Chapter Summaries

Chen Xiaojun approved Gu Zijian’s decision to attend the Combat Profession Academy as a battle chef, despite concerns about Gu Yuanchao and the lower status of combat professions. The chapter ended with Chen Xiaojun hinting that combat professions might have a brighter future and leaving his belief in a possible second awakening unexplained.

• Gu Zijian explained that he was delivering food to women and children abducted by the Bone-Digging Corps, including children with soul master aptitude who had been kept in appalling conditions.
• Chen Xiaojun asked Gu Zijian about his plans for the Combat Profession Academy, and Gu Zijian declared that he wanted to become a battle chef.
• Chen Xiaojun approved Gu Zijian’s choice and encouraged him to train, saying a second awakening of his soul power might be possible.
• Chen Mu and An Mingyuan worried that Chen Xiaojun’s approval could worsen matters with Gu Yuanchao, and Chen Mu pointed out the low status and prospects of combat professions.
• Chen Xiaojun argued that the clan should support every willing member, then hinted to Chen Mu that combat professions might have a different future before telling everyone to eat.

Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu inspected the children and women rescued from the Bone-Digging Corps, learning more about the trafficking network and assessing the children’s potential. After their restraints were removed, the children began cautiously showing their Martial Souls.

• Chen Xiaojun asked Chen Mu to inspect the warehouse courtyard and assess the children with Soul Master potential.
• As they walked, Chen Mu explained how factions and gangs trafficked children to recruit and train them as loyal operatives.
• Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu arrived at the courtyard and found more than a hundred frightened children and injured young women held there.
• Chen Xiaojun ordered Zhu Wuneng and the others to remove the restraints, allowing Chen Mu to assess the children’s soul power and talent.
• Zhu Wuneng asked the children to activate their Martial Souls, and a few cautiously began circulating their soul power.

Chen Mu assessed the martial souls and soul power of more than a hundred children rescued from the Bone-Digging Corps and identified several promising recruits. He welcomed Bao Ruoxi into the Chen Clan and considered which specialist families could train the children.

• Chen Mu examined the children's martial souls and found many low-grade talents, several dual-attribute prospects, and two boys with level-six innate soul power.
• Chen Mu asked Bao Ruoxi about her steamed-bun martial soul and learned that bandits had abducted her after she fled her village.
• Chen Mu reassured Bao Ruoxi that the Chen Clan would protect her and noted that its food-type soul masters could use her talents.
• Bian Zhu showed his earth-and-water Black-Shelled Turtle Shield martial soul and reported level-six innate soul power, while Xiang Feng presented his metal-and-wind Darksteel Falcon and reported the same talent.
• Chen Mu considered the children's potential and the Chen Clan families that could train their martial souls; Eight Precepts enthusiastically approached a boy with a Rockhide Boar.

Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu tested several children with a rare Soul Testing Ball and discovered that Bian Zhu, Xiang Feng, and Bao Ruoxi had stronger innate soul power than expected. Chen Mu began registering the children and arranging their care, while a shackled woman watched and wondered whether she had any chance of escaping.

• Chen Xiaojun gave Chen Mu a precious Soul Testing Ball from Bo Xian'er to test Bian Zhu and Xiang Feng more accurately.
• The Soul Testing Ball measured Bian Zhu's innate soul power at level 6.7 and Xiang Feng's at level 6.4.
• Bao Ruoxi tested at level 6.2, and Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu recognized her potential as a food-type Soul Master.
• Chen Xiaojun told Chen Mu to involve the Chen Shadow Guard and notify Uncle Xin and Uncle Mai to arrange suitable instruction for Bao Ruoxi.
• A shackled woman watched the Chen Clan assess the children and privately wondered whether she could escape.
• Chen Mu directed Zhu Wuneng, Qiu Qingquan, An Mingyuan, and Ma Liang to register the children and record their details and test results.

Chen Mu freed Winter from his soul power shackles and offered him a place in the Chen Clan if he revealed his martial soul. Winter summoned an Iceblood Dragon, leaving Chen Mu stunned by its near-ninth-grade power.

• Chen Mu questioned Winter, and the former steward explained that the Bone-Digging Corps had bought him at the Black Market and kept him in special shackles because he refused to obey or reveal his martial soul.
• Chen Mu unlocked Winter's shackles and offered him food, shelter, and cultivation resources in exchange for proving his potential.
• Winter asked whether Chen Mu would let him go, and Chen Mu said the Chen Clan would not free or sell him but would treat him like a human being.
• Winter nodded and released a bone-chilling surge of soul power that formed the phantom of an enormous ice-scaled dragon.
• Chen Mu judged the martial soul to be near ninth grade, and Winter identified it as the Iceblood Dragon.

Winter’s soul power test revealed an innate talent of level 8.7, stunning the crowd and confirming his exceptional potential. As Chen Xiaojun recognized Winter as a priceless future powerhouse, a quiet young woman reacted sharply to the result.

• Chen Mu sensed Winter’s soul power and estimated that his innate soul power had been at least level seven or possibly level eight.
• Winter tested at level 8.7, leaving the warehouse courtyard stunned.
• Bian Zhu teased Xiang Feng about Winter’s superior result, and Xiang Feng turned away in bitter defeat.
• Chen Xiaojun assessed Winter’s strength and background, concluding that his talent made him a valuable Title Douluo Seed.
• A young woman hiding her reaction trembled at Winter’s result, clenched her hands, and cursed inwardly.

Winter revealed his exceptional soul aptitude and challenged Ma Liang to test the Chen Clan’s rules. The match began with Winter activating his Iceblood Dragon martial soul and launching an immediate attack, while Ma Liang still held back his martial soul.

• Winter’s innate soul power measured 8.7, and he confirmed the Bone-Digging Corps had given him additional cultivation resources.
• Chen Mu questioned the steward Cao Tingzhu, who said Supervisor Boni and Deacon Leif had handled confidential resources for core prospects.
• Winter rejected the idea of challenging Chen Mu and instead named Ma Liang as his opponent.
• Chen Mu allowed the match, and the abducted boys cheered for Winter.
• Winter activated his Iceblood Dragon martial soul and rushed at Ma Liang before Ma Liang activated his own martial soul.

Ma Liang defeated Winter in their arena match, withstanding his ice, blood, and annihilation attacks through skill and a crimson flame. He then faced Winter, Bian Zhu, and Xiang Feng together, who pressed him with a coordinated assault.

• Winter attacked Ma Liang with his Iceblood Dragon Claws and Jade Shatter Slash, but Ma Liang evaded him and knocked him backward with a powerful kick.
• Winter charged again with his annihilation aura, but Ma Liang's crimson flame neutralized it; Winter's Iceblood Dragon Scale Armor failed to protect him from another heavy blow.
• Ma Liang invited Bian Zhu and Xiang Feng to join Winter, and the two activated their martial souls and entered the arena.
• Bian Zhu shielded the front, Xiang Feng attacked from the air, and Winter sought openings with his claws while Ma Liang dodged within their tightening formation.

Ma Liang overwhelmed Winter, Bian Zhu, and Xiang Feng in a one-sided match, then revealed his level and reputation as the Cloud-Scorching Phoenix Lord. The boys were left stunned by the gulf between them and the thirteen-year-old Soul Ancestor.

• Ma Liang’s Phoenix Meteor Fist knocked Winter, Bian Zhu, and Xiang Feng to the ground.
• Ma Liang summoned the Phoenix Heavenly Blade and stopped it above the three boys before cutting through an empty section of courtyard wall.
• Winter and Xiang Feng questioned Ma Liang’s strength, and Ma Liang revealed that he was thirteen.
• Ma Liang displayed his Nine Heavens Rainbow Phoenix Martial Soul and identified himself as a level 45 Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor.
• Zhu Wuneng announced Ma Liang’s place on the Continent’s Heavenly Prodigy Ranking and praised his past feats, while Chen Mu and Chen Xiaojun joked about Zhu Wuneng’s grand introduction.

Gu Yuanchao and Mai Zheling came to meet Chen Xiaojun, and Mai Zheling and Xin Shouyi argued over taking Bao Ruoxi as a disciple. Meanwhile, Gu Yuanchao urged Chen Xiaojun to lavish resources on another rescued person, but Chen Xiaojun ordered that he receive only normal treatment.

• Gu Yuanchao explained that he had temporarily taken over Yin Tie’s Chen Shadow Guard duties while Yin Tie recovered.
• Mai Zheling met Bao Ruoxi, learned the meaning of her name, and tried to persuade her to become his disciple.
• Xin Shouyi also asked Bao Ruoxi to become his disciple, prompting a heated argument with Mai Zheling over who was better suited to train her.
• Chen Mu privately explained the rescued people’s circumstances to Gu Yuanchao, who urged Chen Xiaojun to give one of them exceptional resources.
• Chen Xiaojun declined and told Gu Yuanchao to follow the normal procedure for the rescued person.

Chen Xiaojun decided that Winter should enter the Chen Shadow Guard at the bottom and advance through its rules, while still being allowed to compete for the clan’s highest benefits. He proposed creating a new star-named rank system for talented members of the Chen Shadow Guard and Brocade Guard, leaving its details to Chen Mu’s Organization Department.

• Chen Xiaojun ordered that Winter be tempered by the Chen Shadow Guard’s rules and receive resources according to his performance, with the chance to rise as high as the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Sha.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that the clan had approved opening some Heavenly Stem and Earthly Sha places to qualified Chen Shadow Guard descendants, with externally recruited forces potentially included later.
• Chen Mu warned that there were too few Earthly Sha Star places and that the existing title carried too much prestige to dilute with additional members.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed creating a separate system with equivalent benefits for outstanding members of the Chen Shadow Guard and Brocade Guard.
• Chen Xiaojun assigned Chen Mu’s Organization Department to develop the new system’s name, benefits, and advancement channels.

Chen Xiaojun considered expanding the Chen Shadow Guard and proposed a way to handle captives rescued from Iron Jaw Fortress. The chapter left the captives facing ransom or forced service contracts, with the men who refused potentially sent back into the market.

• Chen Xiaojun learned that Meng Wei was overseeing the Chen Shadow Guard while Mo Zimo pursued training, and he considered establishing a grand commander role as the clan expanded.
• Chen Mu and Gu Yuanchao discussed using Iron Jaw Fortress's former trafficking network to receive and select orphaned talents for the Chen Shadow Guard and other clan branches.
• Chen Xiaojun learned that Iron Jaw Fortress had separately confined women and Soul Masters, and that the clan had not decided how to resettle them.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed allowing wealthy captives' families to pay ransom and requiring those without money to serve in the Brocade Guard until they bought their freedom.
• Chen Xiaojun suggested sending unwilling male captives back into the market under the pretext that they were prisoners of war, while ruling out reselling the women.

Chen Xiaojun settled Mai Zheling and Xin Shouyi’s dispute over who would teach Bao Ruoxi by naming Xin her master and offering Mai the chance to become her godfather. Bao Ruoxi accepted, gaining a family, while both men agreed to help nurture her.

• Mai Zheling and Xin Shouyi argued over who should take Bao Ruoxi as a disciple and asked Chen Xiaojun to settle the dispute.
• Chen Xiaojun chose Xin Shouyi as Bao Ruoxi’s formal master, assigning him to teach her soul cultivation and the Culinary Way General Principles.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed that Mai Zheling become Bao Ruoxi’s adoptive father, and Bao Ruoxi eagerly accepted.
• Mai Zheling caught Bao Ruoxi before she could kneel, welcomed her as his daughter, and promised to teach her all his skills.
• Xin Shouyi accepted the arrangement and agreed to help Mai Zheling nurture Bao Ruoxi.

Bao Ruoxi chose to stay with the other children in the Warehouse Courtyard, and Chen Xiaojun accepted her decision. She then revealed that her meat-bun soul skill restored stamina and soul power and eased injuries, before offering a bun to Winter, who remained silent.

• Xin Shouyi received a list of promising kitchen-related martial souls and went to inspect the children.
• Bao Ruoxi told Mai Zheling she wanted to stay with the other girls, and Chen Xiaojun persuaded him to respect her choice.
• Bao Ruoxi summoned her first soul skill, meat buns, and gave buns to Bian Zhu and Xiang Feng, easing their injuries and replenishing their strength.
• Bao Ruoxi approached Winter with another bun, but he did not respond or take it.
• Chen Xiaojun stopped Mai Zheling from intervening, and Mai Zheling sat down while Bao Ruoxi continued holding the bun out to Winter.

Chen Xiaojun explained his plan to build a loyal, structured team of chef Soul Masters for the Chen Clan, including Battle Chefs who could fight. The chapter ended without resolving Gu Yuanchao’s concern about whether his nonsoul-master son Zijian could pursue that path.

• Bao Ruoxi offered Winter a steamed bun and reminded him that he had protected her after they were captured.
• Winter accepted the bun and quietly thanked Bao Ruoxi, delighting her.
• Gu Yuanchao asked Chen Xiaojun whether he had agreed to let Zijian study to become a Battle Chef.
• Chen Xiaojun described the clan’s shortage of chef Soul Masters and its efforts to recruit and train them.
• Chen Xiaojun said his ultimate goal was a structured team of chef Soul Masters who could provide support and participate directly in combat.

Chen Xiaojun’s vision for a combat-capable chef Soul Master unit left Xin Shouyi and Mai Zheling stunned as they confronted the severe limits of ordinary kitchen martial souls. Xin Shouyi recognized how Chen Xiaojun’s support had already strengthened the chef families serving the Chen Clan.

• Chen Xiaojun explained that the Chen Clan needed to develop chef Soul Masters into a capable battlefield-support force.
• Xin Shouyi and Mai Zheling considered how weak and limited most children’s kitchen martial souls were, with low innate soul power and little combat potential.
• Xin Shouyi reflected that even the strongest ordinary chef Soul Masters had only modest combat abilities, despite receiving legacy skills from the Chen Clan.
• Xin Shouyi recalled that his family was the only one of the five chef families to produce an Earthly Sha Star, who later advanced after obtaining a Ninth-Grade Treasure Medicine.
• Xin Shouyi realized that Chen Xiaojun had likely driven the clan’s increased resources and favorable advancement policies for logistics families.

Chen Xiaojun persuaded Gu Yuanchao to let his son Zijian train as a Battle Chef specializing in field logistics, rather than fearing he would be sent into combat. He then asked whether Zijian had practiced the Gu Family’s Mountain Steel Bone Art, a defensive cultivation method derived from the Chen Clan’s Thick Earth Foundation-Nourishing Art.

• The Kitchen Five Families pooled resources to cultivate promising youths such as Tao Ruyin, while Bao Ruoxi’s rare staple-food attribute made her a valuable support talent.
• Xin Shouyi recognized that Chen Xiaojun intended to build a Battle Chef team and became eager to develop the role of kitchen workers in military support.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Zijian could learn field cooking and logistics skills without Soul Power, and reassured Gu Yuanchao that the work would be safe, important, and skilled.
• Gu Yuanchao agreed to send Zijian to study, while Xin Shouyi and Mai Zheling offered encouragement and practical instruction.
• Chen Xiaojun asked whether Zijian had practiced the Gu Family’s Mountain Steel Bone Art, a defensive method suited to the Steel Bone Barbarian Bull Martial Soul.

Chen Xiaojun gave Gu Yuanchao hope that Gu Zijian might awaken his soul power a second time, easing a burden Gu Yuanchao had carried for years. The chapter ended with Chen Mu and the others concluding that this renewed hope could help Gu Yuanchao break through to Soul Saint.

• Gu Yuanchao explained that he had trained Gu Zijian in the Thick Earth Foundation since childhood, and Chen Xiaojun told him to teach the boy the Stars Formless Canon as well.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that he had leads on a possible second awakening for Gu Zijian, though it would take six months to a year to know for sure, and asked Gu Yuanchao not to tell his son yet.
• Gu Yuanchao thanked Chen Xiaojun and went to arrange the registered children's food, lodging, and paperwork with renewed energy.
• Chen Mu, Xin Shouyi, and Mai Zheling discussed how Gu Yuanchao's relieved state of mind might help him overcome the Upper Soul Nest bottleneck and reach Soul Saint.
• Chen Xiaojun reflected that Gu Yuanchao had reached the peak of level sixty-nine and now had a clearer mind for attempting his breakthrough.

Chen Xiaojun finished registering the captives and used the Eye of Judgment to inspect them, finding an unusual mix of karmic fire and merit around one shackled woman. He gave the group permission to move around the courtyard but forbade them to leave, while the woman withdrew into the shadows.

• Chen Xiaojun addressed the children, promising the Chen Clan’s protection and opportunities to those who followed its rules.
• Chen Xiaojun activated the Eye of Judgment, making the children and women feel as though their souls were being seen through.
• Chen Xiaojun saw faint merit around most of the children and noticed dark red karmic fire mixed with a little merit around a delicate-featured shackled woman.
• Chen Xiaojun ended the scrutiny, announced that registration was complete, and ordered everyone to stay within the courtyard.
• The captives dispersed or gathered in small groups as the delicate-featured woman retreated into the shadows, and Chen Xiaojun watched the courtyard by torchlight.

Chen Xiaojun received an urgent summons from his Second Uncle to discuss terms with Tang Hengyu and Tan Yashuang at the Council Hall. He left the Warehouse Courtyard and headed through the Mountain Fort’s illuminated passages.

• A woman hiding beneath the eaves feared Chen Xiaojun’s penetrating gaze, and he briefly looked toward her shadow without revealing that he had noticed her.
• Dugu Fu arrived with an urgent summons, reporting that Tang Hengyu and Tan Yashuang had reached the Mountain Fort to discuss the Brotherhood’s and Sisters’ Association’s terms.
• Chen Mu explained that the previous meeting had only established the Chen Clan’s authority in the Canopy District and that the specific terms remained unsettled.
• Chen Xiaojun assigned Zhu Wuneng, Dugu Fu, and Ma Liang tasks before setting out for the Council Hall.
• Dugu Fu criticized the damage to the courtyard wall, while Zhu Wuneng proposed a quick repair; Chen Xiaojun then walked through the Mountain Fort’s passages.