Chapter Summaries

Yan visited Spirit Hall Academy’s sealed training valley and observed the tournament team’s training hall. Tuo Ba Hong introduced Team One’s members and their roles, leaving Yan with an overview of the academy’s strongest competitors.

• Tuo Ba Hong led Yan through the sealed valley and explained its layout, training facilities, and guarded teachers’ passage.
• Yan stopped Teacher Zhang from treating him formally and entered the training hall with Tuo Ba Hong.
• Yan surveyed the training room and saw Team One resting while other senior students trained.
• Tuo Ba Hong identified Lu Ping, She Meng, and Yun Tianshun and described their positions on Team One.
• Tuo Ba Hong introduced the rest of Team One, including its vice-captain Wang Dingbo, defensive and control members, attackers, support members, and substitute Ye Zhan.

Yan visited the Spirit Hall Academy team, exposed its lack of unity and leadership, and declared that he would take charge to secure victory in the tournament. The chapter ended with Yan challenging the entire team to attack him together.

• Tuo Ba Hong challenged Liu Mu Hua and defeated him with a single blow, revealing his greatly increased strength.
• Yan stopped Tuo Ba Hong from boasting and asked the team where its instructor was; She Meng explained that Teacher Xi Yue had been summoned by the dean.
• She Meng described the teams, and Yan identified the first team's weak leadership and internal divisions.
• Yan warned the students about the tournament's powerful rival teams and said the Pope had ordered victory and forbidden defeat.
• Yan announced that he was taking over the Spirit Team and challenged all the members to attack him together.

Yan fought the Spirit Hall Team alone in a training match and overwhelmed its members with his flames, Golden Dragon soul skills, and quick adaptation to their teamwork. After defeating the team’s combatants, he forced Mashu and Angeli to concede, ending the contest in a complete victory.

• Yan challenged the Spirit Hall Team to attack him together and quickly overwhelmed Lu Ping, Mashu, Wang Dingbo, and She Meng with his speed and flaming fists.
• The Spirit Hall Team coordinated its attacks, but Yan unleashed his Golden Dragon soul skill and knocked Kelvin and Ye Zhan out of the match.
• Wang Dingbo, Xuan Shi, Lu Ping, and She Meng coordinated their defenses and attacks, but Yan used Golden Dragon Rampage to defeat Lu Ping and then struck Yang Feng with a returning dragon attack.
• Yan recovered his Soul Power, defeated She Meng and Wang Dingbo with Golden Flame Dragon Break, and broke Yun Tianshun’s Nebula Chains before knocking him down.
• Mashu admitted defeat, Angeli yielded, and Yan won the match after suppressing the entire Spirit Hall Team alone.

Yan took control of the Spirit Hall Team’s tournament preparations, criticizing their training and ordering an intensive special-training plan. After arranging for the team to train in Death Canyon, he reunited with Hu Liena, who had completed her own training with Xie Yue.

• Yan asked Dean Zhang Kai and supervising teacher Xu Xi Yue to cooperate with his plans, then had Xu heal the ten main-team members he had defeated.
• Yan reviewed confidential training records for the teams and developed a special-training plan.
• Yan told Xu Xi Yue that the Spirit Hall Team was not strong enough to win and ordered its members to triple their training and raise their Soul Power by at least one level.
• Yan arranged resources and sent every team member to Death Canyon for a month of special training, threatening death for anyone who failed.
• Hu Liena and Xie Yue completed their special training in Death Canyon, and Yan met Hu Liena again.

Yan proposed changing the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament into a terrain-based encounter battle with projected broadcasts, and planned to persuade the Heaven Dou Empire to accept the new format. He arranged to travel to Heaven Dou City with Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Qian Renxue, who left the Hall of Elders with him after speaking with Qian Daoliu.

• Yan and Hu Liena shared a quiet moment beneath the night sky while Bibi Dong watched them from the corridor.
• Yan proposed terrain-based team encounter battles and projected broadcasts to improve the tournament and spread Spirit Hall's influence.
• Bibi Dong warned that changing the agreed tournament rules would be difficult, especially in the Heaven Dou Empire, and Yan offered to persuade Xue Ye in person.
• Yan asked Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and possibly Qian Renxue to accompany him to Heaven Dou City, where they could also visit the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Yan invited Qian Renxue to join the trip, and Qian Daoliu encouraged her to speak properly with Bibi Dong before she left.
• Qian Renxue said goodbye to Qian Daoliu, then embraced Yan outside the Hall of Elders and ran off with him.

Yan arrived in Heaven Dou City with Qian Renxue to oversee preparations for the Elite Tournament preliminaries, while their teasing turned affectionate and Qian Renxue later outwitted him by locking him out of her room. At the royal palace, Xue Ye asked Crown Prince Xue Qinghe to assess Spirit Hall and Yan, and Qinghe proposed winning over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

• Yan and Qian Renxue flirted in the carriage, kissed, and arrived at the Heaven Dou Spirit Hall Holy Hall, where Salas welcomed them.
• Yan introduced Qian Renxue to Salas as the Pope's envoy and confirmed that Xue Ye had agreed to the arrangements for the Elite Tournament preliminaries.
• Yan escorted Qian Renxue to her room, but she shut and locked the door on him, leaving him outside as she laughed.
• Xue Ye coughed blood while discussing Spirit Hall and Yan with Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
• Xue Qinghe argued that the Empire should focus on winning over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and speculated that Yan might have peaked in childhood.

Xue Ye warned Xue Qinghe that Yan posed a grave threat to Heaven Dou, while Yan dismissed the royal family’s concerns and suggested that Xue Ye’s failing health would soon decide their fate. Three days later, Yan attended the opening ceremony of the Heaven Dou preliminaries, where Dugu Bo joined Spirit Hall’s ranks and the tournament began.

• Xue Xing told Xue Ye that Dugu Bo would remain neutral in royal affairs, and Xue Ye explained to Xue Qinghe how Spirit Hall maintained the balance between the empires and how Yan had expanded its influence.
• Qian Renxue showed Yan intelligence about the royal family’s secret meeting, and Yan said Xue Ye’s declining health meant he could not hold on much longer.
• Yan spent three days with Qian Renxue before leaving to lead Spirit Hall’s delegation to the tournament opening.
• Yan greeted Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, while Dugu Bo took his place behind Yan with Spirit Hall’s ranks.
• Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi delivered speeches, Salas oversaw the team drawing, and the first tournament matchups were revealed.

Yan watched Thunder Academy defeat Blue Tyrant Academy, then explained why Blue Tyrant’s balanced approach might have had a chance if it had endured Thunder’s early attacks. He told Xue Ye that his strategy was to avoid political competition and outlive his opponents through cultivation, leaving the VIP platform in stunned silence.

• Yan assessed Thunder Academy as a powerful Extreme Flow team and said Blue Tyrant Academy could win by defending until Thunder exhausted its stamina.
• Thunder Academy overwhelmed Blue Tyrant Academy, and Prince Xue Xing mocked Yan’s prediction.
• Yan asked Xue Ye what he had learned from the match, then described the Soul Master world as a chessboard on which they were both pieces.
• Yan told Xue Ye that he had avoided entering the political game and intended to outlast his rivals by cultivating faster and living longer.
• Yan claimed he would reach Titled Douluo within thirty years or sooner, leaving the VIP platform’s powerful figures silent and uneasy.

Yan proposed revising the Elite Tournament rules, but Xue Ye delayed giving him an answer. On the way to the arena, Yan and Qian Renxue were ambushed, and they took to the air to evade the Soul Sage-level Evil Soul Master Xuan Ling.

• Yan asked Xue Ye to support changes to the later tournament rules, but Xue Ye postponed his decision.
• Yan learned that the Star Luo Empire had already agreed to the proposed rule changes.
• Yan sensed something was wrong on the deserted road and leaped from the carriage with Qian Renxue just before an attack destroyed it.
• Spirit Hall’s guards fought off arrows and attackers, while Yan killed an infiltrator among the Temple Knights and told Qian Renxue to stay close.
• Yan evaded the assassins and used flaming rock projectiles to pierce several of them.
• Xuan Ling transformed into a giant bear, and Yan and Qian Renxue flew upward to avoid confronting him head-on.

Yan and Qian Renxue survived an assassination attempt in Heaven Dou City, captured the Evil Bear Soul Sage, and enlisted Dugu Bo to crush the attackers. Yan sealed the city and paraded the captured Soul Sage through its streets to draw out the mastermind, while Spirit Hall’s harsh crackdown also ensnared criminals and nobles.

• The Evil Bear Soul Sage attacked Spirit Hall’s forces and used a Temple Knight as a hostage, but Yan and Qian Renxue fought off assassins and wounded him.
• Dugu Bo arrived, killed the remaining attackers, and spared the Evil Bear Soul Sage when Yan asked to keep him alive for questioning.
• Yan ordered Spirit Hall to seal Heaven Dou City for three days and had Bishop Salas obtain Xue Ye’s cooperation; Xue Ye mobilized the city’s defenses.
• When the Evil Bear Soul Sage refused to talk, Yan ordered him mutilated and paraded through the city to provoke the mastermind into acting.
• Spirit Hall publicized the attack and arrested suspected criminals and outspoken nobles during the bloody procession.

After an assassination attempt on Yan, Spirit Hall and its allies crushed the Evil Soul Masters and powerful ambushers who attacked him in Tian Dou City. As the fighting ended, Yuehua reunited with the disheveled middle-aged man she called Hao.

• Spirit Hall raided Earl Lier's residence and killed an Evil Soul Master, then hunted down hidden criminals across Tian Dou City.
• Yan was attacked by a crowd of wanted criminals, and Dugu Bo killed them with his poison and Martial Soul Avatar.
• Powerful ambushers joined the attack on Yan, but Chrysanthemum Pass, Guimei, and Chen Xin appeared and helped defeat them.
• Dugu Bo tried to capture the iron-rod wielder alive, but the man killed himself before he could be captured.
• Yuehua saw the battle end, then turned to find Hao behind her and asked if it was really him.

Tang Hao reunited with Tang Yuehua after the failed attack on Yan and learned how Spirit Hall had driven Clear Sky Sect into retreat and killed their father. Yan later revealed that Spirit Hall had engineered the citywide purge and the Grand Elder’s assassination as a trap for Tang Hao, but Tang Hao had refused to act, leaving the plan only partly successful.

• Tang Yuehua embraced Tang Hao and told him their father had died after Spirit Hall forced Clear Sky Sect into seclusion.
• Tang Yuehua urged Tang Hao to avenge their father, but he judged Yan’s protection too strong and refused to attack.
• Tang Hao rejected Tang Yuehua’s plea to return to Clear Sky Sect and disappeared, while Yan and Bibi Dong concluded that he had not taken the bait.
• Yan and Bibi Dong returned to Spirit Hall after the city purge removed many Evil Soul Masters and concealed forces.
• Yan visited the imprisoned Evil Bear Soul Sage, thanked him for his loyalty, and explained how Spirit Hall had orchestrated the assassinations and purge to lure Tang Hao into a trap.

Yan postponed another attempt to kill Tang Hao and arranged for the chained Evil Bear Soul Sage to pose as a deep-cover agent near Xue Qinghe. After Prince Xue Xing negotiated on Xue Ye’s behalf, Yan said Spirit Hall would hand Evil Bear over for public execution and settle the dispute, while a fierce confrontation was unfolding at the imperial palace.

• Yan and Bibi Dong agreed to postpone targeting Tang Hao, and Yan asked Evil Bear to endure another seven days before being handed over to the Tian Dou Royal Family and potentially recruited as Xue Qinghe’s undercover confidant.
• Yan explained to Bibi Dong that Spirit Hall would seek to control Heaven Dou through discreet agents and use it to unify the two empires, rather than risk replacing Xue Qinghe directly.
• Spirit Hall’s crackdown on Evil Soul Masters after the assassination attempt left Heaven Dou City’s Great Soul Arena deserted and alarmed the city’s powerful nobles.
• Prince Xue Xing arrived to negotiate for Xue Ye, and Yan met him in the council hall while Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue waited nearby.
• Yan told Bibi Dong that Xue Ye had accepted some of his conditions and that Spirit Hall would hand Evil Bear over for public execution the next day.
• Yan looked toward the imperial palace, where a fierce confrontation was taking place.

At the Heaven Dou division awards ceremony, Yan announced that Spirit Hall would help the five seeded teams obtain fifth soul rings and train them for the finals’ new rules, which had been postponed by a month. Afterward, Xue Ye explained why he had stopped Xue Qinghe from competing with Spirit Hall’s offer, leaving Xue Qinghe wondering whether the empire should respond at all.

• Xue Ye and Yan presented awards to the five Five Element Academies teams that qualified for the finals.
• Xue Ye promised the students that the imperial family would welcome them after graduation.
• Yan announced that Spirit Hall would plan and support their fifth soul-ring hunts, postpone the finals by about a month, and provide specialized training under his instruction.
• Yan bid farewell after the ceremony, and Xue Qinghe asked Xue Ye why he had stopped him from speaking.
• Xue Ye explained that matching Spirit Hall’s offer out of spite would be costly and less persuasive, and Xue Qinghe asked whether they should simply ignore the matter.

Yan gathered the six finalist teams for a practice match in a valley outside Sunset Forest and chose Skywater Academy as his opponent. He also invited Feng Xiaotian to meet him the next day, while Skywater’s students whispered excitedly about Yan and teased one another over his interest in Feng Xiaotian.

• Yan met Crown Prince Xue Qinghe and surveyed the six academy teams assembled for Spirit Hall’s practice session.
• Yan noticed Feng Xiaotian among Godwind Academy’s substitutes, asked why he had refused Spirit Hall’s invitation years earlier, and arranged to see him the next day.
• Yan selected Skywater Academy for the practice match, drawing excited reactions from its female students.
• Skywater’s students praised Yan’s looks and status, while one girl suggested he and Feng Xiaotian had a special connection and was quickly silenced by her teammates.

Yan used a live-projection Soul Tool to begin a special training match against the Skywater Team in Sunset Forest, with victory going to whoever claimed the token or defeated the opposing side. After ambushing and eliminating Bai Qing'er and Xue Yuan, Yan began targeting the five remaining teammates.

• Yan demonstrated the Mirror Shadow Soul Tool and explained the match rules to the Skywater Team.
• A Spirit Hall Soul Sage dropped the token into the valley, and Yan and the seven Skywater girls rushed into the forest.
• Shui Qingluan sent Xue Yuan and Bai Qing'er ahead, splitting the team as they pursued the token.
• Yan ambushed Bai Qing'er and declared her eliminated, then used a staged distraction to lure Xue Yuan into another ambush and defeat her.
• The remaining five Skywater girls found signs of the fight and decided to stay together, while Bai Qing'er and Xue Yuan watched from a tree as Yan launched another ambush.

Yan eliminated all seven members of Skywater Academy with his clone Soul Skill, leaving the other academy teams to prepare for their next matches. The practice match ended as spectators debated Skywater Academy’s defeat and the competition format.

• Yan used clones and ambushes to eliminate Skywater Academy members one by one as Shui Qingluan led the team through the valley.
• Shui Qingluan and her teammates trapped four of Yan’s clones in ice, but one clone had hidden inside an ice statue and eliminated another woman.
• Shui Qingluan injured a Yan who appeared to be real, but he revealed that the blood was fake while another Yan attacked Shui Lingchen’s sister.
• Yan explained that his remaining clone had reached near his own strength, and Shui Qingluan and Shui Lingchen resisted before submitting and being eliminated.
• The practice match ended, spectators discussed Skywater Academy’s defeat, and the remaining academy teams prepared for the next battle arrangements.

Yan watched Heaven Dou Royal Academy win an encounter battle, learned more about Shui Bing'er, and then left to prepare for an expedition beyond Douluo Continent. At Spirit Hall, he offered Feng Xiaotian a place in Spirit Hall and two compatible Soul Bones in exchange for joining.

• Yan introduced elite Spirit Hall soul-hunting squads, and Qin Ming led Heaven Dou Royal Academy into the canyon encounter.
• Bai Qing'er told Yan that Shui Bing'er was a talented Tianshui Sect disciple with an Ice Phoenix Soul and a difficult family situation.
• Heaven Dou Royal Academy seized the token and won, but Yu Xiaoxuan and Ning Tianlei argued despite Zhi Duoxing's effective command.
• Yan said goodbye to the Skywater Academy girls and left, intending to prepare for an expedition into the deep ocean beyond Douluo Continent.
• Yan invited Feng Xiaotian to join Spirit Hall and offered him two Wolf Bandit Soul Bones that could strengthen him and grant a powerful skill.

Yan secured Feng Xiaotian’s promise to join Spirit Hall after graduation, then returned from Heaven Dou City with Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Hu Liena. In Spirit City, the Star Luo Royal Battle Team prepared for the tournament under Prince Dai Wuji, whose chance at victory had become tied to his precarious position in the empire’s succession struggle.

• Feng Xiaotian accepted Spirit Hall’s recruitment after Yan offered him two Ten Thousand Year Soul Bones and asked him to serve as a bridge to Godwind Academy.
• Yan told Feng Xiaotian he could remain at Godwind Academy until graduation, then left him to recover and absorb the Soul Bones.
• Hu Liena complained to Yan that she had been sent to cultivate at the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well instead of exploring Heaven Dou City, and Yan teased her as they departed.
• Yan, Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Hu Liena left Heaven Dou City and returned toward Spirit City with Guimei, Yueguan, and the Temple Knights.
• Dai Wuji led the Star Luo Royal Battle Team in intensive training, knowing the tournament’s outcome would affect his standing with the Star Luo Emperor.
• Xu Yanyan told Dai Wuji that Spirit Hall’s Holy Son had returned from Heaven Dou, and Dai Wuji remarked that both of them had enemies seeking their lives.

Yan discussed Dai Wuji’s doomed position in the Star Luo Empire and considered ways Spirit Hall might stir unrest there. As the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament finals opened in Spirit City, Bibi Dong and Spirit Hall’s power overshadowed the gathered emperors and nobles.

• Yan told Hu Liena that Dai Wuji faced death whether he won or lost, because the Star Luo Emperor would not tolerate a rival heir with the potential to challenge him.
• Bibi Dong asked whether Dai Wuji could be won over, and Yan said Dai Wuji was resisting rather than seeking survival; Yan suggested the Zhu Family might be another source of unrest in the Star Luo Empire.
• Yan said the Star Luo Emperor and Xue Ye would attend the tournament, and both empires’ royal delegations drew crowds of visitors to Spirit City.
• The tournament teams arrived and prepared for the finals, which were set to begin three days later.
• Bibi Dong, Yan, Qian Renxue, and Spirit Hall’s Ten Great Elders appeared at the opening ceremony, prompting most of the crowd to kneel in salute.
• The emperors of Star Luo and Heaven Dou watched with displeasure as the gathered crowd’s acclaim centered on Spirit Hall rather than them.