Chapter Summaries

After returning to Spirit City from Netherworld Valley, Ning Buhui reunited with Shitou, who had reached level ten and sought help choosing his First Soul Ring. Shitou chose the Shadow Illusory Scale Lizard’s devouring path, and Ning Buhui arranged lodging and promised to help him hunt for it.

• Ning Buhui returned to Spirit City with Bibi Dong and reported how his Soul Skills had changed after gaining the Netherworld Phoenix's Soul Ring.
• Ning Buhui learned that Shitou had traveled twelve days to ask his advice about obtaining a First Soul Ring.
• Shitou told Ning Buhui about four years of hardship and showed him how his Slime Martial Soul had grown while he cultivated to level ten.
• Ning Buhui described the Shadow Illusory Scale Lizard's high-potential devouring path and the elemental or poison path's early fighting strength.
• Shitou chose the devouring path, and Ning Buhui said he would investigate the lizard's location, take Shitou hunting, and give him a secret item.
• Ning Buhui arranged a room for Shitou in the Spirit Hall guest quarters, where Shitou resolved to repay his kindness and prepare for his first Soul Ring.

Ning Buhui helped Shitou strengthen his body by carefully feeding him eleven-thousand-year-old Whale Rubber, raising the Soul Ring age his body could withstand. After learning that an injured Shadow Illusory Scale Lizard of about 960 years had been found, Ning Buhui prepared to take Shitou to hunt it.

• Ning Buhui exchanged his points for the Mission Hall’s last piece of Whale Rubber, an eleven-thousand-year-old lump.
• Ning Buhui taught Shitou how to heat, portion, and absorb the Whale Rubber while keeping the method secret.
• Over five days, Shitou absorbed the Whale Rubber and gained strength, broader meridians, and about thirty percent more Soul Power.
• Shitou realized he could now withstand a First Soul Ring older than a thousand years and vowed to repay Ning Buhui, who told him to prepare for their hunt.
• A Spirit Hall scout reported that an injured, approximately 960-year-old Shadow Illusory Scale Lizard was hiding in a cave in the Rosy Sunset Swamp.
• Ning Buhui judged the hunt’s risk low and arranged for Shitou to leave with him the next morning.

Ning Buhui helped Shitou hunt and absorb a nearly thousand-year-old Shadow Illusory Scale Lizard, revealing that Shitou’s first Soul Skill, Devour, let him gain Soul Beast attributes and grow stronger by consuming their corpses. They returned to Spirit City with Shitou’s path of development now beginning, while Ning Buhui planned how to guide his future hunts.

• Ning Buhui and Shitou traveled to Rosy Sunset Swamp and found the injured Shadow Illusory Scale Lizard in its cave.
• Ning Buhui suppressed the lizard, and Shitou killed it and absorbed its roughly nine-hundred-and-sixty-year Yellow Soul Ring.
• Shitou discovered that Devour let his Slime digest Soul Beast corpses to gain attribute resistance and, at higher age thresholds, matching Soul Skills.
• Shitou devoured the lizard and gained about nine percent dark-attribute resistance, while learning that his physique limited how many attributes and how-old beasts he could absorb.
• Ning Buhui reassured Shitou about his lack of an attack skill and planned a careful progression of Soul Beast targets for him.
• Ning Buhui brought Shitou back to Spirit City and told him to rest, study Soul Beast records, and begin body-tempering training.

Four years later, Ning Buhui and his companions had grown stronger and established themselves as Spirit Hall’s dependable young Soul Masters. With the tournament a year away, Bibi Dong placed them directly on the starting roster and assigned Spirit Hall Academy to select the remaining team members.

• Ning Buhui reached Soul Power Level fifty-eight while Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena reached levels fifty-five, fifty-four, and fifty-three.
• Ning Buhui, Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena built seamless teamwork through years of joint missions.
• Bibi Dong told the four that they would automatically fill four of Spirit Hall’s seven starting positions for the tournament.
• Bibi Dong gave Ning Buhui a list of candidates and said Spirit Hall Academy would select the remaining starters and substitutes.
• Ning Buhui suggested that the four watch the selection matches and cautioned Hu Liena that unknown strong opponents could still emerge.

Ning Buhui and his companions watched the first day of Spirit Hall Academy’s selection tournament, assessing the contestants’ fighting styles and identifying several promising fighters. The individual matches would continue the next day, followed by team matches.

• Ning Buhui, Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena entered the packed arena and watched the individual tournament matches begin.
• Ning Buhui and his companions observed a barehanded Soul Master defeat a stronger saber wielder by forcing him off the platform.
• The group watched a twin-halberd fighter outlast a club wielder, an ice-staff fighter freeze a shield-bearing opponent, and a blade fighter win a risky close-range exchange.
• Ning Buhui watched a skilled whip wielder restrain a hammer fighter until the referee declared the whip wielder the winner.
• At the end of the first day, Ning Buhui and his companions named several promising contestants and agreed to return the next day before heading to dinner.

Ning Buhui and the others watched the final individual elimination matches, then learned that the remaining four hundred Soul Masters would compete in randomly drawn five-person teams. As the contestants assembled with their teammates, Ning Buhui noted which fighters seemed prepared to cooperate, leaving the team battles to begin the next day.

• Ning Buhui watched the second day of individual matches, including a tactical victory by the Twin Moon Halberd Soul Master over the Ironback Silver Wolf Soul Master.
• Ning Buhui and his companions watched the next day's matches, where the ice-staff Soul Master, Shadow Blade Soul Master, and Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master each won their bouts.
• Ning Buhui advised Hu Liena to consider an attribute-attack Soul Skill to counter opponents immune to mental attacks, and she considered his suggestion.
• The Soul Douluo elder announced that the four hundred survivors would be randomly assigned to teams of five, divided into Groups A, B, C, and D, and compete in qualifying and ranking matches.
• The contestants drew team assignments, and Ning Buhui observed that the Red-Banded Snake Whip Soul Master, Twin Moon Halberd Soul Master, and ice-staff Soul Master were coordinating with their teammates, while the Shadow Blade Soul Master kept apart.

On the first day of the team matches, Ning Buhui and his companions watched a five-on-five battle between a red team with a Control System Soul Master and a blue team without one. The red team won by coordinating its attacks and support around the Soul-Bewitching Xiao Soul Master's control, and Ning Buhui's group moved to watch the next match.

• Ning Buhui identified the new examiners as members of Spirit Hall's Combat Pavilion and noted that team matches tested coordination as well as individual strength.
• The red and blue teams released their Martial Souls and began fighting, with the blue team using its double Agility Attack lineup to try to break the red team's formation and target its controller.
• The red team's Starlight Stone auxiliary and Soul-Bewitching Xiao controller repelled the initial assault, while the Crimson Flame Lion Soul Master protected their rear line.
• The blue captain launched a powerful hammer attack, but the red captain blocked it, and the red auxiliary shielded her team from the blue team's coordinated counterattack.
• The Soul-Bewitching Xiao Soul Master's Hypnotic Tune put four blue fighters to sleep, forcing the remaining captain to concede as the referee declared the red team the winner.
• Ning Buhui, Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan discussed the battle, then moved closer to the arena to watch the next match.

Ning Buhui and his companions watched a long match between a red team built around the Ice Crystal Bell Soul Master's control and a blue team relying on poison, speed, and powerful enhancements. The red team won after its control skills disrupted the blue team's final assault, and Ning Buhui's group headed to watch the next match.

• Ning Buhui reviewed the red and blue teams' lineups with Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan before the match began.
• The blue team used its command flag's enhancements and coordinated attacks to target the red team's control and auxiliary Soul Masters, but the red team repelled the assault with the Ice Crystal Bell Soul Master's chimes and the Black Armor Turtle Soul Master's defense.
• The Rattletail Scale Snake Soul Master spread corrosive miasma, but the Ice Crystal Bell Soul Master sealed it outside her team's barrier while the red auxiliary struggled to purify the poison.
• The blue team activated Myriad Army Edict and launched an all-out attack, but the red auxiliary's blinding light and the Ice Crystal Bell Soul Master's Shattered Frost Heavenly Chime disrupted the flanking attackers and weakened the miasma.
• The Ice Crystal Bell Soul Master countered the Rattletail Scale Snake Soul Master's final attack, and after Myriad Army Edict faded, the red team's fist-blade and Army-Breaking Staff Soul Masters knocked out the blue team's greatsword and flying-needle fighters.
• The referee declared the red team the winner, and Ning Buhui explained that the Ice Crystal Bell Soul Master's field control and the short duration of Myriad Army Edict had decided the match before his group left for the next one.

The red team defeated the blue team in a tactical battle led by the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master, advancing to the final four. Ning Buhui and his companions discussed the mirror Soul Master's abilities as the contestants prepared for the next match.

• Yan reviewed the reorganized teams, and Ning Buhui identified the red team's Phantom Bronze Mirror as a key tactical advantage against the blue team's recovery-focused Dream-Weaving Spider.
• The blue team opened with protective silk and recovery buffs, while the red team used a mirror maze to obscure its formation and disrupt enemy attacks.
• The red team's Iron Wall Ape blocked the Gale Vulture, and the Mist Bell countered the Nether Spring Zither's control skill with mist that weakened its music.
• The Sky-Breaking Spear and Shadow Cat launched attacks on the blue team's auxiliaries, while the blue team's Lightning Hammer and Gale Vulture eventually shattered the mirror maze.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror created and enhanced a Lightning Hammer clone, while the Mist Bell disoriented the blue team and the red team gradually defeated its members.
• The referee declared the red team the winner, and Ning Buhui and his companions discussed the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master's versatility before the next match began.

The Phantom Bronze Mirror team and Xu Yu’s team reached the final after winning their semifinals, and both sides revealed their lineups and Soul Skills. Xu Yu began the match by stacking three boosts on his teammates, while the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master activated his first Soul Skill.

• The Phantom Bronze Mirror team won a grueling semifinal by using Mirror Clone to copy their poison-control opponent and outlast the opposing team.
• Xu Yu’s team overwhelmed its semifinal opponents with coordinated attacks and forced the last remaining fighter to surrender.
• Ning Buhui memorized the Martial Souls and Soul Ring Configurations of Xu Yu’s five teammates.
• Both finalist teams entered the packed arena and revealed their fighters’ Martial Souls and Soul Rings.
• Xu Yu cast Edict of Strength, Edict of Speed, and Golden Radiance Shines Everywhere to boost his four teammates.
• As Xu Yu stacked his boosts, the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master activated his First Soul Ring.

The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master trapped the red team in a multilayered mirror maze, but Xu Yu accelerated his teammates’ Soul Skills so they could smash through it. The opponent copied Xu Yu’s enhancements and empowered his own team, leaving the two sides evenly matched as the battle resumed.

• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master created a mirror maze that concealed the red team and recorded their movements.
• Xu Yu ordered the team to break the formation, and Sun Chuantao, Li Kai, and Wei Zhan repeatedly attacked the mirrors while Zhang Ping searched for a weak point.
• Xu Yu used Edict of Light to shorten his teammates’ Soul Skill cooldowns, allowing them to shatter the maze’s layers much faster.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master created a Mirror Clone of Xu Yu, copied his enhancement skills, and strengthened his own teammates.
• The maze collapsed, and Xu Yu told his team to continue; Sun Chuantao and Sky-Breaking Spear began fighting evenly under their enhancements.

Xu Yu’s team gradually gained the upper hand against the red team, but the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master restored his teammates and used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to empower the Sky-Breaking Spear Soul Master. The chapter ends as he dismisses his clone after the spear’s enhanced strike drives Sun Chuantao back.

• Sun Chuantao, Li Kai, Wei Zhan, and Zhang Ping pressured their opponents while Xu Yu and his clone maintained competing enhancements.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master restored the red team’s strength and injuries with Reflecting Mirror Light, then the Mist Bell Soul Master used Soul Disorientation to create an opening for Shadow Cat.
• Zhang Ping blocked Shadow Cat’s attack on Xu Yu, taking a claw wound and buying time for her teammates to recover from the disorientation.
• Xu Yu’s team resumed its assault, forcing the red team into a worsening position as the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master’s Soul Power dwindled.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master enhanced the Sky-Breaking Spear Soul Master’s weapon, whose Sky-Breaking Strike drove Sun Chuantao back and injured his hand.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master dismissed the Xu Yu clone.

Xu Yu's team fought the red team in a chaotic final, with the Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master using mirror techniques to isolate Sun Chuantao and help bring him down. Shadow Cat knocked Xu Yu unconscious, but the blue team defeated the remaining opponents and won the match.

• Sun Chuantao's clone and the Sky-Breaking Spear Soul Master overwhelmed Sun Chuantao while Li Kai and Wei Zhan defeated Iron Wall Ape and Mist Bell.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master raised a small Mirror Maze to trap Sun Chuantao with his attackers and block Li Kai and Wei Zhan from helping.
• Li Kai and Wei Zhan shattered the mirror wall, but Sun Chuantao was knocked unconscious before they could reach him.
• Shadow Cat broke free from Zhang Ping and struck Xu Yu unconscious, then Zhang Ping defeated Shadow Cat.
• The Phantom Bronze Mirror Soul Master's boost faded as Wei Zhan knocked him unconscious, leaving the Sky-Breaking Spear Soul Master unable to continue fighting.
• The referee declared all five red team members unable to fight and announced Xu Yu's team as the winner.

After the selection ended, the Spirit Hall Team's roster was announced, with Ning Buhui and three others chosen as main members and Xu Yu and Wei Zhan as substitutes. At their first training session, Zhang Ping challenged the four chosen in advance to prove they deserved to lead, and Ning Buhui arranged a two-on-five fight that was about to begin.

• The referee declared Xu Yu's team the winner of the final, and the Soul Douluo elder announced the seven main members and two substitutes for the Spirit Hall Team.
• Three days later, Zhang Ping questioned whether Ning Buhui and the other three had earned the right to lead because they had not fought in the selection.
• Sun Chuantao, Li Kai, Wei Zhan, and Xu Yu joined Zhang Ping in saying they did not accept the leadership.
• Ning Buhui proposed a two-on-five fight with Yan, promising the five would lead the team if they won and follow his group if they lost.
• The five arranged their formation against Ning Buhui and Yan, and both sides activated their Martial Souls as the fight began.

Yan and Ning Buhui defeated five teammates in a brief training match, showcasing their powerful Soul Rings and skills. The group accepted Ning Buhui as captain, and Xie Yue began the day’s group training.

• Sun Chuantao and the others saw Yan and Ning Buhui’s extraordinary Soul Ring configurations and planned to attack Yan while targeting Ning Buhui as support.
• Ning Buhui stacked four buffs on Yan as the five opponents charged, while Xu Yu boosted his teammates.
• Yan resisted Sun Chuantao’s and Li Kai’s attacks, then unleashed Lie Yan Torrent and defeated all five opponents in under ten breaths.
• Ning Buhui explained that his combined buffs more than doubled all attributes, and revealed that Xie Yue and Hu Liena had the same Soul Ring configurations as Yan.
• Sun Chuantao welcomed Ning Buhui as captain, and Xie Yue began the group training.