Chapter Summaries

After losing to Qin Tian in the tournament, Li Long was summoned to meet Pope Qian Shengyuan, who healed his injury and questioned him about his rapid cultivation. The chapter left Li Long explaining the demanding training and medicinal baths that had raised his level.

• Qin Tian defeated Li Long by striking him out of bounds, though the audience praised Li Long's performance.
• Qian Shengyuan ordered an attendant to summon Li Long to the Papal Palace after the match.
• Li Long examined his bruised shoulder, then followed the attendant to meet the Pope.
• Qian Shengyuan had a healing Soul Master treat Li Long's shoulder and asked about his match and loss.
• Li Long explained that medicinal baths, extra daily training, nightly meditation, and rod practice had helped him advance from level thirteen to level twenty in half a year.

Li Long met with Qian Shengyuan, defended his decision to absorb a five-hundred-year first soul ring, and requested a thousand-year second ring. Qian Shengyuan granted him expanded Spirit Hall authorization and a list of suitable soul beasts, leaving Li Long considering the Gale Giant Ape as his next target.

• Li Long told Qian Shengyuan that he had relied on intense training and accepted the risk of death when absorbing his first soul ring.
• Qian Shengyuan praised Li Long's courage, reviewed his dossier, and discussed his tactical performance against Qin Tian.
• Li Long said he planned to absorb a thousand-year second soul ring and believed his physical strength would let him withstand it.
• Qian Shengyuan granted Li Long two levels of additional resource authorization and promised to arrange a thousand-year soul beast for him.
• An attendant delivered Li Long a scroll listing recommended thousand-year soul beasts, and Li Long focused on the Gale Giant Ape as a complement to his first soul ring.

Li Long traveled to the Star Dou Great Forest with Mo Yuan, a level-ninety-three Titled Douluo assigned by the Pope to protect him while he hunted a second soul ring. They found a suitable Gale Giant Ape just over a thousand years old, and Mo Yuan subdued it for Li Long.

• Li Long met Mo Yuan at Spirit City's western gate and learned that the Titled Douluo would accompany him to the forest.
• During the journey, Mo Yuan warned Li Long about the force of a thousand-year soul ring and assessed his physical strength.
• Li Long and Mo Yuan reached the Star Dou Great Forest and learned that a group of Gale Giant Apes lived to the southeast.
• They tracked fresh footprints to a valley and found four Gale Giant Apes, including one that was around fifteen hundred years old.
• Mo Yuan identified a nimble ape that had just passed a thousand years as a suitable target, and Li Long asked him to act.
• Mo Yuan subdued the chosen Gale Giant Ape in an instant.

Li Long absorbed a thousand-year soul ring from a Gale Giant Ape, gaining a new soul skill and reaching level twenty-four. He and Mo Yuan returned to the outpost, where Li Long prepared to travel to Spirit City and report to the Pope.

• Mo Yuan killed a thousand-year Gale Giant Ape, and Li Long delivered the final blow to make its soul ring appear.
• Li Long endured the soul ring’s violent power and successfully absorbed it as his second ring.
• Li Long reached level twenty-four and discovered that Gale Giant Force boosted his strength and speed while creating shockwaves around his iron rod.
• Mo Yuan and Li Long returned to the outpost, where Mo Yuan told Li Long to report to the Pope at the Papal Palace the next day.

Li Long returned to Spirit City after obtaining a thousand-year second soul ring, and Qian Shengyuan recognized his extraordinary growth by taking him as a personal disciple. Li Long received a golden token and new quarters, while Qian Shengyuan privately stored his dossier among the records he valued most.

• Li Long reported to Qian Shengyuan and demonstrated his level twenty-four cultivation and thousand-year second soul ring.
• Qian Shengyuan assessed Li Long’s achievements and decided Spirit Hall should support him as both a promising cultivator and a symbol of its system.
• Qian Shengyuan offered to make Li Long his personal disciple, and Li Long accepted.
• Qian Shengyuan gave Li Long a golden token, promised direct access to resources, and ordered him to move to quarters in the inner hall.
• Li Long headed to his new residence, while Qian Shengyuan placed Li Long’s dossier in a hidden compartment.

After becoming Qian Shengyuan’s personal disciple, Li Long asked him to recognize Fanolan’s past kindness, and Qian Shengyuan promoted Fanolan to chief hall master and Purple-Robed Deacon. Li Long also received cultivation resources and a metal-element guidance method, then set out to begin training.

• Li Long asked Qian Shengyuan to reward Fanolan for guiding and supporting him in Notting City.
• Qian Shengyuan appointed Fanolan chief hall master of the Notting City branch and promoted him to Purple-Robed Deacon.
• Qian Shengyuan sent Zhao Ze to deliver Fanolan’s appointment letter in person and ensure the ceremony honored him.
• Qian Shengyuan gave Li Long high-grade cultivation resources and a metal-element soul power guidance method, setting a goal of reaching level twenty-seven within half a year.
• Li Long accepted the resources and headed to the eastern courtyard to begin his first cycle of the guidance method.

Qian Shengyuan researched heavenly treasures that could improve Li Long’s innate soul power and decided to seek a thousand-year Aptitude Cleansing Fruit in Sunset Forest. He postponed the dangerous expedition until Li Long had progressed with his training, then went to observe his disciple’s cultivation.

• Qian Shengyuan consulted Spirit Hall’s ancient manuscript and reviewed several treasures that could strengthen Li Long’s foundation.
• Qian Shengyuan concluded that exceptional-grade treasures were needed to raise Li Long’s innate soul power beyond level five.
• Qian Shengyuan decided to pursue the thousand-year Aptitude Cleansing Fruit in the Earthfire Lava Cavern, despite the danger posed by its guardian soul beast.
• Qian Shengyuan prepared plans for a small expedition but stored them away until he could assess the effects of Li Long’s first resources.
• Qian Shengyuan listened to Li Long practicing the guidance method, then heard him training with his Iron Rod and went to watch him.

Li Long spent half a year cultivating in seclusion, advancing from level twenty-four to level thirty and preparing to seek his third soul ring. He told Qian Shengyuan that he intended to challenge a ten-thousand-year soul ring, leaving Qian Shengyuan stunned by the risk.

• Li Long trained with medicinal baths, soul power guidance, weighted exercises, and staff drills, reaching level twenty-nine in the fifth month.
• Li Long overcame his level-twenty-nine bottleneck after following Qian Shengyuan's advice to pause the guidance method and focus on body training.
• Li Long reached level thirty and emerged from seclusion after six months, greatly changed in height, strength, and bearing.
• Li Long told Qian Shengyuan that he had mastered combining his first and second soul skills and needed a third soul ring to become a Soul Elder.
• Li Long said he wanted a third soul ring from a ten-thousand-year soul beast, and Qian Shengyuan warned that its impact and spiritual attacks made the attempt too risky.

Li Long persuaded Qian Shengyuan to let him attempt a ten-thousand-year third soul ring, and Qian Shengyuan promised to make him Spirit Hall’s Holy Son if he succeeded. They traveled to the Star Dou Great Forest, where they began searching for the Titan Giant Ape subspecies Li Long would hunt.

• Li Long argued that his enhanced physique and Qian Shengyuan’s protection gave him a chance to survive absorbing a ten-thousand-year third soul ring.
• Qian Shengyuan agreed to take Li Long to hunt a twelve-to-fifteen-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape subspecies and told him to prepare for three days.
• Qian Shengyuan promised to name Li Long the Holy Son of Spirit Hall if he successfully absorbed the ring, and Li Long accepted.
• Qian Shengyuan carried Li Long by flying on his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul to the soul beast’s habitat in the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Qian Shengyuan and Li Long reached a mountain overlooking a valley and began observing the beast’s location and movements.

Li Long and Qian Shengyuan hunted a powerful Titan Giant Ape subspecies so Li Long could claim its six-thousand-five-hundred-year soul ring. After Qian Shengyuan crippled the beast, Li Long killed it and began absorbing the ring.

• Qian Shengyuan explained that the giant ape sensed vibrations and told Li Long to deliver the killing blow after he weakened it.
• Qian Shengyuan attacked the giant ape from the air, inflicting severe wounds while keeping it alive.
• Li Long combined his first and second soul skills and smashed the giant ape's forehead with his iron rod, killing it.
• A purple soul ring rose from the giant ape's corpse, and Qian Shengyuan told Li Long to begin absorbing it.
• Li Long sat cross-legged and connected his martial soul to the soul ring, unleashing a terrifying surge of soul power.

Li Long endured the absorption of a six-thousand-five-hundred-year soul ring and became the first soul master with a third ring of that age. He reached level thirty-four and learned Titan Force, then Qian Shengyuan asked him to demonstrate his strength.

• Li Long survived the violent soul power while absorbing his six-thousand-five-hundred-year soul ring.
• Li Long gained a purple third soul ring, and Qian Shengyuan congratulated him on breaking another record.
• Li Long tested at level thirty-four after the absorption raised his soul power by four levels.
• Li Long learned that Titan Force greatly increased his strength and amplified his other soul skills, while reducing his speed and consuming substantial soul power.
• Qian Shengyuan asked Li Long to strike him with full strength so he could assess Li Long’s new power.

Li Long demonstrated the combined power of his three soul skills by cracking Qian Shengyuan’s protective shield. After Qian Shengyuan explained the limits of the technique, he told Li Long that the Spirit Hall would prepare to appoint him Holy Son within three days.

• Qian Shengyuan asked Li Long to use all three soul skills at once, and Li Long enlarged his iron rod and struck with overwhelming force.
• Li Long’s blow cracked Qian Shengyuan’s protective soul power, impressing the Super Douluo before the shield quickly healed.
• Li Long explained that the third soul skill consumed most of his soul power, and Qian Shengyuan advised him to save it for critical moments.
• Qian Shengyuan gave Li Long medicine for his injured hand and told him to confirm his level thirty-four soul power and prepare for his Holy Son appointment.
• Qian Shengyuan and Li Long flew back toward Spirit City, while Spirit Hall members recovered the soul beast’s corpse from the valley.

Li Long was formally invested as Spirit Hall’s thirteenth-generation Holy Son and proved his strength by defeating five same-rank challengers without using soul skills. Spirit Hall confirmed his title before the gathered crowd, and the ceremony left him embracing his rise in power and status.

• Qian Shengyuan announced Li Long’s Holy Son investiture and revealed his age, rank, and extraordinary soul rings to the crowd.
• Qian Shengyuan opened the ceremony to challenges from Three-Ring Soul Elders, and Song Yan stepped forward to fight Li Long.
• Li Long deflected Song Yan’s attacks with his Iron Rod, forced him back, and won his concession.
• Four more Soul Elders challenged Li Long, but he defeated each of them using staff techniques and physical strength alone.
• Qian Shengyuan confirmed Li Long’s Holy Son rank, and the crowd bowed to him as faction spies prepared to report the event.

After emerging from three years of seclusion at level sixty, Qian Yaoting learned that Qian Shengyuan had named Li Long, a ten-and-a-half-year-old with an Iron Rod Martial Soul and extraordinary soul rings, Spirit Hall’s Holy Son. Qian Yaoting spoke with his father about Li Long and set off to meet him, while planning to obtain his sixth soul ring.

• Qian Yaoting left his cultivation chamber after reaching level sixty and asked attendants what had happened during his seclusion.
• An attendant told Qian Yaoting that Qian Shengyuan had accepted Li Long as a disciple and that Li Long had recently been named Spirit Hall’s Holy Son.
• Qian Yaoting learned about Li Long’s unusual soul ring configuration and headed to Qian Shengyuan’s study.
• Qian Shengyuan explained that Li Long had earned his support through his results, and Qian Yaoting said he wanted to meet him.
• Qian Yaoting asked Qian Shengyuan to accompany him to the Star Dou Great Forest for his sixth soul ring, then went to the East Courtyard to see Li Long.

Li Long met his senior brother Qian Yaoting, the current Pope’s level-sixty Soul Emperor son, and agreed to fight him without restrictions. Their sparring left Qian Yaoting stunned when Li Long shattered his first three soul skills, and Qian Yaoting began to summon his fourth soul skill.

• Qian Yaoting introduced himself as the current Pope’s son and Li Long’s senior brother, then challenged Li Long to spar.
• Li Long told Qian Yaoting to go all out so he could test his true limits, and Qian Yaoting agreed to use all five soul skills without holding back.
• Qian Yaoting’s first strike drove Li Long’s feet into the ground, but Li Long kept hold of his Iron Rod.
• Li Long blocked Qian Yaoting’s first soul skill and shattered his fan-shaped second soul skill with Mighty Vajra Staff.
• Li Long used his first and second soul skills together to split Qian Yaoting’s Angel Judgment attack, leaving Qian Yaoting astonished.
• Qian Yaoting descended to the ground and raised his fourth soul ring.

Li Long endured Qian Yaoting’s Holy Light Storm and counterattacked, forcing Qian Yaoting to unleash his fourth and fifth soul skills together. Their final collision devastated the courtyard and left Li Long battered but conscious, with the outcome of the battle unresolved.

• Li Long blocked most of Qian Yaoting’s Holy Light Storm with his Iron Rod, suffering only three shallow cuts.
• Li Long’s wounds began healing as he explained how years of physical training had strengthened his body, then charged Qian Yaoting without pausing.
• Li Long relentlessly attacked Qian Yaoting and prevented him from gaining distance until Qian Yaoting knocked aside his rod and rose into the air.
• Qian Yaoting combined Holy Light Storm with Angel’s Descent, raining sword qi down as he plunged toward Li Long.
• Li Long activated all three soul skills and swung his enlarged Iron Rod into Qian Yaoting’s attack, creating an explosion that damaged half the courtyard wall.
• The collision depleted Li Long’s Soul Power and left him bleeding and exhausted, but he remained conscious and looked toward the blast’s center.

Li Long defeated Qian Yaoting’s fifth soul skill and convinced Qian Shengyuan that his strength had outgrown the role of Holy Son. Qian Shengyuan decided to introduce Li Long to two young women from the Qian Clan as potential marriage partners.

• Li Long’s counterattack interrupted Qian Yaoting’s fifth soul skill, and Qian Yaoting acknowledged that a Soul Elder could injure or even kill a Soul Emperor.
• Qian Yaoting left the courtyard, and Li Long collapsed from exhaustion, pleased that he had forced his senior brother to use his fifth soul skill.
• Qian Shengyuan watched the fight and concluded that Li Long’s growth made him an extraordinary threat to ordinary Soul Emperors.
• Qian Shengyuan decided that Li Long should become his son-in-law to bind him more closely to the Qian Clan.
• Qian Shengyuan selected two young women from Qian Clan branch families and wrote instructions to arrange for them to meet Li Long.

Li Long met Qian Yao and Qian Yue, two young soul masters sent to the palace for an exchange, and discussed their abilities and combat techniques. After they left, Qian Shengyuan revealed that he hoped the girls might both marry Li Long if they were interested and he agreed.

• Li Long received Qian Shengyuan's decree and went to the East Courtyard side hall to meet two exchange students.
• Qian Yao introduced herself and Qian Yue as three-ring Soul Elders with Four-Winged Angel Martial Souls, while Li Long introduced his Iron Rod Martial Soul.
• Qian Yue identified the heavy Soul Power cost of Li Long's third soul skill, and Li Long confirmed he could only use it once or twice in a battle.
• Li Long gave Qian Yao advice on sword technique, and the three talked until an attendant called them to lunch.
• Qian Yao asked to watch Li Long spar with the young master again, and Qian Yue exchanged a brief look and nod with Li Long before leaving.
• Qian Shengyuan heard the attendant's report and said Qian Yao and Qian Yue could both marry Li Long if they were interested and Li Long did not object.

Li Long visited Spirit City's underground black market, bought ten-thousand-year and thousand-year Whale Rubber, and arranged to purchase future supplies. Meanwhile, Qian Shengyuan and Qian Yaoting tracked a golden dragon-type soul beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, while Qian Yaoting planned to challenge Li Long again after obtaining his sixth soul ring.

• After Qian Shengyuan and Qian Yaoting left the East Courtyard, Li Long grew restless and disguised himself before leaving the Papal Palace.
• Li Long entered Spirit City's underground black market and found a shop selling Whale Rubber.
• Li Long bought the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber and all the thousand-year pieces in stock, then arranged for the shopkeeper to reserve future supplies for him.
• Back at the East Courtyard, Li Long inspected the ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber and meditated, expecting it to help him reach four rings sooner.
• In the Star Dou Great Forest, Qian Shengyuan and Qian Yaoting followed the traces of a golden dragon-type soul beast toward its habitat.
• Qian Yaoting thought about challenging Li Long again, but decided he should first absorb his sixth soul ring.

Li Long used ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber to temper his body, broke through to level thirty-five, and improved the force transmission of his staff strikes. Qian Yao delivered pastries from Qian Yue, who later watched Li Long train from a distance.

• Li Long soaked in a medicinal bath made with ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber and broke through from level thirty-four to level thirty-five.
• Li Long practiced his staff techniques and found that the force transmission in his strikes had become about ten percent smoother.
• Qian Yao visited Li Long with pastries made by Qian Yue and said Qian Yue planned to ask him about force transmission that afternoon.
• Li Long ate one pastry, then returned to staff practice and increased the amplification of his second soul skill.
• Qian Yue watched Li Long's staff techniques from a nearby bend before silently leaving.