Chapter Summaries

Plot and events

• After Qin Xu’s fight with Xue Zhao, the students return to class once Tian Zilai asks Sun Rou to check both fighters for hidden injuries.
• The Young Heaven Class elects its committee: Qin Xu becomes class monitor, while Vielvi, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi become deputy monitors. Li Xin and Meng Xin decline to compete.
• Tian Zilai sets a one-year goal: every student should obtain a first soul ring and soul skill. He also asks them to consider their future paths and how to develop their martial souls.
• Soul Engineer Department head Huang Suyue teaches the class its first lesson on soul tools. Most students find the theory dull, but Vielvi is fascinated. The next lesson will be a hands-on workshop.
• After class, Qin Xu invites Vielvi, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi to eat together. Xue Zhao initially refuses, but Qin Xu’s teasing provokes her into accepting. At the meal, Vielvi casually adopts Xue Zhao’s nickname, “A Liang,” and Qin Xu encourages the friendly familiarity. Xue Zhao is left confused by her own unusual reaction to him.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu confidently accepts leadership and tries to build rapport with the deputy monitors. His teasing and social ease repeatedly unsettle Xue Zhao.
• Vielvi embraces her new role, shows a surprising and genuine interest in soul tools, and cheerfully pushes for closeness with Xue Zhao.
• Xue Zhao remains proud and prickly, but her rivalry with Qin Xu is giving way to curiosity and unfamiliar emotional confusion. She is especially reactive to his teasing.
• Ye Guyi agrees to serve as deputy monitor and acts as a quiet mediator, though she is amused and mildly exasperated by the others’ nickname banter.
• Huang Suyue hopes to encourage students to take soul engineering seriously. Vielvi’s interest gives her hope that a gifted soul master might choose the field willingly.
• Meng Xin recognizes the gap between his abilities and Xue Zhao’s and avoids competing for a committee position.

Significant themes

• Leadership and cooperation: The class committee is meant to guide the students toward shared success.
• Ambition and self-discovery: Students are encouraged to set goals and choose how to develop their abilities.
• Prejudice around soul engineering: Soul engineers are often viewed as failed soul masters, a belief Huang Suyue wants to challenge.
• Rivalry turning into connection: Qin Xu’s victory over Xue Zhao has sparked resentment, curiosity, and a growing personal tension; humor and nicknames begin to soften the group’s relationships.

Key plot points and events

• At lunch, Qin Xu teases Xue Zhao by calling her “A Liang,” despite her insistence that he use her real name. She eventually tolerates the nickname while he treats her to food.
• Xue Zhao and Ye Guyi plan to spend the afternoon cultivating in the academy’s simulated-environment rooms. Xue Zhao declares that she will reach two soul rings first and reclaim the class-monitor position.
• Back at the dormitory, Qin Xu reunites with Zhang Lexuan, who tells him the academy has asked her to captain its team for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament in four years.
• Zhang Lexuan is reviewing intermediate-division students for eligible team members, rather than relying only on the academy’s elite-student recommendations. Two prospects have been identified: Yang Feiyue, Qin Xu’s cousin, and commoner student Ximen Xiao.
• Qin Xu later cultivates on the sunny terrace, combining his Great Sun Demon God talent with his Golden Heart martial soul to strengthen his body, soul power, and spiritual power.

Character developments and interactions

• Xue Zhao shows a competitive, ambitious side, while remaining easy to distract with good food. Her banter with Qin Xu is playful, though she firmly asserts her preferred name.
• Ye Guyi follows Xue Zhao’s lead and shares her plan to cultivate. Vielvi is delighted to learn the two have their own apartment and hopes to visit them.
• Qin Xu is affectionate and teasing with Zhang Lexuan, but also protective: he initially worries the academy is burdening her unfairly. He supports her judgment and praises her leadership.
• Zhang Lexuan is entrusted with significant responsibility as tournament captain. Her thorough search for talent shows both fairness and commitment to building a strong team.
• Yang Feiyue is introduced as a promising relative: a sixteen-year-old rank 42 Battle Soul Ancestor with an Amethyst-Winged Lion martial soul. Ximen Xiao is another strong candidate, a rank 41 defensive fighter with a Diamond Mammoth martial soul.

Significant themes

• Competition and ambition: Xue Zhao’s race to advance and the academy’s tournament goals establish parallel challenges.
• Responsibility and leadership: Zhang Lexuan must assemble a team capable of proving the newly reorganized academy’s standing.
• Merit and overlooked potential: Her decision to examine all student files reflects a belief that talent may exist beyond the established elite.
• Personalized cultivation: Qin Xu’s sun-based cultivation method highlights his unusual talents and the importance of adapting training to individual strengths.

Key plot points

• The Young Heaven Class spends its morning on two demanding theory lessons. The students find them tedious, but the curriculum is presented as essential groundwork.
• At lunch, Zhang Lexuan brings Qin Xu’s older cousin, Yang Feiyue, and Feiyue’s girlfriend, Hong Wenwen, to meet him. Hong is a talented fourth-year Soul Elder and a possible academy-team member.
• Feiyue is awed by Qin Xu and excited at the prospect of studying and competing alongside him. After the pair leave, Xue Zhao criticizes Feiyue’s deferential behavior, prompting Qin Xu to firmly defend his family’s retainers.
• Qin Xu, Zhang Lexuan, and Vielvi joke about Xue Zhao’s obvious interest in spending time with him. The group returns to the dormitory; Qin Xu cultivates while Zhang Lexuan continues selecting academy-team candidates.
• In the dean’s office, teacher Tian Zilai renews his proposal to direct more Young Heaven Class resources toward commoner students. Dean Li Wei agrees to support a proposal for the palace, and Tian reveals that he has already prepared one.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu is friendly and welcoming toward Feiyue, but becomes stern when Xue Zhao speaks dismissively of the Qin family’s loyal retainers. His humor returns afterward as he teases Vielvi.
• Yang Feiyue begins the meeting nervous and reverential toward Qin Xu, then relaxes and leaves delighted by the encounter. Hong Wenwen shares his excitement and is established as a strong potential team member.
• Xue Zhao is eager to spend time with Qin Xu despite having previously claimed she would keep her distance. She speaks candidly, but backs down when he rebukes her.
• Vielvi playfully points out Xue Zhao’s apparent feelings; Zhang Lexuan enjoys the teasing and continues her practical work selecting the academy team.
• Tian Zilai shows himself to be persistent and ambitious in advocating for commoner students. Li Wei supports his goal while stressing that the class’s plans require approval from the palace and the Grand Duke.

Significant themes

• Social hierarchy and loyalty: Feiyue’s reverence for Qin Xu and Qin Xu’s defense of loyal retainers highlight the influence of status and family allegiance.
• Opportunity for commoners: Tian argues that commoner students are receptive to new ideas and that their success could demonstrate the value of the duchy’s efforts to nurture them.
• School life and growing relationships: The students’ banter, awkward affection, and adjustment to classes contrast with the institution’s broader political and educational decisions.

Key plot points and events

• One month after the start of the school year, the Heavenly Profound Academy holds its opening ceremony, attended by more than three thousand students and senior officials.
• Grand Duke Qin Tianji reviews the academy’s enrollment and graduation figures, then tells Dean Li Wei to begin the ceremony. Qin Xu, Vielvi, and Lexuan leave the officials’ area and rejoin their student groups.
• The ceremony’s main announcement is a new duchy recruitment program for graduating Soul Masters. Those who enlist in the military will receive ranks based on their cultivation, enlistment bonuses, and—most strikingly—a military guarantee that they can obtain Soul Rings. Graduates may instead join the Royal Palace Martial Soul Bureau with comparable benefits and possible instruction from senior elders.
• The offer excites the graduating students, especially those from ordinary families, for whom access to Soul Rings is a major obstacle. The duchy intends to apply the program across its academies and make expanding its Soul Master forces a long-term policy.

Character developments and interactions

• Vielvi remains secretive about her identity. When Xue Zhao asks why she was allowed near Qin Tianji, Vielvi refuses to explain, and Qin Xu says he has been asked to keep the secret.
• Xue Zhao appears much more sociable and curious than when Qin Xu first met her, leading him to question whether she is truly human.
• Qin Xu privately suspects Xue Zhao may be the Snow Empress in human form. He resolves to make her fall in love with him, partly for the power and influence he believes she could bring. In reality, Xue Zhao’s transformation is complete enough to conceal her nature from everyone else, though Qin Xu’s suspicions unsettle her.
• Xue Zhao and Vielvi engage in friendly gossip, while Xue Zhao turns to Qin Xu for answers when Vielvi will not provide them.

Significant themes

• Recruitment and state power: The duchy uses generous military and royal-service benefits to attract Soul Masters and strengthen its control over them.
• Opportunity and inequality: Guaranteed Soul Rings could transform the prospects of graduates who lack family wealth, influence, or support.
• Secrecy and suspicion: Vielvi’s hidden status and Qin Xu’s theory about Xue Zhao show how incomplete knowledge shapes the characters’ relationships.
• Ambition and self-interest: Qin Xu’s plan regarding Xue Zhao reflects his tendency to view relationships through the advantages they might bring.

Plot points and events

• After a month of strong progress, Qin Xu’s Young Heaven Class celebrates its results: Qin Xu advances to rank 15, several classmates gain ranks, and the class now has eleven One-Ring Soul Masters.
• The palace rewards every student who has obtained a first soul ring with a Mystic Water Pill, which can raise a Soul Master below rank 20 by at least one rank. Students who have not yet earned a ring are promised one when they do.
• Qin Xu distributes ten pills to his classmates. The gifts inspire enthusiastic praise and deepen the students’ regard for him. In reality, the pills came from Qin Tianji, who obtained them through pressure on the Xuanming Sect and the palace treasury.
• Tian Zilai announces extra career guidance for students who have not chosen a development path. The selected group consists of all thirteen commoner students, whose weaker foundations and lack of family guidance make such support especially valuable.
• Vielvi leaves for the Soul Tool laboratory after lunch. Her rapid progress under teacher Huang Suyue has made her a prospective Level 1 Soul Engineer.
• Back at the dormitory, Qin Xu prepares to take a Mystic Water Pill and asks Xuan to stand guard.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu acts as the class’s generous monitor, but privately recognizes that the pills are also a way to build loyalty. He is calculating about how to use his remaining supply, while sincerely supporting Vielvi’s ambitions.
• Vielvi asks Qin Xu for another pill to speed her cultivation. He refuses for now, telling her to use her first one before seeking more. Her enthusiasm for Soul Tools has developed into a promising technical talent.
• Xue Zhao and Ye Guyi overhear Vielvi’s request and realize Qin Xu may have additional pills.
• Tian Zilai praises the class’s improvement and arranges tailored guidance for students without established plans.
• Meng Xin, called first to set an example, receives his pill with conspicuous excitement and vows to meet Qin Xu’s expectations.

Significant themes

• Rewards, loyalty, and influence: Qin Xu’s generosity earns admiration, though he also views the pills as a means of cultivating loyalty.
• Unequal opportunity: Commoner students lack the family knowledge and guidance available to privileged peers, making targeted instruction important to their prospects.
• Talent and institutional development: Vielvi’s aptitude for Soul Tools gives Qin Xu hope for advancing the duchy’s technical capabilities.
• Cultivation and limits: Mystic Water Pills offer quick gains, but their diminishing effects make their use a strategic choice.

Key plot points and events

• After taking a Mystic Water Pill, Qin Xu’s soul power rose from rank fifteen to the peak of rank sixteen. He postpones a second pill so he can consolidate his cultivation first.
• The Young Heaven Class students receive top-grade Body-Tempering Potion, administered as medicinal baths. The shared experience helps bring the classmates closer.
• In their first practical combat lesson, the eleven One-Ring Soul Masters draw lots for five one-on-one matches; the Soul Scholars watch from the sidelines. The student left without a match receives a bye and will fight first next time.
• Vielvi asks whether students may use soul tools. Tian Zilai permits one low-destruction device per student. Her first opponent is Tian Zhi, a rank-twelve Lightning Bird Soul Master.
• Tian Zhi opens with a speed-boosting soul skill and charges. Vielvi uses a Single-Barrel Laser Emitter to repeatedly target the ground ahead of him, disrupting his approach and exhausting him. Tian Zhi eventually loses his balance, and Vielvi is declared the winner.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu shows discipline by prioritizing cultivation stability over taking another pill. Watching Vielvi’s precise aim also makes him recognize a skill he envies.
• Vielvi is confident and strategic, using her soul tool and strong spiritual perception to control the fight from a distance.
• Tian Zhi is determined but struggles because his close-range, speed-based style gives him no effective answer to Vielvi’s ranged attacks.
• Ye Guyi sympathizes with Tian Zhi’s predicament until Qin Xu reminds her that her angel martial soul lets her fly. She realizes she has overlooked her own advantage.
• Xue Zhao analyzes the match and identifies Vielvi’s spiritual power as the source of her remarkable targeting accuracy. Qin Xu agrees and expands on the difficulty of achieving such control.

Significant themes

• Preparation and restraint: Qin Xu’s decision to consolidate before taking another pill reflects the value of careful cultivation.
• Tactics over raw power: Vielvi wins by exploiting range, precision, and her opponent’s limitations rather than overpowering him.
• Recognizing one’s strengths: Ye Guyi’s realization that she can fly emphasizes the importance of understanding and using one’s own abilities.
• Classroom camaraderie: The medicinal baths and students’ observations of one another’s techniques help build a sense of community.

Key plot points and events

• Xue Zhao defeats Meng Xin in the second match. Meng Xin, a rank-13 fire Soul Master, opens with a charging Soul Skill, but Xue Zhao—rank 17—meets him head-on with ice. She neutralizes his flames, throws him to the ground, and pins him in place with ice spikes.
• Qin Xu praises Xue Zhao’s control of ice. She eagerly accepts his compliments, though she blushes and lightly punches him when he keeps praising her.
• The third and fourth matches feature evenly matched new Soul Masters. Both fights follow a repetitive pattern of Soul Skills and hand-to-hand combat, which Qin Xu finds dull.
• In the fifth match, a lottery pairs Ye Guyi with Li Xin, while Qin Xu gets a bye. Both contestants are relieved to avoid facing him in their first practical class.
• Ye Guyi uses her holy angel Martial Soul to fly and attack Li Xin from above with her Angel Holy Light Bomb and quick strikes. Li Xin’s Seven Kill Sword gives him a powerful counterattack, but Ye Guyi evades his first Soul Skill, Kill, and he concedes.

Character development and interactions

• Xue Zhao demonstrates that she can adapt her fighting style: although previously a ranged fighter, she now excels at close combat. Her confidence and pride remain strong, but Qin Xu’s praise makes her visibly bashful.
• Meng Xin is caught off guard by Xue Zhao’s changed approach and loses despite making a reasonable opening attack.
• Ye Guyi shows patience and tactical awareness, using flight to control the fight, then carefully testing Li Xin’s apparent trap before committing to an attack.
• Li Xin displays discipline and planning, but his strategy fails when Ye Guyi avoids his strike. He concedes rather than continue at a disadvantage.
• Qin Xu observes the fights and reflects on the angel Martial Soul’s aerial advantage, while Tian Zilai praises Ye Guyi and Li Xin’s match before ending the class.

Significant themes

• Adaptability and changing expectations: Xue Zhao’s shift from ranged to close combat surprises Meng Xin.
• Using strengths strategically: Ye Guyi turns her ability to fly into control over the pace and distance of her match.
• Composure and judgment: Both Ye Guyi and Li Xin rely on reading their opponent, though only Ye Guyi’s assessment proves successful.
• Pride and affection: Xue Zhao’s boastful confidence contrasts with her embarrassment when Qin Xu compliments her.

Key plot points and events

• Tian Zilai tells the Young Heaven Class that their cultivation is impressive but their combat skills remain poor. He reassures them that fighting can be taught and praises the five specialist teachers who are training them.
• After class, Qin Xu tells Vielvi, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi he has another gift for them: a second Mystic Water Pill each. Their first pills brought substantial gains—Vielvi and Ye Guyi are near rank sixteen, while Xue Zhao has reached rank seventeen.
• Qin Xu and Zhang Lexuan review maps in Qin Xu’s planning room. He intends to expand the Black Dragon Duchy westward into the Sun Moon Empire, initially targeting North Sea Province and Winter Sun Province. He believes political upheaval might let the provinces’ leaders defect rather than forcing a military invasion.
• Qin Xu confidently declares that he could reach Mingdu and unite the continent. Zhang Lexuan admires and supports his ambition, though she questions how realistic his plans are.
• Qin Xu reflects that the Douluo nations’ divisions and rivalries make it difficult for them to oppose the Sun Moon Empire together. He traces some of those divisions to the complicated history linking the Heaven Dou Empire, the Qin Family, and the Body Sect.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu continues to support his friends’ cultivation while revealing himself as an ambitious strategist with imperial aspirations. Beneath his confidence, he recognizes that political disunity may be a greater obstacle than military strength.
• Vielvi, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi benefit from their first pills and receive a second. Vielvi is interested in studying soul tools, while Xue Zhao and Ye Guyi prioritize cultivation.
• Zhang Lexuan acts as Qin Xu’s planning partner, assessing his strategy realistically. Despite her doubts, she is captivated by his confidence and tells him she believes in him.
• Tian Zilai establishes that combat training will be a major part of the students’ education, framing their weakness as a skill gap rather than a lack of talent.

Significant themes

• Ambition and confidence: Qin Xu’s goal of becoming emperor seems audacious, but he treats it as a real political project.
• Strategy versus brute force: He favors exploiting political changes and defections over attacking fortified provinces directly.
• Unity versus division: The continent’s rivalries weaken its ability to confront a powerful common adversary.
• History and political ties: The present-day relationships among nations, families, and sects are shaped by centuries of alliances, conflicts, and concealed connections.

Key plot points and events

• Qin Xu tests the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon clan’s Solar Secret Art, using sunlight and his dragon horns to condense one gram of Great Sun Pure Crystal. The process is mentally exhausting and produces intense heat.
• The crystal can power his [Great Sun Demon God] talent and strengthen his fire resistance, but its energy is too violent for him to consume directly. He processes it with herbs into Blazing Sun Spiritual Liquid, a gentler potion suitable for drinking or medicinal baths.
• The next morning, Xue Zhao announces that her Soul Power has reached rank eighteen after taking a second Mystic Water Pill. She challenges Qin Xu, but they agree to wait for a possible practical combat class.
• Ye Guyi unexpectedly becomes fixated on Qin Xu’s scent, hugging and licking his cheek. The others cannot smell anything unusual.
• Qin Xu realizes the fragrance comes from the Blazing Sun Spiritual Liquid. Ye Guyi recognizes the bottle’s scent and begs him to give it to her, promising to do anything in return.
• Qin Xu keeps the potion’s nature secret from Xue Zhao and decides to take Ye Guyi back to the dorm rather than attend class, while Vielvi and Xue Zhao go to arrange their leave.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu demonstrates growing skill with his clan’s secret art and ingenuity in turning a powerful resource into a safer potion. He quickly connects Ye Guyi’s unusual reaction to the liquid.
• Ye Guyi displays an intense, seemingly instinctive attraction to the potion’s scent, acting far more uninhibited than usual. Her eagerness shifts the group’s plans.
• Xue Zhao is proud of her progress and eager to challenge Qin Xu, but becomes suspicious and protective when Ye Guyi clings to him.
• Vielvi remains observant and practical, recognizing Qin Xu’s plan and persuading Xue Zhao to help arrange leave instead of confronting him.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Great Sun Pure Crystal is valuable but dangerous, so Qin Xu must adapt it to suit his current limits.
• Discovery and experimentation: Qin Xu tests his abilities and investigates the unexpected effects of his creation.
• Trust and secrecy: He withholds the potion’s identity from Xue Zhao while responding to Ye Guyi’s unusual need for it.
• Comedic social tension: Ye Guyi’s dramatic behavior contrasts with the others’ confusion and concern.

Plot points and events

• Qin Xu gives Ye Guyi a medicinal bath using one drop of Blazing Sun Spiritual Liquid, choosing external use first because swallowing it could be dangerous.
• The solution reacts intensely with Ye Guyi and her Holy Angel Martial Soul. She initially suffers, then appears blissful as she absorbs the medicine. Within an hour, the bathwater becomes clear, suggesting she has absorbed it all.
• Qin Xu concludes that Ye Guyi’s angel bloodline has a strong affinity for solar energy. He suspects her Holy Angel Martial Soul is an incomplete Six-Winged Angel and that enough solar essence might restore its sun-related power.
• Ye Guyi feels a slight, hard-to-identify change in her Martial Soul, along with increased hunger. She also reports a small rise in soul power and more stable cultivation.
• Qin Xu explains his theory to her. Excited by the possibility of developing a Six-Winged Angel, Ye Guyi embraces him and asks for more of the liquid.
• When Qin Xu and Ye Guyi leave to eat, Vielvi and Xue Zhao arrive, worried that Qin Xu might have mistreated her. Reassured by Ye Guyi, they question what caused her change. Qin Xu identifies the medicine and says it may benefit her Martial Soul, though its effects still need verification.

Character development and interactions

• Qin Xu is cautious and analytical, testing the medicine safely before drawing conclusions. His discovery excites him, but he remains aware that the theory needs further testing.
• Ye Guyi moves from impatience and discomfort to happiness and excitement. Her affection for Qin Xu is clear: she calls him “Brother Xu,” embraces him, and trusts his explanation.
• Vielvi and Xue Zhao show concern for Ye Guyi and suspicion toward Qin Xu, but accept Ye Guyi’s reassurance. Vielvi is especially curious about the medicine.
• The group’s conversation establishes Qin Xu as the source of a possible breakthrough, while Ye Guyi confirms firsthand that the treatment has helped her.

Significant themes

• Latent inheritance and restoration: Solar essence may awaken powers lost from the Angel lineage.
• Individual differences: The same spiritual substance affects Qin Xu’s physique and Ye Guyi’s soul power differently.
• Cautious experimentation: Qin Xu tests the medicine gradually and treats the proposed transformation as a possibility, not a certainty.
• Trust and care: Ye Guyi’s confidence in Qin Xu contrasts with her friends’ protective concern.

Key plot points and events

• Over three months, Qin Xu and his companions continue cultivating and training. Qin Xu reaches Soul Power rank 20, but Xue Zhao reaches it a week earlier despite awakening her Martial Soul only days after him.
• Ye Guyi nears rank 20 after using the remaining Blazing Sun Spiritual Liquid. Vielvi’s Soul Tool studies slow her cultivation, but she eventually reaches rank 20 too.
• The four friends ask permission to seek their second Soul Rings. Qin Tianji summons them to the royal palace, where they undergo physical-strength tests before hunting.
• Qin Xu’s test records a remarkable 5,300-year limit, confirming his body may be capable of absorbing a Soul Ring of that age. Vielvi’s result is 1,200 years, Xue Zhao’s is 3,500 years, and Ye Guyi’s is 1,800 years. The chapter ends before their Soul Ring hunt begins.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu is impressed by his own rapid progress but frustrated that Xue Zhao is even more gifted; he privately suspects she is the Snow Empress.
• Qin Xu’s exceptional physique raises his hopes of eventually absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his third.
• Xue Zhao is outwardly composed but privately competitive, comparing her result to Qin Xu’s. She also shows unease around the testing machines.
• Vielvi is eager to test herself and pleased to learn she can likely absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
• Ye Guyi admires Qin Xu and attributes his strength partly to solar power. Her own resilience reflects her exposure to sun-derived energy.
• Qin Tianji welcomes Xue Zhao and Ye Guyi warmly, inviting them to call him “Great-Grandfather,” and celebrates Qin Xu’s extraordinary result. The four friends proceed together, while Qin Tianji and the academy arrange the next stage of their Soul Ring search.

Significant themes

• Talent and comparison: Even rapid advancement can feel inadequate beside someone more gifted, as Qin Xu’s reaction to Xue Zhao shows.
• Preparation and bodily limits: Physical strength determines which Soul Rings the characters can safely absorb, making the tests essential before their hunt.
• Family, friendship, and belonging: The companions’ shared goal and Qin Tianji’s affectionate welcome reinforce their growing place in Qin Xu’s family circle.

Key plot points and events

• After the youngsters’ physical examinations, Qin Tianji tells Qin Xu that he must travel the next day to obtain his second soul ring. A 2,500-year-old Dragon Vein Troll has been prepared for him in the Dragon Soul Forest.
• Qin Xu invites Vielvi, Xue Zhao, and Ye Guyi to explore the Black Dragon King’s Palace. Their conversation turns to a local legend that the Heavenly Soul Empire’s founder and the Black Dragon King were lovers; Qin Xu and Vielvi tease Ye Guyi for repeating it.
• The following morning, Qin Xu’s group travels toward the Heaven Dou Mountains in a carriage borrowed from Zhang Lexuan. The party consists of Qin Xu and the three girls, accompanied by Army-Breaking Douluo Bai Jian, Wisdom Douluo Ya Yun, and Demon Dragon Douluo Qin Feng, who drives.
• Bai Jian asks the girls about their desired soul beasts. Xue Zhao is open to any ice-attribute beast, while Ye Guyi hopes to find a light-attribute beast with solar symbolism to help restore the missing sun in her martial soul. Such beasts are rare.
• After gathering intelligence on local soul-beast sightings, the group enters the mountains. Qin Feng plans to search Dragon Vein Troll territories first for Qin Xu, then seek a ring for Vielvi; finding suitable beasts for Xue Zhao and Ye Guyi will depend on chance.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu shows eagerness to obtain his ring, immediately agreeing to the trip once he hears what beast has been prepared. He also takes the lead in looking after his friends.
• Ye Guyi is earnest about repairing her martial soul and follows Qin Xu’s advice about seeking a solar-linked soul beast. Her curiosity about imperial history also sparks the playful exchange at the palace.
• Xue Zhao is confident and flexible about her choice of soul beast, needing only an ice attribute.
• Bai Jian is warm and encouraging, though his praise can feel forced. Ya Yun bluntly calls him out, and the two trade familiar barbs. Their bickering is clearly affectionate rather than hostile; Vielvi enjoys watching them.
• Qin Feng handles the journey efficiently, using his strength and preparation to keep the carriage smooth despite the rough mountain roads.

Significant themes

• Preparation and uncertainty: The group has planned carefully, but rare soul beasts—especially those suited to Ye Guyi—may be difficult to find.
• Friendship and mentorship: The elders guide the youngsters, while Qin Xu supports his companions’ development.
• Affectionate teasing and family bonds: The palace jokes and the elders’ banter show closeness beneath their mock arguments.
• History and legend: The story introduces the empire’s past and the Black Dragon King’s connection to its founding, while leaving the romantic rumor unconfirmed.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• While searching the Heaven Dou Mountains for second soul rings, Qin Xu’s party discovers a family of seven Dragon Vein Trolls. One adult female has a 5,100-year soul ring—slightly above the conservative limit recommended for Qin Xu.
• Qin Xu insists on trying it, arguing that his physical tests suggest he can handle an even older ring. Bai Jian eventually agrees, but requires him to stop if he feels any danger. Qin Feng captures the troll, and Qin Xu kills her and absorbs her ring successfully.
• Qin Xu reaches Soul Grandmaster level 23, gaining two levels from the absorption. His second skill, Demon Empress Blazing Sun Flash, lets him charge at a locked target at high speed, damaging enemies along his path and boosting his speed afterward. The group considers it a useful offensive and mobility skill, especially against control-type opponents.
• The party then travels toward Jiaji Mountain to find a soul ring for Vielvi. They leave the carriage and proceed on foot through the snowy mountains, taking care because dangerous soul beasts live nearby.
• They find a group of White Spirit Bei and select a recently matured, 1,000-year-old one for Vielvi. She kills it herself and, after a difficult ten-hour absorption, gains her second ring and becomes a Soul Grandmaster.
• Vielvi’s soul power is only level 21, but her spiritual power has risen substantially. Her second skill, Thought Synchronization, lets her link her consciousness with another person’s, sharing thoughts, senses, and vision. She can currently connect with one person, with each later soul ring increasing that number.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu demonstrates confidence and a willingness to take calculated risks, pushing past his elders’ caution. After his successful absorption, he is pleased with his new skill and encourages Vielvi when she is disappointed by her lower soul-power level.
• Bai Jian balances concern for Qin Xu’s safety with respect for his determination. He admits that Qin Xu’s great-grandfather’s caution stems from a painful loss five years earlier.
• Qin Feng handles scouting and captures the chosen beasts, while checking Qin Xu’s condition after the absorption.
• Ya Yun worries over both children’s safety and defends the importance of Vielvi’s spiritual growth when Bai Jian focuses on soul power.
• Vielvi is eager and decisive, showing little hesitation in killing her chosen beast. Her disappointment fades after Qin Xu reminds her that strong spiritual power will help her study soul tools.
• Ye Guyi briefly objects to killing the young troll’s mother, revealing greater compassion; Xue Zhao counters with a pragmatic view of survival. Their exchange highlights differing moral outlooks among the children.

Significant themes

• Risk and growth: Qin Xu’s choice challenges excessive caution, while the elders’ concern shows the cost of risking a treasured heir.
• Strength and survival: The hunt reflects the harsh logic of the soul-beast world, contrasted with Ye Guyi’s compassion.
• Different measures of ability: Vielvi’s experience emphasizes that spiritual power can matter more than soul power, particularly for a spiritual-type soul master.
• Family guidance and support: The adults protect and advise the children, while Qin Xu also provides emotional reassurance to Vielvi.

Key events

• After struggling to find a suitable ice-attribute beast for Xue Zhao, the group searches several reported Snow Ape locations. The strongest candidates are either too powerful or too old; the last suitable Two-Headed Snow Ape has already been killed and partly eaten.
• An Ice Jade Scorpion then appears, apparently drawn from the Far North. Qin Feng subdues it, and the group discovers it is exactly three thousand years old—an ideal match for Xue Zhao. She kills it and absorbs its soul ring in under three hours.
• Xue Zhao’s second soul skill, Thousand Ice Spears, creates a barrage of ice spears suited to suppressing enemies, especially alongside her existing skill. Her soul power rises to level 23, matching Qin Xu’s.
• The group turns south to search for a light-attribute soul beast for Ye Guyi. She wants one of about fifteen hundred years old, preferably with a connection to the sun. Qin Xu hints that this requirement relates to a theory about angel martial souls but keeps the details secret.
• The group enters a vast, ancient forest in the Heaven Dou Mountains. The elders compare it with the far greater Star Dou Great Forest, which excites both Vielvi and Xue Zhao. They begin searching the forest for a beast suitable for Ye Guyi.

Character developments and interactions

• Xue Zhao stays composed when the Snow Ape dies, but Qin Xu notices her hidden melancholy and longing when the Ice Jade Scorpion is mentioned. She recognizes that it likely came looking for her on behalf of Bing’er, awakening her desire to return to the Far North after seven years away. She conceals this from the others.
• Qin Xu grows more certain that Xue Zhao is the Snow Empress, based on her reaction to the Ice Jade Scorpion. He also remains focused on his private theory concerning Ye Guyi’s angel martial soul, while his possessive interest in Xue Zhao intensifies.
• Ye Guyi follows Qin Xu’s advice in choosing a sun-associated soul beast. Their unexplained private work—and the Blazing Sun Spiritual Liquid Qin Xu uses to help her—makes Vielvi and Xue Zhao curious and jealous. When Qin Xu refuses to explain his theory, they silently threaten him by putting their hands on his thighs.
• The elders guide the youngsters’ soul-beast searches and protect them. Qin Feng, Bai Jian, and Ya Yun each react differently to the Snow Ape’s gruesome death, while Bai Jian encourages the group’s curiosity about the Star Dou Great Forest.

Significant themes

• Fate and reciprocity: The Ice Jade Scorpion kills the Snow Ape that might have become Xue Zhao’s soul ring, then becomes her soul ring instead—a coincidence the elders interpret as karmic retribution.
• Hidden identity and longing: Xue Zhao’s restrained reaction hints at her deep connection to the Far North and the life she left behind.
• Power and potential: Xue Zhao’s unusually strong soul skill and rapid growth reflect the exceptional nature of her concealed past.
• Nature and discovery: The contrast between snowy mountains and the primeval forest, along with talk of the Star Dou Great Forest, broadens the group’s sense of the world and its dangers.

Key plot points and events

• The group finds a sixteen-hundred-year-old Golden Earth Dragon, which Ye Guyi chooses as the source of her second soul ring. Bai Jian insists the children fight it themselves, with the adults standing by to protect them.
• Qin Xu’s dragon roar terrifies the beast into helplessness. He then breaks its neck with a single strike, shocking the adults with the extent of his strength and the power of his bloodline. Ye Guyi delivers the final blow and absorbs the soul ring.
• Ye Guyi gains Angel Assault, a close-range technique that combines an empowered punch with a protective shield, and reaches soul-power rank 22. All four children now have their second soul rings.
• Returning to Green Mountain Town, the group learns that a successful soul-hunting team was nearly wiped out after entering a ten-thousand-year beast’s territory. The tragedy prompts a sober reminder that soul hunting is dangerous.
• Qin Xu returns to the Black Dragon King’s Palace for New Year. He presides over his first New Year banquet, the duchy’s grand court assembly, and a Qin family gathering before returning to school after the holiday.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu shows confidence in facing the Golden Earth Dragon, while his extraordinary strength and terrifying roar reveal that his martial soul is far more formidable than an ordinary Black Dragon. He also advises Vielvi that spiritual detection could complement her Thought Synchronization skill.
• Ye Guyi firmly chooses the Golden Earth Dragon despite her initial hesitation and gains a promising offensive-defensive soul skill.
• Vielvi synchronizes perceptions with Qin Xu during the fight, giving him enhanced awareness. She is eager for his judgment of the skill and later invites her friends to the palace for New Year.
• Xue Zhao remains fearless and challenges Qin Xu to spar after witnessing his strength. She and Ye Guyi prefer cultivation to attending the palace festivities.
• Bai Jian pushes the children to gain real combat experience and later recognizes the significance of Qin Xu’s power. Ya Yun suspects Qin Xu possesses a rare, ultimate-darkness dragon martial soul; Bai Jian hints that Qin Xu’s elders may explain it.
• The group responds differently to the hunting team’s deaths: Xue Zhao takes a hard, pragmatic view, while Ye Guyi and Vielvi feel sympathy for the victims and their families.

Significant themes

• Growth through danger: The adults view controlled combat as necessary for the children’s development, though Qin Feng and Ya Yun worry about the risks.
• Power and mystery: Qin Xu’s bloodline suppression and strength suggest that his martial soul is exceptional, foreshadowing revelations about his identity.
• The cost of a dangerous profession: The hunting team’s losses underline that soul hunting can devastate individuals, families, and the local economy.
• Duty and leadership: Qin Xu’s holiday shifts from leisure to public responsibility as he takes on the ceremonial and political obligations of the Black Dragon Grand Duke.

Key plot points

• At the end of the school year, Xue Zhao leaves, saying she will take Granny Dou to Xuebian Village. Qin Xu suspects she has another purpose.
• Vielvi reveals that she is a princess of the Heaven Dou Empire and invites Ye Guyi to visit her home. Ye declines, choosing to stay at the academy and cultivate; Vielvi plans to return home the next morning.
• Several days later, Xue Zhao reaches the Far North and summons the Ice Empress.
• The Ice Empress learns that Xue Zhao became human to escape an approaching heavenly tribulation, not because she meant to abandon her. She is hurt when Xue Zhao says she intends to return to the human world, but Xue Zhao explains that she has formed meaningful bonds there.
• Facing her own four-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, the Ice Empress considers sacrificing herself to become Xue Zhao’s soul ring. Xue Zhao rejects the idea and promises to help her survive the tribulation once her own strength has recovered.
• The two set off for Ice God Lake, where the Ice Empress has stationed members of her clan to guard the area.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Xu remains perceptive and concerned about Xue Zhao’s true plans.
• Vielvi openly shares her royal identity and affectionately teases Qin Xu, while hoping Ye Guyi will visit her.
• Ye Guyi shows how strongly she has relied on appearances: despite knowing Vielvi for a year, she never guessed she was a princess because of her martial soul.
• Xue Zhao reveals her gentler, more emotionally attached side. Though she once might have stayed in the Far North, her friendships with Qin Xu, Ye Guyi, and Vielvi now draw her back to human society.
• The Ice Empress is powerful but emotionally vulnerable with Xue Zhao. Their reunion moves from hurt and self-blame to reassurance, playful scolding, and renewed closeness.

Significant themes

• Belonging and change: Xue Zhao’s time among humans has created bonds that alter where she feels at home.
• Loyalty and protection: Both women want to protect one another, but Xue Zhao refuses to accept the Ice Empress’s self-sacrifice.
• Identity and assumptions: Vielvi’s concealed royal status challenges the habit of judging people by their martial souls.
• Mortality and difficult choices: The approaching tribulations force both powerful beings to confront transformation, sacrifice, and the limits of their lives.