Chapter Summaries

Lu Feng completed the Vein Connection using a Double Imprint Inscription, eliminating Tan Youzhi and astonishing the supervisor. Tang Yuan rejected a bribe and began fighting Zhao An, whose threats and attacks failed to overcome Tang Yuan’s strong defense.

• Lu Feng completed his jade-stone connection and warned Tan Youzhi just before Tan Youzhi’s stone shattered; the supervisor eliminated Tan Youzhi and recognized Lu Feng’s Double Imprint Inscription.
• The supervisor and the contestants learned that Lu Feng had used a rare inscription technique, while a refined-looking contestant watched him with interest.
• Lu Feng found Tang Yuan after Tang Yuan rejected an offer from Zhao An’s servant to throw their upcoming match for money.
• Tang Yuan faced Zhao An, shrugged off his threats, and gained the advantage in their first exchange of palm strikes.
• Zhao An swallowed a pill that increased his strength, but Tang Yuan dodged his enhanced attack to avoid injury before defending against Zhao An’s palm techniques.

Tang Yuan defeated Zhao An by adapting Zhao An’s palm techniques and using the Black Dragon’s Roar, then joined Lu Feng to watch the Array Duel. Lu Feng was paired against Qu Jiaojiao in a contest the supervisors had rigged to favor the three Core Formation Realm contestants, and he recognized Su Qing'er as a young woman disguised as a man.

• Tang Yuan studied Zhao An’s repeated palm strikes, used the Black Dragon’s Roar to stun him, and defeated him with a palm technique combining Zhao An’s forms.
• After Tang Yuan joined Lu Feng at the Array Duel, the supervisors arranged the remaining six contestants so Su Qing'er, Chai Tong, and Qu Jiaojiao would each face a weaker opponent.
• The rules required each contestant to set an Entrapment Array using supplied materials, and Lu Feng explained that breaking a formation array could depend on method rather than strength.
• Lu Feng was paired with Qu Jiaojiao, who asked him to use his best formation, and he considered how to overcome the limitations of the basic jade stones provided.
• Lu Feng identified the beast cores Qu Jiaojiao had chosen and inferred that she planned a Spirit-Consuming Type formation array, impressing Su Qing'er.
• Lu Feng noticed that Su Qing'er, whom he had thought was a delicate young man, was dressed as a man.

Lu Feng selected a Heart-Calming Turtle Core and three unusual spirit beast cores for his array, then used an advanced engraving technique to prepare them under the other participants’ scrutiny. As the crowd mocked his Mind-Calming Pattern, Lu Feng began work on the final core, leaving his array’s purpose unrevealed.

• Lu Feng told Qu Jiaojiao which cores he had chosen, then selected a Heart-Calming Turtle Core, a Dark-Eyed Brown Bat Core, a Short-Tailed Opossum Core, and a Fragrant Lemur Core.
• The supervisors started the one-hour array-making round, and Lu Feng engraved nine jade stones using the Twin-Blade Art while infusing them with spiritual energy at the same time.
• Su Qing'er recognized the Twin-Blade Art but realized Lu Feng’s engraving and Spirit Infusion method surpassed what she knew.
• Lu Feng finished engraving his jade stones far faster than the other array masters and prepared the three spirit beast cores, whose drowsiness-inducing natures he intended to exploit.
• Qu Jiaojiao mocked Lu Feng for engraving a Mind-Calming Pattern, and the assembled array masters joined in as he picked up the Heart-Calming Turtle Core.

Lu Feng used his Mind-Calming Entrapment Array to put Qu Jiaojiao to sleep, overcoming her powerful Dried Fish Depletion Array and winning their duel. Su Qing'er realized Lu Feng had amplified the effects of his chosen beast cores and began to admire his skill.

• Lu Feng completed a Mind-Calming Entrapment Array using the Twin-Blade Art, while the other contestants finished their arrays.
• Chai Tong quickly escaped Mo Bu Ren's array, and Su Qing'er broke free of Jia Song's array as the crowd watched Lu Feng and Qu Jiaojiao remain motionless.
• Qu Jiaojiao's Dried Fish Depletion Array drained Lu Feng's spiritual energy, while Lu Feng's array made her drowsy and concealed its core from her.
• Qu Jiaojiao fell asleep, causing her soul imprint and array force to vanish; Lu Feng stayed awake and secured the victory by enduring until time expired.
• Chai Tong speculated about the effects of Lu Feng's beast cores, and Su Qing'er recognized that he had used an amplification technique she had read about in an ancient text.

Lu Feng recovered from the Array Duel and watched Tang Yuan win a place in the top sixteen by defeating a stronger opponent. Tang Yuan then faced the notorious Lei Jian, and their fight began with Lei Jian launching a dagger attack at Tang Yuan’s throat.

• The supervisor declared Su Qing'er, Chai Tong, and Lu Feng the top three in the Array Duel, while Qu Jiaojiao was carried away asleep.
• Lu Feng went to watch Tang Yuan’s Martial Duel and recognized that Tang Yuan was using an improvised combat-marking technique.
• Tang Yuan defeated a peak Chakra Realm opponent and advanced to the top sixteen, then rested with Lu Feng and discussed finding an alchemist for recovery pills.
• Tang Yuan learned that his next opponent, Lei Jian, had killed previous opponents and prepared to use his combat technique.
• Lei Jian lunged at Tang Yuan from six steps away and stabbed toward his throat with a black dagger.

Tang Yuan defeated Lei Jian in a brutal arena match, then received treatment while Lu Feng avoided Qu Jiaojiao. The quarterfinal matchups were posted, leaving Tang Yuan worried about Wu Ying, whose record showed three uninjured victories over Core Formation Realm opponents.

• Lei Jian repeatedly attacked Tang Yuan’s vital points, and Tang Yuan endured the wounds while waiting for an opening.
• Tang Yuan used Black Dragon's Roar to stun Lei Jian, shattered his elbow with the Bone Removal Technique, and kicked him off the platform despite being stabbed near the heart.
• Lu Feng helped Tang Yuan toward the treatment area, then hid with him when Qu Jiaojiao appeared nearby.
• A healer removed Tang Yuan’s dagger and used Qihuang Stone Crystals to close most of his wound.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan returned to the arena and saw that Tang Yuan’s quarterfinal opponent was Wu Ying, a Seventh Stage of Chakra fighter who had defeated three Core Formation Realm opponents without injury.

Tang Yuan faced Wu Ying in the quarterfinals and struggled against his extraordinary speed and repeated internal attacks. After forming a Black Rune Bell to defend himself, Tang Yuan studied Wu Ying’s Shadowy Steps and dropped his barrier, leaving the fight at a tense turning point.

• Lu Feng warned Tang Yuan that Wu Ying had defeated three Core Formation Realm opponents without being injured, and Tang Yuan entered the quarterfinal with only eighty percent of his spiritual energy restored.
• Wu Ying offered to concede in exchange for a valuable treasure, then vanished when the gong sounded and struck Tang Yuan from behind with uncanny speed.
• Tang Yuan focused on defending as Wu Ying used Shadowy Steps to batter him repeatedly, building up force that threatened to injure his organs despite his intact exterior.
• Tang Yuan formed a Black Rune Bell that blocked Wu Ying’s next decisive palm, then recovered while Wu Ying continued attacking the barrier.
• Tang Yuan discerned the trajectory and limitations of Wu Ying’s footwork, dispersed his failing barrier, and faced Wu Ying without defense as Wu Ying claimed that speed made resistance futile.

Tang Yuan defeated Wu Ying by using his speed and momentum to carry them both off the fighting stage, while Lu Feng forfeited the Array Duel final because he stayed with Tang Yuan. Chai Tong won the array-restoration contest and pressured Su Qing'er into promising to marry him if Lu Feng failed to reach the middle stage of Core Formation within a year.

• Tang Yuan used a forceful stomp to seize Wu Ying and throw them both off the stage, earning the martial duel victory.
• The supervisor ranked the absent Lu Feng third in the Array Duel and announced that Chai Tong and Su Qing'er would restore a fragmentary array diagram for the final.
• Su Qing'er restored six groups of array patterns, three array cores, and one array implement, while Chai Tong restored seven groups, four cores, and one implement, winning the contest.
• Chai Tong demanded that Su Qing'er honor her promise to marry him, and she argued that the contest did not prove he surpassed her in array skill.
• Su Qing'er claimed Lu Feng would reach the middle stage of Core Formation within one year and surpass Chai Tong, then promised to marry Chai Tong if Lu Feng failed.

Tang Yuan watched the other top-four contenders before facing Luo Chen Shu, who defeated him with one palm and overwhelming soul pressure. After recovering from the loss, Tang Yuan learned from Lu Feng that Luo Chen Shu had suppressed his strength, leaving his true cultivation uncertain.

• Tang Yuan and Lu Feng watched Zhuo Fu Nan defeat Zhuo Jing Xiong, then judged Chai Mou and Zhou Xuan Gou's weapon duel to be rehearsed.
• They learned that Luo Chen Shu had won his Martial Duel match with one move, and the next day's top four were Zhuo Fu Nan, Zhou Xuan Gou, Tang Yuan, and Luo Chen Shu.
• Luo Chen Shu challenged Tang Yuan to withstand one move, then knocked him from the arena with a Qi Blade and soul pressure.
• Tang Yuan accepted his defeat but vowed to return Luo Chen Shu's move someday, while Lu Feng recognized Tang Yuan's determination to grow stronger.
• Lu Feng told Tang Yuan that Luo Chen Shu had suppressed his strength, prompting Tang Yuan to wonder whether Luo Chen Shu was stronger than Half-Step Core Plate Realm.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan watched the Soul Duel Tournament conclude, collected their rewards, and faced the City Lord's Mansion withholding Lu Feng's Soul Coins. Back at Jun Man Restaurant, Lu Feng accepted Tang Yuan's Heart Protecting Armor and a fragmentary array diagram, then declined an invitation to Su Estate as they prepared to leave for the Spirit Prison.

• Luo Chen Shu was revealed to have at least mid-Core Plate Realm strength, while Tang Yuan regretted that he could no longer win the Heart Protecting Armor for Lu Feng.
• After Zhou Xuan Gou died to Zhuo Fu Nan, Zhuo Fu Nan conceded first place to Luo Chen Shu, and Tang Yuan forfeited his match for second place; a resentful figure ordered three brothers summoned to eliminate two targets.
• At the award ceremony, Lu Feng reunited with Ye Fan, Tang Yuan received the Heart Protecting Armor, and Lu Feng accepted a fragment of an array diagram instead of his Soul Coin reward after Xia Xuhua claimed his withdrawal forfeited it.
• Zhuo Heng invited Lu Feng to serve the City Lord's Mansion, but Lu Feng declined in favor of cultivating in the Spirit Prison; he and Tang Yuan later returned to Jun Man Restaurant, where Tang Yuan gave him the armor.
• Lu Feng identified his gray brocade handkerchief as a restorable second-tier array fragment, declined an invitation to Su Estate, and agreed with Tang Yuan to leave for the Spirit Prison after resting.

After recovering by eating spiritual dishes, Tang Yuan and Lu Feng set out for the Dongyuan Spirit Prison but were ambushed in the Purple Maple Woods by three Core Formation Realm assassins. Lu Feng killed one attacker with a poisoned arrow, a trapping array, and his unsealed soul arrays, while Tang Yuan continued fighting the other two.

• Tang Yuan discovered that spiritual dishes suited to the black dragon’s tastes had mostly healed his injuries and strengthened his soul sea.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan headed toward the Purple Maple Woods ferry to reach the Dongyuan Spirit Prison.
• Three masked Core Formation Realm men surrounded them and demanded Tang Yuan’s Heart Protecting Armor; Tang Yuan suspected Zhao An had sent them.
• The attackers targeted Tang Yuan while Lu Feng disrupted their attacks with the Stellar Evolution Art and drew one pursuer away with his bow.
• Lu Feng wounded the pursuer with a poisoned arrow, trapped him in an array, and killed him with a sudden strike after unsealing two soul arrays.
• Lu Feng maintained the unsealed arrays and began forming a plan as Tang Yuan faced the two remaining attackers.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan survived an attack by three black-clad cultivators and discovered a hidden map inside Lu Feng’s Heart Protecting Armor. They reached Maple Forest Ferry and prepared to travel to the Eastern Origin Spirit Prison, where Lu Feng overheard a group plotting to kill someone.

• Lu Feng disguised himself as a dead black-clad man and killed another attacker, but the surviving leader recognized the deception and struck him.
• Tang Yuan used the Azure Dragon Seal to badly wound the black-clad leader, who then fled; Lu Feng recovered and found an incomplete map hidden in his Heart Protecting Armor.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan recovered in the Six Paths Coffin, then traveled to Maple Forest Ferry and negotiated the Teleportation Array fee down to ten thousand Copper Soul Coins each.
• At the ferry inn, Lu Feng overheard nearby people discussing a drug taking effect and planning to kill someone who had opposed them and taken a mission.

At Maple Forest Ferry, Lu Feng recognized the Bounty Soul Hunter’s exceptional saber control as he fought off four poisoned attackers. The Soul Hunter killed them all, broke through to middle Core Formation Realm, and collapsed asleep, while onlookers began eyeing his possessions.

• Lu Feng explained the Ten Knife Styles to Tang Yuan after recognizing the Soul Hunter’s precise Draw Knife technique.
• The four ambushers attacked the poisoned Soul Hunter, who stabbed his own thigh to stay conscious and killed one of them with a saber strike.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan moved to help, but the Soul Hunter refused their aid and killed another attacker with Point Knife.
• The Soul Hunter broke through to middle Core Formation Realm, used Draw Knife to kill a third attacker, and finished the last man with a thrown dagger.
• The exhausted Soul Hunter fell asleep, and several onlookers began plotting to steal his treasures.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan traveled to Eastern Origin Spirit Prison, received their entry tokens, and went to Heavenly Spirit Town while waiting for the prison to open. Lu Feng led Tang Yuan into the town’s Gambling House to show him a common scam.

• Lu Feng blocked two scoundrels from taking advantage of the wounded Soul Hunter, then secretly set up a restorative Auxiliary Array for him.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan took a teleportation array toward Eastern Origin Spirit Prison, while the Soul Hunter watched them depart.
• Tang Yuan confronted a man who cut in line for Spirit Prison Tokens, and Jia Tingxi intervened before warning Tang Yuan to meet him at the Battle Soul Arena.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan obtained their Spirit Prison Tokens and chose to visit Heavenly Spirit Town during the two-day wait for the prison to open.
• Lu Feng brought Tang Yuan into the Gambling House Extreme Bliss Impermanence to show him a common scam.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan watched a gaunt gambler lose his Soul Coins to a banker who secretly controlled the dice. When the gambler was about to lose his hand, he offered his unwed little sister to settle the debt and demanded an additional twenty thousand Soul Coins.

• Lu Feng explained the gambling rules to Tang Yuan and noticed a faint spiritual-energy fluctuation from the banker's dice cup.
• The gaunt man challenged the banker and lost each round, while Lu Feng recognized that the banker was cheating.
• Lu Feng tried to stop the man from wagering his hand, but the man rejected his warning and lost again.
• The banker summoned enforcers to cut off the man's hand, and the man begged Lu Feng to save him.
• The man offered his unwed little sister to repay the debt, then agreed to pledge her to the Spring Wave Brothel while demanding another twenty thousand Soul Coins.

Lu Feng challenged the dealer to save a thin man from losing his hand and won the first two rounds by overcoming the Gambling House’s tricks. After the thin man demanded the winnings, a richly dressed middle-aged man offered to replace the dealer for the third round, and Lu Feng demanded fifty thousand soul coins.

• The thin man agreed to wager his other hand, and Lu Feng challenged the dealer to three rounds of dice.
• The dealer’s Thousand Gold Array stopped working, and Lu Feng won the first round when his shattered die showed a total higher than the dealer’s three sixes.
• Lu Feng won the second round by stacking his dice so the top die showed no upward-facing pips, beating the dealer’s one-point roll.
• The thin man demanded the winnings, but Lu Feng refused and warned him not to risk his saved hand.
• A richly dressed middle-aged man asked to take the dealer’s place in the final round, and Lu Feng set the replacement fee at fifty thousand soul coins.

Lu Feng beat Hong Xiu Bo at Extreme Bliss Impermanence by secretly altering a jade dice tray, then left with Tang Yuan and entered Martial Arts Universe to evade their pursuers. The chapter ended with the gamblers’ men abandoning the arena and setting off after someone else.

• Hong Xiu Bo replaced the dealer and raised the third round’s stakes to eighty thousand soul coins, but Lu Feng distracted him and used a change to the jade tray to make him lose.
• Lu Feng collected his winnings and left Extreme Bliss Impermanence with Tang Yuan, then gave Wei Li An five thousand soul coins and rejected his offer to meet his sister.
• Lu Feng explained to Tang Yuan that formations had controlled the gambling table and dice trays, and that he had secretly altered a pattern on Hong Xiu Bo’s jade tray.
• Lu Feng noticed they were being followed and took Tang Yuan into Martial Arts Universe, where private fighting was forbidden.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan watched a battle between two Chakra Realm cultivators, and the man in red won after using a secret technique.
• The men following Lu Feng and Tang Yuan decided not to enter the arena and went after another person instead.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan discovered Wei Li An dead and rescued his mute younger sister from a lecherous man who tried to buy her. Though Lu Feng initially refused to let her follow them, her desperate pleas began to weaken his resolve.

• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan ate at Delicious World Restaurant, where Tang Yuan praised Instructor Xu's spirit cooking and returned for another meal the next day.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan found Wei Li An dead and saw his younger sister begging for money to bury him.
• When a fat man tried to buy the girl and force her to go with him, Lu Feng gave her thirty thousand soul coins and Tang Yuan intimidated the man into leaving.
• The girl wrote that she did not want anyone to add more sins to her brother's name, and Lu Feng and Tang Yuan left after she thanked them.
• The girl followed them and begged to stay, but Lu Feng warned that the cultivators' world was too dangerous and refused.
• The girl repeatedly kowtowed until her forehead bled, and Lu Feng's resolve began to waver.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan took in a girl who awakened her life soul after they saved her from being sold, and discovered she had hidden her beauty with crude paint. After helping her bury her brother Wei Li An, they encouraged her to stop disguising herself, leaving her cautiously washing the paint from her face.

• Lu Feng asked the girl if she was willing to face danger by traveling with them, and she agreed before fainting from awakening her life soul.
• Lu Feng cleaned the girl's wound and discovered that she had painted her naturally fair, beautiful face to look ugly.
• The girl dragged Wei Li An's body home, where Lu Feng and Tang Yuan followed and later helped bury him.
• Lu Feng and Tang Yuan learned how isolated and impoverished the girl's home was, and Lu Feng took over digging when he saw her injured shoulders.
• After the girl repainted her face, Lu Feng and Tang Yuan urged her not to hide her appearance anymore, and she began washing it off.

Lu Feng and Tang Yuan shared their food with the timid girl and learned about her harsh past. After she asked for a new name, Lu Feng named her Ruo Shui, and she accepted it with tearful happiness.

• The girl washed her face and served Lu Feng and Tang Yuan her meager supply of shriveled buns.
• Tang Yuan offered the girl pastries, and Lu Feng sternly urged her to eat by taking away her bun and feeding her a pastry.
• The girl ate several pastries, while Tang Yuan finished the remaining buns, and all three laughed together in the dark.
• The girl wrote her name as Wei A Mao and told Lu Feng and Tang Yuan about her parents’ deaths, her years of being trafficked, and the many names she had been given.
• The girl asked Lu Feng for a new name, and he named her Ruo Shui and encouraged her to become more confident.