Chapter Summaries

Yan enrolled in Spirit Hall’s junior academy and settled into Class Three, where he met his homeroom teacher, Matthew. He began studying the foundational Soul Master knowledge he had come to learn.

• Yan enrolled with the help of a recommendation from the Nahr City Spirit Hall Branch and Feng Lin’s connections, then headed to the teaching building alone.
• Yan chose not to skip grades and reflected on how talented students could build reputations in junior academy before advancing to an advanced academy.
• Yan entered Class Three, sat by the window, and read while the other students gathered in their social circles.
• Matthew introduced himself as the class’s homeroom teacher, and the students spent their first class introducing themselves.
• Matthew began teaching Basic Soul Master Knowledge, starting with Soul Master ranks, while Yan listened attentively.

Yan focused on studying at the academy and was approached by Tuo Ba Hong, who proposed teaming up for practical combat class. Tuo Ba Hong explained that Yan’s martial soul seemed to carry a kingly bloodline, leaving Yan to wonder if his cultivation had given him that aura.

• Teacher Ma Xiu announced that special instructors would teach practical combat that afternoon and dismissed the class.
• Yan prepared to leave for the library instead of joining his classmates’ discussions.
• Tuo Ba Hong approached Yan and asked him to partner up for practical combat class.
• Yan asked why Tuo Ba Hong had chosen him, and Tuo Ba Hong said Yan seemed to have no teammate and that his martial soul felt extraordinary.
• Tuo Ba Hong explained that his White Armor Earth Dragon martial soul sensed a kingly bloodline in Yan, and Yan suspected it came from his recent cultivation.

Lu Song began teaching Class Three, Year One by testing the students’ stamina and showing them the power of his Martial Soul. After ending the run, he sorted the students into groups based on their traits, and Yan recognized that the seemingly unreliable instructor had real skill.

• Matthew introduced Lu Song as the class’s new practical combat instructor, and Lu Song ordered the students to run five laps.
• Lu Song released his three Soul Rings and bloodied sickle, frightening the students into obeying.
• Yan ran at a steady pace while observing Lu Song, and Tuo Ba Hong asked him what the instructor was doing.
• Yan suggested that Lu Song was assessing the students for targeted instruction, while Tuo Ba Hong said his clan already had its own training methods.
• Lu Song stopped the run and assigned the students to groups, and Yan noticed that he had matched them by compatibility, stamina, and personality.

Yan assessed his team’s chances against Teacher Lu Song and questioned Tuo Ba Hong about his White Armor Earth Dragon abilities before the students’ test began. Lu Song chose Yan’s team first, and they released their Martial Souls to face the challenge.

• Yan estimated Lu Song’s reach and told Tuo Ba Hong to keep his distance if the teacher did not use his sickle Martial Soul.
• Tuo Ba Hong explained that his White Armor Earth Dragon could control nearby dirt and let him roll forward inside an earthen ball.
• Yan warned Tuo Ba Hong not to reveal his abilities so freely, then joined the other four teammates to discuss their plan.
• Lu Song ended the break and selected Yan’s group as the first team to test.
• Tuo Ba Hong and the other students released their Martial Souls, revealing a White Armor Earth Dragon, several beast spirits, and an Azure Wolf Spirit.

Lu Song tested Yan and the other students in a practical combat duel, using his superior speed and strength to eliminate several of them. Yan and Tuo Ba Hong coordinated their attacks to unsettle Lu Song, and Yan ended the chapter launching a fiery assault while Lu Song was off balance.

• Lu Song challenged the students to force him to summon back his scythe Spirit, then rushed Yan and Tuo Ba Hong, who dodged and scattered sand in his path.
• Lu Song eliminated the Blue Tiger Spirit student and pursued the White Bear Spirit student, while Yan urged the others to flee and then called them to attack together.
• Yan threw the Azure Wolf Spirit student at Lu Song, setting up a coordinated strike with the Black Panther Spirit student as Tuo Ba Hong sank Lu Song's foot into the ground.
• Lu Song recovered and knocked the Black Panther and Azure Wolf Spirit students out of the duel.
• Yan closed in while Lu Song was off balance and unleashed a barrage of attacks wrapped in reddish-gold flames.

Yan used calculated movements and Tuo Ba Hong's underground traps to defeat Lu Song during the academy assessment, forcing the Soul Elder to retrieve his scythe before the test ended. Yan left to read, while Lu Song resumed the assessment by putting the next group through a harsh trial.

• Yan's rapid, flame-covered attacks kept Lu Song retreating until the teacher stumbled into Tuo Ba Hong's traps.
• Tuo Ba Hong attacked Lu Song from behind, and Yan pressed him with flames until Lu Song summoned his scythe to escape the pit.
• Yan ended the assessment and explained that he had predicted Lu Song's movements and guided him toward the traps.
• Yan walked away to read, and Lu Song ordered the next group to continue the assessment under his scrutiny.

Yan questioned Tuo Ba Hong about why he had befriended him and learned that the boy mainly wanted to know where Yan got his food. Yan advised Tuo Ba Hong on choosing a future soul ring, then Lu Song ended the practical combat class by announcing physical training for students who could not pass his test.

• Yan confronted Tuo Ba Hong and discovered that his main reason for approaching Yan was his love of the food Yan brought from home.
• Yan advised Tuo Ba Hong to consider an Earth Dragon Lizard soul ring and prepare to discuss the choice with his clan elders.
• Yan invited Tuo Ba Hong to his house after class and promised to let him try some food.
• Three more teams failed Lu Song's practical combat test, and Lu Song said only one of the seven teams had passed.
• Lu Song announced that afternoon classes would include physical training unless students formed a team and passed his test.

Yan brought his classmate Tuo Ba Hong to the courtyard where he lived with Liya and children from Nahr City. He began preparing venison for dinner with Tuo Ba Hong’s help, leaving their meal cooking in the kitchen.

• Yan led Tuo Ba Hong to his courtyard, where Liya welcomed him and took Yan’s backpack.
• Yan introduced Tuo Ba Hong to Liya and explained that she cared for him and the children who had come from Nahr City.
• Yan and Tuo Ba Hong spent time upstairs until Liya announced that dinner preparations were ready.
• Yan took Tuo Ba Hong to the kitchen and began cutting up venison with flames from his palms.
• Tuo Ba Hong ground spices into powder while Yan heated a pot of bones with Soul Power.

Yan used dinner and cooking to train his control over fire while arranging a connection between Tuo Ba Hong’s family and Feng Lin. After the meal, he sent the children to clean and began cultivating with the pearl left by the Inferno Demon Lion.

• Liya called the children to dinner, and they washed their hands before sitting down to eat Yan’s cooking.
• Yan reflected on how cooking helped him expand the temperature range he could control with his flames.
• After Tuo Ba Hong finished eating, Yan asked Feng Lin to see him home and discuss a matter with his father, hoping to build ties with the White Armor Earth Dragon Clan.
• Yan told the children to clean the house, then went to the backyard training ground.
• Yan sat cross-legged with the golden pearl left by the Inferno Demon Lion and began cultivating.

Yan refined the Inferno Demon Lion’s soul pearl and used its flame energy with his Rebirth Through Fire skill to create a cultivation environment, raising his Soul Power to level fifteen. He continued training his body and expected to reach level twenty in his second year.

• Yan explained how soul pearls differed from Soul Bones and began gradually refining the Inferno Demon Lion’s flame soul pearl.
• The soul pearl strengthened Yan’s fire abilities and gave him a faint trace of kingly pressure.
• Yan activated Rebirth Through Fire to gather fire-element energy around himself and cultivate in the simulated environment.
• After several months of training, Yan reached Soul Power Level fifteen, surpassing the cultivation pace of most peers.
• Yan trained his physique with difficult poses, using Dawn to devise methods suited to his current stage.

Yan trained in concentrated fire, recovered in a medicinal bath, and received care from Liya while Dawn assessed his progress. Two months later, Yan had reached Soul Power level sixteen and Tuo Ba Hong had reached level ten; Tuo Ba Hong revealed that his father had captured a suitable soul beast for him.

• Yan ended his fire training after twenty minutes and soaked in a medicinal bath while Liya healed his minor injuries.
• Yan used Dawn to assess his training and learned that his short-term enhancement had reached its limit.
• Liya dried Yan, carried him to bed, and stayed nearby as he fell asleep.
• More than two months later, Yan walked to school with Tuo Ba Hong, whose Soul Power had reached level ten, while Yan approached level seventeen.
• Tuo Ba Hong told Yan that his father had captured a roughly three-hundred-and-sixty-year-old Earth Dragon Lizard for him.

Yan learned that the Pope might inspect Spirit City and that Tuo Ba Hong’s academy could be selected, prompting him to investigate the academy’s strongest students. The chapter ended with Yan discovering that Xie Yue and Hu Liena, two students he had been seeking information about, attended the same academy.

• Tuo Ba Hong explained that his father had captured a 360-year-old Earth Dragon Lizard for his first soul ring, though Yan had hoped for one over 400 years old.
• Tuo Ba Hong told Yan that the Pope might visit Spirit City and inspect the academy near the end of the year.
• Yan considered why Bibi Dong might be visiting and asked Tuo Ba Hong to learn about the academy’s top students, especially those with second soul rings.
• Tuo Ba Hong revealed that Xie Yue and Hu Liena were siblings in Class One who had already obtained soul rings.

Yan and Tuo Ba Hong visited Central Ring Park to observe the academy students who fought there, and Yan decided the two upperclassmen dueling in the melee were no threat to him. They left for a secluded alley in western Spirit City, where Yan questioned whether the siblings he was seeking lived in a cramped house.

• Tuo Ba Hong led Yan into Central Ring Park, where Yan sensed Soul Power fluctuations deeper in the trees.
• Yan and Tuo Ba Hong found two groups of academy students brawling while Hei Ze and Li Chuan fought a separate duel in the clearing.
• Tuo Ba Hong identified Hei Ze as a level twenty-two Soul Grandmaster with a Black Panther Spirit and Li Chuan as a level twenty-three Soul Grandmaster with a spear spirit.
• Hei Ze cut Li Chuan's cheek with his claws, but Li Chuan counterattacked with a rapid spear assault.
• Yan decided he had gathered enough information and left the park with Tuo Ba Hong.
• Yan and Tuo Ba Hong reached a secluded alley in western Spirit City, where Yan asked whether the siblings lived in the low, cramped house.

Yan learned about Xie Yue and Hu Liena’s parents’ deaths during the turmoil in Spirit Hall and tracked the siblings to Central Ring Park. He proposed working with them for the academy’s year-end assessment, and they began to talk as trouble brewed at the academy.

• Tuo Ba Hong told Yan that Xie Yue and Hu Liena were orphaned after their parents, Spirit Hall powerhouses, died fighting Evil Soul Masters.
• Yan and Tuo Ba Hong found that the siblings were cultivating at Central Ring Park and went there to look for them.
• Yan and Tuo Ba Hong found Xie Yue and Hu Liena meditating in Blue Silver Grass.
• Xie Yue recognized Yan and explained that he knew him by his appearance and had seen Tuo Ba Hong asking about the siblings.
• Yan proposed that he and the siblings work together for the academy’s year-end assessment, and the four began discussing it.

Yan and Tuo Ba Hong joined the first-year representatives to welcome Spirit Hall’s leaders at the academy. The Pope arrived in a radiant procession, and the chapter ended as she stood before the students.

• Teacher Ma Xiu selected Yan and Tuo Ba Hong as Class Three’s representatives because they had become one-ring Soul Masters.
• Yan and Tuo Ba Hong joined the other student representatives, where Hu Liena exchanged a shy glance with Yan and Tuo Ba Hong tried to tease him.
• The teachers led 120 representatives from all six grades to the training ground to await the Spirit Hall procession.
• Twelve Red Cardinals announced the arrival of the Pope, prompting the crowd to greet her in unison.
• The Pope appeared in a golden ceremonial gown, violet-gold crown, and scepter, drawing every gaze on the training ground.

Pope Bibi Dong appeared at Spirit Hall’s training ground, demonstrated her strength while refusing the Soul Masters’ formal salute, and drew the attention of Yan and the elders accompanying her. The academy celebration reached its final ceremony, where three students were to present gifts to Bibi Dong, a choice that could spark dissatisfaction.

• Yan reluctantly prepared to kneel in salute, but Bibi Dong used her Soul Power to stop the crowd and straighten everyone back up.
• Yan recognized the four Titled Douluo accompanying Bibi Dong as Demon Bear, Ghost Leopard, Yue Guan, and Guimei, and suspected they were surprised by her strength.
• Yan considered how Bibi Dong had consolidated her authority and power despite the elders who had supported her having their own motives.
• The academy celebration proceeded to its final stage, where three selected students would present flowers to Bibi Dong on the academy’s behalf.
• The academy’s choice of students attracted attention, and private dissatisfaction could become a bigger problem if someone with ulterior motives encouraged it.

Yan’s plan to create an opportunity for himself sparked a brawl among the student representatives at Soul Master Academy. With the higher-ups allowing the students to compete, the fight spread to the first-years and left the training field increasingly chaotic.

• The appointed student representatives were blocked by angry students who challenged them over how the gift presenters had been chosen.
• A student released his martial soul, and Nether Leopard Douluo persuaded Bibi Dong to let the young students compete instead of stopping the fight.
• Yan told Tuo Ba Hong that he had orchestrated the unrest by provoking unsuccessful sixth-year students with powerful family backgrounds.
• When a student shoved two first-years, Yan knocked the offender out of the field with a Toe-Thrust Thousand Years of Death.
• Yan joined the brawl and urged Tuo Ba Hong to protect himself and show his abilities if he got the chance.
• The fight spread among the hundred-odd student representatives, including the first-years, but did not reach the rest of the academy.

Yan fought his way through the chaotic academy training-ground battle, defeating several older students with overwhelming strength and fire attacks. He reached Black Bear King Lin, a two-ring Soul Grandmaster who tried to block his advance, and launched a kick at him.

• Yan grabbed an iron-staff Soul Master's weapon, lifted him, and kicked him off the training grounds.
• Yan used flames and a rapid combination to defeat a student with the War Tiger Martial Soul.
• Yan advanced through the crowd, knocking back opponents with powerful palm strikes and bursts of fire.
• Black Bear King Lin, a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, blocked Yan and warned him to stop advancing.
• Yan rejected Lin's threat and sprang forward, kicking at him.

Yan fought his way across the training field and defeated Hei Ze with precise close-combat techniques. Hu Liena and Xie Yue then combined their abilities, unleashing a red field of force that swept into the crowd.

• Yan evaded Wang Lin’s attack and kept moving through the chaotic training field as students began using soul skills.
• Hei Ze blocked Yan’s path, but Yan used flames to target his face, broke his guard, and sent him flying with an elbow strike.
• The Titled Douluo on the platform praised Yan’s controlled flames and combat techniques.
• Yan stopped moving as Hu Liena stepped forward, released her martial soul, and briefly froze students with her red glow.
• Xie Yue collided with Hu Liena, and their combined red light spread across nearly half the field, sending students flying as it surged into the crowd.

Xie Yue and Hu Liena used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Demon Charm, to overwhelm the academy students and seemed poised to win. Yan remained inside the red mist and repeatedly evaded their attacks, impressing the Titled Douluo watching from above.

• Xie Yue and Hu Liena fused into Demon Charm and swept through the weakened students with their red mist and enlarged Moon Blades.
• The Titled Douluo praised the siblings’ timing and potential, while Bibi Dong reacted uneasily to their parents’ fate.
• Demon Charm defeated Hei Ze, Wang Lin, Zhao Yuan Yu, Yu Qing Feng, Tuo Kui Si, and the other remaining students.
• Yan emerged from the red mist while dodging Demon Charm’s pink crescent blades, surprising the students who thought the match was over.
• The Titled Douluo recognized Yan’s exceptional predictive ability, reactions, and battle instincts.