Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yun considered the cultivation resources and support he needed to prepare for the women close to him, then examined new changes in his Martial Soul Bead. He suspected it was absorbing attributes and beast traits, and planned to recover his strength in the Vast Wilderness World before preparing suitable cultivation methods and pills.

• After Shui Ruoyan left, Xiao Yun reflected on the women tied to him and the Cultivation Methods, skills, tools, and pills he needed to prepare for them.
• Xiao Yun examined his Martial Soul Bead and found new black water, richer green vines, and a phoenix-like aura among its changing colors.
• Xiao Yun guessed that his Martial Soul absorbed attributes and beast patterns from intimate connections, and wondered whether completing the Earth Element could stabilize it and reveal its true form.
• Xiao Yun found tiny beast patterns that he believed came from Soul Beasts and Soul Masters he had killed, but judged them too weak to noticeably evolve his Martial Soul.
• Xiao Yun decided to return to the Vast Wilderness World that night to recover his Immortal Spirit Qi and Spiritual Power, then prepare cultivation methods and pills, especially a method suited to Yao Zi's Wood Spirit Body.

Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou agreed to follow Xiao Yun and persuaded Shui Bing'er and Yao Zi to do the same. Shui Yue'er worried that her betrothal to Xu Xuanling would endanger her and the Shui Family, leaving the women to face the problem of the Xu Family’s demands.

• Shui Ruoyan asked Yao Yuerou whether she minded sharing Xiao Yun with his other companions, and the two agreed to remain with him.
• Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou discussed Shui Yue'er's betrothal to Xu Xuanling and resolved to rely on Xiao Yun against the Xu Family.
• Shui Ruoyan woke Shui Bing'er, Yao Zi, and Shui Yue'er and explained the decision she and Yao Yuerou had made.
• Shui Bing'er declared that she was willing to follow Xiao Yun, and Yao Zi agreed to repay his kindness by staying with him.
• Shui Yue'er worried that the Xu Family would punish her and the Shui Family if they learned she had lost her chastity.

Shui Yue'er rejected her arranged marriage to Xu Xuanling and agreed to join Shui Bing'er, Yao Zi, Shui Ruoyan, and Yao Yuerou in following Xiao Yun. Xiao Yun promised to deal with the Xu Family, and Shui Ruoyan warned him that they might force the marriage before he finished the tournament.

• Shui Yue'er told Shui Ruoyan she would rather die than marry Xu Xuanling, and Shui Ruoyan assured her Xiao Yun could protect her from the Xu Family.
• Shui Yue'er worried about sharing Xiao Yun with Shui Bing'er and Yao Zi, but Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou persuaded her that they would stand together and keep their arrangement secret.
• Shui Yue'er agreed to follow Xiao Yun, forming a secret pact with the other four women.
• Shui Ruoyan told Xiao Yun that Shui Bing'er and Yao Zi had agreed to follow him and explained Shui Yue'er's forced marriage to Xu Xuanling.
• Xiao Yun vowed to settle the matter after the tournament, while Shui Ruoyan warned that the Xu Family might force the wedding before then and described their connection to the Xuan Ming Sect and their leader, Xu Lei.

Xiao Yun gave Shui Ruoyan a projection of the Sword of the Mortal Realm to protect the Four Elements Academies from hidden threats. Shui Ruoyan received a limited-use weapon powerful enough to challenge even a Titled Douluo.

• Xiao Yun suspected the Xuan Ming Sect might conceal a Titled Douluo and decided the Four Elements Academies needed stronger protection.
• Xiao Yun materialized a projection of the Sword of the Mortal Realm, whose pressure nearly overwhelmed Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou before he retracted it.
• Xiao Yun explained that the sword was a projection of a Super Divine Artifact with up to nine uses and gave it to Shui Ruoyan.
• Xiao Yun guided Shui Ruoyan to connect her Spiritual Power to the sword, letting her glimpse its vast world of sword qi before he ended her perception.
• Shui Ruoyan realized the projection could let her fight, and perhaps kill, a Titled Douluo.

Xiao Yun gave Yao Yuerou a Lotus Lantern projection to complement Shui Ruoyan’s Sword of the Mortal Realm. After explaining its defensive powers, ability to absorb flames, and limited core flame, he helped Yao Yuerou bind it, leaving the two academy leaders with powerful new trump cards.

• Xiao Yun chose the Lotus Lantern projection for Yao Yuerou because it offered strong defense and could counter Plant Type Soul Masters’ weakness to flames.
• Xiao Yun explained that the Lotus Lantern could form powerful barriers, absorb and store external flame energy, and release its core wick flame three times at full power.
• Yao Yuerou accepted the Lotus Lantern and thanked Xiao Yun for the gift.
• Xiao Yun guided Yao Yuerou’s Spiritual Power into the Lotus Lantern and shielded her from the core flame’s overwhelming pressure as she left her imprint.
• Yao Yuerou sensed her connection to the Lotus Lantern and embraced it, while Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou now held complementary divine artifact projections.

Xiao Yun gave Shui Yue'er an Ice Skin Jade Bone Pill through Shui Ruoyan, described the ingredients needed for Youth-Preserving Pills, and supplied pills for the women and their students. He then revealed Storage Rings for Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou to use or distribute, leaving them with new resources and a search for rare ingredients.

• Xiao Yun gave Shui Ruoyan an Ice Skin Jade Bone Pill for Shui Yue'er and explained that it would benefit her more than the older Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou.
• Xiao Yun told Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou which rare ingredients could make Youth-Preserving Pills and warned them to rescue persecuted merfolk if they found sorrow-tainted Merfolk Tears.
• Xiao Yun explained that Yao Zi did not need the pill because her Wood Spirit Body would naturally improve her constitution, appearance, and Soul Power.
• Xiao Yun gave the women Soul Replenishing Pills, Detoxification Pills, and Healing Pills to share with Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Yao Zi.
• After learning that Storage Soul Tools were rare and costly, Xiao Yun presented ten one-cubic-meter Storage Rings and told Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou to use or distribute them.

After Xiao Yun left for Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou gave Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Yao Zi the pills and Storage Rings he had left for them. Shui Yue'er took the Ice Skin Jade Bone Pill, advanced to level forty, and prepared with the others to return to Lingxue City the next day.

• Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou established ownership of their Storage Rings, then Xiao Yun left for Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou secretly recalled the Sword of the Mortal Realm and the Lotus Lantern into their Sea of Consciousness, deciding not to tell the younger women about them.
• Shui Ruoyan distributed Xiao Yun's pills and Storage Rings to Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, and Yao Zi, and Yao Yuerou reassured Yao Zi about her Wood Spirit Body.
• Shui Ruoyan told Shui Bing'er that Xiao Yun had returned to the academy and advised Shui Yue'er to take the Ice Skin Jade Bone Pill immediately.
• Shui Yue'er absorbed the pill, rose from level thirty-six to level forty, and recovered her strength and vitality.
• Shui Ruoyan told the women to rest and pack, as they would return to Lingxue City the next day to resume their academy duties and seek suitable Soul Beasts.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy appointed Xiao Yun deputy leader for the Grand Finals expedition, while Shrek celebrated qualifying. Xiao Wu begged Tang San not to go to Spirit City because she feared her identity as a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would be exposed, but Tang San insisted they had to compete.

• Meng Shenji named Bai Baoshan chief leader and Xiao Yun deputy leader for Heaven Dou Royal Academy's trip to Spirit City.
• Shrek's successful qualification brought its team admiration, while Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun grew more flamboyant and Oscar considered seeking a new emotional attachment.
• Tang San devoted himself to training and preparing to defeat Xiao Yun's Imperial Fighting Team and prove Yu Xiaogang's theory.
• Xiao Wu pleaded with Tang San not to go to Spirit City because she feared Spirit Hall's powerful experts would discover her true identity.
• Tang San grabbed Xiao Wu by the shoulders and demanded that she explain her fear, insisting they had to compete and prove Yu Xiaogang right.

Xiao Wu agreed to accompany Tang San to Spirit City, though his response to her fears damaged her trust in him. In Spirit City, Bibi Dong reviewed intelligence on the finalists, focused on Xiao Yun and Zhu Zhuqing, and began to suspect Xiao Yun was behind Zhu Zhuqing’s sudden rise in power.

• Xiao Wu asked Tang San whom he would save if she and Yu Xiaogang were both in mortal danger, but Tang San could not answer and suggested she use Teleportation to save them both.
• Xiao Wu agreed to go to Spirit City, while Tang San celebrated and she left in tears with her trust in him shaken.
• Bibi Dong reviewed Salas’s intelligence dossier and vowed to judge Xiao Yun personally when he arrived in Spirit City.
• Bibi Dong read that Zhu Zhuqing had become a Soul King with a mutated Night Dragon Cat martial soul after defecting to Heaven Dou, and questioned how her strength had risen so quickly.
• Bibi Dong pressed her finger to Xiao Yun’s name as she considered the mystery behind Zhu Zhuqing’s transformation.

Bibi Dong reviewed the academy intelligence and suspected that Tang San and Xiao Wu were valuable targets tied to old grudges and Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts. Meanwhile, Xiao Yun was surrounded by five girls after the academy meeting and faced questions about where he had spent the night.

• Bibi Dong ordered an investigation into Zhu Zhuqing’s past and recognized Tang San’s twin Martial Souls as evidence that he might be Tang Hao and Ah Yin’s son.
• Bibi Dong suspected Xiao Wu was the escaped daughter of two Hundred-Thousand-Year Humanoid Spirit Beasts and ordered Moon Guan to investigate her origins.
• Bibi Dong left Pope’s Palace and vowed to make Xiao Gang’s enemy pay before declaring that she would see whether Xiao Yun was a god or a ghost.
• After the academy meeting, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, Zhu Zhuqing, Sylvia, and Shenghua surrounded Xiao Yun while Yu Tianheng and the others sought guidance from the education committee members.
• In a deserted corridor, Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong questioned Xiao Yun about where he had gone the previous night, while Zhu Zhuqing, Sylvia, and Shenghua waited for his explanation.

Xiao Yun defended his overnight stay at Skywater Academy and Plant Academy, then returned to find Liu Erlong resentful that he had been away. He won her over with a kiss, and the chapter ended with him discovering her blushing and flustered in her room.

• Xiao Yun told the girls that Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou had invited him to discuss their academies’ need for an ally, and he had stayed overnight after drinking too much.
• The girls doubted Xiao Yun’s explanation but turned their attention to packing for the trip to Spirit City and the upcoming Continental Soul Master Competition.
• Liu Erlong greeted Dugu Yan and Ning Rongrong warmly while pointedly ignoring Xiao Yun, then stayed behind with him after the others went to pack.
• Xiao Yun kissed Liu Erlong until her resentment subsided, but she stopped him when he tried to go further and hurried to her room.
• Xiao Yun followed Liu Erlong to discuss matters in Heaven Dou City and found her sprawled on her bed, hiding her flushed face in a pillow.

Xiao Yun comforted Liu Erlong before telling her he would leave for ten days to a month and entrusting her with affairs in Heaven Dou City. He then planned cultivation methods and magic tools for five women, and Zhu Zhuqing revealed that the Heaven Dou Empire had lifted the warrants against her.

• Xiao Yun held Liu Erlong as she calmed down, then asked her to oversee the new manor and the others’ cultivation while he was away.
• Xiao Yun sketched cultivation methods and magic tools suited to Shui Ruoyan, Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Yao Yuerou, and Yao Zi.
• Zhu Zhuqing told Xiao Yun that the Heaven Dou Empire had withdrawn its wanted notices and arrest orders against her, allowing her to reclaim her identity openly.
• Xiao Yun joined Liu Erlong, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, Sylvia, Shenghua, and Zhu Zhuqing for lunch, where Ning Rongrong praised Zhu Zhuqing’s cooking.

After Zhu Zhuqing celebrated regaining her freedom, Xiao Yun gave Liu Erlong, Dugu Yan, and Zhu Zhuqing pills to advance their cultivation and protect them while he prepared to leave the next day. He rested in the garden, then used his Spiritual Sense to check on the women as they refined their pills.

• Xiao Yun announced that he would leave the next day and promised Ning Rongrong, Sylvia, and Shenghua a greater surprise if they reached rank fifty before he returned.
• Xiao Yun gave Liu Erlong a pill to help her break through to rank eighty and gave Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing Clear Heart Bright Eyes Pills for their respective abilities.
• Xiao Yun raised a protective shield around the apartment, then made a vine rocking chair and slept in the garden to recover his strength.
• Xiao Yun checked on Liu Erlong and saw that the Body-Fortifying Pill was strengthening her body, stabilizing her Martial Soul, and bringing her close to rank eighty.
• Xiao Yun observed that Dugu Yan's pill had greatly improved her eyesight and Dynamic Vision as its medicinal power gathered in her eyes.

Xiao Yun prepared a dumpling feast with the women, then suggested they spend one last relaxing evening together before his departure the next morning. Zhu Zhuqing mastered Dynamic Vision, and the chapter ended with everyone playing mahjong and cards.

• Zhu Zhuqing completed her breakthrough to the third level of Night Spirit Eyes, gaining Dynamic Vision.
• Xiao Yun made several dumpling fillings, and Ning Rongrong, Sylvia, and Shenghua joined him in preparing the dumplings.
• Zhu Zhuqing finished absorbing the medicine and helped Xiao Yun wrap more than five hundred dumplings.
• Xiao Yun served soup dumplings, steamed dumplings, and pan-fried dumplings, and Liu Erlong and Dugu Yan joined everyone for the feast.
• Xiao Yun proposed an evening of mahjong and cards before leaving the next morning, and everyone agreed.

Xiao Yun left Liu Erlong in charge of the apartment and traveled in disguise with a small caravan toward Snow Spirit Province, keeping his distance from the larger caravan carrying Skywater Academy and Plant Academy. As the caravans entered the dangerous Ancient Scar Hills, he continued studying while remaining alert for trouble.

• Xiao Yun promised Liu Erlong he would return within a month, then left before dawn as she watched over the apartment.
• Xiao Yun evaded the watchers and disguised himself as a bearded young guard in a small caravan bound for Snow Spirit Province.
• Xiao Yun noticed a black carriage with a powerful old coachman join the caravan, but continued traveling without drawing attention.
• Xiao Yun studied several cultivation and crafting texts while a fragment of his Divine Sense maintained his guard duties.
• On the fifth day, Xiao Yun's caravan entered the ambush-prone Ancient Scar Hills, following the Skywater Academy and Plant Academy caravan at a cautious distance.

Xiao Yun detected Yuan Family pursuers approaching the caravan and was assigned to escort a mysterious Young Lady away with Uncle Chen and two guards. They took shelter in an abandoned hunter’s Wooden House, where Xiao Yun began testing whether his Martial Soul could absorb Earth Power as spring rain fell.

• Xiao Yun sensed hostile pursuers following the caravan and recognized that they were likely from the Yuan Family.
• The Young Lady refused to endanger the ordinary caravan members, so Uncle Chen arranged for her to leave by a separate trail with Xiao Yun and two Soul Grand Master guards.
• After riding for more than an hour without seeing pursuers, the group stopped at a dilapidated hunter’s Wooden House to shelter for the night.
• Xiao Yun saw the veiled Young Lady and her maid for the first time, then volunteered to take the first watch.
• As spring thunder and rain began, Xiao Yun sensed the plants growing outside and sent his Martial Soul into the hills to try absorbing Earth Power.

Xiao Yun and Chen Yin's group were ambushed at a wooden house by armed Soul Masters using blinding light and arrow volleys. Chen Yin launched a counterattack but was targeted by a Soul King archer, and Xiao Yun secretly deflected the golden arrow just before it struck him.

• Xiao Yun sensed more than a dozen hostile figures approaching and alerted Chen Yin and the two guards.
• Chen Yin awakened the young lady and her maid, then positioned everyone behind cover as the attackers kicked in the door and threw a blinding light bomb.
• The attackers fired a barrage of arrows; Chen Yin and the guards dodged or blocked them, while Xiao Yun stopped a probing arrow with a wooden board.
• Chen Yin called out to the attackers, then flew through the roof and attacked their positions with his fourth Soul Skill.
• Two attackers raised earthen barriers to block Chen Yin's Wind Blades, and a Soul King archer aimed a golden arrow at him.
• The archer's golden arrow pierced Chen Yin's wind defenses, but Xiao Yun secretly nudged its path with two strands of sword energy.

Chen Yin fled with the veiled Young Lady while Xiao Yun stayed behind to face the assassins. After revealing his hidden power and killing the two attackers, Xiao Yun calmly searched them and made a fire as the Young Lady watched him in shock.

• Chen Yin used his fifth spirit skill to cover his escape, then carried the veiled Young Lady through the Wooden House wall and flew into the night.
• The golden bow spirit master ordered most of the assassins to pursue Chen Yin and left eight behind to deal with those at the Wooden House.
• Two caravan guards escaped through the rear wall, while the remaining assassins cornered Xiao Yun and the Young Lady.
• Xiao Yun killed the fat and thin assassins with two water arrows, revealing that his fearful act had been a disguise.
• Xiao Yun searched the corpses, pocketed their Gold Soul Coins, and lit a fire as the Young Lady sat nearby, stunned by his strength.

Sheng Minglan explained that the Yuan Family was hunting her after learning of her Sheng Family’s void stone discovery, and asked Xiao Yun to escort her to Snow Spirit City. When Xiao Yun said her offer was not enough to justify the danger, she offered everything she had, including herself, in exchange for his protection and help.

• Xiao Yun asked Sheng Minglan why assassins were pursuing her and who the Yuan Family was.
• Sheng Minglan revealed that she was the eldest daughter of the Sheng Family and explained that the Yuan Family had attacked after learning of her family’s void stone vein.
• Sheng Minglan said her father had sent her to Heaven Dou City with account books and tokens, where she secured medicine for her grandmother, but Yuan Family assassins caught up with her and Consecrator Chen drew them away.
• Sheng Minglan asked Xiao Yun to escort her to Snow Spirit City and promised a rich reward, but Xiao Yun pointed out the danger and said her offer was insufficient.
• Believing he wanted her as payment, Sheng Minglan offered everything she was if Xiao Yun would get her home, help cure her grandmother, and stabilize her family’s situation.
• Xiao Yun expressed surprise and asked whether entrusting herself to a stranger for her family was worth it.

Xiao Yun rejected Sheng Minglan’s offer to sacrifice herself and agreed to escort her to Snow Spirit City in exchange for the Prosperous Dynasty Merchant Guild’s help finding rare materials. Sheng Minglan revealed that the Yuanfeng Merchant Guild was likely backed by the Spirit Hall Snow Spirit City Branch, and Xiao Yun left to deal with the assassins’ bodies.

• Sheng Minglan explained that she would trade herself to save her family, then described how a former lover had deceived her for the Yuanfeng Merchant Guild.
• Xiao Yun clarified that he wanted the Prosperous Dynasty Merchant Guild’s channels to collect rare materials, and Sheng Minglan agreed.
• Sheng Minglan described Yuanfeng’s rapid expansion and said a Rank 71 Soul Saint who tried to oppose it was killed mysteriously.
• Sheng Minglan revealed that the Spirit Hall Snow Spirit City Branch likely supported Yuanfeng, and Xiao Yun agreed to escort her to Snow Spirit City.
• Xiao Yun ordered Sheng Minglan to follow his arrangements and keep his identity and information secret, then carried the assassins’ corpses into the darkness.