Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Wallace’s Selected Hextech

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu, a poor six-year-old living in Pheasant Village outside Heaven Dou City, prepares for his Martial Soul awakening.
• He reflects on his tragic past: his father, a famous hunter, disappeared three years earlier after villagers became jealous of the family’s wealth. Su Mu was left with only a hunting bow and slightly more than ten Gold Soul Coins.
• While frying sprouted potatoes, Su Mu’s long-awaited system finally activates: Wallace’s Selected Hextech.
• The system allows him to sell food made from system-provided ingredients. The Gold Soul Coins he earns can be used to draw more Hextech upgrades and unlock new functions.
• Since Su Mu is nearly starving and cannot afford ingredients, the system provides a beginner gift pack containing one free Prismatic Hextech selection, allowing him to choose four of seven powerful abilities.
• Su Mu selects:
  1. Studying Abroad – grants an additional Martial Soul slot, with both awakened Martial Souls gaining Ultimate Attributes.
  2. Mainstream Recruitment – summons three pink-haired shop assistants at Soul Elder, Soul Emperor, and Titled Douluo levels.
  3. Hidden Hand – restores him to full health once when his health reaches zero.
  4. Passive Income – gives him a 10% chance of gaining an extra level whenever he levels up.
• The system reveals his summoned assistants: Remiel Dan at level 30, Elysia at level 60, and Cyrene & Demiurge at level 90.
• After the recruitment reward activates, Su Mu is transported into a dreamlike white world filled with petals, flowers, music, and a winged figure who takes him toward a hill.

Character Development

• Su Mu begins as pessimistic, impoverished, and insecure about his future, joking that he may have to become a male model if his Martial Soul awakening fails.
• His desperation turns into excitement when the system appears, though he quickly becomes frustrated by its expensive requirements.
• He demonstrates practical judgment and strategic thinking while evaluating the Hextech options. He prioritizes long-term potential, survival, cultivation speed, and powerful protectors rather than flashy but unreliable rewards.
• His choices show that he understands the importance of Twin Martial Souls, Ultimate Attributes, extra lives, and high-level allies in the Douluo world.

Significant Themes

• Reversal of fate: Su Mu’s miserable circumstances begin to change with the arrival of the system.
• Power and opportunity: The chapter emphasizes how extraordinary abilities can compensate for poverty and a weak starting position.
• Strategic growth: Su Mu chooses abilities that strengthen his foundation and ensure future development instead of relying solely on immediate combat power.
• Humor amid hardship: His complaints, transmigrator jokes, and sarcastic attitude lighten the tragic background.
• Food and commerce as power: The system links Su Mu’s growth to selling fried food, suggesting that business and cooking will become central to his rise.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu’s main interaction is with the newly awakened system. He argues with it, complains about its unreasonable economic demands, and jokingly threatens to curse it later.
• The system behaves like a somewhat unintelligent but strangely helpful partner, providing the gift pack after recognizing that Su Mu is close to death.
• Su Mu has not yet directly interacted with the summoned assistants, but their arrival—especially the level 90 Titled Douluo—promises major changes to his future.
• The chapter also establishes Su Mu’s emotional connection to his missing father and his childhood relationship with the neighboring girl, who awakened with Innate Full Soul Power and a Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul.

Chapter Summary: “Elysia~”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu encounters Elysia and Remiel Dan in a mysterious summoned space. Cyrene appears as an enormous phantom alongside Demiurge, after which Su Mu is returned to his abandoned house.
• He discovers that time moves differently in the summoned space: only minutes passed for him, while several hours elapsed in the real world.
• The system explains that its employees can only work during designated hours and demands 100 Gold Soul Coins to summon them for overtime. Su Mu angrily criticizes the system for making him pay to use his own rewards and for limiting his ability to exploit its benefits.
• The system grants him the abilities or rewards Hidden Hand and Passive Income, though he feels no obvious change from them.
• The next morning, Jiang Nannan visits Su Mu. Her father is dead, and she can no longer support his schooling, so Su Mu initially assumes she has come to borrow money or discuss their engagement.
• Instead, Jiang gives Su Mu ten Gold Soul Coins—the same amount needed for a Martial Soul awakening—and explains that she came to pay respects to his father and ensure Su Mu can still participate in the awakening ceremony.
• Jiang invites Su Mu to dinner, saying her mother has something to discuss. Su Mu suspects this may lead to the classic broken-engagement scenario and decides to settle matters openly.
• At the village square, a Soul Master named Black Bear begins the paid Martial Soul awakening ceremony. Su Mu deliberately waits at the back of the line to avoid drawing attention to his powerful twin Martial Souls.
• Black Bear demonstrates his authority and begins awakening the children one by one, starting with a child who manifests a Blue Silver Grass-like Martial Soul.

Character Developments

• Su Mu remains suspicious and pragmatic. He resents the system’s restrictions and costs but quickly adapts, while continuing to hide his true strength. His bitterness toward Jiang Nannan is complicated by his recognition that she has shown at least some gratitude.
• Jiang Nannan is shown to possess a conscience despite her distance from Su Mu. She returns the exact amount needed for his awakening, suggesting that she remembers Su Mu’s father’s sacrifice and does not intend to abandon him completely.
• Su Mu’s father remains an important emotional presence through his past sacrifice. Su Mu believes his father gave up his life helping Jiang Nannan and struggles with the feeling that the sacrifice may not have been worth it.
• Elysia, Remiel Dan, and Cyrene are introduced or reinforced as mysterious system employees or summoned figures, though their deeper roles remain unclear.
• Black Bear is established as a low-level but authoritative Soul Master responsible for conducting the village’s awakening ceremony.

Significant Themes

• Gratitude and debt: Jiang Nannan’s ten Gold Soul Coins represent an attempt to repay Su Mu’s father, while Su Mu questions whether such repayment can compensate for a life.
• Mistrust and emotional distance: Su Mu’s resentment prevents him from accepting Jiang Nannan’s actions without suspicion.
• Hidden power and restraint: Despite possessing twin Martial Souls with Ultimate Attributes, Su Mu chooses to conceal his abilities and avoid attention.
• System exploitation and unfairness: The system appears beneficial but imposes unexpected restrictions and fees, creating a humorous contrast between promised rewards and practical inconvenience.
• Fate and genre expectations: Su Mu anticipates a conventional “broken engagement” plot and views his circumstances through the lens of a transmigrator familiar with such story patterns.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu questions and insults the system after discovering its overtime fees, while the system refuses to respond and simply continues dispensing rewards.
• Jiang Nannan attempts to help Su Mu financially and invites him to dinner, but Su Mu responds coldly because he associates her family with his father’s death.
• Their exchange reveals unresolved tension: Jiang appears concerned and possibly emotionally attached, while Su Mu assumes she may be preparing to end their engagement.
• At the awakening ceremony, Black Bear interacts formally and harshly with the villagers, collecting payment before allowing each child to undergo the ritual.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu undergoes his Martial Soul awakening in Pheasant Village after bribing the examiner, Black Bear, with ten Gold Soul Coins.
• He awakens two Martial Souls:
  • Blue Silver Grass, inherited from his mother. The system grants it the Ultimate Attribute of Life, transforming it into the Life Blue Silver Emperor.
  • Experience Book, inherited from his father. It receives the Ultimate Attribute of Rule, evolving into a rule-based Martial Soul with the ability Text Decree.
• Text Decree allows Su Mu to write enhancement or recovery effects on paper and attach them to objects. The paper eventually recovers, but the effects have limited durations and uses.
• Su Mu tests his Soul Power and is revealed to possess Innate Full Soul Power, identifying him as a rare genius despite the examiner dismissing Blue Silver Grass as useless.
• Rather than reveal his true abilities, Su Mu tells everyone that he awakened an ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul with little talent. He begins considering how to use Text Decree to enhance food and make money.
• Returning home, Su Mu finds Jiang Nannan waiting for him. He falsely tells her that he has no cultivation talent and plans to become a merchant or hunter instead of attending an academy.
• Jiang Nannan invites him to dinner at her home, where her mother has prepared a generous meal and reveals that she has been growing vegetables to help reduce Su Mu’s expenses.
• During dinner, Jiang Nannan’s mother brings up the marriage arrangement previously made between Su Mu and Jiang Nannan’s fathers. She suggests that the two settle the engagement before Su Mu leaves to study and marry when they are old enough.
• Su Mu is shocked, realizing the situation is not unfolding as he expected.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Gains extraordinary power through his twin Martial Souls but immediately chooses to conceal it. His Life Blue Silver Emperor disappoints him because he expected a combat-oriented ability, though he recognizes its potential for healing and commerce. His Rule-based Experience Book gives him a highly versatile support ability, and he begins planning how to exploit it financially.
• Jiang Nannan: Shows strong concern for Su Mu and remains emotionally invested in his future. Her hopes of leaving the village and pursuing a better life fade when Su Mu claims to lack talent, though she accepts the idea of living as an ordinary person.
• Jiang Nannan’s mother: Demonstrates practical kindness and continued care toward Su Mu by providing meals, growing vegetables, and helping him save money. She also takes the initiative in addressing the children’s long-standing arranged engagement.
• The awakening examiner: Judges Su Mu by the apparent usefulness of his Martial Soul and fails to recognize the significance of his twin Martial Souls, Ultimate Attributes, and Innate Full Soul Power.

Significant Themes

• Hidden potential and misjudgment: Su Mu is treated as ordinary because his visible Martial Soul appears to be Blue Silver Grass, while his true abilities make him exceptionally gifted.
• Power versus practicality: Su Mu considers using his supernatural abilities not for glory but for business, food production, and financial independence.
• Family and mutual support: Jiang Nannan’s family has quietly supported Su Mu for years, emphasizing the importance of kindness and community in village life.
• Destiny versus personal choice: The arranged marriage introduces a conflict between Su Mu’s plans and the expectations placed on him by his family’s past decisions.
• The burden of chance: The system’s random Ultimate Attributes shape Su Mu’s future, giving him powerful but unexpected abilities.

Character Interactions

• Black Bear conducts Su Mu’s awakening and dismisses his apparent Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, unaware of its evolution.
• Su Mu hides his success from the village and deceives Jiang Nannan by claiming he has no talent.
• Jiang Nannan shows concern by questioning him about his awakening and inviting him to eat with her family.
• Jiang Nannan’s mother treats Su Mu warmly, reminds him of her past assistance, and directly raises the possibility of his marriage to Jiang Nannan.
• The chapter ends with Su Mu stunned by the marriage proposal, setting up the next conflict.

Chapter Summary: “Paying Respects to My Father”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After dinner, Su Mu becomes troubled by Jiang Nannan and her mother’s expectations of him. Unable to sleep, he goes to the bamboo grove to visit his father’s cenotaph.
• He discovers Jiang Nannan secretly paying respects to his father. Wearing mourning clothes, she burns spirit money, offers food, and prays gratefully for the opportunities Su Mu’s father gave her.
• Jiang Nannan explains that Su Mu’s father paid for her Martial Soul awakening, allowing her to change her fate. She promises to support Su Mu despite his refusal to attend school or pursue cultivation, and vows to become strong enough to protect him.
• After Jiang Nannan leaves, Su Mu approaches the cenotaph and explains his own plans to his father. He wants to become stronger and survive the coming large-scale war, but believes commerce—particularly selling fried chicken and acquiring abilities—is a better path than formal study.
• Su Mu shares wine with his father according to local funeral customs, then stays until dawn before returning home.
• During working hours, Su Mu re-enters the mysterious system space and attempts to summon his employees. The system informs him that he has no operating area and demands 100 Gold Soul Coins per hour to dispatch employees for field work.
• Angry at the system’s fees and restrictions, Su Mu refuses to pay and decides to find equipment in Heaven Dou City so he can establish a stall and begin operating normally.
• On the journey, he uses the Text Decree to grant himself a major speed increase, consuming part of his Soul Power. He also saves a “Speed Force +50%” paper for emergencies.
• Su Mu reflects on his father’s possible connection to books and realizes that his Martial Soul may have inherited his father’s extraordinary learning ability, enhanced by the Text Decree’s rule-altering power. He jokingly considers whether writing Tang San’s name could cause him harm.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Becomes more reflective about his father, Jiang Nannan, and his own ambitions. He remains skeptical of conventional education and cultivation, but is increasingly aware that he must grow stronger because of future wars and powerful enemies. His confidence in the Text Decree and his inherited abilities also grows.
• Jiang Nannan: Reveals deep gratitude and emotional loyalty toward Su Mu’s father. Her willingness to support Su Mu despite his unconventional goals shows patience, affection, and a strong sense of responsibility. She also demonstrates a determination to cultivate and protect him.
• Su Mu’s father: Though absent and presumed dead, his influence remains important. His kindness enabled Jiang Nannan’s rise and may have passed unusual talents or secrets to Su Mu.
• Elysia and the system: Elysia remains playful and teasing, while the system is shown to be rigid, transactional, and frustratingly focused on charging Su Mu for operational functions.

Significant Themes

• Gratitude and filial respect: Jiang Nannan and Su Mu honor the deceased in different but sincere ways, emphasizing the lasting impact of kindness.
• Different paths to success: Su Mu rejects the traditional route of schooling and cultivation in favor of business, practical skills, and system-based growth.
• Protection and responsibility: Jiang Nannan’s promise to protect Su Mu contrasts with his desire to become self-reliant and prepare for future conflict.
• Hidden power and inheritance: Su Mu begins to recognize that his father may have left behind more than memories, including extraordinary abilities connected to books and learning.
• Individual agency versus larger forces: Su Mu wants a peaceful life, but impending war, powerful figures such as Tang San, and the dangerous world force him to pursue strength.

Character Interactions

• Jiang Nannan and Su Mu’s father: Jiang Nannan expresses profound appreciation for his generosity and credits him with transforming her life.
• Jiang Nannan and Su Mu: Although they do not speak directly in the graveyard, her words reveal that she accepts Su Mu’s choices and intends to support him. Su Mu’s opinion of her improves after witnessing her sincerity.
• Su Mu and his father: Su Mu speaks to the cenotaph about his plans, fears, and need to become stronger, symbolically seeking understanding and approval.
• Su Mu and the system: Their exchange is comedic and confrontational, with Su Mu frustrated by the system’s refusal to provide free assistance and its constant demands for payment.
• Su Mu and Elysia: Elysia lightly scolds and teases him for oversleeping while helping him return to consciousness in the system space.

Chapter Summary

Plot and key events

• Su Mu searches an old market for an affordable mobile food cart but rejects an overpriced, dilapidated cart and several unsuitable alternatives.
• He meets Fei’er, a confident and charming customization-factory owner, who offers to build him a complete food stall for one Gold Soul Coin.
• Su Mu evaluates the cost and agrees, recognizing that the customized cart—with a fryer, teppanyaki grill, barbecue space, and workstations—is worth the price.
• At Fei’er’s factory, workers rapidly construct a new mobile barbecue cart, complete with bicycle pedals. The cart is also designed for future upgrades to a Soul-powered or automatic drive system.
• Su Mu takes the completed cart to a food-stall district outside Heaven Dou City, an area frequented by travelers, soldiers, and Soul Masters but largely ignored by authorities.
• He sets up his stall with signage, lights, road markers, and a canopy, then prepares to activate the system and summon employees for his food business.

Character developments

• Su Mu demonstrates practicality and financial awareness by carefully comparing prices and judging whether the cart and equipment are worth the investment.
• He shows entrepreneurial determination, moving forward with his food business despite initial setbacks.
• Fei’er is introduced as a skilled, business-minded, and flirtatiously affectionate manufacturer who combines charm with efficient leadership.
• The factory workers and veteran craftsman are shown to be highly capable, completing a sophisticated cart in only fifteen minutes and planning for future technological upgrades.

Themes

• Entrepreneurship and self-reliance: Su Mu invests in equipment and chooses an ideal location to establish his business.
• Innovation and modernization: The cart blends traditional food-stall work with advanced Soul-powered technology and future upgrade possibilities.
• Value and negotiation: The chapter emphasizes the importance of judging quality, price, and long-term usefulness rather than simply seeking the cheapest option.
• Building a new livelihood: Su Mu’s stall represents the beginning of the Innate Food World and his effort to create a place where ordinary food business can flourish.

Character interactions

• Su Mu argues with the unreasonable old market owner, who attempts to charge twenty Gold Soul Coins for a worthless cart.
• Nearby vendors compete for Su Mu’s business, but Fei’er stands out by offering a complete customized solution.
• Fei’er treats Su Mu like a younger brother, pulling him close, teasing him, and personally guiding him through the factory.
• The veteran craftsman explains the cart’s future upgrade options, showing that Su Mu’s business can expand as he earns more money.
• The chapter ends with Su Mu addressing the system and demanding that it summon employees, signaling the imminent start of his food enterprise.

Chapter Summary: “Today, Young Master Bei Picks Up the Tab for Everyone”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The system detects that Su Mu’s food stall qualifies as a business location and deploys three employees: Cyrene, Elysia, and Remiel.
• The three beautiful women attract immediate attention when they arrive, prompting Su Mu to consider giving them uniforms. However, the system’s uniforms are overpriced, so he decides their appearance will serve as free advertising.
• Before opening, a wealthy and lecherous middle-aged man approaches the stall and attempts to recruit the women by offering them high-paying jobs in Heaven Dou City’s Inner City.
• Remiel rejects him, while Cyrene intimidates him by displaying powerful Soul Power and freezing a drink until the glass breaks. Remiel then uses her ability to fly and frighten him further.
• The man is pressured into purchasing food. Remiel gives him the expensive “Soul Master Exclusive” menu, forcing him to pay inflated prices. He ends up buying burgers, fried chicken, and cola, spending a huge portion of his savings and leaving in tears.
• Su Mu realizes the stall has enormous profit potential: ingredients cost only a few Copper Soul Coins, while the products are sold for Silver Soul Coins or more.
• The aroma of the freshly cooked food attracts Tang Ya and Bei Bei. Tang Ya notices the prices but decides to order one of everything.
• When Tang Ya looks at Cyrene, she briefly experiences vivid memories of her past, including the destruction of the Tang Sect. Cyrene senses that something about Tang Ya is unusual, likely connected to her Devouring Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
• The chapter ends with Tang Ya enthusiastically ordering the entire menu, suggesting that Bei Bei may be paying for the feast.

Character Developments

• Su Mu becomes more confident as a business owner. He recognizes the stall’s strong earning potential and allows his attractive employees to draw customers despite the attention they receive.
• Cyrene, Elysia, and Remiel establish themselves as assertive, powerful, and highly effective employees. They combine customer service with intimidation and aggressive sales tactics.
• Cyrene reveals considerable ice-based Soul Power, roughly at Rank 50, and appears capable of sensing or triggering unusual reactions in others.
• Remiel demonstrates flight and uses her overwhelming presence to force customers into buying food.
• Tang Ya is introduced as emotionally burdened by the destruction of the Tang Sect. Her encounter with Cyrene briefly awakens painful memories, but she quickly shifts into an energetic and impulsive customer.
• Bei Bei acts protectively toward Tang Ya, guiding her back to her seat when she becomes disturbed. His presence also connects him to the chapter’s title, implying that he will cover the expensive order.

Significant Themes

• Business and profit: The chapter emphasizes the stall’s extremely high profit margins and Su Mu’s growing interest in commercial success.
• Power and intimidation: The employees use their overwhelming abilities to reverse the usual power dynamic, frightening and exploiting a customer who initially intended to take advantage of them.
• Appearance and attraction: The women’s beauty draws crowds and functions as an unintended but effective marketing strategy.
• Trauma and memory: Tang Ya’s reaction to Cyrene hints at unresolved grief from the Tang Sect’s destruction.
• Fish-out-of-water comedy: Modern fast food, pricing, and sales techniques clash humorously with the Soul Land setting.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu privately complains about the employees’ extravagant appearance but ultimately accepts its value as advertising.
• The lecherous customer attempts to flirt with and recruit the women, only to be humiliated and forced into buying overpriced food.
• Cyrene intimidates the man with ice and Soul Power, while Remiel uses polite language and supernatural movement to pressure him.
• Elysia and Remiel participate in the aggressive upselling, turning a simple meal into an expensive purchase.
• Tang Ya and Bei Bei arrive as customers. Tang Ya’s interaction with Cyrene triggers visions of her past, while Bei Bei helps calm and seat her.
• Tang Ya’s decision to order everything on the menu promises a major sale and likely places the financial burden on Bei Bei.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu’s food stall becomes overwhelmed with customers after word spreads about his fried chicken, burgers, and fries.
• A fat customer is dismissed by Elysia after finishing his order, comically fleeing as though escaping danger.
• Su Mu discovers that the benefits of his father’s former Martial Soul remain after his own Martial Soul’s transformation. Because of this, he can prepare familiar dishes faster and with greater precision.
• Tang Ya and Bei Bei arrive and sample the food. Tang Ya is immediately captivated by the fried chicken and chicken-leg burger, while Bei Bei initially feels embarrassed about eating such a large burger in public.
• Tang Ya urges Bei Bei to demonstrate how to eat the burger properly, then snatches it back after he enjoys it. She becomes especially obsessed with the burger’s sweet and spicy sauce and orders ten more.
• Business rapidly expands. Fries are the most popular basic item, but Su Mu’s special sweet-chili ketchup makes them far more delicious than ordinary fries.
• Cyrene helps Su Mu endure the heat and grease of cooking by cooling him with her ice powers, while Elysia and Remiel manage customers, organize the stall, serve food, clean tables, and collect payment.
• The stall’s success confirms Su Mu’s belief that the system’s Hextech technology was the correct choice and the main reason his first-day earnings are so high.
• During the post-lunch lull, Tang Ya and Bei Bei are revealed to have eaten an enormous amount—around twenty whole chickens between them. Their powerful digestion and lack of fullness allow them to keep eating far beyond normal limits.
• Bei Bei concludes that ordinary Soul Beast meat, despite being nutritious, cannot compare with the flavor of Su Mu’s fried chicken.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Demonstrates improved cooking ability and recognizes the lasting advantages of his transformed Martial Soul. His confidence in the food stall and the system’s Hextech grows as the business becomes a sensation.
• Tang Ya: Shifts from curiosity to complete enthusiasm, becoming openly gluttonous and emotionally revived by the food. Her earlier headache and gloom disappear, and she eagerly orders more of everything.
• Bei Bei: Begins shy and reserved, worrying about proper behavior in public, but quickly becomes absorbed in the food. His enjoyment leads him to reflect humorously on how unsatisfying his former diet and life had been.
• Cyrene: Shows practical concern for Su Mu by using her ice abilities to cool him while he works.
• Elysia and Remiel: Act as capable attendants, maintaining order and supporting the stall’s sudden surge in business.
• The customers: Their enthusiastic response establishes Su Mu’s food as a novelty capable of outperforming familiar dishes in the Douluo world.

Significant Themes

• Food as a source of joy and transformation: The fried chicken does more than satisfy hunger; it lifts Tang Ya’s mood and gives Bei Bei a new appreciation for everyday pleasure.
• Innovation and adaptation: Su Mu’s unfamiliar fast food succeeds because it combines new recipes with existing tastes, such as fries, sauces, and fried meat.
• Teamwork: The stall’s success depends on everyone contributing—Su Mu cooking, Cyrene cooling him, and Elysia and Remiel handling customers and logistics.
• Humorous exaggeration: Enormous portions, extreme appetites, and customers treating the stall like a dangerous but irresistible attraction create much of the chapter’s comedy.
• The value of ordinary happiness: Bei Bei’s realization that delicious food makes life feel less “bland” highlights how simple pleasures can matter even in a world focused on cultivation and martial strength.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu teasingly observes the fat customer’s misery while Elysia dismisses him without sympathy.
• Tang Ya enthusiastically praises Su Mu’s food and questions how to eat the oversized burger.
• She pressures Bei Bei to demonstrate, teasing him about being embarrassed and asserting her authority as his teacher.
• Bei Bei’s enjoyment of the burger makes Tang Ya jealous and prompts her to reclaim it.
• Cyrene silently supports Su Mu during the rush by cooling him with her ice power.
• Tang Ya and Bei Bei argue playfully over how many chickens each ate, revealing their competitive but comfortable relationship.

Chapter Summary: “Hailstorm Rain, Regret Comes Too Late”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu, Elysia, Remiel, and the adult Cyrene operate their fried-chicken stall behind the cart near Heaven Dou City.
• Business is unexpectedly successful. In only four or five hours, they earn roughly ninety-six Gold Soul Coins, convincing Su Mu that the stall could eventually generate a fortune.
• Su Mu notices a storm approaching and decides to close early. Tang Ya and Bei Bei, having finished arguing over their food, order ten more fried chickens as takeout. Tang Ya pays generously, offering ten Gold Soul Coins for food worth only three.
• The system informs Su Mu that the fixed operating area has ended and that keeping his summoned employees outside will require additional payment. Unwilling to spend his earnings, Su Mu dismisses them and attempts to return alone.
• He rides downhill successfully at first, but the road outside the city becomes rough and steep. A sudden hailstorm then traps him on the road, forcing him to shelter inside the cart.
• Su Mu regrets not modifying a Soul Power motorcycle, realizing that his attempt to save ten Silver Soul Coins has left him struggling through the storm with a bicycle.
• After briefly falling asleep, he awakens feverish. When the rain stops, he pushes the hail-covered cart uphill and eventually returns to the village before nightfall.
• At home, he locks the cart outside, takes a hot bath, and goes to bed. His Life Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul gradually suppresses his fever, allowing him to recover while he sleeps.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Demonstrates strong business sense by carefully calculating costs, sales, and potential profits. However, his frugality causes practical problems, and he learns that saving a small amount can create much greater losses later. His growing savings also bring him closer to pursuing a Soul Ring, though he worries about the risks and cost of failure.
• Elysia: Remains cheerful and involved in the stall’s operation, questioning Su Mu’s decisions and helping pack up the business.
• Remiel: Acts efficiently and takes responsibility for customer service, offering Tang Ya and Bei Bei takeout while the others prepare to leave.
• Tang Ya: Reveals herself to be an enthusiastic and wealthy customer, eating heavily and spending far more than necessary on extra fried chicken.
• Bei Bei: Participates in the earlier dispute with Tang Ya and reluctantly pays for his share of the food.
• Fei’er: Briefly interacts with Su Mu as he passes her modification shop, maintaining a friendly relationship with him.

Significant Themes

• Frugality versus practicality: Su Mu’s refusal to spend a small amount on a better vehicle directly leads to hardship during the storm.
• Risk and investment: His growing business offers financial opportunities, but future goals—especially obtaining a Soul Ring—require potentially dangerous investments.
• Unexpected success: The stall becomes profitable much faster than Su Mu expected, suggesting that ordinary food can become a valuable commodity in this world.
• Hard work and resilience: Despite illness, difficult terrain, and severe weather, Su Mu continues pushing the cart and successfully returns home.
• Regret and delayed realization: The chapter’s title is reflected in Su Mu’s belated understanding that his earlier decision to save money was shortsighted.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu explains the stall’s financial situation and strategy to Elysia, who is surprised by the customers’ limited wealth.
• Remiel directly serves Tang Ya and Bei Bei, leading to Tang Ya’s large takeout order.
• Tang Ya’s generosity contrasts with Su Mu’s careful calculations, while Bei Bei bears the financial burden of their food dispute.
• Su Mu exchanges a brief greeting with Fei’er on the road.
• His thoughts about Jiang Nannan and the others show that he remains aware of his neighbors, though he does not interact with them directly in the chapter.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After dreaming about cooking fried chicken with Elysia and Cyrene, Su Mu wakes up exhausted and sore from working in the rain the previous day.
• Determined to improve his working conditions, he decides to spend a Gold Soul Coin modifying his bicycle and food cart into a Soul Power-powered vehicle.
• At the Modification Factory, Old James—an eccentric, highly skilled modification Soul Engineer—examines Su Mu’s bicycle and replaces its mechanical chain system with a Level One Soul Guidance Formation.
• The modification is completed almost instantly. The bicycle becomes a smooth, scooter-like vehicle with a comfortable seat, handlebars, and Soul Power propulsion.
• Su Mu pays for the upgrade and rides to the Food Street, where customers are already waiting for his fried chicken. Elysia and the others join the queue, and business quickly becomes lively again.
• Meanwhile, a middle-aged man spies on the vendors from a nearby building. He reveals that he has cut off the Modification Factory’s materials, repairs, and supply channels in an attempt to ruin Fei’er’s business and force her to submit to him.
• He orders his subordinate, Zhou Yu, to destroy the vendors and further weaken the factory.

Character Developments

• Su Mu becomes more practical and willing to invest in himself. The hardships of working in the rain convince him that saving money at the expense of his health is foolish.
• Old James is introduced as the Modification Factory’s sole Soul Engineer and one of the greatest modification experts in Heaven Dou City. His confidence and speed demonstrate his exceptional skill.
• Fei’er appears in a distinctive cyberpunk-inspired outfit, showing her fashionable, capable, and somewhat self-conscious personality. Her brief retreat after seeing Su Mu suggests she cares about his impression of her.
• The middle-aged antagonist is revealed to be deliberately targeting Fei’er, using economic pressure and violence to coerce her.

Significant Themes

• Practicality versus frugality: Su Mu learns that money should be used to improve his life rather than forcing himself to endure unnecessary hardship.
• Technology and innovation: Soul Guidance technology transforms ordinary machinery into advanced, efficient equipment.
• Independence under pressure: Fei’er’s factory is threatened by a powerful rival, creating conflict between her independence and his coercive demands.
• Community and loyal customers: Su Mu’s growing customer base, including Elysia and the others, suggests that his food stall is becoming an important gathering point.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu and Old James interact during the vehicle modification, with James teasingly questioning Su Mu’s understanding of technology while proudly introducing himself.
• Fei’er and the factory workers exchange banter, revealing the workers’ familiarity with her personality and their fear of her authority.
• Su Mu’s return to the Food Street brings him together with Elysia and the waiting customers, reinforcing his growing popularity.
• The chapter ends with the antagonist directing Zhou Yu to attack Su Mu and the other vendors, setting up a conflict between them and the Modification Factory’s enemies.

Chapter Summary: “Kill Them All, I Say”

Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu’s fried-chicken stall attracts an unexpected visit from Fei’er, owner of the Modification Factory, accompanied by Old James.
• Su Mu welcomes them with fried chicken, fries, taro sweet potato balls, burgers, and iced cola. Old James reveals that he is originally from the Sun Moon Empire and has experience with its soul-tool technology and beverages.
• Fei’er enjoys the food and proposes a partnership: Su Mu would provide his cooking skills while her Modification Factory would provide space for a permanent fried-chicken shop, with profits split evenly. Su Mu agrees to consider the offer.
• The meeting is interrupted when members of the Red Fang Gang accuse Su Mu of putting razor blades in their drinks after one gang member develops a small blister on his tongue. They vandalize the stall and threaten the business.
• Remiel steps forward to defend Su Mu, revealing herself as a three-ring Soul Master. Su Mu deliberately prevents Cyrene from intervening so that Cyrene’s overwhelming strength will not attract attention or expose his hidden capabilities.
• The Red Fang Gang summons reinforcements and attempts to overwhelm Remiel. A fighter using a bamboo pole attacks, but Remiel quickly defeats two thugs with her light sword.
• The gang’s leader, Gao Liangping, reveals that the attack is connected to the Gao Family, which apparently controls or intimidates businesses in Heaven Dou City. He threatens to shut down Su Mu’s stall and boasts that the Gao Family claims ownership over local opportunities and profits.
• Gao Liangping retreats with his men after failing to overpower Su Mu’s group. The frightened customers leave, though Su Mu suffers little financial loss because orders were paid for in advance.
• After the gang departs, Remiel suggests secretly frightening them, while Elysia warns that doing so could be dangerous. The chapter ends with Elysia proposing a much more extreme solution: killing them all.

Character Development

• Su Mu shows growing confidence as a businessman and recognizes that his success may come from his own abilities rather than solely from Fei’er’s assistance. He also demonstrates caution by restraining Cyrene and choosing not to reveal excessive power.
• Fei’er becomes more openly supportive of Su Mu, treating him as a friend and potential business partner. Her knowledge of the Red Fang Gang establishes her as someone familiar with Heaven Dou City’s darker commercial conflicts.
• Old James is revealed to be a native of the Sun Moon Empire and an experienced soul-tool technician. His appreciation of Su Mu’s cola strengthens the connection between his past and Su Mu’s unusual products.
• Remiel proves herself dependable and combat-capable. Despite being only a three-ring Soul Master, she confidently protects the stall and defeats multiple attackers.
• Elysia acts as a calm organizer during the crisis, protecting customers and assessing the consequences. Her final suggestion shows a surprisingly ruthless side beneath her practical behavior.
• Cyrene remains the group’s hidden trump card. Her potential power is so great that Su Mu must prevent her from acting openly.

Significant Themes

• Business expansion and entrepreneurship: Su Mu’s stall is becoming successful enough to attract both legitimate investors and dangerous competitors.
• Hidden strength and secrecy: Su Mu must balance defending himself with concealing the identities and abilities of his powerful companions.
• Corruption and intimidation: The Gao Family and Red Fang Gang represent the way powerful local groups monopolize business through violence and threats.
• Friendship and cooperation: Fei’er and Old James’s visit emphasizes Su Mu’s growing network of allies in Heaven Dou City.
• Escalation of violence: A suspicious complaint over the cola quickly develops into a gang attack, ending with the protagonists considering lethal retaliation.
• Cultural contrast: Old James’s comments about Sun Moon beverages highlight differences between the Sun Moon Empire and the other mainland kingdoms, while also emphasizing the novelty of Su Mu’s modern-style food and drinks.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu warmly hosts Fei’er and Old James, thanking them for modifying his vehicle and identifying them as his first friends in Heaven Dou City.
• Fei’er praises Su Mu’s food and attempts to recruit him into a joint business venture.
• Old James discusses his Sun Moon background while comparing his childhood drinks with Su Mu’s cola.
• The Red Fang Gang confronts Su Mu through threats and property destruction, prompting Remiel to defend him.
• Fei’er identifies the gang and explains their connection to the Gao Family.
• Remiel battles the gang’s fighters while Su Mu deliberately holds Cyrene back.
• After the conflict, Remiel, Elysia, and Su Mu’s group debate how to respond, with Elysia ending the chapter by advocating the most violent option.

Chapter Summary: “Let Me Be Your Eyes”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Elysia and Remiel make shocking remarks and Su Mu looks at them eagerly, Saifeier jokes about the employees’ personalities but then sincerely offers Su Mu future assistance from the modification shop. He emphasizes that although he and his companions lack combat strength, they can still be useful through their technical skills.
• The Red Fang Gang’s earlier disruption severely damages business at the market. Many vendors leave, customers disappear, and Su Mu sells only a little over thirty Gold Soul Coins’ worth of food—most of it before the gang’s interference.
• Su Mu returns to Free-Range Chicken Village at dusk, where Jiang Nannan is waiting for him. She examines his food truck and worries that someone may have caused him trouble.
• Jiang Nannan reveals that she has received a recommendation opportunity for Shrek Academy after a stronger student was admitted elsewhere. She will leave in about a month and will not be able to return to the village often.
• She asks Su Mu to continue cultivating even though he does not intend to attend school. Su Mu reassures her that he is still cultivating and explains that he dislikes wasting time on theoretical schooling, not cultivation itself.
• Su Mu jokingly—or perhaps unintentionally affectionately—says that Jiang Nannan can be “his eyes” and “his brain,” recalling that his father may have supported her because she could compensate for Su Mu’s lack of interest in formal education.
• Jiang Nannan becomes intensely flustered by his words and retreats to her room. She then suggests that they postpone the stall and go hunting for Su Mu’s next Soul Ring the following day.
• Su Mu agrees, reasoning that the Red Fang Gang makes selling risky and that obtaining his Soul Ring is now more important. He plans to rely on Jiang Nannan and her friends for protection while keeping Elysia and the others as emergency support.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Shows practical judgment by abandoning the stall temporarily after poor sales and increased danger. He continues to conceal the existence of his Titled Douluo employee and struggles to explain his unusual circumstances. He also acknowledges Jiang Nannan’s importance as a guide and support in his cultivation.
• Jiang Nannan: Displays deep concern for Su Mu’s safety and finances. Her admission to Shrek Academy marks a major step in her future, but it also makes her anxious about being separated from him. Her emotional reaction to Su Mu’s words reveals growing romantic feelings and sensitivity toward their relationship.
• Saifeier: Moves from amused observer to sincere ally, offering the modification shop’s help and establishing that his group’s value lies in technical expertise rather than combat ability.
• Elysia and Remiel: Their surprising remarks continue to shape the atmosphere around Su Mu, reinforcing that his employees are unusual and unpredictable.
• Old James and Monkey: Leave with Saifeier after the tense encounter, remaining part of his supporting group.

Significant Themes

• Safety versus livelihood: The Red Fang Gang’s interference shows how vulnerable Su Mu’s business is, forcing him to prioritize survival and long-term strength over immediate income.
• Different forms of usefulness: Saifeier highlights that people without combat power can still contribute through craftsmanship, technology, and specialized skills.
• Cultivation and education: Su Mu rejects conventional schooling but not self-improvement, favoring practical cultivation over formal theory.
• Separation and changing futures: Jiang Nannan’s chance to attend Shrek Academy introduces the prospect of physical and emotional distance between her and Su Mu.
• Unspoken affection: Jiang Nannan’s embarrassment and excitement suggest romantic feelings that Su Mu does not fully recognize, creating a contrast between his straightforwardness and her emotional sensitivity.
• Reliance and partnership: Su Mu’s description of Jiang Nannan as his “eyes” and “brain” reflects their complementary relationship and strengthens their bond.

Important Character Interactions

• Saifeier and Su Mu: Saifeier teases Su Mu about his employees before offering genuine help and friendship.
• Jiang Nannan and Su Mu: She worries about his safety, shares her Shrek Academy news, encourages his cultivation, and proposes helping him obtain a Soul Ring.
• Jiang Nannan’s emotional reaction: Su Mu’s statement that she can be “his eyes” affects her deeply, making her visibly flustered and prompting her to retreat.
• Su Mu and his hidden support system: Su Mu considers using Jiang Nannan and her friends for protection while reserving Elysia and the others for emergencies, revealing his continuing need to balance secrecy, safety, and cooperation.

Chapter Summary: God~Lone Bamboo Again

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu wakes to discover Jiang Nannan has already left, while her mother continues working in the courtyard. Observing the peaceful rural life, Su Mu reflects that this simple, pastoral existence may be the kind of life he once longed for.
• Jiang Nannan returns with her two friends, Tang Ya and Bei Bei. Su Mu is surprised to see them, recognizing Tang Ya as the Tang Sect’s leader and Bei Bei as Shrek Academy’s distinguished heir.
• Tang Ya is delighted to reunite with Su Mu, whom she calls the “little fried chicken boss.” She learns that he needs a suitable first Soul Ring and immediately offers to help him hunt one.
• Su Mu reveals his Martial Soul: a Blue Silver Grass covered with golden patterns and possessing an innate Life Attribute. Tang Ya is shocked because she believes Su Mu may be the person the Tang Sect has been searching for to inherit its leadership.
• Tang Ya urges Su Mu to join the Tang Sect, especially after hearing that he does not intend to attend school. Bei Bei tries to restrain her enthusiasm and reminds her that Su Mu is still young.
• Tang Ya initially recommends a Datura Snake, following the traditional Blue Silver Grass cultivation route associated with binding and poison. Su Mu rejects this path, insisting that he wants to preserve and develop his Blue Silver Grass’s Life Attribute and pursue healing abilities.
• Su Mu demonstrates his Martial Soul by healing Tang Ya’s hidden injuries. The restorative effect leaves her extremely satisfied and convinces her that his Life Attribute is exceptionally rare.
• Tang Ya immediately decides that Su Mu must absorb a Life-oriented Soul Ring and changes their destination from the Soul Hunting Forest to the more dangerous and distant Star Dou Great Forest.
• During the two-day journey, Tang Ya repeatedly compares her own poisoned Blue Silver Grass with Su Mu’s healthy, life-filled version. She begins questioning whether her own Martial Soul might have developed differently if she had chosen Life Attribute Soul Rings.
• Upon arriving at the Star Dou Great Forest, the group enters cautiously. Tang Ya arms herself with two Godly Zhuge Crossbows, Bei Bei protects Su Mu, and Jiang Nannan watches the rear.
• Near the forest’s entrance, Tang Ya discovers a century-old Lone Bamboo and suggests it as a possible Soul Ring target for Su Mu.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Becomes more confident in defining his own cultivation path. Rather than imitate the traditional Blue Silver Grass route, he insists on developing his Martial Soul’s Life Attribute and healing potential. His innate full Soul Power and unusual Martial Soul attract the attention of the Tang Sect.
• Tang Ya: Shows her energetic, impulsive personality and strong attachment to the Tang Sect. Su Mu’s Martial Soul excites her because she believes he could become the next Tang Sect leader. His healing ability also causes her to question her own poisoned Blue Silver Grass and the choices that shaped it.
• Bei Bei: Acts as the calm and responsible counterbalance to Tang Ya. He restrains her excessive enthusiasm, protects Su Mu during the journey, and handles practical matters such as paying the carriage driver.
• Jiang Nannan: Continues to support the group quietly and practically. She prepares food and supplies, follows the others into the forest, and remains alert to dangers.
• Mother Jiang: Remains a hardworking, somewhat frail presence whose coughing and daily labor contribute to Su Mu’s appreciation of the peaceful household.

Significant Themes

• Choosing one’s own path: Su Mu refuses to follow the conventional cultivation route for Blue Silver Grass and instead pursues a healing-based path aligned with his Martial Soul’s natural qualities.
• Nature and life: The rural setting, plant imagery, and Life Attribute of Su Mu’s Martial Soul reinforce the chapter’s focus on natural vitality, healing, and harmony.
• Tradition versus innovation: Tang Ya represents established Tang Sect knowledge and the traditional Datura Snake route, while Su Mu challenges those assumptions with his unique Life Attribute.
• Identity and inheritance: Su Mu’s Martial Soul makes him a potential Tang Sect successor, raising questions about whether he will accept the role and how much he will be shaped by the Tang Sect’s legacy.
• Self-doubt and comparison: Tang Ya’s encounter with Su Mu’s Blue Silver Grass leads her to reconsider her own Martial Soul and wonder whether she took the wrong developmental path.

Character Interactions

• Tang Ya enthusiastically welcomes Su Mu and immediately treats him like a prospective Tang Sect member, while Bei Bei repeatedly moderates her impulsiveness.
• Su Mu and Tang Ya debate the proper cultivation route for Blue Silver Grass. Tang Ya recommends poison and binding, but Su Mu argues for healing and Life Attribute development.
• Su Mu’s healing demonstration creates a strong impression on Tang Ya and deepens her interest in him as both a cultivator and possible sect master.
• Jiang Nannan is pleased that Su Mu already knows Tang Ya and Bei Bei, making the expedition more comfortable and cooperative.
• The chapter ends with Tang Ya, Su Mu, Bei Bei, and Jiang Nannan beginning their dangerous search for Su Mu’s first Soul Ring, with the century-old Lone Bamboo as the first candidate.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu rejects the idea of absorbing a century-old Lone Bamboo Soul Ring, preferring even a weak Blue Silver Grass ring because Lone Bamboo’s unusual abilities—such as “Blue Silver pole vaulting”—seem impractical.
• The group is ambushed by a Black Panther Soul Beast. Tang Ya fires a Godly Zhuge Crossbow, injuring it, while Bei Bei and Tang Ya combine their soul skills—Thunderclap Dragon Claw, Thunderous Might, and Blue Silver Entanglement—to restrain and defeat it.
• Su Mu experiments with his own Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul after observing Tang Ya. Instead of producing a powerful entangling ability, his soul power causes ordinary, weak Blue Silver Grass to sprout from the ground.
• This leads Su Mu to realize that his abilities—Ultimate Rule, Learning Behavior, and Practice Makes Perfect—allow him to observe, understand, and potentially modify rules and techniques through learning. His Blue Silver Grass may also be influenced by his father’s Martial Soul and Wallace’s Hextech.
• Su Mu discovers that retracting his Blue Silver Grass restores part of the soul power it consumed, though only half is recovered.
• The group searches the Star Dou Great Forest for two days without finding a suitable hundred-year Life Attribute Soul Beast. Their food supplies are nearly exhausted.
• Bei Bei explains that they have reached the boundary between the forest’s edge region and its more dangerous outer region, where powerful hundred-year Soul Beasts and occasional thousand-year Soul Beasts appear.
• The group agrees that if they do not find a suitable Soul Beast before nightfall, they must leave the forest for safety.
• They descend a thirty-meter cliff in search of new hunting grounds. During the descent, Su Mu notices movement above him and discovers a gray Rock Snake emerging from the cliff, ending the chapter on a dangerous cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Su Mu becomes more aware of the unusual relationship between his Ultimate Rule and his passive learning abilities. He begins to understand that observing another person’s technique can help him reproduce or reinterpret it, though his first attempt produces only ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
• Su Mu also shows maturity by accepting that failing to obtain a Soul Ring immediately will not seriously damage his cultivation. He is willing to wait, save money, or seek help from stronger Soul Masters later.
• Bei Bei demonstrates combat leadership by defeating the Black Panther and organizing the group’s movement through increasingly dangerous territory. He also reassures Su Mu that his Shrek Academy connections can help him find a suitable Soul Ring later.
• Tang Ya acts as the group’s forward scout and protector, reacting quickly to danger and using her Blue Silver Grass effectively in combat.
• Jiang Nannan remains prepared for battle and is identified as a potential match for the Black Panther’s speed-based abilities, though the beast is too weak to provide a worthwhile Soul Ring.

Significant Themes

• Learning through observation: Su Mu’s powers suggest that watching others can allow him to rapidly acquire new techniques, though copying an ability does not necessarily reproduce its original strength.
• The difference between potential and execution: Su Mu possesses powerful principles and unusual abilities, but he must still learn how to apply them effectively.
• Practicality versus ambition: The group balances the desire to obtain the perfect Soul Ring against the dangers of remaining in the forest too long.
• Teamwork and mutual support: The characters cooperate in battle, exploration, resource management, and planning, emphasizing trust and shared responsibility.
• Nature’s escalating danger: The journey from the forest’s edge toward the outer region reflects a rising level of risk, culminating in the unexpected Rock Snake attack.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu and Bei Bei discuss the value and dangers of different Soul Rings, with Bei Bei offering future assistance through his academy connections.
• Tang Ya’s use of Blue Silver Entanglement directly inspires Su Mu to test his own Martial Soul, producing an important insight into his abilities.
• Bei Bei and Tang Ya work together to defeat the Black Panther, while Jiang Nannan and Su Mu observe and support the battle.
• The group discusses their dwindling supplies and agrees on a deadline for retreat, showing practical communication and concern for one another’s safety.
• The chapter closes with Su Mu warning the others about the Rock Snake, shifting the group from exploration back into immediate danger.

Chapter Summary: Green-Ring Dodder ~ The Ultimate Use of Rule

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu and his companions encounter a century-old Rock Snake while traveling through the dangerous fringe region of the forest.
• The group attacks it with crossbow bolts and Tang Ya’s Blue Silver Grass. The injured Rock Snake retaliates by smashing through the rock wall and severing the cable supporting Su Mu.
• Su Mu nearly falls to his death, but Tang Ya’s Blue Silver Grass catches him. When the branch beneath him breaks, he plunges into a nearby lake.
• Underwater, Su Mu realizes that the apparent light and darkness are deceptive. Relying on his theoretical knowledge and the “Rule” associated with his Martial Soul, he avoids swimming toward the false depth and safely reaches the surface.
• After escaping the lake, Su Mu discovers that he has been carried away by a giant Stone Crab. The group captures it, cooks it, and uses the nutritious meat to restore their strength.
• The crab’s shell is preserved as material for Soul Tool crafting, pills, and bone-repairing potions.
• After encountering several Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, the group finds a suitable Soul Ring for Su Mu: a Green-Ring Dodder growing in a bamboo grove.
• Bei Bei explains that Green-Ring Dodder is extremely resilient and can regenerate from even a tiny fragment. Its cultivation can be deliberately reduced to match the desired Soul Ring age, making it especially valuable for healing-type Soul Masters.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Demonstrates calm reasoning and strong will in a life-threatening situation. Instead of panicking underwater, he applies his knowledge of deceptive environmental “Rules” to survive. His luck and unusual Martial Soul make him especially suited to the Green-Ring Dodder.
• Tang Ya: Reacts quickly and protects Su Mu with Blue Silver Grass. She remains energetic and practical, though her enthusiasm for cooking the Stone Crab occasionally overshadows the group’s original mission.
• Bei Bei: Acts as the group’s knowledgeable guide, identifying the Stone Crab’s properties and recognizing the Green-Ring Dodder as the ideal Soul Beast for Su Mu.
• Jiang Nannan: Helps rescue Su Mu and takes care of him afterward by drying his clothes, showing her concern and attentiveness.
• Group dynamic: The group grows more comfortable and familiar with one another, teasing Su Mu and treating him as both a valued companion and a source of unexpected luck.

Significant Themes

• Knowledge and reason overcoming danger: Su Mu survives not through strength, but by correctly interpreting the lake’s deceptive visual signals.
• The importance of rules: His Martial Soul’s ultimate attribute allows him to recognize and exploit hidden principles in the environment.
• Survival and adaptation: The group must contend with increasingly dangerous terrain, Soul Beasts, hunger, and limited resources.
• Luck and usefulness: Su Mu repeatedly encounters valuable resources, such as the Stone Crab and Green-Ring Dodder, reinforcing his unusual fortune.
• Regeneration and resilience: The Green-Ring Dodder symbolizes near-immortality and recovery, making it an ideal match for Su Mu’s healing-oriented abilities.
• Comradeship: The characters protect, feed, tease, and care for one another despite the dangers of the forest.

Important Character Interactions

• Tang Ya and Bei Bei urgently encourage Su Mu during his fall and attempt to guide him to safety.
• Jiang Nannan rushes to rescue Su Mu after discovering that the “rock” carrying him is actually a giant Stone Crab.
• Tang Ya jokes suggestively about the Stone Crab’s medicinal benefits, prompting Su Mu to call her a “female hooligan.”
• Bei Bei and Tang Ya collaborate to capture and cook the crab, while Jiang Nannan cares for Su Mu’s wet clothing.
• The group discusses the value of the crab’s meat and shell, turning an unexpected danger into a useful resource.
• Bei Bei identifies the Green-Ring Dodder and explains its regenerative properties, leading Su Mu to recognize that it is an exceptionally suitable Soul Ring for him.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Su Mu prepare to hunt a roughly three-hundred-year-old Cuscuta Rabbit.
• Jiang Nannan supplies high-concentration alcohol, while Tang Ya uses fire oil bombs from her storage Soul Tool. Because the Soul Beast must be personally killed by the person absorbing its Soul Ring, Su Mu is responsible for delivering the decisive attack.
• Su Mu throws successive fire oil bombs at the Cuscuta Rabbit, improving his accuracy and technique with each throw. The flames spread through the Lone Bamboo Forest, destroying the rabbit’s vines and preventing its escape.
• The Cuscuta Rabbit burns to death, producing a yellow Soul Ring. Although part of the forest and some rabbits are lost, the group confirms that the Soul Ring’s cultivation level remains suitable for Su Mu.
• Bei Bei explains the proper Soul Ring absorption process: Su Mu must sit upright, release his Martial Soul, and use Soul Power to connect with the Soul Ring.
• Su Mu successfully absorbs the Soul Ring without suffering any backlash or injury. His Blue Silver Grass grows from a weak plant with only a few shoots into a much stronger, thicker cluster with more than ten branches and golden patterns in its veins.
• His new soul skill, Blue Silver Vine Ring, allows him to bind a target with Blue Silver Grass and convert his Soul Power into restorative life force.
• Su Mu tests the ability on Jiang Nannan, transferring one-third of his Soul Power to heal injuries, repair bodily damage, and replenish deficiencies caused by poor nutrition and years of cultivation.
• After reaching Level 14 through Soul Ring absorption, Su Mu’s Hextech System activates the “Passive Income” augment, granting him an additional breakthrough and raising him to Soul Power Level 15.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Demonstrates growing combat skill, particularly with thrown weapons, and successfully obtains his first Soul Ring. His Martial Soul becomes significantly stronger, and his first soul skill has an unusually powerful healing and restorative function. His cultivation also receives an extra boost from the Hextech System.
• Jiang Nannan: Acts as Su Mu’s protector during the hunt and becomes the first person to receive the healing effect of his new soul skill. The restoration helps repair long-term physical damage and deprivation.
• Tang Ya: Contributes fire oil bombs and maintains her playful personality by joking that Su Mu owes her fried chicken. She assists Bei Bei in containing the forest fire.
• Bei Bei: Serves as the group’s knowledgeable guide, explaining both the Soul Ring absorption process and the dangers of failure. His calm judgment reassures the others.
• The group: Works efficiently as a team, combining Jiang Nannan’s protection, Tang Ya and Bei Bei’s fire control, and Su Mu’s attacks.

Significant Themes

• Teamwork and trust: Each member contributes according to their strengths, allowing Su Mu to safely obtain his Soul Ring.
• Growth through practice: Su Mu’s improved throwing ability shows that even unfamiliar combat techniques can develop through repeated use.
• Risk and controlled advancement: Soul Ring absorption is presented as extremely dangerous, emphasizing the importance of experience and proper guidance.
• Healing and restoration: Su Mu’s soul skill is not merely offensive or defensive; it can repair accumulated physical damage and potentially restore a person’s condition and talent.
• Rules and destiny: Su Mu recognizes that Soul Beasts, Soul Rings, and cultivation breakthroughs follow powerful laws of the world that ordinary people cannot alter.
• System-assisted progression: The Hextech System introduces an additional advantage, allowing Su Mu to surpass the normal result of his cultivation breakthrough.

Character Interactions

• Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan prepare specialized tools for the hunt, while Tang Ya jokes with Su Mu about repaying her with fried chicken.
• Bei Bei gives Su Mu practical instructions and evaluates his condition before absorption.
• Jiang Nannan protects Su Mu while he attacks the Cuscuta Rabbit and later receives the healing benefits of his soul skill.
• The group collectively reacts with relief when Su Mu successfully reaches the safe stage of Soul Ring absorption.
• Su Mu’s successful healing of Jiang Nannan strengthens their bond and demonstrates the practical value of his newly acquired ability.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Nannan tests Su Mu’s newly acquired restorative soul skill. When Su Mu’s Blue Silver Vine is severed, it remains as a bracelet that can still convert her Soul Power into restorative life force.
• Bei Bei tests the bracelet and realizes its major battlefield advantage: the enhancement remains active even after Su Mu withdraws his Martial Soul, allowing him to support allies from a safer position.
• Su Mu clarifies that the Blue Silver Vine bracelets last only one or two hours and wither faster when their stored life force is consumed, though they provide rapid, almost instant recovery.
• The group safely leaves the Star Dou Great Forest after luring out and killing the Rock Snake. Tang Ya obtains a vine ring and becomes intensely enthusiastic about using it, repeatedly converting her newly cultivated Soul Power into life force.
• Su Mu suspects that Tang Ya’s dependence on the restorative energy is connected to the poison-attribute Soul Ring that damaged the foundation of her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. The life force may be repairing and strengthening it.
• Upon returning to Free-Range Chicken Village, Tang Ya wants to reopen Su Mu’s fried-chicken stall. Before they can do so, Jiang Nannan’s mother begins coughing violently, and Jiang Nannan panics, creating a serious cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Demonstrates increasing mastery of his Blue Silver Grass-based restorative ability. He carefully explains its limitations and shows practical awareness by avoiding over-replenishing Tang Ya’s ring.
• Jiang Nannan: Gains a reusable restorative bracelet but initially compares its modest effect unfavorably with Su Mu’s overwhelming vitality. She remains attentive to her mother’s condition and reacts with alarm when she hears her coughing.
• Bei Bei: Displays strong battlefield insight, immediately recognizing the tactical importance of persistent support skills and relating it to a past defeat involving neglected support-type Soul Masters.
• Tang Ya: Becomes almost addicted to the restorative life force, using it after every bit of Soul Power cultivation. Her renewed willingness to cultivate is a major change from her previous reluctance, suggesting the skill is helping heal her damaged Martial Soul.
• Jiang Nannan’s mother: Continues supporting the group by caring for Su Mu’s motorcycle and cleaning the food cart, but her worsening illness becomes the chapter’s central concern at the end.

Significant Themes

• Support and battlefield strategy: Lasting buffs can protect support Soul Masters while allowing attackers to fight more effectively.
• Healing and renewal: Su Mu’s life-force ability may restore not only physical injuries but also damage to a Martial Soul’s foundation.
• Dependence and temptation: Tang Ya’s pleasure in the restorative energy resembles an addiction, raising questions about the risks of relying too heavily on it.
• Family and care: Jiang Nannan’s mother quietly supports Su Mu and the others, while the group’s return is overshadowed by concern for her health.
• Preparation and limitations: The skill is powerful but temporary, emphasizing the need to understand its duration, consumption rate, and battlefield use.

Character Interactions

• Su Mu guides Jiang Nannan through testing the bracelet and later demonstrates its limitations.
• Bei Bei cooperates with Su Mu to test the skill and discusses its tactical applications.
• Tang Ya teases and bargains with Su Mu for more fried chicken while enthusiastically using the vine ring.
• Bei Bei is astonished by Tang Ya’s sudden dedication to cultivation.
• The chapter ends with Jiang Nannan urgently responding to her mother’s violent coughing, shifting the mood from excitement over Su Mu’s new ability to immediate family crisis.

Chapter Summary: The Strange Illness in Her Chest

Key Plot Points and Events

• Jiang Nannan’s mother suddenly coughs up dark, foamy blood, causing Nannan to panic.
• Bei Bei reminds everyone that Su Mu is now a healing-type Soul Master. Su Mu uses his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and Ultimate Life attribute to stabilize Mother Jiang.
• Su Mu discovers that her condition is not an ordinary illness. A mass of stagnant yin-like Soul Power is lodged in her chest, and he lacks the strength to remove it completely.
• His healing energy restores her color and breathing, but only keeps her condition under control temporarily. He estimates that his Soul Ring can maintain its effect for one or two weeks.
• Su Mu suspects that someone deliberately harmed Mother Jiang. He connects the incident to the Xuanming Sect and its brutal Martial Soul awakening ritual, which requires a highly talented girl as “material.”
• Mother Jiang recalls that a suspicious stranger visited the village the previous day, pretending to inspect or tow away Su Mu’s damaged vehicle. Her coughing worsened after she spoke with him and wiped the vehicle.
• Su Mu concludes that the stranger was likely targeting Mother Jiang rather than the vehicle, suggesting that the Xuanming Sect had been secretly monitoring Jiang Nannan’s family.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: Demonstrates his abilities as a healing Soul Master and becomes increasingly suspicious and investigative. He realizes that the case may involve a deliberate attack rather than natural illness and begins connecting it to the Xuanming Sect.
• Jiang Nannan: Shows deep fear and desperation over her mother’s condition. After Su Mu saves her mother from immediate danger, her gratitude and emotional dependence intensify. She resolves to follow Su Mu for life and repay the favors owed to him and his family.
• Jiang Nannan’s mother: Despite her severe condition, she remains concerned about Nannan’s relationships and urges everyone to stop fighting and communicate peacefully. Her recollection of the suspicious visitor provides the key clue.
• Bei Bei: Remains calm and practical, stopping Nannan from moving her mother and directing attention toward Su Mu’s healing abilities. He helps organize the search for medical treatment.
• Tang Ya: Offers emotional and financial support, assuring Nannan that the Tang Sect will help her and that she should no longer conceal her troubles.

Significant Themes

• Gratitude and loyalty: Nannan views Su Mu’s help as a life-saving debt and becomes determined to devote herself to him.
• Family conflict and reconciliation: Mother Jiang’s words emphasize forgiveness, communication, and abandoning old misunderstandings.
• Hidden threats and conspiracy: The illness appears to be supernatural or Soul Power-related, revealing that powerful organizations may be manipulating ordinary people from the shadows.
• Exploitation of the gifted: The Xuanming Sect’s awakening ritual is presented as cruel and immoral, treating a talented girl as an object rather than a person.
• Limits of power: Although Su Mu possesses a powerful healing attribute, his current Soul Power is insufficient to cure the condition completely, forcing the group to seek outside help.

Important Character Interactions

• Nannan emotionally embraces Su Mu after he stabilizes her mother, reinforcing her gratitude and attachment.
• Bei Bei and Tang Ya work together to comfort Nannan and care for Mother Jiang.
• Tang Ya formally promises Tang Sect support, including financial assistance and protection.
• Su Mu questions Mother Jiang directly, and her account of the suspicious stranger shifts the group’s understanding from “illness” to possible poisoning or deliberate Soul Power contamination.
• The chapter ends with Su Mu identifying the stranger’s visit as likely part of a planned attack connected to Jiang Nannan’s extraordinary talent.

Chapter Summary: “Red Fang Gang Steals Business ~ Fei’er Goes Missing”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu confirms that Jiang Nannan’s family is being targeted as retaliation for a past conflict involving her parents.
• Fearing for Jiang Nannan’s mother’s safety, the group decides to move her to their courtyard in Heaven Dou City’s Inner City, where she can receive better care.
• Because Jiang Nannan cannot afford the treatment, Tang Ya offers to help pay. Jiang Nannan gratefully accepts and promises to repay her kindness.
• Bei Bei prepares to hire a carriage, but Su Mu volunteers to retrieve one using his motorcycle.
• At the Modification Factory, Su Mu learns that the Red Fang Gang has opened three fast-food shops selling food copied from his business. Their products are cheaper but noticeably inferior in quality.
• Su Mu remains unconcerned, confident that the gang cannot reproduce the true quality of his food. He rents a carriage capable of entering the Inner City.
• Su Mu also discovers that Fei’er is absent. She has supposedly gone to Wasteland City with the renovation workers to collect scrap and will not return for one or two days.
• Before leaving, Su Mu retrieves his father’s black iron bow and a hundred arrows from an old well. He tests the bow and demonstrates the physical strength he gained after becoming a Soul Master.
• Su Mu returns dressed in black and joins the others as they prepare to leave Free-Range Chicken Village, likely for an extended period.

Character Developments

• Su Mu: His attitude toward Jiang Nannan and her mother changes significantly. After learning the truth about the past, he lets go of much of his resentment and accepts responsibility for protecting them. He also reveals a more serious, battle-ready side by reclaiming his father’s bow and preparing for danger.
• Jiang Nannan: She is frightened and overwhelmed by the threat against her family, but accepts help from her friends when necessary. Her willingness to rely on Tang Ya shows the depth of her desperation and friendship.
• Tang Ya: Demonstrates genuine loyalty by offering financial assistance for Jiang Nannan’s mother’s treatment without hesitation.
• Bei Bei: Takes practical responsibility for the evacuation, helping organize transport and prioritizing the mother’s safety.
• Fei’er: Her unexplained absence becomes a point of concern. Although she is said to be gathering scrap in Wasteland City, her disappearance may foreshadow future trouble.

Significant Themes

• Friendship and mutual support: Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Su Mu unite to protect Jiang Nannan’s family, showing that friendship involves practical sacrifice rather than mere words.
• Letting go of resentment: Su Mu begins overcoming his long-held hostility after learning the truth about his father’s conflict with Jiang Nannan’s family.
• Threat and insecurity: The Red Fang Gang’s retaliation forces the characters to abandon their home and confront the vulnerability of their livelihoods and loved ones.
• Competition and authenticity: The gang copies Su Mu’s business model, but the inferior quality of their food suggests that genuine skill and care cannot be easily imitated.
• Preparation and hidden strength: Su Mu’s bow, Soul Master abilities, Gold Soul Coins, and concealed Titled Douluo trump card emphasize the need to prepare for escalating danger.

Character Interactions

• Tang Ya comforts Jiang Nannan and offers to finance her mother’s treatment, strengthening their friendship.
• Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchange a relieved glance when Jiang Nannan accepts their assistance, recognizing the sincerity of their bond.
• Su Mu privately reflects on his complicated history with Jiang Nannan’s family and decides to help despite his former resentment.
• The workers at the Modification Factory warn Su Mu that the Red Fang Gang is stealing his business.
• Su Mu returns to the group in a striking black outfit with his father’s bow, surprising Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan and revealing a new, intimidating side of himself.

Chapter Summary

Plot Points and Events

• Su Mu and the others travel to Heaven Dou City’s Inner City after leaving his vehicle in the Outer City, since it lacks the certification needed to enter.
• They arrive at a secluded courtyard owned or arranged by Bei Bei. Jiang Nannan’s mother is settled into a room, and her condition remains stable.
• Bei Bei promises to contact a powerful healing-type Soul Master and arrange for another healer in Heaven Dou City to examine Jiang Nannan’s mother.
• Tang Ya proposes reopening Su Mu’s fried-chicken business in the Inner City. She takes him to Food Street to look for a suitable stall.
• There, Su Mu discovers a KFC? copycat restaurant attempting to imitate his food. The products are noticeably poor: the cola is merely a sour mixture, and the burger buns crumble like wood shavings.
• Saifeier is already inside the restaurant, angrily criticizing the employees and demanding to see Gao Huazhishou, the man behind the imitation shop.
• The chapter ends as Saifeier confronts Gao and accuses him of hiding from her, suggesting a complicated personal history between them.

Character Development

• Su Mu: Experiences the Inner City for the first time in six years and is impressed by its prosperity. He begins seriously considering expanding his fried-chicken business there. He also becomes emotionally affected when Jiang Nannan hurriedly denies liking him, though he remains confused about her feelings.
• Jiang Nannan: Focuses on caring for her seriously ill mother and helping maintain the courtyard. Her embarrassment during Tang Ya’s teasing hints at possible romantic feelings toward Su Mu, despite her verbal denial.
• Bei Bei: Takes responsibility for Jiang Nannan’s family crisis, arranging lodging and seeking medical assistance from high-level healing Soul Masters.
• Tang Ya: Continues to act as the group’s cheerful mood-maker. Her teasing temporarily relieves the tension surrounding Jiang Nannan’s mother’s illness, and she actively supports Su Mu’s business plans.
• Saifeier: Shows a much more aggressive and assertive side than before. Her confidence in confronting Gao within the Inner City suggests that she possesses a significant identity or backing beyond that of an ordinary shop owner.
• Gao Huazhishou: Is revealed as the owner of the inferior KFC? imitation store and appears to have a strained, possibly romantic relationship with Saifeier.

Significant Themes

• Compassion and mutual support: Bei Bei and the others help Jiang Nannan during her mother’s illness, emphasizing the group’s loyalty and solidarity.
• Entrepreneurship and imitation: Su Mu’s successful food business inspires imitators, but the poor quality of the copy highlights the value of genuine skill and craftsmanship.
• Romantic teasing and hidden feelings: Tang Ya’s jokes expose possible attraction between Jiang Nannan and Su Mu, while Saifeier’s confrontation introduces another unresolved romantic conflict.
• Class and identity: The contrast between the Outer and Inner Cities reflects social and economic differences. Saifeier’s changed status also hints that appearances may conceal influential backgrounds.
• Emotional relief through humor: Tang Ya’s playful teasing breaks the seriousness of the family crisis and restores a lighter atmosphere.

Character Interactions

• Tang Ya encourages Su Mu to open a stall in the Inner City and jokes about finding him a wife.
• She teases Jiang Nannan about liking Su Mu, causing Jiang Nannan to blush and awkwardly deny her feelings.
• Jiang Nannan quickly clarifies that she did not mean to insult Su Mu, while Su Mu is quietly hurt and puzzled by her reaction.
• Bei Bei reassures Jiang Nannan by promising to find medical help for her mother.
• At the imitation restaurant, Saifeier humiliates the employees by criticizing their food and drink, then openly challenges Gao Huazhishou.
• Saifeier’s final accusation implies that Gao has been avoiding her and that their relationship extends beyond a simple business dispute.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Gao Huazhishou confronts Saifeier, insisting that they are destined to marry and that their families’ businesses will benefit from the union. He also belittles her Modification Factory and urges her to abandon it.
• Saifeier rejects him fiercely. She kicks over a table, humiliates him, and declares that she will never marry him or have children with him. She threatens to destroy the Gao Family’s businesses if they continue pressuring her.
• Gao reveals that he investigated Su Mu, the young fried-chicken vendor, and implies that the boy may have been killed or taken by wild beasts. Saifeier immediately suspects Gao’s involvement and demands that Su Mu be released.
• Su Mu unexpectedly appears alive, carrying supplies and popcorn. Saifeier checks him carefully for injuries, relieved that he is safe. Gao is secretly enraged because his men failed to capture Su Mu.
• Attempting to salvage the situation, Gao claims that he is willing to cooperate with Su Mu because he respects skilled craftsmen. Tang Ya prevents him from approaching and mocks the poor quality of Gao’s food.
• Su Mu rejects Gao’s offer, condemning him as a powerful man who abuses his influence. He states that Gao’s character is so worthless that he would not want it “by the pound.”
• Su Mu chooses not to intervene in the argument between Saifeier and Gao, recognizing that openly supporting Saifeier would make him a target of both the Gao Family and the Red Fang Gang.
• Su Mu and Tang Ya then reach a busy food plaza. Tang Ya suggests that Su Mu set up a stall there for ten Silver Soul Coins per day, but the location requires licenses and permits that his current food cart lacks.
• When Su Mu worries about the cost and difficulty of meeting the regulations, Tang Ya reveals that she knows of other crowded places where permits may not be necessary.

Character Developments

• Saifeier demonstrates her independence, strong will, and loyalty to her employees and friends. She refuses to submit to family pressure or Gao’s manipulation and openly defends Su Mu.
• Gao Huazhishou is exposed as possessive, manipulative, and vindictive. Although he presents himself as affectionate and reasonable, his threats and apparent attempt to remove Su Mu reveal his resentment and abuse of power.
• Su Mu shows moral firmness by rejecting Gao’s business proposal and condemning his character. At the same time, he acts cautiously and pragmatically by avoiding direct involvement in Saifeier’s conflict.
• Tang Ya remains outspoken and fearless. She mocks Gao without hesitation and continues helping Su Mu navigate the food business.
• Saifeier’s relationship with Su Mu is shown to be affectionate and protective, while Gao becomes increasingly jealous of their closeness.

Significant Themes

• Independence versus social and family pressure: Saifeier refuses to let her engagement or family connections determine her future.
• Character versus wealth and status: Su Mu rejects Gao because material power cannot compensate for cruelty and dishonesty.
• Power and abuse: Gao uses his family’s influence and gang connections to undermine Saifeier and threaten a vulnerable child.
• Practicality and self-preservation: Su Mu understands that moral outrage alone could place himself and his family in danger, so he avoids escalating the conflict.
• Entrepreneurship and institutional barriers: Su Mu’s business success is challenged not by a lack of skill, but by permits, regulations, and the cost of establishing a legitimate storefront.

Important Character Interactions

• Saifeier and Gao: Their confrontation makes clear that Saifeier despises Gao’s controlling behavior, while Gao cannot accept her rejection.
• Saifeier and Su Mu: She worries that Gao has harmed him and checks him for injuries, revealing genuine concern.
• Gao and Su Mu: Gao tries to disguise hostility as business interest, but Su Mu sees through him and rejects him bluntly.
• Tang Ya and Gao: Tang Ya openly insults Gao’s food and blocks his approach to Su Mu, treating him as an insignificant rival.
• Tang Ya and Su Mu: She provides practical assistance by offering him a potential selling location and hinting at an easier alternative without burdensome permits.