Chapter Summaries

Chen Xiaojun discussed the rumor plot at Chang'an Academy with Zhuang Mocheng and the staff, then proposed public student rankings to amplify the turmoil and reshape the Academy. Zhuang Mocheng recognized the scale of Chen Xiaojun’s plan and anticipated another storm.

• Chen Xiaojun accepted Zhuang Mocheng’s explanation that the teachers had not plotted against him, and learned that Yan Chengyi and Jixiang would lead the School Team to the Gaoying Tournament.
• Chen Xiaojun, Yan Chengyi, and Jixiang considered whether Secret Agents or students had secretly spread the rumors, while Yan Chengyi vowed to investigate.
• After the others left, Zhuang Mocheng told Chen Xiaojun that the Academy had Secret Agents, including some from the Imperial Capital, and that the boss had entered seclusion.
• Chen Xiaojun inferred that Zhuang Mocheng had used the turmoil to protect Zhuo Qianren’s Title Douluo breakthrough and proposed creating public rankings for students and their fieldwork achievements.
• Zhuang Mocheng praised Chen Xiaojun’s plan to intensify the upheaval and predicted that it would bring another storm to the Academy.

Ma Wencai began the ten-win challenge and defeated opponent after opponent with his powerful Sunlight Golden Pheasant techniques. As he reached seven straight wins and faced a Soul Ancestor, Chen Xiaojun ordered Dugu Fu to attempt ten straight wins and took his collected combat records.

• Zhuang Mocheng noticed that the Chen Xiaojun above the grounds was not a clone, and Chen Xiaojun identified the one below as the clone.
• Ma Wencai declared he would aim for ten straight wins and defeated Xiao Lin with Brocade Splendor Feathers and Blazing Sun Wheel.
• Chen Xiaojun reprimanded Dugu Fu for watching the recent fights instead of intervening, ordered him to win ten straight matches to join the School Team, and collected his battle records.
• Ma Wencai defeated Keller Carl and reached seven consecutive wins, drawing cheers as spectators discussed his fighting style and the commoner experts' reluctance to challenge him.
• Ma Wencai used his right arm bone skill, Sunlit Dawnstrike, against Tom Sykes, breaking through his hurricane and sending him crashing into the arena barrier.

Chen Xiaojun presented Zhuang Mocheng with a plan to build University City, strengthen Chang'an Academy, and greatly expand its enrollment. Zhuang Mocheng was left weighing the proposal to grow the academy into the continent’s largest.

• Zhuang Mocheng asked Chen Xiaojun what he intended for Chang'an Academy after learning that his associates had been scouting White Deer Plateau.
• Chen Xiaojun showed Zhuang Mocheng a University City plan that included four specialized academies and explained how they would improve the academy’s defenses.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed directing Middle Division graduates to the Eight Specialized Academies and expanding enrollment to support them.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that about four thousand Soul Masters awakened in Fasinuo Province each year, far more than Zhuang Mocheng had believed.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed increasing intake from around two hundred and fifty students to as many as eight hundred yearly, and Zhuang Mocheng considered how that could make Chang'an Academy the continent’s largest.

Chen Xiaojun persuaded Zhuang Mocheng that Chang'an Academy could expand enrollment by addressing facilities and staffing over time and securing new sources of funding. He proposed using the White Deer Plateau’s development and University City’s growth to benefit the academy, while drawing donations from the Chen Clan, the Ten Great Families, and local enterprises.

• Chen Xiaojun told Zhuang Mocheng that Chang'an Academy could expand to twelve classes and five hundred students, with existing facilities and gradual construction covering much of the demand.
• Chen Xiaojun argued that the academy could retain graduates and recruit teachers to meet future staffing needs, while funding would cover textbooks, equipment, and operations.
• Chen Xiaojun described how University City could grow into a satellite city and proposed giving Chang'an Academy a share of its related revenues.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that the Chen Clan had secured development rights to the White Deer Plateau, and Zhuang Mocheng reacted with astonishment.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed seeking increased funding from the City Lord’s Residence and soliciting donations from the Chen Clan, the Ten Great Families, and local businesses in exchange for academy privileges.

Chen Xiaojun laid out his vision for Chang'an Academy to become the continent’s foremost academy and said Xiao Yi’s return had raised their chances at the Gaoying Tournament. He revealed that the key reason was a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

• Zhuang Mocheng praised Chen Xiaojun’s plan to recruit talented students and make Chang'an Academy the continent’s leading academy.
• Chen Xiaojun described his ambition to make the academy a center of martial Dao and scholarship that served the people and defended peace.
• Zhuang Mocheng warned that the Gaoying Tournament would be difficult amid competition from powerful forces and asked Chen Xiaojun about his plan.
• Chen Xiaojun said Xiao Yi’s return had raised his estimate of their chances of winning to four or five in ten, though Zhuang Mocheng suspected he was understating it.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Xiao Yi’s presence mattered because of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

Chen Xiaojun won Zhuang Mocheng’s support and proposed hunting the Wind and Lightning War Eagle Saint King for Zhuo Qianren’s ninth Soul Ring. Back at the courtyard, Chen Xiaojun kept his companions in the exhausting challenge tournament, and the injured Ma Wencai arrived.

• Zhuang Mocheng promised to help Chen Xiaojun and Chang’an Academy after Chen Xiaojun assured him of their future success.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed that Zhuo Qianren take the Wind and Lightning War Eagle Saint King’s Soul Ring, and Zhuang Mocheng considered the dangerous hunt through Zhongnan Mountain.
• Dugu Fu and Zhu Wuneng complained that the challenge tournament’s repeated arena battles had exhausted them, but Chen Xiaojun said it would continue for three more days.
• Chen Shurui and Chen Bin criticized Chen Xiaojun for making the tournament so grueling.
• Ma Wencai arrived with Ma Liang’s support, badly injured and pale from blood loss.

Ma Wencai fought his tenth consecutive match against the level forty-five Soul Ancestor Aaron Flake while badly injured and exhausted. As Aaron’s strongest attack bore down on him, Ma Wencai unleashed his final trump card, Glory of the Solar Corona.

• Ma Wencai told Chen Xiaojun that he had passed after defeating three Soul Ancestors, and Zhu Wuneng and Su Ningxia reported that he had won all ten matches in a row.
• Ma Wencai entered his tenth match gravely wounded after his earlier victories, including his fights against Tom Sykes and the ninth challenger.
• Aaron Flake opened with Blazing Lion Roar, shattering Ma Wencai’s shield and knocking him down.
• Aaron Flake pursued Ma Wencai with Blazing Lion Claw Strike and Blazing Lion Shadow Clone, inflicting more wounds as Ma Wencai struggled to stay upright.
• Aaron Flake launched Lie Yan Scorch the Sky, and Ma Wencai answered with Glory of the Solar Corona.

Ma Wencai defeated Aaron Flake with Glory of the Solar Corona, winning his teammates’ respect despite collapsing from exhaustion. Three days later, the school announced its tournament team, naming Chen Xiaojun captain and commander.

• Ma Wencai’s Glory of the Solar Corona shattered Aaron Flake’s fireball and left him unconscious.
• The referee declared Ma Wencai the winner, and Ma Wencai collapsed as his teammates supported him.
• Aaron Flake’s teammates accused Ma Wencai of going too far, but Zhu Wuneng defended him until the referee restored order.
• Three days later, Yan Chengyi announced the school’s competition team and appointed Chen Xiaojun captain and commander, with Chen Mu and Chen Xin Yi as vice-captains.

Chen Xiaojun explained that the arena battles had been the first stage of special training and confirmed his authority as the school team’s captain and commander. He ordered the team to pack and gather at one o’clock to travel to the second stage of training.

• Wang Baoqiang asked Yan Chengyi what Hong Chen’s commander role meant, and Yan explained that the commander would oversee tactics, training, and the team’s overall campaign.
• Chen Xiaojun congratulated the selected students and explained that the arena battles had tested their combat abilities; he said anyone who failed would have been sent away.
• Wang Baoqiang joined the team after earning ten consecutive arena victories, while Chen Xiaojun considered the strengths and roles of the selected commoner competitors and other candidates.
• Chen Xiaojun told everyone to pack their clothes and gather at one o’clock to leave for the second phase of special training.

Chen Xiaojun began the second phase of the team’s special training at the Chang'an Great Soul Arena, setting demanding match schedules and win-rate targets. The team prepared to start fighting, while Chen Xiaojun left the nighttime training’s purpose a mystery.

• Ma Rulong thanked Chen Xiaojun for visiting and told Ma Liang and Ma Wencai to work hard under him in the Mainland Elite Tournament.
• Chen Xiaojun announced a week of training at the Great Soul Arena, where each student had to fight at least ten singles or doubles matches per day against tough opponents.
• Chen Xiaojun set minimum win rates of 90% in singles and 80% in doubles, warning that anyone who fell short would be removed from the team.
• Chen Xiaojun assigned the day’s doubles partners, arranged new fighter profiles and masks, and advised the students to change partners daily afterward.
• Chen Xiaojun said he and Wuxing would demonstrate the second part of training at night, but did not explain what it involved.
• Ma Liang asked about his combination’s name, and Chen Mu called it the Three-Five Combination.

Chen Xiaojun learned how Wang Baoqiang’s martial soul had risen from third rank to sixth rank and why the academy had kept him hidden. The chapter ended as Chen Mu went to compete, while Chen Xiaojun considered Wang Baoqiang’s unusual growth and the academy’s motives for putting him on the team.

• Chen Cong approved Chen Xiaojun’s training plan, though he judged that it needed more teamwork and steadiness.
• Chen Xiaojun asked Chen Mu about Wang Baoqiang, whom he had recently recruited to the team.
• Chen Mu explained that Wang Baoqiang had enrolled with a third-rank martial soul, which later rose to sixth rank as he trained and worked to support his cultivation.
• Chen Mu said Elder Yuan had taken Wang Baoqiang as a disciple and that the academy had kept his unusual martial soul secret while he focused on earning money.
• Chen Xiaojun wondered why Wang Baoqiang had been allowed to compete, and Chen Mu suggested the academy wanted him to gain experience and impress Chen Xiaojun.
• Chen Mu stood up to take the stage and complained about the demands of his competition.

The chapter explained Chang'an Academy’s leadership, departments, and major factions, then showed Chen Xiaojun considering why the Earth and Metal Faction was putting forward Wang Baoqiang for the Gaoying Tournament. It left Chen Xiaojun weighing whether the faction hoped to earn his support or align itself with him.

• Yuan Tieshan was introduced as head of the Office of Academic Affairs and a leading figure in the Earth and Metal Faction.
• The chapter outlined Chang'an Academy’s Three Great Factions and explained how Chen Cong’s appointment changed the academy’s departments and leadership.
• Chen Xiaojun inferred that Wang Baoqiang’s tournament participation was meant to make an impression on him, amid the influence of recent martial soul advancements.
• Chen Xiaojun considered the factions’ strengths, the affiliations of promising students, and the Earth and Metal Faction’s lack of leverage with him.
• Chen Xiaojun wondered whether the Earth and Metal Faction intended to win his favor or throw its lot in with him.

Xiao Yi fought Flame Prison in a Soul King-level Soul Fighting Tournament, using sword techniques to withstand his fire, poison, and web attacks. After Flame Prison believed poison had weakened her, Xiao Yi revealed a healing Soul Skill and recovered, leaving him shocked.

• The narrator reasoned that the Water and Ice and Fire and Smelting Factions had limited their contestants, likely to favor the Earth and Metal Faction.
• Xiao Yi entered the arena as Azure Emperor to practice sword techniques against Flame Prison, whose Martial Soul was the Flame Prison Demon Spider.
• Flame Prison trapped Xiao Yi with a spider web, wounded her with fire thorns, and attacked her with poison mist, spider silk, and flames.
• Xiao Yi evaded and countered with sword techniques, but Flame Prison claimed his poison had slowed her and pressed his advantage.
• Xiao Yi escaped his attacks, revealed a rising Soul Ring, and healed her wounds, stunning Flame Prison with her previously unseen healing ability.

Xiao Yi struggled against an opponent whose fire-based martial soul countered her sword, while Chen Xiaojun assessed the flaws in her technique. The scene ended with the group trading jokes about their chosen names.

• Wang Baoqiang cheered for Xiao Yi as she fought, but Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu noticed that she could not cut through her opponent's web.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Xiao Yi wasted soul power while converting her attributes and finger force into sword qi, and Su Ningxia noted that her opponent's martial soul and fire attributes gave him an advantage.
• Chen Mu reassured Chen Xiaojun that Xiao Yi had practiced swordsmanship for only a few days, and Chen Xiaojun said the difficult matchup would help her improve.
• Chen Mu and Zhu Wuneng teased Chen Xiaojun about his and Xiao Yi's names, then the group mocked one another's names and the stories behind them.
• Wang Baoqiang claimed Brother Monkey was respectable, but Saiwen exposed why he had chosen it, and Mei Jibo blushed when Zhu Wuneng called him normal.

Xiao Yi defeated her opponent in the arena, then healed her injured teammates before Chen Xiaojun prepared them for the next part of training. Commentators Brother Haihai and Brother Heihei analyzed the ongoing fight between Kong Jun and Lang Shi, ending with Lang Shi poised to exploit the tell before Kong Jun’s Sword Horn Starburst.

• Xiao Yi struck Flame Prison with her sword qi and won the arena fight, collapsing from exhaustion afterward.
• Xiao Yi healed Wang Baoqiang and the other injured team members, while Chen Xiaojun told everyone to rest before the next training session.
• Brother Haihai and Brother Heihei introduced the soul fight between Kong Jun and Lang Shi and discussed the fighters’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Kong Jun repeatedly targeted Lang Shi’s waist with his sword-antelope attacks, while Lang Shi counterattacked with his crimson blood war wolf martial soul.
• Brother Haihai pointed out that Kong Jun’s horns flashed blue three times before Sword Horn Starburst, and said Lang Shi’s experience would help him notice the tell.

Chen Xiaojun turned match commentary into a new job for the group, requiring them to use their fighting names and speak until the Great Soul Arena closed. Xiao Yi refused to commentate and chose to fight instead, while several others made their debut as live soul skill analysts.

• Kongjun Soul Ancestor wounded Wolf Devouring Soul Ancestor with a powerful strike, but Wolf Devouring Soul Ancestor roared and charged again.
• Ji Bochang and his companions recognized the commentators as Brother Haihai and Little Brother Heihei and discussed commentary as an alternative to fighting matches.
• Xiao Yi refused to commentate, deciding to fight at night while Gao Cuilan and Su Ningxia fought during the day.
• Chen Xiaojun ordered the group to commentate until the Great Soul Arena closed at ten and required them to use their soul fighting names.
• Chen Mu and Dugu Fu introduced themselves as Five Virtues and Brother Yixiu, Ma Liang and Ma Wencai as Three-Wheeler and Second Loafer, and Ji Bochang and Mei Jibo as Tide Rider and Little Ice Seal.

Chen Xiaojun’s team completed several days of live commentary training at the Great Soul Arena, gaining tactical and psychological skills while compiling extensive martial-soul intelligence. After receiving Su Henhan’s investigation report, Chen Xiaojun prepared to leave and begin the next stage of training in private.

• Chen Xiaojun’s team paired up to commentate on dozens of matches, developing commentary skills, tactical prediction, emotional control, and coordination.
• The team created a martial-soul compendium and a weakness handbook containing 2,400 counter relationships, while members practiced specialized skills and addressed personal flaws.
• Su Henhan delivered an investigation report to Chen Xiaojun, who thanked him and asked him to continue making preparations.
• Ma Rulong praised Chen Xiaojun’s demanding training program and the investigative work carried out by the Brocade Guard and the Soul Fighting Arena’s hosts.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that the team would leave that afternoon and conduct its final tactical drills elsewhere to avoid exposing them to rival academies.
• Ma Rulong asked to read the report, and Chen Xiaojun handed it to him.

Su Ningxia and Su Henhan discussed the Su Family’s losses and their growing ties to Xiao Yi and the Chen Clan. Su Henhan revealed that the Chen Clan might formally accept the Su Family as a retainer family, giving Xiao Yi a loyal force of her own within the clan.

• Su Ningxia thanked Su Henhan for his work and recalled how the young master and miss had helped the Su Family rebuild after its calamity.
• Su Henhan comforted Su Ningxia over their lost relatives and warned her that, as Xiao Yi’s follower, her conduct was now under close scrutiny.
• Su Ningxia asked whether her new position had affected the Su Family, and Su Henhan said the outside world now regarded them as part of Xiao Yi’s faction.
• Su Henhan disclosed that the Chen Clan might take the Su Family in as a retainer family, greatly improving its resources and standing.
• Su Henhan reasoned that the Chen Clan could be building Xiao Yi a loyal force within its own system, with the Su Family a natural candidate because of Su Ningxia’s close connection to her.

Su Henhan gave Su Ningxia her father’s legacy-grade soul bone and confirmed the family’s decision for her to become its next head. Meanwhile, Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan encountered their old friend Zixiu after more than a decade apart.

• Su Henhan presented Su Ningxia with her father’s over-fifty-thousand-year-old soul bone and told her the Su Family had chosen her as its next head.
• Su Ningxia accepted the responsibility and promised to restore the Su Family’s glory before Su Henhan left.
• In a bamboo grove near the Nine Heavens Sect’s Little Bamboo Peak, Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan sensed someone approaching and prepared to fight.
• Zixiu emerged and greeted Lu Xueqi and Zhang Xiaofan, who recognized him with surprise.

Chen Zixiu reunited with Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi after breaking through to level 99 by integrating the rules. He told them the Crimson Church had attacked the Chen Clan, leaving Chen Yu catatonic, and warned that a great calamity could erupt within ten or twenty years.

• Zhang Xiaofan recognized Chen Zixiu, while Little Gray trembled at Chen Zixiu’s aura and Zhang Xiaofan realized he had reached level 99.
• Chen Zixiu met Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi in their bamboo cottage, where they discussed his breakthrough and their changed lives.
• Chen Zixiu revealed that the Crimson Church had targeted the Chen Clan, gravely injuring A Cong and leaving Chen Yu catatonic.
• Zhang Xiaofan reacted with fury because Chen Yu was his disciple and inheritor, while Lu Xueqi asked about the nephews’ condition.
• Chen Zixiu warned that the calamity could erupt within ten or twenty years, and Lu Xueqi feared the Crimson Church’s attack signaled its approach.