Chapter Summaries

Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin fought three increasingly powerful groups of bandits while traveling south, with Amon using his skills to help secure their victories. Amon suspected the encounters were growing more difficult on purpose as they continued toward Northland City, while Yan Jin relaxed atop the carriage.

• Yan Jin and Lei Yin defeated a bandit group led by a Soul Elder after Amon used Deception to slow the leader's thoughts, and Lei Yin chased down the fleeing bandits.
• Amon used Deception on Yan Jin to discourage her from questioning his ability, then wondered why she stayed calm after its effects should have faded.
• The trio encountered two more bandit groups: Yan Jin and Lei Yin defeated the first without Amon's help, while Amon disrupted the second group's coordination so Yan Jin could kill one of the triplet Soul Elders.
• Amon pointed out that each bandit group had been stronger than the last, and Lei Yin suggested they might simply be nearing Northland City.
• Yan Jin questioned the coachman about the bandits, then climbed onto the carriage roof and reached toward the drifting clouds.

Amon stopped in Ironheart City and sought out local mercenaries to arrange a hunt for a specified Soul Beast. He went upstairs to post a commission, where he noticed an elegant golden-haired young man sitting by a window.

• Amon changed the itinerary and had the coachman take the group to Ironheart City, where Lei Yin showed his Soul Master badge and Martial Soul to gain entry.
• Yan Jin hurried off to find an inn, and Lei Yin followed her while Amon hired a street loafer to guide him to the city's mercenaries.
• The loafer described the Ironheart Mercenary Group, the Jackal Mercenary Group, and several powerful lone mercenaries before leading Amon to a tavern.
• Amon asked the bartender how to hire mercenaries to hunt a specified Soul Beast and learned he could post for information and separately commission a hunt.
• After the bartender warned him about a temperamental Soul Master upstairs, Amon went to the second floor and saw a golden-haired young man drinking wine by a window.

Amon posted bounties in Ironheart City for help finding two kinds of Soul Beasts, then witnessed Yan Jin challenge Vidal, the city lord’s son. As Vidal prepared to fight, Yan Jin launched a mass of magma at him.

• Amon paid to post bounties for an Eyeless Snake and a Three-Eyed Fox and memorized the addresses of mercenary groups and lone mercenaries.
• Yan Jin and Lei Yin entered the tavern, where Yan Jin ordered food loudly and argued with Vidal after he demanded they be thrown out.
• The bartender explained that Vidal was the city lord’s son and that the tavern belonged to the city lord, but Yan Jin continued insulting him.
• Vidal summoned his Gem Cat Martial Soul and threatened to beat Yan Jin and Lei Yin until they apologized.
• Yan Jin transformed her arm into magma and used Soul Power Ejection to fire a mass of it at Vidal.

Yan Jin battled Vidal in Ironheart City and demolished his tavern before they made peace. After learning Amon's group was headed to Northland Advanced Soul Master Academy, Vidal decided to claim Amon's Soul Beast bounty and ordered someone to find the Eyeless Snake.

• Vidal used Gem Shield to block Yan Jin's Volcanic Bombs, but their impacts wore him down.
• Yan Jin used Great Eruption to destroy the tavern, and Vidal escaped with the bartender.
• Vidal stopped fighting and apologized to Yan Jin, who admitted she had gone overboard.
• Amon told Vidal that his group was traveling to Northland Advanced Soul Master Academy, but declined Vidal's invitation to visit his home.
• After the group parted ways, Vidal ordered the bartender to find the Eyeless Snake so he could claim Amon's bounty.

After reaching level thirty, Vidal recruited a large force and asked Amon to join his Northland Advanced Soul Master Academy tournament team. Amon refused Vidal’s invitation, leaving their cooperation uncertain as they prepared to hunt Soul Beasts.

• Vidal reached level thirty and learned that mercenary Norbert had found a Wind-Walking Tiger and an Eyeless Snake, so he arranged to leave the next day.
• Amon watched Yan Jin and Lei Yin spar while parasitized by his Worms of Time, then Vidal arrived to collect his reward and discuss the hunt.
• Vidal revealed that he had hired eight Soul Elders and fifteen Soul Grand Masters, largely to support Amon and his companions.
• Vidal explained how Northland Advanced Soul Master Academy selected its tournament team and invited Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin to join his team.
• Amon refused Vidal’s invitation.

Amon refused Vidal’s invitation to join his team, explaining that he intended to build his own squad and aim for the championship. He then changed plans and prepared to hunt a powerful Eyeless Snake in the Ironheart Mountains with Yan Jin and Lei Yin.

• Amon told Vidal that noble influence could break apart a commoner team and said he would choose his own companions to pursue the championship.
• Vidal agreed to decide who would captain the team after they reached Northland Academy, depending on Amon’s strength.
• Yan Jin joined Amon and Vidal, and Vidal accepted her assessment of his abilities after seeing her fight Lei Yin.
• Amon explained that he had changed plans and would obtain a Spirit Ring before going to the academy, using Vidal’s help to make the hunt easier.
• Amon warned Yan Jin and Lei Yin that a five-thousand-year Eyeless Snake could rival a Soul Ancestor or an ordinary Soul King, and asked them to help hunt it in the Ironheart Mountains.

Amon and Vidal brought Yan Jin and Lei Yin to join a mercenary team in the Ironheart Mountains, where Vidal hunted a Wind-Walking Tiger and advanced to Soul Elder. As the group prepared to search for Amon’s Eyeless Snake, a white figure suddenly seized one of the guards.

• Vidal introduced Amon and the others to the mercenaries, and Yan Jin and Lei Yin demonstrated their Martial Souls to prove they could help with the hunt.
• Norbert tracked the Wind-Walking Tiger, and Vega identified it as a suitable target for Vidal.
• The mercenaries surrounded and weakened the Wind-Walking Tiger, allowing Vidal to kill it and absorb its Spirit Ring.
• Vidal successfully advanced to Soul Elder and asked Amon if he was prepared to hunt the Eyeless Snake.
• A white figure flashed through the forest and carried off a Soul Master standing guard.

Amon’s group confronted an Eyeless Snake far larger and older than they had expected, and its uncanny ability to evade attacks threatened to overwhelm them. Amon disrupted the snake’s foresight long enough for Yan Jin to wound it, and she charged back into the fight.

• Amon sent Yan Jin to set the thicket ablaze, forcing the Eyeless Snake to emerge and extinguish the fire.
• The group discovered the Eyeless Snake was eighteen or nineteen meters long, far beyond Norbert’s estimate, and prepared to fight when it treated them as prey.
• The Eyeless Snake dodged Lei Yin’s lightning and the mercenaries’ attacks with remarkable precision, revealing its ability to anticipate danger.
• Amon used Deception to disrupt the snake’s foresight, allowing Yan Jin to rush in and burn its belly.
• Yan Jin charged at the Eyeless Snake again as it recoiled and took a defensive stance.

Amon empowered Yan Jin and Lei Yin with Worms of Time, allowing them to fight the Eyeless Snake alongside the mercenaries. After the wounded beast fled and the mercenaries withdrew, Amon chose to continue hunting it with Yan Jin and Lei Yin.

• Amon used his Worms of Time to raise Yan Jin's and Lei Yin's strength through Martial Soul Fusion, while his Deception weakened the Eyeless Snake's ability to foresee the future.
• Yan Jin and Lei Yin fought the Eyeless Snake, and the mercenaries joined them as the beast's mud armor began to fail.
• Lei Yin struck the Eyeless Snake with Thunder Dragon after Vega broke through its armor, leaving it wounded and forcing it to flee into the forest.
• Yan Jin rebuked the mercenaries for holding back, while Vega defended their retreat and blamed Norbert's mistaken estimate of the beast's age.
• Amon told Vidal that their agreement remained valid but that he intended to keep hunting the Eyeless Snake; Vidal and the mercenaries withdrew, leaving Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin to continue.

Vidal and the mercenaries suffered further losses as the wounded Eyeless Snake pursued them for revenge, while Amon tracked the beast through his Worms of Time. Amon reached the survivors after Vega’s brother died, and Levi stopped Vega from turning his grief into a fight with Amon.

• The Eyeless Snake ambushed Vidal’s group and swallowed Benini before retreating when the mercenaries counterattacked.
• The group found the snake’s vomited prey, and Koman explained that it had emptied its stomach to hunt them more effectively.
• Amon told Lei Yin and Yan Jin that the snake was likely targeting the mercenaries, then followed their trail and confirmed its pursuit.
• Amon tracked the Eyeless Snake with Worms of Time as it fled Yan Jin’s Volcanic Bombs and continued killing mercenaries, including Tapa.
• Vega blamed Amon for Tapa’s death, but Levi urged him to stop the infighting, and Vega apologized for losing control.

Amon sent Lei Yin and the mercenaries away, then used his Main Body’s Martial Soul Fusion with Yan Jin to fight the Eyeless Snake. He killed the snake with a magma giant and sword strikes, leaving the forest ablaze.

• Amon persuaded Lei Yin to leave with the mercenaries, while he and Yan Jin stayed behind to face the Eyeless Snake.
• Amon fused his Main Body with Yan Jin and revealed their true Martial Soul Fusion Skill, which gave him Soul Ancestor-level power.
• Amon flooded the forest with magma and fire, then summoned a fifty-meter Lava Giant called Magma Colossus.
• Amon struck the Eyeless Snake with God Fist Smash, destroying the rear half of its body and leaving it badly wounded.
• Amon blocked the snake’s desperate lunge, then cut off its head and split it in two.

After defeating the Eyeless Snake, Amon absorbed its Spirit Ring and advanced to level thirty-four. A powerful presence triggered a volcanic eruption, and Amon and Yan Jin spotted a colossal horned serpent atop a volcano, which Amon viewed as an unexpected opportunity.

• Amon asked Yan Jin to stand guard while he absorbed the Eyeless Snake's Spirit Ring, using his Time Clones to manage its power.
• Amon reached level thirty-four, and Yan Jin questioned how much Soul Power he possessed before they prepared to leave.
• A vast, terrifying presence descended, and the volcanoes erupted as Vega, Norbert, Lei Yin, and Vidal fled the disaster.
• Amon and Yan Jin felt the powerful presence and saw a gigantic horned serpent coiled around a volcanic crater.
• Yan Jin connected the serpent to a local legend about the Crimson Lotus Great Serpent, and Amon studied it with interest.

Mels and the Ironheart City Martial Soul Branch Hall learned of the red Great Serpent and considered reporting or pursuing it, while Amon, Yan Jin, and Vidal traveled toward Northland City. Amon revealed how he had absorbed an unusually powerful Soul Ring, and Yan Jin declared that they could win the upcoming tournament.

• Mels heard reports of a huge red Great Serpent emerging from the volcano and sent Xue Ye a memorial about the threat.
• The Martial Soul Branch Hall discussed the Serpent, but Walter declined to get involved and asked whether his request had been completed.
• Amon, Yan Jin, and Vidal set off toward Northland City after Vidal finished packing to travel with them.
• Vidal learned that Amon had absorbed a nearly ten-thousand-year Soul Ring while remaining a Soul Elder, and Amon explained that his Martial Soul could split to manage excess energy.
• Yan Jin confidently told Vidal that she and Amon could win the next Soul Master Tournament.

Amon revealed that his Third Soul Skill, Decipherer, enhanced his perception and let him foresee an opponent’s skill a second before it was used. On the road to Northland City, Vidal challenged Amon for leadership of their future team, and Amon demonstrated how his concealed Soul Power and Air Bullets could keep Vidal at a distance.

• Amon examined Decipherer’s passive effects and its ability to identify a target’s imminent skill, effects, and flaws.
• Vidal shared a lavish meal from his Space Ring, then asked Amon about recruiting three more team members at The Academy.
• Vidal challenged Amon to prove himself worthy of being captain, and Amon accepted.
• Vidal summoned his Gem Cat Martial Soul and rushed Amon, who forced him back with Air Bullets.
• Vidal deduced that Amon concealed the visual effects and Soul Power fluctuations of his Martial Soul or Soul Skills, and Amon confirmed his reasoning.

Amon defeated Vidal in their captaincy contest by overcoming his defenses and outmaneuvering him in close combat, then forced him to surrender with an intimidating display. At Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong canceled an expedition to the Ironheart Mountains after Qian Daoliu warned her about the Crimson Lotus Great Serpent and showed her the burns it had inflicted on him.

• Vidal used Gem Shield against Amon’s Air Bullets, but Amon broke through it with Void Refining Bullet and threw Vidal down in close combat.
• Vidal tried to activate Wind King Roar, but Amon’s enormous Void Refining Bullet made him surrender and accept Amon as captain.
• Amon dispersed the oversized attack, which he had created as a bluff, while Yan Jin suspected something was unusual about it.
• Bibi Dong learned that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, a large red serpent, had appeared in the Ironheart Mountains and ordered Yue Guan and Gui Mei to gather Soul Masters of level seventy or higher.
• Qian Daoliu warned Bibi Dong about the Iron Mountain Lord, the Crimson Lotus Great Serpent, and showed her the burns it had left on him.
• Bibi Dong canceled the expedition and told Yue Guan and Gui Mei to disperse everyone.

Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin traveled to Northland City to enroll at Northland Academy, but the dean rejected them on dubious grounds. After Tagis hinted that someone had intervened, the group tried to identify who was behind the refusal, and Vidal promised to investigate.

• Amon and his companions reached Northland City, where Vidal brought them to register at Northland Academy.
• Tagis examined their certificates and Spirit Rings, praised Yan Jin and Lei Yin, and offered to place them in his class.
• Zhu Youzhi stopped the enrollment, claiming Amon was a teacher and Yan Jin and Lei Yin were notorious thieves, then ordered them to leave.
• Tagis privately told Amon that the accusations were excuses and suggested someone had arranged to block their enrollment.
• Yan Jin suspected the blond man or the mercenaries, while Amon dismissed the mercenaries as unlikely to have enough influence.
• Vidal returned and said he would use his connections to find out why the dean had rejected them.

After Glen threatened Yan Jin and Lei Yin on behalf of the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce, Amon led them to Northland City's Main Martial Soul Hall to seek someone with authority. There, Walter revealed that he had arranged the trials and obstacles to temper them, and Yan Jin attacked him in anger.

• Glen told Yan Jin that she and Lei Yin had to work for the Ice Thorn Chamber of Commerce because they had failed to honor their agreement with Lady Ma Wen.
• Amon led Yan Jin and Lei Yin to the Main Martial Soul Hall and used his second Spirit Ring to get past the guards.
• Amon demanded to meet someone who could make decisions, and Walter summoned the group upstairs.
• Amon told Walter he had suspected him of arranging the bandit attacks, the academy rejection, and Ma Wen's pressure.
• Walter admitted he had arranged the obstacles to temper the group, and Yan Jin attacked him with Great Eruption.

Walter tested Yan Jin, then offered to become her master after explaining that her talent needed a powerful supporter. Amon encouraged her to accept, and Yan Jin became Walter’s disciple, though she remained hurt that Amon did not acknowledge her as his own.

• Walter cooled the lava and used his Soul Pressure to force Yan Jin and Lei Yin to their knees, while Amon remained unaffected.
• Walter revealed that he had arranged the bandits’ attack as a test and again asked Yan Jin to become his disciple.
• Yan Jin asked whether refusing would endanger her admission to Northland Academy or her younger siblings, and Walter assured her that neither would happen.
• Yan Jin said Amon was already her teacher, but Amon explained that their relationship was not a legacy-bearing master-disciple bond and urged her to consider Walter’s resources and guidance.
• Yan Jin reluctantly accepted Walter as her master, kowtowed three times, and Walter announced that her first lesson would begin.

Walter made Yan Jin his disciple and gave her a spatial Soul Tool, gold, and rare books, while Amon deduced how Walter had maneuvered events to secure her agreement. Vidal learned that powerful interests had blocked Yan Jin, Amon, and Lei Yin from enrolling at the academy, leaving him to weigh the risks of associating with them.

• Walter gave Yan Jin a spatial Soul Tool, twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins, and books as her first lesson, then ended the meeting so they could reflect.
• Amon explained how the staged bandit attacks, the academy's rejection, and Glen's warning had revealed Walter's involvement and why refusing him could have endangered them.
• Amon warned Yan Jin that Walter's account might conceal the use of Spirit Hall's Dead Servants and said Walter had likely begun watching her only after her achievements spread through Frostleaf City.
• Yan Jin accepted that she had compromised out of necessity and resolved to grow strong enough never to retreat for anyone again.
• Vidal urged Luo Na to help Yan Jin, Amon, and Lei Yin enroll, but Luo Na warned that the influential person obstructing them could make further association dangerous.

Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin returned to Northland Academy after their enrollment was approved and requested placement in Vidal’s third-year class. Because Yan Jin and Lei Yin lacked the required Soul Power, they needed Yu Xinxue’s approval and a test before joining Vidal’s class.

• Zhu Youzhi apologized to Amon, Yan Jin, and Lei Yin for previously barring them from the academy and offered to arrange their enrollment.
• Amon asked Zhu Youzhi to place all three in Vidal’s third-year class, but Zhu explained that Yu Xinxue’s approval was needed and that the two women did not meet the usual requirements.
• Zhu Youzhi said Yan Jin and Lei Yin would need to defeat a third-year Soul Elder in an assessment, and both women expressed confidence they could pass.
• Vidal arrived, learned the three hoped to join his class, and warned Yan Jin that Northland Academy’s third-year students were formidable.
• Yan Jin challenged Vidal to a fight, but he declined, and Zhu Youzhi left to seek Yu Xinxue’s approval.