Chapter Summaries

Bai He and the Speed Clan arrived at the Defense Clan headquarters after becoming prosperous through their courier partnership with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. When Niu Gao said his clan could no longer support the Speed Clan because it planned to relocate, Bai He offered to help him instead.

• Bai He led Bai Chenxiang and the Speed Clan to the Defense Clan headquarters to deliver eight thousand jin of charcoal that Tai Tan had ordered.
• Bai He demanded payment from Tai Tan for the urgent delivery and personally delivering it, while Bai Chenxiang reminded him to mind his manners and avoid another bad review.
• Bai He explained to Niu Gao that the Speed Clan cooperated with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect rather than joining it.
• Niu Gao told Bai He that the Defense Clan planned to relocate to Heaven Dou City and could not support the Speed Clan this year.
• Bai He offered to lend Niu Gao whatever money the Defense Clan needed, saying it was his turn to help after the clans had supported the Speed Clan.

Bai He repaid the Defense Clan and Strength Clan, then heard Tai Tan and Niu Gao’s plan to form the Tang Sect with Tang San and sell crossbows. He declined to commit the Speed Clan, whose delivery business was thriving, and said he would wait for Yang Wudi and the Breaking Clan to decide.

• Bai He offered ten thousand Gold Soul Coins to help the Defense Clan rebuild and settle its expenses, then paid the Speed Clan’s outstanding shipping fees.
• Tai Tan introduced Tang San and his Godly Zhuge Crossbow, but Bai He objected when Ma Hongjun quoted a price of one hundred and twenty Gold Soul Coins per crossbow.
• Niu Gao explained that he and Tai Tan planned to bring their clans into the Tang Sect, with Niu Gao overseeing crossbow production and Tai Tan building the sect.
• Bai He rejected the crossbow business as uncompetitive and explained that the Speed Clan had a promising future through parcel delivery and its partnership with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Bai He said he would consider joining only after Yang Wudi and the Breaking Clan made their decision, since the Breaking Clan had supported the Speed Clan for years.

Tang San tried to recruit Bai He and the Speed Clan into the Tang Sect, but his promises about better Hidden Weapons failed to convince them without proof. As the Breaking Clan arrived, Tang San found Yang Wudi already reconnecting warmly with Bai He, leaving his own attempt to recruit Yang Wudi uncertain.

• Tang San offered Bai He a place in the Tang Sect and described stronger Hidden Weapons, but Bai He and Bai Chenxiang refused to trust claims without tangible proof.
• Bai Chenxiang criticized Ma Hongjun for his lecherous looks, and Tai Tan and Niu Gao calmed the exchange before the Speed Clan left to rest and resume deliveries.
• Tai Tan told Tang San that Bai He was his granduncle and advised him to approach Yang Wudi through rare medicines rather than Hidden Weapons or Tang Hao's identity.
• Tang San learned that the Breaking Clan had arrived only after Bai He and Yang Wudi had begun catching up.
• Bai He gave Yang Wudi several boxes he had once treated as family heirlooms, and Yang Wudi's expression changed when he noticed Tang San.

Bai He gave Yang Wudi valuable herbs and revealed the Speed Clan’s newfound wealth, while Yang Wudi proposed that the four clans join forces and establish a sect. When Tang San’s identity as Tang Hao’s son was revealed, Yang Wudi stormed out, leaving Bai He to explain that nothing had been decided.

• Bai He presented Yang Wudi with several rare herbs and gave Tai Tan and Niu Gao Crystal Cards, surprising Yang Wudi with the Speed Clan’s wealth.
• Yang Wudi explained that the Star Luo Empire had changed hands, that he had defeated the Wind Sword Sect’s young master, and that he wanted the four clans to unite and form a sect.
• Bai He revealed that the Speed Clan’s business earned three million a year, making Yang Wudi reconsider establishing the sect in Heaven Dou instead of Star Luo.
• Niu Gao identified Tang San as the planned sect master and revealed that he was Tang Hao’s son, prompting Yang Wudi to leave in anger.
• Bai He followed Yang Wudi and explained that the clans had not made a final decision, calming him somewhat.

Tang San tried to recruit Yang Wudi into the Tang Sect by challenging him to a duel, then used his hidden weapons, domains, and multiple abilities to attack the stronger Breaking Clan leader. The chapter ended as Yang Wudi revealed his Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul Avatar against Tang San’s final combination.

• Yang Wudi rejected Tang San’s offer, insisting that he would never work with the Clear Sky Sect, but Tang San tested his knowledge of poison and challenged him to a duel.
• Yang Wudi agreed to fight Tang San, promising Tai Tan and Niu Gao that he would not kill or cripple him.
• Tang San unleashed his Eight Spider Lances and Blue Silver Grass, but Yang Wudi’s spear broke through his defenses and nearly struck him.
• Tang San used the Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Life-Taking Orb and other hidden weapons, but Yang Wudi deflected them and dismissed his methods.
• Tang San used Divine Slaughter’s Domain to stun Yang Wudi, then attacked with the Clear Sky Hammer, Blue Silver skills, Spider Web Restraints, and a Repeating Crossbow.
• Yang Wudi answered Tang San’s surprise attack by revealing the Martial Soul Avatar of the Soul Breaking Spear.

Tang San failed to recruit the Breaking Clan and traveled with Tai Tan and Ma Hongjun to Gengxin City to find rare metals and assess Star Luo. At the Blacksmith Association headquarters, Tai Tan noticed that far fewer people were entering than usual.

• Yang Wudi defeated Tang San, but Tai Tan, Niu Gao, and Bai He intervened before his spear could strike decisively.
• Yang Wudi refused to join Tang Sect, and Bai He used his departure as a reason to withhold the Speed Clan's participation, leaving Tang San with the Strength Clan and Defense Clan.
• Tang San, Tai Tan, and Ma Hongjun traveled toward Gengxin City, meeting Oscar on the way before he separated from them to visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• The travelers learned that New Star Luo had taken control of much of the empire without widespread fighting and had made Gengxin City a priority.
• In Gengxin City, Tang San and the others saw two metal-eating Pandas and learned that the iron factories were drawing young people away from traditional blacksmithing.
• At the Blacksmith Association headquarters, Tai Tan noticed that its crowd was only about half the size he expected.

Tai Tan and Tang San visited the Blacksmith Association in Gengxin City, where Lou Gao asked Tai Tan to reproduce a tiny ballpoint-pen bead in exchange for control of the city’s blacksmiths. They learned that Star Luo had restricted metal exports, and Lou Gao revealed that winning a separate, quantity-based competition could offer another way forward.

• Tai Tan and his companions entered the Blacksmith Association with Si Long, who explained its floors and led them to the fifth-floor Foundry.
• Lou Gao showed Tai Tan a tiny sphere and explained that reproducing the pen bead could earn him control of Gengxin City, while failure would leave him managing its blacksmiths under the Empire’s orders.
• Lou Gao explained that the bead’s precise spherical shape, grooves, and wear resistance made it difficult to reproduce, and Tai Tan could not figure out how to make it.
• Tai Tan said the group had come to buy precious metals and recruit blacksmiths, and Lou Gao told him Star Luo had restricted metal exports, even rationing ordinary Dark Iron.
• Lou Gao said the group could try illegal transport or compete in another contest judged by quantity, which could produce the same result.

Tang San and Tai Tan tried to recruit Lou Gao to the Tang Sect, but Lou Gao favored the Star Luo offer of Soul Tool techniques and greater status for blacksmiths. He let them buy metals through the Blacksmith Association, while Tai Tan’s enormous order raised questions about how they would transport it.

• Lou Gao suggested settling the contest by producing the greatest quantity of an agreed item and asked Tai Tan why he had come to Gengxin City.
• Tai Tan explained that the Tang Sect needed skilled blacksmiths and invited Lou Gao to join, but Lou Gao refused and questioned what the sect could offer blacksmiths.
• Tang San showed Lou Gao a Repeating Crossbow and proposed cooperation with the Blacksmith Association, but Lou Gao said Star Luo offered open techniques, Soul Tool training, and a new rating system that could grant blacksmiths noble titles.
• Lou Gao said he would not prevent other blacksmiths from joining the Tang Sect, offered the visitors discounts on metals, and told them about an auction the following night.
• Si Long took Tai Tan’s purchase list and was shocked by the requested tonnage of rare metals, warning that transporting the full amount out of Gengxin City would be difficult.

Tang San's group secured a large order of metals in Gengxin City and learned that the Iron-Eating Beasts at the gates could detect metal stored in Soul Tools. After Spirit Hall Bishop Miles provoked Si Long and supplied a Repeating Crossbow for Lou Gao's contest, the group learned more about Heavenly Demon's growing influence and prepared to attend an auction.

• Tang San's group arranged to buy Refined Iron, pure silver, and several other metals, and Si Long explained that the city's pandas could smell large amounts of metal inside Soul Tools.
• Miles mocked Si Long over Lou Gao's contest and gave him a Repeating Crossbow that could help Lou Gao compete in production speed.
• Si Long explained that Heavenly Demon held considerable authority in Gengxin City, and Ma Hongjun found a newspaper identifying Hu Liena and seven followers as the group's local presence.
• Tang San's group spent the next day exploring Gengxin City while Si Long gathered their metals.
• Si Long told Tang San that the order was nearly complete and invited him to that night's auction.

Tang San and his companions attended the Blacksmith Association auction, where Lou Gao agreed to help them in exchange for genuine design blueprints and future assistance. After carefully spending nearly all their funds on metals, they watched Spirit Hall and Heavenly Demon bid on Lou Gao’s Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor.

• Si Long disguised Tang San and his companions in black cloaks and led them to the auction, where Lou Gao asked Tang San about the blueprints and agreed to his conditions.
• Tang San’s group passed on the rare Dark Iron after its price climbed beyond what they could afford, and Lou Gao helped them judge the value of later auction items.
• The auction’s finale was two sets of Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor crafted by Lou Gao, which could stretch with a transformed Beast Soul Master and withstand a powerful Spirit Skill.
• Miles from Spirit Hall and Hu Liena began bidding on the armor after the room initially fell silent.

Miles tried to use Spirit Hall’s influence to seize the Eight Treasure Ruyi Soft Armor, but Hu Liena won the auction after Si Di finalized her bid. Tang San then decided to kill Miles, and he and Ma Hongjun ambushed the bishop’s group in the night.

• Miles planned to keep one suit of soft armor and give the other to Bibi Dong, but Hu Liena outbid him for the armor.
• Si Di declared both suits sold to Hu Liena, angering Miles, and Lou Gao warned Si Di to stay somewhere safe.
• Tang San offered to kill Miles and explained that the resulting search would help them move ore out of the city.
• Tang San set out with Ma Hongjun rather than Tai Tan, and the two waited along Miles’s route back to Spirit Hall.
• Miles and his subordinates felt Tang San’s killing intent isolate them from the outside world.

Tang San and Ma Hongjun ambushed Gengxin City's Spirit Hall party, killing most of its members before Hu Liena intervened to save Miles. The fight ended with Hu Liena confronting Tang San over carrying out such a conspicuous assassination inside Gengxin City.

• Tang San used the fog and Divine Slaughter's Domain to ambush the Spirit Hall party, killing several weaker Spirit Masters with hidden blades, the Eight Spider Lances, and a Godly Zhuge Crossbow.
• Miles ordered the survivors to form a circle and illuminate the area, exposing Tang San, who launched Blue Silver Thorn Array and Slaughter God Assault while Ma Hongjun added a fire attack.
• The combined assault killed every Spirit Master below Spirit King rank, including Miles, but Tang San then attacked the remaining Spirit Kings and used the Eight Spider Lances to kill one of them.
• The surviving Spirit Hall members held off Tang San and Ma Hongjun while their brothers' signals and the growing commotion drew attention, and Miles hinted that Heavenly Demon would respond.
• Hu Liena appeared and saved Miles from Tang San's attack, explaining that Heavenly Demon could not allow a Spirit Hall Bishop to be killed in the streets of Gengxin City.

Hu Liena stopped Tang San and Ma Hongjun from attacking Spirit Hall in Gengxin City, then overwhelmed them with her Fox Mind Technique. Tai Tan arrived to protect them, but Old Star Luo saboteurs intervened and set the iron factory ablaze as the standoff continued.

• Hu Liena ordered Miles to leave, blocked Tang San's attack, and confronted Tang San and Ma Hongjun over the deaths in the city.
• Hu Liena used her Fox Mind Technique to pin Tang San and Ma Hongjun down and demanded to know where their group was hiding.
• Tai Tan arrived, forced Hu Liena back, and seized a North Rock Spirit King while trying to take Tang San and Ma Hongjun away.
• Hu Liena entered her Demonized State and threatened Tai Tan unless he released her subordinate.
• Old Star Luo saboteurs decided to help Tai Tan's group and retreat through a secret passage, then a signal flare appeared and the iron factory caught fire.

Hu Liena rescued the North Rock man and trapped Tai Tan, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun in her Fox Demon Floating Life Dream before revealing her Pseudo Dharma Manifestation and attacking the hidden Old Star Luo forces. As foxfire overwhelmed the attackers, a sudden surge of water slowed it and gave them a chance to flee.

• Hu Liena used Fox Demon Floating Life Dream to distract Tai Tan and take the North Rock man away while ordering the others to seek reinforcements at the Steel Mill.
• Tang San recognized signs of Hu Liena's illusion, but he could not warn Tai Tan before she released the dream.
• Hu Liena detected twelve hidden enemies and transformed into her Pseudo Dharma Manifestation.
• Hu Liena's foxfire devoured Ma Hongjun's flames and spread across the battlefield, threatening the Old Star Luo fighters.
• An unknown surge of water slowed the foxfire, giving the fighters a chance to escape, and their leader hoped the others would create a diversion.

Hu Liena fought Tang San, Tai Tan, and a Star Luo Spirit Master while refusing to be distracted by explosions at Gengxin City's iron factory. As Tai Tan and the Sea Spirit Master struggled against her Fox Fire, Tang San recalled Yu Xiaogang's account of Sea God Island and its dangerous trials.

• Hu Liena recognized that the Star Luo group hoped the disturbance at the iron factory would draw her away, but she chose to keep fighting them.
• Hu Liena's Fox Fire formed a pack of foxes and attacked as explosions sounded at the iron factory.
• A Star Luo Spirit Master urged Tai Tan to fight alongside him, and Tang San agreed that they could not escape Hu Liena by running.
• Tai Tan and the Star Luo Spirit Master introduced themselves as a Great Ape strength-type Spirit Master and a Diving Bird Sea Spirit Master.
• Tang San remembered Yu Xiaogang explaining Sea God Island, its Sea Spirit Masters, and the deadly trials that outsiders had to face.
• Tai Tan and the Sea Spirit Master struggled to disperse Hu Liena's Soul Power-devouring Fire Foxes, and Tai Tan revealed his Martial Soul Avatar against her striking tails.

Hu Liena fought Tai Tan and the Star Luo forces in Gengxin City, but a Spirit Douluo used an unusual underground escape skill to carry them away. After Hu Liena returned from an unsuccessful pursuit, Miles’s testimony linked the suspects to the Blacksmith Association and implicated Lou Gao.

• Hu Liena used her demonized fox form and immense strength to overwhelm Tai Tan while her Fire Foxes attacked the Star Luo fighters.
• Tai Tan and the Star Luo Spirit Douluo struggled to protect their allies as Hu Liena’s attacks caused casualties and damaged nearby buildings.
• The Star Luo Spirit Douluo swallowed the group with his Diving Bird Martial Soul, then used his Sixth Spirit Skill, Free Roam, to escape underground.
• Hu Liena learned that the Iron Factory had been attacked and damaged, arranged aid for the injured, and pursued the escapees south through the night without finding them.
• After Hu Liena returned to Gengxin City, Miles identified the suspects as people he had seen at the Blacksmith Association, and Lou Gao was brought in as an accomplice.

Hu Liena pressured Lou Gao to reveal how Tai Tan, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun had become involved in the attack on Spirit Hall in Gengxin City. New Star Luo spared Lou Gao and the Blacksmith Association from immediate punishment, but the incident led to sanctions and a Spirit Hall report reaching Old Star Luo.

• Hu Liena and Miles questioned Lou Gao about the masked attackers and portraits identifying Tai Tan, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun.
• Hu Liena warned Lou Gao that New Star Luo could change its agreement with the Blacksmith Association if he concealed the truth.
• Lou Gao revealed his role in the events, and Hu Liena set aside his incriminating words because of his influence over the city's blacksmiths.
• The Blacksmith Association revoked Tai Tan's honorary vice president status, Tang someone was placed on New Star Luo's wanted list, and Old Star Luo received troubling news.
• After Miles's report reached Spirit Hall, its regional Hall Master went to meet the emperor of southern Old Star Luo.

Spirit Hall elder Zhang Wei accused Old Star Luo of harboring men who attacked a Spirit Hall branch and demanded the culprits and their accomplice be handed over. Old Star Luo debated whether to surrender Hai Ming, while Zhang Wei’s sudden table-smashing turned out to be caused by his severe lobster allergy.

• Zhang Wei confronted Old Star Luo’s acting emperor over the attack on Gengxin City and presented wanted posters for three fugitives, saying Hai Ming had helped them escape.
• Zhang Wei gave Old Star Luo until the end of the day to hand over the three culprits and Hai Ming, then went to rest while the officials discussed his demands.
• Old Star Luo’s loyalists argued that surrendering Hai Ming would destroy the morale of their forces and decided to wait for him to return and explain himself.
• An attendant reported that Zhang Wei had flipped a table, alarming the officials, but Tie Gang reassured the maid that Zhang Wei was not angry with her.
• Zhang Wei destroyed the table after the smell of lobster triggered his severe allergy.

After the failed attack in Gengxin City, Zhang Wei concealed his lobster allergy while Star Luo agreed to pursue Hai Ming but not oppose Spirit Hall. Tang San’s group escaped by sea and discovered a surviving Star Luo resistance force, while Oscar was questioned about his old classmates’ actions.

• Zhang Tiegang blamed Zhang Wei’s outburst on Iron Thorn’s supposed vegetarianism, and Zhang Wei endured a bland, oil-free meal to keep his lobster allergy secret.
• Old Star Luo told Zhang Wei it would deal with Hai Ming but would not involve itself in Spirit Hall’s enemies, and Zhang Wei rejected its offer of help.
• Hai Ming brought Tang San and the others through an underground escape to West Port, where Tang San showed him Dai Weisi’s private seal and learned of Star Luo’s surviving resistance force.
• Hai Ming gave Tang San a way to contact the resistance and returned toward Old Star Luo, while Tang San’s group planned to build a small boat and sail back to Heaven Dou.
• Hu Liena questioned Oscar about his association with Tang San, Tai Tan, and Ma Hongjun, then warned him not to help them interfere in matters beyond their reach.

After fleeing by sea, Tang San, Tai Tan, and Ma Hongjun were caught in a storm and attacked by a poisonous Sea Spirit Beast. Tang San later woke in a Heaven Dou fishing village, where their rescuer told him the others had not yet regained consciousness.

• Hu Liena warned Oscar against joining Dai Mubai's cause and left him to make his own choice.
• Tang San, Tai Tan, and Ma Hongjun struggled across the sea in a small boat without knowing how to sail.
• A storm forced Ma Hongjun to carry the others into the air, where a poisonous Sea Spirit Beast attacked and poisoned him.
• The trio fell into the sea, lost their boat, and drifted until Tang San lost consciousness.
• A young fisherman rescued the three and nursed them for three days before Tang San woke and paid him with Gold Soul Coins.
• Tang San learned they had washed ashore in Heaven Dou's Southern Inconspicuous Fishing Village, while Tai Tan and Ma Hongjun remained unconscious.