Recaps

The Chen Clan’s population boom continued, driven by medical formulas, martial arts, and the clan’s accumulated fortune. Chenlin Village’s population climbed toward eight hundred as families and followers moved in, while other clans sought access to the Chen Clan’s methods.

• The Chen Clan’s younger generation grew to sixteen members, and its elders anticipated another population golden age.
• Ye Xiuxin and the Zhu Family helped promote childbirth with medical expertise, health-preserving formulas, and yang-strengthening medicines, while Chen Xiaojun suspected several factors had contributed to the boom.
• The Research Department’s Martial Soul Division began investigating whether the Nine Yang Divine Skill and Big Dipper Art affected fertility, while others credited the Chen Clan’s fortune.
• Retainer Families and Branch Lines bought the refined formulas and pills and exchanged for the Pure Yang Limitless Skill and Heavenly Cycle Formless Canon.
• Families including the Ximen Family and Ma Family asked the Chen Clan for access to its methods, but the clan held firm until it could meet its own needs.
• Chenlin Village’s population swelled past five hundred in the Chen Clan’s Main Lineage and followers, while incoming families brought the permanent population close to seven or eight hundred.

Chen Xiaojun explained the Chen Clan’s extensive resources and plans to accelerate the cultivation of its senior Soul Douluo. The chapter ended with the clan’s powerful elders preparing to focus on breakthroughs, including Chen Wenchao and Chen Yaoting at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

• Chen Xiaojun and Chen Mu discussed Chenlin Village’s education, training, resources, and role as a home for the Chen Clan and its followers.
• Chen Mu and Chen Bin reported that Sixth Uncle and Chen Bin’s father were both level 79 and nearing Soul Douluo.
• Chen Xiaojun said the clan would increase support for Fourth Uncle, Sixth Uncle, and Fifth Uncle, including access to fifty-thousand-year soul bones.
• Chen Xiaojun described the clan’s nearly thirty high-grade soul bones and its many other accumulated resources.
• Chen Mu understood that the clan would send elders from Grandpa’s generation to the Secret Land over the next two years to cultivate.
• The chapter detailed the Main Lineage’s senior Soul Douluo, noting that Chen Wenchao and Chen Yaoting were pursuing breakthroughs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Chen Xiaojun explained the Chen Clan’s planned personnel reshuffle and broader organizational reforms to Chen Mu. The reforms remained in planning, with the recent attack likely to delay their discussion, and the clan was considering supervisory leadership positions to oversee its new departments.

• Chen Xiaojun outlined likely promotions for Chen Wu, Chen Hua, and Chen Zhang, and named Chen Qingrui, Chen Chenghui, and Chen Surong as their probable successors in current roles.
• Chen Mu joked about eventually taking over his father’s position, while Chen Xiaojun suggested he might step up as the older generation’s successors advanced.
• Chen Xiaojun described the Economic Management Department’s divisions and the Research Department’s three divisions, then urged Chen Mu to visit the injured Sister Youchu and thank Shen Lang and Shen Fei for rescuing them.
• Chen Xiaojun explained plans to establish ten additional departments and clarify financial oversight, including transferring non-economic expenditures to a new Finance Ministry.
• Chen Xiaojun said the clan’s outdated structure required reform and proposed supervisory leadership positions above the departments, with each position overseeing several departments.

Chen Xiaojun explained the Chen Clan’s plan to divide leadership among a clan chief, grand elder, and deputy clan chiefs with distinct responsibilities. The clan expected Chen Xun to become chief, Chen Xiyuan to become grand elder, and Chen Wu, Chen Zhang, and Chen Hua to contend for deputy positions.

• Chen Xiaojun told Chen Mu that the Chen Clan planned to appoint deputy clan chiefs to share the clan chief’s responsibilities.
• Chen Mu asked how the senior leadership would be arranged, and Chen Xiaojun explained the plan for separate administrative, military, and oversight powers.
• The chapter described Soul Fighting City’s three leading offices, their checks and balances, and Ximen Wenhua’s appointment as Chief Steward.
• The Chen Clan’s proposed structure placed the clan chief over clan affairs and the grand elder over oversight and adjudication, with two or three deputy clan chiefs handling specialized duties.
• The clan expected Chen Xun to succeed as clan chief and Chen Xiyuan to become grand elder, while Chen Wu, Chen Zhang, and Chen Hua were likely deputy clan chief candidates.

Chen Xiaojun discussed the Chen Clan’s likely leadership roles and agreed to attend the Winding Stream Banquet’s cultural exchange, hoping Chen Hua could help with a matter involving Ji Tiantian. Chen Hua arrived after overhearing Chen Mu mock his father and asked Chen Xiaojun why he had brought him up and mentioned the banquet.

• Chen Xiaojun outlined the likely roles for the Chen Clan’s next generation, and Chen Mu complained that the rest of them would still serve under the three leading siblings.
• Chen Xiaojun hinted that he might need Chen Hua’s help but kept the reason secret, while Chen Mu promised to assist.
• Su Ningxia told Chen Xiaojun that the Winding Stream Banquet and Wenhua Pavilion would hold a cultural exchange in Chang'an, and Chen Xiaojun agreed to attend.
• Chen Mu guessed that Chen Xiaojun wanted Chen Hua to use his ties to the Ji Family and Teacher Jixiang to help with Ji Tiantian, then teased Chen Hua’s refined airs.
• Chen Hua appeared at the doorway, caught Chen Mu mocking him, and asked Chen Xiaojun why he had mentioned him and the Winding Stream Banquet.

Chen Xiaojun persuaded Chen Hua to help him approach Jixiang, then explained why Moonlight Academy’s Vice Dean was vital to the Chen Clan. He revealed that the clan’s ancestral holdings near Moonlight City included a share of a valuable spirit marrow stone vein.

• Chen Xiaojun told Chen Hua about Jixiang and secured his agreement to help with Chen Cong’s assignment.
• Chen Hua dragged Chen Mu to the Practice Ground while the others watched and joked.
• Chen Xiaojun explained Moonlight Academy’s ties to the Moon Palace, the clan’s research, and its strategic position in Tosk Province.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that the Chen Clan had moved away from its ancestral home near Moonlight City more than two hundred years earlier and still held assets there.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that the clan shared ownership of a large spirit marrow stone vein and that the academy’s Vice Dean represented its interests in Tosk Province.
• Chen Xiaojun suggested Chen Shurui study at Moonlight Academy and joked that Chen Bin could come along too.

Chen Xiaojun discussed possible academies for the younger Chen family members and helped Zhu Wuneng choose a signature verse. He then explained his plan to send Xiao Yi to the Frozen Forest for her second soul ring, leaving her quietly unhappy with his protective arrangements.

• Chen Xiaojun suggested that Nine Heavens Academy might suit Old Nine and Old Ten, who were expected to study at Sword Rain Academy.
• Chen Xiaojun gave Zhu Wuneng several signature verses before Zhu chose “Smile and Watch the Martial World's Storms Change; alone, I walk the road to the ends of the earth.”
• Chen Xiaojun told Dugu Fu that Xiao Yi would accompany him to the Frozen Forest with Third Granduncle to hunt an ice silkworm for her second soul ring.
• Chen Xiaojun explained the plan and his concerns about Xiao Yi's safety, but Xiao Yi insisted that she could handle the danger.

Chen Xiaojun reviewed intelligence about the Elite Tournament’s top contenders with Zhou Tianshu and confirmed that information about Xiao Yi remained sealed. He proposed that Tianshi City create a supplementary Heavenly Prodigy Ranking for talented young Soul Masters who could not fit on the main list.

• Zhou Tianshu gave Chen Xiaojun a booklet about the tournament’s ranked prodigies and other powerful contenders.
• Zhou Tianshu identified the Little Night Emperor, the Child of War, and the Holy Light White Tiger as leading talents, and noted that Chen Xiaojun had surpassed the latter two in the rankings.
• Chen Xiaojun and Zhou Tianshu confirmed that Tianshi City had classified all intelligence about Xiao Yi as Grade Five Top Secret.
• Zhou Tianshu asked Chen Xiaojun how Tianshi City should recognize the many new talents when the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking had limited places.
• Chen Xiaojun suggested establishing a supplementary Heavenly Prodigy Ranking.

Chen Xiaojun proposed new rankings and tournament publications to expand Tianshi City’s influence. Zhou Tianshu embraced the plan and committed the city to preparing the projects before the tournament ended in August.

• Chen Xiaojun suggested a supplementary ranking for gifted young heroes who lacked a place on the main Heavenly Prodigy Ranking.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed dividing the rankings by Soul Master specialty and creating attention-grabbing features such as the Twelve Golden Hairpins, Arms Compendium, Divine Beast Portraits, and Plant World.
• Chen Xiaojun urged Tianshi City to publish tournament predictions and analysis as a series of professional special issues.
• Zhou Tianshu praised the proposals, planned dedicated publishing teams, and said Tianshi City would begin preparing the projects immediately.

Chen Xiaojun asked Zhou Tianshu why Fasinuo Province seemed to have more soul masters than the commonly cited awakening rate could explain. Zhou revealed that the continent’s population was far higher than old estimates and that Tianshi City’s research showed the soul power awakening rate had recently risen to 1.5 per thousand.

• Chen Xiaojun questioned Zhou Tianshu about the mismatch between Fasinuo Province’s expected number of soul power awakenings and the number of students entering its academies.
• Zhou Tianshu explained that old population figures were unreliable because unregistered people, hidden troops, displaced people, and criminal groups escaped official counts.
• Zhou Tianshu said Tianshi City estimated the continent’s current population at over two billion, possibly more than 2.2 billion, meaning around thirty million people awakened martial souls each year.
• Chen Xiaojun calculated that about fifteen hundred people in Fasinuo Province should awaken soul power annually based on the larger population estimate.
• Zhou Tianshu revealed that Tianshi City’s research put the awakening rate at 1.5 per thousand, up from 1.0 per thousand a thousand years earlier and 1.3 per thousand a century ago.

Chen Xiaojun learned that Soul Power awakenings were far more numerous than he had estimated and that the rate had risen sharply over the past dozen years. Zhou Tianshu linked the increase to population growth and explained that growing Soul Beast populations and shrinking living space could drive Beast Tides.

• Chen Xiaojun revised his estimates after Zhou Tianshu said about 4,000 people awakened Soul Power in Fasinuo Province and 60,000 to 70,000 across the continent each year.
• Zhou Tianshu said Soul Power awakenings had increased significantly over the past dozen years and that Tianshi City believed the rise was connected to the era's many outstanding prodigies.
• Chen Xiaojun asked what had caused the increase, and Zhou Tianshu speculated that population growth was involved, citing the spread of high-yield crops after a year of mysterious vitality a thousand years earlier.
• Zhou Tianshu explained that Soul Beast populations had grown along with humanity's, while their territory had not expanded, worsening their living conditions.
• Chen Xiaojun concluded that Beast Tides were driven in part by Soul Beasts' struggle for territory, and Zhou Tianshu agreed that they used the tides to reduce excess numbers or seize land.

Chen Xiaojun and Zhou Tianshu discussed how a thousand-year surge in vitality may have transformed the continent and increased martial soul awakenings, prompting Chen Xiaojun to suspect the world was ascending to a higher dimension. Zhou Tianshu then revealed that the competition format had changed after disputes over academy placements.

• Chen Xiaojun asked whether the ancient surge of vitality had changed the continent and strengthened humans, soul beasts, and other races, and Zhou Tianshu agreed.
• Zhou Tianshu proposed that lingering vitality had stimulated human martial souls and bloodlines while increasing the quantity and quality of spirit medicines and mineral deposits.
• Chen Xiaojun connected these changes to a possible dimensional ascension and wondered what further effects it might bring.
• When Zhou Tianshu asked what he was thinking about, Chen Xiaojun claimed he was considering how to advance through the semifinals.
• Zhou Tianshu told Chen Xiaojun that Soul Fighting Academy would not face his academy before the finals because the competition format had changed amid disputes over regional places.

Zhou Tianshu told Chen Xiaojun that the finals had expanded to forty teams and explained how the new slots and invitation would be assigned. The Heaven Dou Empire invited Sea God Island, while the tournament organizers planned to cancel the ranking tournament and use a round-robin format to determine the final standings.

• Zhou Tianshu told Chen Xiaojun that the finals would expand to forty teams, with two slots for the Three Rivers Basin and additional slots for the empires.
• Zhou Tianshu explained that the final slot was an invitation chosen by the Heaven Dou Empire, which had invited Sea God Island.
• Chen Xiaojun reflected on the Chen Clan's role in establishing Sea God Academy and felt guilty when he thought of Xixi.
• Zhou Tianshu said the Heaven Dou Empire had canceled the ranking tournament after the semifinals and planned to use a round-robin tournament to decide the final results and rankings.

Chen Xiaojun received a letter from the Sea God Island Saintess while Xiao Yi delivered letters and a pouch for Ou Ya’s daughter, Xixi. After Xiao Yi vanished using her refined movement skills, Chen Xiaojun and Ou Ya discussed the breathing techniques’ unexplained potential, leaving Chen Xiaojun determined to ask his supposed master about their hidden secrets.

• Chen Xiaojun met Ou Ya in the courtyard and asked whether Sea God Academy had been invited to the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament.
• Ou Ya gave Chen Xiaojun a letter from the Sea God Island Saintess.
• Xiao Yi appeared and gave Ou Ya a sealed letter and embroidered pouch for Xixi, then disappeared into the mist.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Xiao Yi’s movement skills and Mist Breathing had reached exceptional levels.
• Ou Ya told Chen Xiaojun that Water Breathing and Wind Breathing still felt incomplete, and Chen Xiaojun said he would ask his master about their secrets.

Chen Xiaojun visited Xiao Yi to ask about the Breathing Technique after realizing its users still felt constrained despite its power. Their discussion led him to suspect that none of them had reached the technique’s true physical limits, leaving him to consider whether that was the source of the restraint.

• Chen Xiaojun reflected on the Breathing Technique’s power and decided to ask Xiao Yi about his sense that it had untapped potential.
• Chen Xiaojun found Xiao Yi reading his unfinished story, "Domineering Holy Maiden Falls in Love with Me," and she praised several lines from it.
• Chen Xiaojun asked Xiao Yi about her letter to Xixi and the cloth pouch, but Xiao Yi dismissed them as ordinary exchanges between old friends.
• Chen Xiaojun asked whether Xiao Yi felt restrained while practicing the Radiant Clouds Breathing Technique, and she said she did.
• Xiao Yi explained that she sensed the technique had a limit she had not reached, and Chen Xiaojun realized none of its current practitioners had reached their physical limits.

Chen Xiaojun pushed the Sun Breathing Technique until golden-red Marks appeared, but Xiao Yi stopped him before his incomplete recovery led to serious harm. He explained that the Marks signified advanced circulation and said the technique could still reach a higher stage.

• Chen Xiaojun recognized that extreme heat and a racing heart might awaken Marks, then took Xiao Yi to a training room to test the idea.
• Chen Xiaojun intensified his Sun Breathing Technique until golden-red Marks spread across his face and neck, strengthening his aura.
• Chen Xiaojun tried to push beyond the Marks, but unprecedented pain and trembling made Xiao Yi order him to stop.
• Xiao Yi used the Immortal Evergreen Vine to heal Chen Xiaojun, then warned him that forcing a breakthrough before recovering could backfire.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that Marks represented advanced Breathing Technique circulation and said the technique had not yet reached its highest stage.

Xiao Yi used the Radiant Clouds Breathing Technique to complete a major bloodline breakthrough, sending a powerful energy surge through the Duke's Mansion. The Chen Clan rushed to Chen Xiaojun's courtyard, mistaking the unfamiliar power for an attack, while Chen Xiaojun watched the resulting commotion.

• Xiao Yi manifested pale blue marks as her blood and vital energy reached a new height, then continued practicing toward a deeper breakthrough.
• Xiao Yi endured intense heat and pain as the marks spread across her body and her Bloodline Power surged.
• Xiao Yi completed her breakthrough, releasing energy ripples that swept through nearly the entire Duke's Mansion.
• Zhu Yanfeng, Zhu Wuneng, Su Ningxia, Chen Bin, Chen Shurui, and others hurried toward the disturbance, while Chen Menglin rose into the sky to search for an intruder.
• Chen Xiaojun realized the unfamiliar bloodline energy had come from Xiao Yi's breakthrough and watched the Chen Clan respond in alarm.

Xiao Yi activated the Mark of the Moon Breathing Method but failed to awaken its bloodline power, and Chen Xiaojun explained the difference between the two stages. The group went to Practice Ground No. 5 to test her strength, where Xiao Yi faced Cheng Yun.

• Chen Menglin sent Cheng Yun and Xia Ying to check on Xiao Yi, then led the others into the Training Room after Cheng Yun confirmed it was safe.
• Xiao Yi continued practicing the Moon Breathing Method as silvery-white markings appeared on her skin and her aura gradually strengthened.
• Xiao Yi told Chen Xiaojun she had not awakened Moon Breathing, and he explained that she had activated its Mark without awakening her bloodline.
• Mu Lingyun suggested testing Xiao Yi's strength, and Chen Chen led the group to Practice Ground No. 5.
• Xiao Yi began a fierce battle against Cheng Yun, a level seventy-seven Soul Saint, while her pale-blue Mark flickered across her face.

Xiao Yi awakened her bloodline during her fight with Cheng Yun, gaining a powerful mist-wreathed form that Chen Xiaojun named the Rosy Mist Divine Venerable Body. The battle remained unresolved as Xiao Yi’s new Unfixed Whip technique blasted Cheng Yun back.

• Xiao Yi fought Cheng Yun with her Mark state, using the Radiant Clouds Breathing Technique and Immortal Evergreen Vine to evade Cheng Yun’s attacks.
• Xiao Yi awakened her bloodline, intensifying her mist and raising her combat strength toward the High-Rank Soul Emperor level.
• Chen Xiaojun and the spectators discussed the transformation’s power and named Xiao Yi’s form the Rosy Mist Divine Venerable Body.
• Cheng Yun used her Yu Feng Divine Eagle Soul Skill to disperse the mist, but a multicolored energy barrier held around Xiao Yi.
• Xiao Yi unleashed Unfixed Whip from within the mist and blasted Cheng Yun more than a dozen meters backward.

Xiao Yi sparred with Cheng Yun, using the Radiant Mist Divine Venerable Body’s techniques to withstand Cheng Yun’s Nine Yin Divine Claw. The demonstration revealed three Foundation Arts and convinced Chen Menglin that Xiao Yi’s bloodline power could advance the family’s essence, qi, and spirit system.

• Cheng Yun attacked Xiao Yi with the Nine Yin Divine Claw, and Xiao Yi countered with the Radiant Mist Rend Wave before evading the weakened attack.
• Cheng Yun praised Xiao Yi’s bloodline power, while Chen Mu considered adapting its concealed Soul Power to his sword techniques.
• Chen Xiaojun identified three Foundation Arts within Xiao Yi’s divine venerable body, including the Unfixed Whip and Radiant Mist Rend Wave.
• Chen Xiaojun assured Chen Menglin that Xiao Yi’s divine venerable body could reach Titled Douluo-level potential.
• Chen Menglin said the Foundation Arts advanced the family’s essence, qi, and spirit system and its pursuit of immortality.

Chen Xiaojun demonstrated his Sun Breathing Technique in a spar with Shen Fei, then discussed breathing techniques and a soul-bone trade with him. The chapter ended with Chen Xiaojun agreeing to find Shen Fei a fifty-thousand-year blood-attribute soul bone, likely for Shen Youchu.

• Chen Xiaojun revealed his Sun Breathing mark and challenged Chen Chen to spar, but Shen Fei whisked him onto the Martial Arts Platform first.
• After their ten-minute spar, Shen Fei praised Chen Xiaojun’s Sun Breathing Technique, and Chen Xiaojun suggested he study the blood attribute using future breathing-technique research.
• Shen Fei told Chen Xiaojun that Shen Lang had recovered a sixty-thousand-year soul bone from Dacey and asked how they should handle it.
• Chen Xiaojun offered to exchange the soul bone for a fifty-thousand-year one, and Shen Fei requested one with a blood attribute.

Zhu Yanfeng attempted to awaken his bloodline and push toward a Divine Venerable Body, but Chen Menglin stopped him when the strain became dangerous. After recovering, Zhu Yanfeng realized that activating his marks had made his blood surge and driven him to ignore Chen Xiaojun’s warning to proceed cautiously.

• Zhu Yanfeng decided to attempt bloodline awakening despite Chen Xiaojun and Zhu Wuneng warning him of the risks.
• Chen Xiaojun and Xiao Yi shared their breakthrough experiences as Zhu Yanfeng practiced Stone Breathing and awakened his marks.
• Zhu Yanfeng pushed toward a Divine Venerable Body, but Chen Xiaojun urged Chen Menglin to stop him when he began trembling in pain.
• Chen Menglin suppressed Zhu Yanfeng’s surging blood vitality, halting the marks and ending the attempt in failure.
• Mu Lingyun and Xiao Yi treated Zhu Yanfeng, who later recognized that activating his marks had made his blood surge and clouded his judgment.

Chen Cong and the others analyzed why Chen Xiaojun, Zhu Yanfeng, and Xiao Yi had struggled to awaken Divine Venerable Bodies, focusing on breathing techniques, meridians, and blood marrow. They established innate soul power, comprehension, meridians, and blood marrow as the Chen Clan’s four essentials of cultivation, elevating breathing techniques alongside soul power.

• Chen Cong and the others compared the failed breakthroughs of Chen Xiaojun and Zhu Yanfeng with Xiao Yi’s experience and concluded that the most difficult breathing techniques made awakening a Divine Venerable Body especially challenging.
• They determined that Xiao Yi’s stronger meridian network, especially her collateral meridians, had given her a crucial advantage over Zhu Yanfeng during her breakthrough.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that blood marrow supplied blood’s strength and vitality, shaped future potential, and was profoundly activated when a Divine Venerable Body awakened.
• The group distinguished activating a mark from awakening a Divine Venerable Body and agreed that the latter required caution.
• The Chen Clan formally named innate soul power, comprehension, meridians, and blood marrow its four essentials of cultivation, placing breathing techniques alongside soul power.

Chen Xiaojun brought Xiao Yi and his companions to visit the Gao Family in Chang'an, where he presented rare gifts to the family elders. The meeting was still underway as Su Ningxia prepared to reveal a spirit herb.

• Chen Xiaojun explained Chang'an's districts and landmarks to Xiao Yi as their carriage traveled to the Gao Family residence.
• Gao Yunpeng and his entourage welcomed Chen Xiaojun, and the guests exchanged formal greetings with Gao Ying and the other Gao Family members.
• Chen Xiaojun and Zhu Wuneng presented Gao Ying with a rare white jade lotus, which delighted the lotus-loving elder.
• Su Ningxia stepped forward carrying a wooden box containing a vibrant spirit herb.

Chen Xiaojun visited the Gao Family and presented generous gifts, including rare spirit medicines and a soul bone, to reward Gao Cuilan for her contributions. He explained the value of her work and his expedition’s immense haul, leaving the family pleased and warmly welcoming Zhu Wuneng.

• Chen Xiaojun gave Gao Yunpeng and Gao Ying two seventh-grade spirit medicines that aided mental power, and Gao Yunpeng asked why he had come.
• Chen Xiaojun said Gao Cuilan deserved a share of the expedition’s gains, and Zhu Wuneng presented eighth-grade nine-leaf profound ginseng and a forty-thousand-year Redgold War Wolf right arm bone.
• Gao Duan exclaimed at the sight of the soul bone, and Gao Yunpeng rebuked him before Chen Xiaojun explained its attack skill and suitability for Gao Cuilan.
• Chen Xiaojun recounted the expedition’s many battles and treasures, totaling more than ten million gold coins, and said the gifts were justified by Gao Cuilan’s performance.
• Chen Xiaojun praised Gao Cuilan’s tournament achievements and teamwork, while Gao Ying and Gao Yunpeng welcomed Zhu Wuneng and encouraged him to visit more often.