Chapter Summaries

After Tang San wounded the Datura Snake with his Silent Sleeve Arrow, Ye Chen reconsidered what real combat demanded and resolved to train alone in the Soul Hunting Forest after getting his First Soul Ring. Tang San began absorbing the snake’s Soul Ring to test Yu Xiaogang’s theory, while Yu Xiaogang’s poison suddenly overwhelmed him and left him unconscious.

• Tang San showed Dean Ding and Yu Xiaogang the Silent Sleeve Arrow, and Yu Xiaogang concealed his suspicion that Tang San’s father belonged to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Ye Chen realized that real combat on Douluo Continent meant fighting without restraint and decided to train alone in the Soul Hunting Forest after obtaining his First Soul Ring.
• Tang San agreed to test Yu Xiaogang’s Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, killed the Datura Snake, and began absorbing its Yellow Soul Ring with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
• Yu Xiaogang reasoned that the animal Soul Ring could strengthen Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass and help him challenge Ye Chen’s fire-type Torchic.
• Yu Xiaogang’s poison broke through his Soul Power, and he collapsed unconscious as Dean Ding cried out in alarm.

Tang San absorbed his First Soul Ring, then treated Yu Xiaogang after the Datura Snake poisoned him. Once Yu Xiaogang recovered, Ye Chen and Dean Ding captured a Blazing Bird, and Ye Chen began absorbing its Soul Ring.

• Tang San absorbed the Datura Snake Soul Ring, reached the second level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, and found Yu Xiaogang poisoned by the backlash from Luo Sanpao.
• Tang San treated Yu Xiaogang while Dean Ding suppressed the poison, and Ye Chen searched for detoxifying herbs with Torchic.
• After Yu Xiaogang woke, Dean Ding took Ye Chen to the Blazing Birds' habitat, where they captured a Blazing Bird despite its apparent age exceeding the limit for a First Soul Ring.
• Ye Chen and Torchic attacked the restrained Blazing Bird, then Dean Ding carried it to the Outer Zone as they retreated.
• Ye Chen killed the Blazing Bird, drew in its yellow Soul Ring, and began absorbing it as he and Torchic briefly shared Telepathy.

Ye Chen safely absorbed a five-hundred-year Blazing Bird Soul Ring and gained his first Soul Skill, Blaze, while Torchic’s Martial Soul began to evolve. The chapter left Torchic transforming in midair as Ye Chen and Dean Ding watched in shock.

• Ye Chen realized his Body Martial Soul and Torchic’s Martial Soul had resonated through the Soul Ring energy, briefly creating Telepathy.
• Ye Chen spent an hour absorbing the Soul Ring while Dean Ding waited nearby, and the Yellow Soul Ring eventually settled around him.
• Ye Chen gained three levels of Soul Power, reaching enough accumulated power for level twenty-two, and acquired the First Soul Skill Blaze.
• Ye Chen discovered that Blaze strengthened Torchic’s fire skills by seventy percent and let its Speed Boost increase their power further as its speed rose.
• Torchic appeared above Ye Chen, became enveloped in white light, and began growing into a taller, stronger form.

Ye Chen’s Torchic evolved into Combusken after absorbing his First Soul Ring, and Ye Chen persuaded Dean Ding to let him stay in Soul Hunting Forest to train. After Dean Ding left, Ye Chen revealed to himself that he had concealed the Blazing Bird Soul Ring’s true age and power, then began searching the corpse for meat and a Soul Bone.

• Torchic evolved into Combusken, gaining a stronger Martial Soul and the Fighting-type move Double Kick.
• Ye Chen told Dean Ding that the Blazing Bird Soul Ring was five hundred years old and that his First Soul Skill, Blaze, boosted Fire-type moves.
• Ye Chen asked to remain in Soul Hunting Forest for practical combat training, and Dean Ding eventually lent him a permit.
• Dean Ding warned Ye Chen to leave soon and headed back toward the forest entrance.
• Ye Chen revealed that the Blazing Bird had actually been six hundred years old and began cutting into its corpse to gather meat and check for a Soul Bone.

Ye Chen and Combusken trained in the Soul Hunting Forest, where battles with stronger Soul Beasts increased Ye Chen’s Soul Power and helped Combusken learn to control its fire. As they camped in the Core Zone, an approaching group confronted them.

• Ye Chen searched the Blazing Bird’s corpse but found no Soul Bone, then spent the day in the Outer Zone while hiding his plan to train until he reached level thirty.
• Ye Chen took Combusken into the Core Zone, where Combusken defeated Soul Beasts and battle experience substantially increased Ye Chen’s Soul Power.
• Ye Chen realized they could gain training benefits without killing Soul Beasts and observed the creatures’ habits as they continued their search.
• Ye Chen made camp near water, and Combusken accidentally burned the firewood to ash with its powerful Ember before practicing breath control.
• Ye Chen and Combusken roasted the Blazing Bird’s meat and ate together while Ye Chen taught Combusken practical lessons about surviving in the forest.
• When footsteps and an aura of Soul Power approached, Combusken moved in front of Ye Chen as a voice demanded to know what they were doing there.

Ye Chen encountered Su Yuntao and a Spirit Hall patrol in the Soul Hunting Forest, where Combusken’s evolution astonished them. After the patrol escorted Ye Chen out of the Core Zone, he returned to train, raising his Soul Power and planning to teach Combusken a new fire-infused claw attack.

• Su Yuntao recognized Ye Chen in the Core Zone, checked his pass, and learned that his Torchic Martial Soul had evolved into Combusken.
• Su Yuntao praised Ye Chen’s potential and invited him to join Spirit Hall, but Ye Chen declined because he was already enrolled at Nuoding Academy.
• Su Yuntao and the patrol escorted Ye Chen to the Outer Zone, and Ye Chen returned to the Core Zone the next day to resume fighting Soul Beasts.
• Over half a month of battles helped Combusken master its Fire- and Fighting-type abilities, while Ye Chen’s Soul Power rose from level twenty-two to twenty-five.
• Combusken learned Slash, and Ye Chen planned to combine it with Fire-type Soul Power to create Flame Claw.

After nearly two months of training in the Soul Hunting Forest, Ye Chen reached the Level 30 Soul Power bottleneck with Combusken and decided he needed a Second Soul Ring before he could grow stronger. He returned to Nuoding Academy with Dean Ding and kept his true Soul Power level secret.

• Combusken developed Fire Spin and grew strong enough to defeat Soul Beasts with up to seven hundred years of cultivation, but Ye Chen and Combusken barely defeated an eight-hundred-year Power Bear together.
• Ye Chen continued training in the Soul Hunting Forest until his Soul Power reached Level 30, where he discovered that he could no longer gain Soul Power from battle experience without a Second Soul Ring.
• Ye Chen decided to leave the Soul Hunting Forest and seek a stronger Fire-type Soul Beast for his Second Soul Ring, then met Dean Ding at the forest entrance and rode back to Nuoding Academy.
• Ye Chen told Dean Ding that eating Soul Beast meat and training explained his rapid physical growth, and he promised to graduate from Nuoding Academy before pursuing his future.
• After returning to the academy, Ye Chen chose not to register his Soul Master information at the Spirit Hall Branch so no one would discover that he had reached Soul Power Level 30.

Ye Chen provoked Tang San into agreeing to a wager over their next fight, with Tang San’s herbal knowledge at stake. Xiao Wu returned and joined the challenge, and the chapter ended with Ye Chen set to face both of them together.

• Ye Chen returned to Dorm Seven and told Wang Sheng and the others that his First Soul Ring came from a Blazing Bird and gave him a fire-attribute skill.
• Tang San confronted Ye Chen over defeating and insulting Grandmaster, then challenged him to another match.
• Ye Chen proposed that Tang San wager his skill with poison, then settled on Tang San writing a complete herb transcript if he lost.
• Xiao Wu returned, revealed her Yellow Soul Ring, and demanded a rematch with Ye Chen.
• Ye Chen challenged Tang San and Xiao Wu to fight him together, and Tang San accepted the match and the herb-transcript wager.

Ye Chen and Tang San negotiated a match over Tang San’s herbal knowledge, with Ye Chen rejecting incomplete or inaccurate transcripts until Tang San provided substantial information about Immortal Herbs. The chapter ended as Ye Chen faced Tang San and Xiao Wu in a two-on-one battle, while Tang Hao watched unseen.

• Ye Chen refused to fight until Tang San wrote down the herbal knowledge, and Tang San hesitated over sharing what he had learned in the Tang Sect.
• Tang San gave Ye Chen a transcript containing errors about Cinnabar Lotus, then claimed the mistakes were accidental and took it back to correct it.
• Tang San prepared further transcripts, but Ye Chen kept finding that he had withheld knowledge, so Tang San eventually added information about Immortal Herbs.
• Ye Chen accepted the transcript as their wager, and he swore to kneel and apologize to Yu Xiaogang if he lost.
• At noon on the back hill, Tang San and Xiao Wu faced Ye Chen before a crowd of students, while Tang Hao watched from concealment.

Ye Chen and Combusken fought Tang San and Xiao Wu in a two-on-two spar after Combusken’s evolution. Tang San’s Blue Silver Hidden Weapons failed against Combusken’s fire, but Xiao Wu gained the upper hand and slammed Combusken into the ground as Ye Chen activated Blaze.

• Ye Chen summoned his evolved Torchic, Combusken, and revealed his Hundred-Year Soul Ring before Wang Sheng started the spar.
• Tang San used Blue Silver Bind to launch poisoned Blue Silver Hidden Weapons at Ye Chen, but Combusken burned them all with Fire Spin.
• Tang San charged Ye Chen with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track while Xiao Wu attacked Combusken, and the battle spread across the cleared arena.
• Combusken boosted its speed three times and used Focus Energy and Slash, but Xiao Wu dodged and seized it with her braid.
• Xiao Wu hurled Combusken into the air, caught it, and slammed it into the ground as Ye Chen activated Blaze while fighting Tang San.

Ye Chen's Combusken survived Xiao Wu's Explosive Eight-Stage Throw by cushioning each impact with Fire Spin, then countered with an Explosive Eight-Stage Kick. Xiao Wu was badly bruised and unable to get up, while Ye Chen considered how much stronger the technique would become once Combusken learned Blaze Kick.

• Ye Chen empowered Combusken with twenty levels' worth of Soul Power and Blaze, and Combusken used Fire Spin to soften Xiao Wu's throws.
• Xiao Wu completed all eight stages of her Explosive Eight-Stage Throw, but Combusken landed safely with only superficial injuries.
• Ye Chen ordered Combusken to counterattack with Double Kick, and Combusken's accumulated speed boosts stunned Xiao Wu and Tang San.
• Combusken imitated Xiao Wu's martial art and performed an Explosive Eight-Stage Kick, avoiding Xiao Wu's vital points as it struck her repeatedly in midair.
• Xiao Wu crashed to the ground and could not get up for a while, while Ye Chen imagined Combusken using Blaze Kick to strengthen the technique.

Tang San overwhelmed Ye Chen and Combusken during their spar, while an unseen attacker used pebbles to cripple Combusken. Ye Chen suspected Tang Hao had interfered and freed himself to protect Combusken, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Tang San defeated Xiao Wu, then struck Combusken while Ye Chen remained bound by Blue Silver Vines.
• Combusken burned away Tang San's Blue Silver Hidden Weapons with Ember, but hidden pebbles struck it and left it unable to move.
• Ye Chen suspected Tang Hao had secretly attacked Combusken and decided to leave Nuoding Academy after the spar.
• Tang San used Blue Silver Bind to keep Ye Chen from withdrawing Combusken and launched more hidden weapons at it.
• Ye Chen reclaimed the Soul Power he had shared with Combusken, broke free of the vines, and raced in front of Combusken.

Ye Chen and Combusken triggered Martial Soul Resonance during their spar with Tang San, allowing Ye Chen to use Combusken’s powers and win. After leaving Nuoding Academy to avoid Tang Hao, Ye Chen and Combusken tried to recreate the resonance on the road to Heaven Dou City but could not.

• Ye Chen shielded Combusken from Tang San’s Blue Silver Hidden Weapons, and their shared urge to protect each other triggered Martial Soul Resonance.
• Ye Chen used Combusken’s Fire Spin to destroy Tang San’s hidden weapons and Tang Hao’s stones, then knocked Tang San unconscious with a flaming Rolling Kick.
• Ye Chen praised Combusken and sent it to recover in its Martial Soul Origin, where its injuries healed by the next morning.
• Ye Chen left Nuoding Academy with the Herb Transcript while Xiao Wu and the other work-study students saw him off, intending to avoid Tang Hao until he grew stronger.
• On the carriage journey toward Heaven Dou City, Ye Chen and Combusken tried to sense Martial Soul Resonance but failed, and Ye Chen suspected it required an urgent crisis and intense emotions.

Ye Chen traveled with Combusken to Heaven Dou City and planned to settle in Sunset Forest to grow stronger and seek the Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He arrived in the capital intending to gamble at the Great Soul Arena to earn money for Whale Rubber before heading to the forest.

• Ye Chen decided to summon Combusken more often so they could share ordinary experiences and strengthen their bond.
• Ye Chen chose Sunset Forest as a place to train, avoid attention, and eventually seek the Immortal Herbs near the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
• Ye Chen studied the Herb Transcript while Combusken watched the scenery during their ten-day carriage journey to Heaven Dou City.
• Ye Chen and Combusken entered Heaven Dou City at night, where they saw its bustling streets and fireworks.
• Ye Chen directed the driver to the Great Soul Arena, planning to place opposing bets with Combusken to earn money for Whale Rubber.

Ye Chen and Combusken hunted a Blazing Sun Eagle in Sunset Forest for Ye Chen’s Second Soul Ring. After Combusken defeated the eagle and recovered from its exertion, Ye Chen killed it and began absorbing its Soul Ring.

• Ye Chen and Combusken chased the Blazing Sun Eagle through Sunset Forest, with Combusken building up speed along the way.
• Combusken caught the eagle and overwhelmed it with Double Kick and Explosive Eight-Stage Kick, knocking it unconscious but suffering backlash in its legs.
• Ye Chen fed Combusken Dragon Ganoderma Grass, which healed it and restored some of its stamina and Soul Power.
• Ye Chen carried the unconscious Blazing Sun Eagle toward the forest entrance while Combusken guarded him.
• Ye Chen killed the eagle in a hidden clearing, then sat down and began absorbing its purple Soul Ring.

Ye Chen absorbed a thousand-year Soul Ring, reached level thirty-four, and gained the second Soul Skill Flash Fire. He then began training in Sunset Forest while searching for a suitable third Soul Ring, and after half a year Combusken developed a more direct fighting style.

• Ye Chen absorbed the Blazing Sun Eagle's thousand-year Soul Ring and broke through to level thirty-four.
• Ye Chen learned that his second Soul Skill, Flash Fire, gave Combusken Fire-type immunity, strengthened its next Fire-type move, and let it recover by absorbing light and heat.
• Ye Chen decided to postpone obtaining a third Soul Ring and hunt Soul Beasts in Sunset Forest to gain combat experience.
• Ye Chen fought Soul Beasts in the forest's Outer Zone by day and slept near the entrance at night, while Combusken used Flash Fire to sustain itself in battle.
• After half a year of training, Combusken adopted a close-range fighting style that targeted vital spots with Slash and Double Kick.

Ye Chen reached the level fifty bottleneck and decided to strengthen his body before attempting to hunt a nine-thousand-year Sword-Horned Fire-Explosive Dragon for his Third Soul Ring. To afford Whale Rubber, he planned to sell a thousand-year Soul Bone he had kept instead of absorbing.

• Ye Chen's Soul Power rose to level forty-two, while Combusken learned Bounce and, with Ye Chen's coaching, developed Air Walk.
• Over the following year, Combusken grew strong enough to challenge six-thousand-year Soul Beasts, and Ye Chen reached the level fifty bottleneck.
• Ye Chen chose a nine-thousand-year Sword-Horned Fire-Explosive Dragon as his target for a transformation-type Third Soul Skill, despite the risks of hunting and absorbing its Soul Ring.
• Ye Chen decided to strengthen his body by buying and eating Whale Rubber, and considered earning the money by selling a Soul Bone.
• Ye Chen recalled killing a regenerative lizard Soul Beast after repeatedly taking its tail for food; it dropped a thousand-year right leg bone, which he had kept rather than absorb.

Ye Chen sold a Soul Bone, bought the Tri-Color Bracelet, and stocked up on supplies before returning to the Sunset Forest. After he and Combusken finished eating Whale Rubber, their physical strength reached its limits, and Ye Chen began considering his third Soul Ring.

• Ye Chen sold his Soul Bone at the Heaven Dou Auction House to Salas for four million Gold Soul Coins, receiving three million after fees.
• Ye Chen bought the Tri-Color Bracelet for one million Gold Soul Coins and used his money to acquire Whale Rubber, books, and supplies.
• Ye Chen returned to the Sunset Forest and planned to consume the Whale Rubber before pursuing his third Soul Ring.
• Ye Chen and Combusken finished absorbing six pieces of Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue and twenty pieces of thousand-year Whale Rubber, finding that the nourishment no longer improved their bodies.
• Ye Chen leaped fifty meters with Soul Power, while Combusken jumped fifty meters, used Air Walk to reach a hundred meters, and glided through the air.
• Ye Chen admired Combusken's increased strength and began considering his third Soul Ring.

Ye Chen and Combusken entered Sunset Forest's Mixed Zone to find a suitable third Soul Ring, hoping Combusken could evolve into Blaziken after advancing. Near the Core Zone, they heard a battle and discovered a Long-Tailed Fire Fox fighting a small dinosaur Soul Beast.

• Ye Chen took Combusken into Sunset Forest to hunt for his third Soul Ring.
• Ye Chen and Combusken traveled into the Mixed Zone, where powerful Soul Beasts and the forest's abundant Fire and Ice elements made hunting dangerous.
• After reaching the territory of the Sword-Horned Fire-Explosive Dragon, Ye Chen searched for two days but found no suitable Soul Beast.
• Ye Chen used Flash Fire in the sunlight to help Combusken recover, then heard a distant clash and hurried toward it.
• Ye Chen and Combusken hid in the grass and watched a Long-Tailed Fire Fox battle a small theropod Soul Beast.
• Ye Chen checked his Soul Beast book and confirmed that the fox was a Long-Tailed Fire Fox, evolved from a Three-Eyed Demon Fox mutated by fire elements.

Ye Chen and Combusken subdued an injured Sword-Horned Fire-Explosive Dragon and retreated from Sunset Forest so he could absorb its eight-thousand-year Soul Ring. He gained his third Soul Skill, Sword Dance, and reached level fifty-four.

• Braixen sensed Ye Chen's Soul Power and fled, while Ye Chen chose not to pursue it and identified the injured Sword-Horned Fire-Explosive Dragon.
• Combusken snapped out of Braixen's mental Control and knocked the dragon unconscious with Explosive Eight-Stage Kick.
• Ye Chen carried the dragon to the Outer Zone, then brought it out of Sunset Forest and killed it in a grove.
• Ye Chen absorbed the dragon's purple Soul Ring, broke through to level fifty-four, and gained the third Soul Skill Sword Dance.
• Ye Chen learned that Sword Dance doubled the power and attack strength of his Fire Attribute Skills and could stack with Blaze and Flash Fire.