Chapter Summaries

Huangfu Ji learned why Xing Hu had rejected the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and stayed in Baihe City, hoping to recruit him. Tang Yuehua told him that the Meng family had placed a bounty on Xing Hu, giving Huangfu Ji a chance to earn his loyalty by protecting him and helping his mother.

• Tang Yuehua explained that Xing Hu likely refused the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect because it had not valued him enough, and that he needed support to care for his ill mother.
• Huangfu Ji decided to remain in Baihe City and try to approach Xing Hu, while Tang Yuehua chose to stay with him under the Clear Sky Sect's protection.
• Huangfu Ji visited the Great Soul Arena over the following days, but Xing Hu did not fight and he found no chance to contact him.
• Tang Yuehua told Huangfu Ji that the Meng family had offered one million Gold Soul Coins for Xing Hu's death after Xing Hu killed Meng Jin.
• Tang Yuehua suggested Huangfu Ji could use the bounty as an opportunity to save Xing Hu and help his mother, earning Xing Hu's allegiance.

Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua left Baihe City to search for Xing Hu, who had disappeared because of the Meng Family Bounty. After Tang Yuehua grew tired and hungry, they rested and shared cake, and she guessed Huangfu Ji and his friend Liu Erlong had feelings for each other.

• Tang Yuehua observed that Soul Masters around Baihe City were waiting for Xing Hu, and Huangfu Ji agreed that Xing Hu had likely gone into hiding.
• Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua left the city to search for Xing Hu, since Huangfu Ji could not afford to wait for him to reappear.
• After two hours of walking, Tang Yuehua became exhausted and teased Huangfu Ji for neglecting to treat her gently.
• Tang Yuehua asked whether Huangfu Ji had a girlfriend, and he said he did not.
• When Tang Yuehua grew hungry, Huangfu Ji shared cake made by Liu Erlong, and Tang Yuehua inferred that the two liked each other.

Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua entered a remote mountain forest to find Xing Hu, who was hiding from bounty hunters. After narrowly avoiding an axe thrown by Xing Hu, they faced him as he mistook them for assassins.

• Tang Yuehua and Huangfu Ji discussed Xing Hu's difficult past and why the forest was his safest refuge.
• Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua ventured deeper into the forest, where the surroundings fell unnaturally silent.
• Huangfu Ji pushed Tang Yuehua to the ground as a Mountain Splitting Axe flew past and struck a tree.
• Huangfu Ji shielded Tang Yuehua and called for the attacker to emerge.
• Xing Hu appeared with five Soul Rings and accused Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua of coming to kill him.

Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua approached Xing Hu, who was hiding from a bounty, and offered to help cure his mother in exchange for his service. Xing Hu agreed to wait one month for Huangfu Ji to bring the needed herb, pledging his life if his mother was cured.

• Huangfu Ji told Xing Hu that he and Tang Yuehua had come to help, not claim the bounty, and revealed that he could treat Xing Hu's mother.
• Xing Hu chose to trust Huangfu Ji after learning he was Grand Duke Qingyang and Tang Yuehua was the Clear Sky Sect master's daughter.
• Xing Hu led Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua to the wooden house where his ill mother was staying in the forest.
• Huangfu Ji said he did not have the Hundred Year Golden Leaf Grass Xing Hu needed but promised to bring it within one month.
• Xing Hu pledged his life to Huangfu Ji if he brought the Golden Leaf Grass and cured his mother, and Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua departed.

Huangfu Ji left Baihe City with Tang Yuehua and traveled toward Sunset Forest, hoping to find Golden Leaf Grass to recruit Xing Hu and treat his mother. In Tianyancheng, he learned that the Meng Family Head had gone after Xing Hu, then continued gathering information about the empire’s defenses as he neared Heaven Dou City.

• Huangfu Ji studied a map and wondered whether the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well held Golden Leaf Grass.
• Tang Yuehua told Huangfu Ji that Golden Leaf Grass grew sparsely in lush regions and suggested Sunset Forest as a possible place to search.
• Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua left Baihe City, ignored people secretly following their convoy, and arrived in Tianyancheng after half a month.
• Huangfu Ji heard that the Meng Family Head and several elites had pursued Xing Hu, and he hoped Xing Hu would survive.
• Huangfu Ji spent half a day learning about Tianyancheng and the empire’s military deployments while continuing toward Heaven Dou City.

Huangfu Ji arrived in Heaven Dou City and met with Emperor Xue Ye after Tang Yuehua warned him about the implications of his military notes. The chapter ended with Xue Ye promising to return Qingyang’s authority when Huangfu Ji came of age, a promise Huangfu Ji did not trust.

• Tang Yuehua asked Huangfu Ji whether he was planning a rebellion, and he denied it while privately considering how the empire might suppress him once he reclaimed power.
• Huangfu Ji resolved to prepare for the future by finding more talented people as the caravan continued toward Heaven Dou City.
• Huangfu Ji and Tang Yuehua arrived in Heaven Dou City, where she gave him her Clear Sky Sect token and told him to seek her help after finding Golden Leaf Grass.
• Huangfu Ji chose to stay at an inn rather than the Qingyang Duchy’s residence because he did not trust Yuan Hao, then went to the imperial palace to meet Xue Ye.
• Xue Ye welcomed Huangfu Ji, praised him, and said Qingyang’s authority would return to him when he came of age, but Huangfu Ji doubted the emperor’s promise.

Huangfu Ji evaded the Soul Masters watching him in Heaven Dou City and secretly left for Sunset Forest to search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. After searching through the night, he caught a faint scent of sulfur at the foot of a mountain the next morning.

• Huangfu Ji realized Xue Ye wanted to separate the Huangfu Family from Qingyang Duchy, while the Soul Masters who had ambushed him decided to keep watching until he left the city.
• Huangfu Ji sent a letter to Liu Erlong, then disguised himself and tricked his pursuers by leaving a waiter in his room.
• Huangfu Ji slipped out of Heaven Dou City and entered Sunset Forest to search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Huangfu Ji searched through the night, encountered dangerous soul beasts, and rested in the forest until morning.
• Huangfu Ji continued searching and caught a faint scent of sulfur at the foot of a mountain.

Huangfu Ji found the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and chose to consume the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot to strengthen himself and learn how to cure Dugu Bo's poison. After plunging into the spring to endure the herbs' effects, he felt their energy soften as the Sacred Martial War Dragon's phantom wrapped around him.

• Huangfu Ji reached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and surveyed its rare and immortal-grade herbs, including the Aromatic Silk Beauty, Lovesick Heartbreak Red, and Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
• Huangfu Ji considered using the Aromatic Silk Beauty to recruit Yang Wudi and the Breaking Clan, then decided to take the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot because he wanted to cure Dugu Bo's poison.
• Huangfu Ji cut down the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and dug up the Infernal Delicate Apricot with a jade shovel, then ate both herbs together.
• Huangfu Ji endured alternating waves of freezing and burning pain before jumping into the spring where the Cold Spring and Yang Spring met.
• Two energies from the spring entered Huangfu Ji and neutralized one another, easing his pain as the Sacred Martial War Dragon's phantom emerged and wrapped around him.

Huangfu Ji absorbed the herbs and energy of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, reaching level thirty-four and gaining resistance to water- and fire-based attacks. After returning to Heaven Dou City, he sent Tang Yuehua Golden Leaf Grass and a letter through a Clear Sky Sect shop, then went back to the hotel while spies continued to watch him.

• Huangfu Ji emerged from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well after absorbing the herbs and adapting to its energy.
• Huangfu Ji recalled that the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had created the well, but decided not to disturb their remains.
• Huangfu Ji found Golden Leaf Grass, stored it in his Soul Tool, and returned to Heaven Dou City.
• Huangfu Ji paid the waiter and warned him to keep quiet about his absence.
• Huangfu Ji gave Golden Leaf Grass and a letter for Tang Yuehua to a Clear Sky Sect weapons shop owner, then bought a sword.
• Huangfu Ji wandered around the city as his watchers waited for him to leave, then returned to the hotel.

Tang Yuehua received Huangfu Ji’s letter and Golden Leaf Grass and arranged for it to be delivered to Xing Hu. Huangfu Ji evaded his pursuers and arrived at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, where Chairman Meng Shenji awaited him.

• Tang Xiao delivered Huangfu Ji’s letter and a jade box to Tang Yuehua, who read his request to send Golden Leaf Grass to Xing Hu and ensure Xing Hu kept his promise.
• Tang Yuehua asked Tang Xiao to arrange the delivery of the Golden Leaf Grass to the mountains outside Baihe City.
• Huangfu Ji left Heaven Dou City on a Heavenly Soul Horse, leaving the men following him unable to catch up.
• Huangfu Ji reached Heaven Dou Royal Academy and showed a teacher his admission notice, identifying himself as Grand Duke Qingyang.
• The teacher escorted Huangfu Ji to meet Education Committee Chairman Meng Shenji while an attendant took his horse to be fed.

Huangfu Ji enrolled at Heaven Dou Royal Academy to cultivate safely away from the political turmoil in the Qingyang Duchy. After Meng Shenji learned that Huangfu Ji was Level 34 at age twelve, he assigned him to the academy’s highest level, where Huangfu Ji encountered several students from his duchy.

• Meng Shenji welcomed Huangfu Ji to the academy and assured him he would be safe there.
• Huangfu Ji revealed that he had reached Level 34, astonishing Meng Shenji, who assigned him to the Heaven Dou level.
• A teacher escorted Huangfu Ji to his separate courtyard and explained how Heaven Dou-level students studied and trained.
• Huangfu Ji entered the Heaven Dou-level classroom, where the students watched him and five nobles from the Qingyang Duchy recognized him.
• Huangfu Ji crossed the classroom toward the five students from his duchy.

At Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Huangfu Ji revealed his identity as Grand Duke Qingyang and learned that five students were descendants of officials loyal to his family. He vowed that they would one day return and bring down the Yuan Family, then began testing himself against a powerful waterfall.

• Qin Feng introduced himself and his Earl family, but Huangfu Ji showed him the Grand Duke Token and revealed that he was Grand Duke Qingyang.
• After class, Huangfu Ji asked why five Qingyang youths were following him, and Zhao Hong explained that their families had served Huangfu Yunhe and fallen under Yuan Hao’s rule.
• Huangfu Ji learned that Wang Zhi was the sole survivor of his family, which Yuan Hao had exterminated, and promised the five youths that they would return to overthrow the Yuan Family.
• At the Simulated Training Ground, Huangfu Ji chose a waterfall for training and repeatedly failed to keep his footing on a stone beneath it.
• Huangfu Ji refused to give up and resolved to conquer the waterfall.

Huangfu Ji trained beneath a waterfall while building support among Zhao Hong, Wang Zhi, and the others. When his letter from Heaven Dou City reached Liu Erlong, she grew jealous after reading Tang Yuehua’s name, though she denied caring and secretly wrote back.

• Huangfu Ji repeatedly tried to stand and cultivate on a slick rock beneath the waterfall, while Zhao Hong and the others grew loyal to him.
• Huangfu Ji promised Wang Zhi and Liang Wu help with their goals, and Wang Zhi and Zhao Hong became his staunch supporters.
• Yuan Hao intercepted Huangfu Ji’s letter to Liu Erlong, checked it, and arranged for Zhao Yuan to deliver it to the academy.
• Zhao Yuan chased away boys fawning over Liu Erlong, then gave her Huangfu Ji’s letter.
• Liu Erlong became jealous when she read Tang Yuehua’s name, but Zhao Yuan reassured her that it meant little.
• Liu Erlong claimed she would not reply, then wrote a letter to Huangfu Ji and gave it to Zhao Yuan.

Huangfu Ji reunited with Xing Hu, whose mother had recovered after receiving Golden Leaf Grass, and accepted his pledge of allegiance. He sent Xing Hu to Qingyang Duchy to secretly join the army and build up military power while awaiting further orders.

• Wang Zhi told Huangfu Ji that Xing Hu had been seeking him in Heaven Dou City, and Huangfu Ji arranged to meet him that evening.
• Xing Hu greeted Huangfu Ji and thanked him for sending Golden Leaf Grass, which had cured his mother.
• Xing Hu pledged his life and service to Huangfu Ji, then explained that the Meng Family was still hunting him.
• Huangfu Ji ordered Xing Hu to return secretly to Qingyang Duchy, join the Qingyang Army through Zhao Gu, and conceal his allegiance while gathering military power.
• After resting for one day in Heaven Dou City, Xing Hu secretly departed for Qingyang Duchy.

Huangfu Ji continued his punishing training at the Royal Academy while Zhao Hong brought news that Yuan Hao was building up the Qingyang Army and seeking Prince Xue Xing’s support. Wang Zhi concluded that Yuan Hao was rushing to take control of the duchy because Huangfu Ji had escaped his influence and was growing stronger.

• Huangfu Ji endured months of grueling training, while Zhao Gu and his allies secretly strengthened their forces in the duchy.
• Zhao Hong told Huangfu Ji that Yuan Hao was courting imperial nobles and Prince Xue Xing, and had added fifty thousand soldiers to the Qingyang Army.
• Huangfu Ji summoned Wang Zhi to discuss why Yuan Hao was expanding the army.
• Wang Zhi said Yuan Hao needed military strength to persuade the Empire to recognize the Yuan Family as rulers of the duchy.
• Wang Zhi explained that Yuan Hao had accelerated his bid for power because Huangfu Ji had escaped his control and posed a growing threat.

Huangfu Ji assigned Wang Zhi to build a secret intelligence network focused on Yuan Hao and the duchy, providing him with money and resources. Wang Zhi left the academy early and began recruiting agents through the Heaven Dou Auction House.

• Huangfu Ji realized his information about the duchy arrived too late and ordered Wang Zhi to graduate early and create an intelligence organization reporting only to him.
• Wang Zhi voiced his concerns about lacking experience, money, and people, so Huangfu Ji supplied him with a medicinal herb and nearly all his Gold Soul Coins.
• Wang Zhi left the Royal Academy, puzzling Zhao Hong, Liang Wu, Liu Jun, and Yue Long, and traveled to Heaven Dou City.
• Wang Zhi approached the Heaven Dou Auction House and told its manager he wanted clever people and ten Waiters who could not betray him.
• Wang Zhi showed the manager a Gold Card with three million Gold Soul Coins and bought all thirty available slaves, while the manager agreed to provide the ten Waiters.

Wang Zhi bought thirty slaves and brought them to a remote courtyard, where he offered them new identities in exchange for obedience. Zhou Mu quickly stood out by persuading the others to stay, and Wang Zhi began to suspect he was no ordinary person.

• Wang Zhi noticed Zhou Mu sleeping calmly among the slaves and was intrigued by his bright, optimistic demeanor.
• Wang Zhi bought thirty slaves and ten auction house Waiters, then arranged to house the slaves in a remote courtyard outside Heaven Dou City.
• Wang Zhi gave the former slaves padded clothes and told them they could stay under new identities or leave, but all thirty chose to remain.
• Zhou Mu persuaded several people not to run away, and Wang Zhi learned of his role from the young woman who had escorted the slaves.
• Wang Zhi asked the young woman to list the would-be escapees and spent the night considering how to train the group.

During a snowy day at the academy, Huangfu Ji accepted Langston’s challenge at the Soul Battle Arena and defeated him with ease. He asked whether anyone else would fight, and a new challenger stepped forward.

• Students gathered at the indoor Soul Battle Arena, where Zhao Hong and the others watched the matches beside Huangfu Ji.
• Langston, a Level 37 student from the Balak Kingdom, challenged Huangfu Ji and mocked him when he did not immediately respond.
• Huangfu Ji fought Langston without summoning his Martial Soul, overcame his Soul Skills, and kicked him off the platform.
• Liang Wu and Zhao Hong praised Huangfu Ji’s strength as the other students hesitated to challenge him.
• As Huangfu Ji prepared to leave the platform, someone called out, “I’ll do it.”

Huangfu Ji fought Yan Ming, a Soul Ancestor eight levels above him, in a soul fight at the academy. Huangfu Ji defeated Yan Ming by enduring his strongest attack and knocking him off the platform with Sacred Martial Slash.

• Yan Ming challenged Huangfu Ji and tried to provoke him into refusing the fight, but Huangfu Ji accepted without hesitation.
• Yan Ming revealed his Golden Pattern Staff Martial Soul and Huangfu Ji unveiled his Sacred Martial War Dragon Martial Soul, astonishing the watching students and teachers.
• Yan Ming attacked first, using Yellow Dragon Stirring Water to disorient Huangfu Ji and strike his shoulder, but Huangfu Ji answered with War Dragon Roar and weakened Yan Ming's defense.
• Huangfu Ji's Sacred Martial Slash forced Yan Ming to the edge of the platform despite Yan Ming's Golden Pattern Protection.
• Yan Ming used Thousand Jin Strength to launch his staff at Huangfu Ji, who blocked the attack with Dragon Scale Armor and countered with Sacred Martial Slash, knocking Yan Ming off the platform.

Huangfu Ji defeated Yan Ming and became the top student at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, drawing attention from the Teaching Committee and the Empire's nobles. After recovering and reflecting on the battle, he attracted marriage proposals from nobles who offered to help him reclaim Qingyang Duchy's authority.

• Huangfu Ji defeated Yan Ming despite being eight Soul Power levels lower, and Yan Ming despaired over losing his top-student title.
• Huangfu Ji returned to Zhao Hong and the others, dismissed their praise, and left because he feared the attention his victory would bring.
• Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin discussed Huangfu Ji's strength and the threat he might pose if he reclaimed Qingyang Duchy.
• Huangfu Ji returned to his dormitory, recovered his Soul Power, and reflected on the combat experience he had gained.
• Heaven Dou nobles approached Huangfu Ji through their family members at the academy, offering marriage alliances and promising to help him reclaim his authority.