Chapter Summaries

Bao Liang awakened an explosive elemental Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power, destroying the orphanage's awakening room. An official invited him to the Hongchen residence to study Soul Tools, and Bao Liang eagerly set off for the place where he hoped to meet someone he had been thinking about.

• Bao Liang's Martial Soul erupted during his awakening, wrecking the room and part of the orphanage while leaving him unharmed.
• Su Haitao tested Bao Liang's Soul Power and discovered he had Innate Full Soul Power, then reported his Explosion Martial Soul to the Empire Soul Master Guild.
• An official arrived and identified Bao Liang's Martial Soul as an elemental type with controllable detonation.
• The official invited Bao Liang to the Hongchen residence to study as a Soul Engineer under Jing Hongchen's authority.
• Bao Liang left the orphanage in a Soul Tool vehicle, eager to reach the Hongchen residence and meet the person he had been thinking about.

Bao Liang wondered why Jing Hongchen’s household had summoned him after his explosive Martial Soul awakening, then recognized the siblings waiting at the Hongchen residence as the children who had eaten and never paid for his buns years earlier. As the girl ran toward him, Bao Liang focused on the older boy’s unpaid debt.

• Bao Liang rode to the Hongchen residence and learned that someone had specifically requested to see him after his awakening, which had earned him the nickname “Little Firecracker.”
• Bao Liang remembered how he had helped run a food stall at Hope Orphanage and once gave a hungry girl a meat bun.
• The girl’s older brother wrongly accused Bao Liang of bullying her, and Bao Liang and the orphanage children wrestled him to the ground.
• After learning about the misunderstanding, the siblings ate forty meat buns, and the boy left without paying Bao Liang.
• Bao Liang recognized the siblings as the children waiting at the Hongchen residence and glared at the boy for never repaying his debt.

Bao Liang reunited with Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen at the Hongchen residence, where he demanded repayment for buns he had bought three years earlier. Jing Hongchen intervened and brought everyone inside, while Bao Liang quietly reminded Xiao that he still owed him two thousand.

• Meng Hongchen greeted Bao Liang excitedly and hugged him, while Xiao Hongchen dressed up to welcome him.
• Bao Liang demanded two thousand from Xiao Hongchen for twenty meat buns, using an extravagant compound-interest calculation and claiming damages for mental anguish.
• Jing Hongchen came out of the residence and learned that Xiao Hongchen supposedly owed Bao Liang two thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Jing Hongchen told them to settle the matter inside, and Bao Liang followed while reminding Xiao Hongchen not to forget the debt.

Bao Liang revealed his Ultimate Flame Martial Soul and its two talents to Jing Hongchen and the Hongchen siblings, shocking them with their potential benefits to the Sun Moon Empire. He then revealed a second Ultimate Martial Soul, the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, leaving Jing Hongchen and his grandchildren stunned by its innate domain and talents.

• Jing Hongchen told Bao Liang that he had watched him for three years after Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen first met him.
• Bao Liang manifested his Explosion Martial Soul, and its Ultimate Flame attribute suppressed the Martial Souls of Jing Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen.
• Bao Liang explained that his Deflagration and Hot Core talents could amplify attacks, refine and compress Soul Power, strengthen his body, and possibly benefit other people.
• Jing Hongchen realized Hot Core could address major weaknesses among Soul Engineers, while Meng Hongchen excitedly embraced Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen retreated in dismay.
• Bao Liang warned them that he had another Martial Soul, and Jing Hongchen sealed the study behind a Soul Power barrier.
• Bao Liang transformed into the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, his second Ultimate Martial Soul, and revealed its Domination Domain and the talents Indomitable and Upward Assault.

Bao Liang revealed his powerful Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Martial Soul to Jing Hongchen, who took him into the Hongchen Clan and warned him to keep his abilities secret. After making plans to protect Bao Liang’s orphanage and prepare him for his first Soul Ring, the family showed him his new home.

• Bao Liang revealed that his Second Martial Soul was the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, with a Domination Domain, Ultimate Strength, and the talents Indomitable and Upward Assault.
• Jing Hongchen declared Bao Liang part of the Hongchen Clan, agreed to provide for him, and told him to conceal his Twin Martial Souls and Ultimate attributes.
• Bao Liang asked Jing Hongchen to look after the orphanage and its steamed bun shop, and Jing said he had already arranged protection for them.
• Jing Hongchen advised Bao Liang not to rush into obtaining a Soul Ring and said he would provide Whale Rubber and other resources to strengthen him first.
• Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen showed Bao Liang around the residence and led him to his new room and the kitchen.
• Bao Liang settled into his new home, grateful to have food, shelter, and the Hongchen family’s support.

At breakfast, Jing Hongchen explained that Bao Liang’s body could not yet support his two powerful Martial Souls, so he should delay obtaining a Soul Ring and focus on strengthening himself. Bao Liang also requested an adjustable-weight training Soul Tool and described the Soul Beast attributes he wanted for his first ring, leaving Jing Hongchen to consider whether Sun Moon had a suitable beast.

• Bao Liang enjoyed breakfast with Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Jing Hongchen, who told him that suitable high-quality Whale Rubber was scarce and his Soul Ring would have to wait.
• Bao Liang asked for a full-body training Soul Tool with adjustable weight and reported that his Explosion Martial Soul felt hard to control while his Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Martial Soul felt weak and hungry.
• Jing Hongchen deduced that Bao Liang’s young body and limited Qi and blood could not sustain both Ultimate Martial Souls, and advised him to build up his body before obtaining a Soul Ring.
• Meng Hongchen ordered more substantial food, while Xiao Hongchen fed Bao Liang as he ate a lavish meal.
• Bao Liang said he wanted a first Soul Ring from a high-quality Soul Beast with a primary Mental Attribute and secondary destruction attribute, then asked whether Sun Moon had one.

Jing Hongchen identified the Evil Eye Clan as a suitable source for Bao Liang’s First Soul Ring and planned to scout the Evil Demon Forest while Bao Liang recovered. After breakfast, Bao Liang felt at home with the Hongchen family, then teased Meng Hongchen and chased her through the courtyard.

• Bao Liang admitted he had no objection to leaving the search for a Soul Beast to Jing Hongchen.
• Jing Hongchen suggested an Evil Eye from the Evil Eye Clan because it could have primary Mental and secondary Destruction Attributes.
• Jing Hongchen said Bao Liang must recover first and planned to send people to scout the Evil Demon Forest while searching for backup candidates.
• Jing Hongchen told Bao Liang to rest at the residence, begin medicinal baths, and expect to travel to the Evil Demon Forest with him after recovering.
• Bao Liang thanked Jing Hongchen and felt at home; Meng Hongchen blushed when Bao Liang called himself Jing Hongchen’s chosen grandson-in-law, then ran as he chased her.

Bao Liang ate with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, then endured a day of study and medicinal training at the Hongchen Residence. Jing Hongchen kept Bao Liang’s Ultimate Martial Souls secret while arranging supplies and information for his development, and Bao Liang’s Martial Souls gradually grew stronger.

• Bao Liang ate a huge meal with Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, while Jing Hongchen left to handle his duties and arrange Whale Rubber, medicinal herbs, and scouts for the Evil Demon Forest.
• Jing Hongchen decided to conceal Bao Liang’s Ultimate Martial Souls from Kong Deming and the imperial family to protect him from unwanted attention.
• Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen presented Bao Liang with a stack of books to study before enrollment, and Bao Liang spent nearly the whole day learning about Soul Beasts, cultivation, and Soul Tools.
• Bao Liang studied the Evil Eye Clan and complained that the book’s illustrations looked too lifelike, while Meng Hongchen insisted he memorize the material.
• Bao Liang soaked in Jing Hongchen’s medicinal bath and meditated as its power nourished his Qi and blood and strengthened his Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff and Explosion Martial Souls.

After a month of intensive care and training, Bao Liang recovered and developed enough physical strength to safely absorb an unusually old First Soul Ring. Jing Hongchen took him to the Evil Demon Forest, where Bao Liang killed a weakened Evil Eye Tyrant and began absorbing its Soul Ring.

• Bao Liang followed a month-long routine of eating, studying, bathing in medicine, exercising, and cultivating until his health and strength improved dramatically.
• Jing Hongchen tested Bao Liang and found his physical strength had reached level thirty-two, then told him he could absorb a Soul Ring up to twenty-five hundred years old.
• Jing Hongchen revealed that he had chosen a twenty-five-hundred-year Evil Eye Tyrant for Bao Liang, and they set out to hunt it the next morning.
• Jing Hongchen quickly subdued the Evil Eye Tyrant with his Soul Cannons and Soul Power, then brought it to a cave for Bao Liang to finish off.
• Bao Liang used explosive stones to kill the Evil Eye Tyrant while Jing Hongchen held it down, then began absorbing its Soul Ring.

Bao Liang successfully absorbed a 2,500-year Soul Ring and gained an Evil Eye External Soul Bone, though Jing Hongchen nearly lost control of his greed when he recognized it. They returned to the Hongchen residence, where Meng Hongchen rushed past her grandfather to check on Bao Liang.

• Bao Liang struggled under the pressure of absorbing the Soul Ring until his Explosion Martial Soul helped him withstand it.
• Bao Liang’s right eye transformed, revealing an Evil Eye External Soul Bone, and he soon completed the absorption successfully.
• Jing Hongchen asked what Soul Skill Bao Liang had gained, but Bao Liang chose to reveal it later and asked to take the Evil Eye Tyrant’s corpse.
• Jing Hongchen stored the corpse and brought Bao Liang back toward the Hongchen residence.
• Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen waited for them, and Meng Hongchen ran past Jing Hongchen to check on Bao Liang when they arrived.

Bao Liang demonstrated the two abilities of his Killer Queen First Soul Skill and explained the powers of his True Eye of the Evil King External Soul Bone to Jing Hongchen and the Hongchen siblings. The training ground ended in laughter when Bao Liang chased Xiao Hongchen, threatening to make him experience the spiritual-training side effect.

• Bao Liang touched a bluestone and detonated it silently into powder with Killer Queen’s Destruction Bomb, explaining its precise, selective destruction and detonation methods.
• Bao Liang released Withering Heart Attack, which tracked a hot iron stake and blew it apart, then described how the automatic bomb worked and its limitations.
• Bao Liang told Jing Hongchen that his True Eye of the Evil King could remotely set and control bombs through spiritual commands, and that training his spiritual power made him temporarily act like a drooling idiot.
• Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen laughed at Bao Liang’s training side effect, so Bao Liang lunged at Xiao Hongchen to make him try it.
• Jing Hongchen watched Bao Liang, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen playfully bicker and smiled as the training ground filled with laughter.

Bao Liang received a five-hundred-kilogram full-body training Soul Tool and proposed using it to share the benefits of his ultimate talents with the Hongchen siblings. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen tried the boost, but they regretted it when night came.

• Jing Hongchen presented Bao Liang, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen with custom full-body training Soul Tools, and Bao Liang handled his five-hundred-kilogram suit with ease.
• Bao Liang explained that his Mental Power and Evil Eye External Soul Bone let him safely channel his ultimate talents, then suggested adding sealed energy-storage Soul Tools to share their cultivation benefits.
• Jing Hongchen agreed to have plans drawn up and a sample made after Bao Liang said he could bear the Soul Power cost.
• Bao Liang tested the talent boost on Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, whose Soul Power was purified and compressed as their cultivation accelerated.
• Jing Hongchen declined to try the boost because Bao Liang's Soul Power was too weak to sustain it for him, and Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen regretted enjoying the effects when night came.

Bao Liang trained Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen in a mental power method that heated their Seas of Consciousness until all three babbled like idiots. They woke with clearer minds and agreed to keep training, while Jing Hongchen watched with amusement and ordered a fence built around the training ground.

• Bao Liang explained that his True Eye of the Evil King let him share a mental power training method that roasted their Seas of Consciousness, and Xiao Hongchen reluctantly agreed to try it.
• Bao Liang, Meng Hongchen, and Xiao Hongchen trained until smoke rose from their heads and they began babbling and drooling, while Jing Hongchen watched from the covered walkway.
• Jing Hongchen laughed, then ordered his aide to fence off the training ground and post a sign barring unauthorized visitors.
• Bao Liang woke first and teased Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen, and Xiao Hongchen lunged at him before admitting the training had made his mind clearer.
• Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen agreed to continue training, then followed Bao Liang to the kitchen to get more meat buns.
• Jing Hongchen watched the three head off together and felt increasingly optimistic about the days ahead.

After two weeks of cultivation with Bao Liang’s Ultimate talent, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen’s bodies and Soul Power improved dramatically. Jing Hongchen’s examination revealed Bao Liang’s extraordinary physical strength and hinted at a painful secret concerning Meng, which Bao Liang noticed but did not ask about.

• Bao Liang, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen cultivated together for two weeks, growing closer as Bao Liang’s Ultimate talent tempered them.
• Jing Hongchen examined the three children and found Bao Liang at Soul Power level fourteen with physical strength at level forty, while Xiao had advanced two levels and Meng three.
• Jing Hongchen explained that Xiao and Meng benefited more because Bao Liang’s body was already accustomed to the tempering and their bodies absorbed its effects.
• Bao Liang wondered whether his Ultimate Flame could purify and strengthen materials for Soul Tools, but decided to wait until he had proof of the idea.
• Jing Hongchen called Meng very healthy, but Bao Liang noticed hidden heartache in his expression and chose not to question him.

Bao Liang learned from Jing Hongchen that Meng Hongchen’s cold poison could kill her before she turned twenty-five, and promised to find the Immortal Herbs needed to cure her. After overhearing them, Xiao Hongchen began cultivating desperately so he could protect his sister.

• Jing Hongchen told Bao Liang that Meng’s cold poison might keep her from living past twenty-five and that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well’s Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot could cure her.
• Jing Hongchen explained that his daily checks showed Bao Liang’s Ultimate Flame was burning away Meng’s cold poison and improving the children’s foundations.
• Bao Liang promised to obtain the two Immortal Herbs when he grew stronger, and Jing Hongchen agreed to trust him and provide whatever help he needed.
• Jing Hongchen revealed that he had learned about the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well from a Dugu Family descendant and promised to show Bao Liang the Immortal Herb Catalogue.
• Xiao Hongchen overheard the conversation and began cultivating through the night, determined to grow strong enough to protect Meng and help cure her.

Xiao Hongchen challenged Bao Liang to a Soul Fight so they could learn to fight as Soul Masters, and Jing Hongchen refereed their match. Bao Liang wore down Xiao’s equipment with stone bombs and a Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff, leaving Xiao to concede and promise a rematch.

• Xiao Hongchen asked Bao Liang to fight, and Jing Hongchen agreed that the three children should learn combat early.
• Jing Hongchen set the rules, and Xiao Hongchen laid out his Soul Guidance weapons while Bao Liang prepared to use stones as bombs.
• Bao Liang dodged Xiao Hongchen’s ray gun and repeatedly destroyed his equipment, including the gun, spear, and dagger.
• After Xiao Hongchen ran out of equipment, he conceded and vowed to fight Bao Liang again after remaking it.

Xiao Hongchen rapidly mastered Soul Tool theory and made three Level 2 Soul Cores, impressing Jing Hongchen. After Jing introduced Bao Liang to Ye Yulin’s legendary high-altitude Soul Tools, Bao Liang kept a new idea to himself for a future meeting.

• Xiao Hongchen stayed up night after night studying Soul Tool books while Bao Liang brought him hot soup.
• Xiao Hongchen showed Bao Liang and Meng Hongchen three hand-made Soul Cores for propulsion, flash bursts, and concussion blasts.
• Jing Hongchen gave Bao Liang the Immortal Herb Catalogue and then examined Xiao Hongchen’s cores, learning that Xiao had made them alone.
• Jing Hongchen praised Xiao Hongchen’s remarkable talent and described his friend Ye Yulin’s high-altitude Soul Tools, the Eye of Fear and the Sun Moon Divine Needle.
• Bao Liang wondered about Ye Yulin’s skill at fighting in the sky but decided to save his idea for when they met.

Jing Hongchen asked Xiao Hongchen, Bao Liang, and Meng Hongchen what kind of Soul Engineers they wanted to become, and Bao Liang proposed a poison-and-explosives strategy for Meng. The family confiscated Bao Liang’s dangerous books and made him listen to fairy tales, while Meng still had not chosen her path.

• Xiao Hongchen said he wanted to become a combat-oriented artillery Soul Engineer and continue the path his late father had begun.
• Bao Liang said he wanted to become an explosive-assault Soul Engineer who charged into enemies with bombs.
• Meng Hongchen admitted she had not chosen a Soul Engineer specialty, so Bao Liang suggested she learn high-altitude combat from Ye Yulin and combine it with her poison.
• Jing Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen were alarmed by Bao Liang’s plan, and Jing told Xiao to confiscate his dangerous belongings and books.
• Meng Hongchen kept Bao Liang in her room that night and read him fairy tales while Xiao Hongchen confiscated his explosion notes and books.

Bao Liang used a pitiful act to get Meng Hongchen to promise she would stop confiscating his books, then continued cultivating and studying Immortal Herbs. Meng Hongchen reached level twenty at age seven, and the chapter ended with Jing Hongchen cooking a celebratory dinner for the three children.

• Bao Liang pretended to be heartbroken over his confiscated books, tricking Meng Hongchen into promising not to take them away again, until Xiao Hongchen exposed his act.
• Meng Hongchen chased Bao Liang and gave him a few whacks, then softened and brought him back to the table for hot congee.
• Over the next half month, Bao Liang studied the Immortal Herb Catalogue and tempered his meridians with Ultimate Flame while Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen cultivated and studied Soul Tool books with him.
• With Bao Liang's help, Meng Hongchen broke through to level twenty at age seven, prompting a celebration at the Hongchen residence.
• Bao Liang suggested Meng Hongchen seek an area attack for her Second Soul Ring, and she eagerly agreed.
• Jing Hongchen promised Meng Hongchen three sugar figures, then cooked a special dinner that the three children ate together.

Meng Hongchen prepared to travel with Jing Hongchen to the Far North to obtain her second Soul Ring, while Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen worried over their weakness and resolved to become stronger. After they left, Bao Liang drew Xiao Hongchen into the laboratory to help finish a magnetic bomb.

• Jing Hongchen confirmed that Meng Hongchen could absorb a Soul Ring of up to thirteen hundred years and planned to seek a pair of Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toads in the Far North.
• Xiao Hongchen thanked Bao Liang for helping Meng Hongchen advance, and Bao Liang accepted a packet of pastries.
• Meng Hongchen and Jing Hongchen departed for the Far North as Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen saw them off and worried about the dangers of the journey.
• Xiao Hongchen said he would eventually travel to the Far North to learn the way for Meng, while he and Bao Liang agreed that they wanted to grow stronger to protect those important to them.
• Bao Liang invited Xiao Hongchen to help complete a magnetic bomb, and the two went to the laboratory while discussing their fear of death and mediocrity.