Chapter Summaries

Tang Shan explained that his Human Fist developed Bright Force by imitating human labor, but Su Yuntao struggled to learn it because his Lone Wolf Martial Soul had shaped his instincts. Tang Shan concluded that early Martial Soul cultivation centered on compatibility between a person and their Martial Soul, then continued cultivating as his Body Martial Soul gradually merged with his body.

• Su Yuntao admired Tang Shan’s Bright Force and asked to learn it.
• Tang Shan explained that he had created the Human Fist after observing people at work, and worried that Su Yuntao’s wolf-influenced instincts made it unsuitable for him.
• After Su Yuntao failed to grasp the technique, Tang Shan reasoned that the Human Fist conflicted with the bodily instincts encouraged by a Beast Martial Soul.
• Su Yuntao proposed studying wolf-type Soul Beasts to develop a different method for cultivating Bright Force.
• Tang Shan connected Martial Soul cultivation to compatibility between the person and their Martial Soul, and told Su Yuntao to prepare to hunt a Soul Beast soon.
• Tang Shan cultivated in his room, sensing that his soul power had grown denser and that his Body Martial Soul was gradually merging with his body.

Su Haichao and Su Yuan accompanied Tang Shan and Su Yuntao to the Soul Hunting Forest, where Tang Shan revealed his plan to seek a thousand-year First Soul Ring. The group hurried toward a nearby town, leaving the Soul Hunting Forest’s role as a safer place for low-level Soul Masters to hunt soul beasts explained.

• Su Haichao and Su Yuan discussed Notting Academy and how Su Yuan had come to care for Yu Xiaogang after an eagle-Martial-Soul Soul Emperor saved him.
• Tang Shan told Su Yuntao he had mastered the basics already and had no interest in attending school.
• Su Haichao prompted Tang Shan to explain his First Soul Ring plan, and Tang Shan said he wanted a strength-type Soul Beast whose ring could be around a thousand years old.
• Tang Shan named Grandmaster as his teacher, and Su Yuan accepted that Grandmaster had arranged the risky plan and praised Tang Shan’s chances.
• Su Haichao carried Tang Shan ahead toward the town while Su Yuntao activated his Martial Soul and Soul Skill to catch up.
• The narration explained that the Soul Hunting Forest had been established to give low-level Soul Masters a safer place to obtain their first soul rings.

Tang Shan, Su Yuntao, Su Haichao, and Su Yuan reached the Soul Hunting Forest near Starlight City to seek suitable second soul rings. Su Yuntao revealed his ambition to travel and compete at the Great Soul Arena, and the group entered the forest, where Tang Shan and Su Yuntao began fighting a pack of hounds.

• Su Haichao chose the larger Soul Hunting Forest near Starlight City and led the others to a nearby town to rest before entering.
• Su Yuntao told Tang Shan he wanted to compete at the Great Soul Arena and see the wider world, and Tang Shan encouraged him to pursue that future.
• Tang Shan reminded Su Yuntao to consider Sister Sisi and tell her about his plans so she could make her own choice.
• The next morning, Su Haichao used a permit to bring the group into the forest, where Tang Shan recommended looking deeper for thousand-year soul beasts suited to their martial souls.
• When a pack of hounds surrounded them, Tang Shan and Su Yuntao volunteered to fight while Su Haichao and Su Yuan watched over them.
• Tang Shan used his body martial soul and experimental fist techniques to kill two hounds as Su Yuntao joined the battle.

Tang Shan and Su Yuntao fought through a pack of hyenas while Su Yuan questioned whether soul masters should protect soul beasts from hunting. After Tang Shan argued that soul beasts killed far more of their own kind, the group continued searching for suitable soul rings, but ended the day camping without finding one.

• Tang Shan and Su Yuntao slaughtered the attacking hyenas, and Tang Shan refused to absorb any of the ten-year soul rings that formed.
• Su Yuan asked whether the boys should spare soul beasts, and Tang Shan answered that they had attacked first and that carnivorous soul beasts killed far more creatures than soul masters did.
• Su Yuan accepted Tang Shan’s argument and admitted that Yu Xiaogang’s views had influenced him.
• Su Yuntao fought a Green-Eyed Wolf over seven hundred years old for practice, then withdrew without pursuing it.
• The group found no suitable soul rings during the day and made camp after rejecting the Thousand Jun Ant and Storm Wolf they encountered.

Su Yuan defeated a powerful Thousand-Year Qianjun Ant, and Tang Shan prepared to absorb its Soul Ring as his first. The group left the noisy campsite, leaving Tang Shan poised to attempt a thousand-year first ring.

• Tang Shan identified the approaching Qianjun Ant as roughly thirteen hundred to fifteen hundred years old and confirmed that it suited his martial soul.
• Su Yuan used his Firebird abilities and third Soul Skill, Fireball, to defeat the ant despite its immense defense.
• Tang Shan finished off the weakened ant with his iron hammer, and a pale purple Soul Ring formed above its corpse.
• Su Haichao carried the ant away from the campsite, and the group traveled to a quieter place in the Soul Hunting Forest.
• Tang Shan sat beside the corpse to prepare for absorption as Su Yuan and Su Yuntao watched, while Su Haichao reflected on the hopes he had once placed in Tang Shan.

Tang Shan absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, broke through his bottleneck, and gained a Soul Skill that gave him exceptional control over his body. After testing its power, he rested with the others and considered how the skill might aid his future cultivation.

• Tang Shan calmly absorbed the Thousand-Year Soul Ring, endured its energy, and broke through his Soul Power bottleneck.
• Su Yuan, Su Haichao, and Su Yuntao watched Tang Shan finish absorbing the ring and marveled at his composure and growth.
• Tang Shan demonstrated Muscle Enhancement, strengthening his hands enough to crack trees and explaining that he could protect vital areas by enhancing muscles throughout his body.
• Tang Shan changed into larger clothes, and Su Haichao set up a new tent so the group could rest until morning.
• Tang Shan reflected that his First Soul Skill, Self-Control, raised his bodily control to 20% and considered whether it could eventually let him control his Soul Rings.

Tang Shan refined his Martial Arts training after gaining precise control from his First Soul Skill, and his Soul Power naturally opened the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian. After a week of battles in the Soul Hunting Forest, he and Su Yuntao confronted a thousand-year Bloodthirsty Wolf, leaving it defeated and helpless.

• Tang Shan used his Soul Skill's bodily control to correct flaws in his techniques, circulate Qi and Blood, and develop a natural Soul Power route through the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian.
• Tang Shan reasoned out a complete path of body tempering and believed it could help him reach Embracing the Elixir and perhaps trigger a Martial Soul Second Awakening.
• Tang Shan and Su Yuntao joined Su Yuan and Su Haichao in searching the forest, where Tang Shan chose a thousand-year Bloodthirsty Wolf as their target.
• Tang Shan and Su Yuntao activated Martial Soul Possession and attacked the wolf, while Su Yuan and Su Haichao watched and discussed Tang Shan's control of his Soul Skill.
• The Bloodthirsty Wolf unleashed Bloodthirst and lunged at Tang Shan, who evaded it, pinned its forelegs, and crushed the flesh of one hind leg, leaving it unable to resist.

Tang Shan, Su Yuntao, and Su Haichao prepared to leave Nuoding City for Heaven Dou City, while Tang Shan helped his big brother confront Sisi’s uncertain feelings. The carriage set off, taking Tang Shan away from Holy Soul Village and toward a larger stage.

• Tang Shan crippled the Bloodthirsty Wolf, and Su Yuntao killed it to secure the Soul Ring.
• Su Yuntao asked to travel the continent, and Tang Shan supported him; Su Haichao planned to transfer to Heaven Dou City and offered to help arrange Su Yuntao’s Travel Pass.
• Xue Qinghe reached level thirty-five, while two Titled Douluo praised the Young Master’s cultivation and Soul Rings.
• Su Yuntao told Tang Shan he had encountered a drunken blacksmith with a baby in Holy Soul Village, leading Tang Shan to suspect the child was connected to Tang Hao.
• Tang Shan questioned Su Yuntao about Sisi’s vague response to his plans, and Su Yuntao realized she had not sincerely committed to him.
• Su Haichao, Tang Shan, and Su Yuntao boarded the carriage and departed for Heaven Dou City.

Tang Shan and Su Yuntao traveled toward Heaven Dou City while discussing Wolf Bandits and Tang Shan’s cultivation research. At their camp, they decided to visit Star City’s Great Soul Arena, and Tang Shan continued cultivating at twice his previous rate.

• Tang Shan and Su Yuntao discussed the poor roads and the possibility of encountering Wolf Bandits on their journey.
• Tang Shan practiced explosive bursts of movement and reflected on his progress researching the meridians and controlling Soul Power.
• Su Yuntao caught Tang Shan before he ran into the carriage, and Su Haichao warned him not to rush his cultivation or research.
• At their nighttime camp, Su Yuntao checked their route and learned they would reach Star City the next day, where Tang Shan suggested visiting the Great Soul Arena.
• Su Haichao agreed to visit the arena with them, and Su Yuntao went to cultivate before his potential match.
• Tang Shan cultivated by circulating Soul Power through three meridians, advancing at twice his previous rate.

Tang Shan, Su Haichao, and Su Yuntao arrived in Star City and visited the Great Soul Arena, where Tang Shan mistook an old carver named Xuan for a powerful senior. The chapter ended with Su Yuntao registering as Lone Wolf and drawing a crowd's attention by revealing his yellow first ring and thousand-year purple second ring.

• Su Haichao used a Spirit Hall token to lead Tang Shan and Su Yuntao into Star City, then paid their coachman and dismissed him.
• Su Haichao led his sons to a monument commemorating Soul Masters who died in Soul Fighting, where Xuan introduced himself as an old carver.
• Tang Shan treated Xuan as an extraordinary senior, but Su Haichao explained that he had only brought the brothers past the monument to keep them alert and had never met Xuan before.
• Tang Shan suggested Su Yuntao challenge a Soul Elder, and Su Yuntao rejected the idea before registering for Soul Fighting under the alias Lone Wolf.
• Su Yuntao revealed his Martial Soul and yellow first Soul Ring alongside a purple thousand-year second ring, prompting someone in the crowd to shout that he had proven Grandmaster's theory.

Su Yuntao entered a Soul Grandmaster match at the Great Soul Arena, where his Thousand-Year Second Ring drew a huge crowd and made him proof of the Grandmaster's theories. He defeated Dao Long with ease, earned a large reward, and asked Tang Shan why his opponent had seemed so weak.

• Tang Shan reassured Su Haichao that the attention around Su Yuntao would help him, and told him to let Su Yuntao fight as planned.
• Su Yuntao registered for a Soul Grandmaster match as Tang Shan and Su Haichao went to watch.
• The host introduced Su Yuntao, fighting as Lone Wolf, as the possessor of a Thousand-Year Second Ring and paired him against the experienced Dao Long.
• Dao Long attacked with Blade Qi, but Su Yuntao dodged, closed in, and knocked him off the stage with several powerful strikes.
• The Great Soul Arena awarded Su Yuntao a hundred Gold Soul Coins, and he asked Tang Shan why Dao Long had seemed especially weak.

Tang Shan explained Su Yuntao’s combat weaknesses and proposed ways to develop burst damage, including creating Self-Created Soul Skills. He then identified a promising child named Xuan Ji and outlined a four-level theory of Self-Created Soul Skills, leaving him pondering the power of the continent’s Peerless Douluo.

• Tang Shan and Su Haichao explained that Su Yuntao needed more combat experience and decisive action, and warned that his enhancement skills left him without burst damage against control-type Soul Masters.
• Tang Shan advised Su Yuntao to choose an attack-type skill for his Third Soul Ring or develop a Self-Created Soul Skill, and Su Haichao agreed to demonstrate his second Soul Skill.
• Tang Shan spoke with an old man and his grandson Xuan Ji, suspected the boy had strong potential, and declined Su Yuntao’s suggestion to bring him into Spirit Hall before his Martial Soul awakened.
• Tang Shan told Su Yuntao that using Soul Power, Qi and Blood, or Mental Power without a Soul Ring could count as a Self-Created Soul Skill, then described three levels based on combining those forces.
• Tang Shan privately reasoned that a fourth level involved applying rules and wondered whether the two Peerless Douluo who served as high priests could wield power approaching that of demigods or quasi-gods.

Tang Shan planned to study forging in Star City as a possible path toward creating Battle Armor, while he and Su Yuntao continued their training. He entered Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop to seek an apprenticeship, and manager Tie Qian went to consult someone after seeing Tang Shan's strength.

• Tang Shan reflected on Soul Cores, Battle Armor, and Star City's black gold before deciding to visit a blacksmith shop.
• Su Yuntao broke through to Level 23, and he and Tang Shan trained on the inn roof using their different methods.
• Tang Shan, Su Yuntao, and Su Haichao discussed their plans for the next ten days; Su Yuntao chose the Great Soul Arena, Su Haichao planned to visit Spirit Hall, and Tang Shan chose to learn forging.
• Tang Shan visited Iron Bell Blacksmith Shop and told manager Tie Qian that he wanted to learn forging and was a Soul Scholar close to a breakthrough.
• Tie Qian saw Tang Shan's powerful physique, told him to wait, and went to the back of the shop.

Tang Shan persuaded Tie Zhong to teach him blacksmithing and quickly mastered the basic forging work. He proposed purifying metal more thoroughly before folding and forging it, leaving Tie Zhong convinced the method could transform the craft.

• Tang Shan inspected the weapons in Tie Zhong’s shop, then introduced himself and asked to learn blacksmithing.
• Tang Shan offered ten Gold Soul Coins for an intensive ten-day apprenticeship, and Tie Zhong agreed to teach him.
• After three days, Tang Shan had mastered the bellows and quenching and was forging iron with remarkable skill.
• Tang Shan asked Tie Zhong about blacksmiths’ low standing and suggested they improve it by pursuing metal purification rather than focusing on shaping or Soul Tools.
• Tang Shan argued that metal should be purified as far as possible before it was folded and forged, and Tie Zhong realized this could explain the limits of fold-forging.

Tang Shan observed Tie Zhong’s forging and reflected on the extraordinary power and commercial potential of the Tang Sect’s mechanical hidden weapons, wondering why the sect had declined. He reached the Great Soul Arena, learned that Su Yuntao had gone to eat, and found him at a shop.

• Tie Zhong forged iron until it cracked, then began another attempt after Tang Shan encouraged him to keep experimenting.
• Tang Shan considered how Douluo I forging differed from later metal-refinement methods and assessed Tie Zhong’s skills.
• Tang Shan recalled the Buddha’s Fury Tang Lotus and Peacock Plume’s devastating attacks and questioned why the Tang Sect had failed to capitalize on its strongest weapons.
• Tang Shan met Xuan Zi outside the Great Soul Arena, and Xuan Zi pointed him toward the shop where Su Yuntao had gone for a meal.
• Tang Shan followed the smell of roasted meat and spotted Su Yuntao in a shop.

Tang Shan met Su Yuntao for dinner and urged him to seek tougher fights at the Soul Fighting Arena. At Forest Roast Lamb, Tang Shan recognized Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo Gu Rong, then listened as they hinted at why they had come to Star City.

• Tang Shan joined Su Yuntao at Forest Roast Lamb and heard that Su Yuntao had won every Soul Fighting match so far.
• Su Yuntao described a dangerous control-type Soul Master with a venomous snake Martial Soul who had nearly defeated him.
• Tang Shan suggested Su Yuntao fight two opponents alone, and Su Yuntao decided to sign up for a two-person match immediately.
• Tang Shan and Su Yuntao discussed the restaurant's Soul Beast lamb as Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong arrived and ordered food.
• Tang Shan recognized Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo Gu Rong after overhearing their conversation about Ning Rongrong's impending birth and their fellow Titled Douluo, Chen Xin.

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong visited a lamb shop to discuss improving support-type Soul Masters' defenses, then went to the Great Soul Arena to watch Su Yuntao fight two opponents alone. As the match began, they considered recruiting Lone Wolf into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Gu Rong judged that Su Yuntao had a developing but unexceptional fighting style.

• Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong discussed ways to protect support-type Soul Masters and decided to consider stronger Black Gold armor.
• After eating with Tang Shan, Su Yuntao decided to enter a one-against-two Soul Grandmaster match, and Tang Shan went to watch.
• Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong followed them to the Great Soul Arena, where they considered recruiting Su Yuntao and discussed Grandmaster's theories.
• The announcer revealed that Su Yuntao would face Dao Long and Sword Qi alone, exciting the crowd.
• Gu Rong observed Su Yuntao's fighting style and concluded that his growing ease came from experience rather than exceptional genius.
• A female attendant brought Ning Fengzhi information about Su Yuntao as the match began.

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong dismissed Su Yuntao as a minor threat while watching him win a Soul Fighting match through an uncanny wolf-like combat state. Tang Shan suspected Su Yuntao had unlocked Gene Lock, but the two returned safely to the inn, leaving the state’s true explanation unresolved.

• Ning Fengzhi told Gu Rong that Su Yuntao had low innate Soul Power and was unlikely to threaten the balance between the major factions.
• Ning Fengzhi explained that his son’s Thousand-Year Second Ring had reduced his Soul Skill’s Soul Power cost, and he planned to send him to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Su Yuntao evaded Sword Qi’s attacks with wolf-like instincts, wounded Dao Long, knocked him out of the arena, and dodged Sword Qi’s final Charged Slash until his opponent surrendered.
• Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong left after the match, and Gu Rong guessed that Su Yuntao’s sudden improvement came from his Martial Soul.
• Tang Shan questioned Su Yuntao about his combat state and privately suspected it matched the first stage of Gene Lock.
• Su Yuntao and Tang Shan collected their Gold Soul Coins and returned safely to the inn without meeting anyone suspicious.

Tang Shan theorized that Su Yuntao’s strange combat state came from Bloodthirst suppressing subconscious interference while Lone Wolf merged more deeply with his body. He concluded that the state might be an unusual, incomplete Martial Soul Avatar, and the chapter left Su Yuntao preparing to test the theory in a spar.

• Tang Shan questioned Su Yuntao about his strange state and learned that his Soul Power had followed a different path while wolf-like combat instincts surged within him.
• Tang Shan had Su Yuntao activate only Bloodthirst and try to recreate the state, then suggested imagining Lone Wolf merging into his body instead of recalling wolf-type Soul Beasts.
• Su Yuntao briefly sensed a change when he followed Tang Shan’s suggestion, leading Tang Shan to suspect that the Martial Soul was affecting his subconscious.
• Tang Shan demonstrated that Bloodthirst let Su Yuntao resist instinctive reactions, then explained that the skill suppressed subconscious interference while boosting his attributes.
• Tang Shan proposed that Su Yuntao’s state combined human composure with fighting instincts from his Martial Soul and bloodline, making it an unusual form of Martial Soul Avatar.

Tang Shan tested Su Yuntao’s dangerous combat state and used it to explain his theory that a soul master’s first stage of cultivation was achieving harmony with their martial soul. The chapter left Tang Shan believing Su Yuntao had uncovered a hidden gift of beast martial souls: inherited instincts and combat experience that could accelerate that harmony.

• Tang Shan fought Su Yuntao, demonstrating his growing physical strength and defenses before his controlled attacks pushed Su Yuntao back into his special state.
• Su Yuntao entered the state again, gaining the instincts and fighting experience of his Lone Wolf martial soul while remaining conscious, but he found it exhausting to sustain.
• Tang Shan questioned Su Yuntao about the state and learned that his soul power flowed more smoothly than usual and that reentering it was becoming easier.
• Tang Shan explained that the first stage of cultivation involved harmonizing a soul master with their martial soul, leading to beast soul true bodies, tool soul true bodies, or the transformation of a body into its martial soul.
• Tang Shan concluded that Su Yuntao’s state was an alternative martial soul avatar and a hidden source of inherited combat experience that most beast martial soul masters had never unlocked.