Chapter Summaries

Bai Xiaosheng’s forum post praised Yang Shan as “The Soul Hall's First Player” for winning Ya Fei’s affection, while Yang Shan used the discussion to redirect players’ jealousy. After provoking Gu He and winning Yun Yun’s concern, Yang Shan shifted back to business and organized a company-wide raid on the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair.

• Bai Xiaosheng posted an analysis of NPC courtship that condemned Yang Shan’s success with Ya Fei, then appealed to him for advice, and players joined the discussion by sharing their own favorability scores.
• Yang Shan read the forum replies and decided to publish beginner or intermediate NPC-courtship advice to steer public opinion and help players pursue non-original-story NPCs.
• Ya Fei left Yang Shan’s courtyard after Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran arrived, then explained to Hai Bodong that she accepted her place in Yang Shan’s life and told him not to interrupt their visit.
• Yang Shan gave Yun Yun two portions of Accompanying Amethyst Source, and Nalan Yanran helped persuade her to accept them before the three left together.
• Gu He confronted Yang Shan and injured his own meridians when Yang Shan secretly used the Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning; Yang Shan feigned a serious burn, drawing Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran’s concern and Gu He’s killing intent.
• Yang Shan invited Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Su Yitang to join a company-wide raid on the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair.

Yang Shan tested Chao Bafang and Zhu Tianpeng’s teamwork, then gathered his employees to hunt the Amethyst Flame Lion. He negotiated with Lucky Poison Hand for a fair share of the raid and secured two participation slots for Hidden Thorn Guild.

• Yang Shan demonstrated how water conducted his lightning and explained that stronger power could overcome an attribute reaction.
• Su Yitang defeated Chao Bafang and Zhu Tianpeng’s combined defense by sending wind force underground, then joined Yang Shan on the journey to the Amethyst Lion Tribe.
• Yang Shan spotted Lucky Poison Hand fighting Lion-Race Magical Beasts and confronted him about competing for the Amethyst Flame Lion.
• Yang Shan caught Lucky Poison Hand at knifepoint, then agreed to let Hidden Thorn Guild participate in exchange for the item that could lure the boss from its lair.
• Lucky Poison Hand arranged two raid slots for himself and Hou Sanxian, and signed a contract limiting them to participation rather than kill rights.

Yang Shan and Su Yitang farmed Amethyst Spotted Lions, and a lucky drop gave them valuable wings for crafting a flying Dou skill. After flirting with Su Yitang, Yang Shan joined Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Lucky Poison Hand to fight the Amethyst Flame Lion, ending as he prepared to attack with Su Yitang’s help.

• Yang Shan killed groups of Amethyst Spotted Lions while Su Yitang supported him and gave up the last hits, and he received unusually good drops, including Amethyst Lion Wings.
• Yang Shan gave the wings to Su Yitang and told her he would go back on his word for her if the price reached one hundred million, leaving her flustered.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang joined Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, Lucky Poison Hand, and Hou Sanxian to ambush the Amethyst Flame Lion.
• Zhu Tianpeng briefly restrained the Amethyst Flame Lion, and Chao Bafang struck it with Mount Tai, Meteor Fall before its tail sent him flying.
• Yang Shan drew the Amethyst Flame Lion’s attention with Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning and told Su Yitang it was time for her to sing.

Yang Shan and his allies defeated the Amethyst Flame Lion, and Yang Shan claimed the first kill of a fifth-order Thousand Beast King. The weakened Amethyst Winged Lion King arrived seeking revenge, but Yang Shan escaped its pursuit with Three Thousand Thunder Movement.

• Su Yitang used Wind Zenith Sound to break the Amethyst Flame Lion’s Demon Energy Protection, allowing Yang Shan, Chao Bafang, and Zhu Tianpeng to attack it more effectively.
• The group wore down the Amethyst Flame Lion and stopped it from fleeing, while Su Yitang supported the fighters with wind energy.
• Yang Shan killed the Amethyst Flame Lion with Tyrant Blade—Seven Kills and received a global announcement for the first kill of a fifth-order Thousand Beast King.
• The Amethyst Winged Lion King arrived, and Yang Shan told his allies to take the drops and retreat before luring the weakened beast away with the lion’s head and an insult.
• After the Amethyst Winged Lion King pursued him and attacked with bloodline flames, Yang Shan activated Three Thousand Thunder Movement and vanished from sight.

After returning to the Black-Corner Region, Yang Shan went to Bloodshed Hall as Cheng E and met Soul Clan Young Master Hun Dan and Protector Liu. Luo Xie explained the Soul Clan’s family hierarchy and rivalries, leaving Yang Shan to learn that Luo Xie’s ancestors had belonged to the clan but he could no longer bear the Hun surname.

• Yang Shan gave the Amethyst Flame Lion’s magic core to Old Man Tie Yang and had Su Yitang auction its Heart Blood Meat and wings before they parted ways.
• Yang Shan disguised himself as Cheng E and traveled to Bloodshed Hall’s Mad Lion City branch to meet Luo Xie and the expected Soul Hall figure.
• Luo Xie introduced Yang Shan to Young Master Hun Dan and Protector Liu, and Yang Shan dodged and blocked their test attacks until Hun Dan ordered the test stopped and had him appointed a Soul Envoy.
• Luo Xie told Yang Shan that Protector Liu served Hun Dan, whose older half-brother Hun Xian was a powerful Young Lord, and described the Soul Clan’s fierce internal competition.
• Yang Shan asked how Luo Xie knew so much about the Soul Clan, and Luo Xie revealed that his ancestors had belonged to it but he could no longer use the Hun surname.

Yang Shan learned Luo Xie's family history, advanced to Four-Star Dou Wang with a Dou Ling Pill, and joined Soul Hall as a Soul Envoy. Hun Dan summoned Bloodshed Hall to present a plan for provoking faction conflicts, but Protector Liu overruled him and sent Yang Shan and Luo Xie away with limited duties.

• Luo Xie told Yang Shan how his branch lost its Soul Clan status and asked him to remember the support he had received.
• Little Yao Xi sent Yang Shan three Dou Ling Pills, and Yang Shan consumed one with an Amethyst Spirit Crystal to rise two stars to Four-Star Dou Wang.
• Yang Shan transferred his stored souls into his new Soul Envoy Token, which recorded a Soul Quantity of 25720.
• Hun Dan summoned Luo Xie and Yang Shan, praised Yang Shan's past attack on Thousand Speck City, and proposed stirring up conflicts among major factions to gather souls.
• Protector Liu rejected Hun Dan's plan, ordered Luo Xie to recruit cautiously, and assigned Yang Shan a month to complete an assassination.
• After Luo Xie and Yang Shan left, Hun Dan complained about his elder brother and told Protector Liu to find him two pleasing maidservants.

Yang Shan tracked down the wounded Hun Dan and persuaded him to join forces against Protector Liu by posing as a fiercely loyal ally who understood his family’s suffering. The chapter ended with Hun Dan agreeing to cooperate and kill Protector Liu.

• Yang Shan avoided Protector Liu at the Bloodshed Hall branch, rescued the injured Luo Xie, and learned that Hun Dan had disappeared.
• Yang Shan reviewed Bloodshed Hall’s reports, identified a likely target in Rakshasa City, and asked Su Yitang to draw Hun Dan out.
• Su Yitang arranged a trap that led Hun Dan to fight and kill a Rakshasa Gate elder, then wounded him with Wind Zenith Sound and secretly marked him with tracking medicine.
• Yang Shan followed Su Yitang’s lead to Hun Dan’s hiding place and confronted him while he was recovering from his injuries.
• Yang Shan claimed he wanted revenge for Luo Xie and told Hun Dan a story that reflected Hun Dan’s troubled relationship with his half-brother, Hun Xian.
• Hun Dan was moved by Yang Shan’s appeal and agreed to work with him to kill Protector Liu.

Yang Shan struck a deal with Hun Dan to help kill Protector Liu, then brought the bound Hun Dan back to Mad Lion City and won Protector Liu’s trust by pretending to have fought him. With Protector Liu watching Hun Dan and Luo Xie indebted to him, Yang Shan planned to return to Jia Nan Academy and see his Senior.

• Hun Dan told Yang Shan how his mutated bloodline had saved him from poison and how his brother Hun Xian sent Protector Liu to watch and obstruct him.
• Yang Shan agreed to help Hun Dan kill Protector Liu in exchange for a soul cultivation method and first choice of three items from Protector Liu’s belongings.
• Yang Shan had Hun Dan injure him and then returned with Hun Dan bound, convincing Protector Liu that he had captured the Soul Clan Young Master at great personal cost.
• Protector Liu rewarded Yang Shan with an empty Soul Accumulation Pearl and ordered Luo Xie to arrange maidservants, while Yang Shan gained Protector Liu’s trust and Luo Xie’s gratitude.
• Yang Shan advised Luo Xie to keep Bloodshed Hall running and to avoid offending either Protector Liu or Hun Dan, then decided to return to Jia Nan Academy to see Senior.

Yang Shan reunited with Xiao Xun'er and joined her, Han Yue, Xiao Aotian, and Hu Jia as Black White Gatekeepers for the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. As thirty thousand Outer Courtyard players approached, Yang Shan set up a makeshift checkpoint at the Inner Courtyard gates, where his affectionate gesture toward Xiao Xun'er enraged Lin Xiuya and pained Xiao Aotian.

• Yang Shan returned to Jia Nan Academy, shared tea with Xiao Xun'er, and gave her Accompanying Amethyst Source and an Amethyst Spirit Crystal as her share of their spoils.
• Han Yue brought Yang Shan and Xiao Xun'er to Su Qian, who appointed them, Xiao Aotian, and Hu Jia as Black White Gatekeepers for the Fire Energy Hunting Competition.
• Yang Shan accepted the quest for the competition, and he and his teammates prepared to face thirty thousand Outer Courtyard participants.
• Su Yitang and another Dou Wang player flew ahead as the Gryphons carrying the competitors landed near the forest outside the Inner Courtyard.
• Yang Shan built a railed path and posted signs directing the freshmen toward the Inner Courtyard gates, then laid out food for his teammates.
• Yang Shan fed Xiao Xun'er a grape in front of the watching students, prompting Lin Xiuya to become furious and Xiao Aotian to seethe with jealousy.

Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian repelled an Outer Courtyard force during the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, prompting the players to organize a mass attack against them. Yang Shan began guerrilla strikes with Xiao Aotian while Su Yitang tracked the gathering forces, and the chapter ended with eliminated players alerting the others that Yang Shan had appeared at their Twenty-Seventh Team.

• Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian prepared to guard the final checkpoint as roughly five hundred Outer Courtyard players approached, and Xiao Xun'er introduced the team as the trial's final obstacle.
• Xiao Aotian and Yang Shan attacked the crowd, eliminated nearly a hundred players, and drove the rest to flee and call for reinforcements.
• Yang Shan contacted Su Yitang, who reported a newly emerged Dou Wang and learned that the fleeing players were organizing a force of up to thirty thousand.
• Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian arranged to use their informants and Dou Qi Transformation Wings to launch guerrilla attacks, leaving Xiao Xun'er, Han Yue, and Hu Jia at the checkpoint.
• Yang Shan attacked a group of over a thousand players, rescued five Inner Courtyard seniors, and cut through the fleeing freshmen.
• An eliminated player reported Yang Shan's location to the administrators and urged them to send more players to surround him.

Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian used guerrilla tactics and powerful area attacks to eliminate nearly 10,000 new students, but the remaining force adapted and pressed on. They reached the Inner Courtyard gate with more than 20,000 new students bearing down on them, leaving a head-on battle as their only option.

• Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian regrouped after repeated ambushes and combined Xiao Aotian’s Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler with Yang Shan’s Scarlet Lightning Serpents to devastate the gathered new students.
• The new students spread out and sent scouts to counter the ambushes, so Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian disguised themselves with Human Skin Masks and resumed guerrilla attacks.
• Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian repeatedly struck dense groups before fleeing, while the new students’ administrators ordered the main force to advance despite the attacks.
• After an hour, Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian reached the Inner Courtyard gate and had eliminated close to 10,000 new students, but more than 20,000 remained.
• Yang Shan, Xiao Aotian, the five Black White Gatekeepers, and 147 surviving old students prepared to face the new students in a final head-on clash at the gate.

Yang Shan, Xiao Xun'er, and the Inner Courtyard veterans fought to hold off the Outer Courtyard freshmen during the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. Yang Shan let Blood Rampage pass after confirming he had bought the Blood Devouring Scripture, but Zi Yan intercepted and eliminated him, leaving the battle still underway.

• Xiao Xun'er fed Yang Shan a grape, then used two Tier 7 Beast Flames to form a fire dragon and block the advancing freshmen.
• Yang Shan crossed the battlefield to help defend the Inner Courtyard gate while Xiao Aotian, Han Yue, Hu Jia, and veteran students held the line.
• Yang Shan recognized Blood Rampage, confirmed he had purchased the Blood Devouring Scripture, and let him continue toward the gate.
• Zi Yan appeared before Blood Rampage and knocked him into the Elimination Zone with one punch.
• Zi Yan questioned Yang Shan and Xiao Aotian for letting Blood Rampage through, while the hidden Su Qian and Hu Qian wondered how Yang Shan had detected her.

Zi Yan turned the tide for the Inner Courtyard, while Xiao Xun'er rested after spending too much Dou Qi. Su Yitang seized her chance to clear the competition, then fled when Liu Qing approached her, leaving him convinced he could pursue her later.

• Zi Yan charged through the Players with her powerful punches, and Xiao Xun'er admitted to Yang Shan that he was part of why she had taken the competition seriously.
• Yang Shan left Xiao Xun'er to help the others, and she gained one Favorability point toward him.
• Su Yitang used the chaos and Xiao Xun'er's exhaustion to slip through the Inner Courtyard gates, becoming the first new student to clear the competition.
• Liu Qing saw Su Yitang and gained five Favorability points toward her, but she panicked and flew away when he tried to speak with her.
• Lin Xiuya and Yan Hao teased Liu Qing and warned him that Su Yitang might not be interested, but Liu Qing resolved to seek chances to interact with her.

Yang Shan helped eliminate the last Outer Courtyard Players and used his encounters with Zi Yan and Su Yitang to build NPC interactions. The competition ended with every new student admitted to the Inner Courtyard, while Su Yitang’s beauty attracted hundreds of senior students and left Liu Qing jealous of Yang Shan.

• Yang Shan politely turned down Yu Feifei’s marriage offer, then eliminated her and helped reduce the Outer Courtyard Players to one.
• Yang Shan provoked Zi Yan by pinching her cheek, gained five points of negative Favorability, and drew her into an angry chase before Su Qian stopped them.
• Su Qian announced that all the new students had passed the competition, and Yang Shan counted his rewards of 1,444 Fire Energy Points and over 7,000 eliminations.
• Su Yitang hid behind Yang Shan because nearly five hundred Inner Courtyard seniors had gained Favorability toward her, including Liu Qing.
• Su Qian awarded Su Yitang 1,000 Fire Energy Points for her performance, while Xiao Xun'er invited Yang Shan to visit her courtyard and Liu Qing angrily threatened to beat him.

After helping Xiao Aotian raise Hu Jia’s favorability, Yang Shan went to the Secret Treasure Vault to seek a powerful area-effect Dou Skill. He encountered Zi Yan and used Accompanying Amethyst Source—and a promise to pinch her again—to win her trust, leaving her favorability at five.

• Yang Shan helped Xiao Aotian improve Hu Jia’s favorability during a mahjong game, while Su Yitang gained a point with Xiao Xun'er.
• After logging off to rest, Yang Shan entered the Secret Treasure Vault and searched for the Mystic Rank Advanced Dou Skill Lion Tiger Shattering Gold Roar.
• Zi Yan confronted Yang Shan for calling her cute instead of Senior Zi Yan, but stopped when he opened a bottle of Accompanying Amethyst Source.
• Yang Shan apologized for pinching Zi Yan’s face and offered her the treasure on the condition that he could pinch her again.
• Zi Yan angrily refused, but Yang Shan received a notification that her favorability had risen to five and was still increasing.

Yang Shan obtained the low Earth-tier Sonic Dou Skill Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls from Jia Nan Academy’s hidden treasure vault after Zi Yan helped him find it. He retained the jade slip by spending five Good Fortune points and learned that it held clues to a future Heaven Tier opportunity.

• Zi Yan punched Yang Shan, but he had protected the Accompanying Amethyst Source, and she accepted it after he told her he would respect her wishes.
• Zi Yan drank the Accompanying Amethyst Source and explained that Great Elder Su Qian had sent her to help Yang Shan find a valuable treasure.
• Su Qian told Yang Shan about a hidden cache containing a low Earth-tier Sonic Dou Skill, and Yang Shan agreed to retrieve it for four thousand Fire Energy Points.
• Zi Yan opened the hidden vault, but Yang Shan passed through the barrier protecting a purplewood box and took the Inheritance Jade Slip inside.
• Yang Shan learned the jade slip contained Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls and paid five Good Fortune points to keep it, receiving the keywords Heaven Tier, Heavenly Soul, and Ten Thousand Demons Howling to the Heavens.
• Yang Shan thanked Zi Yan and offered to buy her a meal, which she accepted.

Yang Shan befriended Zi Yan by sharing Accompanying Amethyst Source and a meal, then tested his costly new Dou Skill, Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls. He and Zi Yan went after a Snow Demon Sky Ape guarding Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid, and Zi Yan struck as Yang Shan restrained it.

• Yang Shan gave Zi Yan Accompanying Amethyst Source mixed with sweeteners, and she accepted him as her first true friend, raising her Affection to 26.
• Yang Shan shared a meal with Zi Yan, who thanked him for their friendship before falling asleep beside him; her Affection rose to 27.
• Yang Shan began cultivating Lingering Spirit Hundred Howls by using Fifth Order magic cores and Spirit Stones to create five phantom beasts.
• Yang Shan demonstrated the roar of the five Lingering Spirits, and Zi Yan admitted it unsettled her despite its modest immediate damage.
• Yang Shan asked Zi Yan to help him find magical beasts, and she led him toward a Snow Demon Sky Ape guarding Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid.
• The Snow Demon Sky Ape attacked Yang Shan, who trapped it with Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning chains as Zi Yan burst from hiding and punched at it.

Yang Shan and Zi Yan fought the academy-raised Snow Demon Sky Ape, then persuaded Hu Qian to trade Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid for its safety. Yang Shan stayed in Xiao Xun'er’s courtyard for a week before the Strong Ranking tournament began, while several students prepared to compete; the chapter ends as the Heavenly Flame Training Tower shook and Su Qian ordered everyone to evacuate.

• Zi Yan battered the Snow Demon Sky Ape until Hu Qian arrived and revealed that he had raised it.
• Yang Shan urged Zi Yan to hold out for compensation, and Hu Qian gave her two portions of Earth Core Body Tempering Fluid to settle the dispute.
• Yang Shan visited Xiao Xun'er, asked to stay in her courtyard, and remained there for a week, alarming Xiao Aotian when he heard about it.
• The Strong Ranking tournament began as Li Batian, Xiao Aotian, Blood Rampage, Su Yitang, Lin Xiuya, and Liu Qing pursued their training goals.
• Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing entered the lowest level of the Heavenly Flame Training Tower, where a violent tremor and scorching aura prompted Su Qian to order an evacuation.

Yang Shan learned from Xiao Xun'er what it took to refine and nurture multiple Heaven and Earth Oddities, but he insisted he would pursue that path. After the Fallen Heart Flame struck its seal again, Han Feng sensed the disturbance from Maple City and suspected a Heavenly Flame was involved.

• The Inner Courtyard elders, led by Great Elder Su Qian, calmed the shaking Heavenly Flame Training Tower and resealed the Fallen Heart Flame.
• Xiao Xun'er told Yang Shan that multiple Heaven and Earth Oddities could coexist with enough Naling, Spirit Roots, and Soul Strength, but warned that nurturing them was costly and risky.
• Yang Shan rejected Xiao Xun'er's warning and affirmed that he would pursue his ambition of refining multiple Heaven and Earth Oddities.
• Yang Shan told Xiao Xun'er he would give her the Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning because she mattered more to him, raising her favorability to 20.
• The Fallen Heart Flame struck the seal again, and Great Elder Su Qian forced it back down while worrying that someone in Maple City had sensed the impact.
• In Maple City, Han Feng sensed the Sea Heart Flame react to the disturbance and wondered whether another Heavenly Flame had appeared; he also longed to find the other half of his teacher's cultivation method.

Yang Shan competed in the Strong Ranking Tournament, defeating Mei Yangyang and Yu Feifei while attracting attention from millions of viewers. Yu Feifei revealed herself as his devoted fan and learned his blade-drawing technique, which Yang Shan named Drawing Sword Flash before defeating her.

• Su Qian announced the Strong Ranking Tournament, and Yang Shan drew the first match number.
• Yang Shan defeated Mei Yangyang with one strike after she excitedly declared herself his fangirl.
• Yu Feifei offered Yang Shan property and business prospects, then asked to add him as a friend and test her strength.
• Yu Feifei used a blade-drawing move she had learned by studying Yang Shan's videos, impressing him with her skill.
• Yang Shan named Yu Feifei's technique Drawing Sword Flash and demonstrated his own version, defeating her with a swift strike.
• Yang Shan recognized that players were treating his battle techniques as a standard to learn from.