Recaps

Li Huo held Old Zhu and his wife hostage and gave Zhu Qianxun and Ning Chengyi three days to submit to his demands. Hidden nearby, Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong planned a rescue, with Bibi Dong focusing on recovery and Ning Chengyi preparing to recruit the grateful Soul Masters.

• Li Huo threatened the gathered Soul Masters and demanded Zhu Qianxun marry Li Qiuping and Ning Chengyi cripple his soul power and return to the Fierce Wolf Group within three days.
• Old Zhao, Old Xu, and the other elderly Soul Masters stood up for Old Zhu and his wife, but Li Huo threatened to kill the couple and anyone who helped them before leaving with his men.
• The Soul Masters knelt in grief and apologized to Old Zhu, who thanked them for standing by him and his wife.
• Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong watched from hiding, and Bibi Dong said she could recover to Soul King in three days and keep Li Huo occupied while Ning Chengyi rescued the couple.
• Ning Chengyi revealed that he had a plan involving his second martial soul and the grateful Soul Masters, and Bibi Dong told him not to die.

Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong rescued Old Zhu and his wife by splitting the Fierce Wolf Group’s forces and overwhelming its guards. They reunited in a hidden cellar, where Bibi Dong embraced her parents and silently thanked Ning Chengyi.

• Bibi Dong lured Li Huo and most of the Fierce Wolf Group away from Star Dou Town while Ning Chengyi poisoned and killed the fighters at their stronghold.
• Ning Chengyi’s signal flare prompted Li Huo to turn back, and a second flare from the Old Zhu Family courtyard revealed another attack.
• Old Zhao and Old Xu distracted the two Soul Elders while Ning Chengyi used butterfly dust to incapacitate the guards and free Old Zhu and his wife.
• Ning Chengyi and the others escaped with Old Zhu and his wife before Li Huo returned and found the courtyard empty.
• Ning Chengyi brought the rescued couple to a hidden cellar, where Bibi Dong reunited with her parents and gave Ning Chengyi a grateful nod.

Li Huo slaughtered captives in Small Town to lure out Zhu Qianxun and Ning Chengyi, but Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong attacked the Fierce Wolf Group. Their rescue was interrupted by the arrival of Elephant Armor Sect elder Huyan Zhen and his grandson Huyan Li, leaving Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong to gamble on using Huyan Li as leverage.

• Li Huo gathered hundreds of townspeople in the square and began executing them, threatening to kill everyone unless Zhu Qianxun and Ning Chengyi appeared.
• Ning Chengyi attacked the guards and fought his way toward the hostages while Bibi Dong confronted Li Huo and overwhelmed him.
• Li Huo called for the Elephant Armor Sect, and Huyan Zhen arrived with Huyan Li, demanding Ning Chengyi's Wisdom Skull.
• Bibi Dong told Ning Chengyi to flee while she held Huyan Zhen off, but Ning Chengyi proposed using Huyan Li to deter the elder, and Bibi Dong agreed to gamble.

Ning Chengyi and Bibi Dong fought Huyan Zhen and Huyan Li, while Zhu Qianxun summoned Spirit Hall reinforcements. Spirit Hall surrounded the Elephant Armor Sect and Fierce Wolf Group, and Bibi Dong faced the massacre’s survivors as Huyan Zhen tried to negotiate.

• Ning Chengyi attacked Huyan Li and pierced his defenses with Phantom Spear Strangulation, leaving him gravely wounded.
• Bibi Dong fought Huyan Zhen while Zhu Qianxun crushed a Spirit Hall distress signal, prompting Huyan Zhen to try to kill them before reinforcements arrived.
• A silver-robed Soul Douluo arrived, recognized Bibi Dong, and summoned Spirit Hall forces to surround the square.
• Huyan Zhen claimed the conflict was a misunderstanding and offered to leave, but the newcomer deferred to Bibi Dong.
• Bibi Dong saw the slain hostages, grieving survivors, and Old Zhu with his wife, then closed her eyes.

Bibi Dong ordered the Elephant Armor Sect and the Fierce Wolf Group wiped out after Ning Chengyi turned her command into a grim joke, and she killed Huyan Zhen herself. Before leaving for Spirit Hall, she reunited with Old Zhu and his wife and spoke privately with Ning Chengyi, who promised to join her one day on his own merits.

• Bibi Dong ordered Spirit Hall to kill everyone from the Elephant Armor Sect and the Fierce Wolf Group, and Ning Chengyi clarified that no one would be spared.
• Huyan Zhen charged Ning Chengyi, but the newcomer blocked him and Bibi Dong pierced his chest, killing him.
• Spirit Hall wiped out the Elephant Armor Sect and the Fierce Wolf Group, while Bibi Dong reunited with Old Zhu and his wife and apologized for hiding her identity.
• Bibi Dong told Ning Chengyi that Spirit Hall would welcome him, and he said he would come when he could stand beside her on his own merits.
• Bibi Dong left with Spirit Hall, and Ning Chengyi returned to help Old Zhu and his wife while resolving to grow strong enough to meet her openly.

After returning to Heaven Dou City, Ning Chengyi accepted Xue Qinghe’s assignment to study at Moonlight Pavilion and meet its master, Tang Yuehua. As he arrived and greeted her, Bibi Dong ordered Yue Guan to monitor the pavilion, while Zhu Zhuqing quietly missed Ning Chengyi in Suotuo City.

• Ning Chengyi returned to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy with Snake Lance Douluo, and Su Yao welcomed him with congee before doubling his special training for the next day.
• Xue Qinghe sent Ning Chengyi to Moonlight Pavilion to learn noble etiquette and seek Tang Yuehua’s favor, and Ning Chengyi agreed to go.
• Bibi Dong read a report about Ning Chengyi’s return and ordered Yue Guan to watch what happened at Moonlight Pavilion over the next two and a half years.
• Zhu Zhuqing held the kitten bell she had carved and admitted to Xiao Wu that she did not know where Ning Chengyi had gone.
• Ning Chengyi arrived at Moonlight Pavilion, heard other students scrutinizing the Crown Prince’s recommendation, and greeted Tang Yuehua after she finished playing music.

Ning Chengyi spent two and a half years studying at Moonlight Pavilion under Tang Yuehua, improving his skills and cultivation before reaching his graduation ceremony. As he performed before Heaven Dou City's nobles, an infamous newcomer interrupted, and Ning Chengyi recognized him.

• Tang Yuehua welcomed Ning Chengyi to Moonlight Pavilion and began teaching him music and the other arts.
• Ning Chengyi practiced the zither diligently, learned how to behave at gatherings, and grew closer to Tang Yuehua.
• With Moonlight Pavilion's resources and support from Xue Qinghe, Ning Chengyi rose from rank twenty-three to Soul Elder and obtained a Phantom Spirit Fox Soul Ring.
• Tang Yuehua asked Ning Chengyi to prepare a performance for his graduation ceremony, attended by Heaven Dou City's prominent nobles and Xue Qinghe.
• Ning Chengyi performed an original zither piece when an infamous guest interrupted, and he recognized the newcomer.

Xue Mingyan challenged Ning Chengyi’s place in Moonlight Pavilion, but Ning Chengyi exposed his ignorance of his family history and Tang Yuehua defended Ning Chengyi. Tang Yuehua warned Xue Mingyan off, just as a woman’s voice came from outside the pavilion.

• Xue Mingyan arrived at Moonlight Pavilion and questioned whether Ning Chengyi belonged there, invoking his grandfather Prince Xue Xing’s status.
• Ning Chengyi challenged Xue Mingyan’s claim that his family had been reputable for three generations and pointed out that Xue Mingyan could not name what his great-grandfather had done.
• Tang Yuehua defended Ning Chengyi’s character and progress, then rebuked Xue Mingyan for relying on his grandfather’s name.
• Tang Yuehua struck the floor with a silver sliver, cracked it beside Xue Mingyan’s feet, and warned him not to cause more trouble.
• A clear female voice came from outside the waterside pavilion.

Xue Ke intervened when Xue Mingyan disrupted the Moonlight Pavilion’s graduation ceremony, but Ning Chengyi accepted Xue Mingyan’s challenge and defeated him. After Xue Qinghe warned Xue Mingyan’s family to stay away from the pavilion, Xue Ke tried to get closer to Ning Chengyi, who remained focused on Tang Yuehua.

• Xue Ke confronted Xue Mingyan for causing trouble at the ceremony and dared him to challenge Xue Qinghe instead.
• Xue Mingyan challenged Ning Chengyi to a duel, wagering that the loser would leave the Moonlight Pavilion and Heaven Dou City.
• Ning Chengyi accepted the challenge and used his spear and soul skills to knock Xue Mingyan down, while Tang Yuehua watched with a silver disc in hand.
• Xue Qinghe ordered Xue Mingyan to tell his grandfather that Heaven Dou City and the Moonlight Pavilion were not his territory, and Xue Mingyan left.
• Xue Ke thanked Ning Chengyi and repeatedly tried to speak with him, but he turned his attention to Tang Yuehua and Xue Qinghe.

After Ning Chengyi humiliated Xue Mingyan at the Moonlight Pavilion, Xue Mingyan sought help from Xue Beng and the Imperial Fighting Team. Dugu Yan devised a plan to test Ning Chengyi’s strength by using a message from Zhu Zhuqing to draw him to her.

• Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan discussed the Imperial Fighting Team’s defeat and the message Zhu Zhuqing had asked Dugu Yan to pass to Ning Chengyi.
• Xue Mingyan arrived at Xue Beng’s hall and complained that Ning Chengyi had struck him with a spear and insulted Prince Xue Xing’s grandson.
• Yu Tianheng admitted he was not confident he could defeat Ning Chengyi, who had grown far stronger since their last fight.
• Dugu Yan wrote Xue Mingyan a letter containing Zhu Zhuqing’s message and promised to test Ning Chengyi’s current strength.
• Xue Mingyan took the letter to Ning Chengyi, while Dugu Yan left to prepare her plan.

Ning Chengyi returned to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, reunited with Su Yao, and went to Dugu Yan to learn what Zhu Zhuqing had sent him. After defeating Dugu Yan despite her poison, he learned Zhu Zhuqing wanted to know where he was and whether he still remembered her, while Dugu Yan prepared to attack him as he left.

• Ning Chengyi returned to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, and Xue Ke asked if she could visit him to play music; he agreed before leaving her behind.
• Ning Chengyi arrived at his dorm and reunited with Su Yao, who hugged him and worried that he had been hurt in a fight with Xue Mingyan.
• Ning Chengyi found a letter from Dugu Yan saying he had to visit her to learn Zhu Zhuqing's message, so he went to her secluded courtyard.
• Dugu Yan poisoned Ning Chengyi and challenged him to beat her for the message, but he overcame the poison and restrained her with a dagger.
• Dugu Yan told Ning Chengyi that Zhu Zhuqing had asked where he was and whether he still remembered her, then sprang into action as he left.

Ning Chengyi subdued Dugu Yan after she attacked him with poison, then left her as her recurring snake-venom illness began to worsen. A month later, Su Yao had started giving Ning Chengyi special training while he considered the arrival of the Little Scumbag.

• Dugu Yan attacked Ning Chengyi with poison, but his Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide purified it and converted it into Soul Power.
• Ning Chengyi knocked Dugu Yan down and threatened her, then left after she continued provoking him.
• Dugu Yan visited Dugu Bo, pretended to be upset, and returned to her room to hide her scheme from him.
• Dugu Yan’s illness flared during cultivation, bringing out snake scales and weakening her as she instinctively called for Ning Chengyi.
• Ning Chengyi returned to his dormitory and wondered whether the Imperial Team’s defeat meant the Little Scumbag would soon arrive.
• After another month passed, Su Yao began giving Ning Chengyi special training.

Ning Chengyi advanced to Soul Ancestor and gained a powerful fourth Soul Skill after absorbing the Mysterious Firmament Thunder Qilin Beast's Soul Ring. A year later, Dugu Yan asked him to examine her poison.

• Xue Ke joined Ning Chengyi and Su Yao's training, learning the zither from Ning Chengyi while Su Yao grew jealous and drove her away.
• Ning Chengyi's Heavenly Apex Class defeated the Imperial Fighting Team, while Qin Ming was removed from his post and Xue Mingyan was sent into secluded cultivation.
• After three months of intense training, Ning Chengyi reached level forty and absorbed a 52,000-year-old Mysterious Firmament Thunder Qilin Beast, gaining the Mysterious Firmament Thunder Qilin Transformation and reaching level forty-two.
• Ning Chengyi continued training for another year as Xue Ke visited less often and those around him cultivated harder.
• Dugu Yan appeared ill and asked Ning Chengyi to examine her poison, and he agreed.

Dugu Yan challenged Ning Chengyi to a final fight, unleashing every poison she had developed as her serpent poison consumed her. Ning Chengyi survived them all, and she collapsed into his arms, relieved to have proved that he could withstand her poisons.

• Dugu Yan told Ning Chengyi she was dying from the worsening serpent poison and asked him to fight her once more; he agreed.
• Dugu Yan attacked Ning Chengyi with dozens of poisons, but none harmed him.
• As the serpent poison invaded the meridians around Dugu Yan’s heart, she fought Ning Chengyi with her bare hands and refused to stop.
• Dugu Yan used her final poison, Soul-Eroding Powder, but Ning Chengyi swallowed the blood mist without being affected.
• Dugu Yan smiled, accepted that Ning Chengyi had withstood every poison, and fell into his arms.

Ning Chengyi began treating Dugu Yan’s fatal Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison with his Second Martial Soul, Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide. He drew out the poison and brought her back from the brink, just as Dugu Bo arrived at the courtyard.

• As Dugu Yan weakened, Ning Chengyi told her he could save her from the serpent poison and carried her into her room.
• Ning Chengyi revealed his Second Martial Soul, Phantom Butterfly Spirit Tide, and began drawing the poison from Dugu Yan’s body.
• Dugu Yan’s poison surged back, forcing her to plunge into an ice-water bathtub, but Ning Chengyi maintained the connection and resumed the treatment.
• Ning Chengyi drew out the last of the poison, which strengthened his Soul Power and left him half a step from Soul King.
• Dugu Bo arrived outside the courtyard and called for Dugu Yan.