Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin wrote a thesis under the name Xiao Yan about how martial souls affected the color and attributes of Soul Power, hoping to alert Dugu Bo to the dangers of choosing Soul Rings. He left the question open of why Soul Power could change even when a Spirit was not being used.

• Xiao Lin gave Tang San his sleeping mat and began drafting a thesis in a sensational style.
• Xiao Lin chose to write about the dangers of Soul Power circulation, expecting the findings to surprise Dugu Bo.
• Xiao Lin wrote the thesis under the name Xiao Yan, with Lin Dong listed as advisor, and cited accounts of Soul Power behaving differently according to its attributes.
• Xiao Yan concluded that plant-type Soul Masters were vulnerable to extreme cold and heat, the White Tiger Spirit had a metal attribute, and the twin sisters' unusual Soul Power came from their martial souls.
• Xiao Yan observed that Soul Power could retain changed attributes and colors even when its owner did not use a Spirit, and wondered why.

Xiao Lin submitted a thesis under the name Xiao Yan, arguing that meditation and Soul Rings could change Soul Power and warning against poorly matched or overly poisonous rings. As Wu Ning reviewed the thesis in Spirit Hall, it caught his attention and left him ready to examine its claims.

• Xiao Lin used Tang San and Su Yuntao as disguised experimental subjects and wrote that Martial Souls and absorbed Soul Rings could alter Soul Power and even the Soul Master's body.
• Xiao Lin resolved to use further theses to discredit Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, then pushed Tang San off his mattress when he found him sleeping beside him.
• Xiao Lin and Tang San disguised themselves and submitted the thesis to Spirit Hall, where Xiao Lin left a passphrase to prove his identity as Xiao Yan.
• Wu Ning, a Spirit Hall library elder seeking theories that could help him reach Soul Saint, dismissed the papers he had reviewed and criticized Yu Xiaogang for copying his research.
• A young scholar rushed into the Spirit Hall Library Pavilion and urged Wu Ning to read Xiao Lin's thesis.

Elder Wu Ning recognized Xiao Lin’s thesis on Soul Ring compatibility and harmful effects as important to Soul Masters and brought it to Pope Bibi Dong. After reading it, Bibi Dong ordered everyone who had seen it silenced, then called Hu Liena to read it and rewarded Wu Ning and his colleagues.

• Wu Ning read Xiao Lin’s thesis and concluded that incompatible or harmful Soul Rings could damage Martial Souls, while compatible rings could improve them.
• Wu Ning hurried to the Papal Hall with the thesis, and Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo initially stopped him at the entrance.
• Bibi Dong allowed Wu Ning inside and read the thesis, recalling her negative emotions, the Rakshasa God’s Divine Sense, and Yu Xiaogang.
• Bibi Dong ordered Wu Ning and Ghost Douluo to silence everyone who had read the thesis, told Chrysanthemum Douluo to summon Na Na to read it, and awarded Wu Ning and his colleagues ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Bibi Dong decided to release Xiao Yan's thesis and directed Hu Liena to cultivate spirit attributes rather than rely entirely on charm. The chapter ended with Xiao Lin testing his External Soul Bone and finding ways it could store and release Soul Power.

• Bibi Dong lifted the gag order on the thesis after deciding its benefits to Soul Masters and Spirit Hall outweighed the risks.
• Yue Guan brought Hu Liena the thesis, and she questioned whether her teacher wanted her to abandon enchantment.
• Bibi Dong told Hu Liena to choose spirit-attribute soul rings in the future, then assigned Yue Guan to oversee her training.
• Bibi Dong ordered Gui Mei to find Xiao Yan and Lin Dong.
• Xiao Lin found that his External Soul Bone could store extra Soul Power and release a steadier protective barrier, but his attempt to fire a laser failed.

Spirit Hall published Xiao Lin’s thesis under the author name Xiao Yan, arguing that martial souls and soul rings could affect Soul Masters’ Soul Power and health. The theory drew attention across Douluo Continent, prompting several factions to seek Xiao Yan while Dugu Bo and Yu Xiaogang reacted with shock and anger.

• Low-level Soul Masters in a Heaven Dou City tavern discussed Xiao Yan’s claims and the need to choose purer soul rings.
• Ning Fengzhi, Sword Dao Chenxin, and Gu Rong praised Xiao Yan’s research, and Ning Fengzhi sent spies to find him.
• Qian Renxue recognized the thesis’s political value and secretly ordered Senior Pufferfish to investigate Xiao Yan.
• Dugu Bo concluded that his Poison Attribute Soul Rings had harmed Dugu Xin and left Dugu Yan with Soul Poison, then vowed to find Xiao Yan and Lin Dong.
• Yu Xiaogang read the thesis at Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy, took its criticism of worsened spirit mutations personally, and angrily crumpled the newspaper.

Yu Xiaogang rushed to write a thesis promoting his ideas about Soul Rings, while Xiao Lin celebrated the Spirit News’s sales and went to find Tang San. The story left Xiao Lin eager to keep studying Martial Souls and improve Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass.

• Yu Xiaogang worried Xiao Yan’s theory would undermine his standing with Xiao Lin and Tang San, then reviewed the Soul Rings he had planned for them.
• Yu Xiaogang struggled to write before drafting a thesis arguing that Plant System Soul Masters could absorb Animal-Type Soul Beast Soul Rings.
• Yu Xiaogang finished more than half of his thesis and added a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master as an example to impress Tang San.
• Xiao Lin saw that at least 6,379 copies of the Spirit News had sold and imagined buying a Storage Soul Tool and Whale Rubber.
• Xiao Lin headed to the blacksmith shop to show Tang San the sales, while Tang San forged a Sleeve Arrow because he kept losing their spars.
• Xiao Lin continued studying Martial Souls and considered researching Old Jack’s Radish Martial Soul to give Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass Food System effects.

Xiao Lin proposed that Tang San could develop Blue Silver Grass into a Food System Spirit while preserving its vitality, potentially giving its support abilities greater power. Tang San trusted the idea and agreed to try the path as Xiao Lin began explaining his hypothesis.

• Tang San finished forging iron with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer while Xiao Lin watched.
• Xiao Lin showed Tang San that his Spirit theory thesis had sold well, and Tang San admitted defeat.
• Xiao Lin told Tang San his new theory could turn Blue Silver Grass into a Food System Spirit without abandoning its vitality.
• Tang San considered how stored food-based soul skills could strengthen his support abilities and agreed to try the path.
• Xiao Lin began explaining his hypothesis, starting with the fact that Blue Silver Grass could be eaten.

Xiao Lin explained how Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass might gain Food Soul Master abilities, and Tang Hao joined their discussion. Tang Hao was left considering whether Tang San should pursue a Mirror Beast Soul Ring to help the Clear Sky Sect and its allies.

• Xiao Lin said Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass needed greater Vitality and Soul Skills that let it regenerate or produce edible seeds without weakening Tang San’s abilities.
• Xiao Lin explained that Tang San would need a Soul Incantation to create food, while Blue Silver Grass’s strong adaptability already met another key requirement.
• Tang Hao arrived and asked Xiao Lin to explain the final condition for Blue Silver Grass to become a Food System Spirit.
• Xiao Lin described how a Food System Spirit might gain varied abilities from different Soul Rings, including a Mirror Beast skill that temporarily replicated another martial soul.
• Tang Hao and Tang San were shocked by the Mirror Beast possibility, and Tang Hao considered having Tang San absorb one to benefit the Clear Sky Sect and the Four Great Clans.

Xiao Lin explained that Tang San might eventually be able to absorb a Mirror Beast soul ring, but first needed to strengthen his Blue Silver Grass with vitality-enhancing soul rings. Tang Hao and Tang San agreed to pursue that path, and Tang Hao entrusted Tang San to Xiao Lin before departing.

• Xiao Lin told Tang Hao that Tang San was not yet ready to absorb a Mirror Beast soul ring and would need at least three more soul rings with strong life force.
• Xiao Lin privately considered how Tang San's support-focused path might affect his chances of obtaining the Eight Spider Lances and imagined finding him a powerful spiritual External Soul Bone instead.
• Tang Hao and Tang San agreed that Tang San would seek a Mirror Beast soul ring if one could be found, while Tang Hao required him to prioritize vitality-enhancing soul rings.
• Tang Hao told Tang San to listen to Xiao Lin while he was away and expressed hope that Tang San would see his mother at their next meeting.
• Tang Hao entrusted Tang San to Xiao Lin, asked him to research Mirror Beasts in ancient texts, and gave him over twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins and a Storage Soul Tool.
• Xiao Lin accepted Tang Hao's gifts while assuring him that he and Tang San were close brothers.

Xiao Lin considered how to obtain the Man Faced Demon Spider’s External Soul Bone and continued helping Tang San study Food System Blue Silver Grass. In Notting City, Yu Xiaogang grew furious after Spirit News rejected his manuscript and began writing a new theory about staff Martial Souls.

• Xiao Lin reasoned that he might absorb the Man Faced Demon Spider himself to gain its Soul Ring and External Soul Bone, while hoping Tang San could later obtain the Evil Eye and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger’s bone.
• Xiao Lin set aside his External Soul Bone research and returned to helping Tang San explore Food System Blue Silver Grass.
• Yu Xiaogang received Spirit News’s rejection of his Blue Silver Grass manuscript and blamed the editors for failing to recognize his theories.
• Yu Xiaogang decided to submit a new manuscript under his own name about Soul Ring configurations for staff Martial Souls.

Xiao Lin and Tang San started at Notting City Junior Soul Master Academy, avoiding Yu Xiaogang’s attempt to approach them. After registering and being assigned to Dorm Seven, Xiao Lin entered the work-study students’ dormitory, where its residents eyed him as a potential target.

• Xiao Lin and Tang San arrived at the academy and spotted Yu Xiaogang waiting by the gate.
• Xiao Lin hurried Tang San away from Yu Xiaogang, and the two escaped without speaking to him.
• Xiao Lin warned Tang San that Yu Xiaogang wanted to recruit them to validate his theories, and Tang San agreed to be wary.
• Xiao Lin and Tang San registered, received school uniforms, and were assigned to Dorm Seven.
• Tang San went to buy a quilt while Xiao Lin went to Dorm Seven and found its residents looking at him like prey.

Xiao Lin joined Dorm Seven and established his strength, while Tang San rejected Yu Xiaogang’s attempt to expose his Twin Martial Souls. Yu Xiaogang was left questioning his own theory after Tang San suggested his Blue Silver Grass might be the Blue Silver King.

• Xiao Lin declared himself Dorm Seven’s boss, then intimidated Wang Sheng by revealing his level fifteen Soul Power and Yellow Soul Ring.
• Wang Sheng accepted Xiao Lin as the new boss and told the other students to call him Second Brother.
• Yu Xiaogang confronted Tang San at the academy entrance and claimed he understood Tang San’s Martial Soul and secrets.
• Yu Xiaogang threatened to reveal that Tang San had Twin Martial Souls, but Tang San pretended not to understand the term.
• Tang San challenged Yu Xiaogang’s theory by suggesting his Martial Soul could be the Blue Silver King, leaving Yu Xiaogang stunned.

Yu Xiaogang reconsidered taking Tang San as his disciple after realizing his theories about Twin Martial Souls contradicted themselves, and decided Xiao Lin was a better prospect. Xiao Lin rejected Yu Xiaogang's advances and heard him explain his staff-Martial-Soul research as he left with Tang San.

• Yu Xiaogang realized his theory could not explain Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power and Blue Silver Grass, then decided to abandon him as a prospective disciple.
• Tang San prepared to leave for bedding, and Yu Xiaogang regretted that he could not find an ideal Soul Ring configuration for the Blue Silver King.
• Xiao Lin arrived, brushed aside Yu Xiaogang's introduction, and joined Tang San on the way back to Dorm Seven.
• Yu Xiaogang followed them and urged Xiao Lin to become his disciple, but Xiao Lin refused to treat him as an elder and challenged his theories.
• Yu Xiaogang described research on staff-type Martial Souls and cited Li Yusong and Spirit Hall consecrators as examples of Soul Ring skills.

Xiao Lin mocked Yu Xiaogang's theories and weak soul power, refusing to become his disciple. Yu Xiaogang challenged him to meet again at the academy competition in eight years, but Xiao Lin shoved him down and left with Tang San, leaving Yu Xiaogang unconscious at Notting Academy's gate.

• Xiao Lin derided Yu Xiaogang's claims of expertise and dismissed him as a useless level 29 Soul Grandmaster.
• Yu Xiaogang showed Xiao Lin an issue of Spirit News as proof of his wisdom, but Xiao Lin demanded that he reach level 30 first.
• Yu Xiaogang challenged Xiao Lin to face him at the Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Competition in eight years.
• Xiao Lin refused to accept the challenge, shoved Yu Xiaogang to the ground, and walked away with Tang San.
• Yu Xiaogang fainted at Notting Academy's gate, and the teachers rushed to help him.

Xiao Lin and Tang San visited Spirit Hall, where they collected their overdue subsidies and helped Ma Xiunuo organize new books. Xiao Lin learned that Spirit Hall had rewarded a researcher named Xiao Yan for a thesis and was trying to find him, so he decided not to claim his royalties for now.

• Xiao Lin and Tang San discussed Yu Xiaogang before heading to Spirit Hall to collect their royalties.
• Xiao Lin noticed Spirit Hall had been renovated, and Su Yuntao gave them the subsidies he had set aside.
• Xiao Lin and Tang San helped Ma Xiunuo organize books from Spirit City and learned Spirit Hall had funded the renovations with prize money for a Martial Soul thesis.
• Ma Xiunuo told Xiao Lin that the thesis was credited to Xiao Yan, and Xiao Lin realized Spirit Hall might be searching for him.
• Xiao Lin gave up on collecting his royalties until he was older and successful.

Xiao Lin returned to Notting Academy with Tang San and challenged Xiao Wu for control of Dorm Seven, defeating her without even summoning his Martial Soul. Xiao Wu then challenged Tang San but backed down after learning he was a Support System Soul Master, while the hidden Tang Hao watched them and focused on someone else he needed to deal with.

• Xiao Lin and Tang San returned to Dorm Seven, where Xiao Wu was standing on Wang Sheng and claiming the right to be its boss.
• Xiao Lin and Xiao Wu introduced their Soul Master levels and Spirits on the field, then Xiao Wu attacked with her first soul skill, Waist Bow.
• Xiao Lin’s Soul Power barrier deflected Xiao Wu’s attack and sent her crashing to the ground, making her realize she could not beat him.
• Xiao Lin stopped Wang Sheng and the others from mocking Xiao Wu, then assigned himself as Dorm Seven’s boss, Tang San as Third Brother, and Xiao Wu as Sister Xiao Wu.
• Xiao Wu demanded a fight with Tang San, but withdrew when he said he had Blue Silver Grass and was a Support System Soul Master.
• Tang Hao watched Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu from a distance, recognized a familiar situation, and turned his attention to someone else he needed to deal with.

Yu Xiaogang planned to leave for Shrek Academy and train its talented students, but Tang Hao confronted him and swore him to secrecy about Xiao Lin and Tang San. Yu Xiaogang wrongly concluded that Xiao Lin was Tang Hao’s son and left resentful, determined to push his students through punishing training.

• Yu Xiaogang recovered from fainting and decided to go to Shrek Academy, believing he could train Flender’s students into geniuses.
• Tang Hao appeared behind Yu Xiaogang, forced him to his knees, and ordered him to stay away from Xiao Lin and Tang San and keep their affairs secret.
• Yu Xiaogang guessed that Xiao Lin was Tang Hao’s son, and Tang Hao’s brief blank expression convinced him the guess was correct.
• Tang Hao made Yu Xiaogang swear secrecy and threw him out of the office when he offered to teach Xiao Lin.
• Yu Xiaogang left angrily and resolved to use limit-running under heavy weights as an intense training method.

Xiao Lin attended class to learn more about Douluo Continent and read about Thunder Canyon, a lightning-filled region that might hold a powerful secret. He met his homeroom teacher, Lin Quan, but returned to reading during the meditation lesson.

• Xiao Lin chose a seat near the back door while Tang San and Xiao Wu sat together.
• Xiao Lin read about Thunder Canyon and decided he would visit it to seek a lightning-attributed Soul Beast for his Imprisoning Dragon Staff.
• Lin Quan introduced himself as the class's level 25 Soul Grandmaster homeroom teacher and had the students introduce themselves.
• Xiao Lin, Xiao Wu, and Tang San introduced themselves to the class.
• Lin Quan taught the students about meditation, and Xiao Lin soon resumed reading his book.

After Lin Quan let Xiao Lin skip classes, Xiao Lin told Tang San to prepare for a thousand-year Second Soul Ring and planned to publish a paper on Super Limit Soul Ring Absorption. As Tang San began setting up a mimetic cultivation environment, Xiao Wu decided to enlist both boys in her revenge and persuaded Tang San to explain Xiao Lin’s method.

• Xiao Lin showed Lin Quan his Yellow Soul Ring, and Lin Quan allowed him to skip classes so long as he did not disturb anyone.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu secured permission to skip classes too, then joined Xiao Lin for lunch as he explained that Tang San should build his physical strength to absorb a thousand-year Second Soul Ring.
• Xiao Lin told Tang San to cultivate with Blue Silver Grass and said he would publish a paper on Super Limit Soul Ring Absorption to explain their unusually powerful soul rings.
• Tang San planted Blue Silver Grass seeds at Notting Academy and used vitality to make them grow while explaining Xiao Lin’s plan to Xiao Wu.
• Xiao Wu decided to make Xiao Lin and Tang San her underlings and asked Tang San to tell her how to achieve Super Limit Soul Ring Absorption; he agreed after asking her to keep it secret.

Xiao Lin let Xiao Wu join his group and planned her training and future Soul Rings, recommending a Lightning Rabbit as her Second Soul Ring. Xiao Wu accepted his guidance and began to join Xiao Lin and Tang San’s circle.

• Xiao Lin, Tang San, and Xiao Wu left class and met at Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass Simulated Training Environment.
• Xiao Lin agreed to take Xiao Wu in as his subordinate, and she called him Brother Lin.
• Xiao Lin assigned Xiao Wu physical and combat training and told Tang San to teach her Heart Separation Control.
• Xiao Lin recommended a Lightning Rabbit for Xiao Wu’s Second Soul Ring because its speed and lightning abilities suited her fighting style.
• Tang San helped Xiao Wu understand the Lightning Rabbit’s potential and how it could work with weapons and her future Soul Skills.
• Xiao Wu thanked Xiao Lin sincerely and excitedly accepted her place in the group with him and Tang San.