Chapter Summaries

On a snowy day, Grant asked Lan Tian to treat his younger brother Gary, who had been mauled by a spirit beast and was near death from an infected wound. Lan Tian reached Shuanglin Village and began removing the dead tissue, leaving Gary’s treatment underway.

• Lan Tian agreed to travel with Grant to Shuanglin Village after hearing that Gary’s wound had festered and he was barely conscious.
• Lan Tian and Grant rode north through the snow and arrived at the village near dusk.
• Lan Tian examined Gary and found a deep, infected wound with necrotic tissue and a spreading fever.
• Lan Tian anesthetized Gary and began carefully cutting away the rotten tissue while Grant held him still.

Lan Tian treated Gary’s severe wound and earned Grant’s gratitude before returning to his cultivation. A year and three months later, Lan Tian reached level twenty and began preparing to find a powerful Blue Silver Grass for his Second Soul Ring.

• Lan Tian used his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to heal Gary after stitching his wound, then gave Grant’s family instructions for his recovery.
• Grant thanked Lan Tian and promised to support him, while his mother insisted that he eat a bowl of noodles before leaving.
• Lan Tian rode back to Nuoding City, reflecting that the house call had helped him learn the route toward Sunset Forest.
• After a year of cultivation, herb gathering, and combat training, Lan Tian broke through to level twenty.
• Lan Tian decided to seek an older Blue Silver Grass for his Second Soul Ring, hoping to find one between seven hundred and nine hundred years old or even over a thousand years old.

Lan Tian left Nuoding City for Sunset Forest to find a high-year Blue Silver Grass Soul Beast for his Second Soul Ring. He decided to seek a nine-hundred-year ring that would look ordinary, then began searching the forest’s outer region.

• Lan Tian chose Sunset Forest as his destination and requested leave from Alfred before informing Renn and Grant of his plans.
• Grant gave Lan Tian a map of Sunset Forest’s outer terrain, and Lan Tian packed supplies and left Nuoding City through its northern gate.
• During a roadside rest, Lan Tian weighed the risks of revealing a thousand-year Second Soul Ring and settled on seeking a nine-hundred-year Blue Silver Grass instead.
• Lan Tian traveled for a week and reached Sunset Forest, where he camped at the edge before entering at dawn.
• Lan Tian searched the outer region carefully, judging likely Blue Silver Grass habitats by sunlight, dryness, and nearby Soul Beast activity.

Lan Tian found and absorbed a roughly nine-hundred-year Blue Silver Grass Soul Ring, gaining his second soul skill and reaching Level 23. After marking his search route through Sunset Forest, he headed toward Heaven Dou City to visit the imperial capital.

• Lan Tian found a rare Blue Silver Grass patch in a valley and confirmed it was about nine hundred and fifty to nine hundred and eighty years old.
• Lan Tian absorbed the Blue Silver Grass as his second Soul Ring, enduring the strain with the help of Endless Life.
• Lan Tian gained the soul skill Spring of Vegetation, which rapidly healed him, restored Soul Power and stamina, and accelerated plant growth.
• Lan Tian reached Level 23 and marked the valley and his searched areas on his map.
• Lan Tian decided to end his search for now and took the road toward Heaven Dou City to visit the imperial capital.

Lan Tian arrived in Heaven Dou City, judged its expense and political dangers too great for him to stay, and visited the East District underground market. He left with four pieces of Whale Rubber and a storage ring.

• Lan Tian entered Heaven Dou City and heard rumors about deaths among officials and three Title Douluo protecting the empire.
• Lan Tian concluded that the city’s high housing costs and political conflicts made it unsafe for him, a two-ring healing Soul Grandmaster, to remain.
• Lan Tian went to the East District underground market and bought four pieces of Whale Rubber for three hundred Gold Soul Coins.
• Lan Tian found a dusty gray ring, discovered it was a storage ring with about ten cubic meters of space, and bought it for ten Gold Soul Coins.

Lan Tian discovered a mysterious seed in Heaven Dou City's underground market and prepared to return to Nuoding City, but a citywide lockdown trapped him amid internal strife. He followed the crowds to the Great Soul Arena and agreed to register for a solo duel.

• Lan Tian bought a seed pulsing with dense life aura and planned to use Spring of Vegetation to stimulate its growth after returning home.
• He spent the night at an inn and reviewed the gains from his trip, then set out for Nuoding City the next morning.
• Lan Tian found soldiers blocking Heaven Dou City's gates and learned that the lockdown was tied to a brewing conflict among the city's powerful figures.
• With no way to leave, Lan Tian followed the crowd to the Great Soul Arena to watch the fights and consider entering one himself.
• A staff member invited Lan Tian to register after he identified himself as a rank twenty-three, two-ring healing-system Great Soul Master who knew hand-to-hand combat.

Lan Tian registered for a one-on-one soul battle at the Great Soul Arena and prepared to fight Bas. The bout began with Lan Tian facing the experienced two-ring combatant without revealing his martial soul or soul rings.

• Lan Tian followed an arena staff member to the registration hall and signed up as a two-ring healing-type Great Soul Master specializing in close combat.
• Xiao Ling arranged a match for Lan Tian fifteen minutes later and explained the arena’s rules and prize money.
• Lan Tian received the number plate for Arena C-3, Contestant No. 7, and removed his four Weighted Rings in the preparation room.
• Lan Tian entered the arena and faced Bas, a two-ring Great Soul Master with an Iron Axe Ape martial soul and a record of seven wins and three losses.
• Bas taunted Lan Tian, who took a fighting stance without summoning Blue Silver Grass or revealing his soul rings.

Lan Tian fought Bas in the Great Soul Arena, overcoming his opponent’s brute strength with precise martial techniques, Blue Silver Grass, and healing. After both men used their soul skills, Lan Tian stood recovered while Bas was exhausted, and Lan Tian considered fighting more matches to earn travel expenses.

• Lan Tian disarmed Bas, knocked him off balance, and struck his shoulder, exposing the flaws in Bas’s close-combat technique.
• Bas activated his first soul skill and landed a blow that injured Lan Tian, who healed himself with Endless Life.
• Lan Tian bound Bas with Blue Silver Grass and cut his forearm with a numbing-herb-coated scalpel.
• Bas used his second soul skill to break free and blast Lan Tian backward, but Lan Tian healed his injuries again.
• Bas’s soul power and right arm were weakened, while Lan Tian remained ready to fight more matches for travel expenses.

Lan Tian defeated Bas in the Soul Arena and accepted a tougher match against Stone Bear. He found a weakness behind Stone Bear’s right knee and began setting up an attack as their fight continued.

• Lan Tian used a scalpel coated with concentrated Numb-Bone Vine juice to numb Bas’s right arm, and Bas admitted defeat.
• Lan Tian accepted another match, and Xiao Ling registered him to fight the strong, heavily armored Stone Bear.
• Lan Tian studied Stone Bear’s defensive fighting style while circling and testing his armor.
• Lan Tian spotted thin, cracked armor behind Stone Bear’s right knee and secretly wrapped Blue Silver Grass vines around his ankles.

Lan Tian defeated Stone Bear at the Great Soul Arena and accepted a fourth match against Duke, a veteran Shadow Panther Soul Master. He began fighting Duke by reading his movements and numbing the area around his old rib injury, but the match remained unresolved.

• Lan Tian exploited the weak armor behind Stone Bear's knee, bound him with Blue Silver Grass, and won when Stone Bear could no longer continue.
• Lan Tian accepted a fourth match after Xiao Ling told him about the prize money and his upcoming opponent, Duke.
• Lan Tian rested and recovered Soul Power while Xiao Ling described Duke's speed, limited endurance, and old injury to his left ribs.
• Duke attacked at high speed, but Lan Tian read his footwork, laid vines across the stage, and forced him to adjust his tactics.
• Lan Tian blocked several of Duke's ambushes, learned his attack patterns, and landed a scalpel strike beneath Duke's left ribs that delivered numbing herbal juice.

After winning three Soul Battles in Heaven Dou City, Lan Tian decided to leave once the city reopened and return to Nuoding City. He arrived home after more than three days on the road and learned that Grant had been asking about him.

• Lan Tian defeated Duke by forcing him to concede, then collected his prize money and contestant record from Xiao Ling.
• Lan Tian reflected on how much his arena fights had improved his combat experience and returned to the inn for the night.
• The next morning, Lan Tian heard that the Eastern Palace's losing faction had been purged and the city gates had reopened.
• Lan Tian packed his supplies, left Heaven Dou City, and traveled south toward Nuoding City.
• A city guard recognized Lan Tian on his return and told him that Grant had come looking for him.

Lan Tian returned to Nuoding City, reopened and cleaned his clinic, and settled back into his quiet routine. He strengthened his body with thousand-year Whale Rubber and found that the mysterious seed he had been nurturing had begun to germinate.

• Lan Tian returned to Nuoding City, reopened his clinic, and reflected on making the peaceful city his base while he cultivated and prepared for future travels.
• Lan Tian inspected the dormant seed and the surviving Blue Silver Grass roots, then recorded what he had gained and learned in Heaven Dou City.
• Lan Tian drank thousand-year Whale Rubber and endured its powerful effects as he used Soul Power, Endless Life, and Spring of Vegetation to guide and absorb its medicinal force.
• Lan Tian used Spring of Vegetation to feed the mysterious seed and noticed a tiny crack in its shell, signaling that it had begun to germinate.
• Lan Tian stored the seed and went to sleep while the remaining Whale Rubber continued to temper his body.

Lan Tian used his Blue Silver Grass soul skills to germinate a seed and discovered it had grown into a living Nine Heart Begonia. He planted the fragile seedling in his backyard and considered raising it into a powerful healing resource and possibly a future soul ring.

• Lan Tian examined the cracked seed and nourished it with Endless Life and Spring of Vegetation.
• The seed sprouted into a plant with nine heart-shaped leaves and a dense life aura.
• Lan Tian recognized the seedling as a Nine Heart Begonia and considered its healing potential and use as a future soul ring.
• Lan Tian prepared a spot in the backyard and carefully planted the Nine Heart Begonia seedling.

Lan Tian tended his Nine Heart Begonia seedling and revived the Blue Silver Grass in his yard before visiting Nuoding City's Spirit Hall Branch to update his Soul Master rank. The branch confirmed he was a level-twenty-three Soul Grandmaster with two century-old Soul Rings.

• Lan Tian carefully nurtured the Nine Heart Begonia seedling with sunlight, water, Spring of Vegetation, and Endless Life.
• Lan Tian's daily use of Spring of Vegetation brought fresh Blue Silver Grass shoots through the winter soil around the seedling.
• Lan Tian realized his Spirit Hall Branch records still listed him as a level-twelve One-Ring Soul Master and went to update them.
• A deacon recognized Lan Tian and called Elder Zhao to test his Soul Power and inspect his Soul Rings.
• Elder Zhao confirmed Lan Tian's level-twenty-three Soul Power and admired his two compatible century-old Soul Rings.

Lan Tian updated his Spirit Hall registration as a Soul Grandmaster and received a higher monthly subsidy, then realized his cultivation was slowing as his old medicinal ingredients lost their effectiveness. He began weighing the need to find stronger resources, likely outside Nuoding City.

• Elder Zhao gave Lan Tian a new two-ring Soul Master badge and ten Gold Soul Coins a month, and advised him to prepare for a future noble title.
• Lan Tian returned to his clinic, checked the Nine Heart Begonia sapling, and continued caring for it.
• That evening, Lan Tian noticed his martial arts movements had weakened and concluded that his cultivation progress was slowing at level twenty-three.
• Lan Tian recognized that his low innate talent and weak foundation limited his growth despite the benefits of his Blue Silver Grass soul rings.
• Lan Tian decided his current medicinal ingredients were too mild and considered seeking stronger materials in a major city or a more dangerous forest.

Lan Tian refined his combat training and accepted that his cultivation beyond Level 20 would progress slowly, then planned to prepare before returning to Sunset Forest in search of supplies and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. After sharing an evening meal with Louise, he resolved to keep moving forward one step at a time.

• Lan Tian practiced precise, slow strikes, meditated, and reminded himself that patience would carry him through his cultivation bottleneck.
• The next morning, Lan Tian checked the Nine Heart Begonia, treated three patients, and tended the Blue Silver Grass in his courtyard.
• Lan Tian decided to stay close to home for a month, strengthen himself, and then explore deeper into Sunset Forest while searching for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Louise visited Lan Tian with roast chicken and fruit wine, admired the Nine Heart Begonia, and shared news from the city.
• After Louise left, Lan Tian reflected on the hardships he had endured and went inside to prepare his medicinal bath.

After six years of steady cultivation and work in Nuoding City, Lan Tian reached rank thirty at age thirty-three and began searching for a suitable third soul ring. He left with his carefully mapped Sunset Forest routes, hoping to find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and a powerful life-attribute soul beast.

• Lan Tian reached rank thirty after eight years of cultivation and assessed his strength and the difficulty of his progress.
• He decided his third soul ring needed to be a powerful, high-year plant soul ring that matched his life-attribute path.
• Lan Tian chose not to use the nearly hundred-year-old Nine Heart Begonia as his third ring, planning to cultivate it further for a later ring.
• He reviewed his six-year map of Sunset Forest, which had narrowed the search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to a few unexplored areas.
• Lan Tian folded the map, left his clinic, and prepared to set out for Sunset Forest.

Louise confessed that she loved Lan Tian and asked him to answer her feelings, while her family pressed her to marry. Lan Tian agreed to marry her after he obtained his third soul ring and returned from his trip.

• Louise told Lan Tian that she had rejected several suitors because she loved him.
• Lan Tian considered her years of care and told her he wanted to handle their marriage properly.
• Lan Tian revealed that he had broken through to Soul Elder three days earlier and promised to propose after returning with his third soul ring.
• Louise embraced Lan Tian, then left to tell her family to turn away the matchmakers.
• Lan Tian decided that he would bring betrothal gifts to Louise's home after his trip.

Lan Tian absorbed the three-thousand-year-old Sun-Moon Grass and gained his third soul ring, reaching level thirty-three and learning Sun and Moon Shine Together. After discovering the skill could accelerate plant growth, he began testing it on the withering Sun-Moon Grass in the valley.

• Lan Tian used Endless Life to suppress the Sun-Moon Grass’s spore release, then absorbed the old plant’s three-thousand-year soul ring and sun-moon essence.
• Lan Tian endured the soul ring’s impact and rose to level thirty-three, gaining the skill Sun and Moon Shine Together.
• Lan Tian collected medicinal leaves and roots, then noticed the surrounding plants were wilting after the old Sun-Moon Grass disappeared.
• Lan Tian realized his new skill could accelerate plant growth and summoned its purple soul ring to test it in the valley.

Lan Tian discovered that combining his soul skills could rapidly cultivate plants, making him a mobile counterpart to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He continued his six-year search through Sunset Forest, increasingly convinced that the legendary site was close.

• Lan Tian used Sun and Moon Shine Together, Endless Life, and Spring of Vegetation to rapidly grow plants throughout the valley.
• Lan Tian realized that his combined abilities could turn him into a portable cultivation ground and collected the accelerated Sun-Moon Grass and other promising plants.
• Lan Tian recorded the valley's location and his discovery on his map before heading south through Sunset Forest.
• Lan Tian camped for the night, inspected the harvested plants, and felt that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was near.
• Lan Tian fell asleep believing he could find the well, consume its immortal herbs, and change his fate.