People acquainted with Chinese light novels and manhua are no strangers to Soul Land. Soul Land, written initially as Douluo Dalu by the Chinese novelist Tang Jia San Shao, has made a name for itself in recent years, with fans worldwide hailing it as a masterpiece.
This franchise sticks with the traditional Chinese concepts of cultivation and wuxia and does a great job in delivering it in the premise of over-the-top martial arts and a world of spirit summoning.
Soul Land debuted in 2008 and has released four light novels, and the fifth novel is ongoing, with 267 chapters already released.
Because of the success of the light novels, this franchise has also been releasing manhua (Chinese manga) since 2011, with four currently ongoing.
Apart from the light novels and manhua, Soul Land features three exclusive extras. While not comparable to the original works, make no mistake of skipping it as it will help you understand more about the upcoming plots in the following novels.
Let’s look at the release order of light novels and their manhua and help you decide how to start reading them right away.
Note: The title of Soul Land novels are written in their original title, i.e., Douluo Dalu.
The Reading Order
1. Light Novel
Release Order
The light novels and its extras are listed according to their release dates.
I. Light Novel
- Doulou Dalu (336 Chapters/Complete) (2008)
- Douluo Dalu 2: Unrivaled Tang Sect (622 Chapters/Complete) (2012)
- Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the Dragon King (1981 Chapters/Complete) (2015)
- Douluo Dalu 4: The Ultimate Douluo (1793 Chapters/Complete) (2018)
- Douluo Dalu 5: Rebirth of Tang San (267 Chapters/Ongoing) (2021)
II. Light Novel Extras
- Douluo Dalu 2.5: Legend of the God Realm (120 Chapters/Complete) (2015)
- Douluo Dalu 3.5: Tang Sect Heroes
III. Chronological Order for Light Novels –
- Douluo Dalu
- Douluo Dalu 2: Unrivaled Tang Sect
- Douluo Dalu 2.5: Legend of the God Realm
- Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the Dragon King
- Douluo Dalu 3.5: Tang Sect Heroes
- Douluo Dalu 4: The Ultimate Douluo
- Douluo Dalu 5: Rebirth of Tang San
2. Manhua
Release Order
The manhua and its extras are listed according to their release date.
I. Manhua
- Soul Land (283 Chapters/Ongoing) (2011)
- Soul Land II: Peerless Tang Sect (285 Chapters/Ongoing) (2012)
- Soul Land III: The Legend of the Dragon King (174 Chapters/Ongoing) (2016)
- Soul Land IV: The Ultimate Combat (236.5 Chapters/Ongoing) (2019)
II. Manhua Extra
- Soul Land: Legend of the Gods’ Realm (59 Chapters/Complete) (2015)
- Soul Land: Legend of Tangs’ Heroes (23 Chapters/Ongoing) (2018)
III. Chronological Order for Manhua
- Soul Land
- Soul Land II: Peerless Tang Sect
- Soul Land: Legend of the Gods’ Realm
- Soul Land: Legend of Tangs’ Heroes
- Soul Land III: The Legend of the Dragon King
- Soul Land IV: The Ultimate Combat
- Soul Land: Legend of Tangs’ Heroes
Where To Read Soul Land (Douluo Dalu) Online?
Except for buying digital copies from Amazon Kindle and others, there is no official way to read Soul Land novels and manhua.
I strongly advise you to honor the creator and his effort by purchasing the volumes rather than using pirated services.
Light Novel vs. Manhua
When compared, the light novels are much preferred over the manhua. One might say that manhua is also great, but if you ask any die-hard fan of this franchise, they will nod their head with a frown.
Simply put, manhua does one most basic thing wrong, it approaches the quickest route to finish their chapters and ends up missing out on all the good stuff and changes the main storyline quite a bit.
Readers should always go for the novels first and if you are curious and want to explore more of the artwork, then definitely go for the manhua.
Conclusion
If you are new and thinking of diving into the world of Soul Land, I must suggest you read the chronological order of the novels and the extras. Like any fantasy realm born of pen and paper, Soul Land is best explored through its original light novels and related extras.
The manhua are based on the novels, but they are not fully adopted and are unapologetically rushed. The shown chronological order for the manhua is the correct way to read it, but I would recommend you to read it only after the novels.
Suppose you are looking for something other than your favorite manga or Japanese light novels. In that case, Soul Land will undoubtedly take you on a similar ride with an incredible storyline and off-the-charts action sequences.
Given a chance, Soul Land is definitely worth your time and can be a nice welcoming ride for you in manhua and Chinese light novels if you are entirely a novice going into it.
About Soul Land
Soul Land also known as Douluo Dalu is an adaptation of the Chinese light novel of the same title, written by Tang Jia San Shao.
Tang San is one of Tang Sect martial art clan’s most prestigious disciples and peerless in the use of hidden weapons. With high expectations, the sect’s elders believe his future will be bright; yet Tang chooses to forsake this life at the cost of obtaining the sect’s forbidden lore—an action punishable by death.
Tang, now content with his ascension of knowledge, sees no reason to keep on living and jumps from Hell’s Peak, but little did he know that that would not be the end of his existence.
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