Chapter Summaries

Yang Jian trapped the bandits in his Domination Domain and No-Fly Domain, then raised his spear until its power drove them to their knees and pleading for mercy. He asked whether they wanted him to spare them, leaving their fate unresolved.

• Yang Jian activated his Domination Domain and No-Fly Domain across the mountain stronghold.
• Bandits with flying Martial Souls tried to escape but were crushed out of the sky by the No-Fly Domain.
• Yang Jian gathered golden light at the tip of his spear, overwhelming the bandits with fear.
• The bandits knelt, begged for mercy, and kowtowed before Yang Jian.
• Yang Jian remarked that they were afraid too, then asked if they wanted him to spare them.

Yang Jian told the bandits he would spare them only if the dead Wind Bird Mercenary Group forgave them, then killed the kneeling bandits with a golden attack. The remaining bandits tried to escape past Xiaotian, which met their charge with a soul-shattering roar.

• Yang Jian made the bandits' survival depend on forgiveness from the dead Wind Bird Mercenary Group.
• Yang Jian unleashed a blazing golden attack that painfully erased the kneeling bandits.
• The surviving bandits realized their chief was likely dead and gathered to force their way out past Xiaotian.
• A bandit led the charge toward Xiaotian, followed by more than a dozen others using their Soul Power.
• Xiaotian opened its mouth and unleashed a powerful roar that sent waves of force through the stronghold.

Yang Jian wiped out the bandits who charged him, then searched Black Tiger Stronghold and found seven survivors hiding in a secret mountain passage. The survivors planned to wait until he left and steal the stronghold’s treasury, unaware that he had located them.

• Xiaotian’s roar killed more than a dozen Soul Masters as they charged Yang Jian.
• Yang Jian unleashed his Heavenly Eye Martial Soul and searched the stronghold, surrounding forest, and underground for survivors.
• Yang Jian detected the hidden mountain passage and vanished from the Justice Gathering Hall to pursue the bandits inside.
• Blood Leopard assured seven bandits that his secret passage was safe and said the chief did not know about it.
• Blood Leopard revealed that the stronghold’s treasury held Gold Soul Coins and Soul Bones, and the bandits became eager to claim it after Yang Jian left.

Blood Leopard and six bandits pledged to make him chief and swore brotherhood as they escaped through the mountain path. Yang Jian appeared before them and declared that only one of the seven would leave alive, leaving their fate to their luck.

• A tall, skinny bandit pledged to support Blood Leopard as the new chief, and the others joined in praising him.
• Blood Leopard promised to share future rewards with the bandits and accepted their proposal to become sworn brothers.
• Blood Leopard and the six bandits knelt and swore an oath to live and die together.
• As they bowed, Blood Leopard spotted Yang Jian standing before them with the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear.
• Yang Jian told the seven bandits that one person would walk out alive and said the survivor would depend on luck.

Blood Leopard survived a deadly fight among his men and asked Yang Jian if he could leave. Yang Jian said he could leave anytime, leaving Blood Leopard believing he was free.

• Old Fourth killed Old Fifth and attacked Old Third as the men turned on one another.
• Old Sixth charged Old Fourth, but Old Second stabbed Old Sixth from behind.
• Old Third and Old Seventh fought Old Second, while Old Fourth betrayed them and Blood Leopard killed Old Fourth.
• Blood Leopard stood as the sole survivor, wounded and covered in blood.
• Blood Leopard asked Yang Jian if he could leave, and Yang Jian told him he could leave anytime.

Yang Jian killed Blood Leopard when he tried to ambush him, then left the mountain passage with Xiaotian and found a hidden entrance in a cliff. The entrance opened into darkness as Yang Jian prepared to search for treasure.

• Blood Leopard pretended to submit, then unleashed his Soul Power and stabbed at Yang Jian’s throat.
• Yang Jian broke Blood Leopard’s dagger with a flash of golden light and beheaded him with the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear.
• Yang Jian left the passage and reunited with Xiaotian, who eagerly greeted him.
• Yang Jian led Xiaotian to an ordinary-looking cliff face and pressed a concealed rock.
• The cliff face split open, revealing a pitch-black entrance.

Yang Jian and Xiaotian entered Black Tiger Stronghold’s hidden treasury, where they found enormous piles of Soul Coins and three jade boxes on a stone platform. Yang Jian ignored the wealth and weapons, focusing his attention on the boxes.

• Yang Jian reassured Xiaotian that the treasury had no traps and used a lighting Soul Tool to illuminate the cave.
• Yang Jian and Xiaotian followed the passage into a large cavern glowing with gold.
• Yang Jian saw eight piles of Copper Soul Coins, four piles of Silver Soul Coins, and two piles of Gold Soul Coins worth roughly ten million Gold Soul Coins.
• Yang Jian passed over the coins and a heap of weapons, then focused on three jade boxes arranged on a stone platform.

Yang Jian and Xiaotian opened three jade boxes in a cavern, finding a Soul Bone, a Black Tiger Sect token, and an icy blue herb. The chapter ended with Yang Jian carefully examining the herb.

• Xiaotian smashed the white jade box, found a roughly ten-thousand-year-old Steel Claw Tiger right leg bone, and ate it after Yang Jian gave permission.
• Yang Jian opened the dark green jade box, found a token engraved with Black Tiger Sect, and stored it in his Soul Tool.
• Yang Jian unlocked the exquisite green jade box and smelled the medicinal fragrance of an icy blue herb inside.
• Yang Jian examined the herb from its roots to the tips of its leaves.

Yang Jian returned from Black Wind Ridge with a mysterious herb stored in his jade belt. At the Breaking Clan estate, Yang Wudi waited up to make sure he was safe, and Yang Jian called out to him as he walked away.

• Yang Jian examined the nine-leaved blue herb, sensed that its fragrance condensed his Soul Power, and decided to ask his grandfather to identify it.
• Yang Jian stored the herb in his jade belt and rode Xiaotian away from the bloodied Black Wind Ridge stronghold.
• Yang Jian returned to the Breaking Clan estate late at night and entered quietly to avoid disturbing anyone.
• Yang Wudi, who had been waiting in the corridor, checked that Yang Jian was unharmed and told him to rest.
• Yang Jian called out to Yang Wudi as his grandfather walked away.

Yang Jian brought a mysterious herb to Yang Wudi for identification. Yang Wudi recognized it as Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass and reacted with disbelief and fervor, demanding to know where Yang Jian had found it.

• Yang Jian and Yang Wudi exchanged good-night wishes, and Yang Wudi walked away grinning.
• The next morning, Yang Jian visited Yang Wudi while he practiced Baji Fist and offered him warm tea.
• Yang Jian showed Yang Wudi the jade box containing the ice-blue, nine-leaved herb.
• Yang Wudi recognized the herb as Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass and demanded to know where Yang Jian had gotten it.

Yang Wudi explained the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass’s age and extraordinary potential to Yang Jian, revealing it was only one step away from becoming an immortal-grade herb. The chapter left Yang Jian learning that, once its leaves fell and a Vermilion Fruit grew, the herb would transform into the Primordial Fruit.

• Yang Jian recounted the destruction of Black Wind Stronghold and Black Tiger’s plans against the Breaking Clan to Yang Wudi.
• Yang Wudi praised Yang Jian’s actions and recognized the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass as a treasure Black Tiger had failed to understand.
• Yang Wudi explained that the herb grew one leaf every ten thousand years and that its nine leaves made it the king of Origin-Returning Grass.
• Yang Wudi revealed that the fine, eyebrow-like leaves showed the herb had reached ninety-five thousand years of age.
• Yang Wudi told Yang Jian that when the leaves fell and a Vermilion Fruit grew, the herb would reach immortal grade and become the Primordial Fruit.

Yang Jian learned that the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass would lose the chance to grow again unless it was replanted within a month. Rather than despairing, he asked Yang Wudi to assess his chances against Title Douluo, leaving Yang Wudi puzzled by his confidence.

• Yang Wudi explained that the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass was an immortal-grade herb like Old White Bird's Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
• Yang Wudi demonstrated that the herb had lost vitality and said it needed to be replanted in a spiritually rich place within a month or it could never grow again.
• Yang Jian said that one month seemed like enough time, surprising Yang Wudi.
• Yang Jian asked Yang Wudi about his chances against a Title Douluo, and Yang Wudi estimated fifty percent against level 91, forty percent against level 92, and none against level 95, with another ten percent if he fought to the death.

Yang Jian explained that the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could restore the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass and might help it become an immortal-grade herb. Yang Wudi learned that Dugu Bo held the key to reaching the treasured place and declared that the Yang Clan must obtain it.

• Yang Wudi offered to risk his life for a chance to secure the herbs, but Yang Jian said they only needed enough deterrence.
• Yang Jian asked Yang Wudi about Dugu Bo, and Yang Wudi recalled his past friendship with the Breaking Clan and his failed attempt to save Dugu Bo’s son.
• Yang Jian explained that Dugu Bo’s Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well could restore the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass and greatly accelerate its growth.
• Yang Wudi realized the well could transform the Breaking Clan’s supply of medicinal herbs and declared that the Yang Clan must obtain it, no matter what.

Yang Jian and Yang Wudi agreed to move quickly to pursue the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, while Yang Jian planned how to deal with Dugu Bo. Meanwhile, Zhan Fei led the White Tiger Guard to Mountain Lord City and took fifty soldiers into the mountains to respond to Black Wind Stronghold.

• Yang Wudi asked Yang Jian when they should set out, and Yang Jian said they needed to go as soon as possible because the Nine-Leaf Origin-Returning Grass had only one month of vitality left.
• Yang Jian warned that Dugu Bo could not be relied on and said they needed to plan carefully to gain use or control of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
• Yang Wudi went to eat breakfast while Yang Jian stayed behind to consider Dugu Bo, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, and the right strategy.
• Zhan Fei led a hundred White Tiger Guards toward Mountain Lord City after receiving orders to support the city against Black Tiger and Black Wind Stronghold.
• After resting and replenishing supplies in Mountain Lord City, Zhan Fei took fifty White Tiger Guards into the mountains while the other fifty remained on standby.

Zhan Fei and the White Tiger Guards reached Black Wind Stronghold expecting resistance, but found its gates open and every bandit dead. Zhan Fei went to inspect Black Tiger’s body while his soldiers searched for survivors and clues.

• Zhan Fei led fifty White Tiger Guards up the mountain road, finding no sentries, traps, or bandits along the way.
• Zhan Fei halted outside the open gates after smelling blood and sensing that the stronghold was unnaturally silent.
• Zhan Fei sent two scouts with Swift Sound Hummingbird Martial Souls into the stronghold to investigate.
• The scouts reported that every bandit was dead, including Black Tiger, whose body lay in the Justice Gathering Hall.
• Zhan Fei ordered the White Tiger Guards to search the stronghold for survivors and followed the scouts toward Black Tiger’s body, passing signs of a brutal slaughter.

Zhan Fei investigated the massacre at Black Wind Stronghold and concluded that a Soul Saint had killed Black Tiger in one strike. In the treasure vault, he found scattered fragments of a white-jade box on an otherwise empty stone platform, suggesting the killer had taken something.

• Zhan Fei inspected Black Tiger’s body and determined that a single blow had killed him the previous night.
• Zhan Fei reasoned that only a Soul Saint could have killed the Soul Emperor so cleanly and wondered why the stronghold had been wiped out.
• A White Tiger Guard told Zhan Fei that they had found the stronghold’s treasure vault, and Zhan Fei went to investigate.
• Zhan Fei ordered the guards to count and record the coins, then noticed an empty stone platform at the center of the vault.
• Zhan Fei found fragments of a carved white-jade box scattered near the platform.

Zhan Fei discovered that shattered jade boxes in the Treasure Vault had held a Soul Bone and ordered a wider search for the mysterious person who killed Black Tiger and took the boxes. During the search, he found seven more corpses on a hidden mountain path and began examining their crude wounds.

• Zhan Fei found three indentations where jade boxes had stood and sensed a Soul Bone's lingering aura on the fragments.
• Zhan Fei ordered the White Tiger Guard to search every tree, rock, and crevice within five li of the stronghold for clues to the mysterious killer.
• A White Tiger Guard reported seven corpses on a concealed mountain path, and Zhan Fei went to inspect them.
• Zhan Fei examined the bodies and noticed their crude, varied wounds, many inflicted from behind.

Zhan Fei investigated Black Wind Stronghold and concluded that a mysterious Soul Saint had killed one bandit, while the others had slaughtered one another. A strand of golden Soul Beast fur led him to suspect the beast belonged to the mysterious person, so he ordered guards to investigate nearby Soul Saints and check who accepted the mission to destroy the stronghold.

• Zhan Fei found that one headless bandit's cleanly severed neck wound matched the wounds left by the mysterious Soul Saint.
• Zhan Fei decided the remaining bandits had probably killed one another under some unknown provocation, then finished searching the stronghold.
• A guard brought Zhan Fei a strand of golden fur bearing a faint trace of Soul Power.
• Zhan Fei concluded that the Soul Beast likely belonged to the mysterious person and ordered an investigation into Soul Saints traveling with Soul Beasts near Mountain Lord City.
• Zhan Fei also ordered a guard to check the City Lord Hall records for whoever accepted the A-rank mission to eliminate Black Wind Stronghold.
• Zhan Fei waited outside the stronghold, wondering who the mysterious person was and what the three jade boxes had contained.

Zhan Fei investigated the mysterious person who accepted the mission to eliminate Black Wind Stronghold and suspected he was Yang Jian of the Breaking Clan. When Zhan Fei went to question Yang Jian, he learned that Yang Jian and Yang Wudi had already left for Heaven Dou City with Xiaotian.

• A messenger brought Zhan Fei a report that a black-robed young man had accepted the Black Wind Stronghold mission shortly before the Wind Bird Mercenary Group was destroyed.
• Zhan Fei reasoned that the mysterious killer needed a way to overcome Black Tiger’s ten-thousand-year Soul Ring and realized Yang Jian might fit the clues.
• Zhan Fei ordered half his men to remain at the stronghold and rode with the rest to the Breaking Clan estate.
• A guard told Zhan Fei that Yang Wudi and Yang Jian had left the estate together an hour earlier.
• Zhan Fei left his calling card and learned that Yang Jian had already set out for Heaven Dou City with Yang Wudi and Xiaotian.

Yang Jian arrived in Heaven Dou City with Yang Wudi and took Xiaotian out to explore the lively streets. As he started to head back to the inn, someone called out to Xiaotian.

• Yang Jian and Yang Wudi reached Heaven Dou City after nearly half a month of travel and checked into Yuelai Inn.
• Yang Jian said he wanted to cultivate, but Yang Wudi urged him to take Xiaotian for a walk instead.
• Yang Jian strolled through the city with Xiaotian, sampling local food and drawing attention from passersby.
• After about half an hour, Yang Jian decided to return to the inn, but someone called Xiaotian a handsome big dog.