Chapter Summaries

Ji Hongchen rejected Yu Xiaogang’s proposed Solitary Bamboo soul ring and escaped after using his Iron Block Martial Soul to knock him back. He received the Ji Juechen template and sword inheritance, then met Xiao Chenyu, who said he was preparing to hunt for his first soul ring.

• Yu Xiaogang told Ji Hongchen to absorb a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo, but Ji accused him of using him as a test subject and refused.
• Yu Xiaogang threatened to have Ji expelled, so Ji summoned his Iron Block Martial Soul and used its impact to escape.
• Back in his dormitory, Ji received the Ji Juechen template and a trove of swordsmanship and sword inheritance.
• Ji practiced with his iron sword, improved his swordsmanship and soul power, and planned to forge his first sword in a year or two.
• Xiao Chenyu visited Ji, introduced himself as the city lord’s son, and said he planned to hunt for a soul ring soon.

Ji Hongchen reached rank ten soul power and prepared to hunt for his first soul ring. After borrowing Xiao Chenyu’s Soul Hunting Permit and assembling his powerful Compound Bow, he entered the Soul Hunting Forest to begin the hunt.

• Ji Hongchen studied martial soul fundamentals while planning a sharpness-enhancing first soul skill and reflecting on the original story’s characters.
• Xiao Chenyu treated Ji Hongchen to dinner, and Ji Hongchen continued his sword practice and meditation.
• Ji Hongchen commissioned different blacksmiths to make separate Compound Bow components, then spent half a year considering how to increase his soul power.
• Ji Hongchen broke through to rank ten and discovered a Sword Embryo forming within his martial soul.
• Ji Hongchen asked Xiao Chenyu for a Soul Hunting Permit, and Xiao Chenyu lent him one and offered to arrange a Soul Hunting Team.
• Ji Hongchen bought darts, medicine, Beast-Repelling Powder, and poison, assembled his Compound Bow, and set off to hunt for a soul ring.

Ji Hongchen hunted a Ghostblade Mantis in the Soul Hunting Forest and absorbed its soul ring to temper his Iron Block Martial Soul into the sword Jinghong. He reached level twelve and gained a powerful first soul skill, then learned that Jinghong could be nurtured with special materials.

• Ji Hongchen entered the Soul Hunting Forest and judged that a soul ring of just over four hundred years was within his limits.
• Ji Hongchen found a hundred-year saber-toothed tiger but passed it over, then spotted a suitable Ghostblade Mantis and killed it with an arrow.
• Ji Hongchen absorbed the Ghostblade Mantis's yellow soul ring, using his sword intent to temper his Martial Soul and body for three days.
• Ji Hongchen completed his First Sword, named the blade Jinghong, and discovered that his soul power had risen to level twelve.
• Ji Hongchen tested his first soul skill, Slash, and learned it boosted his attributes and penetration while deepening weaknesses when used with Jinghong.
• Ji Hongchen learned that special materials could improve Jinghong's quality, potentially raising it to the level of a Divine Artifact or Super Divine Artifact.

Ji Hongchen tested his transformed martial soul at the Nuoding City Spirit Hall and learned he had reached level twelve soul power. After news of his successful recasting project reached Yu Xiaogang, the disgraced teacher became desperate to obtain the method.

• Ji Hongchen showed Su Yuntao his Jinghong Sword and hundred-year soul ring, then tested at level twelve soul power.
• Su Yuntao issued Ji Hongchen a Soul Master certificate and gave him a Gold Soul Coin, while Ji declined to join the Spirit Hall for now.
• Ji Hongchen returned to the academy and showed Xiao Chenyu his sword and soul ring, prompting Xiao to celebrate his success and offer him a feast.
• Yu Xiaogang overheard teachers discussing Ji Hongchen's successful martial soul recasting project and rushed to confirm the news.
• A teacher kicked Yu Xiaogang away and told him the whole academy already knew; Yu Xiaogang then resolved to obtain Ji Hongchen's method and improve his theories.

Ji Hongchen rejected Yu Xiaogang’s attempt to take him as a disciple and claim his martial soul theory, then accepted the academy’s sponsorship in exchange for staying enrolled and representing the school in an imperial inspection.

• Yu Xiaogang praised Ji Hongchen’s martial soul second awakening and demanded that he become his disciple and share his theory.
• Ji Hongchen refused Yu Xiaogang’s offer, called him unqualified to teach, and drove him away with his sword.
• Ji Hongchen returned to his room and studied a Soul Master theory book.
• Director Wang offered Ji Hongchen six hundred Gold Soul Coins and waived his tuition and accommodation fees if he stayed until the usual graduation time and represented the school in the empire’s inspection.
• Ji Hongchen agreed to the school’s condition and accepted the sponsorship.

Ji Hongchen spent his remaining money on whale rubber and refined iron to strengthen his body and Jinghong, then ran out of funds after reaching level thirteen. When Xiao Chenyu brought him to recruit new students, Ji Hongchen realized Tang San was due to enroll at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

• Ji Hongchen bought four pieces of hundred-year whale rubber, calming herbs, and four blocks of refined iron, spending nearly half his savings.
• Ji Hongchen fused the refined iron into Jinghong, improving the sword, then practiced through the night after swallowing whale rubber and gained some soul power.
• Over the next three months, Ji Hongchen reached level thirteen but spent all his money and worried that he could no longer afford cultivation supplies.
• Xiao Chenyu asked Ji Hongchen to help recruit new students, and Ji Hongchen realized Tang San was about to enroll at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
• Xiao Chenyu led Ji Hongchen and his followers to Dorm Seven, where he asked Wang Sheng whether any new students had arrived.

Xiao Chenyu challenged Xiao Wu and Tang San to a match in three days, with Ji Hongchen drawn into the wager. After hearing how Ji Hongchen had once struck Yu Xiaogang, Tang San resolved to remember him as an enemy.

• Xiao Chenyu invited Xiao Wu and Tang San to join his Lionpack, but Xiao Wu insisted she should be Dorm Seven’s big sister.
• Tang San proposed a match in three days after the newcomers obtained soul rings, and Xiao Chenyu agreed to bet that they would join his Lionpack if they lost.
• Xiao Wu demanded that Xiao Chenyu’s group call her Big Sister if they lost, while Ji Hongchen added a wager of a hundred Gold Soul Coins if she lost.
• Wang Sheng explained that Ji Hongchen was a powerful commoner genius who had evolved his martial soul and once struck Yu Xiaogang after refusing to become his disciple.
• Tang San grew angry at the story and decided that Ji Hongchen was courting death for attacking his teacher.

Ji Hongchen became wary after Tang San turned against him, while Yu Xiaogang failed to recruit him and instead discovered Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer. The next day, Yu Xiaogang began helping Tang San seek his first soul ring, though Tang San wanted a hundred-year ring.

• Ji Hongchen sensed Tang San’s hostility in the restaurant and decided he needed to stay away from Nuoding Academy and find powerful protection.
• Yu Xiaogang told Tang San that Ji Hongchen was arrogant and at fault, then asked him to reveal his second martial soul.
• Tang San showed Yu Xiaogang his Clear Sky Hammer and revealed that his father was Tang Hao, prompting Yu Xiaogang to warn him to keep the hammer secret.
• Yu Xiaogang promised to take Tang San to obtain his first soul ring the next day.
• Yu Xiaogang showed Tang San his Luo Sanpao and identified ten-year solitary bamboo as a possible soul-ring target, while Tang San resolved to get a hundred-year ring.

Tang San arrived at the arranged contest and defeated Xiao Chenyu with his Tang Sect Secret Arts after his Blue Silver Entanglement failed. Ji Hongchen defeated Xiao Wu, and Tang San challenged him to a duel to erase her debt, but Ji Hongchen demanded a fair wager.

• The Mandala Snake poisoned Yu Xiaogang through Luo Sanpao, and Tang San killed the snake before deciding to spare his unconscious teacher.
• Tang San introduced himself as a Rank thirteen Soul Master, and his Blue Silver Entanglement failed to restrain Xiao Chenyu before Tang San beat him with the Tang Sect Secret Arts.
• Ji Hongchen dodged Xiao Wu's Waist Bow, tapped her back with his sword hilt, and defeated her, leaving her owing him one hundred Gold Soul Coins.
• Tang San stepped in to cover Xiao Wu's debt and challenged Ji Hongchen to a Soul Master duel, but Ji Hongchen asked what Tang San would stake in return.

Ji Hongchen defeated Tang San and demanded the coins Tang San had wagered, then trapped Xiao Wu in a debt agreement she could not afford. Tang San sought comfort from Yu Xiaogang, who convinced him that Ji Hongchen’s martial soul was defective and that Tang San would eventually surpass him.

• Tang San attacked Ji Hongchen with Blue Silver Entanglement, but Ji Hongchen’s sword qi destroyed the grass and his speed let him put a sword to Tang San’s throat.
• Ji Hongchen demanded a thousand Gold Soul Coins from Tang San, who promised to have Yu Xiaogang pay later and left.
• Ji Hongchen demanded Xiao Wu’s hundred Gold Soul Coins; when she had no money, he got her to sign an IOU that doubled every month after a year.
• Tang San went to Yu Xiaogang and described his defeat, asking whether his soul skill was too weak.
• Yu Xiaogang claimed Ji Hongchen’s second awakening was unstable and that he needed metal to sustain his martial soul, then reassured Tang San that he would surpass Ji Hongchen in the future.

After Tang San lost to Ji Hongchen, Yu Xiaogang reframed the defeat as three victories for Tang San and advised him to stop paying Ji Hongchen. Ji Hongchen received a reward from Nuoding Academy, bought rare metals and whale rubber, and used them to strengthen his Jinghong Sword and advance his Soul Power to level fourteen.

• Yu Xiaogang told Tang San that he had won three ways and that Ji Hongchen faced three defeats, then urged Tang San to stop giving him Gold Soul Coins.
• Director Wang rewarded Ji Hongchen with twelve hundred Gold Soul Coins and offered help with a second soul ring and a recommendation letter for another academy.
• Ji Hongchen bought mithril, tungsten steel, crystal steel, and hundred-year whale rubber, spending most of his reward.
• Ji Hongchen absorbed the rare metals, raised his Soul Power to level fourteen, and advanced the Jinghong Sword to upper-grade martial soul quality.
• Ji Hongchen practiced a wider range of basic sword techniques as he prepared to pursue more advanced swordsmanship.

Ji Hongchen collected money from Yu Xiaogang, traveled to Suotuo City, and raised his soul-ring limit with thousand-year whale rubber. He entered the Soul Fighting Arena as Sword Lord and won his first two matches with single strikes.

• Ji Hongchen slapped Yu Xiaogang, took the five hundred Gold Soul Coins from his Storage Soul Tool, and left Tang San alone.
• Ji Hongchen traveled to Suotuo City and bought a piece of thousand-year whale rubber for four hundred Gold Soul Coins.
• Ji Hongchen ate the whale rubber and practiced sword art until he had refined it, raising his estimated limit to around eleven hundred years.
• Ji Hongchen registered at Suotuo City's Soul Fighting Arena under the alias Sword Lord and bet a hundred Gold Soul Coins on himself.
• Ji Hongchen defeated Black Dog instantly without using a Soul Skill, then beat his second opponent with one sword strike.

After reaching rank twenty, Ji Hongchen hunted an eighteen-hundred-year Shadow-Killing Saber-Toothed Tiger for his second soul ring. Absorbing it granted him Sword Dao Avatar Armor and a second sword, Shadowstep.

• Ji Hongchen spent a year and a half cultivating and fighting for money, reaching rank twenty while using his earnings to upgrade the Jinghong Sword.
• Ji Hongchen went to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a suitable soul beast for his second soul ring.
• Ji Hongchen ambushed and killed an eighteen-hundred-year Shadow-Killing Saber-Toothed Tiger with his Compound Bow and Jinghong Sword.
• Ji Hongchen absorbed the tiger's purple soul ring and gained Sword Dao Avatar Armor that covered his lower abdomen and hands.
• Ji Hongchen discovered that his Iron Block Martial Soul had formed a second sword, which he named Shadowstep.

Ji Hongchen developed his shadow-based soul skills, studied sword techniques, and spent two and a half years cultivating until he was nearly level thirty. He obtained a recommendation letter from Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy and began considering where to study next, while Xiao Chenyu prepared to attend Canghui Advanced Soul Master Academy.

• Ji Hongchen tested Shadowdash and discovered that Shadowstep could attack a target's shadow and transfer the damage to its body.
• Ji Hongchen returned to soul fighting matches for money, exchanged his earnings for mithril, and considered how to reach the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and acquire its immortal herbs.
• Ji Hongchen found a sword pill and a soul core method in the Sword Sect Insights, which suggested a way Dugu Bo could contain his poison, and he began learning the Nine Sword Forms.
• Over the next two and a half years, Ji Hongchen cultivated to level twenty-nine and returned to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy for a recommendation letter.
• The headmaster gave Ji Hongchen a letter for advanced soul master academies, and Ji Hongchen learned that Xiao Chenyu's father planned to send him to Canghui Advanced Soul Master Academy.

Tang San and Yu Xiaogang learned that Ji Hongchen had reached Soul Grandmaster and blamed his progress on the Gold Soul Coins he had stolen, while Ji Hongchen traveled to Heaven Dou City to seek support and compete at its Great Soul Arena. The chapter ended as Ji Hongchen entered the arena for his first match there.

• Tang San heard that Ji Hongchen had reached level twenty and told Yu Xiaogang, who broke down and vowed to destroy him.
• Tang San comforted Yu Xiaogang, who convinced himself that Ji Hongchen's defective martial soul would soon hold him back and resolved to pursue a second awakening.
• Ji Hongchen left Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy with a recommendation letter and decided to seek a powerful backer before joining Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Ji Hongchen used Sword Flight to travel for seven days to Heaven Dou City, then entered the city and went to its Great Soul Arena.
• Ji Hongchen entered the arena as Sword Lord for a match against Manli, a Silver Soul Badge holder with five hundred matches.

Ji Hongchen won his twenty-eighth consecutive Soul Fighting match, drawing the attention of Ning Rongrong, who became determined to learn everything about him. Back at the hotel, he strengthened Shadowstrike and practiced his sword forms before continuing to cultivate an embryonic sword-qi vortex.

• Ji Hongchen defeated Manli with one sword strike and earned three thousand Gold Soul Coins from his first Heaven Dou match.
• Over the next month, Ji Hongchen built a twenty-eight-match winning streak and earned a Gold Soul Fighting Badge.
• Ning Rongrong inspected Sword Lord's records, learned of his eighty-seven consecutive wins elsewhere, and ordered her guardians to investigate him.
• Ji Hongchen sensed someone watching him and decided to avoid Soul Fighting for a few days.
• Ji Hongchen fused minerals into Shadowstrike, practiced Ten Thousand Weapons, and began forming a sword-qi vortex in his dantian.

After reaching level thirty, Ji Hongchen won three Soul Fighting matches and planned to buy ten-thousand-year whale glue before seeking his third Soul Ring. Ning Rongrong recognized him as her idol and hired him as her guard, leaving Ji Hongchen to consider how to earn the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s trust.

• Ji Hongchen reached level thirty, decided to wait before hunting for a Soul Ring, and aimed to buy ten-thousand-year whale glue to prepare for a six-thousand-year ring.
• Ji Hongchen won three Soul Fighting matches, extended his winning streak to thirty-one, and earned over five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Ning Rongrong approached Ji Hongchen outside the arena, revealed herself as his fan, and asked to see his face.
• Ning Rongrong offered Ji Hongchen a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins a month, future Soul Rings, and other support in exchange for guarding her, and he accepted.
• Ning Rongrong gave Ji Hongchen ten gold cards, and he sensed at least four Soul Saints guarding her as he followed her away.

Ji Hongchen accepted Ning Rongrong’s Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect token and went to buy cultivation resources, where he met Dugu Yan and asked her to arrange a meeting with her grandfather, Poison Douluo. He left with four pieces of ten-thousand-year whale glue, while Dugu Yan watched him go, intrigued.

• Ning Rongrong gave Ji Hongchen her sect token and asked him to keep it for protection, and he agreed to help her hunt for a soul ring.
• Ji Hongchen left Ning Rongrong to cultivate and went to the Ye Family medicine shop to buy all its ten-thousand-year whale glue.
• Ji Hongchen met Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling at the shop, then asked Dugu Yan to introduce him to Poison Douluo.
• Dugu Yan agreed to pass on Ji Hongchen’s request after seeing his token, and he paid for four pieces of whale glue before leaving.
• Ye Lingling teased Dugu Yan about being attracted to Ji Hongchen, and Dugu Yan blushed and pinched her cheeks.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect leaders discussed Ji Hongchen as a potential match for Ning Rongrong, while Ji Hongchen gave Rongrong whale rubber to strengthen her and help her advance. Rongrong reached rank twenty, and Ji Hongchen planned to have her absorb more whale rubber before she obtained a soul ring.

• Gu Rong objected to Ning Rongrong’s interest in Ji Hongchen, but Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin considered Ji Hongchen a suitable match and agreed to meet him in Heaven Dou City.
• Ji Hongchen returned to Ning Rongrong and showed her decades-old whale rubber, explaining that it could strengthen her physique and raise her soul-ring age limit.
• Ning Rongrong refined the whale rubber while Ji Hongchen massaged her, and she advanced to rank twenty.
• Ning Rongrong gave Ji Hongchen a storage bracelet containing fifty thousand gold soul coins.
• Ji Hongchen told Ning Rongrong to absorb more whale rubber before obtaining a soul ring, hoping to strengthen her future support abilities.

Ji Hongchen met Dugu Bo and revealed that Dugu Yan’s accumulated poison threatened her life, then offered three ways to deal with it. He ended by proposing to teach the Dugu Family a Poison Dao Soul Core technique.

• After two weeks of cultivation, Ji Hongchen visited the Ye Family’s apothecary to find Dugu Bo.
• Ji Hongchen showed Dugu Bo the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect token and claimed to be Ning Rongrong’s fiancé.
• In private, Ji Hongchen warned Dugu Bo that Dugu Yan’s accumulated poison could kill her before she turned thirty.
• Dugu Bo reacted angrily, then asked Ji Hongchen for a solution when he realized the warning might be true.
• Ji Hongchen described using a Soul Bone or a second Martial Soul evolution to contain the poison, revealing that his own Martial Soul had evolved twice.
• Ji Hongchen offered to teach the Dugu Family to cultivate a Poison Dao Soul Core that could store poison and strengthen them.