Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yi rescued the seven Canghui students by removing the soul contamination caused by their Seven Asura Illusion Realm, then explained why their technique had failed. Chang'an Academy won the provincial championship, and Xiao Yi received Fasno's chief student award.

• Xiao Yi used Soul-Piercing and Spirit-Seizing to clear the seven Canghui students of the formation's backlash and warned them not to use soul power for three days.
• Shi Liuguang thanked Xiao Yi, while Xia Yun demanded an explanation from Lian Changzhi.
• Shi Fei'ang asked Xiao Yi why the Seven Asura Illusion Realm collapsed, and she explained that its tangled illusions lacked unity and resilience.
• The referees resumed the proceedings and announced Chang'an Academy as the provincial champion.
• Yin Duruo presented the championship trophy to Chen Xiaojun and awarded Xiao Yi the Star-Inlaid Chief Jade Token as Fasno's chief student.

After recovering from the battle in the Seven Asura Illusion Realm, Lian Shouzhong told Lian Changzhi that Chen Xin Yi’s formation had cracked his upper soul nest and concealed a seal on her own power. Lian Changzhi warned that the Chen Clan could overwhelm their Glazed Holy Hall regardless, then wondered what secret Chen Xin Yi’s seal was hiding.

• Lian Changzhi treated Lian Shouzhong, who woke with a cracked upper soul nest and estimated it would take six months to a year to recover.
• Lian Shouzhong apologized for failing the Academy and recounted his battle in the Seven Asura Illusion Realm, including being trapped in Mo Yuan’s lightless void.
• Lian Shouzhong warned that Chen Xin Yi’s Nine-Grid Grand Formation threatened Canghui’s spiritual soul masters, but Lian Changzhi said the Chen Clan could destroy the Glazed Holy Hall through sheer strength.
• Lian Shouzhong revealed that he had glimpsed a second layer of patterns in the formation, which appeared to seal Chen Xin Yi’s own power.
• Lian Changzhi realized Chen Xin Yi’s demonstrated strength had been restrained and wondered what secret she was hiding.

Si Baining met Chen Xiaojun and Xia Yun to offer Heavenly Peak Academy’s allegiance to the Chen Clan, while negotiating support for her academy and a chance for Si Yijing to study at Chang'an Academy. The meeting ended with Si Baining arguing that Chang'an’s growing prominence made Yijing’s visit worthwhile.

• Chen Xiaojun and Si Baining discussed Heavenly Peak Academy’s eighth-place finish and Five Mountains College’s top-three result.
• Si Baining said she wanted Heavenly Peak Academy to join the Chen camp and pointed to the Chen Clan’s influence across several academies.
• Si Baining explained that she wanted the academy’s fortunes to improve, hoped to act before the Chen Clan approached them, and wanted to meet Chen Xiaojun and Xia Yun.
• Xia Yun asked what Si Baining wanted, and she requested a faculty team of at least one Soul Saint and three Soul Emperors, flying-type students for the next Gaoying Tournament, and a teaching visit to Chang'an Academy for Si Yijing.
• Si Baining praised Chang'an Academy’s powerful staff and argued that Si Yijing should broaden her horizons there.

Chen Xiaojun and Xia Yun considered the powers monitoring the Chen Clan and suspected Si Baining was responding to Zhuo Qianren’s breakthrough. Lian Changzhi then offered to resign from Canghui Academy and serve the Chen Clan, which Chen Xiaojun accepted.

• Chen Xiaojun and Xia Yun discussed the Southern powers’ interest in the Chen Clan and suspected Si Baining was concerned by Zhuo Qianren becoming a Titled Douluo.
• Ning Jiang brought Lian Changzhi to meet Chen Xiaojun and Xia Yun, then left them to talk.
• Lian Changzhi apologized for injuring Chen Xin Yi and offered to resign from Canghui Academy to serve Chen Xiaojun.
• Lian Changzhi reasoned that the Chen Clan valued his position and intended to expand its influence into the Central Region through the Glazed Holy Hall and Canghui Academy.
• Lian Changzhi said he would try to bring the Glazed Holy Hall into a tacit understanding with the Chen Clan, and Chen Xiaojun welcomed him into the clan.

After Lian Changzhi joined the Chen clan, Chen Xiaojun prepared to use his influence while Chang'an Academy promoted its tournament victory. The Blackbird Bureau analyzed the academy’s fighters and warned that Chen Xiaojun and Chen Xin Yi made Chang'an Academy a formidable threat to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

• Chen Xiaojun told Xia Yun that he intended to exploit Lian Changzhi’s influence, then left the response to Wei Xinzhi’s proposal to Xia Yun and the clan elders.
• Liu Ruyan told Chen Xiaojun that his tournament portrait was needed for Chang'an Academy’s publicity campaign.
• Zhu Wuneng and Su Ningxia delivered medicines and an eighth-grade spirit medicine to Lian Changzhi for the injured Canghui students, along with a card that prompted him to pledge his help to Chen Xiaojun’s plan.
• Yu Haiyun reviewed the Blackbird Bureau’s analysis of Chang'an Academy and ordered its report submitted to His Highness.
• Yu Haiyun concluded that Chen Xin Yi belonged among the top twenty heavenly prodigies and that Chen Xiaojun’s combat strength was at least at the Soul Saint level.

Chang'an Academy's Provincial Tournament victory triggered a province-wide recruitment boom, forcing the academy to expand its campus, hire staff, and overhaul its administration. With large tournament-related earnings and extensive support from the Chen Clan, the academy prepared for rapid growth while its staff struggled to keep pace.

• More than ten days after the Provincial Tournament, Chang'an Academy's victory and Canghui Academy's elimination reshaped the province's educational landscape, while Lian Changzhi resigned and reportedly left Canghui Academy a hidden trump card.
• Chang'an Academy counted thirty-seven incoming students with innate level seven soul power and had admitted 650 students, with total enrollment expected to exceed 800.
• Chang'an Academy began expanding its campus on a thousand mu of land and recruited teachers to cope with the influx of students and applications.
• Chang'an Academy's tournament-related revenue exceeded eight million gold coins, while the City Lord's Residence allocated another five million for its development.
• Zhuang Mocheng sought help from the Chen Clan, which provided three million gold coins, construction and transport support, advertising, and low-interest student loans.

The Six Nations announced the Continental Xieluo Mountains United Nations Security Council, while the Chen Clan considered expanding its influence by taking over Heavenly Wolf Academy. Chen Hua and Xia Yun agreed on a group of Chen Clan members to send there and prepared to report the decision to Chen Hua’s cousin.

• Yin Duruo and three other governors announced a Northern Region academy invitational and proposed an annual Fasinuo Province Academy League.
• The Six Nations, Sea God Island, and the Chen Clan established the Continental Xieluo Mountains United Nations Security Council, with its headquarters in Chang'an City.
• Xia Yun told Chen Hua that the Heavenly Wolf Commandery Governor wanted the Chen Clan to manage Heavenly Wolf Academy and confront the Wolf Clan's Twin Emperors.
• Chen Hua approved sending Zhao Yang, Cong Ding'an, Xiang Chuyue, An Heqin, and Ping Anbo to help run Heavenly Wolf Academy.
• Xia Yun said he would return to the village to visit the Earth Fiend Rank youngsters and the children in Zhejiang Studio.

Xia Yun, Zhuang Mocheng, Wang Wei, and Chen Xiaojun discussed Chang'an Academy’s recruitment, the Chen Clan’s growing influence over regional academies, and Si Baining’s proposal to the Chen Clan. The chapter ended with Zhuang Mocheng suspecting the Si Family planned to offer Heavenly Peak Academy to the Chen Clan as a dowry.

• Zhuang Mocheng complained that Chang'an Academy’s success had brought a flood of visitors seeking strategic donation partnerships.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that the Chen Clan was cooperating with Five Mountains Academy, Starfall Academy, and Three Mountains Academy while supporting its Soul Emperors’ advancement to Soul Saint.
• Xia Yun described Si Baining’s effort to persuade Heavenly Peak Academy graduates to join the Brocade Guard, and Chen Xiaojun said she had set three conditions.
• Zhuang Mocheng and Wang Wei suspected Si Baining had a broader plan, and Xia Yun reacted with a cold laugh.
• Zhuang Mocheng concluded that the Si Family intended to offer Heavenly Peak Academy to the Chen Clan as a dowry.

Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan began their test against the mechanical puppets Like a Flower No. 1 and No. 2. The brothers damaged the puppets but faced continued attacks from their dismembered bodies.

• Chen Zhouzhao, Chen Jieqi, Chen Yunxiang, and Chen Haoxuan greeted Zhuang Mocheng, Wang Wei, Xia Yun, and Chen Xiaojun before preparing for the test.
• Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan entered the arena and faced Like a Flower No. 1 and No. 2.
• Chen Haoxuan struck No. 1 with Crisscross Swordsmanship while Chen Yunxiang used his Seven Kill Clone and dual swords against No. 2.
• No. 1 continued attacking after Chen Haoxuan split her body, and No. 2 kept fighting after Chen Haoxuan cut off her head.
• Chen Haoxuan called on Chen Yunxiang to bind No. 2 as he targeted her joints, while Chen Yunxiang pierced No. 1's mechanisms and heard several projectiles rush toward him.

Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan fought four coordinated Like a Flower puppets, while observers analyzed their tactics and weaknesses. The two men broke the puppets’ formation, but Chen Xiaojun warned that eight more might emerge next.

• Like a Flower puppets Nos. 3 through 6 attacked Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan with armored strikes, chains, and explosive bombs.
• Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan targeted the puppets’ joints, Brass Pins, and Power Cores to disable them.
• Zhuang Mocheng, Wang Wei, Chen Xiaojun, and Xia Yun analyzed the puppets’ tactics and the fighters’ counterattacks from the second floor.
• The observers concluded that the puppets’ coordinated formation exploited low-level Soul Masters’ weaknesses, though Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan eventually broke the deadlock.
• Chen Xiaojun said eight more puppets might emerge from the deep corridor.

Eight mechanical Like a Flowers overwhelmed Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan until Ji Tiantian entered the arena and broke their formation. Chen Xiaojun revealed that Ji Tiantian also had the name Chen Du Ling, which the Chen Clan had entered in its genealogy as she returned to acknowledge her ancestry and seek a soul ring.

• Nos. 7 through 14 joined the assault, surrounding the Chen brothers with attacks from close, middle, and long range.
• Chen Yunxiang's sword net was shredded, and Chen Haoxuan was trapped by bombs and smoke as both brothers faltered under the mechanical attack.
• Ji Tiantian entered the arena wielding Seven Kill and Wind Luan, using her level 31 soul power and swordplay to clear space for the brothers.
• Wang Wei and Zhuang Mocheng recognized Ji Tiantian and were shocked when Wang Wei realized she had twin martial souls.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Ji Tiantian also went by Chen Du Ling, a name Xue Shiqiong had chosen for her Chen Clan genealogy entry.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that Ji Tiantian had taken leave to return to the clan with her mother and seek a plant-type soul beast for her Literary Brush martial soul.

Chen Yunxiang and Chen Haoxuan fought back against the Like a Flowers while Chen Du Ling defended herself from a coordinated assault. Just as poisoned claws threatened Chen Haoxuan, a mysterious white ray appeared and melted them, leaving Chen Du Ling uncertain of its source.

• Chen Haoxuan charged Like a Flower No. 13 with Wavebreaker while Chen Yunxiang used twin swords to defend their allies and disable No. 12.
• Chen Du Ling redirected No. 14's rope dart into No. 9 and struck No. 10's core to halt its attack.
• No. 14's dart swept toward Chen Du Ling's ankles as dark green grease spread across the ground, causing Chen Haoxuan to lose his footing.
• No. 11 lunged at the exposed Chen Haoxuan with poisoned claws while Chen Du Ling was unable to reach him.
• A white ray appeared above Chen Du Ling and melted the claws before they could strike Chen Haoxuan; Chen Du Ling sensed that it used no soul power.

Chen Xiaojun explained that Ji Tiantian had innate full soul power and would bear the Chen Clan sword name Seven Kill, while Xue Shiqiong worried the name would burden Du Ling. In the viewing chamber, Zhu Qianqing paid her respects to Xia Qingyun and proudly identified the youth fighting in the arena as her son, Haoxuan.

• Zhuang Mocheng and Wang Wei questioned Chen Xiaojun about Ji Tiantian's Seven Kill Sword, and Chen Xiaojun revealed her connection to the Chen Clan and her innate full soul power.
• Chen Xiaojun declared that Ji Tiantian's sword was named Seven Kill, explaining that the name suited her return to the clan and her exceptional bloodline.
• Xue Shiqiong worried that the name Seven Kill would weigh too heavily on Du Ling, but Xia Qingyun insisted she deserved it as a member of the Chen Clan's direct bloodline.
• Zhu Qianqing visited Xia Qingyun and conveyed her mother's gratitude for Xia Qingyun's past guidance.
• After hearing a crash from the arena, Xia Qingyun asked about the youth fighting there, and Zhu Qianqing proudly identified him as her son, Haoxuan.

Xia Qingyun questioned Zhu Qianqing about the political motives behind her return from the imperial family and the Duke of Southern Defense’s Mansion, and Zhu admitted that they meant to keep Chen Yinzu with the Foreign Legion. In the arena, Chen Zhouzhao and Chen Jieqi joined Chen Du Ling’s fight, but the enemy unleashed eight more Like a Flowers, forming a deadly attack against the five young swordsmen.

• Xia Qingyun asked whether the imperial family had arranged for Zhu Qianqing and her child to return while keeping Chen Yinzu with the Foreign Legion.
• Zhu Qianqing acknowledged that Xia Qingyun had correctly read the political purpose behind the arrangement.
• Chen Zhouzhao arrived and used the Seven Kill Sword’s Thunder Breathing, fifth form, to save Chen Du Ling from the steel constructs.
• Chen Jieqi joined Chen Zhouzhao and challenged the enemy inside the beast-headed gate to bring out its strongest weapons.
• Eight more Like a Flowers entered the arena, including flying poison-spreading models and constructs that controlled gravitational force.
• The sixteen Like a Flowers formed a coordinated, three-dimensional killing net around the five young swordsmen.

Chen Zhouzhao and the other four Seven Kill Sword wielders fought back against a deadly formation of Like a Flower puppets. Their coordinated attacks destroyed all sixteen puppets, leaving the arena strewn with burning wreckage.

• Chen Zhouzhao raised a thundercloud shield with his Cave Illumination Sword Intent to protect the five fighters from the puppets’ attack.
• Chen Jieqi used his Hidden Origin Sword Intent to break the magnetic pole darksteel in two Magnetic Pole Puppets, disrupting the formation and throwing nearby puppets off balance.
• Chen Du Ling restrained the melee puppets with her Green Duckweed Sword and struck vulnerable mechanisms with her Round Star Sword.
• Chen Haoxuan and Chen Yunxiang attacked the disabled puppets, with Chen Yunxiang channeling lightning through their metal bodies and destroying nearly half of them.
• Chen Jieqi unleashed Wind-Breath Calamity, cutting apart the remaining puppets and leaving none capable of moving.

Wang Wei praised Chen Zhouzhao and Chen Jieqi and tried to recruit them, but Xia Yun said the clan had already made plans for their futures. After Chen Xiaojun stopped the destructive arena test, Xia Shuyao revealed she had controlled the mechanical opponents, and Tie Fu’er was asked to assess the sparring match.

• Wang Wei admired Chen Zhouzhao and Chen Jieqi and proposed making them disciples of his eldest brother, but Xia Yun said the clan had already decided their futures.
• Chen Xiaojun stopped Chen Zhouzhao and the others from continuing their fight after they devastated the arena.
• Chen Haoxuan brought Xia Shuyao and Tie Fu’er to the platform at Chen Xiaojun’s request.
• Xia Shuyao revealed that she had animated the sixteen mechanical opponents, and Chen Zhouzhao realized she had controlled them.
• Chen Xiaojun asked Tie Fu’er for his assessment of the sparring match.

Chen Xiaojun explained that the Chen Clan's Like a Flower puppets were designed for mass-produced support of professional warriors, transport escorts, and the Mountain Camp rather than for dueling powerful Soul Masters. The chapter ended with Wang Wei and Zhuang Mocheng learning that the Chen Clan could produce a hundred units daily, revealing the weapons' strategic value to the clan's commercial and military plans.

• Tie Fu'er explained that Like a Flower puppets relied on numbers and coordination, though Chen Zhouzhao's group had destroyed them in their fight.
• Xia Shuyao offered to command thirty-two units in another battle, but Xia Yun and Chen Xiaojun said the puppets were not intended for mental power experts.
• Chen Xiaojun told Zhuang Mocheng that the puppets were meant to support warriors at the Academy's Mountain Camp and could help the camp distinguish itself from Chang'an Fortress.
• Tie Fu'er described the puppets' automatic combat, standardized parts, and replaceable attack modules.
• Wang Wei asked about production capacity, and Tie Fu'er revealed that the Chen Clan could make a hundred Like a Flower units a day.
• Chen Xiaojun's plans for the puppets included earning revenue, binding the Three Great Families through supply chains, and protecting the Chen Clan's transport network.

Chen Xiaojun arranged for the camp to receive and negotiate over the Like a Flower combat puppet, then left the transaction to Ling Yunxiao and the elders. In a private meeting, Zhuo Qianren revealed that a Titled Douluo with a Blood Fierce Sword martial soul had been spying on him, leading Xia Qingyun and Chen Xun to suspect the Li Clan had returned.

• Chen Xiaojun discussed the Like a Flower’s missing defensive specialization with Tie Fu'er and secured Zhuang Mocheng and Wang Wei’s agreement to introduce the weapon to the camp.
• Chen Xiaojun handed negotiations over to Ling Yunxiao and left the practice ground with the young talents and Xia Yun.
• Chen Xun introduced Zhuo Qianren to his mother, Xia Qingyun, who recognized Zhuo as Silver Wing and spoke with him in private.
• Zhuo Qianren reported that a Titled Douluo and a Soul Douluo attendant had followed him and that he had identified the Titled Douluo’s martial soul as a Blood Fierce Sword.
• Xia Qingyun and Chen Xun identified the sword as belonging to a remnant of the Li Clan and concluded that the clan might be targeting the younger generation.

Chen Xiaojun questioned Tang Yuchen about his past as an assassin and his ties to the Mountain-Breaking Giant Hammer family. Tang explained that his lineage called its martial soul the Yellow Emperor Hammer and might have allowed him to leave to preserve the bloodline; Chen Xiaojun promised the Chen Clan would protect him if he remained loyal.

• Chen Xiaojun brought Tie Fu'er to meet Tang Yuchen, who bowed and apologized for once joining the Heartless Tower's attempt to assassinate him.
• Chen Xiaojun said Tang Yuchen had already paid for his past actions and asked whether his family ties could create problems if he registered in the village.
• Tang Yuchen explained that he had left his family after the Clear Sky Sect oppressed their branch and injured his grandfather, and that the elders may have tacitly helped him go to preserve their lineage.
• Tang Yuchen told Chen Xiaojun that outsiders called his martial soul the Mountain-Breaking Giant Hammer, but his family named it the Yellow Emperor Hammer and regarded it as an Earth Vein distinct from the Clear Sky Hammer's Heaven Vein.
• Tang Yuchen said he had fully explained his background to the Chen Clan chiefs, and Chen Xiaojun promised the clan would protect him as long as he served it faithfully.

The narrator, heir to the Yellow Emperor Tang Family, described his rise as a gifted Soul King and blacksmith while the Clear Sky Sect drove his family toward ruin. After his relatives considered accepting the sect’s terms, he severed ties with them and left the family home.

• At the Gaoying Tournament, Tang Potian defeated the narrator and left him with a lasting sense of humiliation.
• The narrator became a level 54 Soul King and earned Blacksmith Grandmaster certification as his family’s business declined under Clear Sky Sect pressure.
• After the family’s Titled Douluo great-grandfather died, the Clear Sky Sect seized business and military contracts and demanded the Yellow Emperor Lineage submit.
• The narrator’s grandfather opposed the Clear Sky Sect’s envoy, was gravely injured, and died on his sickbed.
• As family members wavered over accepting the sect’s terms, the narrator argued with his uncles, severed ties, and left the family home.