Chapter Summaries

Dong Yun, disguised as Night Raven, stabbed Xue Qinghe in the palace and escaped, while Xue Qinghe arranged the attack to appear genuine. The next morning, Xue Ye and the princes learned that Night Raven had returned, and Xue Xing feared the renewed threat.

• Dong Yun refused Nan Li's suggestion to use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill and left for the palace alone.
• Dong Yun stabbed Xue Qinghe, then told him to handle Bibi Dong as she escaped over the palace roofs and triggered an alarm.
• Xue Ye rushed to Xue Qinghe's bedchamber, where Lyle treated his wound and Ling Yuan accepted blame for failing to protect him.
• Xue Ke wept at Xue Qinghe's bedside, while Xue Beng questioned how an assassin could breach the heavily guarded room.
• Xue Qinghe identified the attacker as Night Raven, and Xue Xing arrived the next morning in panic after hearing the name.

Xue Ye suspected Spirit Hall was behind Night Raven’s attack on Heaven Dou and ordered Xue Xing to investigate. Meanwhile, Nan Li and Dong Yun escaped the imperial palace and returned to Blazing Fire Academy, where Dong Yun recovered from her injuries and recognized that Qian Renxue had punished her for defying her.

• Xue Ye blamed Spirit Hall for targeting Heaven Dou and assigned Xue Xing to investigate Night Raven.
• Nan Li and Dong Yun used their Martial Soul Fusion Skill to flee Heaven Dou City and reach Blazing Fire Academy before dawn.
• Nan Li collapsed from exhaustion and refused to let Red Cloud fetch Dan Hong, fearing Dong Yun’s identity would be exposed.
• Nan Li tended to Dong Yun while Red Cloud helped them rest in the darkened dormitory.
• Dong Yun woke and recalled that Qian Renxue had arranged obstacles to punish her for leaving the imperial palace.
• Nan Li stopped Dong Yun from sitting up and told her several of her ribs were broken.

Nan Li cared for the injured Dong Yun and learned that Qian Renxue planned to use a supposed assassination attempt to leave Heaven Dou. Days later, Xue Qinghe revealed a double named Yin who would take his place while he departed.

• Nan Li decided to take Dong Yun to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, though Dong Yun claimed she could walk despite her injuries.
• Nan Li accused Dong Yun of putting on an act, then regretted leaving her alone at Blazing Academy while Dong Yun said their choices had brought them what they wanted.
• Dong Yun explained that news of Xue Qinghe's grave injuries would spread through Heaven Dou City, and Nan Li wondered whether Qian Renxue had disclosed her return to Spirit City as a test.
• Several days later, Xue Qinghe appeared uninjured in the Imperial Palace and summoned Yin, a lookalike who could impersonate him.
• Xue Qinghe stabbed Yin to make his injuries convincing, then left him to treat himself and told Ling Yuan that Yin would take his place.
• Xue Qinghe watched the window and warned A-Yun not to disappoint him.

The Advancement Tournament began, and Blazing Fire Academy won its first-round match against Fabia Academy. Shrek Academy also defeated Balak Academy, and the next day's draw paired Shrek Academy with Blazing Fire Academy.

• Dong Yun stopped Nan Li from decorating their room and threw her and Red Cloud outside when Nan Li protested.
• Huo Wushuang defeated six Fabia Academy contestants before losing from exhaustion, and Huo Wu secured Blazing Fire Academy's victory with one move.
• Nan Li watched Beast Academy's match and recognized Meng Yiran, who defeated three opponents before leaving the field exhausted.
• Xiao Wu lost to Balak Academy's poisonous Sunflower Soul Ancestor, and Tang San retaliated before Balak Academy's teacher conceded.
• The Element Academies won their matches, and the next day's draw paired Blazing Fire Academy with Shrek Academy.

Blazing Fire Academy faced Shrek Academy, and Tang San defeated Huo Wushuang with unusual techniques and relentless, poison-coated Blue Silver Grass lashes. Huo Wushuang was left badly injured, and Nan Li realized he needed to be taken off the stage and detoxified immediately.

• Nan Li asked Dong Yun to put her before Huo Wu in the lineup, but Dong Yun submitted the original order and told Nan Li not to shield her teammates from every challenge.
• Nan Li warned Huo Wushuang that Tang San was a dangerous control-type Soul Master, and Huo Wushuang promised to defeat him.
• Nan Li observed Plant Academy’s all-female team of plant-using Soul Masters before Blazing Fire Academy’s match against Shrek Academy began.
• Huo Wushuang faced Tang San, who overcame his fire-based attacks with Mysterious Jade Hand, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and other Tang Sect techniques.
• Tang San knocked Huo Wushuang down and repeatedly lashed him with poisoned, thorn-covered Blue Silver Grass, leaving Huo Wu furious and Huo Wushuang spitting blood.
• Nan Li decided Huo Wushuang had to be taken off the stage and detoxified immediately.

Huo Wushuang was poisoned and defeated by Tang San, so Huo Wu faced him next. She used her Ring Fusion and Resisting Fire Ring to force Tang San into her explosive attack, and both were blasted away, leaving the match’s outcome unresolved.

• Nan Li pulled the poisoned Huo Wushuang from the fight, and Huo Wu conceded on his behalf before going to face Tang San.
• Huo Wu used her Resisting Fire Ring to keep Tang San at a distance while he leaped over it and she charged her Ring Fusion attack.
• Tang San used Blue Silver Grass to pull Huo Wu toward him as his web failed to stop her incandescent fireball.
• Huo Wu unleashed her Resisting Fire Ring to shove Tang San into the fireball, while Tang San wrapped himself in Blue Silver Grass and used the Eight Spider Soul Bone to lessen the blow.
• The fireball’s impact blasted Tang San and Huo Wu away; Huo Wu’s Soul Power was exhausted, but she survived.

Nan Li caught the injured Huo Wu, then defeated Shrek Academy’s first five fighters with little effort. Xiao Wu entered the arena to test Nan Li’s strength, but Nan Li caught her braid and ankle before she could complete her throw.

• Nan Li caught Huo Wu as she flew out of the arena, and Dong Yun helped steady them.
• Nan Li defeated Ma Hongjun, Jing Ling, and Huang Yuan, sparing Huang Yuan after Dong Yun warned her not to cripple him.
• Yu Xiaogang refused Flender’s suggestion to concede and sent Xiao Wu in to probe Nan Li’s strength.
• Xiao Wu used Charm and Instantaneous Movement to get behind Nan Li, then tried to begin an Eight-Stage Throw.
• Nan Li caught Xiao Wu’s braid and ankle, resisted her pull, and tugged her closer.

Nan Li knocked out Xiao Wu and defeated Dai Mubai with the Flame Arrow Southern Bright Bow, then learned she would lead Blazing Fire Academy’s matches while Dong Yun stayed out. In the following preliminaries, rival teams forfeited to Blazing Fire Academy, Shrek Academy recovered some morale, and Blazing Fire Academy beat Tianshui Academy.

• Nan Li knocked Xiao Wu unconscious and sent Liu Erlong to retrieve her, then taunted the competing teams at Dong Yun’s urging.
• Nan Li defeated Dai Mubai and kicked him off the stage, displaying her strength to the tournament audience.
• Dong Yun told Nan Li that Wushuang and Huo Wu needed time to recover and left Nan Li to compete while the royal family was present.
• Blazing Fire Academy’s opponents forfeited their matches, while Shrek Academy gained morale after beating Plant Academy and then battled Skywater Academy.
• Shui Bing’er swept three Shrek Academy opponents before Xiao Wu exhausted her Soul Power and Dai Mubai ended the prolonged match.
• Blazing Fire Academy faced Tianshui Academy; Huo Wu defeated four opponents after the Fire Leopard Soul Masters lost, and Nan Li finished the match.

Blazing Fire Academy defeated Godwind Academy in the tournament after Huo Wushuang and Feng Xiaotian fought to a draw. Nan Li suspected Feng Xiaotian’s slow Soul Power growth indicated a problem and offered to have Dan Hong examine him, but Feng Xiaotian refused.

• Skywater Academy lost to Thunder Academy, and Nan Li noticed Dan Qing immediately went to support Shui Bing'er after her match.
• Blazing Fire Academy faced Godwind Academy, whose flying members were countered by Huo Yun and Huo Yu, while Huo Wu defeated three opponents before running out of Soul Power.
• Huo Wushuang defeated Godwind Academy’s sixth member but drew with Feng Xiaotian, leaving Godwind Academy without anyone else to send out.
• Nan Li called Feng Xiaotian over and suggested Dan Hong examine his unusually slow Soul Power growth.
• Feng Xiaotian took offense at the suggestion and refused to let Dan Hong examine him.

Blazing Fire Academy faced Thunder Academy in the promotion tournament, where Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu fought through several opponents. Thunder Academy’s Lei Tian took the field and used his third soul skill to fly above Huo Wu, exploiting a possible weakness in her defenses.

• Feng Xiaotian’s Soul Power rose to level forty-five as Godwind Academy won its matches against Thunder Academy and Skywater Academy.
• Blazing Fire Academy’s teachers had arranged a voluntary concession to Thunder Academy during the qualifiers, but Nan Li and Dong Yun said the competitors had received no instructions about the agreement.
• Huo Wushuang fought Thunder Academy’s first four competitors and exhausted his Soul Power before Huo Wu replaced him.
• Huo Wu used Resisting Fire Ring twice to defeat Thunder Academy’s fourth competitor by forcing him to expend his Soul Power.
• Lei Tian entered the arena, released his Thunder Eagle Martial Soul, and flew into the air with lightning gathering around him.

Huo Wu defeated Thunder Academy’s fifth contestant, Lei Tian, by using her fire skills to blunt his aerial attack without resorting to Ring Fusion. Thunder Academy’s vice-captain, Lei Dong, then challenged her with a lightning trap and launched his Fourth Soul Skill, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Lei Tian combined his Third and Fourth Soul Skills to send a massive Thunder Eagle diving at Huo Wu.
• Huo Wu used Blazing Fire Sun to stall the Thunder Eagle, escaped its reach, and deflected the resulting blast with Resisting Fire Ring.
• Lei Tian exhausted his Soul Power and was injured by the explosion; he then lost control of the Thunder Eagle and could no longer fight.
• Lei Dong entered the arena, used his Thunder Spider Martial Soul to trap Huo Wu between lightning nets, and fired his Fourth Soul Skill, Lock God Ring.

Huo Wu and Lei Dong seriously injured each other in their duel, and Dong Yun secretly treated Huo Wu while Nan Li continued the match and defeated Yu Tianxin. Afterward, Nan Li had Dong Yun apply medicine to the lightning wound on her face.

• Huo Wu used Ring Fusion and her remaining Soul Power to unleash Blazing Fire Sun, while Lei Dong sacrificed an arm to survive the attack; both fighters collapsed or were thrown from the arena.
• Nan Li was struck by stray lightning, and Dong Yun carried Huo Wu away to conceal her and dissipated the currents in their bodies with her Golden Flame.
• Nan Li attacked Yu Tianxin from a distance with string blades and three arrows, forcing him to surrender.
• Dong Yun reassured Yu Tianxin that Huo Wu was fine and that the duel would not damage relations between their academies.
• Dan Hong tried to treat Nan Li's wound, then handed the medicine to Dong Yun, who splashed it onto Nan Li's face.

Nan Li watched Tang San defeat Feng Xiaotian in the advancement matches, where Salas recognized Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer and resolved to report him to the Pope. After the tournament’s top teams set out for Spirit City, someone arrived at the Pope’s Palace and addressed Bibi Dong as “Mother.”

• Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai defeated Thunderclap Academy, and Shrek Academy later faced Godwind Academy in a showdown between Tang San and Feng Xiaotian.
• Feng Xiaotian unleashed his Fifty-Four Consecutive Slashes of the Gale Wolf, but Tang San used the Clear Sky Hammer to win as Feng Xiaotian’s wings shattered.
• Salas recognized Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer and decided to report his Twin Martial Souls and Clear Sky Sect connection to the Pope.
• Blazing Fire Academy finished first in the advancement matches, followed by Shrek Academy, Godwind Academy, Thunderclap Academy, and Skywater Academy.
• After a three-day rest, Xue Beng and Xue Xing led the competing teams toward Spirit City, while Yu Xiaogang had already departed ahead of Shrek Academy.
• A tall figure entered the Pope’s Palace and called Bibi Dong “Mother.”

Qian Renxue returned to Spirit City and warned Bibi Dong about key figures in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, urging her to strengthen the plan to ambush Tang San. Meanwhile, Nan Li’s team traveled toward Spirit City, and Nan Li sensed they were entering the mountains.

• Qian Renxue reunited with Bibi Dong in the Pope's Palace and said she had important matters to discuss.
• Qian Renxue told Bibi Dong that Dong Yun and Nan Li were under her protection and that both were Soul Kings under twenty.
• Qian Renxue asked Bibi Dong to send more forces to intercept Tang San, explaining that Tang Hao might reveal himself and lead them to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Qian Renxue said she would ask Qian Daoliu to send Enshrined Elders to support the mission.
• Nan Li lounged with Huo Wu and Dan Hong in the team carriage while Dong Yun tried to keep her in place.
• Nan Li sensed the convoy approaching a mountain pass and warned the others that they were entering the mountains.

Nan Li and Dong Yun’s convoy was ambushed in a mountain pass by Spirit Hall’s Dark Soul Guards, and the academies and Heaven Dou Royal Knights fought back. Dan Hong’s flames halted the attackers briefly, but an ice-blue arrow struck Nan Li’s summoned Chongming Bird, leaving her wounded and suspecting who had fired it.

• Nan Li warned the convoy to enter the mountain shortcut and sensed attackers waiting on the slopes.
• Boulders rained down, and thousands of black-clad figures charged the convoy as the Soul Masters and Heaven Dou Royal Knights fought them.
• Nan Li, Dong Yun, Huo Wu, and Huo Wushuang defended Blazing Fire Academy’s team while Nan Li spotted dozens of Soul Kings among the attackers.
• Dong Yun remembered that Qian Renxue had once considered asking him to act during the final tournament, and wondered if she had planned for him to kill Tang San.
• Dan Hong unleashed her sixth Soul Skill, Dan Yu Liao Kong, and swept the hillsides with flames, temporarily stopping enemy reinforcements.
• An unseen attacker fired an ice-blue arrow at Dan Hong; Nan Li blocked it with her Chongming Bird Soul Bone, was injured, and suspected the shooter might be someone she knew.

Nan Li and the academy teams faced an ambush by black-clad Soul Masters while Guang Ling Douluo tested her with arrows from afar. Qing Ya and other allies intervened, and Nan Li joined Shui Bing'er and Dan Qing in fighting their way toward Blazing Fire Academy.

• Nan Li recognized that the unseen archer was likely Guang Ling, and Guang Ling fired ice-blue arrows at her and Red Cloud from the mountaintop.
• Wu Lei blocked one arrow, then Qing Ya arrived, crushed another, and drove off the attackers near Dan Hong.
• Qing Luan pulled Guang Ling away, reminding him that their target was elsewhere and the Young Master had ordered them not to kill the competing teams.
• Nan Li flew to aid Skywater Academy and Shrek Academy, where Dan Qing and many students had been injured by a larger group of attackers.
• Shui Bing'er raised an ice wall while Dan Qing boosted her teammates' speed, and Nan Li used Crimson Feather Rain to blast the pursuing Soul Masters.
• Nan Li and Shui Bing'er fought while protecting Dan Qing, and Dong Yun caught up as they continued retreating toward Blazing Fire Academy.

Nan Li and Dong Yun defended the Skywater Academy students while the other academies faced Spirit Hall, and the conflict around Shrek Academy escalated. As Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin confronted Spirit Hall over Tang San, Qian Renxue’s real target, Xue Beng, was crushed to death beneath falling rocks.

• Nan Li and Dong Yun shielded the Skywater Academy students from Spirit Hall’s pursuing Soul Masters while the four Element Academies and Heaven Dou Royal Academy gathered under Qing Ya and Dugu Bo’s protection.
• Dong Yun collapsed after admitting she had been wounded while protecting Dan Hong, and Nan Li supported her as the danger around their group eased.
• The Couple of Dragon and Snake left with Chrysanthemum Douluo to save Meng Yiran, while Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin arrived to protect Tang San and confronted Moon Guan and Ghost.
• Prince Xue Xing tried to escort Xue Beng toward Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but falling rocks crushed Xue Beng before Dugu Bo could reach them.
• Dugu Bo cleared the rocks and Xue Xing found Xue Beng dead, with his body crushed by the boulder.

Spirit Hall ambushed Shrek Academy to draw out Tang Hao and kill Tang San, while Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo struggled to protect the students. With their allies overwhelmed and escape blocked, Tang San offered to die if Spirit Hall would spare the others.

• Guang Ling's arrow killed Xue Beng, and Azure Luan and Guang Ling headed toward Shrek Academy as Spirit Hall's disguised Soul Masters trapped the carriage between fallen boulders.
• Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo confronted Moon Guan and Ghost, while Xiao Wu discovered her aura-concealing medicine was gone and Tang San told her to hide in the carriage.
• Azure Luan and Guang Ling arrived, and the standoff erupted as Sword Douluo attacked, Ghost charged Ning Fengzhi, and the Spirit Hall Douluos engaged their opponents.
• Sword Douluo drove Ghost back and returned Ning Rongrong to Ning Fengzhi, while Azure Luan easily defeated Flender and Liu Erlong when they tried to shield Shrek's students.
• Guang Ling aimed his arrow at Shrek Academy, and Tang San offered to take his own life if Spirit Hall released the others.

Tang Hao arrived in time to save Tang San from Guang Ling Douluo, while Nan Li discovered that Xue Beng was dead and suspected Qian Renxue had used the assassination to sow discord. After the traveling academies cleared a landslide, Nan Li saw a streak of dark light fleeing into the distance.

• Tang San offered to die to spare the others, but Tang Hao intervened and shattered Guang Ling Douluo's icy arrow with his Clear Sky Hammer.
• Nan Li found Xue Beng dead and considered how Qian Renxue's plans might have led to his death.
• Nan Li questioned Dong Yun about Xue Beng, but Dong Yun denied being involved before coughing up blood and collapsing.
• Nan Li helped Dong Yun return to the carriage and sent Red Cloud to watch over her.
• A landslide struck the road after Tang Hao's attack, and the academies and Qing Ya and Dugu Bo worked together to clear it.
• Nan Li climbed to the mountaintop and saw a streak of dark light fleeing at the horizon.

After Xue Beng was killed in an attack disguised as an accident, the tournament convoy continued toward Spirit City while several competitors and Shrek Academy withdrew. Nan Li reassured Dong Yun that she trusted her and said Blazing Fire Academy would still aim to win the championship.

• Guang Ling Douluo and Qing Luan Douluo killed Xue Beng and escaped without leaving evidence, and Prince Xue Xing replaced him as the convoy's envoy.
• Tang Hao took Tang San and Xiao Wu away, while Ning Rongrong returned with Ning Fengzhi; Shrek Academy gave up its tournament qualification and headed home.
• Dong Yun sent Dan Hong with Qing Ya to Dragon Rising City to protect her from Spirit Hall's attention.
• Nan Li told Dong Yun that she trusted her and urged her not to let Qian Renxue's manipulation make her withdraw from their bond.
• Nan Li told Huo Wu that Dan Hong had left to prepare for a wedding and declared that Blazing Fire Academy would still win the championship.