Chapter Summaries

Lu Yuan coordinated a plan to enter the Thousand Needle Stone Forest during a brief overlap between a Soul Power low window and a gap in the Cloud Mist Sect’s patrols. With preparations complete, the group awaited the operation’s start and agreed to evacuate if the mission went wrong.

• Lu Yuan assigned the group their roles and calculated a safe corridor to the crevice using Soul Power data and Lin Xiao’s patrol observations.
• Lu Yuan set the mission for the day after tomorrow, coordinating an array disk, remote Soul Power support, perimeter watch, and an emergency evacuation plan.
• The group spent the next day and night preparing equipment, learning escape routes, and rehearsing contingencies.
• On the night before the operation, Lu Yuan ordered everyone to evacuate at the buzzing signal and named Lu Qinghe temporary commander if he and Lin Xiao failed to return.
• Lin Xiao expressed excitement about the dangerous mission as Lu Yuan put away the synchronized pocket watch and the group waited for the operation to begin.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao crossed the Thousand Needle Stone Forest and found a hidden fissure rich in pure Soul Power, but an explosion near the Cloud Mist Sect’s stone spire forest sent the area into chaos just as Lu Yuan prepared to take a sample. The formation disk was failing, the guards were alerted, and Lu Yuan was left deciding whether to risk harvesting the resource or retreat.

• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao used the formation disk and Lin Xiao’s instincts to navigate the turbulent stone forest while avoiding a Cloud Mist Sect patrol.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao redirected their route toward the southeast stone spire forest after hearing the patrol identify it as a priority.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao reached the hidden fissure, where Lin Xiao sensed a large amount of pure Soul Power and Lu Yuan prepared tools to take a sample.
• An explosion near the stone spire forest disrupted the Soul Power throughout the area and alerted the Cloud Mist Sect guards.
• Lu Yuan struggled to keep the formation disk’s failing barrier around the fissure as the pure Soul Power grew unstable, leaving him poised to strike with the pickaxe.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao stole three pieces of Soul Marrow Essence while the explosion distracted the Cloud Mist Sect, but their array disc failed as a Soul Ancestor’s probe reached them. They fled through the turbulent Thousand Needle Stone Forest with a Soul Emperor’s perception pursuing them.

• Lu Yuan held the array disc’s halo in place while Lin Xiao entered a crevice and retrieved three pieces of Soul Marrow Essence.
• A Soul Ancestor’s probing fluctuation approached, and the array disc’s Soul Marrow crystal fragment shattered just as Lin Xiao escaped the crevice.
• Lu Yuan threw a Turbulence Talisman to confuse the probe, and he and Lin Xiao fled northwest through the stone forest.
• A violent Soul Power current burned Lin Xiao’s left arm as the pair struggled to follow their planned escape route.
• A Soul Emperor’s overwhelming perception found the fugitives, and Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao pushed themselves to run faster.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao fled through the stone pillars as the Soul Emperor pursued them, but a control-type Soul Skill collapsed their shelter and separated them. Trapped in a dark crevice while Cloud Mist Sect disciples searched, Lu Yuan heard signs of a brief clash nearby and wondered whether Lin Xiao was alive.

• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao used Soul Power Interference Balls to disrupt the Soul Emperor’s perception as they fled through the pillars.
• The Soul Emperor struck at them repeatedly, worsening Lin Xiao’s injury and exhausting Lu Yuan’s Soul Power.
• Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao took shelter behind fallen boulders, where Lu Yuan used Soul Marrow Essence to recover.
• The Soul Emperor unleashed a control-type Soul Skill and destroyed their shelter, sending Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao in different directions.
• Lu Yuan fell into a dark crevice and heard the Soul Emperor summon Cloud Mist Sect disciples to search the area.
• Lu Yuan heard a brief clash and a faint grunt that might have come from Lin Xiao, then debated whether to remain hidden or search for him.

Injured and pursued by the Soul Emperor, Lu Yuan hid in a concealed cavern and sent Mo Chen an emergency signal. After receiving confirmation, he remained in hiding as the search continued, unsure whether Lin Xiao had survived.

• Lu Yuan found an air current leading to a natural cavern where Soul Power fluctuations were nearly undetectable, and hid there with the Soul Marrow Essence.
• He sent Mo Chen a pulse through the sensing talisman stone, risking detection by the Soul Emperor.
• Lu Yuan received the agreed confirmation that Mo Chen and the others had understood his signal.
• The Soul Emperor swept his senses over the cavern entrance, then moved on and ordered the disciples to keep searching for the escaped person and the item.
• Lu Yuan waited in the cavern, planning to treat his injuries and recover his Soul Power before seeking another chance to escape.

Lin Xiao drew the Cloud Mist Sect pursuers away from Lu Yuan, then discovered a destroyed Soul Tool and the blast site it had caused in the stone forest’s southeast corner. The Soul Emperor captured him, but an explosion at Mo Chen’s rendezvous point left the elder deciding whether to pursue the commotion or hold Lin Xiao.

• Lin Xiao lured the Cloud Mist Sect pursuers away from Lu Yuan and used the stone forest’s terrain to evade them, injuring one Soul Ancestor.
• As his injured arm and dwindling Soul Power slowed him, Lin Xiao headed toward the southeast corner, where the Cloud Mist Sect had been investigating.
• Lin Xiao found a charred crater, destroyed bodies, and a wrecked large-scale Soul Tool amid traces of chaotic earth-vein and lightning-attribute Soul Power.
• The Soul Emperor intercepted Lin Xiao, bound him with Soul Power, and demanded to know where his accomplice and the thing were.
• An explosion erupted near Mo Chen’s rendezvous point, and the Soul Emperor hesitated between responding to it and dealing with Lin Xiao.

Lu Yuan survived three days hidden in a cavern by using soul marrow essence to recover and studying how it affected Soul Power. After the search outside ended, he left the cavern and headed for the abandoned hunters’ huts west of Maple Leaf Town to meet Mo Chen.

• Lu Yuan used a small piece of soul marrow essence to nourish his body, ease his hunger and cold, and help his wounds heal.
• Lu Yuan examined the essence and found that it could smooth and regulate Soul Power, inspiring him to develop a way to use it to assist cultivation and condition meridians.
• On the third night, Lu Yuan sensed that the patrols had left and waited until moonlight appeared before emerging from the crevice.
• Lu Yuan gathered his remaining supplies and soul marrow essence, then set out through the stone forest toward the backup meeting point with Mo Chen.

Lu Yuan reunited with Mo Chen and Shen Moxin, learned that Lin Xiao had been captured by the Cloud Mist Sect, and returned with the Soul Marrow Essence. He began planning to gather intelligence and strengthen the group so they could rescue Lin Xiao.

• Lu Yuan returned to the hideout and asked Mo Chen and Shen Moxin where Lin Xiao was.
• Mo Chen explained that a Cloud Mist Sect elder had captured Lin Xiao, while Shen Moxin reported that the others had safely relocated to Maple Leaf Town.
• Lu Yuan revealed that he had obtained three pieces of Soul Marrow Essence and said Lin Xiao had to be rescued too.
• Lu Yuan argued that they needed intelligence on the Cloud Mist Sect and greater strength before attempting a rescue.
• Lu Yuan proposed using the Soul Marrow Essence to help the group overcome bottlenecks and injuries as they prepared to bring Lin Xiao back.

Lu Yuan used Soul Marrow Essence to ease Mo Chen’s old Soul Power injury, proving it could gently treat damaged meridians. With part of the Essence spent, he laid out plans to strengthen the group and support Bai Zhi’s brother’s treatment as they prepared to rescue Lin Xiao.

• Lu Yuan returned with three pieces of Essence and directed the others to guard the house and prepare for his treatment of Mo Chen.
• Lu Yuan and Shen Moxin set up a Meridian-Moistening Formation, and Lu Yuan guided Essence through Mo Chen’s damaged meridians through the night.
• Mo Chen woke at dawn and found that the pain and stiffness beneath his left shoulder blade had eased by about thirty percent.
• Lu Yuan said they would ration the Essence, increase Su Yan and Li Wangye’s training, and consider using it in Bai Zhi’s brother’s detoxification and Martial Soul treatment.
• Lu Yuan told everyone they needed to grow stronger to rescue Lin Xiao.

Lu Yuan’s household learned that suspicious strangers were searching for injured outsiders and people connected to poisoning, then welcomed Mentor Wen, a former teacher who had tracked Lu Yuan down. After Mentor Wen demonstrated his ability to develop Lu Yuan’s Soul Power model, Lu Yuan judged his approach viable, leaving him with a place to pursue a new path as danger gathered outside.

• Lu Qinghe reported that three gray-clad newcomers in town were asking about out-of-town Soul Masters, injured people seeking doctors, and poisoning, so Lu Yuan ordered precautions and emergency preparations.
• A visitor knocked at the side gate, and Lu Yuan recognized him as Mentor Wen from Notting Junior Academy.
• Mentor Wen explained that the academy had dismissed him for rejecting mainstream teaching and supporting Lu Yuan’s model, and that rumors had led him to Maple Leaf Town.
• Mentor Wen recalled Lu Yuan’s Soul Power model and used a branch to derive how a periodic disturbance might affect Soul Power gathering.
• Lu Yuan said Mentor Wen’s derivation had flaws but its general approach was viable, as the household continued to face the threat of the strangers outside.

Lu Yuan’s group tested Mentor Wen’s loyalty and put his teaching skills and knowledge to work. His reports about the Cloud Mist Sect’s search, internal divisions, and a possible captive gave Lu Yuan a potential opening for a rescue plan, though the details remained uncertain.

• Mentor Wen swore to keep the group’s secrets, and Lu Yuan accepted him cautiously.
• Mentor Wen taught Su Yan and Li Wangye about Soul Power resistance using a well-and-pipe analogy, then helped organize and correct Shen Moxin’s theory notes.
• Mentor Wen reported rumors of Soul Kings fighting in the Black Stone Mountain Range, increased Cloud Mist Sect activity, losses within the sect, and stepped-up border patrols.
• Mentor Wen explained that a valuable captive might be kept alive and that the Cloud Mist Sect’s factions could create an opportunity; Lu Yuan ordered him to gather more information.
• Lu Yuan assigned the group further cultivation and planning, while Mentor Wen began sketching a rough map of the Cloud Mist Sect’s power structure.

Lu Yuan founded Spark with his allies to challenge a Soul Power system shaped by talent and birth, and organized their research, training, equipment, and medical work. As they began building their base, he considered provoking a diversion to create an opening to rescue Lin Xiao from the Cloud Mist Sect.

• Mentor Wen asked Lu Qinghe what Lu Yuan wanted, and Lu Qinghe said Lu Yuan sought a path that did not depend on heaven’s favor for a livelihood.
• Lu Yuan named the group Spark, explained its goals, and assigned its members roles in research, teaching, equipment, training, medicine, logistics, and security.
• The group converted the backyard into a theory corner, equipment workshop, training area, and pharmacology station, then began lessons and practical work.
• Lu Yuan gave Mo Chen a design for a discreet, short-range communication tool based on Soul Power resonance and reviewed Shen Moxin’s notes and the youths’ training.
• Studying scant information about the Cloud Mist Sect, Lu Yuan considered making a risky commotion to distract its forces and create a chance to rescue Lin Xiao.

Lu Yuan and his allies spread rumors about a relic, the Cloud Mist Sect’s losses, and its captive Lin Xiao to draw rival forces toward the Black Stone Mountain Range and divert the sect’s attention. By the third day, rumors had reached the area and unfamiliar observers had appeared, leaving Lu Yuan waiting to see how the Cloud Mist Sect and its rivals would respond.

• Lu Yuan proposed using vague rumors about an unusual phenomenon, the Cloud Mist Sect’s losses, and Lin Xiao’s Mutated Martial Soul to draw other forces in and ease pressure on the captive.
• Mo Chen built devices to reveal the messages, while Shen Moxin drafted them and Lu Qinghe helped choose locations.
• Lu Qinghe and Mo Chen planted twelve message devices around Maple Leaf Town, Blue Stone Town, and Falling Goose Pass.
• Over the next two days, Su Yan and Li Wangye trained to break through, while Lu Qinghe and Mentor Wen watched for signs that the rumors had spread.
• Mentor Wen reported that outsiders were discussing the Black Stone Mountain Range and that two unfamiliar Soul Masters appeared hostile toward the Cloud Mist Sect.
• Lu Qinghe reported that a peddler had repeated the rumor and spotted a gray-clad figure surveying the mountains, and Lu Yuan decided to wait for the Cloud Mist Sect’s reaction.

The Star Luo Empire's Inspection Office questioned Lu Qinghe about unusual activity near Maple Leaf Town and the Cloud Mist Sect. After the officials left, Lu Yuan and his allies realized the empire might offer a temporary chance to oppose the sect and save Lin Xiao, though any cooperation would be dangerous.

• Lu Yuan detected unfamiliar Soul Power in the garden as Lu Qinghe reported that Inspection Office officials were approaching.
• Lu Yuan hid the others and watched while Lu Qinghe answered Deacon Han's questions about suspicious visitors, mountain rumors, and the Cloud Mist Sect.
• Deacon Han told Lu Qinghe to report any future misconduct by the Cloud Mist Sect, then left with his team.
• Mentor Wen explained that the Inspection Office was likely seeking leverage over the Cloud Mist Sect and signaling that the empire was watching.
• Shen Moxin and Lu Yuan discussed a possible tacit understanding with the empire, which might help them save Lin Xiao and survive.

Lu Qinghe reported that Deacon Han had offered the family protection and rewards in exchange for information about the Cloud Mist Sect. Lu Yuan chose to pursue a cautious, anonymous exchange with the Inspection Office, leaving the group to weigh the risks of maneuvering between two powerful factions as they sought to save Lin Xiao.

• Deacon Han asked Lu Qinghe to gather intelligence on the Cloud Mist Sect and promised the Inspection Office would help the family in return.
• Lu Qinghe repeated Deacon Han’s offer to the group, and Mo Chen, Shen Moxin, and Mr. Wen reacted with alarm and suspicion.
• Lu Yuan weighed the possible benefits against the risks of revealing their secrets or becoming expendable to the empire.
• Lu Yuan proposed sharing only selected, vague intelligence and cutting contact if the Inspection Office pressured them or betrayed them.
• Mo Chen agreed to try building a one-way, single-use recording chip, and Lu Yuan instructed Lu Qinghe to wait at the old tea stall in three days without approaching Deacon Han.

Lu Yuan and his allies launched a cautious intelligence deal with Deacon Han by delivering a disguised report under the name “Mist.” After Han accepted the first volume and offered protection in return, he demanded more details and warned them to keep their loyalties clear.

• Lu Yuan and his allies prepared a one-use sound-triggered tablet and a carefully mixed report of truths and falsehoods titled “Mist,” Volume One.
• Lu Qinghe exchanged a signal with Deacon Han’s disguised porter at the old tea stall and directed him to retrieve the tablet from Eagle’s Beak Rock.
• After the tablet was taken, Lu Yuan’s group learned that the Inspection Office had posted notices promising increased patrols and urging residents to report suspicious sect activity.
• Deacon Han visited Lu Yuan’s home, confirmed that the first volume was valuable, and offered continued protection if they provided useful intelligence.
• Deacon Han demanded more specific information about the captive and the mysterious force, warned against divided loyalties, and left expecting volume two.

Su Yan broke through to level ten after refining his Soul Power through precise control, and Lu Yuan began planning a trip to find him a suitable first Soul Ring. The group prepared to travel to the outskirts of the Black Stone Mountain Range in three days, where they would also observe the Cloud Mist Sect’s activity near the border.

• Su Yan completed a flawless circle with his Soul Power and broke through to level ten, drawing congratulations and questions from the others.
• Lu Yuan and Shen Moxin discussed Soul Ring abilities that would complement Su Yan’s Iron Hammer Martial Soul, including stability, vibration, and precision.
• Lu Yuan identified the Iron-Armored Pangolin Beast and Thousand-Segment Stone Worm as possible Soul Beast targets and said the trip would also test the group’s training and observe the Cloud Mist Sect’s patrols.
• Lu Yuan set the expedition for three days later and assigned the group preparation tasks, while Su Yan promised to make the most of the opportunity.

Lu Yuan led Su Yan, Li Wangye, Mo Chen, and Shen Moxin through the forest, teaching them to assess Soul Beasts and setting up to capture a young Mountain-Shaking Armadillo for Su Yan’s First Soul Ring. The plan was interrupted when the Desolate Wolf gang appeared to claim the beast, leaving the team hidden above as the bandits prepared to attack it.

• Lu Yuan guided the team through the mountains, explaining how to read Soul Beast signs and avoid danger while Shen Moxin recorded observations and Mo Chen tested his devices.
• Lu Yuan identified a young Mountain-Shaking Armadillo as a suitable First Soul Ring for Su Yan and instructed the team on how to approach it safely.
• Mo Chen and Lu Yuan placed Soul Power disruptors around the armadillo, but a metal device at Mo Chen’s waist emitted a faint hum and alerted it.
• The Desolate Wolf gang emerged from the rocks and moved to surround the armadillo, while Lu Yuan signaled his team to take cover.
• Mo Chen identified the newcomers as notorious bandits, and the scar-faced leader prepared to attack the armadillo as Su Yan watched tensely from hiding.

Lu Yuan and his companions outmaneuvered the Desolate Wolf men long enough for Su Yan to kill a young Mountain-Shaking Armadillo and absorb his First Soul Ring. After the group collected their belongings and started back, Lu Yuan remained wary that the Desolate Wolf might still be following them.

• Scarface and the Desolate Wolf men tried to claim the Mountain-Shaking Armadillo, but Lu Yuan deterred them by invoking the Inspection Office and Deacon Han.
• Lu Yuan coordinated Mo Chen, Li Wangye, and Su Yan to disrupt the beast's charge and deliver a fatal hammer strike.
• Su Yan absorbed the Mountain-Shaking Armadillo's Soul Ring and gained a vibration Soul Skill that worked especially well against hard targets.
• The Desolate Wolf men collected the beast's shell, flesh, and blood, then left while Lu Yuan's group waited before moving on.
• Lu Yuan ordered everyone to withdraw quickly, warning that the Desolate Wolf men might still be nearby.

Su Yan absorbed the Mountain-Shaking Armadillo’s hundred-year Soul Ring and gained a Concussion skill, while Lu Yuan’s group escaped an ambush by Desolate Wolf using prepared Soul Tool traps. As they returned toward Maple Leaf Town, an unfamiliar middle-aged man began watching the old Lu family residence.

• Lu Yuan guided Su Yan through absorbing the Mountain-Shaking Armadillo’s Soul Ring while Shen Moxin, Mo Chen, and Li Wangye kept watch.
• Su Yan successfully gained a pale yellow Soul Ring and discovered his Concussion skill could send penetrating shockwaves through targets and disrupt Soul Power.
• Scarface and four subordinates attacked the group, but Mo Chen’s flash bombs and blast stones disoriented them, allowing the five to escape with the beast’s remains.
• Scarface ordered his men to investigate the newcomers in Maple Leaf Town and vowed retaliation against Lu Yuan’s group.
• Lu Yuan’s group headed back toward town, concerned that Desolate Wolf and other nearby forces were taking notice of Spark.
• An ordinary-looking middle-aged man at an eastern tea stall watched the direction of the old Lu family residence before disappearing into the crowd.