Chapter Summaries

Chen Xiaojun put Ji Tiantian at ease while the groups fought off several Death Spider swarms and commanders. After the battles, Gao Duan and Chen Haonan explained that a Soul Saint-led pack of Wolf Bandits had driven them deep into the wilderness, leaving Chen Xiaojun concerned about why the bandits were there.

• Chen Xiaojun invited You Li, Yan Xiaolai, Gao Duan, and Ji Tiantian to call him Sixth Brother, then reassured Ji Tiantian about the dangers and hardships of adventure.
• Su Ningxia, Dugu Fu, and Ma Wencai coordinated their soul skills to defeat a Death Spider swarm.
• Zhang Ci and You Yaqin joined forces to kill a Spider Commander, and Zhang Ci urged You Yaqin to cultivate until she could reach Soul Emperor level.
• Chen Mu, Ma Liang, Chen Shurui, Chen Bin, and Zhu Wuneng combined their attacks to kill a large Spider Commander.
• Zhu Wuneng brushed off his wounds as Gao Cuilan treated him, while Dugu Fu complained about being exhausted.
• Gao Duan and Chen Haonan told Chen Xiaojun that Wolf Bandits led by a Soul Saint had chased them deep into the wilderness, and Chen Xiaojun questioned why the bandits had appeared there.

Chen Xiaojun analyzed the threat posed by a large Wolf Bandit force and organized the group’s return to camp while assigning Zhang Ci and You Yaqin separate missions. After the teachers departed, he began assessing the students’ combat abilities and planning how to lead them.

• Chen Xiaojun concluded that the Wolf Bandits might be targeting Chang'an Academy’s camp and ordered Zhang Ci to warn the camp, send scouts, and request reinforcements.
• Chen Xiaojun planned a southwestern detour back to camp and said the other student teams might be helped if they could be gathered in time.
• Chen Xiaojun gave You Yaqin his purple-gold token and sent her to seek help at a location he named, while Zhang Ci flew back to camp.
• Zhang Ci left Chen Xiaojun in charge, and You Yaqin set off on her separate mission as the students agreed to follow Chen Xiaojun’s route.
• Chen Xiaojun formed the students into one team and asked them to report their Soul Skills, Soul Bones, and secret arts; Chen Haonan, Gao Duan, and Ji Tiantian described their abilities.

Chen Xiaojun organized his team and led them into an encounter with a hundred Wolf Bandits in Verdant Shadow Creek Valley. After noticing something unusual about Ji Tiantian and asking Chen Mu to investigate discreetly, he began the battle with Chen Bin and Chen Shurui attacking the enemy vanguard.

• Chen Xiaojun assigned the team’s battle formation and command succession, naming Gao Cuilan third in command and encouraging her to take charge of the control ranks.
• The group discussed their encounter with a Black Fiend Bee swarm, and Chen Xiaojun explained why its queen was guaranteed to drop a soul bone.
• After Ji Tiantian left, Chen Xiaojun told Chen Mu that something about her was unusual and asked him to investigate through the Sword Shadow Hall’s resources.
• While traveling through Verdant Shadow Creek Valley, Chen Xiaojun’s team discovered a hundred Wolf Bandits blocking their route and chose to fight.
• Chen Bin and Chen Shurui launched a surprise attack, killing Wolf Bandits before agile elites counterattacked and the two swordsmen evaded them and struck back.

Gao Cuilan coordinated Chen Xiaojun’s group in a battle against the Wolf Bandits, using layered restraints and timed attacks to defeat their chiefs and elites. After the fight, Chen Xiaojun praised her command and urged her to think further ahead.

• Zhu Wuneng held the front line while Dugu Fu combined his poison skills to devastate the Wolf Bandits, and Chen Bin and Chen Shurui attacked from both sides.
• The Wolf Bandit elites counterattacked, but Chen Mu intercepted a charging chief as Gao Cuilan directed Ma Wencai to clear the poison and Ji Tiantian to reveal hidden enemies.
• Gao Cuilan’s control team restrained the elites, and Chen Xiaojun reinforced their bindings with Green Lotus Descends.
• Gao Cuilan ordered the vanguard to retreat, then Su Ningxia, You Li, Ma Liang, and Ma Wencai unleashed attacks that destroyed most of the remaining Wolf Bandits.
• Gao Cuilan ordered the survivors checked and the battlefield secured; Zhu Wuneng and Chen Xiaojun praised her thoroughness, and Chen Xiaojun advised her to plan with a broader, longer-term view.

Chen Xiaojun’s group discovered that Wolf Bandits had heavily fortified Eaglebeak Peak and chose a hidden nighttime route to bypass them. As they flew over the treacherous mountain on the Lotus Platform, an enormous Soul Power Ball suddenly struck from the darkness.

• Chen Xiaojun treated the group’s wounded and explained how the Middle Division team’s training and coordination had helped them defeat the Wolf Bandits.
• Chen Shurui reported that hundreds of Wolf Bandits and three leaders guarded Eaglebeak Peak, confirming that a major conflict had erupted near the camp.
• Ma Liang scouted the mountain and found a concealed, dangerous route that led to a place where the group could use the Lotus Platform to fly over the peak.
• Chen Xiaojun led everyone along the hidden path at midnight, and they boarded the Lotus Platform to cross the mountain.
• As Chen Xiaojun adjusted their flight around a bend, an enormous Soul Power Ball hurtled toward them out of the darkness.

Chen Xiaojun and his companions fought to protect the Lotus Platform from a Soul Emperor-level Wolf Bandits Priest and his elite guards on Eaglebeak Peak. The priest strengthened his wolfmen with Wolf Pack Frenzy, leaving the group under mounting pressure.

• Chen Xiaojun steadied the Lotus Platform after a Wolf Bandits Priest attacked it with a tracking Wolf Fang Blood Arrow, then protected it with his Yin-Yang Mystic Shield.
• The Wolf Bandits Priest and his guards bombarded the platform with Soul Power Balls, while Chen Xiaojun maneuvered through the narrow valley and the group attempted to counterattack.
• Su Ningxia blocked a powerful Soul Power Ball with Yellow Clouds Golden Radiance, and Ma Liang attacked the Wolf Bandits with Phoenix Meteor Shower, which the priest's blood wolf devoured.
• The blood wolf shattered Zhu Wuneng's Golden Bell Shield, but Chen Mu, Chen Bin, and Chen Shurui combined their strength to break its jaws apart with their own shield.
• The priest unleashed Blood Refinement, breaking the combined Golden Bell Shield, as Chen Mu and the others defended the exposed platform against the guards' barrage.
• Chen Mu repelled a muscular Wolf Bandit's axe strike, but the priest then used Wolf Pack Frenzy to empower his guards and intensify their assault.

Chen Xiaojun and his allies fought off the Wolf Bandits with their strongest techniques, but their defenses and strength were gradually depleted. After the Lotus Platform was knocked into a mountain ravine, the Wolf Bandits could no longer see what had become of them.

• The Wolf Bandits shattered Chen Xiaojun's tortoiseshell and dispersed his yin-yang dao domain, so Gao Cuilan and the others slowed the attackers while Su Ningxia shielded the Lotus Platform.
• Ma Wencai unleashed Twin Sunburst, destroying the Gale Wolf energy bodies and grievously injuring the Wolf Bandit priest, who then summoned the Blood Heavenly Wolf with the leaders' soul power.
• Chen Mu, Chen Bin, and Chen Shurui combined their strength to stop the Blood Gale Giant Wolf's attack, while Ma Liang's Phoenix Meteor Shower pressured the Wolf Bandits.
• Chen Xiaojun's Fish Intestine Sword pierced the priest's defenses and struck him down, also injuring the Wolf Bandit leaders who had supplied him with soul power.
• The Soul Emperor-level Wolf Bandit leader rallied over a hundred elite Wolf Bandits to bombard the Lotus Platform, and a Wind Wolf Spear finally knocked it into the mountain ravine.

After the lotus platform crashed, Ma Liang helped save the injured team, and Chen Mu led them to a secluded cave to recover. With most of the group badly hurt and the Wolf Bandits’ pursuit uncertain, Chen Mu decided they would rest there while Ma Liang kept watch.

• Ma Liang used Phoenix Rebirth and soul-power chains to slow and redirect the falling lotus platform, but it shattered on impact, leaving Chen Xiaojun unconscious and the team injured.
• Su Ningxia treated Chen Xiaojun while Zhu Wuneng and Dugu Fu returned and argued until Su Ningxia reprimanded them.
• Chen Mu ordered the team to leave the ravine, assigning scouts, a group leader, and members to conceal their tracks.
• Hours later, the team reached a secluded cave, where they assessed their injuries and found that their remaining fighting strength was less than a fifth of what it had been.
• Chen Bin reported that Misty Forest and Misty Valley lay ahead, while Chen Shurui and Ma Liang said they had seen no Wolf Bandit pursuers.
• Chen Mu decided the team would rest in the cave, with Ma Liang watching behind them and Dugu Fu ready to use his Black Fiend Bee Queen soul bone skill if pursuers appeared.

Chen Mu checked on the injured Chen Xiaojun, while the group discussed why he had risked so much to attack the Wolf Bandits Priest. Gao Cuilan trusted Chen Xiaojun’s judgment, and Dugu Fu pressed Zhu Wuneng to face his uncertain feelings for her.

• Chen Bin and Chen Shurui healed with the Nine Yin Manual and discussed how Chen Mu had taken on more responsibility while Chen Xiaojun was injured.
• Chen Mu found Chen Xiaojun feverish and shivering as Su Ningxia treated him, and they discussed his longing for Xiao Yi and her expected return.
• Zhu Wuneng and Dugu Fu teased each other about Su Ningxia’s appearance and later discussed the possibility of a romance between Chen Mu and Gao Cuilan.
• Gao Cuilan asked Chen Mu why Chen Xiaojun had repeatedly risked the team’s escape to attack the Wolf Bandits Priest, and they considered whether he had uncovered a serious threat.
• Chen Mu called Chen Xiaojun’s unexpected tactics his “Ghost Sixth’s signature touch,” while Gao Cuilan said the team should trust and support him.
• Dugu Fu urged Zhu Wuneng to recognize his feelings for Gao Cuilan, but Zhu Wuneng admitted he did not know what he felt and remained silent.

While Yan Xiaolai recovered from his fever, Ji Tiantian admitted to Gao Cuilan that she cared for him, and Gao Cuilan urged her to be patient. Chen Xiaojun woke after two days in Youlan Ravine, secretly sent Ma Liang to investigate a suspicion, and prepared to answer Chen Mu’s serious questions.

• Gao Cuilan encouraged Ji Tiantian to rest and to let her feelings for Yan Xiaolai develop naturally.
• Chen Xiaojun woke after two days unconscious, drank water with Su Ningxia’s help, and learned the group had traveled a little over ten li through Youlan Ravine without the Wolf Bandits following them.
• Chen Xiaojun asked Chen Shurui to fetch Ma Liang, then whispered a secret task to Ma Liang and told him to stay safe.
• After Su Ningxia left, Chen Xiaojun told Chen Mu he had sent Ma Liang to verify a suspicion but could not yet explain further.
• Chen Mu raised the flask of “Bing Huo in Two Heavens” and pressed Chen Xiaojun to tell him more, turning the conversation serious.

Chen Xiaojun explained to Chen Mu why he killed the Wolf Bandits Priest and revealed that he expected the camp to fall, possibly as part of a larger scheme. He planned to hide with the others while preparing for the Wolf Bandits’ next move and supporting a counterattack.

• Chen Mu confronted Chen Xiaojun about exposing his conception-level techniques and questioned the plan that sent both teachers away.
• Chen Xiaojun explained that the Wolf Bandits Priest belonged to the former Astana Tribe, whose lord had been killed by Chen Mu’s grandfather seven years earlier.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed that he had killed the Priest both to remove a future threat and to weaken the Wolf Bandits, forcing them to divide their forces if they sought revenge.
• Chen Xiaojun told Chen Mu that he suspected the Wolf Bandits’ attack on the camp had a deeper motive and might involve other forces.
• Chen Xiaojun planned for the group to recover in their hidden cave, then evade the Wolf Bandits and help Chang’an Academy retake the camp if it fell.

Chen Xiaojun learned that the Wolf Bandits at Eaglebeak Peak had been wiped out and sent Ma Liang and others to collect what remained. Two days later, Li Jinghua battled the Wolf Bandits and their leader, Clark Rahman Khan, at the edge of the Misty Forest, leaving both fighters gravely weakened.

• Ma Liang reported that hundreds of Wolf Bandits had been killed at Eaglebeak Peak, and Chen Mu realized their slaughter explained why the bandits had not pursued them.
• Chen Xiaojun sent Ma Liang, Seventh, Eighth, Wuneng, and Wencai to Eaglebeak Peak to collect the dead bandits' possessions.
• Li Jinghua fought hundreds of Wolf Bandits while Clark Rahman Khan ordered his subordinates to wear him down.
• After Li Jinghua and Clark Rahman Khan exchanged powerful soul skills, Clark Rahman Khan used Wolf Shadows in Layers to wound Li Jinghua as his strength faded.
• Li Jinghua unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar, destroying the wolf shadows and severely injuring Clark Rahman Khan, but the attack nearly exhausted him.
• Clark Rahman Khan struggled back to his feet and looked at the barely standing Li Jinghua.

Chen Xiaojun and his companions rescued Li Jinghua from Clark Rahman Khan’s Wolf Bandits and helped turn the battle around, forcing the bandits to retreat. As the survivors recovered, Li Jinghua learned Zhang Ci had not returned to camp, and Feng Min revealed she was Feng Qisheng’s daughter and now served under the Chen Clan.

• Zhang Feng fell after killing the Wolf Bandit that wounded him, while a Soul Emperor saved Feng Min from a Wolf Bandit chieftain.
• Clark Rahman Khan ordered his elite Wolf Bandits to attack the exhausted Li Jinghua, but Chen Xiaojun’s group arrived and Su Ningxia pulled Li Jinghua to safety.
• Chen Xiaojun, Su Ningxia, Zhu Wuneng, Chen Bin, Chen Shurui, Chen Mu, and the other soul masters attacked the Wolf Bandits, forcing Clark to order a retreat.
• At the campfire, Li Jinghua explained how his group had encountered the Wolf Bandits and said he did not know what had happened at the camp.
• Chen Xiaojun told Li Jinghua that Zhang Ci had been sent to warn the camp four days earlier and had not returned.
• Feng Min told Chen Xiaojun that Feng Qisheng was her father and said she now served under the Chen Clan.

Chen Xiaojun and the others assessed the Wolf Bandits’ threat to Chang'an Academy’s mountain camp and decided they could not rely on rescue alone. They planned to use the Misty Forest for guerrilla attacks, and Chen Xiaojun revealed a large stash of Soul Beast meat to address their food needs.

• Chen Xiaojun explained that the Wolf Bandits were remnants of four tribes and presented a Wolf Fang Token, suggesting the attackers had been sent to target the camp.
• Feng Min and Li Jinghua described the camp’s demolition measures, while Chen Xiaojun reasoned that the Wolf Bandits might have come from Heavenly Wolf Commandery and could be planning to ambush reinforcements.
• Chen Mu feared that the attackers might be targeting his grandfather, Dean Chen, but Chen Xiaojun urged him to stay calm and focus on the immediate danger.
• Chen Xiaojun proposed using the Misty Forest for guerrilla warfare and drawing other stranded Soul Masters into their force; Feng Min raised concerns about miasma and food supplies.
• Chen Xiaojun revealed Soul Beast corpses, including a large pile of meat, and explained that he had stored them in a Void Bracelet.

Chen Xiaojun and his companions rescued Dean Isaac and his students from a Wolf Bandit attack, then returned to the Misty Forest rendezvous after defeating their pursuers. Over several days, their rescue sorties dealt heavy losses to the Wolf Bandits, while Li Jinghua led the gathered survivors into the forest ahead of Clark Rahman Khan’s forces.

• Chen Xiaojun’s party rescued Dean Isaac’s group from nearly two hundred Wolf Bandits and defeated the attackers with a combined assault.
• Dean Isaac used his Thunderclap Stomp to crush the Wolf Bandit leader and scatter the remaining enemies as Chen Xiaojun’s companions closed off the valley.
• Chu Bo Han told Dean Isaac that the Wolf Bandit tribes had launched a major offensive and that the camp had fallen, so they needed to regroup with the others.
• Chen Xiaojun’s group rested briefly, then carried Dean Isaac and his students back toward the rendezvous point.
• Over the following days, Chen Xiaojun’s rescue sorties killed or wounded more than a thousand Wolf Bandits, while Li Jinghua led the survivors into the Misty Forest before Clark Rahman Khan could surround them.

Chen Xiaojun led Chang'an Academy’s Soul Masters in guerrilla attacks against the Wolf Bandits, wearing down their forces in the Misty Forest. Clark Rahman Khan finally launched an all-out assault, and Chen Xiaojun’s prepared defenses met the charge in a major battle.

• Chen Xiaojun proposed using the Misty Forest’s terrain for guerrilla warfare, and Li Jinghua and the academy teachers made him commander.
• Chen Xiaojun led teams through the forest, using traps, ambushes, and an airborne strike force to inflict losses on the Wolf Bandits.
• Milo Rahman Khan told Clark Rahman Khan that the Wolf Bandits were suffering losses and that the Astana Tribe’s priest had gone missing near Eaglebeak Peak.
• Clark ordered his main force to attack the academy’s position that night, and the Wolf Bandits advanced through the forest despite traps and casualties.
• Chen Xiaojun directed the ranged, control, power assault, support, and agility assault teams as the Wolf Bandits charged the academy’s defensive line.

Chang'an Academy’s Soul Masters struggled to hold their hilltop camp as Clark attacked the front line and Wolf Bandits pressed the flanks. Chen Xiaojun deployed reinforcements and ordered the Agility Attack Group to withdraw, leaving the battle still underway.

• Isaac held the forward line with powerful lightning Soul Skills, destroyed Clark’s wolf-shadow assault, and blocked Clark’s charge with his thirty-thousand-year torso bone Soul Skill.
• Li Jinghua joined the fight against Clark, trading heavy blows and Soul Skills with him while Isaac was pinned down by Wolf Bandits.
• Milo Rahman Khan challenged Isaac, and Chen Xiaojun sent Zhang Feng to help eliminate the Soul Emperor-level Wolf Bandit.
• Chen Xiaojun sent Zhu Wuneng to stabilize the front right and assigned Dugu Fu and Wencai to block the Wolf Bandits sweeping around the right flank.
• Chen Xiaojun ordered the Agility Attack Group to pull back after it had inflicted casualties and suffered losses of its own.

Severn Neal’s defenders came under heavy pressure, but Zhu Wuneng and Zhang Feng rallied the front while Dugu Fu used the Five Poison Formation to hold the right flank. Bevin Vasquez challenged Dugu Fu and resisted his poison, but the chapter ended with a barrage of stingers piercing Bevin’s defenses.

• Severn Neal was knocked into the control team, and Chu Bo Han raised Thorn Wall and activated Thorn Symbiosis to stabilize the upper-right line.
• Zhu Wuneng fused Six Ding Divine Fire with the Phoenix Wheel, then counterattacked with his armor, shield, and flame techniques, pushing the Wolf Bandits back.
• Zhang Feng led a charge on the front left, easing pressure and helping the Chang'an Academy Soul Masters check the Wolf Bandits’ advance.
• Dugu Fu activated the Five Poison Formation, spreading poisonous fog across the right flank and summoning the Netherworld Green Snake and Six-Winged Golden Centipede.
• Bevin Vasquez absorbed the poisonous fog and fought the Netherworld Green Snake, but the Six-Winged Golden Centipede’s stingers pierced his defenses and troubled him.

Dugu Fu’s Poison Formation and Bevan Vasquez’s Wild Roar drove the wolf bandits into a fierce battle, while Zhu Wuneng faced Nelson Astana, a noble of the Astana Clan. Zhu Wuneng was badly wounded by Nelson’s superior techniques, but Ma Liang arrived with the Phoenix Heavenly Blade and joined him against Nelson.

• Bevan Vasquez used Wild Roar to restore the wolf bandits’ morale, and they battered Dugu Fu’s poisonous beasts with frenzied attacks and Soul Power Balls.
• Nelson Astana shattered Zhu Wuneng’s Golden Bell Shield and revealed that he was a noble of the Astana Clan.
• Nelson wounded Zhu Wuneng with Moonlight Slash and Shadow Dance Chain, then overpowered his Secret Art: Rage Wheel with Moonfall Starfall.
• Ma Liang arrived with the Phoenix Heavenly Blade and clashed with Nelson, giving Zhu Wuneng time to take a healing pill and recover.
• Zhu Wuneng rejoined Ma Liang in attacking Nelson, and their combined assault began to pressure him.

Chen Xiaojun deployed the reserves to break the Wolf Bandits’ formations and launch a decisive counterattack. The right side collapsed, and Chen Mu’s assault shattered the front-left defense as the battle continued.

• Chen Xiaojun ordered Su Ningxia to use the ranged group to isolate the upper-right Wolf Bandits, while Chu Bo Han held the front with the control group.
• Su Ningxia’s fire tornado and the ranged group’s attacks broke the Wolf Bandits’ formation in the upper right.
• Ma Wencai and Dugu Fu combined the eclipse manifestation with poisonous gas and the Netherworld Green Snake, killing dozens of Wolf Bandits and driving survivors into panic.
• Chen Bin, Chen Shurui, and Feng Min led the Agility Attack Group through the right flank, then surrounded the retreating Bevin Vasquez.
• Chen Mu led a piercing assault across the front left with his sword skills, collapsing the Wolf Bandits’ defensive line near Zhang Feng and Strick.