Chapter Summaries

Xu Tinglan refused Xu Bingtian’s order to attend Shrek Academy, arguing that its traditions needlessly endangered students. After Xu Bingtian dismissed him, Xu Tinglan left the Mysterious Underworld Sect with his parents’ pills and vowed to return as the first sect master of the Black Tortoise Sect.

• Xu Tinglan told Xu Bingtian he would not attend Shrek because its Supervisory Corps forbade combat soul tools and suffered high casualties.
• Xu Bingtian called Xu Tinglan cowardly and ignorant, then ordered him out of the hall.
• Xu Tinglan left the sect hall, determined to prove his uncle wrong and follow his own plan.
• Xu Tinglan packed his belongings and took two Black Tortoise Divine Pills left by his parents.
• Xu Tinglan bowed before his parents’ memorial portraits, left a letter vowing not to return until he had achieved renown, and departed intending to become the first sect master of the Black Tortoise Sect.

Xu Tinglan decided to attend Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and planned to use advanced forging to fuse Yin-Yang Attribute Metal with himself, strengthening his Mysterious Underworld Turtle. He visited Jiang Nannan to invite her along, but their conversation about their parents’ deaths left him with a sudden, frightening thought.

• Xu Tinglan resolved to pursue Spirit Forging and Soul Forging at Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy to help awaken his martial soul and forge a weapon that could grow with him.
• Xu Tinglan visited Jiang Nannan and learned she had graduated from primary school, received a recommendation for Shrek Academy, and refused an invitation from the Mysterious Underworld Sect.
• Xu Tinglan admitted that his parents had belonged to the Mysterious Underworld Sect, and Jiang Nannan comforted him after he said sect members had told him to get lost.
• Mother Jiang explained that she hoped Jiang Nannan would stay safe because her father had died fighting a beast tide, and she comforted Xu Tinglan over the loss of his own parents.
• As Xu Tinglan rested against Mother Jiang and listened to her heartbeat, a terrifying thought suddenly came to him.

Xu Tinglan suspected that Xu Bingtian planned to poison Mother Jiang after she rejected his offer, while he persuaded Jiang Nannan to study soul tools at Sun Moon Academy. Mother Jiang agreed to accompany them, and the three prepared to leave for the Sun Moon Empire.

• Xu Tinglan recalled the Violent Frenzy Snake's heart-paralyzing venom and suspected Xu Bingtian was behind a future illness affecting Mother Jiang.
• Xu Bingtian rejected his subordinate's suggestion to kill Mother Jiang and hinted that he had another plan to obtain Jiang Nannan.
• Xu Tinglan explained that Jiang Nannan's martial soul and skills suited soul tools, and told her about Sun Moon Royal Academy's tuition support for commoners.
• Jiang Nannan chose to join Xu Tinglan at Sun Moon Academy, and Mother Jiang agreed after learning about their cultivation and the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce's support.
• Xu Tinglan, Jiang Nannan, and Mother Jiang decided to travel together to the Sun Moon Empire, while Xu Tinglan resolved to surpass his uncle.

Xu Tinglan traveled with Jiang Nannan and Mother Jiang to Sun Moon City with the help of Ning Mochen, who promised him the full referral fee for joining Sun Moon Academy. The group arrived in the capital, where Ning Mochen offered to take Xu Tinglan to Sun Moon Square to meet the academies welcoming new students.

• Xu Tinglan met Ning Mochen at Jiangshui City's gate and learned that Sun Moon Academy's referral fee was at least one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, which Ning Mochen promised to give him in full.
• Ning Mochen gave Xu Tinglan a contact letter for the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's branch in Ming Capital and explained that he could seek its local representative for help.
• During the journey, Ning Mochen criticized the Heaven Dou Empire for confiscating the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's right to use hidden weapons, and asked Xu Tinglan to consider selling Soul Tools to the sect in the future.
• Xu Tinglan's group arrived in Sun Moon City, and he reflected that the Mysterious Underworld Sect could not compare to Sun Moon Academy or the capital.
• Ning Mochen told Xu Tinglan that he would accompany him to Sun Moon Square, where major academies were welcoming new students.

Xu Tinglan and his companions visited Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, where he and Jiang Nannan revealed their Innate Full Soul Power. Director Lin Jiayi welcomed them and gave Xu Tinglan a six-hundred-thousand-Gold-Soul-Coin referral fee, leaving Jiang Nannan and her mother stunned by the fortune.

• Xu Tinglan noticed an elderly man following Ning Mochen as the group arrived at Sun Moon Square and learned that Sun Moon Royal Academy offered free awakenings and admitted One-Ring Soul Masters under twelve.
• Xu Tinglan reflected on how the academy gave commoners an opportunity to change their lives, then went with the group to the welcome desk.
• Lin Jiayi greeted Ning Mochen and escorted the group to the Sun Moon Hotel, where Ning Mochen asked him to guess Xu Tinglan's Innate Soul Power.
• Xu Tinglan disclosed that he had Innate Full Soul Power and was a Rank Thirty-Four defense-type Soul Elder, and Ning Mochen revealed Jiang Nannan had Innate Full Soul Power too.
• Lin Jiayi gave Xu Tinglan a Sun Moon Black Card holding six hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins as the referral fee, and Xu Tinglan accepted it while considering the ties between the Nine Treasures Chamber of Commerce and Mingde Hall.

Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan began their studies at Sun Moon Academy, where Xu discovered that Xiao Hongchen was his new roommate. After Xu demonstrated his skill at purifying rare metals, he and Xiao met Jiang Nannan and Xiao Hongchen’s sister, Meng, at the freshman cafeteria.

• Lin Jiayi enrolled Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan at Sun Moon Academy and arranged a staff dormitory for Mother Jiang.
• Lin Jiayi told Jing Hongchen about the two Innate Full Soul Power students, and Jing decided they were unlikely to be spies.
• Xu Tinglan met his new roommate Xiao Hongchen, who introduced himself as a peak Rank 3 Soul Engineer.
• Xu showed Xiao a Flawless Moon-Glaze Stone he had forged, impressing his roommate with its complete purity.
• Xu and Xiao went to the freshman cafeteria, where they met Jiang Nannan and Xiao’s sister Meng, who called Xiao an idiot dog.

Xu Tinglan toured Sun Moon Academy’s cafeteria with Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Jiang Nannan, then learned about an upcoming Soul Master competition. After Xiao Hongchen loudly proclaimed himself invincible among his peers, Meng Hongchen led Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan to her collection room to choose Soul Tools.

• Xu Tinglan praised Sun Moon Academy’s warm metal tables and chairs and told Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen that Shrek’s freshman cafeteria had no tables or chairs and its dormitories were rusty.
• Xiao Hongchen invited Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan to compete in Sun Moon Academy’s Soul Master competition, which offered rare metals and divided entrants into Core and Level One competitions.
• Xu Tinglan revealed that he was a level thirty-four Soul Master, while Jiang Nannan was level twenty-six and Xiao Hongchen was level thirty-two.
• Xiao Hongchen struck dramatic poses and declared himself a peak third-grade Soul Engineer who was invincible among his peers, prompting the others to leave the cafeteria without him.
• Meng Hongchen invited Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan to choose Soul Tools from her collection room and led them to the villa district.

Xu Tinglan traded Hundred-Refined Metal for Soul Tools at Xiao Hongchen’s villa, then demonstrated his first soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Canglang Domain, against Xiao. The chapter left Xu Tinglan aiming a Soul Guidance Ray at Xiao while Xu Sanshi returned to his shabby dormitory at Shrek Academy.

• Xiao Hongchen showed Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan his Soul Tool collection and offered them gifts.
• Xu Tinglan traded three pieces of flawless metal for six Class 3 Soul Tools, while Meng Hongchen secretly took one piece from Xiao Hongchen.
• Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen taught Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan to use their Soul Tools.
• Xu Tinglan explained how Mysterious Underworld Canglang Domain could slow opponents and work alongside Jiang Nannan’s Gravity Control.
• Xu Tinglan activated Mysterious Underworld Canglang Domain, which slowed Xiao Hongchen’s Soul Power, and aimed a Soul Guidance Ray at him.
• Xu Sanshi returned to his rusty dormitory at Shrek Academy and complained about the school.

Xu Tinglan tested how his Soul Skill could hinder an opponent while using a Soul Tool, then began classes at Sun Moon Academy and impressed his homeroom teacher with his predictions about Soul Tool development. He became Class One, First Year’s class monitor, while a silver-haired girl watched him admiringly.

• Xu Tinglan used his Soul Skill to slow Xiao Hongchen and hit his protective barrier with a Soul Power ray, impressing Xiao Hongchen with the combination.
• Xu Tinglan bought a Communication Soul Tool and later arrived at Sun Moon Academy for his first day of classes with Jiang Nannan.
• Xuan Xingyue asked the class to predict how Soul Tools would develop, and Xu Tinglan proposed both gigantic Soul Tools and miniaturized equipment, including Soul Tool Armor and Human-Tool Unity.
• After Xu Tinglan said his ideas were his own speculation, Xuan Xingyue asked him to write his name on the board and appointed him class monitor.
• A silver-haired girl in the back row blushed and admired Xu Tinglan.

Xu Tinglan became a first-level Soul Engineer after thirty-two days of study and prepared with Jiang Nannan for the Soul Engineer competition. As the competition began, he reassured her before their first match against stronger opponents.

• Xuan Xingyue told Xuan Ziwen about a new student's Human-Tool Unity idea, and he asked her to bring the student to him if he showed enough talent.
• Xu Tinglan balanced classes, metal forging, and cultivation before completing his first Soul Tool Core Array in thirty-two days.
• Xu Tinglan told Xiao Hongchen that he and Jiang Nannan had entered the Soul Engineer competition, and Xiao Hongchen confidently promised that he and Meng would defeat them.
• Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan practiced using Soul Tools, with him specializing in close combat and her excelling at long-range control.
• Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan reached the Soul Guidance Testing Hall for the Core Competition, where he reassured the nervous Jiang Nannan before their match.

Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan dominated the Sun Moon Academy competition, defeating their opponents with ease as Xu Tinglan revealed he was a three-ringed Soul Elder. After several more effortless wins, an eliminated student challenged Xu Tinglan’s age, but Xuan Xingyue insisted it was legitimate.

• Xuan Xingyue explained the competition rules and announced Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan’s match against Chen Jun and Wang Zining.
• Xu Tinglan revealed his three-ringed Soul Elder cultivation and charged forward with [Brook Moon] and the Mysterious Underworld Turtle Shell Shield.
• Xu Tinglan shattered Chen Jun’s protective barrier, while Jiang Nannan broke Wang Zining’s barrier with her Soul Guidance Beam Cannon, securing their victory.
• The other competitors watched Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan’s strength with unease, and later opponents surrendered or proved uncompetitive.
• Le Tianyu protested that Xu Tinglan could not really be twelve and demanded an age test, but Xuan Xingyue said there was no issue with his age.

Xuan Ziwen recognized Xu Tinglan’s interest in Soul Tools and invited him to join his research group, promising to introduce him to Kong Deming after he reached Level 6. On the third day of the competition, Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan drew a bye while the Xiao Hongchen siblings swept their match.

• Xuan Ziwen confronted a noisy student, then asked Xu Tinglan to speak with him outside the Experimental Zone.
• Xu Tinglan told Xuan Ziwen he was born in the Dou Ling Empire and pursued Soul Tools because he believed they represented humanity’s true strength.
• Xuan Ziwen invited Xu Tinglan into his research group and said he would take him to meet Kong Deming once Xu Tinglan became a Level 6 Soul Master.
• Xu Tinglan accepted Xuan Ziwen’s invitation and received a crystal card granting access to his laboratory in Experimental Zone Five.
• On the third day of the competition, Jiang Nannan and Xu Tinglan drew a bye, while Xiao Hongchen and his silver-haired sister defeated their opponents in under five minutes.

Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan battled Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, whose Soul Skills and Soul Tools pushed both teams to escalate their attacks. Xu Tinglan unleashed Black Tortoise Abyssal Descent as Xiao Hongchen prepared a powerful barrage, leaving the match poised for a decisive clash.

• Jing Hongchen arrived to watch his grandson, and Lin Jiayi began the match between Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen and Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan.
• Xu Tinglan expanded his Mysterious Underworld Canglang Domain, swallowing Xiao Hongchen’s Beam Cannons and slowing Meng Hongchen when she charged in with her Ice Toad Poison.
• Jiang Nannan used her gravity field and Soul Guidance Beam Cannon to pressure Xiao Hongchen, who flew out of reach and asked Meng Hongchen to stall while he prepared Gold Solidification.
• Xu Tinglan called Jiang Nannan behind him and activated Northern Abyss Awakening · Black Tortoise Abyssal Descent, transforming his shield and spreading his domain across the arena.
• Xiao Hongchen activated Golden Boiling and summoned thirty-six Beam Cannons as Xu Tinglan’s poison resistance suppressed Meng Hongchen’s Ice Poison Ring.

Xu Tinglan defeated Xiao Hongchen in the final match, and the opposing team forfeited, making Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan champions. At the awards ceremony, Jing Hongchen gave Xu Tinglan extra rare metals and a powerful Spirit Bone Soul Tool, while Xu Tinglan planned a gift for Teacher Xuan.

• Xu Tinglan withstood Xiao Hongchen's five-minute barrage with Thousand Mountains Return to Ruins, then shattered his protective barrier and won the match.
• Meng Hongchen tried to help Xiao Hongchen up, but he rose on his own; Xu Tinglan supported him and suggested they fight on the same team.
• The team scheduled to face Xu Tinglan and Jiang Nannan forfeited, making them champions, and Jiang Nannan happily accepted Xu Tinglan's offer to treat her to something good.
• Jing Hongchen presented awards to the top twenty students and gave Xu Tinglan ten kilograms of rare metals, plus ten kilograms as a personal bonus.
• Jing Hongchen gave Xu Tinglan an eight-hundred-year water-element Spirit Bone Soul Tool, and Xu Tinglan decided to prepare a gift for Teacher Xuan before meeting him.

After receiving the Tide Trace Sword, Xu Tinglan began studying Soul Tools under Xuan Ziwen alongside Ju Zi and focused on sword-type weapons. Half a year later, he broke through to Soul Ancestor and headed to the Forging Workshop to work with Moonlight Silver.

• Xu Tinglan admired the Tide Trace Sword that Jing Hongchen had given him after the award ceremony.
• Xu Tinglan brought Xuan Ziwen three Hundred-Refined Metals, and Xuan Ziwen offered to make him a Flight Soul Tool from his Titanium.
• Xuan Ziwen introduced Xu Tinglan to Ju Zi and began teaching them Soul Guidance Core Array Inscription, while Xu Tinglan chose close-combat Soul Tools and swords.
• Xuan Ziwen taught Xu Tinglan and Ju Zi about Core Arrays and metals over the following half year.
• Xu Tinglan used the Auxiliary Cultivation Room and broke through to Soul Ancestor.
• Xu Tinglan went to his private Forging Workshop and took out a roughly forty-kilogram piece of Moonlight Silver.

Xu Tinglan achieved Thousand Forging Spirit Imbuing with Moonlight Silver and showed the transformed metal to Xuan Ziwen, who took him to meet Kong Deming. At Laboratory Zero, Xu Tinglan expressed support for decisive action to end Douluo’s long-running wars, impressing Kong Deming.

• Xu Tinglan forged Moonlight Silver until it underwent Thousand Forging Spirit Imbuing, then named the result Thousand-Refined Moon Glow.
• Xu Tinglan showed the metal to Xuan Ziwen, who recognized its potential to revolutionize Soul Tool materials.
• Xuan Ziwen flew with Xu Tinglan to the Offering Hall and brought him into Kong Deming’s Laboratory Zero.
• Kong Deming asked Xu Tinglan what he thought about ending the conflict between humanity and Soul Beasts.
• Xu Tinglan argued that decisive measures could end the fighting, and Kong Deming praised his answer.

Xu Tinglan discovered that the Star Luo Empire had provoked the war and impressed Kong Deming by forging spiritually alive metal. Kong Deming adopted him, promised to forge him Soul Tool Armor, and advised him to strengthen his body before seeking a Soul Ring.

• Kong Deming praised Xu Tinglan's views on war, and Xu Tinglan realized the Star Luo Empire had started the conflict with Sun Moon.
• Xu Tinglan forged another piece of Thousand-Refined Moon Glow, leading Kong Deming to rethink his approach to Soul Tools and metal.
• Kong Deming adopted Xu Tinglan and promised to forge Soul Tool Armor suited to his Martial Soul.
• Kong Deming revealed his Silver Moon and Haori Martial Souls, recognized Xu Tinglan's Black Tortoise Bloodline, and advised him to nourish his body before obtaining a Soul Ring.
• Xu Tinglan returned to his dormitory with a precious orange-red identity card.

Xu Tinglan went to the Sun Moon Auction House with Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Jiang Nannan to bid on treasures that could strengthen his physique. He won Ten-Thousand-Year Tiger Bone Marrow by offering Flawless Titanium, leaving him confident that it could raise his Soul Ring absorption limit.

• Xiao Hongchen told Xu Tinglan that the Sun Moon Auction House had received treasures that could improve physical fitness, and Xu Tinglan agreed to go.
• At the auction, Xu Tinglan asked Kong Deming about Ten-Thousand-Year Tiger Bone Marrow and received approval to use it.
• Xu Tinglan bid five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for the Tiger Bone Marrow, but the Heir of Shanhai King raised the price to five hundred and fifty thousand.
• Xu Tinglan offered twenty jin of Flawless Hundred-Refined Titanium, and auctioneer Le Yue awarded the Tiger Bone Marrow to Private Room Number Twelve.
• Xiao Hongchen praised Xu Tinglan's forging skill, and Xu Tinglan estimated that the Tiger Bone Marrow would let him absorb a seven-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring.

After absorbing Ten-Thousand-Year Tiger Bone Marrow, Xu Tinglan visited Kong Deming in the Zero Experimental Zone and received a precious Yin Yang Spirit Liquid meant to strengthen him and extend his future Soul Ring absorption. The chapter left Xu Tinglan preparing to take the treasure, reassured by Kong Deming’s trust despite his origins outside the Sun Moon Empire.

• The auction ended with a Class 7 Milk Bottle Soul Tool selling for 6.8 million Gold Soul Coins, and Jiang Nannan resolved to work harder at learning Soul Tools.
• Xu Tinglan collected the auction items, bought Azure Water, and simmered the Ten-Thousand-Year Tiger Bone Marrow before consuming it.
• Xu Tinglan spent a day and night absorbing the marrow, then bathed and flew to the Zero Experimental Zone after receiving Kong Deming’s message.
• Kong Deming discussed Soul Tools’ potential and explained that Xu Tinglan’s metal-forging methods had inspired him.
• Kong Deming prepared Yin Yang Spirit Liquid from Dragon Blood Lingzhi and Spirit Turtle Gallbladder, saying it could let Xu Tinglan absorb an additional six thousand years from his Soul Ring.
• Xu Tinglan hesitated because he was not from the Sun Moon Empire, but Kong Deming reassured him that his ancestors had come from the Heaven Dou Empire and urged him to drink the treasure liquid.

Xu Tinglan finished consuming the Yin Yang Treasure Liquid and strengthened his body and martial soul. Kong Deming took him to the Far North to find a suitable fourth soul ring, where they sensed an unknown Title Douluo ahead.

• Xu Tinglan consumed the remaining Yin Yang Treasure Liquid, toughening his meridians and strengthening his martial soul.
• Xu Tinglan met Kong Deming at Sun Moon Academy, and they set off for the Far North to seek a Cangbei Sea Spirit Turtle soul ring.
• Kong Deming warned Xu Tinglan that the Far North had four king-level Ferocious Beasts, and they traveled north cautiously to avoid provoking the Soul Beasts.
• Kong Deming sensed a Title Douluo in the desolate Far North, while a trembling figure in white walked deeper into the snow.