Chapter Summaries

Ning Buhui realized the Jasper Flood Dragon had lured the group into an ambush, and a stronger female dragon emerged to attack them from behind. As the poison weakened Yan and Xie Yue and Hu Liena struggled to support them, Ning Buhui decided to stop holding back and fight for a way out.

• Ning Buhui noticed the wounded Jasper Flood Dragon kept steering the fight away from the deep pool and warned Xie Yue that it was bait.
• The male Jasper Flood Dragon called forth a twenty-five-thousand-year female, trapping Ning Buhui, Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena between the two dragons.
• Xie Yue charged the female dragon but had to dodge her poisonous blast, while Yan was struck by the male dragon's venom and Hu Liena used her abilities to protect him.
• The dragons attacked simultaneously with Jade Scale Poison Flood Dragon Blasts, poisoning Yan and Xie Yue and leaving the group in worsening danger.
• Ning Buhui saw that he had half his Soul Power left and decided to stop holding back rather than abandon the others.

Ning Buhui revealed the full power of his Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda to turn the battle against the two Jasper Flood Dragons. After the group killed both dragons, Yan questioned Ning Buhui about his unfamiliar Soul Skills, but Ning Buhui said they would talk after they gathered their things and left the area.

• Ning Buhui decided not to abandon his teammates and used four Soul Skills to strengthen them, slow the Jasper Flood Dragons, bind them with chains, and curse them.
• Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena attacked the restrained dragons while Ning Buhui’s skills weakened them and redirected their poison blasts.
• Ning Buhui interrupted the dragons’ Bone-Eroding Water Waves with Butterfly Suppresses the Nether Spring.
• Xie Yue killed the female Jasper Flood Dragon, and Yan, Hu Liena, and Ning Buhui killed the male.
• After the exhausted group regrouped, Yan asked Ning Buhui about his unfamiliar Soul Skills, and Ning Buhui told them to gather their things before discussing them.

After returning to Spirit City from the Jasper Flood Dragon mission, Ning Buhui explained his unusual Martial Soul and hidden control abilities to Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena. His companions accepted his reasons for keeping them secret and agreed to protect his secret.

• During the four-day journey back, Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena reflected on how Ning Buhui's hidden abilities had helped them survive the Jasper Flood Dragons.
• The four reported the completed mission at Spirit City's mission hall, surrendered the dragons' materials, and received points and upgraded tokens.
• At dinner, Yan asked Ning Buhui how an Auxiliary System Soul Master had so many Control Soul Skills.
• Ning Buhui revealed that his Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda had mutated from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and granted him both support and control Soul Skills from each Soul Ring.
• Ning Buhui explained that he had revealed his abilities in Jade Pool Hidden Valley to protect his companions, and that he had kept them secret to avoid becoming a target.
• Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena thanked Ning Buhui and promised to keep his Martial Soul and abilities secret.

Ning Buhui decided to enter Spirit Hall Academy’s selection for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, aiming to compete as a support Soul Master while hiding some of his abilities. He studied the tournament rules and trained for the preliminary selection, which was soon to begin.

• Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena decided not to enter the upcoming tournament, while Ning Buhui said he would try to earn a place on the team.
• Ning Buhui planned to raise his Soul Power Level above 45 and return to the Star Dou Great Forest for combat training after a month of rest.
• Ning Buhui studied the tournament rules and learned he would need to pass Spirit Hall Academy’s selection, which was overseen by Pope Hall and Worship Hall.
• Bibi Dong gave Ning Buhui the selection plan and warned him that Golden Crocodile Douluo would be the chief examiner.
• Ning Buhui decided to compete as a support Soul Master, disguise his Soul Rings with the Thousand-Transformation Illusory Mask, and conceal his Wind Thunder Wings.
• Ning Buhui trained his Soul Skills, sparred with Yan and Xie Yue, and waited for the preliminary selection to begin.

Ning Buhui took part in Spirit Hall Academy’s preliminary selection, where he impressed the examiners with his four auxiliary Soul Skills and revealed that he was a nine-year-old Soul Ancestor. The individual tests ended without results being announced, and Hu Liena met him outside the grounds to go for a meal.

• Ning Buhui arrived at the selection grounds and saw Hu Liena watching, while Yan and Xie Yue were absent.
• The examiners explained the individual strength test and began evaluating the candidates’ Martial Souls and Soul Skills.
• Ning Buhui released his Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda and demonstrated all four of his auxiliary Soul Skills.
• Ning Buhui told the examiner that his skills used about ten percent of his Soul Power and that he was nine years old, surprising the candidates nearby.
• The individual tests ended, and the examiners told everyone to wait for notice about the results.
• Hu Liena met Ning Buhui at the entrance and invited him to eat with her.

Ning Buhui led Team Two to victories in all three matches of the selection’s team battle, using his auxiliary skills and a powerful attack to defeat even the stronger Team One. After Golden Crocodile Douluo selected him, Ning Buhui declined invitations to form a team and left to head for the Star Dou Great Forest, with the seed selection battle still half a year away.

• Ning Buhui joined Team Two and explained his auxiliary skills to Zhao Yan, Lin Qing, and their other teammates before the first match.
• Ning Buhui’s boosts helped Zhao Yan and Lin Qing overwhelm Team Three, and Team Two won its opening match.
• When Team One gained the upper hand, Ning Buhui boosted himself, charged at its auxiliary, and pinned the opposing Defense System Soul Master beneath his enlarged pagoda, securing Team Two’s victory.
• Team Two easily defeated Team Four, and Golden Crocodile Douluo announced Ning Buhui among those selected.
• Ning Buhui declined invitations to form a team and left for the Star Dou Great Forest ahead of the seed selection battle in half a year.

Ning Buhui left Spirit City, sent Dugu Yan an anonymous letter describing the Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and traveled to a dangerous valley in the Star Dou Great Forest to train through battle. After fighting four powerful Soul Beasts in one day, he rested inside his pagoda and reflected on his progress.

• Ning Buhui said farewell to Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena, then left Spirit City after Bibi Dong reminded him about the selection in six months.
• Ning Buhui traveled to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and paid a student to deliver Dugu Yan an unsigned letter about the Immortal Herbs and a favor tied to half a piece of yin-yang jade.
• Ning Buhui continued to the Star Dou Great Forest and entered a misty valley known for its unusually powerful Soul Beasts.
• Ning Buhui fought a twenty-thousand-year-old Stone Armor Rhinoceros with his soul skills and defeated it.
• Ning Buhui fought four Soul Beasts in one day, narrowly survived a Rock Python, and rested in his bamboo house inside the pagoda while reviewing the battles.

After months of slow cultivation in the Star Dou Great Forest, Ning Buhui discovered an ancient Supreme Sect secret realm and entered its eighty-one-stage combat trial, which promised a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for a perfect record. The first stage began with him fighting a thirty-thousand-year-old Stone Armor Beast.

• Ning Buhui sent a letter to Spirit City and returned to the Star Dou Great Forest, reflecting that his Soul Power had advanced slowly from level forty-three.
• Ning Buhui followed a wounded Stone Armor Rhinoceros into a hidden hollow and found a stone platform and seven jade fragments bearing clues to an ancient trial.
• Ning Buhui assembled the fragments and was transported to the ruins of the Supreme Sect, where he discovered the entrance to its underground trial ground.
• Ning Buhui read that the trial required challengers to pass eighty-one stages and offered a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone to anyone who cleared them all perfectly.
• Ning Buhui opened the First Stage and fought a thirty-thousand-year-old Stone Armor Beast using his Soul Skills as the door closed behind him.

Ning Buhui fought his way through the secret realm’s increasingly difficult trials, learning to adapt to opponents tailored to his abilities and breaking through to level 44 during a desperate battle. After clearing the twenty-ninth trial, he delayed the thirtieth to train, knowing it might pit him against three mirror images, and began another simulated fight while preparing to continue.

• Ning Buhui defeated nine varied Soul Beast opponents and learned how the trials targeted his weaknesses.
• Ning Buhui tricked and defeated his mirror image in the tenth trial by making it attack him while he used Warp to get behind it.
• Ning Buhui broke through the level 43 bottleneck during the twentieth trial and narrowly defeated two mirror images.
• Ning Buhui recovered, then cleared the twenty-first through twenty-ninth trials over the next month against stronger Soul Beasts and Soul Masters.
• Ning Buhui stayed on the twenty-ninth floor to practice daily, postponing the thirtieth trial because he feared facing three mirror images.
• Ning Buhui released his Martial Soul to begin another simulated battle against the level 54 Soul King he had already defeated.

Ning Buhui completed Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring and defeated three mirror images to clear the thirtieth stage, earning the Soul-Devouring Divine Light manual. He realized Spirit Hall's tournament selection had likely passed, but resolved to keep advancing through the secret realm to obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

• Ning Buhui perfected Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring and used it to defeat the Vajra Giant Ape Soul King image on the twenty-ninth stage.
• Ning Buhui entered the thirtieth stage and fought three coordinated mirror images that used his own abilities.
• Ning Buhui exploited the stone chambers to ambush and destroy Number Three, weakening the remaining images' teamwork.
• Ning Buhui used Soul-Suppressing God-Devouring to stun Number Two, then defeated Number One and cleared the stage.
• Ning Buhui claimed the Soul-Devouring Divine Light manual and pills, then reflected that he had missed Spirit Hall's tournament selection.
• Ning Buhui decided to continue clearing stages for a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone and fell asleep thinking of Bibi Dong, Hu Liena, Yan, and Xie Yue.

Spirit Hall Academy completed its seeded team selection and began training without Ning Buhui, who had vanished after leaving for the Star Dou Great Forest. Bibi Dong concluded that he was trapped in an ancient secret realm and told Hu Liena to wait for his return.

• Spirit Hall Academy selected nine tournament representatives without Ning Buhui after he failed to return or send further letters.
• Yan confronted a Soul Master who speculated that Ning Buhui might be dead, while Xie Yue and Hu Liena reasoned that Bibi Dong likely knew he was safe.
• The seeded team began intensive training with an ordinary support Soul Master, and Zhao Yan was quickly defeated after becoming isolated in a practice match.
• Bibi Dong showed Hu Liena a report about a sealed ancient formation in the northern Star Dou Great Forest and guessed that Ning Buhui had entered a secret realm.
• Bibi Dong told Hu Liena that Ning Buhui would return, and Hu Liena went to the training grounds as the tournament approached.

Ning Buhui spent over half a year clearing the trials from the thirtieth to the seventy-ninth, reaching Soul Power Level forty-eight and sharpening his combat skills. After surviving the increasingly difficult challenges, he stood before the eightieth trial, with only two trials and the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone reward remaining.

• Ning Buhui turned ten and reflected on the forty trials that had honed his combat instincts and taught him Soul-Devouring Divine Light.
• Ning Buhui defeated seven weakened clones of himself in the seventieth trial by using traps, teleportation, and feints in a jungle.
• Ning Buhui quickly overcame two level fifty-nine Soul King mirrors in the seventy-first trial by interrupting one opponent and striking both with his soul-based techniques.
• Ning Buhui cleared increasingly difficult trials, including coordinated opponents, a weightless void, and a level-sixty Soul Emperor mirror in the seventy-ninth trial.
• Ning Buhui reached the stone door to the eightieth trial and sensed that the secret realm's central test was beginning.

Ning Buhui defeated the eight mirror clones on the eighty-first stage after struggling against their coordinated tactics and changing from ambushes to a desperate head-on fight. Exhausted and badly wounded, he watched the next gate appear, marked “Question the Heart.”

• Ning Buhui entered a desert stage and faced eight mirror clones who coordinated attacks to trap him.
• Ning Buhui used the dunes to ambush the clones, killing two before they adapted and began pursuing him in pairs.
• With his Soul Power dwindling, Ning Buhui fought head-on, killing an assault clone but suffering severe injuries.
• Ning Buhui killed the remaining clones despite their counterattacks, then collapsed in the sand with his Soul Power exhausted.
• Ning Buhui swallowed a medicinal pill as the desert vanished, and the gate to the next stage appeared with “Question the Heart” carved into it.

Ning Buhui passed the Supreme Sect’s final trial by confronting the hardships and resentment of his childhood and deciding to use his hatred as fuel rather than let it control him. He left the secret realm with powerful rewards and flew through the Star Dou Great Forest toward Spirit City, eager to see his friends again.

• Ning Buhui relived his childhood in Bluestone Town and watched the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect decide to abandon him and his family.
• Ning Buhui told his former self that he did not regret transmigrating and would use his hatred to pursue strength and control over his fate.
• Ning Buhui passed the final trial and received a 120,000-year-old Head Soul Bone, a Spirit Ascension Pill, and a map to another secret realm.
• Ning Buhui left the secret realm after learning it would close within a day, having reached Soul Power Level 48 and mastered two abilities.
• Ning Buhui headed south through the Star Dou Great Forest, thinking of his friends in Spirit City, then summoned his Wind Thunder Wings and flew home.

Ning Buhui safely fused the 120,000-year-old Time-Reversing Heavenly Secret Skull, gaining two spiritual abilities and reaching level forty-nine. He returned to Spirit City, reported his year away to Bibi Dong, and went to sleep after postponing his friends’ questions until the next day.

• Ning Buhui fused the Time-Reversing Heavenly Secret Skull, and the Domain-Suppressing Pagoda steadied his turbulent sea of consciousness.
• Ning Buhui gained Pupil of Illusion Breaking and Eye of the Future, expanded his spiritual perception, and advanced to level forty-nine.
• Ning Buhui returned to Spirit City and told Bibi Dong about his training, the Supreme Sect's secret realm trials, and the soul bone he obtained.
• Bibi Dong told Ning Buhui that Spirit Hall had won the Continental Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament and gave him the other academies' rankings.
• Ning Buhui met Yan and Xie Yue at the training ground, agreed to talk with them the next day, and went to bed after deciding to save the Spirit Ascension Pill for later.

Ning Buhui reunited with Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena and told them about his year in the Supreme Sect’s secret realm and the Soul Skills he had gained. After half a month of training, he had learned to use Eye of the Future in combat and discovered that Pupil of Illusion Breaking could counter mental control.

• Ning Buhui told Yan, Xie Yue, and Hu Liena about completing eighty-one trial stages, reaching level forty-nine, and gaining the Time-Reversing Heavenly Secret Skull with two Soul Skills.
• Ning Buhui said he would keep his pagoda’s battlefield-control ability secret until the next Elite Soul Master Tournament, while his friends shared their own cultivation levels.
• Ning Buhui resumed his training routine and secretly used Eye of the Future to dodge Yan’s punches and Xie Yue’s Moon Blade during sparring.
• Ning Buhui tested Pupil of Illusion Breaking on a concealed stone and discovered during a fight with Hu Liena that it could make him immune to Charm.
• Ning Buhui mastered Eye of the Future’s timing and learned that each activation used one percent of his mental power.

After six months of cultivation in Spirit City, Ning Buhui reached level fifty and discussed his Fifth Soul Ring with Bibi Dong. He chose the rare Netherworld Phoenix, and Bibi Dong agreed to investigate its whereabouts before planning a hunt.

• Ning Buhui spent six months cultivating in Spirit City while avoiding complications surrounding his earlier disappearance and sudden increase in power.
• Ning Buhui broke through to level fifty in the tower and began considering candidates for his Fifth Soul Ring.
• Ning Buhui told Bibi Dong he wanted endurance, recovery, and battlefield control, and she gave him Spirit Hall records of suitable Soul Beasts.
• Ning Buhui chose the Netherworld Phoenix for its Nirvana and Reincarnation abilities despite its rarity and the danger of hunting it in Netherworld Valley.
• Bibi Dong said she would have someone investigate recent sightings, while Ning Buhui returned to his quiet room and considered the Supreme Sect secret-realm map.

Ning Buhui and Bibi Dong traveled to Netherworld Valley after learning the Netherworld Phoenix had been spotted there. They found the bird perched in an ancient tree, but it sensed them as Bibi Dong sealed off the valley with her pressure.

• Bibi Dong summoned Ning Buhui and told him that intelligence agents had found traces of the Netherworld Phoenix near Netherworld Valley.
• Bibi Dong flew Ning Buhui from Spirit City toward the valley, and he practiced forming a Soul Power barrier against the wind.
• Bibi Dong and Ning Buhui entered Netherworld Valley and protected themselves from its corrosive miasma.
• Ning Buhui used his Pupil of Illusion Breaking to detect a dark-gold glow ahead, and Bibi Dong sensed the Netherworld Phoenix nearby.
• Bibi Dong and Ning Buhui approached the ancient parasol tree and saw the Netherworld Phoenix resting on a branch.
• Bibi Dong spread her Titled Douluo pressure through the valley, and the Netherworld Phoenix woke and discovered them.

Ning Buhui killed the fifty-thousand-year Netherworld Phoenix with Bibi Dong’s help and absorbed its Soul Ring, reaching level 52. He gained two Soul Skills that could restore and protect allies or seal an enemy’s Soul Skill, then prepared to return to the city with Bibi Dong.

• Bibi Dong stopped the Netherworld Phoenix from escaping and used Eternal Wound to suppress its attempt to trigger nirvana.
• Ning Buhui killed the weakened Netherworld Phoenix with Void Rending Slash, and Bibi Dong guarded him as he absorbed its fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring.
• The Nine Hell Soul-Suppressing Pagoda refined the Soul Ring’s energy, raising Ning Buhui to level 52 and securing his fifth Soul Ring.
• Ning Buhui demonstrated Yang · Phoenix Feather Nirvana, which created nine restorative feathers that could cleanse negative statuses and grant invincibility.
• Ning Buhui revealed Yin · Samsara Netherfire, which planted a mark capable of sealing one of a target’s first five Soul Ring skills for sixty seconds.
• Bibi Dong approved of Ning Buhui’s new abilities, and he stored the Netherworld Phoenix’s corpse before following her toward the city.

After years of hardship and training, Shitou reached level ten and walked twelve days to Spirit City to seek Ning Buhui’s help choosing his first Soul Ring. Ning Buhui recognized him at Pope Hall and invited him to eat, beginning their reunion.

• Shitou trained while working at Carpenter Li’s shop and finally broke through to level ten, strengthening his Slime Martial Soul.
• Shitou asked Master Li for leave, and Master Li gave him five Copper Soul Coins for the journey to Spirit City.
• Shitou walked twelve days to Spirit City, found the Spirit Hall, and told its guards he had come to see Ning Buhui.
• Ning Buhui came out to meet Shitou, who explained he had reached level ten and needed advice about obtaining his first Soul Ring.
• Ning Buhui invited Shitou to eat and asked how long he had walked and how long it had been since he had a proper meal.