Chapter Summaries

Lin Yan and his companions attended the Heaven Dou Auction House’s quarterly auction, where they watched the bidding and bought a few items while waiting for their targets. Lin Yan tried to win soul-warming jade but gave up when a mysterious guest in a private box drove the price to five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

• Lin Yan, Lei En, Ling Ren, Ji Qiu, and Su Yun took their seats in the crowded auction hall and resolved to bid carefully.
• Luo Su opened the auction, and a thin Soul Master bought the Gale Twin Blades for nine hundred Gold Soul Coins.
• Lei En won thick earth crystal for twelve hundred Gold Soul Coins, and Su Yun bought calming heart grass for eight hundred.
• Lin Yan bid on soul-warming jade, raising his offer to four thousand Gold Soul Coins before a guest in a private box bid forty-five hundred.
• Lin Yan followed with a bid of forty-seven hundred, but withdrew when the guest offered five thousand, leaving the mysterious bidder to win the jade.

Lin Yan won the spirit-clearing spring and thousand-year blood ginseng at the auction, spending heavily to secure both. With his funds depleted and the auction over, he planned to collect his purchases and leave quickly, wary of the rival bidder who had challenged him twice.

• Lin Yan outbid a rival for the spirit-clearing spring, securing the three drops for nine thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Lin Yan waited through the auction’s other lots while the flame saber and incomplete Class 5 Defensive Soul Tool sold for high prices.
• Bidders drove the price of the thousand-year blood ginseng above thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, and Lin Yan won it with a bid of fifty thousand.
• Lin Yan watched as a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone fragment and suspected Titled Douluo cultivation insights sold beyond his means.
• After Luo Su ended the auction, Lin Yan prepared to collect his items and leave, uneasy about the rival who had bid against him.

After collecting his auction purchases, Lin Yan suspected the wealthy young bidder and his Soul King attendant might target him, so he returned to the inn cautiously and tested the Spirit-Clearing Spring. He left Fasinuo City at dawn, only to sense two faint presences following him.

• Lin Yan handed over fifty-nine thousand Gold Soul Coins and stored the Spirit-Clearing Spring and thousand-year Blood Ginseng, while Lei En and his companions collected their own winnings.
• Lin Yan recognized the hostile young man who had bid against him and hurried away with Lei En and the others before declining Su Yun’s offer to escort him.
• Lin Yan took a drop of Spirit-Clearing Spring, gaining clarity and new insights into Withering and Flourishing Intent, then kept watch through the night rather than using his treasures further.
• Lin Yan paid his bill at the Clear Spring Inn and left Fasinuo City on foot early the next morning.
• Near the city gate, Lin Yan sensed two faint presences following him from a distance.

Lin Yan was pursued through the woods by two Soul Elders seeking the thousand-year Blood Ginseng and Spirit-Clearing Spring he had bought at auction. He ambushed and killed them, then concealed himself and headed deeper into the forest to find a safer route back to Nuoding City.

• Lin Yan noticed two trackers following him and used a merchant caravan to conceal his movements before slipping into the woods.
• The two men chased Lin Yan and demanded that he hand over the thousand-year Blood Ginseng and Spirit-Clearing Spring.
• Lin Yan lured the trackers into dim woodland and secretly restrained them with concealed Blue Silver Grass.
• Lin Yan used the Tai Chi Sword Technique to kill the scar-faced Soul Elder and then the tall, thin Soul Elder.
• After masking his presence with Illusory Color Concealment, Lin Yan went deeper into the forest to plan a safe route back to Nuoding City.

Lin Yan fled through the forest after killing two Soul Elders, but the effeminate man from the auction tracked him with his Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul and caught up with a stronger group. Lin Yan realized they were following his scent, but an attacking Soul Ancestor forced him into a clash that left him injured.

• The effeminate man arrived at the battle site, found his two dead subordinates, and pursued Lin Yan with three companions.
• Lin Yan hid in an ancient tree using Illusory Color Concealment, but the effeminate man located him with his Scent Tracking Soul Skill and a Soul Ancestor blasted the tree.
• Lin Yan escaped while two Soul Ancestors pursued him, and he realized the Wind-Chasing Dog was tracking his scent rather than his appearance or Soul Power.
• The lean Soul Ancestor caught up and attacked Lin Yan, who used the Yield principle of the Tai Chi Sword Technique to deflect the strike but was injured by the Soul Ancestor's strength.

Lin Yan escaped the effeminate man's pursuers by diving into a river, which erased his scent trail. He recovered on the far bank and decided to avoid Nuoding City while seeking a safe place to absorb the thousand-year blood ginseng.

• Lin Yan fought off the two Soul Ancestors long enough to flee toward a river, using iron caltrops to slow the lean Soul Ancestor.
• As the lean Soul Ancestor nearly struck him, Lin Yan plunged into the river and escaped downstream.
• The effeminate man lost Lin Yan's scent at the riverbank and ordered his men to investigate Lin Yan's identity and origins.
• Lin Yan crawled ashore several li downstream, treated his wounds, and assessed his depleted strength.
• Lin Yan decided not to return to Nuoding City and disappeared into the mountain forest to recover and find a safe place to absorb the thousand-year blood ginseng.

Lin Yan found a concealed cave behind a waterfall and used it to hide from the pursuers who had tracked him with a Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul. Injured and depleted, he began recovering with a tiny piece of thousand-year Blood Ginseng, determined to regain his strength before returning to Nuoding City or facing further danger.

• Lin Yan discovered a narrow cave behind vines beside a waterfall and concealed his entrance.
• Lin Yan changed into dry clothes, lit a small fire, and meditated until his Soul Power recovered to about sixty percent.
• Lin Yan realized that the effeminate man had tracked him with the Wind-Chasing Dog Martial Soul's Scent Tracking Soul Skill and decided not to return to Nuoding City.
• Lin Yan took a tiny rootlet from the thousand-year Blood Ginseng and felt it replenish his Soul Power and aid his healing.
• Lin Yan put away the Blood Ginseng and resumed deep meditation to recover before consuming more.

Lin Yan consumed the thousand-year blood ginseng and endured its overwhelming power as his Martial Soul helped him absorb it. After his body and Soul Power were reforged, he reached the level-twenty bottleneck and prepared to obtain his Second Soul Ring.

• Lin Yan recovered in the cave, then cautiously ate a small piece of the thousand-year blood ginseng.
• The ginseng's violent energy threatened to tear apart Lin Yan's body, but his Martial Soul emerged and drew in the excess power.
• Lin Yan's meridians, bones, muscles, and organs were strengthened as his Soul Power climbed to level twenty.
• Lin Yan ate the remaining blood ginseng and spent more than half a day absorbing its potency.
• Lin Yan tested his newfound strength, saw that his injuries had healed, and decided it was time to obtain his Second Soul Ring.

Lin Yan searched the Star Dou Great Forest for five-thousand-year Undying Grass as a second Soul Ring, but instead discovered an unusually old Heart-Healing Grass beside a mysterious cold pool. He chose the roughly four-thousand-five-hundred-year Soul Beast as his target, leaving the story with him preparing to pursue it.

• Lin Yan traveled alone into the Star Dou Great Forest to search for Undying Grass, hoping to gain a healing or recovery Soul Skill.
• After days of searching, Lin Yan sensed an unnatural chill deep in the forest and cautiously followed it.
• Lin Yan found a dark-blue cold pool that had frozen the surrounding clearing and noticed a crystal-blue plant growing at its edge.
• Lin Yan identified the plant as Heart-Healing Grass and estimated that it was at least four thousand five hundred years old.
• Lin Yan decided to pursue the Heart-Healing Grass for his second Soul Ring, judging its healing abilities and age nearly ideal.

Lin Yan hunted the four-thousand-five-hundred-year-old Heart-Healing Grass and defeated it after surviving its freezing counterattack with the Tai Chi Sword Technique. Injured and weakened, he prepared to absorb the purple soul ring that appeared above its remains.

• Lin Yan observed the Heart-Healing Grass and devised a plan to distract it with concealed Blue Silver Grass while approaching under Illusory Color Concealment.
• Lin Yan drew the Heart-Healing Grass's ice needles toward the Blue Silver Grass, then circled in to attack its roots.
• The Heart-Healing Grass released a powerful freezing ring, and Lin Yan used the Tai Chi Sword Technique to deflect most of it, though it froze his left shoulder and arm.
• Lin Yan struck the Heart-Healing Grass's roots while it was weakened, killing it and causing a purple soul ring to appear; his four-year-old sword broke in the fight.
• Lin Yan melted the ice on his shoulder, rested briefly, and prepared to absorb his second soul ring.

Lin Yan endured and absorbed a 4,500-year Heart-Healing Grass Soul Ring, breaking through to the peak of rank twenty-three and evolving his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. He tested his new Soul Skill, Scale-Leaf Light Rain, and discovered that he had gained resistance to ice.

• Lin Yan used the Supreme Purity Breathing Technique and Tai Chi-like guidance to survive the Heart-Healing Grass Soul Ring's violent clash of ice and vitality.
• The ring's power healed Lin Yan's injuries, strengthened his meridians, and raised his Soul Power from rank twenty to the peak of rank twenty-three.
• Lin Yan's Blue Silver Grass evolved, gaining silver-accented, scale-like leaves and a healing presence.
• Lin Yan tested his Second Soul Skill, Scale-Leaf Light Rain, which slowed and steadily damaged targets across an area with icy, corrosive scales.
• Lin Yan found that cold water no longer troubled him and realized his Soul Power had gained resistance to ice-element attacks.

After absorbing the Heart-Healing Grass’s Soul Ring, Lin Yan explored the mysterious frigid pool but turned back when its extreme cold threatened his life. He left the Star Dou Great Forest determined to return once he was strong enough to uncover the pool’s secret.

• Lin Yan examined the frigid pool and decided his new resistance to ice gave him a chance to investigate it.
• Lin Yan dove into the pool and descended through increasingly cold, dark water, searching for the source of the chill.
• As the cold and pressure overwhelmed him and his Soul Power dwindled, Lin Yan abandoned his descent and swam back to the surface.
• Lin Yan recovered beside the pool, resolved to return when he was stronger, then headed toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Lin Yan returned to Nuoding City and learned that a newly formed Medicinal Herbs Guild had tried to force the Hundred Herbs Shop to close, but Master Ma Xiunuo intervened on Spirit Hall’s behalf. Lin Yan thanked Ma Xiunuo and proposed quickly expanding their partnership by opening more medicine shops, leaving the plan awaiting approval from higher-level Spirit Hall.

• Lin Yan returned to the Hundred Herbs Shop and learned that the Medicinal Herbs Guild had accused it of selling fake medicine and brought city guards to shut it down.
• Uncle Zhang and Brother Li told Lin Yan that Master Ma Xiunuo had stopped the guild and guards by invoking Spirit Hall’s protection.
• Lin Yan suspected the guild’s actions were arranged by the effeminate man who had investigated him and assured the shop assistants he would handle the matter.
• Lin Yan visited Master Ma Xiunuo, thanked him for protecting the shop, and discussed accelerating their business partnership.
• Lin Yan proposed training Spirit Hall staff to prepare medicines and opening new shops quickly, and Ma Xiunuo agreed to report the plan to higher-level Spirit Hall.

Lin Yan spent three years stabilizing his cultivation, training pharmacists, and expanding Hundred Herbs Hall with Spirit Hall, while his Soul Power rose to level twenty-nine. Unable to break through to level thirty, he decided to give himself two more months before pursuing the Immortal Herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

• Lin Yan stabilized his level twenty-three Soul Power and partnered with Spirit Hall to open Hundred Herbs Hall in Nuoding City.
• Lin Yan trained the first group of ten students to prepare basic potions, then resumed cultivating once their training was nearly complete.
• Over the next three years, Lin Yan advanced to the peak of level twenty-nine but could not break through to level thirty, which he blamed on the limitations of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
• Lin Yan decided to wait two more months before planning to obtain the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, the Infernal Delicate Apricot, and the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
• Hundred Herbs Hall expanded across many cities, and Lin Yan accumulated more than one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

After failing to break through rank thirty, Lin Yan planned to seek immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well by using Crown Prince Xue Qinghe to gain entry to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and approach Dugu Yan. He traveled from Nuoding City to Heaven Dou City, where he arrived ready to pursue that plan.

• Lin Yan spent two months trying to break through rank thirty but remained bottlenecked by his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
• Lin Yan decided to pursue immortal herbs at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and planned to approach Dugu Bo through Dugu Yan at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Lin Yan chose to seek Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's help, believing his Soul Master talent and Hundred Herbs Hall would make him valuable to the crown prince.
• Lin Yan packed supplies and traveled north from Nuoding City, checking Hundred Herbs Hall branches and training against low-level Soul Beasts along the way.
• After nearly a month on the road, Lin Yan reached Heaven Dou City.

Lin Yan visited Xue Qinghe at the crown prince’s residence and offered a curved-shaft plow in exchange for a recommendation to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Xue Qinghe agreed to seek a place for him if the plow proved as effective as Lin Yan claimed.

• Lin Yan arrived at the crown prince’s residence and requested an audience with Xue Qinghe.
• Xue Qinghe received Lin Yan and asked why he wanted to meet.
• Lin Yan asked Xue Qinghe to recommend him for admission to Heaven Dou Royal Academy despite not being a noble.
• Lin Yan presented drawings of a curved-shaft plow and explained how it could make farming more efficient.
• Xue Qinghe agreed to seek an academy place for Lin Yan if the plow’s effectiveness was confirmed.

Lin Yan revealed that he was a young Soul Grandmaster to persuade Xue Qinghe to accept his request to enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Xue Qinghe agreed to consider his admission after testing the curved-shaft plow, while secretly ordering Uncle Ying to investigate Lin Yan.

• Lin Yan revealed his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and two disguised yellow Soul Rings, shocking Xue Qinghe with his strength.
• Xue Qinghe judged Lin Yan qualified for Heaven Dou Royal Academy and promised to send word after testing the curved-shaft plow.
• After Lin Yan left, Xue Qinghe summoned Uncle Ying and ordered him to investigate Lin Yan thoroughly.
• Lin Yan left the residence relieved, planned to approach Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo after entering the academy, and slept soundly that night.

After the curved-shaft plow earned imperial praise, Lin Yan received a baronial title and permission to study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Xue Qinghe personally escorted him to enroll, where Lin Yan gave his age and the new name of his evolved Martial Soul.

• Xue Qinghe told Lin Yan that the curved-shaft plow had succeeded in testing and that the emperor had granted him the title of imperial baron and permission to attend Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
• Xue Qinghe offered to accompany Lin Yan to the academy, and Lin Yan accepted his invitation.
• During the carriage ride, Xue Qinghe asked Lin Yan about the city and his plans, and Lin Yan impressed him with his knowledge of commerce and cultivation.
• Xue Qinghe introduced Lin Yan to Meng Shenji, Bai Baoshan, and Zhi Lin, who welcomed him and agreed to oversee his instruction.
• During enrollment, Lin Yan stated that he was twelve and named his evolved Martial Soul Illusory Rainbow Ice Blue Silver Grass.

Lin Yan revealed his mutated Blue Silver Grass martial soul and rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster strength, impressing Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s commissioners and securing admission. Xue Qinghe, secretly Qian Renxue, remained suspicious of his transformation and resolved to investigate him, while Lin Yan planned to approach Dugu Yan.

• Lin Yan revealed his Illusory Rainbow Ice Blue Silver Grass and two soul rings, shocking the academy commissioners with his rank twenty-nine strength.
• Lin Yan explained that his martial soul had undergone a beneficial mutation and that he had spent years building his foundation.
• Meng Shenji and the other commissioners praised Lin Yan’s talent, and Xue Qinghe handed his admission arrangements to them.
• Qian Renxue recalled a report describing Lin Yan’s ordinary Blue Silver Grass and half-rank innate Soul Power, then decided to investigate his secrets discreetly.
• Lin Yan completed his admission to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and planned to find an opportunity to approach Dugu Yan.

Lin Yan built a cautious friendship with Ye Lingling through shared reading and discussions at Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s library. As Ye Lingling grew more comfortable with him, Dugu Yan gradually lowered her guard and began joining their conversations.

• Lin Yan abandoned his unsuccessful attempts to approach Dugu Yan directly and studied in Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s library, researching plant-type Soul Beasts, poisons, and pharmacology.
• Lin Yan and Ye Lingling reached for the same book about rare plant-type Soul Beasts, then agreed to read it together.
• Lin Yan discussed his Mutated Blue Silver Grass and shared insights about Soul Beasts, gradually drawing Ye Lingling into conversation.
• Lin Yan and Ye Lingling began meeting regularly in the library and became familiar through their exchanges about books, courses, and cultivation.
• Dugu Yan observed Lin Yan’s respectful friendship with Ye Lingling, lowered her wariness, and sometimes joined their conversations.