Chapter Summaries

Zhou Qing and his companions compared their Soul Power levels before investigating Falling Star City’s disappearances. He revealed that his parents may have been victims of Dales six years earlier, and the group resolved to learn the truth before acting.

• Xiao Wu boasted about her strength and Level Fourteen Soul Power, while Tang San and Zhou Qing revealed they had reached Levels Fifteen and Sixteen; Romantina said she was Level Twelve.
• Zhou Qing proposed investigating Falling Star City’s horror legend, especially the couple who had disappeared six years earlier.
• Tang San realized the couple might have been Zhou Qing’s parents, and Zhou Qing explained that they had come to sell produce before dying for supposedly offending a Soul Master.
• Romantina said Dales had killed many outsiders to establish his authority, while Tang San offered to make Dales disappear forever.
• Zhou Qing asked the group to uncover the whole truth first and said he would punish Dales himself if he had killed his parents.

Zhou Qing and his companions agreed to investigate Dales’s past, while Ning Rongrong stayed by Zhou Qing’s side and confided that she had no close friends in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Seeing the lives of ordinary people in Falling Star City clarified what he wanted to change about the world, though he recognized that power could corrupt him too.

• Xiao Wu questioned the idea of desecrating Dales’s corpse, and Tang San explained how far he might go to avenge his mother; Zhou Qing clarified that he wanted justice for his birth parents, not to abuse a corpse.
• Zhou Qing proposed that the group split up to gather information about what happened six years ago and meet again in the alley before ten that night.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Romantina went to investigate, while Ning Rongrong stayed with Zhou Qing after suspecting he had wanted to ditch her.
• Ning Rongrong told Zhou Qing she envied his friendships and had no close friends in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• After hearing Ning Rongrong call ordinary people mediocre, Zhou Qing recognized their exhaustion and realized he wanted to see whether he could become a qualified successor of Communism.
• The Light Goddess Butterfly egg inside Zhou Qing’s Gray Pouch trembled in response to his emotional turmoil.

Zhou Qing grew closer to Ning Rongrong while Tang San investigated the disappearances around Falling Star City and secretly entered Dales' Mansion. The chapter ended with Tang San noticing an unusual late-night delivery of food inside the mansion.

• Ning Rongrong asked Zhou Qing to give her the Light Goddess Butterfly's Bug Egg, but he refused and joked about marrying into her family.
• Zhou Qing carried Ning Rongrong through the street and bought her food, while his teasing helped her treat him more like an equal.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Romantina continued investigating Falling Star City's legend and the disappearances, suspecting Dales might be involved.
• Tang San changed into black night clothes and slipped into Dales' Mansion to search for evidence.
• Tang San hid as five servants carried numerous dishes through the quiet mansion and wondered what was happening.

Xiao Wu gathered rumors about people who had disappeared in Falling Star City and learned that a witness had seen men wearing the City Lord's guards' distinctive boots kidnap Wang Ergou. Romantina reunited with You Hui, whose loneliness after her parents died had led her to leave Falling Star City to study near her friend.

• Xiao Wu questioned a fried bun vendor about disappearances while buying food, and he said he had witnessed two black-clad men in the City Lord's guards' White-Soled Black Boots kidnap Wang Ergou.
• The vendor warned Xiao Wu not to repeat his story, then hurried away from his stall.
• Romantina arrived at You Hui's home and heard You Hui curse before the young woman switched to a meek voice to answer the door.
• You Hui recognized Romantina and embraced her, saying she had thought they would never meet again after graduation.
• The story explained that You Hui's parents had died when she was six and that she had chosen to study in Nuoding City so she could stay close to Romantina.

Romantina visited You Hui, who had been researching Soul Power cultivation in hopes of helping her friend. After You Hui described rumors about Dales expelling vagrants from Falling Star City, Romantina decided to investigate whether Holy Soul Village had sheltered any of them and brought You Hui along to meet her teammates.

• Romantina playfully teased You Hui, then learned she had been studying Meditation Methods to help Romantina cultivate faster.
• Romantina revealed that her Soul Power had reached level twelve, and You Hui congratulated her.
• Romantina asked You Hui about missing persons and vagrants in Falling Star City after Dales took office six years earlier.
• You Hui recalled rumors that Dales had arrested, detained, or expelled vagrants, while Romantina doubted nearby villages would have taken them in.
• Romantina considered asking Zhou Qing and Tang San whether Holy Soul Village had sheltered outsiders, and You Hui asked to join her and meet her friends.
• Romantina agreed and led You Hui out to meet her teammates.

Zhou Qing and the others compared clues about Falling Star City’s missing people and learned that Dales might be involved. You Hui then described seeing a powerful Soul Master enter Dales’ Mansion and hearing a scream nearby, leaving the group with a possible lead about the Soul Ancestor.

• Xiao Wu reported that witnesses had seen black-clad men in servants’ White-Soled Black Boots abducting people, while Romantina introduced her friend You Hui.
• Tang San said that no outsider had joined Holy Soul Village in the past six years besides his father, whom he ruled out as a local resident.
• You Hui said she had seen a Soul Master with fluctuations three or four times stronger than a Soul Grandmaster enter Dales’ Mansion with Dales half a year earlier.
• Zhou Qing judged that the powerful Soul Master was likely a Soul Ancestor and speculated that the person might have been unable to control their Soul Power.
• You Hui recalled hearing a terrible scream after passing Dales’ Mansion and said she had fled in fright.

You Hui explained why she had not investigated a scream at Dales's home, prompting Zhou Qing to discuss the powerlessness of servants and his desire to change the world. He persuaded Xiao Wu to promise not to fall in love before fifty, then revealed his plan to replace the existing order, before asking Tang San what information he had found.

• You Hui said she had not investigated the scream at Dales's home because she had not been invited and had been focused on finding a Meditation Method for Romantina.
• Xiao Wu scolded You Hui for ignoring a possible murder, but Zhou Qing argued that reporting Dales would be futile because servants had no rights.
• Zhou Qing told Xiao Wu that saving servants for good required changing the system, and he asked her not to fall in love before fifty; she agreed.
• Zhou Qing said he was considering smashing the existing order and building a new one, and Tang San pledged his unconditional support.
• Ning Rongrong reminded the group they were investigating Falling Star City's missing-person cases, Zhou Qing's parents' deaths, and the Soul Ancestor; Zhou Qing asked Tang San what information he had found.

Tang San recounted how he followed servants to a room in Dales's residence and discovered clues pointing to a secret underground chamber. The group connected the chamber to suspicious books and disappearances, but still could not determine whether Dales had been involved in the deaths of Tang San's biological parents.

• Tang San followed five servants carrying food and noticed they entered a room without making a sound, then emerged pale and frightened.
• Zhou Qing and Tang San concluded that the room likely concealed an underground chamber, while Romantina revealed that her father secretly read risqué storybooks in his basement.
• Tang San entered the room after the servants left and found three books, a charcoal pencil, and a Soul Guiding Lamp on a desk.
• Tang San suspected the Soul Guiding Lamp was a switch for the chamber but left it untouched to avoid alerting anyone.
• The group reviewed their clues about Dales, missing people, and a Soul Ancestor but could not link Dales to Tang San's parents' deaths.

Zhou Qing connected Dales to a suspected Fallen One and warned that Falling Star City’s people could be in danger if the theory was true. He stopped Ning Rongrong from alerting her father and Sword Douluo, and the group returned to the inn to rest before investigating further.

• Zhou Qing proposed that Dales had supplied a Spirit Devouring Worm Soul Ancestor with people for cultivation and had later targeted Zhou Qing because of his Soul Bone.
• Tang San noted that the identities of the first couple and the Fallen One’s plans remained uncertain, but Zhou Qing said the suspected ties to the Fallen Ones made the matter larger than his personal vendetta.
• Ning Rongrong offered to ask her father and Sword Douluo for help, but Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Xiao Wu all urged her not to involve them.
• Zhou Qing persuaded Ning Rongrong that solving the case herself would earn her father’s respect, and she agreed not to seek their help.
• Zhou Qing decided the group should return to the inn and sleep before investigating further, and Ning Rongrong rode on his shoulders to the Welcome Spring Inn.

Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo learned that Ning Rongrong had made friends with Zhou Qing and the others, but the children left Welcome Spring Inn before the two men could meet them. Zhou Qing’s group sought another place to stay, and You Hui offered her spacious home.

• A guard reported that Ning Rongrong had befriended the children, prompting Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo to decide to meet them.
• After escorting Ning Rongrong to her room, Zhou Qing and the others checked out of Welcome Spring Inn and hurried away.
• Ning Fengzhi suspected Zhou Qing was deliberately avoiding him as Sword Douluo watched the group leave.
• Outside the inn, Zhou Qing considered how Sword Douluo’s spiritual power reflected his will, while Tang San and Xiao Wu reacted to the Titled Douluo’s strength and aura.
• When Xiao Wu asked where they would stay, You Hui offered her large home, and Romantina explained that its many rooms were empty because You Hui’s parents had died.

Ning Rongrong told Ning Fengzhi that her new friends were involved in a secret undertaking, then used her Martial Soul to locate Zhou Qing. Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo suspected that she and Zhou Qing might have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, prompting Ning Fengzhi to consider meeting him.

• You Hui welcomed Zhou Qing’s thanks and took him to her home for the night.
• Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo had breakfast with Ning Rongrong and tried to learn about her new friends and their secret undertaking.
• Ning Rongrong learned that Zhou Qing and the others had left the inn, then used her senses to pinpoint where they had gone.
• Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo speculated that Ning Rongrong’s connection to Zhou Qing came from a possible Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and Ning Fengzhi decided he should meet him.
• Zhou Qing and Tang San began their morning training, with Tang San cultivating the Purple Demon Eye and Zhou Qing practicing Broadcast Gymnastics and the Innate Internal Scripture Chart.

Zhou Qing and his companions set out to map Falling Star City’s roads and buildings so they could escape safely if Dales turned against them. By noon, Zhou Qing and Ning Rongrong had charted the route to the northern city gate, where they spotted an old acquaintance from Holy Soul Village.

• Zhou Qing reflected on how cellular vibrations generated Bloodline Power and how Soul Power might help him control it.
• Zhou Qing assigned the group to learn Falling Star City’s layout, and You Hui admitted she barely knew the city beyond familiar streets.
• Ning Rongrong caught up with the group, and Zhou Qing explained their task before they split into three pairs to survey and record the city.
• Zhou Qing and Ning Rongrong mapped the roads and buildings between You Hui’s home and the northern city gate, where they encountered an old acquaintance from Holy Soul Village.

Zhou Qing encountered Wang Shi among a group of pregnant women traveling to Falling Star City and confronted the men escorting them. Wang Shi explained that poverty after her husband’s accident had led her to consider work as a wet nurse for the city lord’s newborn.

• Zhou Qing recognized Wang Shi in the group and asked why she had come to Falling Star City while heavily pregnant.
• A Lead Goat Soul Master shoved Zhou Qing, and Zhou Qing knocked him away when he tried to grab him.
• The city guards advanced on Zhou Qing, but the Lead Goat realized Zhou Qing was already a Soul Master.
• Zhou Qing questioned Wang Shi and learned that Uncle Wang had broken ribs and injured his leg in a fall, leaving the family struggling to afford medicine.
• Wang Shi explained that the group had recruited pregnant women to serve as wet nurses for the city lord’s newborn in exchange for food, lodging, and eight Silver Soul Coins a month.

Zhou Qing stopped Wang Shi from being taken to serve as a wet nurse, suspecting the arrangement was part of something sinister. With Ning Rongrong and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect intervening, the women received money, and Zhou Qing persuaded Wang Shi to meet his friend for help.

• After hearing Wang Shi and the other pregnant women explain their poverty, Zhou Qing suspected the wet-nurse arrangement was suspicious and offered to take Wang Shi to meet a friend.
• When the ringleader demanded payment to let Wang Shi go, Zhou Qing scattered nearly one hundred Gold Soul Coins on the ground and provoked him.
• Ning Rongrong confronted the ringleader, and her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect guards revealed their strength, forcing the ringleader and the gate guards to kneel and apologize.
• Ning Rongrong ordered that each pregnant woman receive one thousand Gold Soul Coins after Zhou Qing explained their circumstances.
• Zhou Qing stopped Wang Shi from leaving with the others and persuaded her to meet his friend, while the other women headed back to their villages with money for a shared carriage.

Zhou Qing arranged for Wang Shi to find work and lodging at You Hui's home, then went to Welcome Spring Inn with Ning Rongrong. There, they unexpectedly encountered Sword Douluo, whose probing and warning prompted Zhou Qing to make an awkward retreat.

• Lead Goat ordered his men to watch the city gates and secretly capture the pregnant women, while concealing their actions from the city lord.
• Ning Rongrong followed Zhou Qing to You Hui's home, where he paid Xiao Mei to take care of Wang Shi and help her find work.
• Zhou Qing met Ning Rongrong outside and agreed to treat her to a meal at Welcome Spring Inn.
• At the inn, Ning Rongrong happily reunited with Sword Douluo, who scrutinized Zhou Qing and warned him against befriending her.
• Zhou Qing praised Sword Douluo, then awkwardly backed toward the door and announced that he would leave.

Ning Fengzhi discovered that Zhou Qing was the Nuoding City Friendly Tournament champion and invited him and his friends to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Zhou Qing resisted Sword Douluo’s growing soul power pressure and challenged the idea that one meal should be enough to win his allegiance.

• Sword Douluo invited Zhou Qing to lunch with Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong, and Zhou Qing accepted after sensing Sword Douluo’s pressure.
• Zhou Qing and Ning Rongrong ate pig trotters together, and Ning Fengzhi let his daughter enjoy herself despite her poor table manners.
• Sword Douluo asked Zhou Qing about his age, Martial Soul, and soul power, and Zhou Qing revealed that he was six years old with a Heart Martial Soul and Level 16 soul power.
• Ning Fengzhi recognized Zhou Qing as the champion of the Nuoding City Friendly Tournament, and Zhou Qing credited the whole team for its victory.
• Ning Fengzhi invited Zhou Qing and his friends to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but Zhou Qing stood against Sword Douluo’s rising pressure and questioned whether one meal could secure his loyalty.

Zhou Qing endured Sword Douluo's Soul Pressure until his conviction awakened a powerful force that knocked out everyone in the Welcome Spring Inn. After Zhou Qing collapsed but remained standing, Ning Fengzhi chose to keep him from becoming an enemy, while Sword Douluo went to take Ning Rongrong upstairs and discovered the inn's other occupants had also fainted.

• Zhou Qing resisted Sword Douluo's escalating Soul Pressure without releasing his Martial Soul, strengthening his body through the Bloodline Power generated by his circulating energies.
• Zhou Qing's Martial Soul and Soul Rings fused with him, and his conviction unleashed a vast force that shattered Sword Douluo's Level 49 Soul Pressure and knocked out everyone in the Welcome Spring Inn.
• Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo resisted the force but were shaken by it, while Zhou Qing fainted and remained standing; the Light Goddess Butterfly's Bug Egg trembled inside his Gray Pouch.
• Ning Fengzhi checked Ning Rongrong and found her unharmed, then persuaded Sword Douluo not to treat Zhou Qing as an enemy and explained that Zhou Qing would need to learn how to command and govern on his own.
• Sword Douluo carried Ning Rongrong out to take her upstairs and called Ning Fengzhi to look at the unconscious diners and attendants scattered across the inn.

After Zhou Qing’s power knocked out nearly everyone at Welcome Spring Inn, Ning Fengzhi contained the disturbance while Dales grew alarmed by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s arrival. Zhou Qing woke and began piecing together how his energies and martial soul had produced the effect, but worried about the cost in food.

• Ning Fengzhi had the unconscious people brought into Welcome Spring Inn, and Sword Douluo used his Titled Douluo status to send away officials investigating the disturbance.
• Dales tried to visit Ning Fengzhi, was turned away, and then descended into a hidden chamber to warn Hu Fangyuan that Sword Douluo was in town.
• Hu Fangyuan wondered whether the Titled Douluo was the powerful Spiritual Power user he had sensed in Nuoding City, while Dales urged him to conserve his supply of pregnant women.
• Zhou Qing woke after exhausting himself, learned that his power had stunned everyone in the inn, and reasoned that intense emotion had triggered a resonance between his energies and martial soul.
• Zhou Qing touched his empty stomach and realized his unusual power might require him to eat far more than other people.

After Sword Douluo’s pressure awakened a strange conviction-based power in Zhou Qing, Ning Fengzhi treated him as an equal and questioned him about Ning Rongrong’s resonance with the Light Goddess Butterfly’s Bug Egg. Ning Fengzhi then asked Zhou Qing to investigate why the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could not advance to Soul Douluo.

• Ning Fengzhi concluded that Zhou Qing’s unusual power and mature behavior made him more than an ordinary six-year-old, and arranged for him to eat and recover.
• After Zhou Qing ate, he discovered that his soul power had risen to level seventeen, and Ning Fengzhi agreed that they could address each other by name.
• Zhou Qing rejected the idea that he and Ning Rongrong had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, explaining that she resonated with his Light Goddess Butterfly’s Bug Egg and that he had promised to give it to her if she met three conditions.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Zhou Qing to explain why the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could not break through to Soul Douluo, and Zhou Qing questioned why he expected him to know.

Zhou Qing explained that Soul Masters had separate Soul Power circulation systems in their bodies and Martial Souls, and that mismatched systems could prevent further advancement. He told Ning Fengzhi that breaking through Level 79 required replacing or upgrading the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda’s cultivation “gear,” but left the specifics of the upgrade unstated.

• Zhou Qing explained that the human body and Martial Soul each circulated Soul Power, and compared their interdependent systems to two gears.
• Zhou Qing argued that Ning Fengzhi’s Soul Power still grew slowly, but his cultivation system could no longer drive the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda past its limit.
• Ning Fengzhi praised Zhou Qing’s explanation and listened for a practical solution.
• Zhou Qing proposed that Ning Fengzhi replace his cultivation method, but explained why finding a compatible, stronger method would be difficult.
• Zhou Qing offered a second option: transform the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda so its Soul Power “gear” could upgrade.