Chapter Summaries

Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng settled into cabins by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well while Tang Hao awoke in the Clear Sky Sect after being found unconscious and badly injured. Tang Hao told Tang Xiao how he had been defeated by a powerful woman, leaving the reason for his defeat and the red light unexplained.

• Dugu Bo offered Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng lodging at his home, but Wang Qiu'er asked him to build two cabins by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well instead.
• Dugu Bo built the cabins, and Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng each settled into one.
• Tang Hao awoke after three days unconscious and learned from Tang Xiao that villagers had found him with his left leg severed and brought him to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Tang Hao asked Tang Xiao to keep his condition from Yuehua, then recalled feeling a power connected to Slaughter City before losing consciousness.
• Tang Hao told Tang Xiao that a powerful young woman had defeated him despite his detonating all nine Soul Rings, and that a red light had appeared before he passed out.

Tang Xiao reassured the wounded Tang Hao while wondering who had defeated him. In Heaven Dou City, Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng attended the grand auction, where Ning Fengzhi came to meet Lin Changgeng and discovered Dugu Bo's transformed appearance and a powerful expert in the box.

• Tang Xiao considered whether a hidden clan's young woman had defeated Tang Hao, then promised to help him recover and bring Tang San to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Wang Qiu'er agreed to attend Heaven Dou City's grand auction with Lin Changgeng and Dugu Bo.
• Lin Changgeng recognized Ning Fengzhi at the auction and watched as Ning Fengzhi decided to meet him, bringing Rongrong along.
• Dugu Bo opened the box door, and Ning Fengzhi failed to recognize his changed appearance until Dugu Bo identified himself.
• Chen Xin sensed that Dugu Bo was Rank ninety-four and detected someone inside the box whose cultivation surpassed his own.

Ning Fengzhi visited Dugu Bo’s private box and tried to build a connection with Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er before the Heaven Dou City auction began. The first lot was thousand-year whale rubber, which Lin Changgeng declined to buy.

• Ning Fengzhi entered Dugu Bo’s box with Ning Rongrong after Wang Qiu'er allowed him in.
• Ning Rongrong greeted Dugu Bo and invited Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng to play, but Lin Changgeng refused because he needed to cultivate.
• Ning Fengzhi learned Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er's names and asked Lin Changgeng to call him Uncle Ning.
• The Heaven Dou City auction began with weathered thousand-year whale rubber as its first lot, and several nobles bid the price up.
• Wang Qiu'er asked whether Lin Changgeng wanted the whale rubber, and he declined because it was useless to him.

Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er revealed whale rubber's true benefits to Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo, who recognized how it could strengthen soul masters and improve future soul rings. The auction then unveiled a living-creature storage soul tool called the Ruyi Treasure Pouch, and bidding began.

• Dugu Bo and Ning Fengzhi questioned why Wang Qiu'er wanted whale rubber, and Lin Changgeng allowed her to explain its true effects.
• Wang Qiu'er told Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo that whale rubber strengthened the body and spiritual power, helping soul masters absorb older soul rings.
• Ning Fengzhi realized Lin Changgeng had shared the secret to build a relationship and bought the whale rubber, while Dugu Bo considered its value for Dugu Yan.
• Dugu Bo and Ning Fengzhi bid on several auction items as the auction heated up.
• The auctioneer introduced the Ruyi Treasure Pouch, a ten-cubic-meter storage soul tool capable of holding living creatures, and bidders began competing for it.

Lin Changgeng won the Ruyi Treasure Pouch for 1.5 million Gold Soul Coins, intending to use it to protect the Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He also recognized an unknown auction knife as a Soul Guidance Engraving Knife and bought it, leaving Ning Fengzhi wondering what made it special.

• Wang Qiu'er bid 1.5 million Gold Soul Coins, and Lin Changgeng won the Ruyi Treasure Pouch.
• Ning Fengzhi praised Lin Changgeng’s purchase, but Lin Changgeng kept the pouch’s benefits to himself.
• The auctioneer presented an ancient knife whose use the auction house could not identify, and Lin Changgeng recognized it as a Soul Guidance Engraving Knife.
• Lin Changgeng told Wang Qiu'er to buy the knife, and she won it for 100,000 Gold Soul Coins.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Lin Changgeng whether there was something special about the knife.

After the auction, Lin Changgeng tested the cold heart iron essence engraving knife and revealed that he planned to use it to make soul tools. Wang Qiu'er produced a collection of soul tool books, and Lin Changgeng began studying how soul tools were made.

• Ning Fengzhi paid Lin Changgeng and his companions' auction bill and invited Lin Changgeng to seek his help in the future.
• Ning Fengzhi suspected Lin Changgeng was connected to Dugu Bo's increased strength and restored youth, and planned to investigate Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er.
• Lin Changgeng tested the engraving knife on a Golden-Patterned Ironback Wolf claw and found that it could conduct soul power and cut deeply into the claw.
• Lin Changgeng told Dugu Bo that he had bought the knife to make soul tools and explained that a Soul Guidance Engraving Knife was essential to crafting them.
• Wang Qiu'er produced a pile of books about soul tools, and Lin Changgeng began reading about soul tool components, arrays, and grades.

Dugu Bo asked Lin Changgeng to teach Dugu Yan how to make soul tools, and Lin agreed. Meanwhile, Ning Fengzhi and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's guardians investigated Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er but decided against confronting them because of Wang Qiu'er's strength.

• Dugu Bo asked Lin Changgeng to let Dugu Yan study soul tool making, and Lin agreed to teach her the basics.
• Dugu Yan began reading Soul Tool Basics while Lin Changgeng continued his research.
• Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin discussed their investigation, which had found little about Wang Qiu'er and linked her and Lin Changgeng to Dugu Bo's transformation.
• Gu Rong proposed capturing Dugu Bo and Lin Changgeng, but Ning Fengzhi rejected the plan because Wang Qiu'er might be at least level ninety-seven and could threaten the sect.

Ning Fengzhi chose caution toward Lin Changgeng and sent intelligence about him to Qian Renxue. After considering how to approach Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er, Qian Renxue reflected on the six years she had spent undercover as Xue Qinghe and resumed her disguise.

• Ning Fengzhi stopped Gu Rong from targeting Lin Changgeng and ordered intelligence sent to Qinghe.
• Qian Renxue reviewed the intelligence with Snake Lance Douluo and questioned what Bibi Dong knew about Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er.
• Snake Lance Douluo advised Qian Renxue to inform Qian Daoliu rather than act rashly, and she sent him a letter with the intelligence.
• Qian Renxue decided she wanted to recruit Lin Changgeng and Wang Qiu'er, then entered her secret chamber and revealed her true appearance.
• Qian Renxue lamented the years spent undercover and the life she had missed, but resolved to continue the mission before taking on Xue Qinghe's appearance again.

Lin Changgeng began learning smithing to prepare for making Soul Tools, then discovered that his gold-element Martial Soul and spiritual power could refine and shape metal more directly than hammering. He started testing this method on iron essence, guiding its structure and forcing out impurities.

• Lin Changgeng asked Dugu Bo to obtain smithing equipment, and Dugu Bo brought back a set from Tai Tan's Servant Clan.
• Lin Changgeng set up a forge, heated iron essence, and began forging it with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.
• Dugu Yan watched Lin Changgeng's unusual hammer technique, while Dugu Bo recognized it as the Clear Sky Sect's signature art.
• Lin Changgeng realized his gold-element Martial Soul might let him shape metal without a hammer and used his spiritual power to inspect the iron essence.
• Lin Changgeng forced impurities out of the iron essence, made its internal structure uniform, and began shaping it with his spiritual power.

Lin Changgeng used his Martial Soul to shape metal and engrave a storage array, then began making a Soul Tool Pistol from deep-sea sunken silver. He finished shaping the pistol but had not yet engraved or tested it.

• Lin Changgeng shaped refined iron with his Martial Soul and engraved a Basic Storage Array onto a ring, creating a one-cubic-meter Storage Soul Tool.
• Wang Qiu'er praised Lin Changgeng for using his Martial Soul, while Dugu Yan considered whether she could help make similar Soul Tools and Dugu Bo marveled at Lin Changgeng's control over metal.
• Lin Changgeng decided to try making a Class Two Soul Tool Pistol and chose deep-sea sunken silver for its durability.
• Lin Changgeng used his Martial Soul to shape the deep-sea sunken silver into a pistol, taking an hour to finish its grip, barrel, trigger guard, and trigger.
• Dugu Yan mistook the unfinished pistol for a lump of iron, and Lin Changgeng explained what it was before she admitted she had not yet reached the blueprints in her studies.

Lin Changgeng completed and tested a pistol-type Soul Tool, showing Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo its destructive power. Dugu Bo realized the weapon could greatly reduce the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s dependence on Battle Soul Masters and suspected Lin Changgeng intended to draw the sect into investing in Soul Tools.

• Lin Changgeng inscribed a Soul Power Compression Array into the deep-sea sinking silver pistol and charged its storage array with soul power.
• Lin Changgeng fired the pistol at a boulder, blasting it apart and leaving a crater.
• Wang Qiu'er examined the pistol and judged its shot to be near Soul Grandmaster strength, with a Soul Ancestor-level upper limit when used by Dugu Yan.
• Dugu Yan eagerly asked Lin Changgeng to make her a pistol, and he agreed to use iron essence because little deep-sea sinking silver remained.
• Dugu Bo reasoned that Soul Tools could let the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s support-type disciples defend themselves and suspected Lin Changgeng planned to profit from the sect’s investment.

Qian Daoliu and Spirit Hall’s enshrined elders assessed Lin Changgeng’s extraordinary talent and debated whether to recruit, befriend, or eliminate him. Qian Daoliu instructed Snake Lance Douluo to tell Qian Renxue to prioritize building a good relationship with Lin Changgeng and to leave the Heaven Dou Empire if she wished.

• Qian Daoliu studied the report on Lin Changgeng and suspected the boy’s talent and Dugu Bo’s transformation might be connected to divine favor.
• Golden Crocodile Douluo, Azure Luan Douluo, and Qian Jun Douluo offered differing views on recruiting Lin Changgeng, killing him if necessary, or cautiously befriending him.
• Qian Daoliu decided that Qian Renxue should follow her own judgment and prioritize getting close to Lin Changgeng.
• Qian Daoliu told Snake Lance Douluo to relay his instructions to Qian Renxue and said she could fake her death and leave the Heaven Dou Empire if she wanted.
• Snake Lance Douluo returned to serve as Qian Renxue’s guard, while the enshrined elders went back to their cultivation places and Qian Daoliu prayed before the Angel God Statue.

Wang Qiu'er trained Lin Changgeng in combat and challenged him to understand why he cultivated. Lin Changgeng resolved to grow strong so he could survive, live freely, and protect those around him, then resumed their fight with a calmer mind.

• Wang Qiu'er sparred with Lin Changgeng, easily countering his attacks and beating him despite his domain suppressing her soul power.
• Wang Qiu'er told Lin Changgeng that he needed to endure hardship and remain calm in battle, then questioned whether cultivating was right for him if he could not take a beating.
• Lin Changgeng reflected on his past and realized he cultivated to control his destiny, protect others, and avoid being bullied or manipulated.
• Lin Changgeng rose and asked Wang Qiu'er to continue training, resolving to endure the blows because she would not cross the line like an enemy would.
• Wang Qiu'er advised Lin Changgeng to find weaknesses in his opponents and use his own advantages, and he began sensing the flow of metal as they fought again.

Lin Changgeng discovered that his martial soul let him sense through nearby gold elements, but he could not yet command them to form weapons. Wang Qiu'er and Dugu Bo explained the limits imposed by his cultivation and suggested using his own soul power instead, leaving Lin Changgeng with a new approach to close combat.

• Lin Changgeng sensed the surrounding gold elements and used them to locate Wang Qiu'er, catching her wrist before becoming distracted by the idea of forming a weapon from nearby metal.
• Wang Qiu'er reversed Lin Changgeng's grip and struck him, then asked why he had stopped moving.
• Wang Qiu'er and Dugu Bo explained that Lin Changgeng lacked the cultivation, spiritual power, and control to command natural metal, and Wang Qiu'er described how that ability developed at higher cultivation stages.
• Wang Qiu'er advised Lin Changgeng to form gauntlets or armor using his own soul power, and he realized he could use that method in close combat.
• Dugu Yan returned to her book, deciding to focus on studying soul tools and cultivating according to Dugu Bo's arrangements.

Dugu Bo decided to leave and explore the continent while Dugu Yan stayed to cultivate with Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng. Qian Renxue considered how to recruit or kill Lin Changgeng, while Ning Fengzhi profited from whale rubber after its effects became known across the continent.

• Dugu Bo told Dugu Yan he planned to travel for six months to five years, and she agreed to stay and cultivate with Wang Qiu'er and Lin Changgeng.
• Dugu Bo asked Wang Qiu'er to look after Dugu Yan, then left the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Snake Lance Douluo delivered Qian Daoliu's message to Qian Renxue, who planned to win Lin Changgeng over or kill him and reconsider her mission in Heaven Dou.
• Ning Fengzhi ordered the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to buy whale rubber in bulk and reserved the best pieces for the sect.
• A month later, news of whale rubber's effects spread across the continent, prices soared, and Ning Fengzhi wondered why Lin Changgeng had revealed the information to him.

Lin Changgeng learned that Ning Fengzhi had publicized whale rubber’s benefits and explained to Dugu Yan that he was using the business to prepare for large-scale soul tool development. After Bibi Dong ordered Spirit Hall to buy whale rubber, Dugu Bo sought out Yue Guan for a fight and revealed how an immortal herb had transformed him.

• Lin Changgeng told Dugu Yan that he had shared whale rubber’s value with Ning Fengzhi to build support for developing soul tools on a large scale.
• Bibi Dong verified whale rubber’s effects, ordered Yue Guan to buy as much as possible, and thought of Yu Xiaogang.
• Dugu Bo, frustrated by his stalled cultivation, decided to challenge Yue Guan and traveled toward Spirit City.
• Yue Guan encountered Dugu Bo outside Spirit City, and the two began fighting after Dugu Bo attacked him.
• Yue Guan recognized that Dugu Bo’s transformed martial soul and younger appearance came from an earth dragon golden melon, then lost hope of finding other immortal herbs when Dugu Bo said he had none.

Dugu Bo sought out Yue Guan to spar and break through his rank-ninety-four bottleneck. After beating Yue Guan in close combat, Dugu Bo reached rank ninety-five, while Yue Guan waited for him to stabilize before threatening a rematch.

• Dugu Bo told Yue Guan he wanted to spar to overcome the bottleneck at rank ninety-four, and the two began fighting with their martial souls.
• Dugu Bo and Yue Guan both activated their Martial Soul Avatars, and Dugu Bo pressed his advantage with powerful close-range attacks.
• Dugu Bo repeatedly punched Yue Guan, leaving his face bruised and swollen, then felt his soul power surge as his bottleneck loosened.
• Dugu Bo sat down to stabilize his breakthrough while Yue Guan waited nearby rather than interrupting his cultivation.
• A day later, Dugu Bo rose at rank ninety-five, thanked Yue Guan, and left the forest after Yue Guan promised to settle things next time.