Chapter Summaries

Zhou Tao and Ye Lingling tracked the drugged Lightning Devouring Savage Bear to a river valley, where Zhou Tao fought and killed it with his lightning abilities. Ye Lingling healed him afterward, and she remarked that he was even fiercer than the bear.

• Ye Lingling offered to help Zhou Tao hunt and promised not to reveal his flight-type Spirit Skill.
• Zhou Tao and Ye Lingling found that the anesthetized Lightning Devouring Savage Bear had returned to the river valley, still dazed but dangerous.
• Zhou Tao attacked the bear with golden lightning, but it survived the strike and charged at him.
• Zhou Tao bound the bear with Blue Silver Vines and struck it with his Lightning Blue Silver Spear, killing it.
• Ye Lingling healed Zhou Tao and told him that he was fiercer than the bear.

Zhou Tao absorbed the Lightning Devouring Savage Bear’s Spirit Ring, gained a powerful speed-based skill, and prepared to return to Heaven Dou Imperial City with Ye Lingling. They found Dugu Yan in danger from a poison-resistant Purple-Robed Poison Snake, and Zhou Tao stepped in to help.

• Ye Lingling guarded Zhou Tao as he absorbed the Lightning Devouring Savage Bear’s two-thousand-year Spirit Ring, healing him while he endured its Soul Power.
• Zhou Tao reached level 26 and gained the second Spirit Skill Thunderbolt Lightning Release, which let him move at tremendous speed but consumed much of his strength.
• Zhou Tao tested his new skill, then agreed to accompany Ye Lingling as she searched for Dugu Yan before returning to Heaven Dou Imperial City.
• Dugu Yan fought an eight-hundred-year Purple-Robed Poison Snake, but her poison failed to stop it and she struggled to evade its attacks.
• Ye Lingling arrived with Zhou Tao, and Zhou Tao told the surprised Dugu Yan that he would deal with the snake.

Zhou Tao rescued Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling from a Purple-Robed Poison Snake, then defeated it so Dugu Yan could claim its Spirit Ring. In return for his help, Dugu Yan promised to arrange access to her grandfather Dugu Bo’s herb garden and invited Zhou Tao to enroll at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

• Zhou Tao warned Dugu Yan that the Purple-Robed Poison Snake was nearing a thousand years old and too dangerous for her to handle alone.
• When the snake feinted and attacked Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, Zhou Tao carried them to safety in a nearby tree.
• Dugu Yan thanked Zhou Tao, promised to look after him at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and offered to ask her grandfather for herbs from his garden if Zhou Tao helped her kill the snake.
• Zhou Tao revealed his two purple Spirit Rings and used his Lightning Blue Silver Spear and Undying Thunder to fatally wound the Purple-Robed Poison Snake.
• Dugu Yan killed the weakened snake, absorbed its Spirit Ring, and invited Zhou Tao to return with her to the Royal Academy to enroll.

Zhou Tao enrolled at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and used its Lightning Cultivation Chamber to absorb Heavenly Thunder through his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Yu Tianheng watched him cultivate far longer than expected and left convinced that Zhou Tao was a rival for both his standing and Dugu Yan's affection.

• Dugu Yan vouched for Zhou Tao, who enrolled at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and found books about rare plants in its library.
• Zhou Tao entered the Lightning Cultivation Chamber and learned that Yu Tianheng could endure its Heavenly Thunder for only about one incense stick.
• Zhou Tao used his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to absorb the lightning safely while Yu Tianheng and the attendant watched.
• Yu Tianheng learned Zhou Tao had been recommended by His Highness Xue and had saved Dugu Yan, and grew jealous and worried that Zhou Tao was his rival.
• After cultivating for over an hour, Zhou Tao left the chamber with increased Soul Power and assumed Yu Tianheng was staring at him out of jealousy.

Zhou Tao refused Yu Tianheng’s attempt to learn more about him and returned to cultivation, while Dugu Yan asked Dugu Bo to let Zhou Tao use his herb garden. Dugu Bo confronted Zhou Tao, who defended his actions and warned that Dugu Bo’s accumulated poison was life-threatening.

• Zhou Tao told Yu Tianheng that his Martial Soul was Blue Silver Vine, declined his invitation to drink, and went back to his private courtyard to cultivate.
• Dugu Yan pleaded with Dugu Bo to lend his herb garden to Zhou Tao, explaining that Zhou Tao had saved her from a Purple-Robed Poison Snake in Sunset Forest.
• Dugu Bo appeared in Zhou Tao’s courtyard and grabbed at him, but Zhou Tao’s lightning power and two thousand-year Spirit Rings surprised him.
• Dugu Bo accused Zhou Tao of deceiving Dugu Yan, while Zhou Tao explained that he had saved her at Ye Lingling’s request and had accepted the offer of herbs as repayment.
• Zhou Tao warned Dugu Bo that his poison had become severe and that Dugu Yan carried the same toxin.

Zhou Tao revealed that Dugu Bo was suffering from accumulated Jade Scale Snake Venom and offered to cure him in exchange for access to his medicinal garden. At the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Zhou Tao outlined three possible treatments, but Dugu Bo worried that the first would destroy his poison cultivation.

• Dugu Bo threatened Zhou Tao after learning he had discovered the poison harming him, but Zhou Tao offered to treat it.
• Zhou Tao led Dugu Bo to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, which Dugu Bo revealed was his medicinal garden.
• Zhou Tao searched the garden, identified Immortal Herbs, and told Dugu Bo he had three ways to cure his poison.
• Zhou Tao described the first method, using the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot to neutralize the poison at the cost of Dugu Bo's poison cultivation.
• Dugu Bo feared losing his combat strength and ordered Zhou Tao to explain the other methods.

Zhou Tao explained ways to manage Dugu Bo’s poison and revealed that Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could evolve his Martial Soul. Dugu Bo’s Jade Scale Snake began evolving after he ate an Earth Dragon Immortal Grass, while Zhou Tao consumed a Golden Thunder Purgatory Flower to strengthen his Lightning Blue Silver Grass.

• Zhou Tao described storing poison in Spirit Bones and evolving a Martial Soul as ways to address Dugu Bo’s poison.
• Zhou Tao assured Dugu Bo that Immortal Herbs could evolve the Jade Scale Snake and said there were enough for both him and Dugu Yan.
• Zhou Tao gave Dugu Bo an Earth Dragon Immortal Grass, and Dugu Bo ate its stems and leaves before cultivating in a nearby cave.
• Zhou Tao consumed a Golden Thunder Purgatory Flower, and its lightning power began transforming his body and Martial Soul as his Soul Power rose.
• Dugu Bo awoke and confirmed that his Jade Scale Snake Martial Soul had evolved, drawing nearly half the poison from his body.

Dugu Bo's Martial Soul evolved after he consumed Blue Silver Grass, but some poison remained, so he went to ask Zhou Tao about the next treasure. He found Zhou Tao tempering his body in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, where Zhou Tao awakened the Thunder God Inheritance and began its first trial.

• Dugu Bo's Martial Soul evolved into the Flame Jade Phosphorus Flood Dragon, raising his Soul Power to level 92 and reducing the poison in his body.
• Dugu Bo found Zhou Tao standing amid the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well's violent ice and fire energies, while a sacred lightning phantom appeared behind him.
• Zhou Tao's body-tempering with the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and the Golden Thunder Purgatory Flower awakened his bloodline and brought him before the Thunder God's remnant thought.
• Zhou Tao accepted the Thunder God Trial, whose first task was to enter the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and fuse with the Water and Fire Dragon Kings' Spirit Bones.
• Zhou Tao returned to the spring, endured its body-tempering effects, and headed toward its depths to seek the Spirit Bones.

Zhou Tao retrieved the Water and Fire Dragon Kings’ Spirit Bones from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, and his Martial Soul evolved into Gold-Veined Blue Silver Grass. After Dugu Bo left with Immortal Herbs, Zhou Tao strengthened his mental power and absorbed both Spirit Bones, gaining new skills.

• Zhou Tao found and took the Water and Fire Dragon Kings’ divine-level Spirit Bones from their remains beneath the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
• Zhou Tao emerged from the well as his Lightning Blue Silver Grass evolved into Gold-Veined Blue Silver Grass, astonishing Dugu Bo.
• Zhou Tao told Dugu Bo that Immortal Herbs could remove most of his and his granddaughter’s toxins, but withheld the secret of the treasure needed for Dugu Bo’s transformation.
• Dugu Bo took the Immortal Herbs and left Zhou Tao at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
• Zhou Tao absorbed the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, greatly increasing his mental power, then absorbed the Water Dragon King’s left arm bone and gained Ultimate Purification.
• Zhou Tao absorbed the Fire Dragon King’s right arm bone and gained Ultimate Flame, while his physique and combat strength improved.

After a year of cultivation at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, Zhou Tao returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and found Yu Tianheng’s lackeys mocking him over Dugu Yan. Zhou Tao froze two of them and challenged everyone who looked down on him, leaving Yu Tianheng enraged.

• Yu Tianheng pleaded with Dugu Yan to return to him, but she told him to stop harassing her because she did not want Zhou Tao to misunderstand.
• Zhou Tao returned to the academy after a year of cultivation, having planted the Blue Silver Emperor at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to help Ah Yin recover her Soul Power.
• Yu Tianheng and his lackeys mocked Zhou Tao for being a commoner with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and for pursuing Dugu Yan.
• Zhou Tao froze two of the students who mocked him, leaving them trapped as ice sculptures.
• Zhou Tao challenged anyone who looked down on him to step forward and fight, warning that he would freeze anyone who spread rumors about him.
• Yu Tianheng’s smug expression vanished as Zhou Tao’s defiance enraged him.

Zhou Tao faced Yu Tianheng’s supporters after they surrounded him and challenged them all at once. He defeated more than ten Spirit Masters with his Lightning Blue Silver Vine, leaving the onlookers impressed and Yu Tianheng furious.

• Yu Tianheng and his followers insulted Zhou Tao and prepared to attack him, but Zhou Tao invited them to come at him together.
• Zhou Tao revealed two purple Spirit Rings, astonishing the crowd and making several attackers hesitate.
• Savage Bear rallied the group, and the Spirit Masters charged Zhou Tao together.
• Zhou Tao’s vines trapped the attackers and resisted their attempts to cut, burn, or tear through them.
• Zhou Tao used his Undying Thunder Spirit Skill to strike the trapped Spirit Masters with lightning, knocking them down.
• The onlookers praised Zhou Tao’s power and control, while Yu Tianheng grew furious that Zhou Tao had gained fame.

After defeating the academy students, Zhou Tao forced Yu Tianheng to pay him 100,000 Gold Soul Coins and sought a ten-thousand-year Magic Thorn Tree for his third Spirit Ring. Dugu Bo questioned the dangerous plan but agreed to help after seeing Zhou Tao’s exceptional physical strength.

• Zhou Tao demanded compensation from Yu Tianheng, who handed over 100,000 Gold Soul Coins to avoid another beating.
• Zhou Tao researched Spirit Beasts for half a month and chose the ten-thousand-year Magic Thorn Tree for its vitality and area attacks.
• Yu Tianheng withdrew to Thunder Academy and decided to recruit experts to take revenge on Zhou Tao, then planned to ask Yu Xiaogang about Zhou Tao’s background.
• Zhou Tao asked Dugu Bo to help him obtain a ten-thousand-year Magic Thorn Tree Spirit Ring as his third ring.
• Dugu Bo doubted Zhou Tao could survive absorbing the ring, but examined his steel-hard body and learned about his year of training and use of Whale Rubber.

Zhou Tao and the Dugu clan traveled to the Star Dou Great Forest, where Dugu Yan obtained her third Spirit Ring and Zhou Tao risked absorbing a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring from a Magic Thorn Tree. He succeeded and gained Thorn Thunderstorm, a powerful area-of-effect attack.

• Dugu Yan killed a Jade-Eyed Poison Flood Dragon and absorbed it as her third Spirit Ring.
• Dugu Bo poisoned a ten-thousand-year Magic Thorn Tree, and Zhou Tao killed it with Lightning Power.
• Zhou Tao absorbed the Magic Thorn Tree's ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring over three days while Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo watched anxiously.
• Zhou Tao awakened Thorn Thunderstorm, which released hundreds of explosive, thorn-covered Lightning Balls.
• Dugu Bo praised Zhou Tao's new group attack skill, and Zhou Tao declared that he alone could be an army of Spirit Masters.

Dugu Yan challenged Zhou Tao to test her Jade Phosphor Snake poison, but he defeated her twice with his speed and Blue Silver Grass. Impressed, she asked him to teach her how to cultivate her Martial Soul, and Dugu Bo promised Zhou Tao a fourth favor in exchange.

• Dugu Bo praised Zhou Tao’s all-around abilities and told him that Spirit Hall’s rising talents were the only ones who could rival him.
• Dugu Yan challenged Zhou Tao, claiming her Jade Phosphor Snake Venom could defeat his Lightning Blue Silver Grass, and Zhou Tao accepted to gain combat experience.
• When Dugu Bo signaled the start, Zhou Tao used Thunderbolt Lightning Release to appear behind Dugu Yan before she could finish activating her Martial Soul; she protested that the contest did not count.
• Dugu Yan prepared her Martial Soul and released all three venom skills, but Zhou Tao bound her with his Blue Silver Vines and explained that Binding was an innate ability rather than a Spirit Skill.
• Dugu Yan conceded defeat and asked Zhou Tao to teach her to cultivate her Martial Soul; Dugu Bo promised Zhou Tao a fourth favor, and then began pointing out problems with his performance.

Dugu Bo advised Zhou Tao to develop an ultimate destructive Spirit Skill and gain more combat experience, then accepted him as his first disciple. During their sparring, Zhou Tao used Golden Lightning Armor to repel Dugu Bo’s poisonous mist.

• Dugu Bo identified Zhou Tao’s lack of an ultimate destructive Spirit Skill and explained how powerful trump cards could decide battles between top Spirit Masters.
• Zhou Tao resolved to keep improving the lightning and life attributes of his Blue Silver Grass to make his Lightning Power stronger in quality and quantity.
• Dugu Bo told Dugu Yan to learn from Zhou Tao and urged Zhou Tao to train in the Spirit Fighting Arena to gain combat experience.
• Zhou Tao asked Dugu Bo to accept him as a disciple, and Dugu Bo agreed to make him his first disciple.
• Dugu Bo sparred with Zhou Tao using a poisonous mist, but Zhou Tao’s Golden Lightning Armor unleashed lightning that dispersed the poison.

Zhou Tao sparred seriously with Dugu Bo, enduring his Yin Yang Poison Light and receiving combat advice before returning to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. There, Ning Fengzhi arrived with Ning Rongrong, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong to meet Zhou Tao, and the group began discussing his talent.

• Dugu Bo transformed and used his Yin Yang Poison Light against Zhou Tao, who countered with Thorn Thunderstorm and barely blocked the attack.
• Dugu Bo praised Zhou Tao's Spirit Skills, identified his Soul Power as a weakness, and sparred with him for dozens of rounds.
• Zhou Tao, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and encountered Ning Fengzhi, Ning Rongrong, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong.
• Ning Fengzhi introduced his companions and greeted Zhou Tao, explaining his interest in the young Spirit Master's achievements and Martial Soul evolution method.
• The group entered the academy reception room, where Ning Fengzhi praised Zhou Tao's talent and Zhou Tao responded modestly.

Zhou Tao agreed to help Ning Rongrong evolve her Martial Soul in exchange for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s reward, with Dugu Bo’s permission. When Ning Rongrong challenged his reputation, Zhou Tao described the extreme effort behind his progress, leaving her stunned and Sword Douluo impressed.

• Ning Fengzhi offered Zhou Tao one million Gold Soul Coins and three favors if he helped Ning Rongrong evolve her Martial Soul, and Zhou Tao agreed after seeking Dugu Bo’s approval.
• Zhou Tao led Ning Rongrong and the others to the courtyard outside the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and told them to wait while he picked herbs.
• Ning Rongrong challenged Zhou Tao to prove his genius, prompting Ning Fengzhi to apologize and try to stop her from throwing a tantrum.
• Zhou Tao explained how he trained for sixteen hours a day, studied Martial Soul books, endured painful body tempering, and gained a Thousand-Year Spirit Ring as his first ring.
• Ning Rongrong stared at Zhou Tao in disbelief, and Sword Douluo praised his resolve and invited him to seek the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s help if he faced difficulties.

Zhou Tao helped Ning Rongrong evolve her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, earning Ning Fengzhi’s support and a million Gold Soul Coins. Qian Renxue learned of Zhou Tao’s abilities and invited him to the Crown Prince’s Residence, while the Thunder God revealed Zhou Tao’s second trial.

• Zhou Tao gave Ning Rongrong the Aromatic Silk Beauty, and her Martial Soul evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
• Ning Fengzhi gave Zhou Tao one million Gold Soul Coins, promised to protect him, and proposed that Ning Rongrong cultivate alongside him.
• Snake Lance Douluo reported Zhou Tao’s history and Martial Soul evolution abilities to Qian Renxue, who decided to recruit him and ordered an invitation sent.
• The Thunder God told Zhou Tao that he had completed the first trial and must obtain the Spirit Ring of the fifty-thousand-year Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine for the second.

Zhou Tao prepared for the Thunder God's Second Trial by seeking the fifty-thousand-year Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine, while meeting Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe. After a year of cultivation and preparation, he reached the vine's territory in the Star Dou Great Forest with several powerful allies, where the Soul Beast awakened.

• Zhou Tao planned to cooperate with the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine and strengthen his body before attempting the trial.
• At the Crown Prince's Residence, Zhou Tao met Qian Renxue posing as Xue Qinghe's sworn sister, then gave her and Xue Qinghe two Immortal Herbs.
• Xue Qinghe gave Zhou Tao a Spirit Hall Soul Beast Codex, which revealed the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine's location near the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Zhou Tao spent a year cultivating and tempering his body, raising his Soul Power from level 35 to level 40.
• Protected by Dugu Bo, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo, Zhou Tao reached the valley's altar, where the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine awakened.

Zhou Tao discovered that the Thunder God Trial’s Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine had grown to nearly a hundred thousand years old, far beyond the expected challenge. Despite Dugu Bo and Ning Fengzhi warning him about the danger, Zhou Tao approached the intelligent vine, leaving the confrontation about to begin.

• Zhou Tao confirmed with the Thunder God that he was expected to challenge the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine, and the Thunder God promised him an additional treasure if he succeeded.
• Dugu Bo, Ning Fengzhi, and the other Titled Douluos warned that the vine’s age and unknown abilities made it extremely dangerous, while the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine questioned why they had come and told them to leave.
• Dugu Bo and Ning Fengzhi urged Zhou Tao to find another Soul Beast because he might not survive absorbing a Spirit Ring from a beast over a hundred thousand years old.
• Zhou Tao said he had a solution and moved to within five hundred meters of the Thunder-Roaring Purgatory Vine, which warned him not to come closer.