Chapter Summaries

Tang San fled Heaven Dou City with Tang Sect’s remaining possessions after the sect’s losses, while Zhou Qiubai dismissed concerns about Tang San and the Clear Sky Sect’s likely retaliation. She Long arrived at the palace as Qian Renxue, ruling under Xue Qinghe’s identity, impatiently reviewed memorials.

• Tang Yuehua told Tang San to leave before dawn through the north gate, and he led Tang Sect’s convoy south out of Heaven Dou City.
• Tang San looked back at the city and vowed to return.
• Dugu Bo asked Zhou Qiubai why he was not watching Tang San, and Zhou Qiubai said Tang San and his weakened Tang Sect posed no immediate concern.
• Yang Guyun came outside to recover, drank Shui Bing’er’s medicinal soup, and traded barbs with Zhou Qiubai.
• Dugu Bo warned Zhou Qiubai that the Clear Sky Sect might retaliate for the deaths of its four elders, but Zhou Qiubai said he would deal with them if they came.
• She Long arrived at the palace while Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, reviewed memorials with unusual impatience.

Qian Renxue decided to invite Zhou Qiubai to a palace banquet as the Heaven Dou Emperor, hoping to establish a relationship through negotiation rather than force. She Long delivered the imperial invitation to Zhou Qiubai, who received it but had not yet said whether he would attend.

• She Long reported that Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun had killed Tang Lie, Tang Qingqing, Tang Ziyi, and Tang Fangrui, and Qian Renxue ordered the news suppressed to prevent public panic.
• Qian Renxue decided to invite Zhou Qiubai to the palace in the emperor’s name, reasoning that he would not join a sect but still bore responsibility for a city within the empire.
• Qian Renxue instructed She Long to deliver the invitation personally without mentioning Spirit Hall and to return Ghost Leopard as a gesture of sincerity.
• She Long disguised himself as a eunuch and went to Dugu Manor, where he found Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun sparring.
• She Long presented Zhou Qiubai with the emperor’s invitation to a palace banquet, and Zhou Qiubai asked whether the emperor himself had invited him.

Zhou Qiubai accepted Qian Renxue’s invitation to dine at the palace, knowing she had summoned him under Xue Qinghe’s identity. During their meeting, Qian Renxue asked whether he had been pretending not to know who she was, then removed her disguise.

• She Long invited Zhou Qiubai to a palace dinner on behalf of Xue Qinghe, and Zhou agreed to attend.
• Zhou Qiubai told Yang Guyun, Dugu Bo, and Shui Bing'er that he would hear Qian Renxue out and not provoke a conflict.
• Shui Bing'er quietly washed and prepared Zhou Qiubai’s plain white clothes for the dinner.
• She Long escorted Zhou Qiubai through the imperial palace to a secluded courtyard, where Qian Renxue awaited him disguised as Xue Qinghe.
• Zhou Qiubai and Qian Renxue exchanged toasts, and she asked whether he would have kept pretending not to recognize her identity.
• Qian Renxue turned away from Zhou Qiubai and removed the mask from the back of her neck.

Qian Renxue spoke with Zhou Qiubai about the identities and obligations that had defined her life, and asked him what he thought of Spirit Hall. She then revealed that she planned to return to Spirit City to reclaim something belonging to her and asked for his help.

• Qian Renxue removed her disguise and told Zhou Qiubai that she sometimes struggled to separate herself from Xue Qinghe.
• Qian Renxue explained that she had come to Heaven Dou City to pursue something of her own, rather than to fulfill Bibi Dong's expectations.
• Zhou Qiubai praised Spirit Hall's free Martial Soul awakenings but criticized its ambition to dominate the world.
• Qian Renxue said she wanted to make Spirit Hall better, then asked Zhou Qiubai to help Qian Renxue rather than Spirit Hall or the Heaven Dou Empire.
• Qian Renxue told Zhou Qiubai she would soon return to Spirit City to reclaim something her grandfather had guarded, but had not yet explained what would happen if she went.

Qian Renxue spoke with Zhou Qiubai about her fear of leaving for her divine inheritance and challenged his view of godhood. They slipped out of the imperial city to fight, where Qian Renxue and Zhou Qiubai introduced themselves as Soul Saints before the duel began.

• Qian Renxue admitted she feared she might never return or might no longer be herself, and Zhou Qiubai agreed to drink with her as either Xue Qinghe or Qian Renxue.
• Qian Renxue asked what Zhou Qiubai thought a god was, and he said the problem lay with those who sought godhood rather than with gods themselves.
• Qian Renxue said she wanted to test how far apart they were, and Zhou Qiubai agreed to meet her outside the city.
• She Long and Pufferfish escorted Qian Renxue and Zhou Qiubai through a side gate to a secluded mountain hollow and concealed Qian Renxue's aura.
• Qian Renxue revealed her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul and introduced herself as a level seventy-eight Soul Saint, while Zhou Qiubai introduced himself as a level seventy-five Soul Saint and named his sword White Clothes.

Qian Renxue challenged Zhou Qiubai and escalated from rapid attacks to her Six-Winged Angel true form and Angel Domain, but he evaded and broke through her strikes with ease. When she demanded to see his sword, Zhou Qiubai answered with a gentle, ordinary-looking thrust that reached her throat, forcing her to raise a shield.

• Qian Renxue attacked Zhou Qiubai with fiery fists and holy light, but he dodged without using Soul Power.
• Qian Renxue unleashed a rain of light feathers and a holy-fire sword, while Zhou Qiubai evaded the feathers and split her sword light with the White Clothes Sword.
• Qian Renxue activated her seventh Soul Ring and transformed into the Six-Winged Angel, while She Long and Pufferfish contained the released Soul Power.
• Qian Renxue spread her Angel Domain and asked Zhou Qiubai to show her his sword, and he warned her to stand firm.
• Zhou Qiubai's sword softened the golden light and reached Qian Renxue's throat, forcing her to close her wings and form a golden shield.

Zhou Qiubai defeated Qian Renxue in a duel, and she accepted her loss before leaving for Spirit Hall, determined to return stronger. Back in Canghai City, Zhou Qiubai rejected Ning Fengzhi’s offer to help the city compete for a place among the Upper Three Sects.

• Qian Renxue unleashed her Soul Skills and Angel Domain, but Zhou Qiubai calmly walked through her attacks and pointed his sword at her heart.
• Qian Renxue admitted defeat and said she would seek Zhou Qiubai out again after returning from Spirit Hall.
• Zhou Qiubai returned to Dugu Bo’s residence, where Dugu Bo teased him about whether he had killed the emperor.
• Dantai Canglan reported that many factions were probing Canghai City and that Ning Fengzhi had offered to lobby for its place among the Upper Three Sects.
• Zhou Qiubai told Dantai Canglan to refuse Ning Fengzhi, saying Canghai City had no intention of competing.

Tang San relocated the remnants of the Tang Sect and chose to enter seclusion, while the Asura God investigated repeated disturbances to Douluo Continent’s laws. The God Realm Enforcers confronted him, and he proposed sending divine inheritors to investigate.

• Dantai Canglan and Yang Guyun explained why Canghai City had refused Ning Fengzhi’s offer, while Zhou Qiubai said they would draw their swords if anyone threatened them.
• Tang San led the remaining Tang Sect members to a remote new base and brooded over his lack of strength and the losses they had suffered.
• Tang San told Tang Yuehua he would enter seclusion, then shut himself away to pursue a dangerous method involving his Eight Spider Lances.
• The Asura God examined abnormal fluctuations in Douluo Continent’s laws as the God Realm Nexus shook.
• The four God Realm Enforcers confronted the Asura God, who explained that a mortal had disrupted the rule requiring Spirit Beast Soul Rings and suggested that divine inheritors investigate.
• The Kindness God asked who currently held inheritances on Douluo Continent.

The Asura God sent Divine Oracles to Sea God Island and the Capital of Slaughter, ordering investigations into the disturbance in Douluo Continent's laws. Sea Dragon and Sea Spear set out from the island, while the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King left the Capital of Slaughter for a promised chance to claim Tang Chen's body.

• The Asura God arranged for Sea God Island to investigate the disturbance and sent a Divine Oracle to Bo Saixi.
• Bo Saixi summoned the Seven Sacred Pillars and chose Sea Dragon and Sea Spear to investigate on the continent.
• Bo Saixi blessed Sea Dragon and Sea Spear and warned them not to fight stubbornly if they met a powerful enemy.
• The Asura God's Divine Oracle offered the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King permanent possession of Tang Chen's body if he investigated the disturbance.
• The Bat King accepted the task and left the Capital of Slaughter, allowing Tang Chen's consciousness to begin stirring as its suppressing influence faded.

Zhou Qiubai spent a quiet day in Canghai City while Sea Dragon Douluo and Sea Spear Douluo sought answers in Spirit City about a disturbance in the God Realm. Qian Daoliu pointed them toward Xie Ru in Heaven Dou City and gave them a letter of introduction.

• Zhou Qiubai, Yang Guyun, and Shui Bing'er relaxed in the City Lord's Manor while Dantai Canglan handled the city's affairs.
• Sea Dragon Douluo and Sea Spear Douluo arrived in Spirit City and asked to meet the Grand Pontiff.
• Qian Daoliu told the visitors he knew of no Angel God oracle, but suspected the disturbance involved people who could create Soul Rings without Spirit Beasts.
• Qian Daoliu named Xie Ru, Zhou Qiubai, and Yang Guyun as people who might have disrupted the laws of the plane.
• Qian Daoliu gave Sea Dragon Douluo a letter of introduction to help the pair visit Xie Ru in Heaven Dou City.

Sea Dragon and Sea Spear decided to visit Heaven Dou City before Canghai City to investigate Xie Ru and gather information about Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun. In a distant forest, Tang San killed a seventy-thousand-year spirit beast and unexpectedly received the Asura God's second trial, which demanded he hunt ten beasts above eighty thousand years in three days.

• Qian Daoliu warned Sea Dragon and Sea Spear not to underestimate Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun, and Sea Dragon thanked him.
• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear chose to travel to Heaven Dou City first to investigate Xie Ru before heading to Canghai City.
• Tang San reflected on killing Rogue Cultivators and spirit beasts to grow stronger and rescue Xiao Wu.
• Tang San killed a seventy-thousand-year Silverback Demon Bear with his Clear Sky Hammer and Eight Spider Lances.
• The Asura God's voice assigned Tang San a three-day trial to hunt ten spirit beasts above eighty thousand years, with failure resulting in execution and a Divine-Bestowed Soul Ring offered as a reward.

Tang San completed the Asura God's second trial by killing ten Spirit Beasts and received a Divine-Bestowed Soul Ring. He began absorbing it as the Asura God set a one-month limit for his third trial and revealed that Tang San's trials were tied to Tang Chen.

• Tang San fought through three days in the Soul Beast Forest and killed the final Spirit Beast, a ninety-three-thousand-year-old Saber-Toothed Snow Leopard.
• The Asura God announced that Tang San had passed the second trial and rewarded him with a Divine-Bestowed Soul Ring.
• The Asura God set Tang San's third trial with a one-month time limit and warned that abandoning it would result in erasure.
• Tang San accepted the trial and pressed the blood-red bead into his forehead, enduring its violent energy as he began absorbing it.
• The Asura God explained that Tang San still had to undergo the trials himself and that the final right of interpretation belonged to him.

Sea Dragon and Sea Spear visited Xie Ru at Heaven Dou Royal Academy to investigate reports of Soul Masters breaking the world’s laws, but Xie Ru challenged their devotion to the Sea God. The two prepared to fight him, and Chen Xuan withdrew to the edge of the bamboo grove as Xie Ru accepted the confrontation.

• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear entered the bamboo grove, where they met Xie Ru and Chen Xuan and sensed their extraordinary strength.
• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear explained that the High Priest had sent them to investigate unusual Soul Masters under a Divine Oracle from the Sea God.
• Xie Ru questioned whether the gods preserved the mortal world’s order or their own, then asked Sea Spear where his weapon would point if the Sea God no longer needed him.
• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear took offense at Xie Ru’s words and rose to confront him, with Sea Spear summoning his golden spear.
• Sea Dragon released his Demon-Breaking Domain, and Chen Xuan stepped away after asking Xie Ru whether they were fighting.
• Xie Ru agreed to face the two Sea God Island visitors and said he would try to spare the bamboo.

Xie Ru defeated Sea Dragon and Sea Spear in a sparring match, then challenged their faith in the Sea God and told them he believed in people instead. Sea Dragon and Sea Spear accepted their defeat, but Sea Dragon said he still had to carry out the divine decree.

• Sea Dragon attacked Xie Ru, who redirected his punch and sent him back without effort.
• Sea Spear struck with his spear skills, but Xie Ru cut through and shattered each attack while Sea Dragon continued to miss with his punches.
• Sea Spear and Sea Dragon unleashed their strongest attacks together, and Xie Ru's sword aura broke the giant wave and wounded Sea Dragon.
• Xie Ru told Sea Spear that fear of the Sea God had dulled his spear, then explained to Sea Dragon that he believed in people rather than gods.
• Chen Xuan returned, and Sea Dragon and Sea Spear lowered their weapons and accepted their defeat.
• Sea Dragon said he could not retreat because he carried a divine decree, and Xie Ru invited him to return for tea when he had figured things out.

Sea Dragon and Sea Spear left Heaven Dou Royal Academy and decided to investigate the Divine Oracle’s two crucial figures in Canghai City, while wrestling with what they would do if their orders conflicted with their conscience. At the Canghai City Lord's Manor, Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun tested their breakthroughs toward the Titled Douluo realm, ending with their sword and spear clashing.

• Sea Spear told Xie Ru he would think about his question, and Xie Ru invited him to return once he had decided.
• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear left the academy for Canghai City, where they planned to investigate the two people central to the Divine Oracle.
• Sea Spear questioned whether they should obey an oracle to kill people like Xie Ru, and Sea Dragon told him to ask his own heart.
• Zhou Qiubai meditated by the sea and described how emptiness could contain everything, prompting Yang Guyun to reveal his own breakthrough.
• Yang Guyun and Zhou Qiubai agreed to test their strength, then exchanged a spear thrust and sword strike that sent a shockwave across the cliff and sea.

Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun fought on the cliff to complete their eighth Soul Rings through cultivation alone, overturning the Douluo Continent’s understanding of Soul Rings. After learning that the Sea God had noticed them and that investigators were approaching Canghai City, they calmly faced the coming challenge.

• Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun exchanged increasingly powerful sword and spear attacks, demolishing the cliff as they fought.
• Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun unleashed their strongest attacks and blasted a huge crater into the cliff.
• Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun confirmed their eighth Soul Rings were complete without relying on Spirit Beasts.
• Zhou Qiubai told Yang Guyun that investigators sent by a Divine Oracle were approaching Canghai City after the Sea God noticed them.
• Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun sat together at the cliff edge and watched dawn break over the sea.

As Xue Ye lay dying, he asked Xie Ru to judge his reign and share his thoughts on Xue Qinghe as his successor. Xue Ye entrusted Xie Ru with her answer sheet and left her future in his hands, ending the chapter as he recalled his accession to the throne.

• Xie Ru entered Xue Ye's bedchamber and found the emperor near death.
• Xue Ye asked whether he had lived up to his duties, and Xie Ru said he had passed despite falling short in accepting loyal counsel.
• Xue Ye asked what Xie Ru thought of Xue Qinghe, and Xie Ru praised her potential as a ruler while noting her tendency to act on emotion.
• Xue Ye told Xie Ru to take his answer sheet and help Xue Qinghe if she could not hold the throne steady, but to leave matters alone if she could.
• Xue Ye recited a lesson from his youth and remembered the night he ascended the throne.

Xue Ye died after speaking with Xie Ru, while Sea Dragon and Sea Spear arrived in Canghai City to investigate disturbances under the Divine Oracle. Zhou Qiubai refused to be intimidated by their demand to go to Sea God Island, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Xue Ye asked Xie Ru whether he had been worthy of his imperial robes, then died while Xie Ru held his hand.
• Xie Ru ordered the palace to summon Xue Qinghe after announcing Xue Ye's death.
• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear hurried to Canghai City, worried that the strange light they had seen foretold trouble.
• The Asura God saw the God Realm Nexus's water mirror shatter, sent divine light to the lower realm, and ordered Bat King to fulfill his duty.
• Sea Dragon and Sea Spear reached Canghai City and followed Zhao Laoliu's directions to the city lord's residence on the Upper Cliff.
• Zhou Qiubai identified himself and Yang Guyun, then challenged Sea Dragon's demand that they go to Sea God Island by asking what would happen if he refused.

Sea Dragon and Sea Spear tried to take Zhou Qiubai from Canghai City under the Sea God's Divine Oracle, but Zhou Qiubai, Yang Guyun, and Dantai Canglan resisted them. The chapter ended with Zhou Qiubai holding his own against Sea Spear while Yang Guyun fought Sea Dragon at the cliff's edge.

• Sea Dragon demanded that Zhou Qiubai go with them, but Zhou refused, and Yang Guyun drew his spear in his defense.
• Dantai Canglan appeared and warned Sea Dragon and Sea Spear that Canghai City would not let them take Zhou Qiubai by force.
• Sea Spear attacked Zhou Qiubai, and the two exchanged blows; Zhou dodged his strikes and used Sea Spear's force against him, opening a bloody gash in his palm.
• Sea Dragon fought Yang Guyun, whose spear thrusts forced Sea Dragon to retreat and left a bloody mark on his fist.
• Sea Spear prepared to attack Zhou Qiubai again, but a boom from the fight drew his attention to Sea Dragon and Yang Guyun battling at the cliff's edge.

Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun defeated Sea Dragon and Sea Spear but chose to let them leave, hoping to avoid making Sea God Island a permanent enemy. In Star Dou Forest, Tang San reached level ninety, settled for a weaker Spirit Ring, and continued growing stronger by hunting Spirit Beasts.

• Yang Guyun overwhelmed Sea Dragon while Zhou Qiubai cornered Sea Spear, forcing both Sea God Island warriors to concede defeat.
• Zhou Qiubai let Sea Dragon and Sea Spear leave, and Sea Dragon promised to remember both the defeat and Zhou Qiubai's words.
• Tang San reached level ninety but, unable to find a powerful plant-type Spirit Beast, decided that second best would suffice.
• Tang San killed a nearly sixty-thousand-year Crypt Demon Spider Emperor and absorbed its Soul Ring, reaching level ninety-two.
• Tang San continued hunting Spirit Beasts in Star Dou Forest, growing stronger as his aura became heavier and colder.