Chapter Summaries

Qian Renxue rescued Xue Ye and confronted Ge Long as Lin Jin’s army defeated the forces guarding the palace. Ge Long surrendered his troops, asked Xue Ye to spare them and their families, then killed himself, leaving Lin Jin to defend Heaven Dou.

• Chen Xin killed the Soul Sage General, and Scottie’s Royal Knights seized the palace gate.
• Qian Renxue found Xue Ye in the Star Gazing Palace and escorted him out to join Lin Jin.
• Lin Jin confronted Ge Long and condemned his rebellion, while Xue Beng and Princess Xue Yue urged Ge Long to keep fighting.
• Xue Ye confronted Ge Long, who admitted his guilt and ordered his troops to lay down their weapons and obey Lin Jin.
• Ge Long asked Xue Ye to spare his soldiers and their families, then cut his own throat with the Marshal’s Sword.

After Ge Long and Xue Yue died at the palace gate, Emperor Xue Ye sentenced Xue Beng and assigned the surrendered rebels to an Atonement Camp. Gravely ill, he gave Qian Renxue the imperial seal and entrusted Lin Jin with defending the Southern Territory, leaving the empire’s rule and succession in their hands.

• Ge Long killed himself, and Xue Yue warned Xue Ye about abnormalities surrounding Qinghe before taking her own life beside Ge Long.
• Emperor Xue Ye ordered Xue Beng executed at noon and granted Ge Long and Xue Yue a joint burial outside the Imperial Mausoleum.
• Emperor Xue Ye sent Ge Long’s former subordinates to the Atonement Camp under Lin Jin to fight Star Luo’s invasion.
• Emperor Xue Ye collapsed after coughing blood and handed Qian Renxue the Heaven Dou Emperor’s Seal Ring.
• Emperor Xue Ye charged Lin Jin with holding the Southern Territory and told Qian Renxue to oversee state affairs as Heaven Dou’s Crown Prince.

Qian Renxue watched Emperor Xue Ye fall into a coma and learned he had only days to live. After securing Heaven Dou City and concealing his condition, she questioned whether she could treat her years in the empire as merely a mission, leaving her conflicted about Spirit Hall and her mother’s plans.

• Qian Renxue called for every imperial doctor after Emperor Xue Ye collapsed, but they said his damaged heart vein left him little time to live.
• Xue Ke rushed to her father’s bedside, and Qian Renxue comforted her before giving them a private moment together.
• Qian Renxue ordered Lin Jin and Ning Fengzhi to restore military and civil order, asked Chen Xin and Dugu Bo to guard the palace, and directed that Xue Ye’s critical condition be kept secret.
• Snake Lance and Pufferfish asked Qian Renxue whether her mission was complete, and she said she was not her mother and questioned whether her years with Xue Ye and Heaven Dou had been false.

Qian Renxue refused to hand Heaven Dou over to Bibi Dong until she understood her true purpose, while Lin Jin rallied the army to prepare for the Star Luo invasion. As Heaven Dou's border defenses weakened, Emperor Xue Ye awakened and asked Qian Renxue to help him sit up so he could speak.

• Qian Renxue told Snake Lance and Pufferfish to inform the Pope that her mission was still underway because she would not hand Heaven Dou over without learning Bibi Dong's true purpose.
• Lin Jin assigned Lei Ke, A Tu, Tie Shan, and Shadow to restore the East City Gate, calm civilians, and investigate the enemy army.
• Lin Jin rallied the Blood Blade Army and Ge Long's former soldiers, and they agreed to fight the Star Luo invaders and defend Heaven Dou.
• Lin Jin reported that two kingdoms had rebelled and left Heaven Dou's southwestern approaches exposed, with Dou Ling Pass as the last major barrier.
• Emperor Xue Ye awakened, and he asked Qian Renxue to help him sit up because he had something to tell her.

As Xue Ye lay dying, he confronted Qian Renxue about her identity, and she confessed that she was Spirit Hall’s undercover agent who had killed the real Xue Qinghe. After recognizing her Angel God heritage, Xue Ye asked her to protect Heaven Dou’s people, leaving her with his final plea.

• Xue Ye sent Lin Jin, Xue Ke, and the others outside so he could speak to Qian Renxue alone.
• Xue Ye challenged Qian Renxue to reveal who she really was, and she confessed her identity as Qian Renxue, daughter of Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong.
• Qian Renxue told Xue Ye that she had killed the real Xue Qinghe when she was twelve, and Xue Ye mourned his son.
• Xue Ye revealed that he knew Qian Renxue was the Angel God’s inheritor and explained that he had given her the ring because he hoped she would protect the people.
• Xue Ye used his remaining strength to beg Qian Renxue, in the name of Xue Qinghe, to protect Heaven Dou’s innocent citizens.

After Xue Ye asked Qian Renxue to protect the Heaven Dou Empire, she swore to defend its people and watched him die. She inherited the throne as Xue Qinghe and immediately ordered reinforcements for Dou Ling Pass.

• Qian Renxue vowed in the names of the Angel God and Xue Qinghe to protect the Heaven Dou Empire and its citizens.
• Xue Ye entrusted Princess Xue Ke to Qian Renxue, revealed the imperial edict and seal were in his Dragon Pattern Ring, and died at age seventy-three.
• Lin Jin, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, and others entered and knelt as the palace announced Xue Ye's death across Heaven Dou City.
• Qian Renxue retrieved Xue Ye's edict and seal, read his succession decree, and was acclaimed as emperor.
• Qian Renxue appointed Lin Jin commander of the Southern Territory's armies and ordered him to reinforce Dou Ling Pass before Star Luo's main force arrived.
• Qian Renxue tasked Ning Fengzhi with coordinating supplies and military equipment while overseeing the state funeral and coronation.

Star Luo Emperor Dai Tianfeng ordered an invasion of the Heaven Dou Empire after learning of Xue Ye’s death and Ge Long’s suicide, while Lin Jin prepared to defend against Star Luo’s advance. The chapter left Lin Jin mobilizing troops to fortify Dou Ling Pass against an army of roughly five hundred thousand.

• A Night Owl agent reported that Ge Long had killed himself, Xue Ye had died, and Xue Qinghe had succeeded him as Heaven Dou Emperor.
• Dai Tianfeng ordered the White Tiger and Nether Legions, the Tiger Armored Army, and the Vanguard Camp to march on Heaven Dou, making the campaign a contest for the crown prince between Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi.
• Dai Mubai warned Dai Tianfeng about Lin Jin’s strength and military skill, but Dai Weisi accused him of undermining morale; Dai Tianfeng ordered both princes and the Zhu Sisters to join the campaign under Marshal Xiao Yeyang.
• Tie Shan and Shadow informed Lin Jin that Star Luo had sent about five hundred thousand troops toward the two kingdoms, with Balak possibly providing supplies.
• Lin Jin ordered the troops gathered and directed them to deploy defenses at Dou Ling Pass.

The author announced that he had finished his last day at work and planned to travel 400 kilometers home the next morning. After years of exhausting car-modification work, he planned to rest for a year and try writing full-time.

• The author said he had completed his final day and would set out for home the next morning.
• The author explained that he had spent ten years modifying cars and had become worn down by the poor pay and working conditions.
• The author said he had thought carefully before quitting and would rest at home for a year while testing whether full-time novel writing could support him.
• The author thanked readers for their support, advice, and concern.

On the eve of the campaign against the Star Luo Army, Qian Renxue revealed to Lin Jin that she had impersonated Xue Qinghe for ten years. Lin Jin accepted her as both his emperor and Qian Renxue, then promised to defend Dou Ling Pass and return alive.

• Qian Renxue summoned Lin Jin to the Star Gazing Platform at midnight, while Snake Lance Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo withdrew after she confirmed her decision.
• Qian Renxue asked Lin Jin what he would do if she were not Xue Qinghe, then revealed her true identity and Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.
• Qian Renxue confessed that she had killed the real Xue Qinghe and impersonated him for ten years, and that the former emperor had known the truth before passing the throne to her.
• Lin Jin affirmed his loyalty to Xue Qinghe and Qian Renxue, and vowed to defend Dou Ling Pass for Heaven Dou and his younger sister.
• Qian Renxue promised to protect Lin Jin's younger sister and asked Lin Jin to return alive; he agreed.

Lin Jin led two hundred thousand Heaven Dou troops south to defend Dou Ling Pass after Qian Renxue rallied them at the city gates. As the army departed, Qian Renxue entrusted Lin Jin with the Former Emperor’s signet ring and ordered aid for soldiers’ families.

• Qian Renxue addressed the assembled troops, urging them to defend Heaven Dou and its people from the Star Luo invasion.
• Lin Jin rallied the Blood Blade Army, the Atonement Camp, and the other troops, then led them south toward Dou Ling Pass.
• Qian Renxue secretly slipped the Dragon Pattern Ring into Lin Jin’s palm as he departed, and Snake Lance assured her that he would return.
• After seeing a mother and child bid farewell to a departing soldier, Qian Renxue exempted the families of departing soldiers from taxes for three years and promised support for children and parents of those killed in battle.

Qian Renxue received Ghost Douluo, who delivered Bibi Dong’s order for her to return to Spirit City and warned her that the Pope had become ruthless in her pursuit of unifying the continent. Qian Renxue defended her commitment to Heaven Dou and its people, leaving her choice between Spirit Hall and the empire unresolved.

• Snake Lance Douluo told Qian Renxue that people from Spirit Hall had arrived, and Ghost Douluo knelt before her as the Saintess.
• Ghost Douluo delivered Bibi Dong’s congratulations and ordered Qian Renxue to return to Spirit City and report, saying the Pope had made other arrangements for Heaven Dou.
• Qian Renxue challenged the idea of Spirit Hall taking over and asked what would happen to Heaven Dou’s people, officials, and the two hundred thousand soldiers heading south.
• Qian Renxue explained how she had governed Heaven Dou for ten years and said she now genuinely wanted its people to have better lives.
• Ghost Douluo warned Qian Renxue that Bibi Dong had become increasingly ruthless and showed no mercy toward anyone who opposed her goal of unifying the continent.
• Qian Renxue recalled Qian Daoliu’s words about her being the heir of the Angel God and realized he had expected her to face a choice between Spirit Hall, Heaven Dou, and her own heart.

Qian Renxue learned that Bibi Dong had prepared overwhelming forces to help Star Luo destroy Heaven Dou if she refused to return to Spirit Hall. She chose to stand with Heaven Dou and trusted Lin Jin to defend Dou Ling Pass, leaving her next move uncertain as Ghost Douluo departed to deliver her message.

• Ghost Douluo told Qian Renxue that Bibi Dong would support Star Luo if Qian Renxue refused to report back, ensuring Heaven Dou's destruction.
• Ghost Douluo revealed that Bibi Dong had gathered the Four Sons of the Royal Banner and a ten-thousand-strong soul master legion to reinforce Star Luo.
• Qian Renxue considered the forces defending Dou Ling Pass and remembered Lin Jin's vow to protect the land and its people.
• Qian Renxue told Ghost Douluo to tell Bibi Dong that she would stand with Heaven Dou and make a flaw in her plan.
• Qian Renxue asked Ghost Douluo to send her regards to her grandfather, and he left to relay her words.
• Snake Lance Douluo asked whether Qian Renxue believed Lin Jin could repel Star Luo, and she said she did.

Qian Renxue sent Lin Jin Spirit Hall intelligence and rallied Heaven Dou’s soul master academies as Lin Jin prepared to defend Dou Ling Pass against Star Luo’s 500,000 troops and Spirit Hall’s reinforcements. After Lin Jin asked his commanders whether they believed in him, they pledged to follow him into battle.

• Qian Renxue sent Snake Lance to deliver Lin Jin a sealed intelligence report and tell him she was waiting for his good news.
• Qian Renxue ordered Pufferfish to arrange a meeting with the Heaven Dou Empire’s academy deans and this year’s competition teams.
• Snake Lance delivered Qian Renxue’s report to Lin Jin, revealing that Spirit Hall planned to send four Titled Douluo and a 10,000-strong Soul Master Legion to the Star Luo camp.
• Lin Jin summoned his commanders and told them that Qian Renxue had chosen to resist Spirit Hall and stand with Heaven Dou.
• Lei Ke and the other commanders affirmed their faith in Lin Jin and vowed to follow him into battle.

Qian Renxue summoned the academy deans and young Soul Masters to reveal that Spirit Hall had joined Star Luo’s invasion, leaving Heaven Dou badly outnumbered. She asked the gathered Soul Masters whether they were afraid to die.

• Qian Renxue arrived at the council meeting and took the Main Seat as the academy deans and competition teams gathered.
• Bai Baolin asked whether the meeting concerned Star Luo’s invasion, and Qian Renxue said it did, but not for that reason alone.
• Qian Renxue revealed that Spirit Hall had sent four Titled Douluo and a ten-thousand-strong Soul Master Legion to support Star Luo.
• Qian Renxue explained that Heaven Dou had only two hundred thousand soldiers, two Titled Douluo, and five thousand Soul Masters facing the combined enemy forces.
• Ning Fengzhi said Qian Renxue must have summoned them to ask for their help, and Qian Renxue asked the young Soul Masters whether they feared death.

Qian Renxue asked the academy students whether they feared death and explained that the Empire needed them to defend Dou Ling Pass. The students and then their deans volunteered to go to the front, leaving Qian Renxue with a new force willing to help defend the Empire.

• Qian Renxue told the gathered students that she feared death but feared Dou Ling Pass falling and Heaven Dou being conquered even more, then asked whether they would fight.
• Qian Renxue admitted she was asking the academies to send students to the front and said she would not force anyone to go.
• Dugu Yan volunteered the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team, and her teammates, including Lin Xue, stood with her.
• Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and Feng Xiaotian each announced that their academy teams would fight, followed by teams from other academies.
• The dean of Blazing Academy volunteered to go to Dou Ling Pass, and the other academy deans began standing to join him.

Qian Renxue and Ning Fengzhi set rules for academy reinforcements bound for the threatened Dou Ling Pass, balancing battlefield needs with preserving Soul Master education in the Heaven Dou Empire. The academies agreed to send qualified students and volunteer teachers, while each dean stayed behind to safeguard their legacy.

• The deans of Skywater, Godwind, and Blazing Academies volunteered to accompany their students into battle, moved by their responsibility as teachers.
• Qian Renxue thanked the teachers but warned them not to empty their academies and sever the Empire’s Soul Master legacy.
• Ning Fengzhi proposed that each dean remain behind, young teachers continue teaching, and only students at least sixteen years old with three or more Soul Rings be allowed to volunteer.
• Qian Renxue and the academies approved Ning Fengzhi’s proposal.
• Qian Renxue ordered eligible students and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s Soul Master force to assemble in seven days, with provisions, pay, equipment, and assignments arranged for the journey to Dou Ling Pass.

Star Luo Marshal Xiao Yeyang learned that Lin Jin was leading a large Heaven Dou force to Dou Ling Pass and weighed the threat posed by its powerful Soul Masters. As Xiao Yeyang warned against trusting the Spirit Hall, Gui Mei appeared in his tent and identified himself.

• Marshal Xiao Yeyang received a scout's report that Heaven Dou had about seventy thousand defenders at Dou Ling Pass and had sent another two hundred thousand troops under Lin Jin.
• The scout reported that Heaven Dou's Soul Master Corps included Dugu Bo, Chen Xin, and Lin Jin, giving it three fighters with Titled Douluo-level strength.
• Xiao Yeyang considered the cost of using soldiers to exhaust the enemy and recalled the veteran who had died saving him.
• The deputy general suggested seeking a Titled Douluo from the Spirit Hall, but Xiao Yeyang warned that its unusual silence and possible assistance could conceal an ulterior motive.
• Gui Mei entered Xiao Yeyang's tent and introduced himself as a member of the Spirit Hall.

Ghost Douluo revealed that Spirit Hall had agreed with Emperor Dai Tianfeng to claim Heaven Dou’s three southwestern provinces in exchange for helping Star Luo break through Dou Ling Pass. Xiao Yeyang learned that Spirit Hall had sent four Titled Douluo and a ten-thousand-strong Soul Master Legion, and he prepared to see how Lin Jin would face the threat.

• Xiao Yeyang questioned Ghost Douluo about Spirit Hall’s unusual stance toward Star Luo’s invasion.
• Ghost Douluo showed Xiao Yeyang the emperor’s sealed order, which ceded Heaven Dou’s three southwestern provinces to Spirit Hall after the war.
• Ghost Douluo introduced Long Qi, Tiger Banner, Bear Banner, and Que Qi as four Titled Douluo sent to help break through Dou Ling Pass.
• Long Qi told Xiao Yeyang that a ten-thousand-strong Soul Master Legion was already outside the barracks and ready to join the army.
• After Ghost Douluo left, Xiao Yeyang sent the four Douluo to rest and studied the map, wondering how capable Lin Jin would prove to be.

Lin Jin arrived at Dou Ling Pass with two hundred thousand soldiers and met Wu Chen, the veteran general who had defended it for thirty-one years. As they faced the coming five-hundred-thousand-man army and Spirit Hall forces, Lin Jin admitted his fears, and Wu Chen accepted him as the marshal who would take over the pass.

• Lin Jin led his two hundred thousand soldiers through Dou Spirit City and reached Dou Ling Pass, where Zhang Huan welcomed him on Wu Chen’s behalf.
• Zhang Huan showed Lin Jin the fortress defenses and explained that Wu Chen had guarded the pass for more than thirty years.
• Lin Jin found Wu Chen directing preparations atop the walls and introduced himself as the new marshal.
• Wu Chen acknowledged Lin Jin’s victory over Ge Long and said he had finally received the replacement he had awaited for thirty-one years.
• Wu Chen asked whether Lin Jin feared the approaching enemy, and Lin Jin admitted he feared losing the pass, failing his soldiers and emperor, and dying before his Younger Sister arrived.
• Wu Chen praised Lin Jin for admitting his fear and called that a sign of true fearlessness.

Lin Jin inspected Wu Chen’s defenses at Dou Ling Pass and identified the risk of elite Soul Masters attacking from the cliffs and rear. He ordered the mountain approaches guarded and nearby villagers evacuated as the empire prepared for a prolonged war of attrition.

• Wu Chen explained the pass’s walls, defenses, supplies, and command arrangements to Lin Jin.
• Lin Jin warned that Star Luo forces could feint at the western wall while elite Soul Masters climbed Eagle Sorrow Cliff and threatened the rear.
• Lin Jin argued that the defenders should hold the pass and exploit Star Luo’s long supply lines in a war of attrition.
• Lin Jin ordered Wu Chen to station troops at Eagle Sorrow Cliff, Tiger Roar Peak, and the mountain roads behind the pass.
• Lin Jin ordered nearby villagers moved into Dou Spirit City to protect them from Star Luo soldiers and prevent their provisions from being seized.