Chapter Summaries

After Shi Nian attacked Han Tao and Ning Rongrong, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect used the incident to hold Canghui Academy accountable and pursue its research on illusions. At the competition hearing, Emperor Xue Ye revoked Canghui Academy’s qualification and advanced the Seven Treasure Team by forfeit.

• Ning Fengzhi had Manager Ning take Shi Nian into custody and questioned why he had attacked the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s members.
• Han Tao reasoned that Shi Nian had targeted Ning Rongrong to uncover her secret method and proposed using the attack to pressure Canghui Academy for its illusion research.
• Ning Fengzhi presented Image Stone footage of Shi Nian luring Han Tao and Ning Rongrong away and attacking them, then accused Canghui Academy before the competition’s leaders.
• Xiao Yuan reported that Han Tao and Ning Rongrong had survived with serious injuries, while Salas questioned Han Tao about his condition.
• Han Tao challenged Salas’s judgment, explaining that Shi Nian’s spiritual-type martial soul caused spiritual damage that could not be assessed by his appearance or gait.
• Emperor Xue Ye revoked Canghui Academy’s qualification and offered the Seven Treasure Team a bye into the next round.

Yu Xiaogang argued that Shi Nian's attack on Han Tao might have been a personal grudge, so Han Tao agreed not to seek Canghui Academy's disqualification. After the competition meeting, Ning Fengzhi demanded an explanation from Canghui Academy, whose dean offered a rare thirty-thousand-year mental-type Head Soul Bone as compensation.

• Yu Xiaogang claimed Shi Nian might have attacked Han Tao over a personal grudge rather than for Canghui Academy, and argued the academy should keep its competition qualification.
• Han Tao agreed not to pursue Canghui Academy's disqualification, and Xue Ye withdrew his order.
• Ning Fengzhi confronted Canghui Academy after the meeting and demanded an explanation for Shi Nian's attack on Han Tao and Ning Rongrong.
• Cang Hua apologized and claimed Shi Nian had acted alone, but Sword Douluo threatened him with the Seven Kill Sword.
• Cang Hua offered a thirty-thousand-year mental-type Head Soul Bone as compensation, shocking the spectators and raising questions about Canghui Academy's secrets.

Han Tao stopped the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect from trading Shi Nian for Cang Hua’s Head Soul Bone and instead arranged to consult Canghui Academy’s materials about mental injuries. When Ye Lingling offered to accompany him, Ning Rongrong insisted on going too after learning Han Tao had bought a Mind Concentrating Mother Tree.

• Cang Hua offered Canghui Academy’s thirty-thousand-year Mental Head Bone in exchange for Shi Nian, and Manager Ning agreed to the deal.
• Han Tao objected, saying Shi Nian had attacked him and Ning Rongrong and could not be let go, while Ning Rongrong joined his objection.
• Han Tao told Cang Hua that he would not hold Canghui Academy responsible but asked to consult its materials on injuries caused by spiritual Martial Souls.
• Cang Hua agreed to Han Tao’s request, and Ye Lingling offered to accompany him and treat his mind.
• Ning Rongrong demanded to go along after revealing that Han Tao had bought the Mind Concentrating Mother Tree for seven hundred thousand gold soul coins.

After Sword Douluo severed Cang Hua’s hand, Ning Fengzhi learned that Xiao Wu was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and discussed the danger with Han Tao and Ning Rongrong. They decided to leave Xiao Wu alone, while Cang Hua accepted their terms and allowed them to consult Canghui Academy’s records.

• Han Tao asked Cang Hua to free Shi Nian, but Ning Rongrong objected and Sword Douluo severed Cang Hua’s left hand.
• Sword Douluo’s pressure injured a Canghui Academy student, and Xiao Wu realized her identity had been exposed before retreating and falling.
• Sword Douluo told Ning Fengzhi that Xiao Wu was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and Han Tao advised against killing her.
• Ning Rongrong noted Tang San’s strength did not match Blue Silver Grass, and Han Tao suggested he had Twin Martial Souls, leading Ning Fengzhi to suspect he was Tang Hao’s son.
• Cang Hua gave up his demand to save Shi Nian and agreed to let Han Tao, Ning Rongrong, and Ye Lingling consult Canghui Academy’s records.

Han Tao studied illusion techniques at Canghui Academy and questioned Shi Nian about how memories shaped illusions. He learned to build his own illusion as a safeguard, then considered what kind of illusion to create.

• Han Tao searched Canghui Academy's library for research on illusions and learned that Soul Power could activate the Shenting Acupoint while Mental Power shaped an illusion.
• Han Tao tested activating his Shenting Acupoint and found only a blank void, leaving him unsure how Shi Nian's Nightmare revealed Tang San's memories.
• Han Tao questioned the crippled Shi Nian, who explained that Nightmare let him observe illusions formed from other people's memories, but did not let him control them or freely access memories.
• Han Tao concluded that an unprepared Soul Master might be drawn into an illusion generated from a memory blueprint, while a self-built illusion could block outside intrusion and reduce that risk.
• Han Tao began constructing a basic illusion from his own memories and browsed Canghui Academy's examples while deciding what to build.

Han Tao practiced constructing illusions, using Lovesick Heartbreak Red as an anchor and testing ways to escape. After confirming that he could leave by stopping stimulation of the Shenting Acupoint or triggering his body's life-and-death instincts, he woke in the real world and recorded his findings.

• Han Tao built an illusion of Holy Soul Village and made Lovesick Heartbreak Red his martial-soul anchor for recognizing that he was inside it.
• Han Tao used the Distraction Control Method to retain control of his body, stop stimulating the Shenting Acupoint, and exit the illusion.
• Han Tao tested whether falling could free him, then jumped from a towering cliff in the illusion and woke up from the resulting danger response.
• Ye Lingling offered Han Tao Mind Concentrating Tea, while Ning Rongrong brought him Mind Calming Tea.
• Han Tao checked that he was in the real world, wrote down two escape methods, and noted that Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes might also break through illusions.
• Ning Rongrong said she and Ye Lingling had learned nothing because Ning Rongrong lacked a Head Soul Bone.

Han Tao faced Canghui Academy’s Seven Gems Team alone and was trapped in their synchronized illusion, which exposed a painful memory and revealed Shi Nian’s ability to exploit hidden fears. He attacked the team in the real world with his ten-thousand-year Blue Silver Poisonous Barrier, leaving their fire shield broken and the Seven Gems Team under the poison’s assault.

• Han Tao told his teammates to sit out because they had not learned to resist illusions, then entered the match alone.
• The Seven Gems Team used its Seven-in-One Martial Soul Fusion Skill to trap Han Tao in the Seven Asura Illusion Realm.
• Han Tao realized the illusion had drawn on his memories and condemned Shi Nian for deceiving him.
• Han Tao used the Distraction Control Method to control the illusion and reality at the same time, then unleashed his fourth soul skill, Blue Silver Poisonous Barrier.
• Shen Xinshui warned the team of the danger, and Zhang Jingyang ordered the fusion skill released as the poison spread across the arena.
• Liu Haosi raised a Blazing Flame Fire Shield, but Han Tao’s poison pierced it after fourteen seconds and attacked the Seven Gems Team.

Han Tao analyzed how the Seven Gems Team had read and synchronized with his memories, then used his own illusion to reverse their attack and defense. The Blue Silver Poisonous Barrier continued to form as the team was drawn into his illusion.

• Zhu Zizhang alternated Thick Earth Wall with the Blazing Flame Fire Shield to keep Han Tao’s poisonous barrier at bay, while Zhang Jingyang urged Han Tao to surrender.
• Yu Xiaogang speculated that Han Tao had obtained a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring through a Soul Beast’s voluntary sacrifice, making Xiao Wu fear Tang San might have deceived her.
• Han Tao used his heightened perception and calculation to reason that the Seven Gems Team had read his memories and synchronized its illusion with his.
• Han Tao concluded that Shi Nian had hidden his memory-reading ability to conceal a Head Soul Bone and inferred that the Seven Gems Team’s illusions had merged with his own.
• Han Tao activated the Shenting Acupoint and cast the Holy Soul Village illusion, pulling the Seven Gems Team into it while his Blue Silver Poisonous Barrier continued forming.

Han Tao defeated the Seven Gems Team by poisoning them in the real world and forcing Shen Xinshui out of the Illusion, cutting off the team's connection to reality. After Canghui Academy conceded, Han Tao reflected on the difficult victory and grew angry at Shi Nian for misleading him.

• Zhang Jingyang split the Seven Gems Team between the Illusion and the real world, while Han Tao used Blue Silver Grass and poison to penetrate their defenses.
• Han Tao found Shen Xinshui's Illusion and tore open a rift that forced her back into the real world, severing the team's bridge between reality and Illusion.
• Shen Xinshui and her teammates suffered from Han Tao's poison, and Canghui Academy's dean conceded the match.
• Han Tao told Zhang Jingyang he could have quit the Illusion earlier, then left as his teammates celebrated the victory.
• Han Tao rested and reflected on how he had identified Shen Xinshui as the Seven Gems Team's weak point, then blamed Shi Nian for tricking him.

Han Tao killed Shi Nian and discovered a roughly thirty-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone that might contain Shi Nian’s spirit and memories. He called Ning Fengzhi to handle the dangerous Soul Bone, hoping to obtain its memory-reading abilities, but its allocation remained uncertain.

• Han Tao accused Shi Nian of lying about Zhang Jingyang reading thoughts through a Head Soul Bone, then killed him and dissolved his remains with the Blue Silver Poisonous Barrier.
• A seven-colored Head Soul Bone appeared, and Han Tao avoided touching it in case Shi Nian could revive through it.
• Han Tao summoned Ning Fengzhi, who isolated the basement and scolded him for not secretly keeping the Soul Bone.
• Han Tao explained that Shi Nian’s Residual Dream Martial Soul might have left his spirit inside the Head Soul Bone, making it dangerous to absorb.
• Ning Fengzhi told Han Tao to secure the Soul Bone and said he would try to fight for it, though he could not guarantee the allocation.
• Han Tao considered using the Head Soul Bone to guard his own memories and read those of his enemies, while remaining cautious about its risks.

Han Tao used Xue Feng to contact Spirit Hall and lured Pufferfish Douluo with news of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. After Pufferfish Douluo killed Xue Feng, Han Tao offered him a way to turn the incident into a contribution to Spirit Hall.

• Han Tao persuaded Xue Feng to take him to Pufferfish Douluo so he could report important intelligence to Spirit Hall.
• Han Tao claimed he knew of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, its Soul Ring, and its Soul Bone, making Pufferfish Douluo and Xue Feng wary of each other.
• Pufferfish Douluo attacked Xue Feng with his Eighth Soul Skill, and Xue Feng used his Secret Method to send a warning to Snake Lance Douluo before dying.
• Pufferfish Douluo demanded the location of the soul beast, but Han Tao questioned whether Pufferfish Douluo could defeat it and whether the information was even true.
• Han Tao suggested Xue Feng had tried to conceal the information and frame Pufferfish Douluo, then tempted Pufferfish Douluo with the prospect of earning Spirit Hall's reward.

Han Tao secured Spirit Hall’s favor by revealing that Xiao Wu was the daughter of the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit Bibi Dong had hunted, and gained permission to use Spirit Hall’s library. He reflected on his scheme at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s library, where Ning Rongrong caught him reading one of Ning Tian’s books.

• Snake Lance Douluo brought Qian Renxue to meet Ci Xue, who admitted killing Xue Feng, and Han Tao explained that Xue Feng had wanted to keep the Soul Bone for himself.
• Han Tao told Qian Renxue that Xiao Wu was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and the daughter of the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit Bibi Dong had hunted.
• Qian Renxue ordered Snake Lance Douluo to inform Bibi Dong and granted Han Tao access to Spirit Hall’s library as his reward.
• Han Tao considered how revealing Xiao Wu’s identity had protected him and benefited him regardless of Ci Xue’s actions.
• Ning Rongrong caught Han Tao reading Amorous Affairs of Imperial Customs, and the Hall Guardian Elder revealed that the nearby shelves were filled with Ning Tian’s works.

Ning Rongrong confronted Ning Tian over his romance writings, then tried to arrange a match between Ye Lingling and Xue Qinghe. At the National Elite Soul Master Competition, Tang San’s Shrek Team lost to Skywater Team, and Tang San prepared to murder the referee who had forbidden his hidden weapons.

• Ning Rongrong dragged Ning Tian into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s Library Pavilion and demanded that he destroy or relocate his romance materials, while Han Tao promised not to read them.
• Ning Rongrong suggested that Ye Lingling and Xue Qinghe were well matched, but Han Tao rejected the idea because he feared becoming entangled with Xue Qinghe.
• Han Tao defeated the Seven Gems Team, while Shrek Team failed to overcome Skywater Team’s Seven-in-One Martial Soul Fusion skill.
• The referee challenged Tang San over his use of hidden weapons, but Yu Xiaogang used the Pope’s Decree to stop further questioning and secure a warning instead of a penalty.
• Han Tao observed Tang San’s disappointment after the loss and noticed that Tang San had readied his Soul Chasing Mother-Son Darts against the referee.
• Tang San left the stage intending to kill the referee, and Han Tao saw his plan but chose not to intervene.

Tang Hao interrupted Tang San’s attempt to attack the referee and confronted him about his ruthlessness, while Han Tao fled to keep Tang Hao from discovering his Soul Bone. Tang Hao’s doubts about Tang San’s identity deepened, and he left Tang San questioning Yu Xiaogang’s ability to protect him as Han Tao watched from a distance.

• Tang Hao appeared at the match and took Tang San away, while Han Tao slipped off through the crowd to hide his hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.
• Tang San admitted that he had wanted to kill the referee for prohibiting Hidden Weapon, and Tang Hao was shocked by his disregard for consequences.
• Tang Hao recalled searching for the Blue Silver King, which told him that children of a Blue Silver Emperor and a Soul Master did not inherit a Soul Beast’s memories.
• Tang Hao concluded that Tang San might not be his child but could still belong to the Clear Sky Sect, then prepared to sell a Thousand Year Blue Silver Grass for wine.
• Tang Hao challenged Tang San’s belief that Yu Xiaogang could protect him with the Pope’s Decree and released the aura of a Titled Douluo.
• From far away, Han Tao noticed Tang Hao’s display and worried it might scare Xiao Wu away.

Tang Hao revealed his strength to Tang San and challenged Yu Xiaogang’s claims about Blue Silver Grass, while Tang San remained reluctant to doubt his teacher. In Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong questioned the account of Xue Feng’s death and concluded that he had not betrayed them.

• Tang Hao revealed his nine Soul Rings, and his Soul Power Suppression forced Yu Xiaogang to the ground despite Yu Xiaogang displaying the Pope’s Decree.
• Tang San defended Yu Xiaogang’s theories, prompting Yu Xiaogang to remember Han Tao and realize he had broken through the level 19 bottleneck.
• Tang Hao compared Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass with a five-thousand-year wild specimen, demonstrating that Tang San’s martial soul could not withstand the same pressure.
• Yu Xiaogang insisted that Blue Silver Grass had no exceptions, and Tang San leaned toward accepting his explanation despite the evidence.
• Snake Lance Douluo told Bibi Dong that Xue Feng was dead and reported that Ci Xue had killed him after discovering his attempt to keep a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
• Bibi Dong rejected the claim that Xue Feng had betrayed Spirit Hall and concluded that he had been unable to act independently.

Bibi Dong learned that Han Tao had reached Soul Ancestor without an Immortal Herb and ordered Ghost Douluo and She Long to investigate how he broke through his talent limits. At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong gave Han Tao the Illusion Heart Lotus Head Soul Bone, and he promised to find her a better one someday.

• Bibi Dong read that Xiao Wu was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and agreed to Han Tao's request for library access.
• Bibi Dong learned Han Tao was a Soul Ancestor who had not eaten an Immortal Herb, then ordered Ghost Douluo and She Long to investigate his method for breaking talent limits.
• Ning Fengzhi presented the Illusion Heart Lotus Head Soul Bone dropped by Shi Nian, and Ning Rongrong pretended she did not want it.
• Han Tao told Ning Rongrong he wanted the Soul Bone and promised to find her a better one, making her happy.
• Gu Rong urged Han Tao to take the Soul Bone, and Han Tao accepted it from Ning Fengzhi.

Han Tao fused the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull and discovered that its Illusion Space could link and influence minds, while also revealing the structure behind Sword Douluo’s Seven Kill Domain. He left with a plan to study and simulate other Soul Powers as the first step toward mastering domains.

• Han Tao accepted Ning Rongrong’s offer of the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull and fused with it before the gathered onlookers.
• Han Tao tested the Illusion Space, heard Ning Rongrong’s unfiltered thoughts, and learned that the Mental Network could exchange thoughts among allies while exposing their minds to one another.
• Han Tao explained the skull’s mind-reading, illusion, and Mental Power effects to Ning Rongrong and Ning Fengzhi.
• Sword Douluo manifested the Seven Kill Domain, and Han Tao used Blue Silver Eye to observe its formation and identify it as a macroscopic structure of Soul Power.
• Han Tao reasoned that he could pursue domain mastery by first studying the microscopic foundations of Soul Power and learning to simulate different Soul Power types.

Han Tao studied the microscopic structures of different Soul Powers and discovered that Soul Power developed a structure specific to a Martial Soul at the Soul Douluo stage. After recording his findings in his Illusion, he considered how mastering these structures might let him break Soul Ring age limits.

• Han Tao asked Gu Rong to reveal his Martial Soul, and Ning Rongrong teased Bone Douluo into summoning the Bone Dragon beside Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword.
• Han Tao examined the Bone Dragon Soul Power and identified it as a new microscopic structure, then studied dozens of Soul Douluo and concluded their Soul Power structures reflected their Martial Souls.
• Han Tao recorded his theory in his Illusion and told Ning Fengzhi that the Soul Bone's Illusion domain could not grow, though raising the Soul Bone's age might strengthen its effects.
• Han Tao connected Soul Power structures to the fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring limit and reasoned that mastering them might let Soul Rings reach 99,999 years.
• Han Tao copied Sword Bone Douluo's Martial Souls and Soul Power data into the Illusion while Ning Tian's odd noise drew the Sect's attention.

Han Tao developed a way to protect his thoughts during mental links by building a Thought Fortress from memories charged with intense emotion. After Ning Rongrong spent hours searching his mind, he left a trace of fondness for her inside the fortress, and she felt overwhelming happiness.

• Ning Tian explained that her Imperial Customs writings might be transmitted through Han Tao's illusion Soul Bone, and Han Tao described how her writing could shield their thoughts from an enemy.
• Han Tao gathered teammates to practice countering thought-reading through the Mental Network and linked minds with Ning Rongrong.
• Han Tao built a memory fortress from Yellow Waste and dull memories, but realized that intense emotion, not those memories alone, could block another person's gaze.
• Han Tao used despair rooted in his memories of a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul with a 0.1 Growth Base to conceal his thoughts from Ning Rongrong.
• After Ning Rongrong searched his mind for hours, Han Tao placed his recognition and a little fondness for her in a corner of the fortress, and she felt intense happiness.

Han Tao helped Ye Lingling consider how to build a Thought Fortress while Ning Rongrong formed hers from memories of her grandfathers and her love for Han Tao. After Spirit Hall allowed competitors to bring weapons and equipment, Han Tao chose a Recurve Bow and planned to use Blue Phosphorus Poison on its arrows.

• Ning Rongrong built her Thought Fortress from cherished memories of Sword Bone Douluo and hid her feelings for Han Tao deep inside it.
• Han Tao suggested that Ye Lingling use joy as the basis for her Thought Fortress, but she shook her head.
• Ning Tian refused to practice Thought Defense, then regained his fighting spirit after hearing that the tea-selling girl hoped he would last until the Spirit Hall finals.
• Han Tao questioned whether Bibi Dong had changed the competition rules to keep Shrek Team from being eliminated and to bring Xiao Wu to Spirit Hall.
• Han Tao took a Recurve Bow from the weapon rack and decided that Blue Phosphorus Poison, rather than the arrows themselves, would make it dangerous.