Chapter Summaries

Chen Yu and Chen Cong discussed how to protect Chen Xiaojun and planned to pursue the Heartless Tower after its assassins attacked him. Cheng Yun and Xia Ying later identified the Heavenly Wolf Sect as the likely mastermind, tracing the attack to revenge for Chen Xiaojun’s crackdown on gangs in southwestern Chang'an City.

• Chen Yu told Chen Cong that Chen Xiaojun should stay under their protection for a few years before entering the wider soul master world.
• Chen Yu said the Heartless Tower could not escape justice just because its priest had fled.
• Cheng Yun and Xia Ying reported that their investigation pointed to the Heavenly Wolf Sect as the force behind the assassination attempt.
• Cheng Yun ruled out the Crimson Church and explained that the attack was likely a revenge killing rather than a planned effort to eliminate a future threat.
• Cheng Yun suggested that survivors or backers of the Ghost Wolf Gang, the Red Sand Gang, and the Soaring Dragon Gang had arranged the attacks in retaliation for Chen Xiaojun’s raid.

Cheng Yun and Xia Ying presented evidence that the Heavenly Wolf Sect had commissioned the assassination attempt on Chen Xiaojun, using the Heartless Tower and information from the Heaven-Knowing Tower. Chen Yu ordered an urgent investigation into the Heavenly Wolf Sect and any powers that had helped it.

• Cheng Yun cited the Ghost Wolf Gang’s escape tunnel, the gangs’ limited resources, Heartless Tower’s withdrawal, Lang Weiyuan’s connection, and the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s losses as evidence against the sect.
• Xia Ying reported that the Heartless Tower assassins received unusually generous payment and assembled on a timeline that pointed to the Heavenly Wolf Sect as the buyer.
• Xia Ying explained that the Heaven-Knowing Tower had supplied the Heartless Tower with information about Chen Xiaojun, including an assessment that killing him required a Soul Emperor-level expert.
• Chen Yu ordered Cheng Yun and Xia Ying to gather all intelligence on the Heavenly Wolf Sect within three days and investigate any powers that might have supported the assassination.

Chen Yu explained the Chen Clan’s plans to establish influence across the Greater Northwest, using its regional allies and medicinal herb market to unite local powers. Chen Xiaojun proposed expanding the market and leading an Economic Department, while Chen Yu considered the idea.

• Chen Yu ordered Xia Ying to monitor developments and learned that the Mountain-Breaker Soul Emperor had joined the Heartless Tower after leaving his lineage’s faction opposed to returning to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Chen Yu told Chen Xiaojun that the Greater Northwest’s geography, tangled powers, and the Chen Clan’s allies made it a strategic base for becoming the region’s leading voice.
• Chen Yu said the clan supported Chen Xiaojun’s medicinal herb Market Plan as a way to integrate powers and grow the economy.
• Chen Cong reported that Dao Gao of the Xili Family and Shen Lang had asked about the clan’s return and their families’ shares in the market.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed giving the Shen family a share in Chang’an and opening a separate market near the Xili Family after six months, while accelerating expansion.
• Chen Cong proposed that Chen Xiaojun lead a new Economic Department, and Chen Yu considered the suggestion.

Chen Xiaojun discussed why the Clear Sky Sect was absorbing the Mountain-Breaking Giant Hammer Lineage with Chen Yu and Chen Cong, who explained that the sect’s losses and frontier duties had left it short-handed. Chen Yu then revealed that Spirit Hall had conferred the Upper Three Sects’ status, exposing the political entanglements behind the titles.

• Chen Xiaojun asked Chen Yu and Chen Cong what they thought about the Tang Family absorbing the Mountain-Breaking Giant Hammer Lineage.
• Chen Yu and Chen Cong said repeated calamities and the Snowmen’s attacks had depleted the Clear Sky Sect, while training new soul masters took decades.
• Chen Cong said Tang Yue’s willingness to set aside centuries of grudges showed his ambition, and that absorbing the Mountain-Breaking Giant Hammer Lineage would greatly strengthen the Clear Sky Sect.
• Chen Cong recalled how the Seven Heavenly Martial Weapons families had endured hardship, while Chen Yu said the Tang Family was repaying its old debts for the resources and prestige it had received from the Heaven Dou Empire.
• Chen Xiaojun asked how the Upper Three Sects had obtained their status, and Chen Yu explained that Spirit Hall had conferred their titles despite being outside the Heaven Dou Empire.

Chen Cong and Chen Yu explained the origins and standing of the Lower Four Sects to Chen Xiaojun, describing how they formed during an ancient beast-tide calamity. Chen Xiaojun learned that the foremost Lower Four Sect, the Great Ape Sect, included the Titan Giant Ape martial soul and had ties to the Tai family of the Clear Sky Sect.

• Chen Yu argued that the Two Great Empires granted the great sect titles and that Spirit Hall had no right to stand above the Heaven Dou Empire.
• Chen Xiaojun admitted that his understanding of the soul master world was shallow, and Chen Cong and Chen Yu explained that the Lower Four Sects were as formidable as the Upper Three Sects.
• Chen Yu clarified that the Star Luo Empire granted the Lower Four Sects their titles and that upper and lower referred to geography rather than rank.
• Chen Cong explained that the Star Luo Empire organized the Lower Four Sects during the Douluo Renewal to repel beast tides from the region's mountain ranges and forest.
• Chen Cong described the Great Ape Sect's powerful ape martial souls, including the Titan Giant Ape, and revealed that the Tai family of the Clear Sky Sect originated from the sect.

Chen Cong explained the Lower Four Sects’ roles in defending the Star Luo Empire against soul beasts and other threats, along with the honors and responsibilities they earned. He ended by warning Chen Xiaojun that the world’s sects were even more powerful than he imagined.

• Chen Cong described how the Light Sect and Xuanming Sect defended the eastern and northern regions, and Chen Xiaojun wondered about the Xuanming Sect’s later history.
• Chen Cong explained how the Sky-Piercing Sect used bamboo martial souls to build defenses in the Xieluo Mountains against the Star Luo Empire’s enemies.
• Chen Cong told Chen Xiaojun that the four sect leaders had been honored as grand dukes, and that the Great Ape Sect was the strongest of the Lower Four Sects.
• Chen Cong explained that the Great Ape Sect and its Foreign Legion fought soul beasts and half-beastmen in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, while the other great sects guarded their own fronts.
• Chen Xiaojun praised the Lower Four Sects, and Chen Cong reminded him that the Upper Three Sects also faced powerful opponents before noting that he underestimated the world’s sects.

Chen Cong explained the Nine Imperial Gates of World Guardianship and described the Moon Palace’s powerful moon-attribute martial souls. Chen Xiaojun concluded that Xiao Wu’s martial soul was the moon rabbit rather than the Soft Bone Rabbit.

• Chen Cong and Chen Yu corrected Chen Xiaojun’s assumptions and introduced the nine hidden sects known as the Nine Imperial Gates of World Guardianship.
• Chen Cong described the Moon Palace’s history, strength, academy, and close ties with the Chen Clan.
• Chen Cong explained that the moon rabbit was a powerful martial soul with distinctive and peerless soul skills, unlike the Soft Bone Rabbit.
• Chen Xiaojun realized Xiao Wu’s martial soul was the moon rabbit, possibly because her bloodline had evolved upon reaching one hundred thousand years.

Chen Cong explained lunar martial soul powers and described the Moon of the Nine Heavens, then outlined the major sects and their strengths. Chen Xiaojun learned that the great sects, together with the Upper Three Sects and Lower Four Sects, formed the Nine Imperial Gates of World Guardianship.

• Chen Cong explained the Moon Rabbit’s soul skills and described the Moon of the Nine Heavens as a king martial soul awakened by Qing Yue.
• Chen Cong told Chen Xiaojun about the Seven Goddesses, including Xi Yuan and Yang Jingxue, and Chen Yu praised Xi Yuan’s prospects.
• Chen Cong warned Chen Xiaojun about Shui Yue Sect and Qingqiu Forest, explaining the origins and powers of their martial souls.
• Chen Cong named the Body Sect, Sun God Temple, Ice Palace, Nine Heavens Sect, Calming Waves Palace, Infinite Hall, and Earth Emperor Palace among the great sects.
• Chen Cong concluded that the great sects and the Upper Three Sects and Lower Four Sects stood among the world’s top powers as the Nine Imperial Gates of World Guardianship.

Chen Yu explained how soul master powers were ranked and described the requirements for top-tier status. He began listing the Twenty-Four Eminent Families, and Chen Xiaojun realized the Spiritual Eyes Huo Family might be connected to Huo Gua and Huo Yuhao.

• Chen Xiaojun asked how the soul master world classified its powers, and Chen Cong handed the explanation to Chen Yu.
• Chen Yu described the eight overlord-tier powers and said they each possessed at least five Titled Douluos, including powerful leaders such as Spirit Hall’s Nine Grand Elders.
• Chen Yu explained that the sixty top-tier powers shared a requirement of three consecutive generations producing Titled Douluos.
• Chen Yu began naming the Twenty-Four Eminent Families, and Chen Xiaojun reacted with surprise when he heard of the Spiritual Eyes Huo Family.
• Chen Yu described the Huo Family’s eye martial souls and its friendly knowledge exchanges with the Body Sect, while Chen Xiaojun privately connected the family to Huo Gua and Huo Yuhao.

Chen Yu explained the continent’s prominent families, royal houses, neutral organizations, and the standards used to rank lesser powers to Chen Xiaojun. Chen Xiaojun concluded that he would call first-rate sects upper-tier sects.

• Chen Yu described the Beichen Ling Family’s origins, powerful martial soul fusion skill, and internal disagreements, then explained how the Begonia Ye Family differed from families that required three generations of Titled Douluos.
• Chen Yu named the royal houses of the ten major kingdoms and stressed that their high-grade martial souls made them formidable.
• Chen Cong outlined the strengths and roles of the ten major neutral organizations, including Heaven-Knowing Tower, Heartless Tower, Gourmet Hall, and Justice Palace.
• Chen Yu explained the requirements for third-, second-, and first-rate powers and noted that their rankings shifted as powerful soul masters rose or fell.
• Chen Xiaojun joked that mid-tier sects rode a power-ranking elevator, then decided to call first-rate sects upper-tier sects.

Chen Yu explained the industry guilds, their alliances, and martial soul united bodies, then estimated that the continent had at least 150 Titled Douluo. The discussion ended with Chen Xiaojun considering how institutions and inherited platforms helped geniuses survive and become powerful.

• Chen Yu described the continent’s many industry guilds and explained how the Plant Association functioned as both a guild and a neutral organization.
• Chen Yu outlined the Forging Alliance, Arms Alliance, and Medical Alliance, noting that they held considerable influence and sometimes included Titled Douluo.
• Chen Yu explained how martial soul united bodies such as the Spirit Turtle Alliance and Ape Alliance supported groups across regional boundaries.
• Chen Xiaojun asked how many Titled Douluo existed, and Chen Yu estimated at least 150 based on the continent’s population of soul masters.
• Chen Yu explained that most Titled Douluo had not possessed innate full soul power and stressed the importance of discovering, nurturing, and protecting geniuses.
• Chen Cong cited the Titled Douluo among the Chen Clan, Ximen Family, and Yang Family, and said the total across secluded powers might approach two hundred.

Chen Xiaojun learned that Slaughter City lay hidden in the Three Rivers Basin and heard about its defenses, rulers, and uncertain strength. Chen Yu and Chen Cong warned him against entering, and he promised to remember their advice while privately wondering what would happen if he went there.

• Chen Cong and Chen Yu explained the Three Rivers Basin’s geography, its four principal cities, and Slaughter City’s place between them.
• Chen Cong described Slaughter City’s powerful rulers and the Spirit Hall garrison, while Chen Xiaojun reasoned that the city must have a main gate and supply route.
• Chen Yu and Chen Cong said Slaughter City was protected by restrictions and a deadly sea of blood, and recounted how their ancestors became Slayers and gained the Divine Slaughter’s Domain there.
• Chen Yu and Chen Cong warned Chen Xiaojun that their ancestor had forbidden the clan from venturing into Slaughter City after a Soul Douluo elder disappeared there.
• Chen Xiaojun promised to heed the elders but privately questioned how different Slaughter City might be from the one described in Douluo I.

Chen Xiaojun learned that Soul Fighting City and other powers were positioned to defend against the Star Dou Great Forest and that its rise brought responsibilities after the War God Church fell. The chapter left him inspired to face the trials ahead with caution and courage.

• Chen Xiaojun asked Chen Yu and Chen Cong how they had learned about Slaughter City and its High Priest.
• Chen Cong guided Chen Xiaojun to notice that Spirit Hall and the three great Super Neutral Organizations surrounded the Star Dou Great Forest.
• Chen Cong explained how super great beast tides had devastated the four great churches and how the Heaven-Grasping Sect destroyed the weakened War God Church.
• Chen Cong described how the six great families helped destroy the Heaven-Grasping Sect and how the Arms Alliance now supported Soul Fighting City's eastern defenses.
• Chen Yu and Chen Cong told Chen Xiaojun that powerful soul masters had to shoulder great responsibilities and cultivate an upright heart.
• Chen Xiaojun declared that he would act cautiously and bravely, drawing approving laughter and praise from Chen Cong and Chen Yu.

Chen Yu explained Spirit Hall’s three top-tier armed forces and its nine great systems to Chen Xiaojun, revealing how the organization was structured and governed. Chen Xiaojun left with a new suspicion about Bibi Dong’s connection to the Garrison Army and agreed to study Spirit Hall closely.

• Chen Yu described the Papal Guard, Angel Legion, and Dark Garrison Army Legion, including the Garrison Army’s harsh deployments, ranks, and loyalty to the Elder Hall’s Chief Judgment Elder.
• Chen Yu listed Spirit Hall’s Nine Grand Elders and explained its four civilian systems and five armed systems.
• Chen Yu explained that the Judgment Elder led the Elder Hall and that the Qian Family had retained the position even when it lost the papal throne.
• Chen Xiaojun inferred that Bibi Dong might have come from the Garrison Army’s lineage and recognized a precedent for her later rise to pope.
• Chen Yu urged Chen Xiaojun to study Spirit Hall’s detailed information, and Chen Xiaojun agreed.

Chen Yu and Chen Cong explained Spirit Hall’s hierarchy, military strength, and reorganization to Chen Xiaojun, who marveled at its power and asked what Soul Fighting City relied on. Chen Cong described the city’s strengths and alliances, while Chen Yu recounted the calamity that had cost their family dearly and explained how major powers endured through institutional change and Peerless Legacies.

• Chen Yu explained Spirit Hall’s robe ranks, governing council, six tiers of halls, and selection of bishops and cardinals to Chen Xiaojun.
• Chen Yu described Spirit Hall’s directly governed territory and trained armies, prompting Chen Xiaojun to call it a small independent kingdom and worry about its military power.
• Chen Xiaojun asked what Soul Fighting City relied on, and Chen Cong cited its population, high-ranking soul masters, and cooperation with neighboring Bingge City.
• Chen Yu recalled that fifty years earlier, Bingge City had been held back by a beast tide while his family was ambushed by the Crimson Church on its way to reinforce Soul Fighting City.
• Chen Yu and Chen Cong explained that Spirit Hall, the Plant Church, and the Dark Night Church had reorganized to adapt, and Chen Yu said superpowers needed a Peerless Legacy, noting the Plant Association’s unique advancement method.

Chen Yu and Chen Cong explained that the Chen Clan had to emerge from seclusion and become a super family before the next Calamity, while preparing for conflict with the Crimson Church. Chen Yu then outlined estimates for the number of high-rank Soul Masters across the continent.

• Chen Xiaojun realized the Chen Clan intended to use its seven Titled Douluo and growing strength to become an overlord-tier super family.
• Chen Yu and Chen Cong said the clan could no longer remain hidden, since its home was exposed and its strength would soon attract greater scrutiny.
• Chen Yu declared that the Chen Clan would become the leader of the Greater Northwest and prepare to settle its blood debt with the Crimson Church.
• Chen Xiaojun understood that the clan was gambling on training its younger generations, strengthening its elders, and forming alliances before the next Calamity.
• Chen Xiaojun called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well both a blessing and a tribulation, and Chen Yu assured him the older generation would protect him.
• Chen Yu explained that the continent had roughly fifteen hundred Soul Douluo and ten thousand Soul Saints, though far fewer were likely active.

Chen Xiaojun explained the four essentials for the Chen Clan’s growth and proposed policies to strengthen its population and reconnect with blood relatives raised by other clans. Chen Yu approved the ideas, while Chen Cong began considering the proposal’s implications for his daughter.

• Chen Yu warned Chen Xiaojun that the clan should expand moderately rather than imitate the great superpowers, and praised his medicinal herb market plan.
• Chen Xiaojun named Dao, Companions, Wealth, and Land as the four essentials, describing the clan’s inheritance as its Dao and its people as its Companions.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed marriage and childbirth incentives, including rewards for larger families and clan support for raising newborns, delighting Chen Yu and startling Chen Cong.
• Chen Xiaojun suggested extending reduced childbirth rewards to branch families and inviting Chen Clan descendants raised by other clans to return for training and service without changing their surnames.
• Chen Cong reconsidered the proposal after Chen Xiaojun mentioned his daughter, and Chen Yu praised the plan to bring blood relatives under the clan’s protection.

Chen Xiaojun laid out a plan to strengthen the Chen Clan through cultivation, research, wealth, and territory, while Chen Yu and Chen Cong considered his strange memories. Chen Yu left the Heavenly Wolf Sect matter to Chen Cong and planned to visit the Heartless Tower with allies to prevent another attack.

• Chen Xiaojun urged the clan to improve its resources, study fertility and bloodlines, expand its businesses, and use medicinal herbs to attract wealthy customers.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed seizing the wealth of hostile forces such as the Heavenly Wolf Sect, and Chen Yu and Chen Cong approved of his resolve.
• Chen Xiaojun described the clan's secret realms as valuable but imperfect cultivation grounds and summarized the four essentials as dao, companions, wealth, and land.
• Chen Cong and Chen Yu wondered whether Chen Xiaojun's odd misconceptions came from distorted memories or errors when his master unsealed them.
• Chen Yu said he and Chen Cong should visit Xue Churan at the City Lord's Residence, then assigned the Heavenly Wolf Sect matter to Chen Cong.
• Chen Yu planned to take several young men to the Heartless Tower's headquarters in Dark Ghost City and enlist its help in preventing future attacks.

During the Heavenly Wolf Sect’s Ghost Festival feast, Chen Hong and other Chen Clan cultivators arrived and attacked the sect. Chen Hong unleashed his ninth soul skill, sending a vast rain of swords down on the sect as its disciples scrambled to defend themselves.

• Heavenly Wolf Sect elders celebrated the sect’s prosperity at a banquet, and Duan Ziyue proposed expanding openly into Chang'an Commandery.
• Lang Weiyuan grew angry when Duan Ziyue mentioned Chang'an City, where his disciple Zhenghui had died, and worried that the Chen Clan might retaliate for the failed assassination mission.
• Two Titled Douluos and several sword-wielding cultivators appeared above Heavenly Wolf Mountain and threatened to destroy the Heavenly Wolf Sect.
• Chen Hong revealed himself as the Chen Clan’s Grand Elder and launched his ninth soul skill, Ten Thousand Swords Returning to the Origin: Deep Sea Vortex.
• Countless sword rays rained down on the Heavenly Wolf Sect, throwing its banquet guests into chaos as they tried to take cover or resist.

The Chen Clan attacked the Heavenly Wolf Sect in retaliation for an attempt on one of their clan members, and Chen Cong unleashed his sword skills against the sect. Lang Chengming and Wang Zhen fused into Wolf and Badger Together and charged Chen Cong as the battle continued.

• Lang Chengjin shielded nearby disciples and transformed into his Firmament Silver-Winged Wolf form, but Chen Hong’s sword net overwhelmed him and left him barely alive.
• Lang Chengming recognized the Chen Clan, and Chen Cong declared that the sect would be annihilated before unleashing his Eighth Soul Skill against its disciples.
• Lang Chengming suspected Lang Weiyuan, but Lang Weihong urged him to focus on defending the sect, so Lang Chengming ordered an evacuation and fused with Wang Zhen.
• Lang Chengming and Wang Zhen formed Wolf and Badger Together, whose mental tornado clashed with Chen Cong’s sword shadows.
• The wolf-badger beast broke through the clash and charged Chen Cong in the sky.