Chapter Summaries

Su Lin attended his Martial Soul Awakening ceremony at the Wealth Village orphanage and learned that the story began in the same year Tang San awakened his Martial Soul. Su Yuntao prepared to conduct the ceremony, leaving Su Lin reassured that a famous awakening master was handling it.

• Su Lin joined the other orphanage children as they gathered for their Martial Soul Awakening ceremony.
• Director Grant led the children to Wealth Village’s Spirit Hall, where Su Yuntao was preparing the ceremony.
• Grant and Su Yuntao discussed the rarity of Soul Power and the child who had awakened Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power.
• Su Lin realized the child was Tang San and concluded that the story’s events were beginning that year.
• Su Yuntao introduced himself and began preparing to activate his Martial Soul, while Su Lin felt reassured by his reputation.

Su Lin awakened a Poké Ball Martial Soul and an illusory status panel, then revealed innate rank-nine Soul Power. Grant took him to begin training at a junior Soul Master academy, where Su Lin started cultivating toward rank ten so he could obtain his first Soul Ring and catch a Pokémon.

• Su Yuntao awakened the village children one by one, but none of the others gained Soul Power.
• Su Lin awakened a red-and-white Poké Ball Martial Soul and saw a status panel showing his level and Pokémon and skill slots.
• Su Lin’s test crystal shone brightly, revealing innate rank-nine Soul Power, and Su Yuntao invited him to join Spirit Hall.
• Grant rejected Su Yuntao’s recruitment attempt, and Su Lin chose to stay with Grant and attend a junior Soul Master academy.
• After moving into a private dorm room, Su Lin began cultivating with Grant’s meditation method and watched his Soul Power slowly increase.

After Su Lin reached level ten, Grant took him to the Soul Hunting Forest to find his first Soul Beast, but Su Lin’s panel rejected every candidate. As darkness fell, Grant suspected Su Lin was deliberately making him search, while Su Lin considered settling for a temporary choice.

• Su Lin reached level ten, and Grant accompanied him to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain his first Soul Beast and Soul Ring.
• Grant explained the strengths of several unconscious Soul Beasts, but Su Lin’s panel rated each one as unsuitable for capture.
• Su Lin asked Grant to find another batch, and Grant agreed because traditional Soul Ring guidance did not apply to Su Lin’s unusual Poké Ball Martial Soul.
• Grant searched the outer forest for two hours and brought back multiple batches, but the panel rejected every Soul Beast.
• Grant asked whether Su Lin was deliberately messing with him, and Su Lin awkwardly considered choosing a temporary Soul Beast as night approached.

Su Lin and Grant pursued a rare mutant Lightning Rat, and Su Lin chose it as his first Pokémon. The Poké Ball pulled Su Lin into his mental world, where the Lightning Rat appeared and confronted him.

• Su Lin spotted a golden Lightning Rat, and Grant recognized it as a mutant with extraordinary speed.
• Grant chased the Lightning Rat through the woods and used his Soul Skills to catch it.
• Su Lin accepted the Lightning Rat as his choice and threw a Poké Ball to capture it.
• The capture pulled Su Lin into a gray-white mental world, where the Lightning Rat landed and prepared to fight him.

Su Lin forged a contract with the Lightning Rat, gained a Soul Ring, and returned to Wealth Village with Grant. Back in his room, he tried his first Soul Skill, but its electric arc barely traveled beyond his palm.

• Su Lin subdued the Lightning Rat with his mental power and forged a contract with it, naming it Pikachu.
• The contract caused a yellow Soul Ring to form beneath Su Lin, astonishing Grant.
• Su Lin and Grant stayed overnight at the Soul Hunting Forest's safe area and traveled back to Wealth Village the next day.
• After returning to the orphanage, Su Lin tried his Electric Arc skill, but the tiny bolt vanished before reaching a chair.

Su Lin explored the ways he could control his lightning arcs, then chose three skills for Pikachu to learn in the Pokémon space. The space began special training, leaving Pikachu floating in confusion beneath the descending pillars of light.

• Su Lin discovered he could release lightning arcs from any part of his body and considered ways to develop his electrical powers.
• Su Lin entered the Pokémon space and found it had transformed into a stormy forest suited to Pikachu.
• Pikachu rushed from a bush and leaped affectionately into Su Lin's arms.
• Su Lin reviewed Pikachu's available skills and selected Energy-Charging Thunder Shock, Lightning Sucker Punch, and Electric Halo.
• The Pokémon space shuddered as special training began, and Pikachu floated helplessly inside three pillars of light.

After two months of cultivation, Su Lin arrived in Nuoding City to enroll at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy. Grant warned him to avoid Yu Xiaogang, and Su Lin entered the academy with the principal as he caught sight of someone on the path.

• Su Lin's Electric Arc proficiency increased during two months of training, though Lightning Rat's cultivation remained slow.
• Grant brought Su Lin to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy and explained why he needed to study there rather than remain in Wealth Village.
• Grant warned Su Lin to keep his distance from Yu Xiaogang and not trust his untested theories.
• The academy principal welcomed Grant and praised Su Lin's innate level nine talent before taking him to complete enrollment.
• Su Lin followed Grant and the principal into the academy and noticed a figure ahead.

Su Lin registered at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy and demonstrated that his Martial Soul let him summon and command Pikachu, impressing Principal Jiang and the teachers. After settling into his private dorm room, he went to watch the fight in Dorm Seven and saw a scrawny boy effortlessly throw his larger opponent.

• Su Lin wondered whether Xiao Wu could be caught in a Poké Ball, then completed his registration at the academy.
• The teachers questioned Su Lin’s unusual Martial Soul, so he summoned Pikachu to demonstrate it; Pikachu shrank from the teachers’ Soul Power and hid in Su Lin’s arms.
• Principal Jiang praised Su Lin’s potential, and Grant departed after registration.
• Su Lin moved into his private dorm room, where Pikachu bounced happily on the bed.
• Su Lin went to Dorm Seven to watch the fight and saw a scrawny boy redirect a sturdy adolescent’s charge and throw him to the floor.

Su Lin met Xiao Wu at Dorm Seven and learned that new work-study students were expected to challenge the dorm boss. When Tang San prepared to spar with Xiao Wu, Su Lin stepped in and accused him of bullying her, leaving Tang San wary and ready for a confrontation.

• Su Lin watched Tang San defeat Wang Sheng with Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and reflected on the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
• Xiao Wu greeted Su Lin, showed curiosity about Pikachu, and learned that Su Lin's Poké Ball Martial Soul let Soul Beasts fight alongside him.
• Wang Sheng summoned Su Lin and Xiao Wu into Dorm Seven and explained the rule that newcomers had to fight the boss.
• Tang San agreed to spar with Xiao Wu, and Xiao Wu eagerly prepared to teach him a lesson.
• Su Lin stopped Xiao Wu from stepping forward, accused Tang San of bullying new students, and faced Tang San as he tensed to respond.

Su Lin stopped Tang San and Wang Sheng from confronting Xiao Wu by calling for a teacher, then arranged to pay for her tuition so she could move dormitories. Xiao Wu accepted his offer and called him a friend, while Tang San felt inexplicably hollow.

• Su Lin shouted for a teacher instead of fighting Tang San, startling the students and Xiao Wu.
• The teacher on duty made Wang Sheng and Tang San apologize to Xiao Wu and assigned them half a month of floor cleaning.
• Su Lin asked the teacher to move Xiao Wu to another dormitory, then offered to pay her tuition.
• Xiao Wu tried to refuse, but Su Lin reminded her they were friends, and she happily agreed.
• Tang San watched Su Lin and Xiao Wu bond and felt as though he had lost something.

Su Lin took Xiao Wu to lunch and met Yu Xiaogang, who offered to guide his unusual Poké Ball Martial Soul’s development. The chapter left Su Lin considering the Grandmaster’s proposal.

• Xiao Wu finished cleaning her new room, and Su Lin offered to pay for her meals as they headed to the cafeteria.
• Su Lin led Xiao Wu to the more expensive second floor, while Wang Sheng wondered who Su Lin was and Tang San dismissed his reliance on Soul Beasts.
• Su Lin and Xiao Wu enjoyed their meal until Yu Xiaogang approached and introduced himself as the Grandmaster.
• Yu Xiaogang explained that Su Lin’s captured Soul Beasts needed to form a balanced, compatible lineup rather than be chosen at random.
• Yu Xiaogang offered to help plan Su Lin’s Soul Beast lineup if Su Lin agreed to study under him.

Su Lin rejected Yu Xiaogang’s offer to take him as a disciple, then brought Xiao Wu to a clearing behind Nuoding Academy to help him cultivate by sparring with Pikachu. The battle began with Xiao Wu dodging Pikachu’s rapid attacks.

• Yu Xiaogang offered to teach Su Lin and promised he could help him become a powerful Soul Master, but Su Lin declined and Yu Xiaogang left his room number for him.
• Xiao Wu asked why Su Lin had refused, and he dismissed Yu Xiaogang’s promises as mere appearances.
• After finishing their meal, Su Lin asked Xiao Wu to help him cultivate and took her to a mountain clearing behind Nuoding Academy.
• Su Lin released Pikachu from its Poké Ball and ordered it to use Lightning Sucker Punch on Xiao Wu.
• Xiao Wu evaded Pikachu’s first charge and its electrical arcs, but Pikachu launched another attack toward her face.

Su Lin had Pikachu spar with Xiao Wu, but she used Waist Bow to throw him after realizing she could not defeat Pikachu. He gained 10 experience from the first fight, failed to earn more by repeating it, and ended the day studying the body’s meridians to prepare for future training.

• Xiao Wu used Waist Bow against Pikachu, but its electric shock disrupted her grip and it escaped unharmed.
• Xiao Wu feinted toward Pikachu, rushed Su Lin, and used her legs and waist to throw him onto the grass.
• Su Lin’s battle report awarded Pikachu 10 experience points, though his attempt to earn a special bonus for fighting Xiao Wu failed.
• Su Lin and Xiao Wu sparred again, but the panel gave him no additional experience, leaving him unsure how often an opponent could count as a battle target.
• After returning to their dorms, Pikachu alerted Su Lin that it had sensed Xiao Wu’s true identity, and Su Lin soothed it before studying a book on human meridians.

Su Lin discovered that Xiao Wu could identify flaws in human meridian diagrams and asked her to teach him. They then attended their first class at Nuoding Academy, where Teacher Mo introduced himself and warned students to take basic theory seriously.

• Xiao Wu woke Su Lin for class, then picked up Pikachu and examined the meridian book in his room.
• Xiao Wu pointed out missing meridians and inaccurate acupoints, and Su Lin realized her transformation might have taught her the body's structure.
• Su Lin asked Xiao Wu to teach him about meridians, and she agreed.
• Su Lin and Xiao Wu went to First-Year Class A and sat in the back row beside the windows.
• Teacher Mo introduced himself and warned the class that basic theory was essential to a Soul Master's foundation.

Su Lin continued skipping basic classes to train with Xiao Wu until Tang San approached him on behalf of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang and offered him a junior-brother position. Tang San presented Yu Xiaogang’s research and his own Soul Ring as proof of the Grandmaster’s expertise, but Su Lin refused and doubted the claims.

• Su Lin left class with Xiao Wu and went to the back hills to spar and study acupuncture points.
• Over three months, Su Lin trained with Xiao Wu while studying Soul Beasts and Martial Souls, and Xiao Wu grew comfortable skipping classes.
• Tang San appeared in the back hills and told Su Lin he had come to invite him to become Yu Xiaogang’s junior brother.
• Tang San offered Su Lin Yu Xiaogang’s research on Soul Beasts for his Poké Ball Martial Soul, but Su Lin declined the offer.
• Tang San showed Su Lin his four-hundred-year Mandala Snake Soul Ring as evidence of Yu Xiaogang’s guidance, while Su Lin privately recalled that Tang San had helped Yu Xiaogang survive that Soul Beast.

Su Lin agreed to Tang San’s wager: if Tang San won, Su Lin would become Yu Xiaogang’s disciple, and if Su Lin won, Tang San would teach him Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. The duel was about to begin with Pikachu facing Tang San.

• Tang San proposed a wager after showing Su Lin his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track footwork.
• Tang San offered to teach Su Lin the technique if Su Lin won, while asking him to join Yu Xiaogang’s training if Tang San won.
• Su Lin accepted because the footwork could help protect him when Pikachu was unable to fight.
• Su Lin reflected on Pikachu’s combat training and his own progress in using Electric Arc to stimulate his meridians.
• Su Lin set Pikachu down, and Pikachu faced Tang San as they prepared to begin the fight.

Tang San and Pikachu fought a fast-paced spar on the academy’s back mountain, with Pikachu’s powerful lightning attacks pushing Tang San to rely on stealth and evasive footwork. As Pikachu’s charge narrowly missed him, Tang San closed in and reached for its back with jade-colored palms.

• Tang San opened the spar by sending Blue Silver Grass vines at Pikachu, but Pikachu dodged with Lightning Sucker Punch and fired three electrical arcs that Tang San avoided with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
• Tang San surrounded Pikachu with Blue Silver Grass, but Pikachu unleashed an Electroweb and then blasted backward with Energy-Charging Thunder Shock, grazing Tang San and numbing his arm.
• Tang San shifted to concealed attacks among the trees and threw three pebbles, which Pikachu shattered inside a spinning sphere of lightning.
• Pikachu burst from the dust with a combined Lightning Sucker Punch and Energy-Charging Thunder Shock, narrowly missing Tang San and scorching his uniform.
• Tang San moved beneath Pikachu as it passed and reached for its back with his jade-colored palms.

Su Lin’s Pikachu defeated Tang San in a spar, and Tang San gave Su Lin a basic manual for Perplexing Track Step. Su Lin found that it lacked the internal cultivation methods and planned to adapt the footwork using lightning training.

• Tang San’s Mysterious Jade Hand was overwhelmed by Pikachu’s electricity, leaving him numb and vulnerable to Pikachu’s attack.
• Su Lin recalled Pikachu before it could strike Tang San, and the battle report awarded the Lightning Rat 15 experience points.
• Tang San accepted his defeat and gave Su Lin a Perplexing Track Step manual, asking him not to teach it to anyone except Xiao Wu.
• Tang San again urged Su Lin to study under his teacher, but Su Lin refused, and Tang San left.
• Su Lin examined the manual and found only footwork diagrams, then planned to strengthen his legs and meridians with lightning to develop the technique further.

Su Lin decided to leave Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy with Xiao Wu and travel to Wealth Village, seeking greater combat experience and avoiding Yu Xiaogang and Tang San. Principal Jiang granted them early completion certificates, and the two arrived at Wealth Village in the evening.

• Su Lin suggested that he and Xiao Wu go to the Soul Hunting Forest, then decided to request permission to leave the academy and replenish supplies at Wealth Village.
• Su Lin told Principal Jiang that he had completed the academy’s coursework and planned to leave; Principal Jiang gave him an early completion certificate.
• Su Lin explained that Xiao Wu was leaving with him, and Principal Jiang prepared a second completion certificate for her.
• Su Lin and Xiao Wu boarded an academy carriage and left Nuoding City for Wealth Village.
• The carriage reached Wealth Village in the evening, where Grant was waiting to greet them.

Su Lin and Xiao Wu asked to spend six months training in the Soul Hunting Forest, and Grant agreed only after arranging a guarded base in nearby Rhode Town. The next morning, Grant prepared a large expedition and introduced Sean, his rank twenty-seven Battle Soul Master, as the team leader.

• Su Lin told Grant that his Martial Soul grew stronger through battle, explaining why he wanted to train in the Soul Hunting Forest; Xiao Wu realized he had been using her as a sparring partner.
• Grant rejected the idea of hiring unfamiliar Soul Masters and arranged for Su Lin and Xiao Wu to stay in Rhode Town and take his trusted personal guards into the forest.
• Su Lin and Xiao Wu thanked Grant, then walked through the village before returning to their rooms for the night.
• The next morning, Grant showed them a lavish carriage, five supply carts, and twelve veteran guards prepared for the journey.
• Grant introduced his guard captain Sean as a rank twenty-seven Battle Soul Master with an Iron-Spined Cheetah Martial Soul, and named him leader of the team.