Chapter Summaries

After escaping Ancient Sword City, Tie Li traveled to Nuoding City and joined Shi San’s blacksmith shop to learn Tang San’s Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer. Tang San arrived seeking work, and Shi San challenged him to lift a forging hammer.

• Dolangbu told Tie Li he had dealt with the three men, and Tie Li left Ancient Sword City for Suotuo City.
• Tie Li treated his wounds, repaired his inner armor in Suotuo City, and continued on to Nuoding City.
• Tie Li found Shi San’s blacksmith shop and took a job there, hoping to learn the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer from Tang San.
• Tang San came to the shop looking for work, changed out of his academy uniform, and explained that he was a work-study student.
• Tang San insisted he could forge, and Shi San offered to let him try if he could lift his forging hammer.

Tie Li secretly watched Tang San use the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer and tried to learn the technique by practicing alone at the smithy. As Tang San continued balancing academy, forging, and study, Tie Li gradually grasped part of the hammer technique and began attempting to forge higher-grade metals.

• Tang San impressed the smithy’s blacksmiths by refining iron with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, and Shi San recognized the technique.
• Tie Li stayed late to imitate Tang San’s hammering, but his attempts failed as the hammer’s rebound threatened to escape his control.
• Shi San arranged a forge beside Tie Li’s so he could observe Tang San, who came to the smithy each afternoon to refine iron.
• Tie Li continued practicing at night and watching Tang San, while Tang San attended Nuoding Academy in the mornings and studied under Grandmaster at night.
• Through repeated observation and practice, Tie Li grasped part of the technique’s essence, improved rapidly, and began trying to forge higher-grade metals.

Tie Li left Nuoding City after forging new defensive equipment and saying goodbye to Shi San, then registered under a new identity at the Great Soul Arena in Fikes City. He entered an individual soul battle against the streaking Soul Elder Deng Shan, and the fight began with Deng Shan attacking Tie Li.

• Tie Li forged diamond-and-Thunder-Tin inner armor and leg guards that increased his defensive attributes.
• Tang San left the blacksmith shop to focus on cultivation, and Tie Li later bade Shi San farewell.
• Tie Li collected his Spirit Hall stipend and traveled toward Fikes City to establish a new identity at its Great Soul Arena.
• Tie Li successfully registered under the name Wan Li and entered an individual soul battle against Deng Shan.
• Deng Shan began the match by activating his martial soul and charging at Tie Li, who responded by summoning his forging hammer.

Tie Li defeated Deng Shan in the Great Soul Arena without using a Soul Skill, then refused Ning Ning’s offer to team up for two-on-two fights. After leaving the arena, he went to a famous restaurant in Fikes City to find a meal.

• Deng Shan attacked Tie Li, but Tie Li built up the force of his Forging Hammer strikes and knocked him off the Soul Fighting Platform with his eighteenth blow.
• The spectators accused Deng Shan of throwing the match, and the referee declared Tie Li the winner before the crowd could grow more unruly.
• Ning Ning asked Tie Li to partner with her in Second Team two-on-two soul fights and demonstrated her powerful support abilities, but Tie Li rejected her offer.
• Tie Li left the Great Soul Arena, asked locals about restaurants, and chose Fikes City’s most famous restaurant.
• Tie Li studied the menu and ordered dishes he saw on other tables that looked appealing.

Tie Li encountered Chi Ru and Big Ox over the Iron Flower Bracelet, then met Ning Ning, who offered him an ancient book of body-tempering formulas in exchange for teaming up in spirit fights. He agreed to help her earn the money she needed, while learning about her branch-family background and Ruyi Pagoda martial soul.

• Chi Ru accused Tie Li of stealing her Iron Flower Bracelet, and Big Ox revealed himself as a five-ring Soul King before Tie Li returned the bracelet for compensation.
• Ning Ning arrived and showed Tie Li an ancient book containing the Ice and Fire Tempered Golden Body formula, but took it back after noticing his reaction.
• Ning Ning offered to give Tie Li the book if he teamed up with her in spirit fights and helped her earn enough Gold Soul Coins.
• Tie Li agreed to help Ning Ning earn eight thousand Gold Soul Coins, and Chi Ru brought them to a private room to talk.
• Tie Li learned that Ning Ning came from a branch family of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had awakened the Ruyi Pagoda martial soul.

Ning Ning recruited Tie Li as her teammate for two-on-two spirit battles at the Great Soul Arena so she could earn Gold Soul Coins. The Heavy Pagoda Team faced two of Ning Ning’s academy classmates, who recognized her and plotted to expose Tie Li’s identity.

• Ning Ning asked Tie Li to team up with her for a two-on-two spirit battle, and he agreed to meet her at the Great Soul Arena the following evening.
• Tie Li refused Chi Ru’s offer to stay at her home and rented a room in Filis City’s commoner district instead.
• Tie Li and Ning Ning registered as the Heavy Pagoda Team, wore masks, and received a match assignment for sub-arena thirty-seven.
• Ning Ning recognized their opponents as two academy classmates who had been recruited by soul master clans, and they recognized her despite her mask.
• The two teams summoned their martial souls and soul rings, and Ning Ning used her Ruyi Pagoda to boost Tie Li’s strength and speed.

Tie Li and Ning Ning won their two-on-two soul battle, then built stronger coordination through a run of team victories. As rumors about Ning Ning spread through the academy, two watchers saw her dining with Tie Li and went to report it to their boss.

• Tie Li carried Ning Ning into battle, shattered the female soul master's flame attack, and knocked both opponents off the Soul Arena platform.
• Tie Li won an individual soul battle after Ning Ning left, and the pair improved their coordination over the next seven team battles.
• Kexi questioned Chi Ru about Ning Ning, but Big Ox blocked him; afterward, Chi Ru decided to seek Ning Ning's advice about the rumors harming her reputation.
• Ning Ning treated Tie Li to noodles near West Street, where two hidden watchers saw them together and decided to tell their boss.

Ning Ning confronted Kexi after he spread rumors about her and Tie Li, and Big Ox drove off the two Soul Kings Kexi sent to attack them. Afterward, Ning Ning weighed how to handle the rumors, while Chi Ru urged her to return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

• Tie Li sensed someone watching them, then finished Ning Ning’s leftover noodles as Chi Ru arrived with Big Ox and warned that rumors about Ning Ning and Tie Li were spreading through the academy.
• Kexi confronted Ning Ning and offered to use his family’s influence for her, but she rejected him and told him not to speculate about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Kexi ordered two Soul Kings to attack, but Big Ox fought them while Ning Ning boosted him with her Ruyi Pagoda.
• Big Ox injured both Soul Kings with his fifth soul skill, and Kexi led them away after Chi Ru stopped Big Ox from crippling them.
• Ning Ning asked Tie Li what she should do about the rumors, and he advised her to ignore them if she did not care about her reputation before leaving.
• Chi Ru asked Ning Ning why she did not return to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for protection.

Seventh Master Ning punished Kexi and Jiersi over their offenses, then forced Tie Li to fight a four-ringed Soul Ancestor for the right to leave. Tie Li struck first, but his later hammer blows weakened, leaving his opponent puzzled.

• Seventh Master Ning killed Kexi’s two Soul King escorts and demanded an explanation from the Ke family and Jiersi.
• Kexi admitted his wrongdoing and crippled both of his arms to appease Seventh Master Ning.
• A blond Soul Sage and a four-ringed Soul Ancestor confronted Tie Li on Seventh Master Ning’s orders.
• Tie Li attacked the Soul Ancestor with Thunder Strike, cracking his protective shield before following with a series of weaker hammer blows.

Tie Li defeated Jin You with a powerful hammer strike, but a golden-haired elder intervened before the fight could finish and later revealed a plot involving Ancient Sword City and Wind Sword Sect. Back at the Great Soul Arena, Tie Li and Ning Ning extended their team winning streak to ten victories, though tougher opponents and the arena supervisor's efforts threatened their run.

• Tie Li gathered the force of his previous hammer strikes into one blow, but the golden-haired elder stopped it before it could hit Jin You.
• The golden-haired elder rebuked Jin You for dwelling on his loss, then discussed with Seventh Master and the Eighth Elder why they had spared their targets and said Wind Sword Sect would pay.
• Tie Li returned home, decided the visitors' encounter had been a test, and continued entering team battles with Ning Ning.
• Tie Li and Ning Ning achieved ten consecutive team victories, earning two hundred Gold Soul Coins per win, while their opponents increasingly targeted Ning Ning and nearly defeated them.
• Ji Fei agreed to arrange tougher opposition because spectators kept betting on Heavy Pagoda Team, and Tie Li suggested having Chi Ru bet on their victories.

Tie Li and Ning Ning faced the Double Cat Team, two level-thirty-nine agility-attack Soul Elders, in their next team soul fight. As the battle began, they followed a plan to keep Youhe occupied while Tie Li attacked her teammate.

• Tie Li and Ning Ning discussed the growing difficulty of their opponents, and Tie Li later discovered that he could no longer absorb energy from the Thunder Python inner core.
• Tie Li asked Ning Ning to take him to her academy library, and she agreed to bring him the next day.
• At the Great Soul Arena, Tie Li recognized Youhe, a former teammate whose Night Ghost Cat martial soul had reached level thirty-nine.
• The host announced the undefeated Heavy Pagoda Team against the Double Cat Team, and Tie Li realized their opponents were both agility-attack Soul Elders.
• Youhe and her teammate attacked Ning Ning from both sides, while Ning Ning enhanced Tie Li and ran to intercept Youhe.
• Tie Li charged at Youhe's teammate according to their plan, while Ning Ning wore the metal inner armor he had lent her.

Tie Li defeated Bai Jiang and Youhe in the Great Soul Arena, prompting Supervisor Ji to consider taking measures against their winning streak. The next day, Tie Li entered Fiya Advanced Soul Master Academy's library to research soul beast inner cores, while Ning Ning learned that the Fire Pulp Fruit on White Mud Mountain was nearing ripeness.

• Tie Li used his Thunder Hammer and a shield to eliminate Bai Jiang, then defeated Youhe in a one-on-one fight.
• Supervisor Ji complained about the Great Soul Arena's losses and said he would take necessary measures.
• Tie Li warned Ning Ning that the arena would try to stop their winning streak, and she returned his heavy metal inner armor.
• Ning Ning took Tie Li to Fiya Advanced Soul Master Academy and asked Chi Ru to help him gain access to the library.
• Tie Li began searching the library for books about soul beast inner cores while Chi Ru told Ning Ning that rumors against her had vanished and Kexi and Liu Zhuqing had stopped coming to the academy.
• Chi Ru told Ning Ning that the Fire Pulp Fruit on White Mud Mountain was about to ripen.

Tie Li joined Chi Ru, Ning Ning, and Big Ox to collect ripe Fire Pulp Fruit on White Mud Mountain, where they discovered a Flame Wolf trap. The chapter ended with Tie Li, Chi Ru, and Ning Ning surrounded while Big Ox was separated from them.

• Tie Li spent the night reading in Fiya Soul Master Academy's library, and Chi Ru and Ning Ning waited for him.
• Chi Ru, Ning Ning, and Big Ox brought Tie Li to White Mud Mountain to help collect Fire Pulp Fruit.
• Ning Ning explained the mountain's White Ground, and Chi Ru warned Tie Li about the dangerous Manwu Valley.
• Tie Li's Thunder Python Inner Core pulsed as he looked at Manwu Valley, and the Fire Pulp Fruit suddenly ripened before nightfall.
• Big Ox charged toward the fruit to drive off the Flame Wolves, while the Wolf King's howl revealed dozens of wolves surrounding Tie Li, Chi Ru, and Ning Ning.

Tie Li and his companions escaped the Flame Wolf pack after Big Ox killed its king, but the injured Fire Spirit Wolf fled with a Fire Spirit Fruit. Tie Li pursued it to the dangerous White Ground, where the Thunder Python Inner Core began absorbing lightning, and he returned to the others planning to come back and cultivate there.

• Tie Li carried Ning Ning through the Flame Wolf encirclement while Chi Ru covered them and Ning Ning boosted them with her Ruyi Pagoda.
• The Flame Wolves abandoned their attack, and a tremor and the wolves' cries revealed that Big Ox had killed the Flame Wolf King.
• Big Ox told the group that the Fire Spirit Wolf had escaped with a Fire Spirit Fruit, so Tie Li followed its trail.
• The wounded Fire Spirit Wolf entered the White Ground, and Tie Li stayed outside as the Thunder Python Inner Core began absorbing its lightning.
• Tie Li returned to Big Ox, Ning Ning, and Chi Ru, who were gathering Fire Pulp Fruits, and Big Ox explained that the Fire Spirit Wolf might not survive the White Ground.

After selling the Flame Wolf spoils, Tie Li bought two thousand-year lightning spirit herbs and went to White Ground to attempt mimetic cultivation. As the Thunder Python Inner Core strengthened his lightning, his Forging Hammer transformed into a Thunder Hammer, while a sleeping super plant-type spirit beast stirred.

• Tie Li and his companions sold the Flame Wolf corpses and divided the earnings, with Big Ox receiving five thousand Gold Soul Coins, Ning Ning and Chi Ru four thousand each, and Tie Li two thousand.
• Ning Ning told Tie Li she was leaving on a long journey and would not join team spirit battles for a while.
• Tie Li bought two thousand-year lightning spirit herbs, then rested before traveling to White Mud Mountain.
• Tie Li surveyed White Ground and began mimetic cultivation, synchronizing his lightning with the plant-type spirit beasts there.
• Tie Li swallowed both spirit herbs as his lightning intensified, and his Forging Hammer entered Thunder Hammer form without a soul skill.
• The Thunder Python Inner Core fed Tie Li a special strand of Soul Power, turning the Thunder Hammer violet as a sleeping super plant-type spirit beast sensed him.

Tie Li’s martial soul gained a lightning attribute after reacting to the Thunder Python Inner Core and the powerful presence in the White Ground. When a healed Fire Spirit Wolf ambushed him, Tie Li countered and prepared to fight.

• Tie Li’s martial soul underwent a minor evolution, and he sensed a terrifying super soul beast in the White Ground’s central region.
• Tie Li continued cultivating in the White Ground, but its mental pressure forced him to leave and recover before returning.
• Manager Ji brought in two brothers from another soul arena to help recover the Great Soul Arena’s lost profits.
• Tie Li returned to White Mud Mountain to cultivate and sensed the powerful presence again while synchronizing with the lightning-attribute plant-type soul beasts.
• A healed Fire Spirit Wolf attacked Tie Li, but he blocked its strike and summoned his lightning-infused Forging Hammer martial soul.
• The Fire Spirit Wolf hit Tie Li with a spiritual attack and fireball, but his inner armor limited the damage, and Tie Li rushed toward it.

Tie Li killed a Fire Spirit Wolf and continued cultivating near the lightning-type plant soul beasts on White Mud Mountain, carefully avoiding attacks and enduring mental pressure. He sensed a faint affinity with their lightning, while his worry over Ning Ning’s prolonged absence remained unresolved.

• Tie Li used his Thunder Hammer to kill the Fire Spirit Wolf despite vines attacking him, then took its fur and left the area after a vine struck at him during meditation.
• Tie Li moved to a jagged-rock area and cultivated safely outside White Ground, synchronizing his lightning with the plant soul beasts and training against the mental pressure from the mountain’s depths.
• Tie Li returned home, found no sign that Ning Ning had visited, and worried about how long she had been gone.
• Tie Li returned to White Mud Mountain and cultivated longer, improving his mental resistance and sensing what might have been a faint affinity between his lightning and the plant soul beasts’ lightning.

Tie Li developed an affinity with the lightning-element plant soul beasts at White Ground and began cultivating in their outer ring, where lightning tempered his body and Soul Power. After reaching the limits of his current Martial Soul and Soul Power Level, he considered strengthening his physique with high-age Whale Rubber and was close to advancing to level thirty-six.

• Tie Li trained at White Ground for three months, raising his Soul Power Level from thirty-four to thirty-five and building enough affinity to safely enter the outer ring.
• The vines parted for Tie Li, and cultivating among the lightning-element plant soul beasts caused lightning to resonate with him and temper his body and lightning attribute.
• Tie Li limited each outer-ring session to one day, then rested, ate dried soul beast meat, and returned to cultivate again.
• Tie Li realized his lightning attribute, Soul Power, and physique were nearing the limits imposed by his Martial Soul, and he could not trigger another transformation with the Thunder Python Inner Core.
• Tie Li considered seeking high-age Whale Rubber to strengthen his physique and noted that he was close to breaking through to level thirty-six.

After breaking through to level thirty-six, Tie Li left White Mud Mountain and bought a thousand-year piece of Whale Rubber before traveling to Vast Sea City to find one over three thousand years old. He learned that an auction might offer one in three days and headed there with a local guide.

• Tie Li broke through to level thirty-six, cultivated for another ten days, and left White Mud Mountain after reaching his next bottleneck.
• Tie Li returned to Fikes City and asked Chi Ru to find Whale Rubber; Big Ox bought a thousand-year piece for one thousand Gold Soul Coins and told him about Vast Sea City.
• Tie Li traveled to Vast Sea City on foot, arriving after several days with little need to rest.
• A local young man explained how he identified soul masters and told Tie Li about a White Whale Chamber of Commerce auction in three days and Count Daisi as another possible source.
• Tie Li paid the young man a Silver Soul Coin and asked him to lead the way to the auction house and Count Daisi's residence.

Tie Li learned that Count Daisi was recruiting soul masters for a contest against Count Bell and that Daisi possessed Whale Rubber, which Tie Li needed. He explored Vast Sea City, bought White Fish Pearls to prepare for underwater combat, and watched sea soul masters fight while waiting for the auction.

• The short young man told Tie Li about the five-on-five contest between Count Daisi and Count Bell, including their wagers and the rules.
• Tie Li visited Count Daisi's residence, learned the contest would take place after the auction in five days, and decided to wait before considering recruitment.
• Tie Li explored a marine trade market and bought two White Fish Pearls that could store air for underwater use.
• A shop attendant told Tie Li that the White Whale Chamber of Commerce might auction the three-thousand-year Whale Rubber he wanted, while Count Daisi was known to possess some.
• Tie Li found lodging and visited Vast Sea City's Great Soul Arena to study how sea soul masters fought.