Recaps

Dong Jian broke through to level ten and qualified to absorb his First Soul Ring, but he chose to wait for Li Man to reach the same level so they could hunt together. Five days into their sparring, they rushed to the medicinal herb garden to rescue students from a Hundred-Year Wind Blade Bamboo Weasel.

• Dong Jian used repeated black-and-white Soul Power cycles under doubled gravity to shatter his level-nine barrier and reach level ten.
• A registration teacher told Dong Jian that the academy could arrange a Soul Hunt soon and that he did not need to wait for Li Man, who was still at level nine.
• Dong Jian told Li Man he would wait, and she agreed to reach level ten within seven days while they sparred.
• Over the next five days, Dong Jian practiced varied attacks while Li Man trained her Green Jade Bamboo control and close-combat distance.
• A Hundred-Year Wind Blade Bamboo Weasel escaped into the academy's medicinal herb garden, trapping lower-year students, and Li Man charged toward it with Dong Jian following.

Li Man fought off a hundred-year Wind Blade Bamboo Weasel in the academy’s medicinal garden and broke through to level ten. Two days later, the Soul Hunting team departed for the forest to find First Soul Rings for Li Man and Dong Jian.

• Li Man drew the Wind Blade Bamboo Weasel away from three trapped students while Dong Jian escorted them out and guarded the garden exit.
• Li Man used vibrations through her Green Jade Bamboo and a falling medicinal rack to outmaneuver and knock the injured Soul Beast back into its cage, where Dong Jian secured the door.
• Li Man’s Soul Power broke through its final barrier, raising her to level ten as her Green Jade Bamboo Martial Soul unfurled a new leaf.
• Two days later, Han Yue led the academy’s Soul Hunting team, and Tang San gave Dong Jian a guide to common Soul Beasts and advice on choosing a compatible First Soul Ring.
• Li Man told Xiao Wu she was considering a Green-Jointed Bamboo Snake for her First Soul Ring, and the team left Nuoding City for the Soul Hunting Forest.

Li Man and Dong Jian hunted a Green-Jointed Bamboo Snake, and Li Man absorbed its Soul Ring to gain her first Soul Skill, Green Bamboo Binding Formation. As they tested her new ability, a roughly 420-year-old Earth Savage Bear appeared, matching the first Soul Beast recommended for Dong Jian.

• Li Man identified a 380-to-400-year-old Green-Jointed Bamboo Snake as a suitable Soul Beast and led the hunt with Dong Jian.
• Li Man and Dong Jian worked together to wound and kill the snake, using bamboo vibrations, misdirection, and the bamboo's rebound force.
• Li Man absorbed the snake's Yellow Soul Ring and overcame its residual will, reaching level eleven.
• Li Man gained Green Bamboo Binding Formation, which could restrain enemies, redirect movement, and launch teammates.
• An Earth Savage Bear appeared, and Han Yue estimated its age at nearly 420 years.

Dong Jian fought and killed a 420-year-old Earth Savage Bear, then absorbed its Soul Ring and reached level eleven with the Bear Astral Energy Body Protection skill. He and Li Man left Iron Bamboo Village as fellow level-eleven Soul Masters, with Tang San and Xiao Wu awaiting their return to the academy.

• Dong Jian chose the Earth Savage Bear near the upper limit for a First Soul Ring, and Han Yue kept a rival team from claiming it.
• Dong Jian and Li Man worked together to topple the bear, exploit its injured hind leg, and kill it before the He Clan team could interfere.
• Dong Jian absorbed the bear's Soul Ring, balanced its power with his black-and-white Soul Power and green life energy, and endured the bear's residual will.
• Dong Jian reached level eleven and gained the First Soul Skill Bear Astral Energy Body Protection.
• Dong Jian and Li Man left Iron Bamboo Village with their First Soul Rings and prepared to reunite with Tang San and Xiao Wu at the academy.

Dong Jian and Li Man tested their new Soul Skills in a two-on-two battle against Tang San and Xiao Wu, ending without a clear winner but revealing how their abilities worked together. The next day, Dong Jian and Li Man signed up to escort a medicinal herb caravan outside Nuoding City for practical combat experience.

• Dong Jian and Li Man returned to Dorm Seven with Yellow Soul Rings, bringing the dormitory’s number of Soul Masters to four.
• Dong Jian and Li Man teamed up against Tang San and Xiao Wu to test their new Soul Skills in a two-on-two battle.
• Li Man used Green Bamboo Binding Formation to redirect movement and create openings, while Dong Jian broke through Tang San’s Blue Silver Entanglement and attacked at close range.
• Yu Xiaogang judged that Dong Jian and Li Man had a slight advantage, but the battle ended without a clear winner.
• The academy assigned students to escort a medicinal herb caravan to an estate north of Nuoding City, and Dong Jian and Li Man signed up.

Dong Jian and Li Man developed Green Bamboo Borrowing Momentum and used it to hold Tang San and Xiao Wu to a draw in another sparring match. When they set out on their first real mission, Li Man sensed at least six people ambushing their caravan in a northern canyon.

• Dong Jian and Li Man refined their bamboo-assisted attacks into a coordinated technique they named Green Bamboo Borrowing Momentum.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu challenged Dong Jian and Li Man to another two-on-two fight, and the new technique helped the pair counter their opponents throughout the battle.
• The four fighters stopped after both sides secured a near-victory, leaving the match without a clear winner.
• Dong Jian and Li Man joined a teacher and a caravan carrying medicinal herbs for their first real combat mission.
• Li Man detected at least six people lying in wait on both sides of the road in the northern canyon.

Dong Jian and Li Man protected a medicinal herb convoy from an ambush and helped their teacher defeat the attackers. The herbs arrived safely, but a bloodstained cloth bearing clues to a possible connection with the Return to One Society disappeared from the academy infirmary.

• Dong Jian and Li Man fought off the ordinary bandits while keeping the wagons protected, then helped their teacher defeat the Soul Masters.
• Li Man found abnormal black veins on the Black-Backed Dog Soul Master's arm and gave their teacher a bloodstained piece of his clothing for examination.
• The convoy delivered the herbs safely, and the teacher praised Dong Jian and Li Man for coordinating their judgments under pressure.
• Dong Jian's Soul Power moved closer to level twelve, and Li Man found her control over the Green Bamboo Binding Formation had improved.
• The bloodstained cloth disappeared from the academy infirmary the day after it was delivered.

Dong Jian, Li Man, Tang San, and Xiao Wu fought a Mutated Soul Beast linked to the Return to One Society and protected an injured driver by combining their abilities. After the battle, Dong Jian and Li Man grew stronger, and the four agreed to pursue new rivalries at the annual assessment.

• Li Man and Dong Jian decided to postpone investigating the missing blood samples until they were strong enough to catch the culprit.
• During a wilderness course, the students encountered an injured driver and a Mutated Soul Beast with traits from several Soul Beasts.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, Li Man, and Dong Jian coordinated their attacks to exploit the creature’s unstable strength and protect the driver when it self-destructed.
• Li Man found a metal plaque bearing the Return to One Society’s emblem and handed it to the teacher, who said the academy would turn it over to the Spirit Hall.
• Dong Jian reached level twelve, Li Man reached the peak of level eleven, and Tang San and Xiao Wu arranged future one-on-one matches with them.

Li Man tested Green Bamboo Rebound against Xiao Wu, using a single bamboo shadow and the Green Jade Bamboo as footholds until she broke through to level twelve. With Nuoding Academy’s annual assessment roster announced, she resolved to qualify for the individual top eight and challenge Tang San and Xiao Wu.

• Li Man explained the weaknesses of her Green Bamboo Binding Formation and used one bamboo shadow to develop Green Bamboo Rebound against Xiao Wu.
• Xiao Wu attacked Li Man’s foothold, but Li Man dismissed the bamboo shadow, used the Green Jade Bamboo to create another foothold, and eventually countered Xiao Wu’s Waist Bow; they drew again.
• The intense fight pushed Li Man through the level-eleven barrier, and after half an hour of cultivation she reached level twelve.
• Dong Jian congratulated Li Man and said he had watched the fight without interfering because it was her own battle.
• Li Man told Dong Jian that the annual assessment roster had been announced, with registration open and the draw set for three days later.
• After learning the individual top eight would represent Nuoding Academy in the Nuoding City Junior Academies Joint Combat Tournament, Li Man resolved to qualify through her own strength and challenge Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Dong Jian and Li Man won their first two matches in Nuoding Academy's annual assessment through tactical fighting and advanced to the top eight alongside Tang San and Xiao Wu. The draw matched Dong Jian against Xiao Wu and Li Man against Tang San, setting up the next round.

• Dong Jian defeated Zhou Yan by redirecting his charge and using Mountain-Leaning Collision to send him across the boundary.
• Li Man defeated the Fire Sparrow Soul Master by exploiting the timing of his wing movements and knocking him from the air with her Green Jade Bamboo.
• Dong Jian and Li Man each won their second-round matches against an agility Soul Master and a spear Soul Master, respectively.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu also advanced, and the draw paired Dong Jian with Xiao Wu and Li Man with Tang San.
• Xiao Wu looked forward to settling the score, while Li Man refused to switch opponents with Dong Jian because she also wanted to challenge Tang San.

Li Man lost to Tang San after exposing weaknesses in her bamboo formation, while Xiao Wu defeated Dong Jian in a close match. The semifinal lineup then gave Dong Jian an extra challenge against Tang San, whom he resolved to beat for himself.

• Li Man used Green Bamboo Rebound and Green Bamboo Binding Formation to challenge Tang San, but he trapped her with Blue Silver Grass and won after she admitted defeat.
• Li Man identified how Tang San used Blue Silver Grass seeds to exploit her formation’s fixed nodes and resolved to address the weakness.
• Xiao Wu defeated Dong Jian by using Waist Bow to send him beyond the arena boundary first.
• Dong Jian and Li Man both lost their individual matches, but each recognized weaknesses in their opponents.
• After a student withdrew due to injury, Dong Jian received an additional challenge against Tang San and said he wanted to beat him himself.

Dong Jian defeated Tang San in a solo spar by breaking Blue Silver Entanglement and using a predicted landing point to send Tang San out of bounds. After the academy selected Dong Jian and Li Man for the Nuoding City Junior Two-Soul-Master Tournament, Tang San promised to compete with Dong Jian again.

• Dong Jian dodged Tang San's probing Blue Silver Grass and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track attacks before Tang San trapped him with Blue Silver Entanglement.
• Dong Jian used changing weight, Bear Astral Energy Body Protection, and a brief pause in Soul Power transmission to break the entanglement.
• Dong Jian read Tang San's Hidden Weapons and predicted one of his landing points, then struck him with Mountain-Leaning Collision and forced him out of bounds.
• Tang San accepted his defeat, while Li Man treated Dong Jian's poisoned arms and vowed to defeat Tang San herself next time.
• The academy selected Dong Jian and Li Man for the Nuoding City Junior Two-Soul-Master Tournament, scheduled for three months later.

Li Man defeated Xiao Wu in a rematch by adapting Green Bamboo Rebound to counter Waist Bow and control Xiao Wu’s movements. Afterward, Li Man and Dong Jian prepared for the city’s two-Soul-Master competition, where they could face opponents as high as level fifteen.

• Li Man challenged Xiao Wu to a rematch, and they agreed that whoever fell first or admitted defeat would lose.
• Xiao Wu used Waist Bow and attacked Li Man’s anchor points, but Li Man used her Green Jade Bamboo to create an anchor while airborne and escape the throw.
• Li Man expanded Green Bamboo Binding Formation across the bamboo grove, controlling Xiao Wu’s landing spots as Xiao Wu bent a bamboo vine to charge at her.
• Li Man used a bamboo vine’s rebound force to disrupt Xiao Wu’s balance, then deflected Xiao Wu’s kick and struck her shoulder, leaving her on one knee.
• Xiao Wu accepted the loss but vowed to snatch Li Man’s Martial Soul next time, while Tang San reviewed her final Waist Bow and Dong Jian congratulated Li Man.
• Dong Jian said he and Li Man needed to prepare for the city’s two-Soul-Master competition, where opponents could be as high as level fifteen; Li Man was near level thirteen after the battle.

Dong Jian and Li Man competed in the Nuoding City Junior Academy Joint Combat Tournament and defeated three teams through coordinated tactics. They reached the finals, where the Gale Twins awaited them with a speed-based challenge.

• Dong Jian and Li Man registered as rank-thirteen Soul Masters, while Tang San and Xiao Wu sat out the tournament.
• Dong Jian and Li Man defeated Black Rock Junior Soul Master Academy by disrupting the Gale Eagle’s flight and combining their attacks against the Iron Armored Rhinoceros.
• Dong Jian and Li Man adapted their bamboo formation to beat a pair of water-attribute control Soul Masters in the second round.
• Li Man read the Ice Mirror and Fire Mirror twins’ attacks while Dong Jian broke their energy mirror, sending Nuoding Academy into the finals.
• The Gale Twins challenged Dong Jian and Li Man’s ability to counter their speed, and Li Man promised they would see the result in the final.

Dong Jian and Li Man defeated the Gale Twins to win first place in Nuoding City's junior division two-Soul-Master combat tournament. After Tang San and Xiao Wu congratulated them, Dong Jian and Li Man discovered that both the Divine Dragon Secret Realm and Li Man's Martial Soul pointed toward Dragon Spine Valley, giving them a shared goal for their Second Soul Rings.

• Dong Jian and Li Man used their teamwork, bamboo shadows, and Dong Jian's defensive Soul Skill to defeat the Gale Twins and win the tournament.
• Dong Jian and Li Man received Nuoding Academy's medals and returned to find Tang San and Xiao Wu waiting; Tang San and Xiao Wu had both reached level fourteen.
• Dong Jian entered the Divine Dragon Secret Realm, where the second-stage objective required him to reach level twenty and complete one hundred valid battles; the stele recommended Dragon Spine Valley for his Second Soul Ring.
• Li Man's Green Jade Bamboo revealed a map leading to Dragon Spine Valley, and she brought it to Dong Jian the next morning.
• Dong Jian and Li Man compared their maps and found their routes matched, suggesting Dragon Spine Valley might hold suitable Soul Beasts and something connected to both their Martial Souls.

Dong Jian and Li Man challenged Yu Xiaogang’s rigid advice about their future Soul Rings, insisting they would make their own choices and would not have him lead their hunts. That night, Dong Jian entered the Divine Dragon Secret Realm and faced a trial that showed him defense alone was not enough.

• Yu Xiaogang confirmed that Dragon Spine Valley existed and advised Dong Jian to strengthen his defense and Li Man to focus exclusively on control.
• Li Man questioned Yu Xiaogang’s evidence and argued that her Green Jade Bamboo could combine battlefield control with attacks.
• Dong Jian and Li Man rejected Yu Xiaogang’s demand that they follow his path, and Dong Jian said they had not planned to have him lead their Soul Hunt.
• Xiao Wu followed Dong Jian and Li Man out, then heard Dong Jian explain that a Soul Hunting leader needed to protect the team in the field.
• Dong Jian entered the Hundred Battles Hall, where the second-stage trial required one hundred valid battles before age twelve and recorded seven completed.
• A level-fifteen Agility Attack System mirror image struck Dong Jian down in ten moves, and the trial warned him that defense meant more than taking a beating.

One year after beginning field missions, Dong Jian and Li Man used their developing techniques to drive Gale Pufferfish away from a village without injuries, then clashed with Yu Xiaogang over the risks of their training. Dong Jian defeated a Hundred Battles Hall mirror image, while a hooded observer began a second phase of testing and three strange figures appeared in the woods.

• Dong Jian and Li Man coordinated their Light-Body Bear Steps and moving Green Bamboo Binding Formation to herd seven Gale Pufferfish back into the woods and complete the village mission.
• Dong Jian and Li Man recorded the strain and limits of their techniques, while the supervising teacher praised their coordination and confirmed the mission as a valid battle.
• Yu Xiaogang warned Dong Jian to stop practicing Light-Body Bear Steps and questioned Li Man's moving formation cores, but both students chose to continue while monitoring the risks.
• Dong Jian defeated the level-fifteen agility-attack mirror image in the Hundred Battles Hall, raising his effective battle count to twenty-four.
• A hooded man recorded observations of Dong Jian and Li Man's techniques and declared that the second phase of testing could begin, as three black-veined figures emerged deeper in the woods.

During an off-campus mission, Dong Jian, Li Man, and Yan Feng were ambushed by Return to One Society testers who had studied the students’ battle records and tried to record their Soul Skills. The students adapted, destroyed the recording array, and captured two enemies, but Mo Lin remained interested in Dong Jian as Number Zero and in whether Li Man was the key.

• Yan Feng led Dong Jian and Li Man into the abandoned mine, where they found signs of a battle and were trapped by three masked testers.
• Li Man identified the image-recording crystals and warned that the testers planned to record their Soul Skills before collapsing the mine.
• Dong Jian and Li Man adapted their fighting styles, destroyed the recording array, and helped Yan Feng capture the underground tester and the slime Soul Master while the sonic tester escaped.
• Dong Jian and Li Man broke through to level eighteen, and Yan Feng ordered them to turn the prisoners and evidence over to Spirit Hall.
• The escaped tester reported to Mo Lin, who decided to let Number Zero continue growing and investigate whether Li Man was the key.
• A heavy pounding sounded from behind a black-cloth-covered iron door in Mo Lin’s chamber.

Dong Jian and Li Man were injured when their new training methods exceeded their bodies’ limits, then agreed to set safeguards while continuing to develop their abilities. Dong Jian entered a new Body Refining Hall trial, while Li Man’s Green Jade Bamboo responded to a mysterious key linked to Dragon Spine Valley, watched by a hidden observer.

• Dong Jian defeated the Rock Ox mirror image in the Hundred Battles Hall, but his own increased weight caused tiny cracks in his right tibia and compressed his meridians.
• A healing teacher ordered Dong Jian to stop high-intensity training, and Li Man argued with him about whether he should keep training other parts of his body.
• Li Man’s seven-point formation training caused her to lose consciousness and accidentally fling the injured Dong Jian into a stone wall, worsening his fracture.
• Dong Jian and Li Man agreed on limits for their training and gave each other permission to stop a session if the other’s condition became dangerous.
• Yu Xiaogang advised them to abandon their complicated new techniques, but Dong Jian and Li Man chose to adapt their methods instead.
• Dong Jian entered the Mountain-Bearing Walk trial in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm, while Li Man’s Green Jade Bamboo revealed a message about a key awakening after level eighteen; a black-clad observer recorded that the key had responded.

Dong Jian and Li Man spent six months developing Sinking Body Stance and a three-layer bamboo formation, then Tang San defeated Dong Jian in a spar despite his improved stability. Li Man sensed a connection between Green Jade Bamboo and Dragon Spine Valley, while a Soul Beast flight toward Nuoding City prompted the Hundred Battles Hall to turn Dong Jian’s trial into a real battlefield test.

• Dong Jian learned to transfer shifting weight through his whole body and into the ground, eventually reaching the fifteenth step of Mountain-Bearing Walk without aggravating his old injury.
• Li Man refined her Green Bamboo Binding Formation into three layers, and she and Dong Jian adopted careful training limits and regular physical checks.
• Over the next six months, Dong Jian reached the thirty-third step and developed Sinking Body Stance, while Li Man continued to struggle with a brief pause when switching formation layers.
• Tang San defeated Dong Jian in a spar by exploiting the limits of Sinking Body Stance, but Dong Jian remained uninjured and argued that the training had prepared him to withstand greater forces.
• Li Man received a clearer call from Dragon Spine Valley and saw a golden bamboo grove, suggesting that a power there shared Green Jade Bamboo’s origin and was waiting for her.
• Soul Beasts fled south from the mountains north of Nuoding City, and the Hundred Battles Hall changed Dong Jian’s trial to bearing the load on a real battlefield as black smoke and an unfamiliar roar rose from the forest.

Yan Feng and his students redirected a fleeing herd of Soul Beasts and rescued Qinghe Village, where Dong Jian and Li Man both advanced to level nineteen. They destroyed the devices controlling a Fusion Soul Beast, but Dong Jian absorbed a contaminated black key fragment as another, more powerful experimental subject roared deeper in the forest.

• Yan Feng led Tang San, Li Man, Xiao Wu, and Dong Jian to Qinghe Village, where they guided the migrating Soul Beasts away and evacuated the villagers.
• Dong Jian held off a nearly thousand-year-old Rock-Backed Rhinoceros for four charges until the last carriage escaped, advancing to level nineteen; Li Man also reached level nineteen while managing the evacuation.
• Yan Feng's group joined Gao Yan in destroying the devices controlling a Fusion Soul Beast, which then self-destructed.
• A black crystal entered Dong Jian and was sealed by the Hundred Battles Hall stele as a contaminated foreign key fragment; Li Man sensed something unusual, and Dong Jian told her the Divine Dragon Secret Realm had reacted.
• Gao Yan found a metal plaque bearing the Return to One Society's mark, while a deeper roar revealed another, more powerful experimental subject remained in the mountain forest.

Dong Jian and the others reviewed the Qinghe Village mission, where Yan Feng distinguished Dong Jian's disobedience from Li Man's reasonable battlefield adjustment and assigned them corrective measures. Dong Jian discovered that the black key fragment in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm was linked to Li Man's Green Jade Bamboo, but kept the secret from her even as the fragment warned that their first passive resonance would occur within thirty days.

• Yu Xiaogang criticized changes to the Qinghe Village defense plan, while Yan Feng defended Li Man's decision to abandon an empty section and identified Dong Jian's extra charge as disobedience.
• Yan Feng ordered Dong Jian to follow retreat limits and required Li Man to plan alternate formation routes and give clearer directions.
• Dong Jian found that the Divine Dragon Secret Realm identified the black fragment as a contaminated key and said Green bamboo could help purify it after he reached level twenty, obtained a Second Soul Ring, and completed a first Dual-Key Resonance.
• Dong Jian sealed the fragment and decided not to tell Li Man until he knew whether it could harm her.
• Li Man confronted Dong Jian about the secret realm's reaction, said she would not force him to reveal his secret, and warned him not to wait until events were out of control to tell her she was involved.
• The sealed fragment detected Li Man's Green Jade Bamboo and warned Dong Jian that their first passive resonance would occur within thirty days.

Dong Jian and Li Man’s key fragments resonated during a Return to One Society ambush, forcing them to work together to stop their bamboo formation from harming the convoy. After the mission, Dong Jian admitted he had concealed the danger from Li Man, and the awakened fragment warned them away from Dragon Spine Valley, where a nonhuman guardian awaited.

• Dong Jian avoided training with Li Man as their key fragments’ responses intensified and the countdown to passive resonance fell to fifteen days.
• On an escort mission, Yan Feng led the convoy into a bandit ambush, while Li Man used preplanned backup routes to protect the medicinal herbs.
• A Return to One Society device triggered the fragments’ resonance, overwhelming Dong Jian’s weight control and causing Li Man’s three-layer bamboo formation to spiral out of control.
• Dong Jian redirected his shifting weight through the formation, and Li Man severed its unstable layers, ending the resonance before it harmed the convoy.
• After the ambush, Dong Jian admitted he had concealed the key fragment’s danger, and Li Man told him to disclose risks that involved her.
• At Qingfeng Town, both heard the fragment warn them not to go to Dragon Spine Valley, where a figure with inhuman eyes sensed that the key had awakened.

Dong Jian and Li Man disclosed their knowledge of the Key Fragment, developed a method to stabilize its resonance, and trained until both reached level twenty. As they considered their Second Soul Rings and whether to enter Dragon Spine Valley, a messenger revealed that someone there already knew their names and breakthrough.

• Dong Jian told Li Man that the Key Fragment required level twenty, a Second Soul Ring, and their first Dual-Key Resonance to purify, and they agreed to share information affecting her Martial Soul.
• Dong Jian and Li Man tested ordinary contact between their Martial Souls, stabilized the resonance with the Sinking Body Stance and a fixed bamboo formation, and named the method the Meridian Suppression Formation.
• Yu Xiaogang urged Dong Jian and Li Man to train separately after their earlier resonance, but they continued supervised testing and withheld some information from him.
• Over the following months, Dong Jian and Li Man refined their techniques, then reached level twenty during a joint combat assessment as Li Man guided her team and Dong Jian pushed a weighted stone pillar across the finish line.
• Yu Xiaogang recommended Second Soul Ring targets and warned them away from Dragon Spine Valley, while Dong Jian and Li Man argued that avoiding the valley would not resolve the Key Fragment's contamination.
• Yan Feng's injured Soul Hunter reported that a guardian at Dragon Spine Valley knew Dong Jian and Li Man had reached level twenty, and the Key Fragment's eye markings opened in the Divine Dragon Secret Realm.

Dong Jian and Li Man secured academy approval to hunt for their Second Soul Rings in Dragon Spine Valley under strict safety conditions. After the key fragment warned them not to trust the valley keeper’s first suggested Soul Beast, the team reached the valley and the keeper greeted them as “Number Zero” and “Green Bamboo Key.”

• The Soul Hunter described a gray-robed man who knew Dong Jian and Li Man’s names and levels, and Li Man received a warning from the golden bamboo fragment not to enter the valley because contamination could turn on its host.
• Dong Jian and Li Man rejected Yu Xiaogang’s fixed Soul Beast plan, and the vice dean approved a five-person expedition led by Gao Yan with Yan Feng and Lin He protecting and monitoring them.
• Yu Xiaogang proposed that Tang San and Xiao Wu join the expedition, but Dong Jian and the vice dean refused, and Xiao Wu stayed behind to await the team’s return.
• Dong Jian and Li Man agreed not to decide in advance who would absorb a Soul Ring first and to share any key-fragment anomalies immediately.
• The sealed key fragment showed Dong Jian an image of the valley keeper connected to three shadows and warned him not to trust the first Soul Beast the man pointed out; Dong Jian told Li Man the full warning.
• The team reached Dragon Spine Valley, where the gray-robed keeper recognized Dong Jian as “Number Zero” and Li Man as “Green Bamboo Key,” saying he had waited ten years for them.