Chapter Summaries

Six-year-old Dai Chengfeng defied the Star Luo Empire’s ancestral rules by choosing a Geng Metal Beast for his first soul ring, believing his White Tiger Spirit could reach a higher level through a different path. His father exiled him to the border city of Wu'an, and Dai Chengfeng left determined to prove the ancestors wrong and become the White Emperor.

• Emperor Dai An angrily confronted Dai Chengfeng for absorbing a Geng Metal Beast and awakening Geng Metal Qi instead of following the prescribed first soul-ring method.
• Dai Chengfeng argued that his offensive soul skill had greater potential than White Tiger Protective Barrier and explained his ambition to develop the White Tiger Spirit beyond its supposed limits.
• Dai An stripped Dai Chengfeng of his titles and fiefs, demoted him to a commoner, and ordered him exiled to Wu'an City.
• Dai An offered to relent if Dai Chengfeng admitted his mistake and followed the ancestral method, but Dai Chengfeng refused and left the palace resolved to surpass his ancestors.

Dai An and the High Priest arranged to send Dai Chengfeng to Wu'an City to temper his ambition, while publicly branding him crippled and having his engagement broken. As Dai Chengfeng left the capital amid jeers, he remained confident that Wu'an City would be where he rose.

• Dai An worried that Dai Chengfeng's ambition and rejection of the ancestral method would lead him astray, and the High Priest advised him to make the exile to Wu'an City real.
• Dai An ordered the guards to spread the story that Dai Chengfeng was crippled and had been rejected by the Zhu Family, while keeping the plan secret.
• News of Dai Chengfeng's supposed disability and broken engagement spread through the capital, delighting Dai Weisi and Dai Mubai.
• Dai Weisi mocked Dai Chengfeng as his carriage left, while Dai Mubai vowed to prove his superiority and bring Zhu Zhuqing to their next meeting.
• Zhu Fan urged Dai Chengfeng to apologize to Dai An, but Dai Chengfeng dismissed the crowd's mockery and told him to continue toward Wu'an City.

Dai Chengfeng tried to use the three gates described in the Yellow Emperor’s Outer Canon to transform his Geng Metal Qi and soul power from acquired qi into innate qi. After realizing the breakthrough had to happen at the intersection of day and night, he passed the Middle Kidney Spine and reached the Upper Jade Pillow, awakening a heightened state of perception.

• Dai Chengfeng activated his Geng Metal Qi and reasoned that he could use Acquired Returning to Innate to compensate for the White Tiger Spirit’s lack of Innate Geng Metal Origin.
• Dai Chengfeng theorized that combining soul power with Geng Metal Qi and returning them to the innate might transform his future cultivation into Innate Soul Power.
• Dai Chengfeng spent four hours trying to guide the fused power past the Middle Kidney Spine, but an obstruction stopped him.
• After Zhu Fan mentioned it was nearly midnight, Dai Chengfeng realized the breakthrough had to occur when day and night intersected.
• Dai Chengfeng tried again at the transition between day and night, broke through the Middle Kidney Spine, and reached the Upper Jade Pillow.
• Dai Chengfeng’s awareness expanded until he could sense distant insects and faint soul-power fluctuations, a state called Microscopic Perception.

Dai Chengfeng completed a Heavenly Cycle and created the Innate Skill, which let him cultivate Innate Geng Metal Qi and enter Microscopic Perception. After testing his new power, he continued toward Wu'an City despite Zhu Fan urging him to return to Star Luo City.

• Dai Chengfeng completed a Heavenly Cycle, nourishing his organs and producing a wisp of Innate Geng Metal Qi.
• Dai Chengfeng tested the qi and found it could cut pig iron without touching it, far surpassing his previous Geng Metal Qi.
• Dai Chengfeng named his new cultivation method the Innate Skill and resolved to keep transforming his qi, though his White Tiger Spirit had not changed yet.
• Dai Chengfeng stepped out of the carriage, and Zhu Fan briefly sensed a sacred aura that made his Hell Spirit Cat martial soul tremble.
• Zhu Fan estimated that their poor carriage and horses would take two months to reach Wu'an City and advised Dai Chengfeng to return to Star Luo City.
• Dai Chengfeng refused to turn back, finished his rations, and told Zhu Fan to set off for Wu'an City.

After two months of cultivation, Dai Chengfeng had transformed his Soul Power and Geng Metal Qi into Innate Qi and strengthened his body with Innate Geng Metal Qi. He arrived at Wu'an City with Zhu Fan, declared it his new beginning, and revealed his unusual White Tiger Spirit to prove his authority at the city gate.

• Dai Chengfeng completed a Heavenly Cycle and found that his Innate Geng Metal Qi had greatly strengthened his body.
• Zhu Fan pointed out Wu'an City and warned Dai Chengfeng that entering would bring gossip if he later turned back.
• Dai Chengfeng insisted on entering Wu'an City to carve out his own path, and Zhu Fan agreed to accompany him.
• A guard demanded proof of Dai Chengfeng's identity because the city had received no notice of the Fourth Prince's arrival.
• Dai Chengfeng summoned his White Tiger Spirit, whose strange runes and golden lightning astonished the guards and Zhu Fan, then tossed them a sheet of paper as his order.

Dai Chengfeng arrived in Wu'an City and met its city lord, Zhu Yan, while hoping for an excuse to seize local authority. Their introductions were interrupted when a 30,000-strong Heaven Dou Empire army surrounded the city, leaving Zhu Yan to suspect it had come for Dai Chengfeng.

• Centurion Xu Feng and the Wu'an City guards recognized Dai Chengfeng's White Tiger Spirit and welcomed him as the Fourth Prince.
• Dai Chengfeng told Zhu Fan he hoped someone would slight him so he could kill them and take control of Wu'an City.
• Zhu Yan welcomed Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan, then described Wu'an City's frontier location, resources, and recurring border clashes with Heaven Dou forces.
• A soldier reported that roughly 30,000 Heaven Dou troops had surrounded Wu'an City, whose garrison numbered just over 10,000.
• Zhu Yan wondered whether the Heaven Dou army had come specifically for Dai Chengfeng.

Xue Qinghe led Heaven Dou Empire’s army to attack Wu'an City, using the siege partly to test Dai Chengfeng’s character and possible usefulness to Spirit Hall. Dai Chengfeng recognized the commander as Qian Renxue and chose to remain with the city’s defenders.

• Dai Chengfeng learned that Heaven Dou Empire had surrounded Wu'an City and went to inspect the city wall with Zhu Fan.
• Xue Qinghe dismissed Old General Li’s concerns about provoking Star Luo Empire and ordered him to prepare for the siege.
• Xue Qinghe told Pufferfish Douluo that he had delayed the attack to test whether Dai Chengfeng still had ambition and might be useful to Spirit Hall.
• Xue Qinghe ordered thirty thousand Heaven Dou soldiers to attack Wu'an City.
• Dai Chengfeng refused Zhu Yan’s offer to escort him away and urged the defenders to hold the city with him.
• Dai Chengfeng spotted the blond commander and recognized Qian Renxue.

Dai Chengfeng recognized Qian Renxue leading the Heaven Dou army against Wu'an City and realized that holding the city or seeking reinforcements would not work. He gathered a thousand loyal elite soldiers and called on them to follow him into a desperate charge, leaving his plan unexplained.

• Dai Chengfeng recognized Qian Renxue and wondered why she had personally led the attack on Wu'an City.
• Zhu Fan told Dai Chengfeng that Xue Qinghe had become crown prince three months earlier, and Dai Chengfeng said he understood Qian Renxue's purpose.
• Dai Chengfeng concluded that reinforcements could not reach the city under the watch of a Titled Douluo, then asked Zhu Fan whether he could be carried away safely from the enemy army.
• Dai Chengfeng told Zhu Fan to have Zhu Yan select one thousand utterly loyal elite soldiers, and the two men soon returned with them.
• Dai Chengfeng addressed the soldiers and urged them to follow him into the oncoming tide of the Heaven Dou army.

Dai Chengfeng chose to lead a desperate charge against the Heaven Dou army to disrupt Qian Renxue’s encirclement, despite Zhu Fan’s fears. As Wu'an City’s defenses began to collapse and Xue Qinghe arrived at the front, Dai Chengfeng rallied the Star Luo soldiers to ride out and fight.

• Dai Chengfeng explained that breaking the Heaven Dou encirclement could let scouts escape for aid and ruin Qian Renxue’s plan.
• Zhu Fan objected to Dai Chengfeng risking his life, but agreed to join him after Dai Chengfeng insisted he would not abandon the city.
• A bloodied soldier reported that Heaven Dou troops had breached the southern battlements, and Dai Chengfeng saw the city’s defenses nearing collapse.
• Dai Chengfeng spotted Xue Qinghe at the front lines and declared he would fight as an ordinary Star Luo man rather than as a prince.
• Zhu Fan, Zhu Yan, and other soldiers pledged to follow Dai Chengfeng into battle, and he ordered them to mount up and attack.

Dai Chengfeng led a sortie from Wu'an City against Heaven Dou Empire’s central army, revealing that his First Soul Skill, Innate Geng Metal Qi, could both attack and defend. After breaking through the enemy’s front ranks, he rallied his soldiers to capture Xue Qinghe alive.

• Xue Qinghe watched Wu'an City’s defenders hold against her elite troops while Old General Li urged her to withdraw from the front line.
• Dai Chengfeng rode out of Wu'an City with his soldiers, leaving Zhu Yan behind to arrange the scouts’ mission to call for reinforcements.
• Xue Qinghe identified Dai Chengfeng to Pufferfish Douluo as the Star Luo Empire’s Fourth Prince and admired his courage as he charged the central army.
• Dai Chengfeng activated Innate Geng Metal Qi, using its golden energy to pierce enemy armor and protect his body from their attacks.
• Dai Chengfeng pointed his spear at Xue Qinghe and urged his soldiers to capture the Heaven Dou Empire’s Crown Prince alive.

Dai Chengfeng led Star Luo Empire’s Vanguard Death Soldiers through Heaven Dou’s army until they were within a hundred meters of Qian Renxue, who refused to let Pufferfish Douluo reveal himself. Dai Chengfeng launched a smoke bomb toward her, and its explosion lit up the battlefield as his plan to turn the fight around began.

• Qian Renxue dismissed Dai Chengfeng’s attempt to capture her and ordered Pufferfish Douluo to keep his identity secret, allowing the armies to weaken each other.
• Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan fought through Heaven Dou soldiers, and Dai urged the wounded Star Luo soldiers onward despite their dwindling strength.
• After reaching a point a hundred meters from Qian Renxue, Dai ordered his soldiers to turn their formation around and claim they had captured Xue Qinghe.
• Dai fired an arrow carrying a prepared smoke bomb at Qian Renxue, who caught it before it exploded in a blaze of light.

Dai Chengfeng used a fake claim that Qian Renxue had been captured to draw Heaven Dou’s forces away from Wu'an City, while scouts escaped to summon reinforcements. Realizing the trap had ruined her siege, Qian Renxue ordered a retreat and vowed to remember Dai Chengfeng.

• Dai Chengfeng led his elite troops toward Qian Renxue, then retreated while his soldiers shouted that they had captured her alive.
• Qian Renxue realized the false capture claim was drawing Heaven Dou’s distant forces away from Wu'an City to rescue her.
• Scouts on horseback escaped through three city gates as Heaven Dou’s soldiers rushed toward Qian Renxue instead of stopping them.
• Qian Renxue concluded that Star Luo reinforcements would soon arrive and that her army risked being surrounded, so she ordered a retreat.
• Qian Renxue praised Dai Chengfeng’s daring strategy despite her anger, then rode away after promising to remember him.

After the battle outside Wu'an City, Dai Chengfeng mourned the thousand Vanguard Death Soldiers and vowed to become strong enough that no one could take anything from him again. He collapsed and remained unconscious for three days, then woke after his killing intent fused with his Innate Geng Metal Qi and Soul Power, which had grown to rank 15.

• Dai Chengfeng stood on the battlefield and lamented the deaths of the soldiers, then vowed to surpass the gods as the White Emperor.
• Dai Chengfeng ordered Zhu Fan to ensure the roster included every one of the thousand Vanguard Death Soldiers, then collapsed on his way to Wu'an City.
• Three days later, Zhu Fan and the doctor found Dai Chengfeng's pulse healthy, though he remained unconscious.
• Red airflow, Innate Geng Metal Qi, and Dai Chengfeng's killing intent entwined and fused with his Soul Power, steadily strengthening it.
• Dai Chengfeng woke with a brief red gleam in his eyes and discovered that his Soul Power had reached rank 15.
• Zhu Fan asked Dai Chengfeng where the killing intent had come from and whether he had truly been unconscious for three days.

Dai Chengfeng woke after three days unconscious and discovered that his First Soul Skill had evolved with blood-red killing energy, giving him an alternative Divine Slaughter's Domain. In Star Luo City, Emperor Dai An opened an urgent dispatch from Wu'an City and reacted with shock.

• Dai Chengfeng told Zhu Fan that he had dreamed of a throne and a red sword, then tamed the killing intent blocking his way toward it.
• Dai Chengfeng activated Innate Geng Metal Qi and revealed its golden energy, now threaded with blood-red lightning and killing intent.
• Dai Chengfeng recognized the new power as an alternative Divine Slaughter's Domain and wondered whether he could one day combine it with the domain gained in Slaughter City.
• Dai Chengfeng sank back into a heavy sleep while an urgent dispatch from Wu'an City reached Emperor Dai An in Star Luo City.
• Dai An assumed Dai Chengfeng had sent the report to beg for mercy, then crushed the Dragon Throne's armrest after opening it.

After Dai An learned that Dai Chengfeng had saved Wu'an City from the Heaven Dou Empire, he named him the leading candidate for Crown Prince and ordered rewards for the defenders. Ten days later, Dai Chengfeng recovered and began planning to seek Immortal Herbs, but Zhu Fan told him that a fallen Vanguard Death Soldier’s family member insisted on asking him a question.

• Dai An read Dai Chengfeng’s account of turning the battle at Wu'an City and praised his courage to Zhu Hongye.
• Zhu Hongye declared Dai Chengfeng the finest in the empire and the best in the world, and Dai An decided he should become Crown Prince.
• Dai An ordered pay for the soldiers and their fallen comrades’ families, summoned Dai Xuan, and said he would personally reward Dai Chengfeng.
• Ten days later, Dai Chengfeng recovered from his wounds and considered obtaining Immortal Herbs to improve his Soul Power and White Tiger Spirit.
• Dai Chengfeng discussed the memorial and increased rewards with Zhu Fan, who told him that a fallen Vanguard Death Soldier’s family member wanted to ask him a question in person.

Dai Chengfeng visited Xu Feng’s impoverished mother, who asked whether her son had fought bravely and deserved the people of Wu'an City. After reassuring her, Dai Chengfeng vowed to forge a unified realm and bring eternal peace, and Zhu Fan pledged to support him.

• Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan traveled to the North Suburbs to visit Xu Feng’s mother, despite Zhu Fan’s warning that she might have ulterior motives.
• Dai Chengfeng found Xu Feng’s frail mother living alone in a dilapidated cottage and learned she wanted to ask him one question.
• Xu Feng’s mother asked whether her son had been brave in battle and whether he had held Dai Chengfeng back; Dai Chengfeng declared Xu Feng the bravest of the Three Armies and a pride of the Star Luo Empire.
• Xu Feng’s mother spoke fondly of the peach tree her son had planted, while Dai Chengfeng reflected on the suffering caused by the world’s endless wars.
• Dai Chengfeng vowed to forge the Human Emperor’s Sword, unite the lands, and bring eternal peace; Zhu Fan was moved and offered to serve as his vanguard.

After learning why Xu Feng had lived in poverty, Dai Chengfeng received Dai An’s letter explaining the truce and promising him a sixty-thousand-year soul bone if he returned to Star Luo City. Dai Chengfeng decided to travel to Heaven Dou for the Immortal Herbs, then turned his attention to avenging the fallen soldiers at Wu Ping City.

• Dai Chengfeng learned that Xu Feng had given most of his military pay to the widows of his fallen comrades, and his Soul Power reached rank 16 after a month of cultivation.
• Zhu Fan told Dai Chengfeng that he had arranged support for the fallen soldiers’ widows, then delivered a secret letter from Dai An.
• Dai An explained that Star Luo had agreed to a temporary ceasefire and promised Dai Chengfeng a sixty-thousand-year Spirit Condensing Wisdom Head Soul Bone, while ordering him to return before year’s end and follow the Ancestral Method.
• Dai Chengfeng concluded that he could not safely follow Dai An’s wishes, so he planned to travel to Heaven Dou to obtain the Immortal Herbs and return after acquiring his first three soul rings.
• Dai Chengfeng vowed to avenge Xu Feng, Bai Zhan, Yin Xu, Yin Ming, Ye Songxing, Wang Xincheng, and the 352 other soldiers by heading toward Wu Ping City.

Dai Chengfeng planned to avenge Wu'an City's fallen soldiers by preparing an unusual attack on Wu Ping City, ordering siege equipment built while the road was repaired. Five and a half months later, he reached soul power level 20 and set out with Zhu Fan to obtain his second spirit ring before taking revenge.

• Dai Chengfeng ordered Zhu Yan to build siege equipment and repair the road to Wu Ping City, leaving Zhu Yan and Zhu Fan puzzled by the strategy.
• Zhu Yan carried out the order, and Dai An and Zhu Hongye learned of the preparations but decided to wait and see whether Dai Chengfeng had a plan.
• Five and a half months later, Dai Chengfeng broke through to soul power level 20 and resolved to obtain his second spirit ring before attacking Wu Ping City.
• Dai Chengfeng told Zhu Fan they would set off that day, and Zhu Fan asked which Soul Beast he had chosen for his second spirit ring.

Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan traveled to the Tiger Might Mountain Range so Dai Chengfeng could hunt a Blood Tiger for his second Spirit Ring before returning to take revenge on Wu Ping City. After entering the forest, they heard a Blood Tiger’s roar and realized their target was near.

• Dai Chengfeng explained that his five and a half months of preparation had created a chance to strike Wu Ping City and warned Zhu Fan not to let anything go wrong.
• Dai Chengfeng refused Zhu Fan’s suggestion to absorb a Golden Wave Beast’s Spirit Ring and chose to seek a Blood Tiger in the Tiger Might Mountain Range.
• Dai Chengfeng explained that Blood Tigers lived in packs and that a rare Emperor Blood Tiger could strengthen itself and nearby Blood Tigers with a domain.
• Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan reached the mountain range, followed a beast trail, and fought off Soul Beasts as they searched for a Blood Tiger pack.
• Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan heard a killing-intent-filled tiger roar and recognized it as a Blood Tiger.

Dai Chengfeng decided his strengthened body could withstand a 1,500-year Emperor Blood Tiger spirit ring as his second ring, and persuaded Zhu Fan to let him try. After Zhu Fan subdued the tiger herd and Dai Chengfeng killed their leader, Dai Chengfeng began absorbing its purple spirit ring while Zhu Fan watched anxiously.

• Zhu Fan sensed an approximately 1,500-year Emperor Blood Tiger in a cave among a valley's vast blood tiger tribe.
• Dai Chengfeng reasoned that his body training would let him absorb the ring and insisted on trying despite Zhu Fan's warning about the usual second-ring limit.
• Zhu Fan agreed to trust Dai Chengfeng, revealed his eight spirit rings, and fought off the charging blood tigers.
• Dai Chengfeng pierced the Emperor Blood Tiger's heart with Innate Geng Metal Qi, killing it and releasing a purple spirit ring.
• Dai Chengfeng sat down to absorb the 1,500-year ring as Zhu Fan stayed ready to intervene.