dugu Bo to leave with Zhao Wuji and Dugu Yan.
• Zhi Lin honored his wager by giving Zhu Zhuqing a thirty-thousand-year Demon Underworld Mutation Torso Bone, and Tang San questioned why she should receive it.

Tang Lan led the Tang Sect Team to victory, secured imperial honors and the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, and began distributing the Soul Bones among his teammates. He left Tang San hoping for a particular bone, but Tang Lan had not yet announced his assignment.

• Zhi Lin conceded the exchange match and invited Tang Lan’s team to spar again, while Tang Lan offered the Royal Fight Team a chance to face Team Two.
• Tang Lan explained that Zhu Zhuqing had received the Demon Underworld Mutation Torso Bone and gave Dai Mubai the complete Nine Yang Divine Skill; the system rewarded Tang Lan with the Extinction Meteor Scorpion Left Foot Palm.
• Emperor Xue Ye awarded the Tang Sect Academy twenty million Gold Soul Coins, tournament entry, four Soul Bones, and noble titles, and named Tang Lan a hereditary earl while giving him the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
• Tang Lan accepted the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, stored it with the Soul Bones, and returned with the team to the lounge.
• Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing withdrew from the Soul Bone selection, so Tang Lan promised to assign the remaining four bones among Tang San, Oscar, Dai Mubai, and Meng Yiran; Tang San wondered which one he would receive.

Tang Lan manipulated Tang San into choosing a 3000-year Titan Giant Ape Head Soul Bone by suggesting it could later fuse with another bone, while distributing the stronger soul bones to his allies. The recipients began absorbing their bones, and the system rewarded Tang Lan for diverting valuable soul bones away from Tang San.

• Tang Lan persuaded Tang San that the Titan Giant Ape Head Soul Bone suited his second martial soul and might later fuse with a hundred-thousand-year bone, so Tang San eagerly began absorbing it.
• Tang Lan gave the Flying Wolf Silver Fox Right Leg Bone to Meng Yiran, who accepted it and began absorption.
• Dai Mubai recognized that the Indestructible Adamantine Arm Left Arm Bone suited him better than Oscar, accepted it, and thanked the sect.
• Tang Lan gave Oscar the Demon Claw Splitting Right Leg Bone, and Oscar gratefully accepted it as a member of the Tang Sect.
• The system announced that Tang Lan had diverted three valuable soul bones from Tang San and gained a small amount of his Luck.