Chapter Summaries

Xue Qinghe investigated Bishop Salas’s death and withdrew Spirit Hall’s surveillance of Shrek after concluding that their old enemies were responsible. Underground, Wang Xiaofeng brought Qin Ming into his secret research base and put him to work before Qin Ming was finally allowed to return to normal life.

• Xue Qinghe learned that Bishop Salas had died at a cratered site, and he concluded that a powerful water-attributed Soul Master and a weaker lightning-attributed Soul Master had fought him.
• Xue Qinghe found that no one had claimed Salas’s bounty, suspected Spirit Hall’s old enemies, and ordered the surveillance team to withdraw.
• Qin Ming became restless in the underground hideout, so Wang Xiaofeng invited him to work as a laboratory assistant.
• Wang Xiaofeng gave Qin Ming access to the underground research base and assigned him to keep a Soul Bone specimen at a controlled temperature by channeling Soul Power into it.
• Qin Ming helped with laboratory duties and saw mutated creatures in the Containment Area, including a three-headed, six-legged, nine-tailed mouse.
• After a week underground, Qin Ming was carried out of the pagoda disguised as a severely injured person and rejoiced at returning to normal life.

Wang Xiaofeng announced a year-long exchange program with Star Luo Royal Academy and a make-up exam, prompting his students to prepare for the competition and the Back Mountain’s hazards. He explained the conditions for perfect Martial Soul Fusion Skill compatibility, leaving Grandmaster to realize that he could never attain it with Flander and Liu Erlong.

• A Soul Hunting Squad watched a girl absorb a black Soul Ring, and a crown formed from a gemstone on her forehead.
• Wang Xiaofeng announced that the top five students in each grade could join a year-long exchange at Star Luo Royal Academy and that first-years would take a unified make-up exam.
• Aisida's Squad worried that the Back Mountain exam might penalize them for damaging medicinal herbs, and Alan suggested using the Credit Exchange Handbook to identify them.
• Flander asked Wang Xiaofeng to join the exchange as a teacher, and Wang Xiaofeng's main body appeared and explained how he had raised Dai Mubai's Martial Soul compatibility.
• Wang Xiaofeng told Grandmaster that perfect compatibility required matching or complementary Martial Souls and flawless mutual understanding, and Grandmaster left after realizing he could not meet those conditions with Flander and Liu Erlong.

At Shrek Academy’s year-end meeting, Wang Xiaofeng proposed turning the upcoming examinations into a public exhibition to cover a budget shortfall, and Flander organized the event. Wang Xiaofeng also told Flander that his main body would resign from teaching after the exchange event, while Shrek’s free Soul Battle promotions quickly drew attention in Heaven Dou City.

• Ren Yingying reported that the Battle Arena had exhausted five years of subsidies, leaving the academy short one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and forcing a delay to the Mimetic Cultivation rooms.
• Wang Xiaofeng proposed opening the final examinations to the public and raising money through food, souvenirs, and betting, and Flander ordered the departments to prepare the event on a tight schedule.
• After the meeting, Wang Xiaofeng told Flander that his main body would resign from teaching after the two academies’ exchange event because the academy no longer needed him to handle teaching duties.
• Shrek’s promotional posters advertised three days of free Soul Battle viewing across Heaven Dou City, and Flander heard crowds discussing the event as he walked through the streets.

After the written exams, Ma Hongjun agreed to fight in an exhibition match after Flander offered him money and the promise of attention. While helping Wang Xiaofeng test a Soul Bone, Ma Hongjun discovered a powerful affinity with the fire-attributed Yama's Left Arm Bone.

• Ma Ke learned the academy's Practical Assessment would feature open spirit battles and joked around with Aisida, Fang Jing, and the others.
• Flander persuaded Ma Hongjun to take part in the exhibition match, offering him 500 Gold Soul Coins and a chance to show off.
• Ma Hongjun complained to Wang Xiaofeng about the match and drank a dozen bottles of orange-flavored energy potion, mistaking it for soda.
• Wang Xiaofeng had Ma Hongjun use his Soul Power to heat a Soul Bone during an experiment.
• Ma Hongjun sensed that the Soul Bone was tempting him to eat it, and Wang Xiaofeng identified it as the fire-attributed Yama's Left Arm Bone.
• Ma Hongjun learned the Soul Bone was over ten thousand years old and cradled it as a treasure because he felt a strong spiritual connection to it.

Shrek Academy opened its new Battle Arena to the public with an exhibition match between graduate Ma Hongjun and teacher Li Yusong. After their spectacular clash, Flander announced the start of the first-year Soul Battle assessment.

• Liu Erlong directed students to their assigned seats and barred those not taking exams from entering the Soul Battle Stage.
• Ma Hongjun reluctantly put on Flander's GG-covered Battle Robe and entered the arena to cheers from the crowd.
• Ma Hongjun and Li Yusong released their Martial Souls and fought with powerful Soul Skills, with Li Yusong knocking Ma Hongjun off balance before he returned to the stage.
• Li Yusong and Ma Hongjun combined their strongest attacks, creating a huge collision that Flander and the other teachers contained before it could endanger the audience.
• The crowd applauded the soot-covered fighters, and Flander announced that the first-year Soul Battle assessment would begin.

Wang Xiaofeng left the laboratory to arrange his affairs before spending a year in the Star Luo Empire and renewed his potion contract with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He reunited with Ning Rongrong, whose unexpected concessions secured the deal, and left her with a letter from Xiao Ao.

• Wang Xiaofeng told Zhao Wuji he needed to prepare his territory and renew the contract before going to the Star Luo Empire for a year.
• Ning Rongrong met Wang Xiaofeng at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect while Gliev and Elder Li argued over the potion contract.
• Ning Rongrong explained that the sect needed Wang Xiaofeng's fast-acting potions and thanked him for choosing to cooperate with them.
• The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect accepted the potions at their original price, and Gliev left bewildered by the sudden concessions.
• Wang Xiaofeng declined Ning Rongrong's invitation to stay and gave her a letter from Xiao Ao, which she eagerly took before hurrying away.

Wang Xiaofeng returned to Calabash Village, joined his family and village elders to discuss cooperative dividends, and celebrated the New Year with his relatives. The chapter ended with him setting off fireworks for Wang Beibei and the gathered villagers.

• Li Bo mistook Wang Xiaofeng for a pickpocket, then excitedly recognized him as his idol after Wang Shouchang corrected him.
• Wang Xiaofeng returned home and told He Li that he had finished his work at the academy and would go to Star Luo for an academic exchange next year.
• The village elders reported the cooperative’s earnings and agreed to distribute 1,000 Gold Soul Coins in dividends, split between Wang Xiaofeng’s family and Calabash Village.
• Wang Xiaofeng and the villagers celebrated New Year’s Eve together, and he set off fireworks for Wang Beibei after the family exchanged red envelopes.

Wang Xiaofeng returned to Soto City, revisited the Moonlight Hotel and learned that Nidya was in trouble with the Zhou Family. At the academy exchange, Shrek’s students traveled with Li Muchen and Star Luo Royal Academy toward the Star Luo imperial capital.

• Wang Xiaofeng arrived in Soto City and booked his old Room 312 at the Moonlight Hotel, which Nidya had kept for him.
• Wang Xiaofeng stayed at the hotel for three days, then promised the hotel servant he would visit the Zhou Family after she asked him to take Nidya away from its filth.
• Wang Xiaofeng joined Shrek’s teachers and students at the Soto City Grand Hotel, where they met Star Luo Royal Academy’s smaller delegation led by Li Muchen.
• Flander and Li Muchen exchanged the academies’ teachers and students, and Flander astonished Star Luo’s delegation by flying without using his martial soul.
• Li Muchen led the Shrek group into carriages pulled by hundred-year Tiger Horses, and Wang Xiaofeng traveled with the first- and second-year students toward the Star Luo imperial capital.

The Shrek group traveled to Star Luo Royal Academy and settled into its villas, where they learned about the academy’s strict curriculum and grading system. The chapter left them preparing to take physical assessments that would help determine their grade levels.

• Wang Xiaofeng studied the carriage’s shock-absorbing structure during the long journey to Star Luo City.
• Li Muchen brought the group to Star Luo Royal Academy and introduced Wang Chen as the person responsible for their daily lives and studies.
• Wang Chen arranged the students’ enrollment and accommodations, and Ma Ke and Fang Jing explored Villa No. 5.
• Wang Chen explained the academy’s demanding schedule, monthly assessments, promotion requirements, and expulsion rules.
• The Shrek students followed Wang Chen to the Training Field for their physical assessments.

Star Luo Royal Academy completed the students’ physical, Soul Power, and knowledge assessments while Ma Ke comforted Fang Jing over his poor physical results. The academy also assessed Qin Ming, Ma Hongjun, and Wang Xiaofeng, then assigned the three teachers to observe sixth-year classes before choosing teaching research groups.

• Ma Ke found Fang Jing distressed about placing last in the physical assessment and learned that Wang Xiaofeng had taken him on as a student after Fang Jing tried to grow a replacement Blood Orchid.
• Ma Ke reassured Fang Jing that he could prove himself through the knowledge test, and Wang Chen reminded them to head to the Lecture Hall on time.
• Li Muchen gave Qin Ming, Ma Hongjun, and Wang Xiaofeng their assessment reports, and Wang Xiaofeng earned 99 points after identifying a flawed question.
• Li Muchen told Qin Ming, Ma Hongjun, and Wang Xiaofeng to attend classes in Class One of the sixth year for a week before selecting teaching research groups.

Wang Xiaofeng and his companions settled into life at Star Luo Royal Academy before Dai Mubai arrived to recruit him for a dangerous ancient ruin expedition tied to the Evil Eye White Tiger Saint King Inheritance. Wang Xiaofeng agreed to join after bargaining for access to the Star Luo Imperial Palace's library and meals.

• Senior Qin Ming and Wang Xiaofeng discussed Star Luo Royal Academy's teaching methods and the differences between the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires.
• Dai Mubai visited the dormitory, apologized for bringing the group to Star Luo without warning, and revealed that the academy exchange was a cover for his real purpose.
• Dai Mubai asked Wang Xiaofeng to join an expedition into an ancient ruin connected to the Evil Eye White Tiger Saint King Inheritance, explaining that entrants had to be under twenty and possess at least level forty-five Soul Power.
• Wang Xiaofeng initially refused, but Dai Mubai pleaded for his help because he and Zhu Qing needed him for the dangerous expedition.
• Wang Xiaofeng agreed to join after Dai Mubai promised him access to Wen Yuan Pavilion and meals at the highest imperial standard.

Li Muchen protested Dai Mubai’s approval of Wang Xiaofeng’s six-month leave, while Wang Xiaofeng investigated Zhou Manor before rejoining Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. The group left by carriage to continue their journey, with Wang Xiaofeng postponing his investigation of Nidya.

• Li Muchen learned that Dai Mubai had approved Wang Xiaofeng’s six-month leave and complained that the exchange teacher had been taken away after one day.
• Dai Mubai told Wang Xiaofeng that Ma Hongjun wanted to meet a prospective bride before deciding whether to marry her.
• Wang Xiaofeng explored Star Luo City, questioned a noodle stall owner about the well-regarded Zhou Family, and learned that Nidya was not in Zhou Manor.
• A white-bearded old man sensed Wang Xiaofeng’s concealed spiritual power and wondered when such an expert had arrived in Star Luo City.
• Wang Xiaofeng returned to find Zhu Zhuqing waiting with pastries for him, and the group boarded a carriage to leave.

Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Wang Xiaofeng reached Hard Earth Village and joined Li Yong and Wu Yue'e, who were waiting to guide them into the mountains. They headed toward Dragon Shrouding Mountain to investigate an ancient jar, stopping at a boundary marker where recently cut weeds suggested someone had passed through.

• After seven days of travel, Dai Mubai challenged Zhu Zhuqing and Wang Xiaofeng to race to Hard Earth Village, and they left the carriage behind.
• Li Yong recognized the White Tiger crest on Dai Mubai's shoulder and tried to flee, but Dai Mubai stopped him and introduced himself and his companions.
• Wu Yue'e explained that her teacher had led an archaeological team to investigate an ancient jar found in a stream after a rainstorm two months earlier.
• Li Yong gathered the supplies and led Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Wang Xiaofeng toward Dragon Shrouding Mountain as Wu Yue'e described its dangerous miasma and poisonous creatures.
• The group reached a crude boundary marker, and Wang Xiaofeng noticed that the surrounding weeds had been cut.

Dai Mubai and Wang Xiaofeng traveled with Li Yong and Li Yue'e into Dragon Shrouding Mountain, where Dai explained the imperial history behind the Qing King Tomb and the lost Tiger Tally. The group reached Sleeping Dragon Mountain, the site of their expedition, as Dai sought the Tiger Tally to fulfill one of his clan’s requirements for ascending the throne.

• Li Yong warned the group about the coming miasma and suggested they camp for the night.
• Wang Xiaofeng dried the damp firewood, and the group ate and settled in for the night.
• Dai Mubai told Wang Xiaofeng about the nine Tiger Tallies, the general who vanished with one in the ruins, and the Tiger Tally’s role in Dai’s path to the throne.
• Wang Xiaofeng demanded a higher fee for helping find the Tiger Tally, and Dai Mubai agreed to pay in Gold Soul Coins.
• Wang Xiaofeng cooked breakfast, and the group continued through the mountains until they reached Sleeping Dragon Mountain.

Wang Xiaofeng and Dai Mubai reached Zhao Xiaofeng’s camp near the ancient ruins, where they learned a trial had begun inside Stone Mountain. With time running short, Dai Mubai’s group entered the mountain through a deep fissure, leaving Zhao Xiaofeng instructions to blast it open if they did not return within half a month.

• Wang Xiaofeng pushed Li Yong, Li Yue'e, and Wang Xiaofeng’s companions off a cliff, then Zhao Xiaofeng’s guards recognized the newcomers and escorted them into camp.
• Zhu Zhuqing asked why Wang Xiaofeng had targeted Li Yong and Li Yue'e, and Wang Xiaofeng revealed that he had discovered their identities were false.
• Li Gujiu rejected Zhao Xiaofeng’s proposal to use explosives near the ruins, then left the meeting after arguing that the blasts could destroy artifacts.
• Zhao Xiaofeng told Dai Mubai that strange phenomena suggested the Stone Mountain trial had begun, and the group decided to enter that night.
• Zhao Xiaofeng led the group through the venomous insects to Stone Mountain, where Dai Mubai chose to enter through a fissure and asked Zhao to blast the mountain if they failed to return in half a month.

Wang Xiaofeng, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing descended into Stone Mountain’s fissure and were attacked by venomous centipedes. After Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing fought off the swarm and a huge centipede, Wang Xiaofeng identified the strange Soul Beast as a Six-Winged Poison Centipede, leaving the group facing it in a standoff.

• Wang Xiaofeng sent lanterns down into the fissure, then led Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing into the mountain on the Jet Gourd.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing recognized the medicinal scent as similar to the sachets Tang San had given them years earlier.
• Zhu Zhuqing sensed danger as more than a hundred venomous centipedes emerged from the rocks and attacked.
• Dai Mubai used his White Tiger Meteor Shower to destroy the smaller centipedes, while Zhu Zhuqing helped stop a giant centipede’s lunge.
• The giant centipede survived their attacks without a scratch and faced them in a standoff.
• Wang Xiaofeng found no record of the creature and named it a Six-Winged Poison Centipede.

Wang Xiaofeng cleared the remaining centipedes while Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing used their martial soul fusion to severely injure the Six-Winged Poison Centipede. After Wang Xiaofeng stopped it from self-destructing its Inner Core, he struck it through the mouth with a spear, leaving the powerful Soul Beast pinned to the cave wall but still alive.

• Wang Xiaofeng used water arrows to kill the centipedes emerging from the cave’s crevices.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing transformed into the black Netherworld Black Tiger and damaged the Six-Winged Poison Centipede with an attack that passed through its body.
• The injured Six-Winged Poison Centipede spat out its Inner Core and prepared to self-destruct it.
• Wang Xiaofeng formed a water racket and knocked the Inner Core away while Dai Mubai shielded Zhu Zhuqing.
• Wang Xiaofeng hurled a refined-iron spear through the Six-Winged Poison Centipede’s mouth, pinning it to the stone wall.

Wang Xiaofeng helped Dai Mubai survive a centipede’s poison by having him swallow its Inner Core and using concentrated life energy to suppress it, restoring Dai Mubai’s health and raising his Soul Power to level 55. The three continued through the Underground Cave and found the hidden Bronze Gate that marked the entrance to the ancient ruins.

• After the Six-Winged Poison Centipede poisoned Dai Mubai, Wang Xiaofeng sealed his meridians and offered him its Inner Core as a risky cure.
• Dai Mubai swallowed the Inner Core and endured severe pain, so Wang Xiaofeng infused him with concentrated life energy and enhanced him with his Soul Rings.
• Dai Mubai recovered, lost his lingering injuries, and advanced to level 55; he celebrated with Zhu Zhuqing.
• Wang Xiaofeng harvested the centipede’s venom, bodily fluids, and body parts before the three continued deeper into the cave.
• Dai Mubai carved a way through the rock, leading the group into a vast cavern containing palace halls and a gigantic Osmanthus Tree.
• Dai Mubai recognized a massive, concealed Bronze Gate as the entrance to the ancient ruins, while Wang Xiaofeng realized his usual detection methods had failed to reveal it.

Wang Xiaofeng entered the trial passage beyond the Bronze Gate, where he uncovered ancient murals showing a monstrous snake protecting humanity. After Zhu Zhuqing followed him through the gate, four members of a mysterious sect opened it from outside and entered, leaving the trial and their intentions unresolved.

• Wang Xiaofeng identified the Bronze Gate’s inscription as “God Chosen Land” and explained that it was written in the ancient Apuleian Language.
• When the gate’s golden mist appeared, Dai Mubai passed through first, and Wang Xiaofeng followed after collecting some of the energy mist.
• Wang Xiaofeng absorbed the passage’s mist into his Gourd and found vivid murals depicting humans, savage beasts, and a one-eyed monster snake worshipped as a guardian deity.
• After Zhu Zhuqing entered the gate, the Osmanthus Tree absorbed the remaining energy mist, and four people in black-and-red robes emerged from the shadows.
• The four newcomers pressured a young man to open the Bronze Gate in exchange for helping him find his ancestor’s relic, then entered the gate together before it closed.

Wang Xiaofeng, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing explored an underground city and found a hidden passage beneath a pool leading to the Evil Eye White Tiger Saint King's statue chamber. There they discovered Qing King's corpse among fragments of missing statues, and Wang Xiaofeng suspected the statues had killed him.

• Wang Xiaofeng emerged from a dark passage into an illuminated underground city and reunited with Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing.
• Zhu Zhuqing reported that she had found many lifelike Humanoid Stone Statues but no Saint King Statue, so the three searched the ruined city.
• After finding no hidden passages, Wang Xiaofeng pointed out a deep pool, and Dai Mubai discovered a passage at its bottom leading to another cavern.
• The three swam through the passage and reached a chamber containing the Evil Eye White Tiger Saint King statue and statues of strange beasts.
• Zhu Zhuqing spotted a figure in the mist, and Wang Xiaofeng cleared it to reveal Qing King's corpse beside fragments of five missing statues.