Chapter Summaries

Gu Yuena questioned why Lu Jing, a human inheritor of the God of Destruction, had risked himself to save her and decided he might be a crucial variable for the Soul Beast race. She pulled him to her side and effortlessly froze Wang Dong'er when she tried to attack.

• Gu Yuena wondered why Lu Jing traveled with the Snow Empress and had risked his life to awaken the Ice Fire Dragon King's remnant souls and save her.
• Gu Yuena decided Lu Jing might be a significant variable for the Soul Beast race and reached out to seize him with the power of space.
• Lu Jing was pulled from the hillside and appeared less than three feet from Gu Yuena.
• Wang Dong'er panicked and charged Gu Yuena using her Martial Soul Avatar and Sea God's Light.
• Gu Yuena glanced at Wang Dong'er and froze her in midair, leaving her unable to move.

After Gu Yuena took Lu Jing through a spatial rift, the Snow Empress broke through to the seven-hundred-thousand-year realm and freed Wang Dong'er from Gu Yuena's spatial confinement. Wang Dong'er feared for Lu Jing, and the Snow Empress urged her to leave and plan before Qian Renxue and the others arrived.

• Gu Yuena vanished through a spatial rift with Lu Jing, leaving Wang Dong'er trapped and devastated.
• The Snow Empress broke through to the seven-hundred-thousand-year realm as the Ice Fire Dragon King's residual soul protected her.
• The Snow Empress broke Gu Yuena's lingering spatial confinement and caught Wang Dong'er as she fell.
• Wang Dong'er told the Snow Empress that Gu Yuena had taken Lu Jing, and the Snow Empress reassured her that he might still be safe.
• The Snow Empress said they should leave and make plans, and Qian Renxue arrived with Stingray Douluo, Chen Xin, Gu Rong, Ning Fengzhi, and Yu Yuanzhen.

Gu Yuena brought Lu Jing to a concealed space beneath the Lake of Life and questioned why he was not afraid. Lu Jing admitted he feared her but concluded she would not kill him yet, reasoning that she would have killed him in Sunset Forest if that were her aim.

• Lu Jing arrived with Gu Yuena in a hidden space beneath the Lake of Life and recognized it as the Star Dou Great Forest’s core forbidden ground.
• Lu Jing noticed that Gu Yuena appeared pale and weakened despite her imposing presence.
• Gu Yuena asked Lu Jing why he was not afraid after she brought him to her isolated territory.
• Lu Jing admitted that he feared her overwhelming strength but said he believed she would not kill him for the time being.
• Lu Jing reasoned that Gu Yuena could have killed him in Sunset Forest instead of bringing him to the hidden space.

Gu Yuena interrogated Lu Jing about his identity, his connection to the Snow Empress, and his intentions toward soul beasts. Lu Jing began answering calmly, but his claim that he and the Snow Empress were friends made Gu Yuena suspicious.

• Gu Yuena assessed Lu Jing and admitted she would not kill him for now, though she would not let him go without answers.
• Gu Yuena questioned Lu Jing about how he knew her identity, his relationship with the Snow Empress, why he awakened the Ice Fire Dragon King's remnant soul, and his views on soul beasts and humans.
• Lu Jing said he and the Snow Empress were friends who would risk themselves for each other.
• Gu Yuena doubted Lu Jing's claim, arguing that the Snow Empress's pride and hatred of Human Soul Masters made such a friendship implausible.

Lu Jing explained his six-year bond with Snow Empress and how he learned Gu Yuena’s identity, then began explaining why he awakened the Ice Fire Dragon King’s remnant souls. He left the third answer unfinished as he described Snow Empress’s deadly tribulation and his inheritance of destruction.

• Lu Jing recounted how he and Snow Empress met in the Extreme North six years earlier, became wary companions, and built trust through shared dangers.
• Gu Yuena considered Lu Jing’s account and acknowledged that their years of companionship could have made them friends.
• Lu Jing said the God of Destruction’s inheritance had revealed Gu Yuena’s identity and the ancient conflict between the Divine Realm and soul beasts.
• Gu Yuena could not verify his explanation but accepted it, since his knowledge did not appear to threaten her.
• Lu Jing began explaining that he had awakened the Ice Fire Dragon King’s remnant souls out of necessity when Snow Empress faced a deadly tribulation, drawing on the destructive power of his inheritance and martial soul.

Lu Jing told Gu Yuena he had no permanent solution to the conflict between Soul Masters and soul beasts, then challenged her by arguing that Soul Masters hunting soul beasts for soul rings was natural under the world's rules. Gu Yuena reacted with fury and killing intent as Lu Jing questioned the order established by Douluo Star or the gods.

• Gu Yuena asked Lu Jing whether he had a way to prevent the soul beast race from going extinct, and he said he did not.
• Lu Jing explained that Soul Masters hunting soul beasts followed the world's system of cultivation and that changing it would mean altering the world's fundamental rules.
• Lu Jing asked why he should share any possible solution with Gu Yuena, since they were potential enemies and she had captured him.
• Gu Yuena's expression darkened, and she released a terrifying pressure as she challenged Lu Jing's claim that soul beast hunting was natural.
• Lu Jing argued that soul beasts produced soul rings after death and that the world's rules or the gods had made them absorbable by Soul Masters.
• Gu Yuena began to respond, furious at Lu Jing's argument and ready to rebuke him.

Lu Jing told Gu Yuena that the soul beasts’ inability to cultivate into gods stemmed from an agreement made after the Ancient God War. The revelation that the Dragon God himself had proposed the restriction left Gu Yuena reeling in shock and betrayal.

• Lu Jing waited for Gu Yuena to regain some composure, then told her he had another revelation about the Dragon God’s past.
• Gu Yuena released the spatial force restraining Lu Jing and asked what he meant.
• Lu Jing said the soul beasts’ inability to break through the million-year limit was tied to an agreement between the Dragon God and the Five Great God Kings.
• Gu Yuena admitted she knew nothing of the agreement and urgently asked what it contained.
• Lu Jing revealed that the Dragon God had proposed the restriction preventing soul beasts from cultivating into gods, and Gu Yuena staggered in disbelief and pain.

Lu Jing argued that the Dragon God, not the Five Great God Kings, had proposed the agreement preventing soul beasts from becoming gods. Gu Yuena was left questioning why the Dragon God had made that choice and grieving over what it had cost their people.

• Gu Yuena challenged Lu Jing’s claim that the Destruction God King had told him about the agreement, suspecting it could be a scheme against her and the soul beasts.
• Lu Jing argued that the Destruction God King had no reason to deceive his chosen successor and that the Divine Realm had little reason to target an already defeated soul beast race.
• Lu Jing concluded that the Dragon God had likely proposed the agreement in its final moments, while the Five Great God Kings had accepted it.
• Gu Yuena fell silent and wondered why the Dragon God had condemned its people to struggle and die in the lower realm.

After the silver-haired woman took Lu Jing away, Snow Empress returned to Heaven Dou City with the unconscious Wang Dong'er. She identified the woman as the Soul Beast Sovereign, leaving Xiao Wu and Qian Renxue stunned and questioning whether such a figure existed.

• Snow Empress brought Wang Dong'er back to the secluded residence and laid her in bed, where Xiao Wu found her unconscious.
• Xiao Wu asked what had happened to Wang Dong'er and where Lu Jing was, but Snow Empress and Qian Renxue stayed silent.
• Qian Renxue asked Snow Empress to identify the silver-haired woman who had taken Lu Jing.
• Snow Empress said the woman was probably the Soul Beast Sovereign.
• Xiao Wu doubted that a Soul Beast Sovereign existed, saying she had never heard of one despite living in the Star Dou Great Forest.

After Lu Jing was taken by a mysterious sovereign, Snow Empress left for the Star Dou Great Forest to seek answers from Di Tian, while Qian Renxue and Xiao Wu stayed behind to protect Wang Dong'er. Later that night, Wang Dong'er woke, but seemed unresponsive to Qian Renxue.

• Qian Renxue asked Snow Empress whether Lu Jing was in danger and how they could save him; Snow Empress said he was likely safe for now but she did not know where he had been taken.
• Snow Empress decided to visit Di Tian in the Star Dou Great Forest and ordered everyone to stay behind and protect the injured Wang Dong'er.
• Qian Renxue agreed to guard Wang Dong'er with Pufferfish and Snake Lance while Snow Empress went to seek information.
• Xiao Wu worried that Lu Jing would not return, and Qian Renxue comforted her and promised they would hold the manor until Snow Empress came back.
• Qian Renxue watched over the unconscious Wang Dong'er through the night, and Wang Dong'er eventually woke but did not seem to hear or feel Qian Renxue.

Wang Dong'er broke down over Xiao Jing's disappearance, but Qian Renxue stopped her from rushing to the Star Dou Great Forest while she was injured. Meanwhile, Lu Jing remained with Gu Yuena at the bottom of the Lake of Life, stunned by the Dragon God's reason for preventing soul beasts from becoming gods.

• Qian Renxue comforted Wang Dong'er and told her that the being who took Xiao Jing was a god-level sovereign beyond their power to oppose.
• Wang Dong'er asked where Snow Empress had gone, and Qian Renxue said she had gone to the Star Dou Great Forest to seek clues about Xiao Jing.
• Wang Dong'er tried to leave and find Xiao Jing, but Qian Renxue restrained her and urged her to recover instead of becoming a burden to Snow Empress.
• Wang Dong'er stopped struggling and wept as she realized how helpless she was in her weakened condition.
• Lu Jing stood before Gu Yuena at the bottom of the Lake of Life, silently processing the Dragon God's reason for restricting soul beasts from becoming gods.

Lu Jing discussed how influential gods might challenge the Divine Realm’s ban on soul beasts becoming gods, but argued that changing the rule alone would not save the race. He told Gu Yuena that only overwhelming power could rewrite the Divine Realm’s laws and resolve the conflict between soul beasts and humans.

• Lu Jing suggested that the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Kindness might support changing the restriction if a sufficiently influential person proposed it.
• Gu Yuena questioned who among the soul beasts could make such a proposal or persuade a deity to speak for them.
• Lu Jing warned that abolishing the restriction would not stop soul beasts from being hunted or their habitats from shrinking.
• Gu Yuena asked Lu Jing what could truly change the soul beasts’ situation.
• Lu Jing answered that someone would need absolute power to overturn the Divine Realm’s order and rewrite its laws.

Snow Empress arrived at the Lake of Life to seek Di Tian, but the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python mistook her for an intruder and attacked. She met their combined assault with only an indifferent glance, releasing a supreme pressure that left the confrontation unresolved.

• Snow Empress reached the Lake of Life and considered how to draw Di Tian out.
• The Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape sensed her presence and emerged to confront her.
• The Sky Azure Bull Python fired an azure energy beam while the Titan Giant Ape launched a crushing fist at Snow Empress.
• Snow Empress remained still and released a vast, icy pressure with a single glance.

Snow Empress arrived at the Lake of Life and demanded to speak with Di Tian, the Beast God, while seeking news of the Silver Dragon King. Di Tian emerged from the lake’s depths, and his composure shattered when Snow Empress asked whether the Silver Dragon King had awakened.

• Snow Empress recalled her overwhelming power and forced the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape to submit beneath the lake’s pressure.
• Snow Empress called for Di Tian, the true master of the Lake of Life.
• Di Tian stepped through a spatial rift and introduced himself to Snow Empress as the Beast God.
• Snow Empress asked Di Tian whether the Silver Dragon King, the common ruler of soul beasts, had awakened.
• Di Tian’s relaxed demeanor vanished, and he stared intently at Snow Empress.

Snow Empress warned Di Tian that Lu Jing was the inheritor of the God of Destruction and that Wang Dong'er was the Sea God's successor, making the Silver Dragon King's actions a threat to the soul beast race. She declared that she would prioritize Lu Jing's safety and waited for Di Tian to contact his lord as the two faced the danger of divine intervention.

• Di Tian said the Silver Dragon King had taken Lu Jing and that neither he nor Snow Empress could control the boy's fate.
• Snow Empress revealed that Lu Jing inherited the God of Destruction and Wang Dong'er had passed the Sea God's Seven Trials and claimed the Sea God Trident.
• Di Tian reacted with alarm at the risk that the Divine Realm might discover the Silver Dragon King's awakening and endanger the soul beast race.
• Di Tian accused Snow Empress of threatening him, but she said she was stating facts and would stand by Lu Jing as his friend.
• Snow Empress urged Di Tian to contact the Silver Dragon King quickly and waited by the Lake of Life for an answer.

Gu Yuena asked Lu Jing to advocate for repealing the ban on soul beasts becoming gods, but he explained that saving the Snow Empress alone would not require such a risky effort. He made clear that he had no obligation to help the soul beast race and asked what they could offer in exchange.

• Gu Yuena recognized Lu Jing as the inheritor of the God of Destruction and asked him to seek the repeal of the soul beasts’ ban on becoming gods.
• Lu Jing said he could save the Snow Empress through simpler means, such as reviving her after she sacrificed herself or bringing her into the Divine Realm.
• Gu Yuena realized she had mistaken Lu Jing’s concern for the Snow Empress as a reason to help the entire soul beast race and asked what he would require.
• Lu Jing declared that the soul beasts’ future was not his responsibility and asked what they could offer for his promise to speak at the God King Council.

Lu Jing rejected Gu Yuena’s attempts to persuade or pressure him, insisting that only a worthwhile offer could make him help her. After Di Tian reported that the Snow Empress was involving the Divine Realm, Gu Yuena released Lu Jing, who left open the possibility of speaking for her before a God King if she could offer something valuable.

• Lu Jing told Gu Yuena that he cared only for those close to him and would not be moved by appeals to racial duty or civilization’s future.
• Di Tian informed Gu Yuena that the Snow Empress had arrived at the Lake of Life and was trying to contact the Divine Realm about Gu Yuena taking Lu Jing and her whereabouts being exposed.
• Lu Jing promised not to reveal Gu Yuena’s location or information and asked her to let him go.
• Gu Yuena weighed the risks of holding Lu Jing against her lack of leverage, then dissolved the barrier and allowed him to leave.
• As he departed, Lu Jing told Gu Yuena that he might speak for her before a God King if she could offer something truly worthwhile.

Lu Jing emerged safely from the Lake of Life and reunited with Snow Empress, who had come from Heaven Dou City to find him. After sharing a grateful embrace, they flew toward Heaven Dou City, leaving Di Tian and the two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts behind.

• Lu Jing stepped out of the ripples over the lake and called to Snow Empress, who relaxed when she saw he was safe.
• Lu Jing teased Snow Empress about her concern and embraced her despite joking about Wang Dong'er getting angry.
• Lu Jing thanked Snow Empress, and she told him she owed her survival and chance to break through the seven-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck to him.
• Lu Jing and Snow Empress flew toward Heaven Dou City, while Di Tian watched them leave and the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape recovered from their fear.

Lu Jing returned safely to the courtyard, where Wang Dong'er rushed into his arms and wept with relief. As dawn brightened, Snow Empress, Qian Renxue, and Xiao Wu quietly watched before leaving the couple alone together.

• Wang Dong'er recognized Lu Jing at the courtyard entrance and ran barefoot to embrace him.
• Lu Jing held Wang Dong'er and comforted her as she sobbed against his shoulder.
• Snow Empress quietly returned to her room without disturbing their reunion.
• Qian Renxue watched through a window, smiled with relief, and closed it silently.
• Xiao Wu peeked through a door, saw Lu Jing had returned safely, and withdrew.
• Wang Dong'er kept clinging to Lu Jing as her crying subsided in the brightening dawn.

Gu Yuena considered whether to cooperate with Lu Jing to change the soul beasts’ fate, despite the danger of dealing with the God of Destruction’s inheritor. She argued that the soul beast race needed new possibilities and left Di Tian facing her resolve to accept the risks.

• Gu Yuena asked Di Tian whether Lu Jing might cooperate with the soul beasts.
• Di Tian warned her that Lu Jing’s inheritance from the God of Destruction made cooperation dangerous and could expose their plans to the Divine Realm.
• Gu Yuena acknowledged the risks and said the soul beast race had little hope if it continued following the rules and avoiding danger.
• Gu Yuena judged Lu Jing’s unconventional, pragmatic outlook could make him a valuable variable or at least keep him neutral.
• Gu Yuena declared that every reform involved risks and that fear of them would leave the soul beast race without a future.