Chapter Summaries

Jiang Hai revealed his Lifebound Soul Tool research to Xuan Ziwen, who agreed to help refine it after learning Jiang Hai’s goals and identity. The chapter left Xuan Ziwen studying the research under the influence of Jiang Hai’s mysterious flame of civilization.

• Xuan Ziwen recognized the potential of Jiang Hai’s human-body-based Lifebound Soul Tool and asked about Jiang Hai’s goals.
• Xuan Ziwen deduced that Jiang Hai was Ji Bronze Coffin, and Jiang Hai admitted his goals included revenge, freedom, and exploring the limits of soul masters.
• Jiang Hai explained that his enemy was not one of the great empires, so Xuan Ziwen agreed to help perfect the Lifebound Soul Tool.
• Xuan Ziwen examined the arrays inscribed in Jiang Hai’s arm and estimated that they had substantially improved his soul power circulation and recovery.
• Jiang Hai credited Xue Linglong as the creator of the Lifebound Soul Tool and led Xuan Ziwen to the archive room.
• Jiang Hai lit the flame of civilization, which accelerated Xuan Ziwen’s thoughts, and Xuan Ziwen began studying the research documents.

Jiang Hai cultivated with the Fifth Elder’s corpse until explosions shook Illustrious Virtue Hall’s secret research institute. Nether Thunder Douluo attacked, recognized Jiang Hai as a Holy Spirit Cult member, and offered to take him, Xue Linglong, and Xuan Ziwen back to the cult, provided they wore Soul-Sealing Handcuffs.

• Jiang Hai used the Bronze Coffin to refine the Fifth Elder’s remains, strengthening his soul power and spiritual power while reflecting on his remaining weakness in soul power rank.
• Four explosions shook the research institute, and Jiang Hai rushed toward the main hall with Xue Linglong while telling Xuan Ziwen to stay behind.
• A black-clad Titled Douluo ambushed Jiang Hai at the entrance, shattered his Hand of Justice gauntlet, and forced Xue Linglong and Xuan Ziwen to intervene.
• The intruder, Nether Thunder Douluo of the Holy Spirit Cult, recognized Jiang Hai and said he had come to bring him back to the cult.
• Jiang Hai pretended to welcome the offer and asked that Xue Linglong and Xuan Ziwen accompany him; Nether Thunder agreed, but required them to wear Soul-Sealing Handcuffs.

Jiang Hai tricked Nether Thunder Douluo into opening the Demon-Sealing Coffin, then attacked him when he tried to control the Demon Body. The Bronze Coffin crushed Nether Thunder Douluo, leaving his fate unclear.

• Jiang Hai pretended to cooperate with Nether Thunder Douluo while Xue Linglong and Xuan Ziwen put on Soul-Sealing Handcuffs.
• Nether Thunder Douluo revealed he sought the Demon Body, and Xuan Ziwen explained its danger and how the Demon-Sealing Coffin was protected.
• Jiang Hai unlocked the barrier around the coffin, and Nether Thunder Douluo opened it and used his Nether Death Thunder Body to control the Demon Body.
• An unseen attacker froze Nether Thunder Douluo with Emperor's Palm, and Xuan Ziwen blasted him with the Fire God Cannon.
• Jiang Hai unleashed Magnetic Field and dropped the Bronze Coffin onto Nether Thunder Douluo, overpowering his Martial Soul Avatar.

Jiang Hai, Xue Linglong, and Xuan Ziwen killed Nether Thunder Douluo and sealed the Demon Body in the Demon-Sealing Coffin after a fierce fight. Once the Body Sect’s attack on the Illustrious Virtue Hall ended, Jiang Hai told Lin Jiayi that a Titled Douluo had ambushed them and showed him the wrecked research institute.

• Jiang Hai’s plan, aided by Xue Linglong and Xuan Ziwen, killed Nether Thunder Douluo, but the Demon Body rose again.
• Xue Linglong and Jiang Hai knocked the Demon Body into the Demon-Sealing Coffin, and Xuan Ziwen sealed it using the coffin lid.
• Jiang Hai stored Nether Thunder Douluo’s corpse in the Bronze Coffin and meditated while Xue Linglong watched over him and Xuan Ziwen.
• The Body Sect, led by Du Busi, fought the Illustrious Virtue Hall for about six hours before the battle subsided, and the attackers escaped through destroyed underground passages.
• Lin Jiayi arrived to assess losses and questioned why Xuan Ziwen and Jiang Hai had not fought; Jiang Hai said a Titled Douluo had ambushed them and showed Lin Jiayi the wrecked research institute.

After revealing his identity and explaining the attack on Research Institute No. 13, Jiang Hai considered Xuan Ziwen’s proposal to establish a research institute of his own. He decided he wanted to build a Civilization Research Institute outside Mingdu, focused on advancing humanity.

• Lin Jiayi saw the Demon Body struggling inside the Demon-Sealing Coffin and learned that a Titled Douluo had attacked the institute and injected black lightning into it.
• Lin Jiayi left to report the simultaneous attacks on Research Project No. 1 and Research Institute No. 13, including the disappearance of the Number One Experimental Subject.
• Jiang Hai revealed his true appearance and told Xuan Ziwen that he was a sixteen-year-old rank fifty-seven Soul King named Jiang Hai, and that his enemies belonged to the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Xuan Ziwen agreed to continue helping Jiang Hai refine his Lifebound Soul Tool blueprints and proposed that they establish a research institute together.
• Jiang Hai rejected Mingdu as a location and said he wanted to create a Civilization Research Institute dedicated to advancing humanity.

Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen planned the Civilization Research Institute and chose Dongyang City as its prospective home, with Shi Jingcheng identified as a potential construction leader. After the Body Sect’s attack damaged Illustrious Virtue Hall, Jing Hongchen sealed Research Institute No. 13 and offered Jiang Hai access to the Blueprint Room and another institute.

• Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen settled on names for their academy and research institute and chose Dongyang City as their tentative location.
• Xuan Ziwen recommended Shi Jingcheng, a retired former dean and expert in research institute construction, to oversee the new institute.
• The Body Sect denied responsibility for the attack as its prestige rose, while Illustrious Virtue Hall’s reputation and soul tool prices fell.
• The Sun Moon Empire’s old emperor stripped Jing Hongchen of his ducal title, but Crown Prince Xu Tianran helped him retain his post as Hall Master.
• Jing Hongchen inspected the Demon Body at the Thirteen Research Institute and decided to seal the institute while the body’s changes remained uncertain.
• Jing Hongchen offered Jiang Hai three days in the Blueprint Room and a place in another research institute, and Jiang Hai agreed to pack his things.

Jiang Hai moved to Research Institute No. 49 and recruited seven advanced Soul Engineers, establishing the Civilization Research Institute and accelerating work on Lifebound Soul Tools. After ten days, he and Xuan Ziwen went with Jing Hongchen to the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s blueprint archive, where they were granted access to its nine-level Linglong Pavilion.

• Jiang Hai and Xue Linglong left Research Institute No. 13 for Research Institute No. 49, and Jing Hongchen gave Jiang Hai authority to recruit Soul Engineers independently.
• Xuan Ziwen brought seven Soul Engineers to Jiang Hai, who verified their intentions with the Glazed Heart Mirror and welcomed them into the Civilization Research Institute.
• The seven researchers studied Lifebound Soul Tools with help from the Flame of Civilization, and several advanced their Soul Tool craftsmanship as the institute settled into a routine.
• After ten days, Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen left Research Institute No. 49 to claim their reward of studying Soul Tool blueprints.
• Jing Hongchen led them to the Linglong Pavilion, a guarded Level 9 Soul Tool with blueprints arranged across nine floors, and warned them not to damage or remove any.

Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen searched the Nine-Story Exquisite Pavilion for Soul Tool blueprints during their three-day visit. Jiang Hai copied the Level 9 and Level 8 designs, including the Linglong Pavilion, before the pavilion expelled them and Jing Hongchen waited eagerly outside.

• Jing Hongchen opened a passage into the pavilion and gave Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen three days to study its blueprints.
• Xuan Ziwen explained that the older blueprints were mostly obsolete, then went to the seventh floor to study the Marrow Sword while Jiang Hai continued upward.
• On the ninth floor, Jiang Hai copied the Linglong Pavilion's blueprint and core arrays, considering how well it would suit the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, then copied the other Level 9 blueprints.
• Jiang Hai spent the next day copying Level 8 blueprints despite Xuan Ziwen's advice to focus on those designs, and chose a defensive Soul Tool blueprint to study more closely.
• When their time ran out, the pavilion expelled Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen, and Jing Hongchen greeted them with an eager look directed at Jiang Hai.

Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen learned that Xue Linglong had defeated Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen in the exchange matches, revealing the power of her Lifebound Soul Tool Skill. Jiang Hai planned to use the institute’s accomplishments to secure resources from Illustrious Virtue Hall while building a separate institute and academy in Dongyang City, and Jing Hongchen reviewed their ambitious request.

• Yu Lang and Ji Kai told Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen that Huo Yuhao had beaten the royal academy’s sixth-year students and fought Ji Juechen to a draw before Xue Linglong challenged both men.
• Ji Kai explained that Xue Linglong defeated Huo Yuhao and Ji Juechen with her peerless sword, after which all three fighters entered sudden enlightenment.
• Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen discussed the risk of the Lifebound Soul Tool Skill becoming known, and Jiang Hai decided to request research resources, including two rare soul bones.
• Jiang Hai asked Xuan Ziwen to visit Grandmaster Shi Jingcheng as he prepared to establish a research institute and academy in Dongyang City.
• Lin Jiayi brought Jing Hongchen the No. Forty-Nine Research Institute’s resource request, and Jing Hongchen laughed at its size.

Jing Hongchen agreed to fully support Research Institute No. Forty-Nine’s Lifebound Soul Tool Skill research and promised valuable soul bones for further breakthroughs. Meanwhile, Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen tackled the formidable array guarding Old Master Shi’s courtyard, where they discovered the old master was close to becoming a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

• Lin Jiayi explained the Lifebound Soul Tool Skill’s limitations and its potential to refine Martial Soul Avatars into soul tool techniques, and Jing Hongchen ordered the Illustrious Virtue Hall to support the research.
• Jing Hongchen promised a dragon soul bone and offered further soul bones if the researchers achieved wider applications or refined a Martial Soul Avatar within two years.
• Xuan Ziwen told Jiang Hai about his family’s origins and led him to visit Old Master Shi, whose courtyard was protected by a vast soul tool array.
• Xuan Ziwen began dismantling the array, and Jiang Hai joined him with his Glazed Heart Mirror to help calculate the interwoven formations.
• Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen reached the two-hundred-and-ninetieth step, where Xuan Ziwen said Old Master Shi was only one step away from becoming a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen advanced through Shi Jingcheng’s courtyard arrays, where Xuan Ziwen realized that spirit was the key to Level 9 Soul Tools. They watched Shi Jingcheng condense a soul core and complete his breakthrough to Titled Douluo, becoming a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

• Jiang Hai’s soul power ran out while he and Xuan Ziwen broke the arrays, and the Bronze Coffin’s power helped him break through to Level 58.
• Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen continued through the courtyard, eventually reaching the final two arrays as the patterns revealed the role of spirit in Level 9 Soul Tools.
• Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen watched ambient energy gather above a nearby courtyard as Shi Jingcheng began condensing a soul core.
• After more than six hours, Shi Jingcheng formed an earthy-yellow soul core and drew it into his Four-Sided City martial soul.
• Shi Jingcheng’s breakthrough released a powerful aura that blasted Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen away, confirming his advancement to Titled Douluo and Level 9 Soul Engineer.

Shi Jingcheng broke through to become a Titled Douluo and joined Jiang Hai’s Civilization Research Institute, agreeing to oversee its construction in Dongyang City. The emperor sent Skywatch to invite him to Skywatch Hall, where Shi Jingcheng chose the title City Douluo and left to have his name inscribed on the Douluo Stele.

• The emperor learned that Shi Jingcheng had broken through and ordered Skywatch to congratulate him and invite him to join Skywatch Hall.
• Shi Jingcheng asked to join Jiang Hai’s Civilization Research Institute so he could study the flame of civilization, and he agreed to oversee its construction in Dongyang City.
• Jiang Hai gave Shi Jingcheng a blue lamp containing a core flame and directed him to contact Li Qingfeng in Dongyang City for help guarding his ninth soul-ring absorption.
• Skywatch arrived with the emperor’s congratulations and invited Shi Jingcheng to inscribe his name on the Douluo Stele.
• Shi Jingcheng chose the title City Douluo and departed with Skywatch, while Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen returned toward the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

Jiang Hai returned to Civilization Research Institute No. 49, received a precious Azure Wood Dragon Horn Head Soul Bone, and spent three months recording high-level Soul Tool blueprints while advancing his expertise. After resting and restoring his true appearance, he collected four upgraded Level 8 Soul Tools and left the institute, entrusting its work to Xuan Ziwen.

• Jiang Hai and Xuan Ziwen returned from Shi Jingcheng's residence, and Yu Lang reported that Illustrious Virtue Hall had delivered their requested resources, including the Azure Wood Dragon Horn Head Soul Bone.
• Jiang Hai declined to redirect the institute's research toward Soul Tool Techniques and began transcribing the 123 blueprints he had copied from the Nine-Story Exquisite Pavilion.
• Jiang Hai spent three months recording the blueprints, advancing his Soul Tool expertise to the middle stage of Level 8 while Xuan Ziwen and seven other Level 8 Soul Engineers developed the Lifebound Soul Tool's core blueprint to Level 8.
• Jiang Hai finished the blueprints, slept for three days, and restored his true appearance before emerging from his room.
• Jiang Hai received a Level 8 Soul Engineer Ring containing the upgraded Flying Sword Case, Vermilion Bird Wings, and Heavenly Mandate Blade, then left the Civilization Research Institute after Xuan Ziwen warned him to be careful.

Jiang Hai revealed his strength while entering a Holy Spirit Cult outpost in Mingdu, where the Fourth Elder recognized him as the recruit he had awaited for three years. The elder welcomed him and told him to follow.

• Xuan Ziwen reassured Ji Kai, Yu Lang, and the other researchers that Jiang Hai was trustworthy, and they returned to work on the Lifebound Soul Tool.
• Jiang Hai visited a Soul Tool shop on Guanghou Street and showed White Cat the Holy Spirit Disciple Token given to him by a Titled Douluo.
• White Cat led Jiang Hai into the hidden Holy Spirit Cult hall, where two hooded guards confronted them.
• Jiang Hai shattered one guard’s blade and struck the Great Holy Spirit with his Bronze Coffin, knocking both Holy Spirits down.
• The Fourth Elder arrived, recognized Jiang Hai, and said he had been waiting for him for three years before inviting him to follow.

Jiang Hai joined the Holy Spirit Cult and underwent its blood-pool initiation, where he swore loyalty beneath the Demon Empress's statue. The blood pool boosted his soul power to rank fifty-nine, and the chapter ended with him asking how long he had cultivated.

• The Blood-Clothed Elder explained the Holy Spirit Cult's ranks and offered Jiang Hai a chance to advance toward the vacant Saint Son position.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder brought Jiang Hai to the Demon Empress Blood Pool and warned that disciples had to bathe in holy blood and swear loyalty.
• Jiang Hai entered the pool and repeated the oath to serve the Holy Spirit Cult.
• The Demon Empress's phantom entered Jiang Hai, and he absorbed the blood pool's energy under the Blood-Clothed Elder's guidance.
• Jiang Hai's soul power rose from the peak of rank fifty-eight to the middle-to-late stages of rank fifty-nine, and he asked the Blood-Clothed Elder how long he had cultivated.

Jiang Hai learned that the Holy Spirit Cult’s Demon Empress mark and blood pools helped Evil Soul Masters cultivate safely and overcome bottlenecks, though he remained wary of the Demon Empress’s influence. The Blood-Clothed Elder left him to train in the depleted pool, aiming to reach level sixty and become a Quasi-Soul Emperor.

• Jiang Hai learned that only six hours had passed and worried that the Demon Empress Phantom might be a way for the Holy Spirit Cult to control him.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder explained that the Demon Empress’s spiritual consciousness prevented cultivation deviation and accelerated cultivation, and that Titled Douluo could suppress or return it.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder described the blood pools’ grades and benefits, then said Jiang Hai had nearly exhausted the yellow-grade pool because of his weak foundation.
• Jiang Hai concealed that his soul power was already highly condensed and thanked the Blood-Clothed Elder for his guidance.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder limited Jiang Hai to two hours in the pool each day for the next three months and told him to reach level sixty, promising that White Cat would bring his meals.

After three months cultivating in the Seventeen Altar’s blood pool, Jiang Hai reached level 60 and prepared to go to Holy Spirit Cult headquarters for the Blood Trial. The Blood-Clothed Elder warned him about the perilous competition, then secretly transported him toward headquarters while Jiang Hai feigned unconsciousness and observed the journey.

• Jiang Hai broke through to level 60 after cultivating in the blood pool and decided to seek stronger pools at Holy Spirit Cult headquarters.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder told Jiang Hai that the Blood Trial began in five days and would determine disciple rankings and two Acting Elder positions.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder explained the trial’s dangers and advised Jiang Hai to focus on securing one of the 864 Holy Spirit Cult Disciple places.
• The next day, the Blood-Clothed Elder gave Jiang Hai a Ten Thousand Gods Pill to conceal the headquarters’ location, and Jiang Hai pretended to lose consciousness while tracking their route with the Glazed Heart Mirror.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder carried Jiang Hai through the Evil Demon Forest into an underground cavern, where a tentacled eyeball-like soul beast bound them and carried them away.

Jiang Hai was brought into the hidden headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult and introduced to its beliefs, rules, and merit system. He met the Fourth Elder, Netherworld Douluo Shi Youming, and accepted a cup of Bloodthorn Flower Tea.

• A black-clad cult member used an Evil Character Token to retrieve Jiang Hai and the blood-robed elder from the Evil Eye Tyrant and take them to the concealed headquarters.
• Jiang Hai awakened in the underground Holy Emperor Grand Plaza, where the blood-robed elder explained the cult's worship and its reliance on strength, contributions, and merit points.
• The blood-robed elder led Jiang Hai to the Fourth Elder's residence and warned him about the Bloodthorn Flowers and nearby forbidden grounds.
• Shi Youming welcomed Jiang Hai, and Jiang Hai thanked him before the Fourth Elder served him Bloodthorn Flower Tea.

Jiang Hai visited the Fourth Elder, who promised to find him a hundred-thousand-year soul beast if he placed in the Blood Trial’s top two and won an elder’s seat. The Fourth Elder arranged a spar with the Blood-Clothed Elder to test Jiang Hai’s strength, and the fight ended with the elder shattering Jiang Hai’s ice body while Jiang Hai’s golden body remained in the battle.

• The Fourth Elder praised Jiang Hai’s progress and offered him a Bloodthorn Flower seed before setting a top-two finish in the Blood Trial as the condition for helping him obtain a hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
• The Fourth Elder told the Blood-Clothed Elder to test Jiang Hai, and both fighters revealed their martial souls and soul rings.
• Jiang Hai struck the Blood-Clothed Elder with the Azure Jade Coffin, forcing him back, and the two traded blows as the elder used Blood and Qi Boiling.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder sent Jiang Hai flying and explained that his higher soul power let him withstand their repeated collisions better.
• Jiang Hai used Nine-Lives Cicada Molt and Iceflame Diamond Transformation to attack with two bodies, while the Blood-Clothed Elder countered with Blood God Transformation and was injured by its collapse.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder used Bloodrobe Bind to constrict and shatter Jiang Hai’s ice body.

Jiang Hai proved his strength to the Blood-Clothed Elder, then received a rank eighty-nine Soul Douluo's corpse from the Fourth Elder as a reward for taking part in the Blood Trial. He settled into the Holy Spirit Cult's dormitory and began cultivating with the corpse stored in his Purple Lightning Coffin.

• Jiang Hai broke free of the Blood-Clothed Elder's Bloodrobe Bind and counterattacked with his iceflame, but the Fourth Elder stopped the duel before the Blood-Clothed Elder could use his Fifth Soul Skill.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder acknowledged Jiang Hai's strength, and Jiang Hai explained that an opportunity in the Far North had evolved his First Soul Skill into Iceflame Diamond Transformation.
• The Fourth Elder gave Jiang Hai a starlight sapphire containing the corpse of a rank eighty-nine Soul Douluo, promising it as his reward if he secured one of the two new elder positions.
• The Blood-Clothed Elder led Jiang Hai to the branch disciples' dormitory and explained that Holy Spirit Cult members could claim residences through strength.
• Jiang Hai checked his cramped room with a mirror, stored the corpse in his Purple Lightning Coffin, and cultivated as its power replenished his Soul Power and strengthened his physique.