Chapter Summaries

After Hu Haoran’s extraordinary talent was reported to Shrek Academy, Hu Moxie asked that he continue through the assessments rather than receive direct admission. Lan Ziyu brought his file to the Sea God Pavilion, where two powerful elders argued over who would mentor him before he had even enrolled.

• Bei Zi gave Hu Haoran’s file to Lan Ziyu, who discovered Hu Moxie hiding nearby.
• Hu Moxie asked Lan Ziyu to keep Hu Haoran in the assessments and increase their difficulty, following their father’s instruction.
• Lan Ziyu ordered Bei Zi to keep all information about Hu Haoran secret, then took the file to the Sea God Pavilion.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong argued over whether Hu Haoran’s sword or Purple Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul made him a better candidate for their mentorship.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong nearly challenged each other to a duel, but Elder Zhong stopped when Lan Ziyu reminded them Hu Haoran had not yet been admitted.

Lan Ziyu told Elder Zhong and Elder Feng that Hu Moxie wanted Hu Haoran to pass the Shrek assessment on his own, with its difficulty increased. The elders redesigned the fourth stage into a grueling solo challenge, and Lan Ziyu was left to choose students willing to take it alongside Hu Haoran.

• Lan Ziyu explained that Hu Haoran was Hu Moxie's younger brother, calming Elder Zhong and Elder Feng's dispute over recruiting him.
• Lan Ziyu said Hu Moxie and Hu Xi wanted Hu Haoran to complete the assessment unaided and face greater difficulty.
• Elder Zhong changed Hu Haoran's fourth-stage test from a Soul Tool Train attack to a Soul Tool Aircraft attack and required him to rescue every passenger and defeat the Evil Soul Masters.
• Elder Zhong allowed up to five students to take the assessment together, while Elder Feng ordered Lan Ziyu to arrange six or seven Evil Soul Masters.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong said they would watch the assessment, then vanished, leaving Lan Ziyu to find students willing to join Hu Haoran.

Hu Haoran and four other candidates began Shrek Academy’s fourth trial, a simulated crisis aboard a Soul Tool Aircraft. After boarding the plane, Hu Haoran searched for signs of an attack but found nothing, leaving the group waiting tensely as the flight took off.

• Shen Mengyan encouraged Hu Haoran before he went to the examination grounds, where he met Xiao Ge and Hong Lu.
• Lan Ziyu introduced himself as the chief examiner and brought Hu Haoran, Shen Mengyan, Xiao Ge, and Hong Lu to the trial.
• Lan Ziyu forced the late-arriving Pang Er to join them and explained that they had to rescue every passenger and defeat the Evil Soul Masters in the Xian Zhen Ji simulation.
• The five candidates entered a simulated Soul Tool Aircraft flight, and Hu Haoran reassured the nonflying candidates that he and Shen Mengyan would protect them.
• Hu Haoran searched the aircraft with his spiritual power but detected nothing unusual, and the Soul Tool Aircraft took off.

Hu Haoran uncovered the Evil Soul Tower’s plan to hijack the Soul Tool Aircraft and killed the Soul Saint creating the dark clouds above it. He disguised the clouds as still being maintained and returned to help Shen Mengyan stop the other Evil Soul Master, who was completing a formation in the cargo hold.

• Pang Er made flatbreads for the group as Hu Haoran kept watch, while Evil Soul Masters secretly prepared to seize the aircraft and use its passengers to pressure the Bright Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire.
• When the sky darkened, Shen Mengyan sent Xiao Ge, Hong Lu, and Pang Er to guard the pilots, while Hu Haoran located two nearly Soul Douluo-level Evil Soul Masters.
• Hu Haoran sneaked onto the aircraft’s roof and used the Rakshasa Sword Spirit’s Sixth Soul Skill to kill the Evil Soul Master who was creating the dark clouds.
• Hu Haoran switched to the Purple Lightning Tyrant Dragon and maintained the ink-black clouds to conceal the attack, while Elder Feng and Elder Zhong recognized his plan.
• Hu Haoran returned to the cargo hold, where Shen Mengyan reported that the white-robed Evil Soul Master was close to completing a formation.

Hu Haoran and Shen Mengyan killed an Evil Soul Master, then Hu Haoran deduced that the trial centered on the Evil Soul Masters’ plan to capture Shi Ding Tian and Ruan Lu Ming. Shen Mengyan went to protect the two officials while Hu Haoran prepared to draw out the remaining enemies.

• Hu Haoran restrained an Evil Soul Master with his sword dragons and lightning while Shen Mengyan pierced him with her Golden Nether Overlord Strike, burning him and his soul to ashes.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong watched the fight and discussed Shen Mengyan’s powerful, fire-based martial soul.
• Hu Haoran explained that the trial recreated core events and that the Evil Soul Masters likely sought to capture Shi Ding Tian and Ruan Lu Ming.
• Shen Mengyan set off to protect Shi Ding Tian and Ruan Lu Ming, while Hu Haoran took out his Asura's Grin and prepared to flush out the other Evil Soul Masters.

Hu Haoran used a communication Soul Tool and his concealed presence to lure Evil Soul Tower members into revealing their plans. He confronted Evil Four and Evil Five, and as their battle began, Elder Feng and Elder Zhong wagered over whether Hu Haoran would pass his assessment.

• Shen Mengyan agreed to protect Shi Ding Tian and Ruan Lu Ming while Hu Haoran used an Evil Soul Tower communication Soul Tool to draw out the attackers.
• The Evil Soul Tower elder ordered Evil Three to seize the aircraft pilots and kidnap Shi Ding Tian and Ruan Lu Ming, then sent Evil Four and Evil Five to investigate the missing Evil One and Evil Two.
• Hu Haoran used the modified Level Eight Soul Tool Worldly Affection to conceal his aura and watched Evil Four and Evil Five discuss killing the passengers and staging an aircraft accident.
• Hu Haoran revealed himself, admitted he had killed Evil One and Evil Two, and attacked Evil Four and Evil Five with the Soaring Sword and blue-silver lightning.
• Evil Five blocked Hu Haoran's lightning with her transformed arms, while Evil Four attacked in his bear-like martial soul form; Elder Feng and Elder Zhong wagered over whether Hu Haoran would pass his assessment.

Hu Haoran revealed his full strength and defeated Evil Four and Evil Five, but learned that an eight-ring Evil Soul Master had already controlled the Soul Tool Aircraft pilot. He left to confront the stronger enemy.

• Hu Haoran activated his Ice Fire Immunity Body and Eye of Thunder, then used the Great Thunderous Sword Shield to repel Evil Four’s attack.
• Hu Haoran struck with the sixth form of the Qinghua Sword Technique and severed both of Evil Five’s arms.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong argued over who would take Hu Haoran as a disciple while watching the battle on the surveillance screen.
• Hu Haoran trapped Evil Four and Evil Five inside the Worldly Affection Barrier, defeated them with his Sixth Soul Skill, and used another Sixth Soul Skill to finish them and recover Soul Power.
• Hu Haoran learned from Xiao Ge that an eight-ring Evil Soul Master had controlled the Soul Tool Aircraft pilot, and he set off to face the enemy.

Hu Haoran confronted Charm King aboard the hijacked Soul Tool Aircraft after Charm King threatened the passengers and tried to claim Xiao Ge, Hong Lu, and Pang Er as his harem consorts. Hu Haoran wounded Charm King, but Charm King revealed a strange martial soul that made him immune to Hu Haoran’s attacks, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Charm King forced the pilot to steer the Soul Tool Aircraft toward a crowded place in the Kingdom Alliance and threatened the passengers if the pilot disobeyed.
• Charm King discovered Xiao Ge, Hong Lu, and Pang Er, then pressured them into praising him and declared them his harem consorts.
• Hu Haoran arrived after defeating Evil Four and Evil Five, and he cut Charm King’s arm with a lightning-charged attack.
• Hu Haoran attacked Charm King with his Qinghua Sword Technique, but Charm King’s illusory martial soul left him unharmed.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong watched the fight from outside Xian Zhen Ji and wondered whether Hu Haoran could win.

Hu Haoran struggled against Charm King, whose deceptive mental ability made the fight appear different from reality. Xiao Ge's dragon roar awakened Hu Haoran, but Charm King gravely wounded Xiao Ge in retaliation.

• Hu Haoran's attacks repeatedly failed against Charm King, while Xiao Ge, Hong Lu, and Pang Er watched and tried to understand the strange defense.
• Pang Er realized Hu Haoran might be trapped in an illusion, and Xiao Ge determined to break Charm King's mental influence.
• Pang Er gave Xiao Ge his flatbreads, and Xiao Ge used his dragon-type Martial Soul to unleash a powerful roar.
• The roar awakened Hu Haoran, who recognized that he had been attacking an illusory phantom and understood Charm King's deceptive ability.
• Charm King rushed at Xiao Ge and kicked him, leaving him gravely wounded and close to death.

Hu Haoran intervened to protect Xiao Ge and fought Charm King, overcoming his illusions and trapping him behind a barrier. He revealed his Purple Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul and killed Charm King, but the battle left him exhausted.

• Hu Haoran blocked Charm King's attack on Xiao Ge and told Pang Er and Hong Lu to protect him while he fought.
• Hu Haoran resisted Charm King's spiritual attacks, struck with his Spring Thunder Stab, and trapped him inside a barrier.
• Charm King tore through Hu Haoran's lightning net, then tried to exploit an opening with his Three-word Battle Armor.
• Hu Haoran summoned the Purple Lightning Tyrant Dragon, freezing Charm King with its martial soul suppression.
• Hu Haoran pierced Charm King's heart with his dragon claw and collapsed with exhaustion after the battle.

Hu Haoran discovered that the remaining Evil Soul Masters planned to detonate bombs on the Soul Tool Aircraft and kill its passengers. He sent Xiao Ge and the others to remove the bombs while he rushed to protect Shen Mengyan and confront the enemy heading for her.

• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong realized Hu Haoran was recovering Soul Power at the rate of someone with a Soul Core, despite being only a Soul Emperor.
• Evil Three learned that Evil Four and Evil Five had stopped responding and ordered the remaining Evil Soul Masters to seize Shi Ding Tian and Ruan Lu Ming before detonating the bombs.
• Hu Haoran impersonated Charm King over a communication Soul Tool and learned that bombs had been planted on both wings of the aircraft.
• Hu Haoran asked Xiao Ge, Pang Er, and their companion to find and throw the bombs out of the aircraft, and the three agreed.
• Hu Haoran contacted Shen Mengyan and rushed toward her after warning that an Evil Soul Master was heading for her location.

Shen Mengyan confronted Evil Three, who had disguised herself as a flight attendant and tried to kill her. After Shen Mengyan gained the upper hand with her Golden Flame and combat techniques, Evil Three revealed her strength as a level seventy-five Soul Saint and vanished at high speed, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Evil Three disguised herself as a flight attendant and lured Shen Mengyan toward a storage room.
• Evil Three attacked Shen Mengyan with potent poison, but Shen Mengyan revealed her six soul rings and struck her with Golden Flame Cloud Burning Strike.
• Shen Mengyan identified Evil Three by her operation codename and pressed the fight with Flowing Butterfly Steps and Hegemon Fist.
• Evil Three revealed her seven soul rings, level seventy-five Soul Saint strength, and cat martial soul before vanishing at speed.

Hu Haoran rescued Shen Mengyan from Evil Three and helped her kill the Soul Sage. With only the Evil Soul Tower’s elder remaining, Hu Haoran planned to use his communication Soul Tool to lure him out.

• Shen Mengyan struggled to keep up with Evil Three’s speed as the Soul Sage’s attacks and corrosive black mist rapidly drained her strength.
• Hu Haoran arrived from ambush and struck Evil Three with his Soaring Sword Technique, severely wounding her with a thunder dragon.
• Hu Haoran sensed Evil Three was preparing to escape and launched a lightning attack while Shen Mengyan bound her with flames she had prepared across the battlefield.
• Hu Haoran pierced Evil Three’s throat and killed her, then explained to Shen Mengyan that he would not risk sparing an Evil Soul Master.
• Hu Haoran identified the elder as the last remaining member of the Evil Soul Tower and said he would lure him out using his communication Soul Tool.

Hu Haoran fought an Evil Soul Tower elder atop a Soul Tool Aircraft caught in a thunderstorm, while Elder Zhong and Elder Feng watched his assessment in Xian Zhen Ji. After the elder charged a Soul Skill and Hu Haoran unleashed his strange soul rings and Fifth Soul Skill, both fighters committed to a lethal attack, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Hu Haoran lured the Evil Soul Tower elder onto the aircraft roof and challenged him while the aircraft struggled through a thunderstorm.
• Elder Zhong and Elder Feng debated Hu Haoran’s chances, then chose to let the assessment continue.
• Hu Haoran and the elder traded spear and sword attacks, and Hu Haoran used Great Thunderous Sword Shield to repel the elder but was driven to the aircraft’s edge.
• The elder began charging a Soul Skill, and Hu Haoran revealed his unusual soul rings before unleashing his Fifth Soul Skill, Rakshasa Soaring Sword: Evil Thunder Annihilation.
• The elder charged Hu Haoran’s heart with his spear as Hu Haoran aimed his sword at the elder’s head.

Hu Haoran defeated the bomber elder by sacrificing himself in the trial, then woke safely in Xian Zhen Ji to learn that the group had passed. Lan Ziyu failed Hong Lu but granted him another chance after Hu Haoran spoke up, leaving the group to prepare for the fifth trial.

• Hu Haoran held the elder in place and used Shen Mengyan’s attack and his second martial soul’s lightning to destroy them both, while the others had already dismantled the bombs and saved the passengers.
• The Soul Tool Aircraft landed safely, and Elder Zhong and Elder Feng judged Hu Haoran’s sacrifice sufficient for him to pass the trial.
• Hu Haoran woke beside Shen Mengyan, Xiao Ge, Hong Lu, Pang Er, and Lan Ziyu, who announced that everyone except Hong Lu had passed.
• Lan Ziyu rejected Hong Lu for contributing little, but Hu Haoran asked him to give Hong Lu another chance, and Lan Ziyu agreed to let him attempt the fifth trial.
• Hong Lu thanked Hu Haoran and accepted his advice to be braver, while Pang Er said the next trial would test wilderness survival skills.

Hu Haoran and his companions began the fifth trial in a simulated Star Luo Great Forest, where their Soul Power was sealed and they had to survive using their physical strength and wits. After discussing their reasons for seeking strength and peace, they followed Hu Haoran to find a safe campsite and prepare supplies.

• Lan Ziyu explained that the trial would last a month inside the Soul Sealing Platform, where Soul Power and storage Soul Tools were unusable, and assigned each examinee an enhanced weapon.
• Hu Haoran received the Sky Thunder Sword, Shen Mengyan the Golden Fire Dagger, Xiao Ge the Earth Mound Staff, Hong Lu the Mad Battle Hammer, and Pang Er the Flying Divine Claws.
• The group entered the simulated forest, discovered their Soul Power was sealed but their spiritual power remained, and began assessing their surroundings.
• Pang Er explained that he had entered Shrek Academy to control his own life and prevent war, while Hu Haoran described the horrors of battle and argued that strength was needed to deter aggression.
• Hu Haoran proposed that the group find a safe campsite and make tools, medicines, insect repellent, and other necessities, then led them toward a suitable location.

Hu Haoran and his companions encountered a nearly ten-thousand-year-old Black Scaled Horned Python in the Soul Sealing Platform, where their Soul Power was sealed. After it wounded Hong Lu, Hu Haoran chose to fight alongside the others and opened the battle with his Qinghua Sword Technique.

• Hu Haoran realized the silent forest contained no soul beasts because a powerful creature had driven them away, and he warned the group to stay alert.
• Elder Feng and Elder Zhong identified the lurking creature as a Black Scaled Horned Python nearing the ten-thousand-year realm and discussed the danger it posed.
• The Black Scaled Horned Python ambushed Pang Er, but Hong Lu shoved him aside and took the blow, suffering internal injuries.
• Hu Haoran explained the python's weak points and proposed holding it back while the others fled, but Shen Mengyan and Xiao Ge refused to abandon him.
• Hu Haoran assigned Pang Er to protect Hong Lu, then charged the python and attacked with the first stance of the Qinghua Sword Technique.

Hu Haoran, Shen Mengyan, and Xiao Ge fought the Black Scaled Horned Python on the Soul Sealing Platform despite having their Soul Power sealed. After the python wounded Hu Haoran and evaded his first killing strike, the group worked together to stop it tunneling, and Hu Haoran killed it with a lightning-charged sword attack.

• The Black Scaled Horned Python overwhelmed Hu Haoran and resisted Shen Mengyan’s and Xiao Ge’s attacks, forcing the group to rely on physical strength and spiritual power.
• Hu Haoran coordinated the fight while Shen Mengyan and Xiao Ge distracted and hindered the python, allowing his lightning attacks to break through its scales.
• Hu Haoran aimed a fatal strike at the python’s heart, but it tunneled underground and counterattacked, badly injuring him.
• Shen Mengyan identified the python’s tunneling strategy, and she and Xiao Ge created an opening by attacking its wound and blocking its vision.
• Xiao Ge disrupted the ground to prevent the python from tunneling, and Hu Haoran used his Lightning Angel Wings to pierce its heart and kill it.
• Hu Haoran collapsed from exhaustion after the group defeated the Black Scaled Horned Python.

After Hu Haoran’s group killed the Black Scaled Horned Python, they discovered that defeating soul beasts restored their sealed Soul Power and strengthened their bodies. They spent the next twenty-five days hunting targets, and all five members had fully recovered their Soul Power by the time they continued the trial.

• Elder Zhong and Elder Feng watched Hu Haoran’s group defeat the Black Scaled Horned Python and praised Hu Haoran’s swordsmanship and perfectly fused soul bone.
• Hu Haoran’s group made a base in the python’s nest, prepared medicine and tools, and ate the python’s meat for dinner.
• Hu Haoran, Shen Mengyan, and Xiao Ge noticed that killing the python had restored some of their Soul Power and improved their physical strength.
• Hu Haoran guessed that hunting soul beasts restored their power, and he promised Pang Er a chance to deliver the final blows so he could benefit too.
• Hu Haoran and Shen Mengyan led the group in hunting soul beasts, and after twenty-five days all five had fully recovered their Soul Power.

Hu Haoran and his companions entered the territory of the White Jade Lion King and the Multi-armed Vajra to challenge powerful spirit beasts, despite sensing the danger. The Multi-armed Vajra killed Xiao Ge with one blow, and Hu Haoran attacked again by concealing a sword technique in a Soul Power mist.

• Elder Zhong and Elder Feng realized Hu Haoran and his companions were heading into the territory of the White Jade Lion King and the Multi-armed Vajra, and decided to watch them face the danger.
• Hu Haoran and his companions entered the oppressive territory, heard a powerful roar, and discovered that a spiritual force had locked onto them.
• The Multi-armed Vajra dropped from above, and Hu Haoran identified it as a fifty-thousand-year spirit beast with strength comparable to an ordinary hundred-thousand-year spirit beast.
• Hu Haoran and his companions prepared to fight, but the Multi-armed Vajra effortlessly dispersed Hu Haoran's sword attack and killed Xiao Ge with a single blow.
• Hu Haoran urged the others to keep fighting, and Pang Er offered his flatbread before Hu Haoran used the Qinghua Sword Technique, Mount Hua Cloud Dance Illusory Shadow, to conceal his attack in mist.