Chapter Summaries

Dai Youheng returned to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and declared his intention to claim its inheritance after his brothers were badly injured. He let the Duchess's spy overhear his ambition and waited for her to make a move while Dai Hao was away.

• Zhu Man accused Dai Youheng of causing Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin's injuries, but he calmly cited the Evil Soul Master ambush and Shrek witnesses to defend himself.
• Dai Youheng dismissed Zhu Man and went to his courtyard, leaving her furious and wary of his growing strength.
• Dai Youheng told Bai Wanning that he had graduated from Shrek's Outer Court and had returned to live in the Star Luo Empire.
• Dai Youheng declared that he would claim the White Tiger Duke's inheritance because his injured brothers could no longer lead the mansion, frightening Bai Wanning.
• After Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli left, Dai Youheng revealed that he knew a spy had overheard him and intended to draw Zhu Man into acting while Dai Hao was away.

Dai Youheng arranged for Ling Ya to secretly protect Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli while preparing to strike against Duchess Zhu Man. At breakfast, he openly defied the Duchess’s household, beat Dai Huabin, and overturned the table on Zhu Man and her sons.

• Dai Youheng ordered Ling Ya to protect Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli, fake their deaths if they were threatened, and carry out another task later.
• Duchess Zhu Man heard that Dai Youheng coveted her son’s title and vowed to make the Duke’s Mansion his grave.
• At breakfast, Dai Youheng ignored Zhu Man’s demand for a greeting and confronted Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin over their past treatment of his family.
• Dai Youheng slapped Dai Huabin, while Zhu Man’s illness left her unable to sustain her Soul Power or fight.
• Dai Youheng kicked Dai Huabin down again, checked that Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli had eaten, then heaved the tablecloth and drenched Zhu Man and her sons with the meal.

Dai Youheng left the Duke’s Mansion with Nebula Douluo Manyi and went to the Star Luo Imperial Palace, where Xu Jiujiu and Xu Jiawei discussed using his feud with the Dai Family’s legitimate line to strengthen imperial authority. Xu Jiujiu summoned him for an audience.

• Dai Youheng provoked Duchess Zhu Man and her sons at breakfast, then left with Manyi when she arrived to escort him to the palace.
• Manyi reported the confrontation to Xu Jiujiu, who judged that Dai Youheng’s growing power had made his long-held resentment against the legitimate line erupt.
• Xu Jiujiu told Xu Jiawei that Dai Youheng’s estrangement from his family made him a useful ally for the imperial family.
• Xu Jiawei approved covertly supporting Dai Youheng to make him a sharper weapon and more dependent on the empire.
• Xu Jiujiu ordered an attendant to summon Dai Youheng for an audience.

Dai Youheng met Xu Jiujiu in the palace, where she confronted him for hiding his Soul King cultivation and demanded the truth about his staged weakness. He fell silent, his practiced expression giving way to a complicated look.

• Dai Youheng greeted Xu Jiujiu and Xu Jiawei, who teased them before leaving the two alone with Manyi.
• Xu Jiujiu scrutinized Dai Youheng and accused him of deceiving her.
• Xu Jiujiu revealed that Manyi had reported Dai Youheng had secretly become a Soul King.
• Xu Jiujiu questioned why Dai Youheng had pretended to be unable to withstand her three palm strikes and demanded the truth.
• Dai Youheng fell silent as his expression shifted from feigned shock to a complicated look.

Dai Youheng explained that he had hidden his strength and acted like a fool to survive the White Tiger Duke's family politics and remain near Xu Jiujiu. He declared his ambition to compete for the heirship and marry her, leaving Xu Jiujiu unexpectedly moved while Snow Empress recognized his performance as a lie.

• Dai Youheng admitted that he had deliberately taken Xu Jiujiu's three palm strikes and concealed his strength because he feared Zhu Man and the legitimate sons would see him as a threat.
• Dai Youheng said that acting infatuated and useless had let him preserve his chance to see Xu Jiujiu without provoking his family.
• Dai Youheng revealed that Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin had fallen from contention, giving him a chance to compete for the White Tiger Duke's heirship.
• Dai Youheng told Xu Jiujiu he wanted to become strong enough to marry her openly and bring her into the Dai Family.
• Snow Empress privately called Dai Youheng a scumbag for deceiving Xu Jiujiu, but Xu Jiujiu admitted she had not meant to blame him and seemed moved by his confession.

Xu Jiujiu warned Dai Youheng that the Zhu Family would oppose his bid to inherit the White Tiger Duke title, then pledged her support and laid out a two-year plan for him. Dai Youheng agreed to cultivate and learn governance beside her before entering the military, promising not to disappoint her.

• Xu Jiujiu explained that Dai Youheng’s birth and lack of allies left him vulnerable to opposition from Duchess Zhu Man and the Zhu Family.
• Dai Youheng declared that Xu Jiujiu was his strongest backing, and she promised to help him secure the right to inherit the White Tiger Duke title.
• Xu Jiujiu rejected sending Dai Youheng to the Western Army Group for now, citing Zhu Family influence and the risk of distracting him from cultivation.
• Xu Jiujiu arranged for Dai Youheng to spend two years cultivating with her support while learning politics and building contacts.
• Xu Jiujiu said she would seek a military posting for Dai Youheng once he was stronger and better established, and he promised to follow her plan.

Over the year, Dai Youheng advanced to level fifty-six and earned Xu Jiujiu’s trust by helping govern the Star Luo Empire, especially through a devastating snow disaster. After his success raised his standing and brought him closer to Xu Jiujiu, he survived Duchess Zhu Man’s assassination attempts, and Ling Ya’s warning finally forced her to back down.

• Dai Youheng used Xu Jiujiu’s resources and compatible mimicry cultivation grounds to advance four levels, reaching level fifty-six.
• When a snow disaster struck northern cities, Dai Youheng proposed work relief, local production, infrastructure projects, Soul Master assistance, and support for spring planting.
• With Xu Jiujiu’s backing, Dai Youheng helped officials carry out the relief plan, which contained the disaster’s damage, sped recovery, and reduced costs.
• Dai Youheng’s success in governance raised his prestige, while he and Xu Jiujiu grew closer and public opinion increasingly praised them as a suitable match.
• Dai Youheng killed three Soul Emperor assassins sent by Zhu Man, and Ling Ya later killed the two Soul Saints she hired next.
• Ling Ya left the Soul Saints’ severed heads beside Zhu Man’s bed; she fainted in terror and stopped making such extreme attempts against Dai Youheng.

Dai Youheng rejected Zhu Man and Dai Yueheng’s demand for his Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade and defeated Dai Yueheng in a left-handed duel. Zhu Man was left furious as Dai Youheng walked away, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Dai Yueheng received a soul-powered prosthetic hand, and Zhu Man decided to obtain Dai Youheng’s Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade for him.
• Zhu Man persuaded Dai Hao to order Dai Youheng to give up the blade, then presented his letter when Dai Youheng returned to the mansion.
• Dai Youheng refused and challenged Dai Yueheng to fight using only their left hands, promising the blade if he lost.
• Dai Yueheng accepted, but Dai Youheng defeated him with two palm strikes without using his Martial Soul or weapon.
• Dai Youheng left after mocking Dai Yueheng, while Zhu Man trembled with fury and resolved not to let the matter rest.

Zhu Man persuaded Dai Yueheng to accept a scheme to pressure Dai Youheng and seize his Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade, while an unseen recorder captured their plot. Dai Youheng pretended to obey Dai Hao’s order to go to the Western Army Group, then secretly left Star Luo City northward toward the Sun Moon Empire, setting his own plan in motion.

• Zhu Man urged Dai Yueheng to use a false order to summon Dai Youheng away and then coerce Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli into surrendering the blade, and Dai Yueheng reluctantly agreed.
• A hidden figure recorded Zhu Man and Dai Yueheng plotting in her room.
• Zhu Man presented Dai Youheng with a letter ordering him to report to the Western Army Group, and Dai Youheng accepted without protest.
• Dai Youheng told Xu Jiujiu about the order, declined her offer to intervene, and reassured her that he would handle the matter himself.
• Dai Youheng instructed Ling Ya to protect Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli while making their planned kidnapping frightening but harmless and leaving evidence behind.
• Dai Youheng publicly claimed he was going to the Western Army Group but secretly traveled north toward the Sun Moon Empire by way of Heaven Soul.

Dai Youheng waited in Maple Leaf City for Ling Ya while Zhu Man framed Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli and arranged to imprison them. Ling Ya secretly rescued mother and son during a staged explosion, leaving Zhu Man to believe they had died as Dai Youheng traveled toward the Sun Moon Empire.

• Dai Youheng left Star Luo City alone and waited in Maple Leaf City for Ling Ya while preparing to investigate the Sun Moon Empire’s soul tool technology.
• Zhu Man accused Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli of misconduct and ordered her guards to take them to the Zhu Family Ancestral Shrine.
• Zhu Man’s guards transported Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli in a carriage, which Ling Ya destroyed with an explosive soul tool while secretly shielding and rescuing them.
• The guards found charred remains and reported that Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli had died, prompting Zhu Man to order the story covered up as a mountain bandit attack.
• Ling Ya escaped with the unconscious Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli, leaving Zhu Man unaware that they had survived.

Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli awoke in a hidden refuge after Dai Youheng faked their deaths to protect them from Zhu Man. Ling Ya revealed that he was a Titled Douluo serving Dai Youheng, while a storm began brewing in Star Luo City ahead of Youheng’s return.

• Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli woke unharmed in a secluded cottage, where Ling Ya explained that Dai Youheng had arranged their escape and made the world believe they were dead.
• Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli agreed to remain hidden and wait for Dai Youheng, with Dai Luoli vowing to protect his mother and improve his cultivation.
• Ling Ya revealed that he was the Ice Sky Douluo, a Titled Douluo who served Dai Youheng, shocking Bai Wanning and filling Dai Luoli with admiration for his brother.
• Ling Ya left to report to Dai Youheng, while Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli settled in to await his return.
• The reported deaths of Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli stirred a storm in Star Luo City as Dai Youheng remained away.

Dai Youheng’s recording exposed Zhu Man’s scheme and turned Star Luo City against her, while Xu Jiujiu worried about the personal cost of her political alliance with him. Ling Ya later confirmed that Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli were safe and that Dai Youheng’s plan had succeeded, and Dai Youheng prepared to leave for the Sun Moon Empire.

• A recording of Zhu Man plotting against Dai Youheng, Bai Wanning, and Dai Luoli spread through Star Luo City, destroying Zhu Man’s public image and damaging the reputations of the Dai and Zhu Families.
• Emperor Xu Jiawei welcomed the scandal as a chance to make Dai Youheng more dependent on the imperial family.
• Princess Xu Jiujiu worried that Dai Youheng would be devastated by the apparent deaths of Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli, and feared he might suspect the imperial family of manipulating events.
• Ling Ya arrived at Dai Youheng’s inn and reported that Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli were safe in a secluded village, while the recording and other evidence had been spread through Star Luo City.
• Dai Youheng predicted that Zhu Man would blame the Xu Family for the evidence and planned to let the families turn against each other before departing for the Sun Moon Empire.

Dai Youheng and Ling Ya entered Mingdu in disguise and watched the heavily guarded Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy from across the street. Dai Youheng planned to recruit Nana by freeing her parents from the Holy Spirit Cult and using a Yin-Yang Fate-Reversing Lotus Seed Pill to secure her immediate power, leaving Ling Ya aware of her value and vulnerability.

• Dai Youheng and Ling Ya entered Mingdu with a caravan, disguising themselves as a curious young merchant and his servant.
• Dai Youheng and Ling Ya observed the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy from a restaurant after deciding its defenses made entry too risky.
• Dai Youheng told Ling Ya that Nana was controlled by the Holy Spirit Cult through her parents’ captive souls and could be recruited by freeing them.
• Dai Youheng revealed his second Yin-Yang Fate-Reversing Lotus Seed Pill and planned to use it to gain Nana’s allegiance and immediate combat strength.
• Dai Youheng dismissed Ji Juechen as a potential follower because his devotion to the sword would make him impossible to control.

Dai Youheng and Ling Ya abducted Nana after confirming she secretly visited a Holy Spirit Cult branch, then Dai Youheng revealed that he knew her tragic past and offered to free her from the cult's control. Nana doubted they could help her, and Dai Youheng explained that her parents were held by a single branch whose strongest member was only a Soul Saint.

• Dai Youheng and Ling Ya watched the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy for more than half a month and confirmed that Nana left alone at night.
• Ling Ya knocked Nana unconscious in a deserted alley and carried her to a hotel room.
• Nana woke in the hotel, demanded to know who had abducted her, and heard Dai Youheng offer to help her escape the Holy Spirit Cult and avenge her parents.
• Dai Youheng recounted Nana's parents' deaths and the Holy Spirit Cult's control over her, causing her to break down in tears.
• Nana questioned how Dai Youheng could help when the Virtue Hall and Sun Moon Empire colluded with the cult, and Dai Youheng said her parents were held by a branch led by no one stronger than a Soul Saint.

Dai Youheng offered Nana a way to gain Titled Douluo-level Soul Power so she could save her parents’ souls and destroy the Holy Spirit Cult branch. Nana accepted the Yin-Yang Fate-Reversing Lotus Seed Pill despite the cost of losing most of her future potential and becoming bound to Dai Youheng’s Martial Soul.

• Ling Ya revealed his nine Soul Rings, and Nana realized he was a Titled Douluo who could defeat the Holy Spirit Cult branch.
• Nana explained that killing the cultists could cause her parents’ souls to scatter, and Dai Youheng said she might eventually gain a soul-purifying skill through her ghost Martial Soul.
• Dai Youheng showed Nana records about the Prayer Spirit Demon Firefly, whose Soul Ring could grant soul-related abilities.
• Dai Youheng offered Nana the Yin-Yang Fate-Reversing Lotus Seed Pill, warning that it would grant her Level 90 Soul Power while consuming her potential and binding her soul to his Martial Soul.
• Nana agreed to Dai Youheng’s conditions and took the pill, determined to save her parents and take revenge on the Holy Spirit Cult.

Nana consumed the Yin-Yang Fate-Reversing Lotus Seed Pill and condensed a Ghost Soul Core under Dai Youheng’s guidance, accepting the bond that gave him power over her. She left the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to join Dai Youheng and Ling Ya on a journey to hunt for soul rings.

• Nana took the Yin-Yang Fate-Reversing Lotus Seed Pill, and Dai Youheng guided her through its surging energy.
• Nana condensed a Ghost Soul Core and sensed an indelible brand linking her to Dai Youheng.
• Nana thanked Dai Youheng and accepted his order to seek leave from the academy before hunting for soul rings with him and Ling Ya.
• Nana obtained leave from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and left Mingdu for the secluded meeting point Dai Youheng had arranged.

Nana traveled with Dai Youheng and Ling Ya to the Evil Demon Forest to find a Prayer Spirit Demon Firefly soul ring that could help free her parents’ souls. She gained the Soul Liberation skill and wept with joy as she realized her goal was within reach.

• Dai Youheng led Nana and Ling Ya into the Evil Demon Forest to search for a spiritual-type soul beast.
• Nana insisted on seeking a Prayer Spirit Demon Firefly despite the sacrifice to her combat strength, and Dai Youheng allowed her to proceed.
• The group found a colony and chose a Prayer Spirit Demon Firefly with roughly eighteen thousand years of cultivation.
• Ling Ya restrained the other fireflies while Nana killed the chosen one with her Crimson Flame Blade and absorbed its soul ring.
• Nana gained Soul Liberation, which could release and guide fragmented souls and use stored soul energy, giving her hope of freeing her parents.

Dai Youheng, Ling Ya, and Nana hunted powerful spiritual-type soul beasts in the Evil Demon Forest so Nana could advance toward becoming a Titled Douluo. Nana obtained her seventh and eighth soul skills and reached Soul Douluo, while the three prepared to seek a ninth-ring target in the forest’s most dangerous region.

• Ling Ya, Dai Youheng, and Nana defeated a forty-thousand-year Netherworld Ghost Mother, and Nana absorbed its soul ring to gain her Martial Soul Avatar.
• The trio found a seventy-thousand-year Void Dreamweaver Beast, and Ling Ya used the Snow Soul Condensing Ice Pill to freeze it so Nana could kill it with her Blink Sword.
• Nana absorbed the Void Dreamweaver Beast’s soul ring, advanced to Soul Douluo, and gained the Soul Threads skill.
• Dai Youheng, Ling Ya, and Nana headed toward the deepest region of the Evil Demon Forest to seek a ninth-ring soul beast from the Evil-Eyed Tyrant clan.

Dai Youheng told Nana he intended to find an Evil-Eyed Tyrant for her ninth soul ring, and she agreed to continue searching despite the danger. As they prepared to leave the Evil Demon Forest, the group discovered a strange Fire Evil Tyrant nearby.

• Nana asked Dai Youheng why he had not let her choose a spiritual-type soul beast for her ninth ring, and he said he wanted the best possible target for her rare ghost martial soul.
• Dai Youheng named an Evil-Eyed Tyrant as his target, and Nana warned him about the danger of hunting the powerful race.
• Nana reassured Dai Youheng that the Holy Spirit Cult branch expected her to spend a month in secluded cultivation, and they agreed to search for ten more days before returning.
• During their continued search, Dai Youheng and Nana encountered Evil-Eyed Tyrants, including a Fire Evil Tyrant whose thirty thousand years of cultivation made it unsuitable.
• As Dai Youheng, Nana, and Ling Ya turned to leave the forest, they heard something dragging through the woods and found a lone Fire Evil Tyrant with six green and red tentacles.

Dai Youheng followed a thirty-thousand-year Fire Evil Tyrant into the forest and discovered it with a hundred-thousand-year pure mental-type Evil-Eyed Tyrant. He planned to capture the powerful beast using a sealing soul tool and ultimate ice, but the Tyrant detected the group before they could act.

• Dai Youheng recognized the Fire Evil Tyrant and decided to follow it, hoping it would lead them to a hundred-thousand-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant.
• Dai Youheng, Nana, and Ling Ya concealed their auras and tracked the Fire Evil Tyrant deep into the Evil Demon Forest.
• The group found the Fire Evil Tyrant with a massive silver-white Evil-Eyed Tyrant, which the Snow Empress identified as a hundred-thousand-year beast.
• The Snow Empress warned Dai Youheng that the beast could alert the immensely powerful Evil Emperor, but Dai Youheng proposed trapping it in a Level 8 soul tool reinforced with Ling Ya's ultimate ice.
• The hundred-thousand-year Evil-Eyed Tyrant opened its eye and discovered the group.