Chapter Summaries

Gu Ci fended off Yin Wuji’s pressure and organized the Marquis Mansion to prepare for Spirit Hall’s inevitable interest in Soul Tools. After Yin Wuji and Iron Face returned to Spirit City, they reported to the newly appointed Bibi Dong, who began considering Gu Ci and his inventions.

• Gu Ci delivered Yin Wuji’s warning to the Marquis Mansion and ordered work on combat Soul Tools, Core Arrays, and the manor’s defenses to intensify.
• Yin Wuji and Iron Face spent three days in Heaven Dou City studying Soul Lights and gathering information before departing for Spirit City with twelve subordinates.
• Gu Ci told Dugu Bo that Bibi Dong would avoid confronting the Heaven Dou Empire while consolidating her position, but Spirit Hall would not abandon its interest in Soul Tools.
• Yin Wuji and Iron Face reported their findings to Bibi Dong, including Gu Ci’s identity, his connection to Dugu Yan, and his written order from Xue Ye.

Bibi Dong postponed Spirit Hall’s plan to seize the Heaven Dou Empire’s Soul Tool technology while she dealt with internal opposition, then reflected on her estranged daughter Qian Renxue. In Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue continued serving Xue Qinghe as the maid Xue’er, secretly carrying out Spirit Hall’s long-term infiltration plan.

• Iron Face urged Bibi Dong to take control of the Soul Tool technology, but she decided to watch the Heaven Dou Empire and postpone action until Spirit Hall’s internal affairs were settled.
• Bibi Dong asked about Xue Qinghe and learned that Xue’er remained trusted and unsuspected after more than a year as his maid.
• After Yin Wuji and Iron Face left, Bibi Dong remembered Qian Renxue’s childhood departure and reflected on her role in Spirit Hall’s plan.
• Xue Qinghe waited in his study at night, and Xue’er brought him tea while maintaining her flawless maid disguise.
• The chapter revealed that Xue’er was Qian Renxue, secretly tasked with gaining Xue Qinghe’s trust and eventually replacing him to control the Heaven Dou Empire.

Qian Renxue became curious about Gu Ci and watched him outside the Academy while disguised as a maid. Gu Ci noticed her and, after telling Dugu Bo, was warned to stay alert as the chapter ended with him reflecting on her unusual bearing.

• Qian Renxue considered Gu Ci’s Soul Tool technology and resolved to meet him when she had the chance.
• Gu Ci and the other students continued Qin Ming’s demanding training, and Qin Ming announced combat simulations against the senior team.
• Yu Tianheng and the others discussed the Heavenly Workshop and its Soul Lights with Gu Ci.
• Qian Renxue, disguised as a maid, watched Gu Ci outside the Academy before disappearing into the crowd.
• Gu Ci told Dugu Bo about the golden-haired, purple-eyed girl, and Dugu Bo warned him that others might still be watching.
• Gu Ci sat in the courtyard that night, thinking about the girl’s composure and the way she had looked at him.

Qian Renxue disguised herself as a maid accompanying Crown Prince Xue Qinghe on an inspection of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, where she and Gu Ci scrutinized each other. She sensed an unusual resonance between her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul and Gu Ci as she returned to the Crown Prince's Mansion, where a figure approached her in the snow.

• Gu Ci suspected the golden-haired maid accompanying Xue Qinghe was Qian Renxue when the Crown Prince arrived to inspect Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Xue Qinghe toured the academy and asked Gu Ci about the Heavenly Workshop, while Qian Renxue watched him with a probing gaze.
• After the inspection, Xue Qinghe asked Qian Renxue what she thought of Gu Ci, and she privately reflected on his vigilance and the resonance she felt with her Martial Soul.
• Three nights later, Qian Renxue stood beneath the corridor at the Crown Prince's Mansion as snow fell, and a tall figure emerged from the darkness behind her.

Qian Renxue ordered She Long to investigate Gu Ci after learning that the child’s Martial Soul had made her Six-Winged Angel react. She Long’s surveillance uncovered Gu Ci’s unusual bond with powerful soul beasts, but Dugu Bo caught him outside the Marquis Mansion and forced him to flee.

• Qian Renxue told She Long to learn everything about Gu Ci, warning him that Dugu Bo could detect intruders.
• She Long watched Gu Ci for several days and observed him training with two cats and two black-and-white snakes that he recognized as powerful soul beasts.
• She Long approached the Marquis Mansion’s rear wall at night to investigate the soul beasts more closely.
• Dugu Bo detected She Long with poison mist and threatened to attack unless he came out.
• She Long sensed the poison mist spreading and fled, while Gu Ci emerged and asked Dugu Bo what had happened.

Dugu Bo discovered that someone had been spying on Gu Ci, while Qian Renxue learned about Gu Ci’s hidden abilities and ordered She Long to keep watching from a distance. The following evening, Gu Ci visited the Heavenly Workshop to inspect the blueprints for his First-Grade Soul Sword Blade and found Zhao Tieshan struggling with second-grade formations.

• Dugu Bo told Gu Ci that a powerful intruder had escaped his poisonous mist, and Gu Ci suspected Qian Renxue was interested in him.
• She Long reported Gu Ci’s unusual cultivation, powerful soul-beast companions, and possible hidden Body Martial Soul to Qian Renxue.
• Qian Renxue ordered She Long to watch Gu Ci from afar and avoid approaching the Marquis Mansion again.
• Gu Ci visited the Heavenly Workshop and learned that Ye Lingling had bought the First-Grade Soul Sword Blade for ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Gu Ci collected the blade’s blueprints from Qian Sihai and went to the backyard, where Zhao Tieshan had failed again while studying second-grade formations.

Gu Ci redesigned a Soul Sword Blade so its edge and lightning arrays could work together, then warned Zhao Tieshan to accelerate combat Soul Tool research before Spirit Hall acted. News of the weapon reached the Heaven Dou Empire, where Xue Ye began considering its implications.

• Gu Ci identified errors in Zhao Tieshan’s arrays and found that the Blade Edge Array and Thunder Pattern Array conflicted because they shared a Soul Power input node.
• Gu Ci added a Split Node and Energy Storage Circuit to the short blade, allowing both arrays to operate independently or together.
• Zhao Tieshan tested the modified blade successfully, and Gu Ci recorded its design for future Soul Sword Blades.
• Gu Ci told Zhao Tieshan to speed up combat-use Soul Tool research because Spirit Hall and others might threaten his family.
• News of the Heavenly Workshop’s Soul Sword Blades spread across the continent, and Xue Ye heard about the weapon while reviewing memorials.

Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and Qian Renxue considered how to respond to Gu Ci’s improved Soul Tools, while each assessed the value and risks of his technology. The royal family and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect planned to acquire finished products, and Qian Renxue concluded that Gu Ci would keep his technology and was using his weapons to warn Spirit Hall.

• Xue Ye ordered the Ministry of Works to buy one hundred Soul Sword Blades and told Xue Qinghe to monitor Heavenly Workshop and negotiate with it.
• Ning Fengzhi discussed Gu Ci’s Soul Tool technology with Madam Ning and decided to send people to buy several tools for study.
• Ning Fengzhi considered waiting until Rongrong was born before attempting to build a friendship between her and Gu Ci.
• Qian Renxue reviewed a report on Gu Ci’s improved Soul Sword Blade and said he would not sell his technology.
• Qian Renxue told She Long that Gu Ci was using civilian and combat Soul Tools to make money, display his strength, and warn Spirit Hall.

Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong considered Gu Ci’s growing influence as Heavenly Workshop unveiled powerful Soul Tools and drew the attention of Heaven Dou’s factions. After Qian Renxue invited Gu Ci to talk and received no reply, a new Soul Shield release showed Heavenly Workshop’s reach was still expanding.

• Qian Renxue sent Bibi Dong a letter saying her younger sister had her own arrangements, while Bibi Dong ordered Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo to secretly observe Gu Ci in Heaven Dou City.
• Qian Sihai auctioned three First-Grade Soul Tools at Heavenly Workshop, and a buyer from the Crown Prince's Mansion paid fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins for the set.
• Gu Ci explained to himself that the public sale was meant to draw every major faction’s attention, then said the real show had only just begun.
• Qian Renxue sent Gu Ci an invitation to talk about Heavenly Workshop’s products, but he gave no reply after receiving it.
• Xue Qinghe told Qian Renxue that Heavenly Workshop had released a First-Grade Soul Shield and that the Ministry of Works was negotiating a bulk purchase.

Gu Ci agreed to meet Qian Renxue at the Heavenly Workshop, where they questioned each other’s secrets without revealing their own. Meanwhile, Dugu Bo confronted the two figures who had followed him, including Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.

• After Dugu Yan urged Gu Ci to trust his feelings, he decided to reply to Qian Renxue’s invitation.
• Qian Renxue received Gu Ci’s note arranging a meeting at the Heavenly Workshop and prepared to meet him in her own clothes before returning to her maid uniform.
• Three days later, Qian Renxue arrived alone at the Heavenly Workshop, where Gu Ci asked what she wanted from him.
• Qian Renxue asked about Gu Ci’s Martial Soul and Soul Tool technology, but Gu Ci said they both had secrets they would not share.
• Outside Heaven Dou City, Dugu Bo confronted two people who had followed him for three days: Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and a shadowy figure.

Dugu Bo fought Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo after revealing that his Martial Soul had evolved and his strength had increased. He forced them to retreat, then returned to the Marquis Mansion and told Gu Ci about the battle.

• Dugu Bo confronted Yue Guan and Gui Mei, revealing that his Jade Scale Snake had evolved into the Jade Scale Flood Dragon.
• Dugu Bo's poison overcame Yue Guan's petals and poisoned Gui Mei, while his Soul Core continuously replenished his Soul Power.
• Yue Guan decided to retreat with Gui Mei, and Dugu Bo let them go because he could not overcome their combined Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
• Dugu Bo reflected that Level 95 was still not enough to face their fusion skill, then returned to the Marquis Mansion.
• Gu Ci asked Dugu Bo how the battle went, and Dugu Bo began recounting the events on the cliff.

Gu Ci and Dugu Bo discussed Spirit Hall’s retreat and planned to use the time to grow stronger, while Gu Ci intended to exploit Qian Renxue’s interest in him. After hearing reports about Dugu Bo and Gu Ci, Bibi Dong ordered Spirit Hall to watch Heaven Dou City and cautiously permitted Qian Renxue to approach Gu Ci.

• Gu Ci told Dugu Bo that Spirit Hall’s envoys had come to test their strength and would return with a more serious attack.
• Gu Ci revealed that he believed the girl he had met was from Spirit Hall and planned to make use of her interest in him.
• Qian Renxue read a report on Dugu Bo’s breakthrough and warned Bibi Dong that the Heavenly Workshop matter required careful consideration.
• Yue Guan and Gui Mei reported their encounter with Dugu Bo to Bibi Dong, describing his rank-ninety-five strength and unusual Soul Power recovery.
• Bibi Dong ordered Yue Guan and Gui Mei to keep watching Heaven Dou City without acting rashly.
• Bibi Dong decided to let Qian Renxue continue approaching Gu Ci.

Qian Renxue received a warning from Qian Daoliu to be careful about investigating Gu Ci. Nearly a year later, Gu Ci reached Rank 30 and prepared to travel with Dugu Bo to the Star Dou Great Forest for his Third Soul Ring.

• Qian Renxue recognized Qian Daoliu's handwriting in an unsigned letter warning her to be careful with Gu Ci.
• Over the following year, Soul Tools from the Heavenly Workshop spread across the continent as political and military tensions grew.
• Gu Ci broke through to Rank 30 and decided his Third Soul Ring needed to come from a Thunder-type tiger older than thirty thousand years.
• Dugu Bo agreed to take Gu Ci to the Star Dou Great Forest the next day, but told Dugu Yan she could not come.
• Gu Xiao, Li Wanyue, Zhao Tieshan, and Qian Sihai visited Gu Ci, and Ye Lingling gave him a Nine-Heart Begonia for emergencies.

Gu Ci and Dugu Bo traveled to the Star Dou Great Forest to find Gu Ci a Thunder Attribute tiger soul beast for his Third Soul Ring. They found the Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor on Thunderstrike Mountain, but it sensed them and roared as Dugu Bo released his Titled Douluo aura.

• Gu Ci prepared for his journey while Qian Renxue read a report about his breakthrough to level 30 and his plan to seek a Thunder Tiger soul beast.
• Gu Ci and Dugu Bo set out for the Star Dou Great Forest, and Dugu Bo recalled seeing a Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor on Thunderstrike Mountain decades earlier.
• After reaching the forest, Gu Ci used his Heavenly Eye to guide them past dangers toward Thunderstrike Mountain.
• Gu Ci spotted the Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor resting on the summit and estimated that it was at least thirty-five thousand years old.
• The Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor opened its golden eyes, roared at Gu Ci and Dugu Bo, and stirred the Thunder Attribute elements around them.
• Dugu Bo released the aura of a Titled Douluo in response.

Gu Ci persuaded the thirty-five-thousand-year-old Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor to form a Soul Spirit Contract, gaining his third Soul Ring and the name Thunder Emperor. After demonstrating its three abilities at the Marquis Mansion, Gu Ci stood ready to train with Dugu Bo the next morning.

• Gu Ci revealed his Thunder Prison Heaven-Slaying Tiger Martial Soul and offered the Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor a Soul Spirit Contract.
• The Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor accepted the contract, and Gu Ci named him Thunder Emperor.
• Gu Ci returned to the Marquis Mansion, where Thunder Emperor met Zi Dian and Night Shadow and settled down after Gu Ci stopped him from picking a fight.
• Gu Ci showed Dugu Yan his third Soul Ring and demonstrated Thunder Emperor's Wrath, then explained its attack, defensive, and domain abilities.
• The next morning, Gu Ci faced Dugu Bo at the backyard training ground.

Gu Ci demonstrated Soul Ancestor-level striking power, but Dugu Bo told him to gain real combat experience at the Great Soul Arena. Gu Ci and Dugu Yan began registering there under false identities, while Ye Lingling stayed behind to cultivate.

• Gu Ci attacked Dugu Bo with his Thunder Emperor's Wrath, leaving a scorch mark on Dugu Bo's palm and impressing everyone with the strength of his strike.
• Dugu Bo pointed out Gu Ci's lack of combat experience and arranged for him and Dugu Yan to compete together in two-on-two Soul Battles at the Great Soul Arena.
• Dugu Bo gave Gu Ci and Dugu Yan the false names Thunder Tiger and Ice Dragon, while Ye Lingling remained at the mansion because her Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul was too recognizable.
• Gu Ci spent the night refining his Soul Power and practicing how to coordinate Zi Dian, Night Shadow, and the Thunder Emperor's abilities.
• Gu Ci and Dugu Yan reached the Great Soul Arena and gave their false names and ages to the registration clerk, who doubted that Dugu Yan was sixteen.

Gu Ci and Dugu Yan fought as the Thunder Ice Team against the Iron Bee Team at the Great Soul Arena, defeating two experienced Soul Elders. After their victory, Gu Ci resolved to keep competing every day to seek greater challenges and temper himself.

• Gu Ci and Dugu Yan registered for the Bronze Group two-on-two matches and received their first match assignment.
• At No. 7 Soul Arena Platform, the Thunder Ice Team faced Zhou Meng and his Poison Bee partner, the Iron Bee Team.
• Gu Ci and Dugu Yan coordinated their ice-and-fire abilities to corner the Poison Bee fighter, and Gu Ci knocked him out with a thunderbolt-powered punch.
• Gu Ci exchanged blows with Zhou Meng, then overwhelmed him with a barrage of thunderbolt punches until Zhou Meng conceded.
• The referee declared the Thunder Ice Team victorious, and Gu Ci told Dugu Yan they would return to the Great Soul Arena every day.

Gu Ci and Dugu Yan faced their toughest Bronze Group opponents yet when they battled two former Silver Group Soul Ancestors. Gu Ci used his hidden Purple Lightning Wings and a powerful application of Ultimate Thunder to turn the fight around, leaving Zhou Ba staggered as the battle continued.

• Gu Ci and Dugu Yan won their Bronze Group matches over several weeks while Dugu Bo watched from the stands in secret.
• Gu Ci and Dugu Yan were matched against Mad Bear Zhou Ba and Wind Spirit Yan Fei, both Four-Ring Soul Ancestors.
• Zhou Ba pressured Gu Ci with powerful attacks while Yan Fei's speed and Wind Blades kept Dugu Yan from landing her attacks.
• Gu Ci told Dugu Yan to use ice walls to slow Zhou Ba, then revealed his Purple Lightning Wings to catch and injure Yan Fei.
• Gu Ci met Zhou Ba's charge with compressed Ultimate Thunder and knocked him back, while both fighters remained standing.

After two years of cultivation and Soul Arena battles, Gu Ci had reached level 39 while the Thunder Ice Team climbed to the Diamond Group. Gu Xiao and Li Wanyue both broke through to new ranks, and the family prepared to travel to the Star Dou Great Forest to find their next Soul Rings.

• Gu Ci and Dugu Yan defeated Zhou Ba and Yan Fei, winning the Bronze Group match and earning a warning from Dugu Bo about the Silver Group.
• Over two years, Gu Ci trained and the Thunder Ice Team advanced from the Silver Group through the Gold Group to the Diamond Group, while the Heavenly Workshop grew into a major supplier to the royal family.
• Gu Ci reached level 39, and Dugu Yan reached level 33 as their Soul Spirits grew stronger.
• Gu Xiao broke through to level 80 and became a Soul Douluo, while Li Wanyue reached level 70.
• Gu Xiao said he needed a Thunder Attribute soul beast for his eighth Soul Ring, and Li Wanyue needed a spiritually skilled soul beast for her seventh.
• Gu Ci recommended the Star Dou Great Forest, and Dugu Bo decided to lead the family there after three days of preparation.

Gu Ci led Gu Xiao, Li Wanyue, and Dugu Bo into the Star Dou Great Forest to find soul rings for his parents, seeking a thunder tiger for his father and a rare beast that could awaken his mother's Body Martial Soul a second time. He found an eighty-thousand-year Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor in a dangerous Thunderstorm Zone, and Gu Xiao decided to fight it.

• Gu Ci asked Dugu Bo to let him find his parents' soul beasts himself, and Dugu Bo agreed to accompany him.
• Gu Ci gave Gu Xiao and Li Wanyue Concealment Pendants, and the four set out for the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Gu Ci searched with his Heavenly Eye and identified the Phantom Pupil as a possible source of Li Wanyue's second awakening, though it was exceptionally rare.
• On their third day in the forest, Gu Ci spotted an eighty-thousand-year Thunder Pattern Tiger Emperor at the heart of a Thunderstorm Zone.
• Gu Xiao chose to fight the Tiger Emperor, and Dugu Bo gave him a pill to increase his resistance to the lightning.