Chapter Summaries

Meng Yiran and her grandparents laughed over the Heavenly Curtain’s reveal of her childhood closeness with Qin Chen, then watched a memory of her first encounter with the Vague Man. The memory ended with Meng Yiran discovering her tanghulu had vanished.

• Meng Yiran protested as Long Gong Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang teased her about Qin Chen spanking her after sparring matches.
• Meng Yiran recalled that Qin Chen had told her to reach Soul King before visiting him, and her grandparents reminisced about how close the pair had been six years earlier.
• The Heavenly Curtain began replaying a memory of young Meng Yiran walking through a city with tanghulu.
• The Vague Man approached Meng Yiran and asked her to take him to her grandparents so he could discuss a profitable deal.
• Meng Yiran refused and tried to lose the Vague Man, but he kept following her while insisting her grandfather would agree to meet him.
• Meng Yiran tried to bite her tanghulu and realized it was missing.

The Vague Man stole Meng Yiran’s tanghulu and easily outmatched her when she attacked him. After catching and spanking her, he gave her the last berry, and she threatened to return with her grandparents.

• The Vague Man took Meng Yiran’s tanghulu and teased her when she demanded it back.
• Meng Yiran attacked with her Serpent Head Crutch, but the Vague Man casually dodged her strikes.
• Meng Yiran used her Tongue Blade, and the Vague Man stopped it with the bamboo skewer before flicking her forehead.
• Meng Yiran used Serpent Body to escape his grip, but the Vague Man caught her by the collar and spanked her.
• The Vague Man gave Meng Yiran the last tanghulu berry and set her down.
• Meng Yiran called him a hooligan and threatened to fetch her grandparents to beat him up.

Qin Chen watched the Heavenly Curtain reveal his past while the Vague Man tried to recruit Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang and her husband. Chao Tianxiang mistook his threat to spank Meng Yiran for a threat toward herself, leaving the Vague Man and Meng Yiran stunned.

• Qin Chen returned to the Dark Night Arena room and joined Hua Xi, Doudou, Jiang Zhu, and Bai Chenxiang as they watched the Heavenly Curtain.
• The girls teased Qin Chen about his past with Meng Yiran, while Bai Chenxiang watched from the sofa because her legs were still weak.
• In the Heavenly Curtain scene, Meng Yiran returned with Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang and accused the Vague Man of stealing her tanghulu and spanking her.
• The Vague Man asked Chao Tianxiang and her husband to work for him, but Meng Yiran and Chao Tianxiang rejected the idea.
• When the Vague Man threatened to spank Meng Yiran again, Chao Tianxiang recoiled and protested that she was already old, leaving him frozen in confusion.

Vague Man overwhelmed Snake Dowager with a terrifying vision, then held Meng Yiran and disciplined her while waiting for Snake Dowager to fetch her husband. The chapter ended with Meng Yiran sobbing across Vague Man’s lap as he asked whether she was really crying.

• Snake Dowager attacked Vague Man with her fifth soul skill, but he trapped her in a vision of a colossal shadow and crimson eye until she begged for mercy.
• Vague Man caught Meng Yiran when she confronted him, slapped her, and told Snake Dowager he had something to discuss with them.
• Snake Dowager agreed to fetch her husband while Meng Yiran threatened Vague Man, who repeatedly slapped her whenever she made another threat.
• Meng Yiran eventually stopped resisting and lay sobbing across Vague Man’s lap, and he asked whether she was really crying.

The Vague Man tried to recruit Long Gong and Snake Dowager to fight exhibition matches at his Duel Arena, but Long Gong took the offer as an insult. He and Snake Dowager joined forces to challenge him, while the Vague Man remained unfazed.

• Long Gong Meng Shu arrived with Snake Dowager and found Meng Yiran crying across the Vague Man's lap; the Vague Man set her down, and she hid behind her grandfather.
• Meng Shu asked why the Vague Man had summoned them, and the Vague Man offered to hire the couple to fight in his Duel Arena.
• Meng Yiran mocked the offer, and Meng Shu warned the Vague Man that fighting for public entertainment would ruin their reputation.
• The Vague Man declared that he was informing them they would take the job, whether they wanted to or not.
• Meng Shu released his eight Soul Rings, and Snake Dowager joined him, linking their auras as the Peerless Dragon Snake.
• The Vague Man stood calmly against their combined pressure and accepted their challenge, while Meng Yiran cheered for her grandparents.

The Vague Man knocked out Long Gong and Snake Dowager with a burst of Psychic Power, then let them recover while Meng Yiran angrily attacked and cursed him. Once awake, the elders accepted their defeat and thanked him for sparing them, and the Vague Man turned to discuss business.

• The Vague Man incapacitated Long Gong and Snake Dowager with Psychic Power, leaving Meng Yiran terrified that her grandparents were dead.
• The Vague Man told Meng Yiran that the elders were only unconscious, and she checked that they were breathing before hauling them onto chairs.
• Meng Yiran attacked the Vague Man, but he remained unharmed and mocked her while she tried to move her grandparents.
• Long Gong woke, remembered how easily the Vague Man had defeated them, and respectfully thanked him for showing mercy.
• Snake Dowager woke and accepted their defeat, while the Vague Man kept Meng Yiran pinned and announced that they should discuss business.

Vague Man made Long Gong and Snake Dowager work for him and asked them to find more powerful Soul Masters for his Duel Arena. Long Gong led him to his old rival Niu Tuo, who quickly submitted to Vague Man and eagerly agreed to join.

• Long Gong and Snake Dowager accepted Vague Man as their boss, and Meng Yiran reluctantly took the tanghulu he gave her.
• Vague Man asked the couple to recommend other strong Soul Masters, and Snake Dowager suggested their longtime rival Niu Tuo.
• Soul Master seniors watching the Heavenly Curtain explained that Long Gong and Snake Dowager wanted to drag Niu Tuo into their misfortune.
• Long Gong led Vague Man and Meng Yiran to Niu Tuo’s secluded home, where Niu Tuo refused to work at the Duel Arena and insulted Long Gong.
• Vague Man quickly subdued Niu Tuo, who then served him tea and eagerly agreed to work at the Duel Arena.

Meng Shu and the Vague Man recruited Meng Shu’s old rivals for the Duel Arena while Meng Yiran grew closer to the Vague Man and learned faster cultivation. After watching him destroy a tree with a throwing knife, Tang San dismissed his technique and boasted that the Tang Sect’s hidden weapons were unmatched.

• Meng Shu took the Vague Man to his old rivals’ residences, where the Vague Man persuaded each powerhouse to join the Duel Arena after a forceful exchange.
• Meng Yiran followed the Vague Man around, and he taught her breathing and Soul Power techniques that tripled her cultivation speed.
• Meng Yiran demonstrated her throwing knives, but the Vague Man criticized their force and split a huge tree with a casually thrown knife.
• Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar laughed at the Vague Man’s brute-force technique and teased Meng Yiran.
• Tang San declared the Vague Man and Meng Yiran easy targets with hidden weapons and claimed no one could surpass the Tang Sect’s techniques.

The Vague Man demonstrated extraordinary control over thirty-six throwing knives, carving a lifelike Serpent Cane sculpture and leaving Meng Yiran stunned. Tang San watched his confidence collapse, while Yu Xiaogang condemned the Vague Man before Meng Yiran turned affectionate and clung to his arm.

• The Vague Man flicked a throwing knife into the air, made it cut a distant branch, and then maneuvered it through the woods.
• He controlled thirty-six throwing knives at once, sent them back into their pouch, and carved a detailed Serpent Cane sculpture into a tree.
• Tang San watched the display and realized his Tang Sect techniques seemed crude by comparison, while Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and the others saw his distress.
• Yu Xiaogang claimed the Vague Man controlled the knives by wrapping them in Soul Power, then denounced him as a bully and vowed to criticize him at the Duel Arena.
• Meng Yiran smiled at the Vague Man, called him “Good brother,” and wrapped her arms around his.

Meng Yiran learned the Art of Controlling Objects from the Vague Man and grew close to him as she mastered flying weapons and even rode her Serpent Cane through the air. Years later, she entered a Duel Arena match against a stronger Soul Ancestor, where she effortlessly deflected his first arrows before he unleashed his Fourth Soul Skill.

• Meng Yiran coaxed the Vague Man into teaching her the Art of Controlling Objects after he tricked her into massaging his shoulders and legs.
• Under the Vague Man's guidance, Meng Yiran learned to control multiple daggers, use leaves and stones as weapons, and fly atop her Serpent Cane.
• As Meng Yiran grew older, she increasingly clung to the Vague Man and sought his attention, while spectators watching the Heavenly Curtain concluded that she had fallen for him.
• At the Duel Arena, Meng Yiran faced a burly Soul Ancestor wielding an Iron Bow, despite having only three Soul Rings to his four.
• Meng Yiran stayed still as an invisible force deflected the Soul Ancestor's three arrows, and he responded by firing his Fourth Soul Skill, Explosive Flame Arrow.

Meng Yiran received a golden reward that broke her through to Soul King and enhanced her Soul Rings, then eagerly set off to find Qin Chen. At the Dark Night Arena, Qin Chen denied having special preferences while the women around him reacted to what had happened with Meng Yiran.

• Meng Yiran cried in embarrassment as Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang tried to comfort her.
• A pillar of golden light broke Meng Yiran through her level forty-nine bottleneck and upgraded her Soul Rings to three purple and one black.
• Meng Yiran insisted that Meng Shu take her to find Qin Chen so she could claim his promise.
• At the Dark Night Arena, Qin Chen told the women that helping Meng Yiran had been her own request.
• Jiang Zhu, Bai Chenxiang, Doudou, and Hua Xi reacted to Qin Chen's explanation, and he rejected Hua Xi's offer to join in.

Meng Yiran’s shame over her public encounter with Qin Chen faded when the Golden Ranking List raised her to Soul King and strengthened her Soul Rings. She hurried to find Qin Chen, while the women around him reacted to his claim that he was only helping others.

• Meng Yiran cried in embarrassment as Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang tried to comfort her.
• The Golden Ranking List’s light broke Meng Yiran through to Soul King and upgraded her Soul Rings to three purple and one black.
• Meng Yiran eagerly asked Meng Shu to take her to Qin Chen so she could make him keep his promise.
• At the Dark Night Arena, Qin Chen denied having a special preference, prompting Jiang Zhu and Bai Chenxiang to blush at memories of him.
• Doudou asked whether being hit felt good, and Hua Xi offered to do it with her tail before Qin Chen told them to stop joining the fuss.

After learning that Ah Yin and Qian Renxue had both been intimate with Qin Chen, Zhu Zhuqing felt like the only outsider and ran from Green Garden in tears. At the Dark Night Arena, Xue Wu also sank into despair after comparing her timidness with other women’s boldness, and Xue Ke asked if the Arena Master was the reason.

• Zhu Zhuqing questioned Ah Yin and Qian Renxue about their experiences with Qin Chen, and both admitted they had been intimate with him.
• Qian Renxue taunted Zhu Zhuqing for knowing and doing less with Qin Chen, leaving Zhu Zhuqing devastated.
• Zhu Zhuqing accused the others of bullying her and ran out of Green Garden in tears.
• Xue Wu watched the Heavenly Curtain’s flashbacks and concluded that she had lost out because she was too timid to approach the Monarch.
• Xue Ke noticed Xue Wu’s despair, asked if it was because of the Arena Master, and Xue Wu nodded.

Xue Ke teased Xue Wu about whether Qin Chen was the Arena Master, while You and Bing Ruyue nearly fought in the Dark Night Arena lounge. On Cloud Sea Island, Little White and Sea Witch learned the truth about the Sea God and set out for Heaven Dou City to find the mysterious man, while Zi Zhenzhu remained behind, longing for his return.

• Xue Ke guessed that Xue Wu's mysterious Arena Master was Qin Chen, and Xue Wu's flustered denial gave her away.
• You complained that the Monarch had favored Meng Yiran, then nearly fought Bing Ruyue until Xue Linglong told them to settle down.
• Little White recognized her father's aura in Zi Zhenzhu's sixth Soul Ring and learned that the Sea God had deceived her for twenty thousand years.
• Little White asked to meet the mysterious man who had taken her father's remains, and Zi Zhenzhu directed her to the Dark Night Arena in Heaven Dou City.
• Sea Witch vowed to gather the Mermaid Tribe and leave Sea God Island to join Princess Yue Quan's force for revenge.
• After Little White and Sea Witch departed, Zi Zhenzhu lamented that the man had left her with the mess and still had not returned.

Bibi Dong ordered Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan to investigate the Dark Night Arena in Heaven Dou City while she considered entering the Golden Ranking herself. At the arena, Zhu Zhuqing found Shen Liuyu cleaning Qin Chen’s office and asked whether she had ever been intimate with the Monarch.

• Ghostly reported to Bibi Dong that the Dark Night Arena’s master might be a Limit Douluo stronger than Qian Daoliu.
• Bibi Dong ordered Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan to go to Heaven Dou City and investigate the man through the arena.
• Bibi Dong decided she would try to enter the Golden Ranking and gain the Soul Power needed to break through her bottleneck.
• Zhu Zhuqing entered Qin Chen’s office and found Shen Liuyu cleaning it late at night.
• Zhu Zhuqing told Shen Liuyu that Qian Renxue had angered her, then asked whether Shen Liuyu had ever been intimate with the Monarch.

Shen Liuyu’s flustered response to Zhu Zhuqing’s questions exposed her feelings for the Monarch just as the Golden Heavenly Curtain named her the seventeenth-ranked beauty. The ranking’s provocative description and rewards sparked an uproar across the continent.

• Zhu Zhuqing confronted Shen Liuyu about her relationship with the Monarch and threatened to transfer her from her personal-maid position.
• Shen Liuyu panicked and begged Zhu Zhuqing not to transfer her, promising to tell her the truth.
• The Golden Heavenly Curtain announced Shen Liuyu as the seventeenth-ranked beauty and revealed her identity, abilities, and rewards.
• Soul Masters across the continent reacted with envy and astonishment at Shen Liuyu’s ranking and the description of her service to the Monarch.

Bibi Dong and the leaders of the Heaven Dou Empire reacted with disbelief to Shen Liuyu’s high ranking on the beauty list and the Dark Night Arena’s remarkable roster. At the Arena, Shen Liuyu was mortified by the Heavenly Curtain’s revelations, while Qin Chen welcomed Bai Chenxiang and flirted with her in front of the others.

• Bibi Dong wondered whether the Dark Night Arena’s master had gathered the world’s exceptional beauties as servants after Shen Liuyu appeared at rank seventeenth.
• Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong concluded that the Arena was far more formidable than they had assumed, and Ning Fengzhi regretted not visiting it earlier.
• Zhu Zhuqing questioned Shen Liuyu about the Heavenly Curtain exposing her devotion to her master and private wishes, leaving Shen Liuyu overwhelmed with embarrassment.
• Jiang Zhu, Doudou, and Hua Xi discussed Shen Liuyu’s beauty and her role in attending Qin Chen at night.
• Bai Chenxiang reproached Qin Chen for neglecting her while she was away, and he reassured her before teasing her as the other women watched awkwardly.

A golden scroll began revealing Shen Liuyu’s memory of meeting the Vague Man at the Snow Lotus Pastry House in Heaven Dou City. She accepted his gift of cookies, and his calling her cute left her blushing in disbelief.

• Jiang Zhu joined Qin Chen and Bai Chenxiang in an intimate embrace while Doudou watched, flustered.
• The golden scroll activated Shen Liuyu’s memory and showed her as a young girl outside the Snow Lotus Pastry House.
• Shen Liuyu watched the Vague Man share six boxes of Premium Snow Lotus Cookie with young Jiang Zhu, but the shop had sold out.
• The Vague Man noticed Shen Liuyu watching and offered her an unopened box of Premium Red Bean cookies.
• Shen Liuyu overcame her embarrassment, accepted the cookies, and offered to pay, but the Vague Man refused and called her cute.
• Shen Liuyu blushed scarlet and stared at the Vague Man in disbelief.

The Vague Man befriended Shen Liuyu by sharing cookies with her, and she grew eager to see him again. On the fifth day, she found him with Doudou, but he welcomed her over and offered her another cookie.

• The Vague Man and Jiang Zhu shared cookies with Shen Liuyu, who ate most of the boxes and introduced herself.
• The Vague Man complimented Shen Liuyu's name and left with Jiang Zhu, while Shen Liuyu watched them go.
• For the next few days, Shen Liuyu returned to the Snow Lotus Cookie Shop hoping to see the Vague Man.
• On the fifth day, Shen Liuyu found the Vague Man eating cookies with Doudou and hesitated, feeling reluctant to interrupt them.
• The Vague Man spotted Shen Liuyu, invited her to sit with them, and pressed a cookie to her lips as she tried to thank him.

At the Dark Night Arena, Qin Chen spent time with Doudou, Bai Chenxiang, Hua Xi, and Jiang Zhu while the Heavenly Curtain showed the Vague Man sharing cookies with teenage Shen Liuyu. After the Vague Man left, Shen Liuyu began looking forward to meeting him again at the Snow Lotus Cookie Shop.

• Qin Chen invited Doudou to join him, and she shyly accepted before he began a Martial Soul lesson with her.
• After about an hour, Doudou rested while Hua Xi, Jiang Zhu, and Bai Chenxiang continued spending time with Qin Chen.
• On the Heavenly Curtain, teenage Shen Liuyu accepted cookies from the Vague Man and chatted with teenage Doudou as they ate.
• Shen Liuyu offered the Vague Man Gold Soul Coins, but he declined them and said he looked forward to meeting her again.
• The Vague Man left with Doudou and Jiang Zhu, and Shen Liuyu began looking forward to seeing him at the Snow Lotus Cookie Shop after school.