Chapter Summaries

After the Death Messenger’s Corpse Explosion killed Yao Haoxuan and severely wounded several students, Xuan Zi sent the injured back to Shrek Academy and ordered the reserve team to compete in the Soul Fighting Tournament. Wang Dong’er challenged the Academy’s insistence on competing, then confronted Ma Xiaotao, whose reaction to Wang Dong’er’s slap left her wondering whether it had suppressed her evil fire.

• Wang Yan reported that Yao Haoxuan had been obliterated and described the injuries among the Inner and Outer Court students.
• Xuan Zi arranged for the reserve team to compete while he took the most seriously injured students back to Shrek Academy; Wang Dong’er argued that the Academy should withdraw from the tournament.
• At the military camp, Wang Yan told the reserve team to prepare to compete, and Wang Dong’er warned them not to dismiss other Academies after Yao Haoxuan’s death.
• Ma Xiaotao accused Wang Dong’er of joking about Yao Haoxuan, but Wang Dong’er reminded her of her earlier carelessness and Ma Xiaotao collapsed.
• Wang Dong’er slapped Ma Xiaotao, who felt the impact had calmed her evil fire and wondered whether Wang Dong’er’s touch carried an ice-like quality.

After the Death Messenger’s attack left Shrek Academy’s students dead and wounded, Xuan Zi tried to resign, but Mu En made him stay and turned the crisis into a case for reform. The meeting ended with sweeping support for Soul Tools and a plan to exchange students with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

• Xuan Zi learned that the rescued students were stable, then told Yan Shaozhe he would resign from his posts because he blamed himself for the casualties.
• Xuan Zi repeated his resignation at the Sea God Pavilion meeting, but Mu En ordered him to sit and persuaded him to remain.
• Mu En ruled that every Inner Court Disciple must obtain a Flying Soul Tool and a Defense Soul Tool, with the Martial Soul System paying for them.
• Mu En rejected plans to reinforce the tournament team, arguing that the reserve students could grow from the setback and that Shrek had become too bound by its honor.
• Mu En ordered an exchange program with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, required the two departments to integrate their curricula within five years, and named Fan Yu vice dean and leader of the exchange group.

Tang Ya prepared to travel to Star Luo City while wrestling with her feelings for Bei Bei and her determination to revive the Tang Sect. There, Shrek Academy’s reserve team faced the tournament without reinforcements, while the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy took Shrek’s sparse lineup as an insult; the tournament was about to begin.

• Tang Ya recalled learning that Bei Bei was Mu En’s great-grandson and Zhang Lexuan’s intended, and decided she would stop checking on him after one final trip to Star Luo City.
• Wang Yan told Shrek’s reserve team that academy privileges would allow late reinforcements to register, but after they left he admitted to Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen that no reinforcements were coming.
• Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen both suggested that sharing Wang Dong’er’s bedroom might speed their recovery, and Wang Yan told them to ask Wang Dong’er after the first elimination match.
• The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy’s elders accused Shrek of disrespect for arriving with so few competitors, and Elder Ma ordered Ma Rulong to defeat Shrek or leave Mingde Hall.
• Xiao Hongchen cautioned that Shrek’s lineup might have another explanation, while the Star Luo Emperor’s prime minister reported that the tournament draw was complete and Xu Jiawei ordered the event to begin.

Wang Dong'er and the Shrek Academy reserve team faced Tian Ling Academy in the tournament's opening elimination match. Xiao Xiao's formation and Wang Dong'er's explosive attack overwhelmed their opponents, leaving the referee rushing to intervene.

• Xu Jiawei opened the Soul Fighting Tournament and announced that Shrek Academy would face Tian Ling Academy in the first match.
• Wang Yan asked Huo Yuhao about his Simulation ability, and Huo Yuhao concealed that he could imitate Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings.
• Bei Bei led Shrek Academy's reserve team onto the stage, and the crowd and Tian Ling Academy were astonished that Shrek had fielded such young competitors.
• Wang Dong'er resolved to let Shrek's confidence rise before undermining it, while Bei Bei assigned Xiao Xiao to control the opposing team.
• After the match began, Huo Yuhao shared Mental Detection, Xiao Xiao trapped Tian Ling Academy with the Nine Cauldrons Sealing Origin Array, and Wang Dong'er unleashed her Butterfly Goddess Phantom.
• Xiao Xiao's attack injured Tian Ling Academy's weaker soul masters, and Wang Dong'er's phantom exploded across the formation as the referee rushed to intervene.

Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao defeated Tian Ling Academy, while their private plans to leave Shrek Academy deepened Huo Yuhao's doubts about his own ties to it. As the tournament moved toward its round-robin stage, Wang Yan gathered the team to assess injuries and discuss tactics, and He Caitou hesitated to reveal his unusual soul skills.

• Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao used their coordinated attacks to defeat all seven members of Tian Ling Academy without causing fatal injuries, while Huo Yuhao supported them with Mental Detection.
• Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao pretended to need rest, then privately agreed that Xiao Xiao would leave Shrek Academy with Wang Dong'er; Huo Yuhao reflected on his own decision to leave and his fear of becoming a Shrek fanatic.
• Wang Yan gathered the team after two days of matches, and Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen reported that they still needed time to recover from their injuries.
• Wang Yan reviewed the first-round results and proposed using Huo Yuhao's Simulation to disguise the reserve team's strength before asking everyone to explain their soul skills.
• Bei Bei, Xu Shishi, and Jiang Nannan described their abilities, and He Caitou admitted that his soul skills were strange and might not be acceptable to use.

Wang Yan discovered that He Caitou’s Food System cigars could provide powerful enhancements and last for two days, then urged the reserve team to keep them for the Soul Master Tournament. Wang Dong’er and Xiao Xiao rejected the plan as cheating, leaving Wang Yan silent but still unwilling to abandon the potential advantage.

• He Caitou revealed his cigar martial soul and demonstrated its focus-enhancing skill, prompting Wang Yan to recognize his value as a Food System soul master.
• He Caitou demonstrated his strength, defense, and Soul Power enhancement cigars, and Wang Yan ordered him to make sets for the team to test.
• The team tested the cigars and found that their enhancements were generally around ten percent, with stronger effects for some users.
• Wang Yan urged Wang Dong’er and Xiao Xiao to keep cigars for the tournament, but Wang Dong’er challenged the plan as cheating and questioned who would bear the disgrace if it was discovered.
• Wang Dong’er called the plan rotten despite its packaging, and Wang Yan fell silent while privately resolving not to give up the possible advantage.

Wang Yan laid out Shrek Academy’s round-robin tactics and asked Huo Yuhao to use Mental Detection and persuade Wang Dong’er to accept He Caitou’s cigars, but Huo Yuhao refused to compromise the rules. Ling Luochen visited Wang Dong’er to ask about her suspected ice-attribute martial soul, and Ma Xiaotao’s arrival exposed that she had nearly killed Wang Dong’er during an evil-fire eruption.

• Wang Yan assigned Bei Bei to command the team, set the competitors for each tournament format, and asked Huo Yuhao to stay behind.
• Wang Yan bowed to Huo Yuhao and asked him to encourage Wang Dong’er to accept cigars and to use Mental Detection during matches, but Huo Yuhao refused and left.
• Ling Luochen visited Wang Dong’er and asked whether she had a second ice-attribute martial soul, but Wang Dong’er avoided answering.
• Ma Xiaotao arrived and questioned Ling Luochen, whose sharp remark revealed that Ma Xiaotao had first met Wang Dong’er during an evil-fire eruption that nearly killed her.
• Ling Luochen condemned Ma Xiaotao and called herself Wang Dong’er’s protector, while Ma Xiaotao said she was Wang Dong’er’s maid; Wang Dong’er asked them to stop disturbing her cultivation, and Xiao Xiao confronted Ma Xiaotao outside the room.

After Tang Ya questioned Zhang Lexuan’s feelings for Bei Bei, Zhang Lexuan confronted doubts about the bargain that had shaped her life. The round-robin tournament began with Shrek Academy facing Yun Luo Academy, and Xu Shishi took the first match by lighting a cigar before the fight started.

• Xiao Xiao checked that Wang Dong'er was unharmed, and Wang Dong'er said Ling Luochen had come to ask about her suspected second martial soul.
• Tang Ya asked Zhang Lexuan whether she truly loved Bei Bei, prompting Zhang Lexuan to recall Mu En’s conditions and question the circumstances of her family’s destruction.
• Zhang Lexuan and Tang Ya watched Shrek Academy’s first round-robin match after learning that its youngest reserve members had won all seven elimination matches.
• The draw assigned Shrek Academy a one-on-one individual elimination match against Yun Luo Advanced Soul Master Academy, and Wang Yan sent Xu Shishi out first.
• Xu Shishi lit He Caitou’s Soul Power Amplification Thin Cigar on the platform, angering the spectators and Yun Luo Academy before the match began.

Xu Shishi defeated Yun Luo Academy’s contestants with a teleportation trick and shameless harassment, drawing public outrage and forcing the referee to declare Shrek Academy the winner. Shrek’s team left the arena in embarrassment, while Meng Hongchen noticed Wang Dong’er and asked Xiao Hongchen whether she had dropped something.

• Xu Shishi swapped places with Yun Luo Academy’s first contestant at the edge of the stage, causing the contestant to fall and giving Shrek Academy the first victory.
• Xu Shishi leered at Shang Yue and made a crude remark about her chest, which the referee’s still-active Amplifying Soul Tool broadcast to the audience.
• Shang Yue attacked Xu Shishi with her blades, but he blocked her and knocked her off the stage after baiting her toward the edge.
• Xu Shishi appealed to the referee after Shang Yue kept attacking, and the referee declared Yun Luo Academy the loser of the round-robin match.
• Bei Bei pulled Xu Shishi away from the rest area as Shrek’s team endured the audience’s stares, while Meng Hongchen watched Wang Dong’er leave and asked Xiao Hongchen whether she had dropped something.

Meng Hongchen read Wang Dong’er’s diary and learned that Shrek Academy planned to cheat in the tournament, but she decided to seek direct proof before exposing it. She also resolved to approach the “Butterfly Soul Master” and his companions, while Shrek’s team prepared to observe the competition venue.

• Meng Hongchen picked up Wang Dong’er’s diary, took it back to her room, and began reading after the wind revealed a page accusing Shrek Academy of cheating.
• Wang Dong’er’s diary described mistreatment at Shrek Academy, Elder Xuan’s secret organization and dangerous mission, and Teacher Wang Yan’s plan to use cigars and Huo Yuhao’s abilities to cheat.
• Meng Hongchen decided not to show the diary to Xiao Hongchen, choosing instead to meet the “Butterfly Soul Master” and obtain decisive evidence while considering recruiting him, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao.
• Meng Hongchen asked Xiao Hongchen when Shrek Academy would next compete, and he told her their next match was the day after tomorrow.
• Xu Shishi said he was not embarrassed by his behavior onstage, while Bei Bei asked He Caitou for a Soul Tool to observe the competition venue from the hotel roof.

Bei Bei and the others secretly watched Soul Kings compete, prompting debate over Shrek’s strength and whether they should reveal their abilities. Wang Yan then took the students to the Starlight Auction House and argued that soul masters needed to embrace Soul Tools, leaving the group reconsidering their stance as Jiang Nannan worried about the cost.

• Bei Bei led the group to the Star Emperor Hotel roof, where Rank Two Telescopic Soul Tools let them watch Soul Kings battle and understand why Wang Yan had discouraged them from attending.
• Bei Bei insisted the team could no longer hide its strength, then revealed that he and Xu Shishi were preselected as the next Shrek Seven Devils and were expected to serve as Shrek Overseers.
• Wang Yan brought the students to the Starlight Auction House and explained how Soul Tools were changing the tournament and could have protected Shrek’s injured team members.
• An Outer Court core disciple blamed Elder Xuan’s failure to save his brother, who had died on the Overseer mission, and Wang Yan ushered the group aside.
• Bei Bei said he would formally request dual cultivation in the Soul Tool Department, but Huo Yuhao pointed out that Bei Bei had already been doing so.
• Wang Yan explained why soul masters could gain an advantage by using Soul Tools, and he assured Jiang Nannan that the academy would cover the cost.

Wang Yan brought Shrek’s students to the Starlight Auction House to buy Soul Tools, where Wang Dong'er won the cursed Spirit Devouring Carving Knife. The auction ended with Huo Yuhao wondering how she would handle its curse, which Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had warned could threaten him.

• Wang Yan took the students to the underground Soul Tool auction and explained its bidding system and mask ranks.
• Wang Yan bought several Soul Tools for the group, including a Rank Four Milk Bottle for twenty-five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Qing Ya revealed that the finale was the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife, a ranked blade blamed for the tragic deaths of its former owners.
• He Caitou warned that the knife was more dangerous than Qing Ya had described, but Wang Dong'er bid one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and won it.
• Huo Yuhao wondered how Wang Dong'er would remove the knife’s curse after Sky Dream Ice Silkworm warned him that it could threaten him.

Wang Dong'er purified the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife and fused with its Life Gold, strengthening her body and Sea of Consciousness while giving Electrolux a vessel to recover in. The chapter then left Shrek Academy facing Qianling Academy in a team battle, with Huo Yuhao disguising the colors of his soul rings.

• Wang Dong'er completed payment for the auction purchases and obtained the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife, then met Tang Ya and Zhang Lexuan outside the auction house.
• Electrolux purified the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife, revealing its Life Gold and beginning to recover within it.
• The Life Gold fused partly with Wang Dong'er, expanding her Sea of Consciousness and broadening the Soul Bones that could connect with her unusual torso bone.
• Electrolux left Wang Dong'er an emerald butterfly hairpin made from Life Gold and began sleeping as he recovered.
• Shrek Academy's team faced Qianling Academy in a team battle, and Huo Yuhao used Simulation to change the colors of his soul rings.

Shrek Academy defeated Qianling Academy after He Caitou, Bei Bei, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong'er broke through the opposing team’s defenses. Wang Yan proposed forfeiting the next match against a team with three Soul Kings, but Bei Bei and his teammates persuaded him to let them compete.

• Meng Hongchen suspected that Shrek Academy’s cigars helped its students cheat and discussed reporting the team with Xiao Hongchen, who said they would need irrefutable evidence.
• Qianling Academy formed a shield wall, strengthened its defenses, and launched Shen Ce’s Thousand Strikes Spear at Bei Bei, but Xu Shishi switched places with him and took the hit.
• He Caitou used his Soul Cannon turret tactic to blast apart Qianling Academy’s shield formation, allowing Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan to eliminate two opponents.
• Xiao Xiao trapped Qianling Academy with her Nine Cauldrons Sealing Origin Array while Wang Dong’er’s butterflies exploded across the team, helping Shrek win the match.
• Wang Yan proposed forfeiting Shrek’s next match against a team with three Soul Kings, but Bei Bei, Xu Shishi, and He Caitou argued that Shrek should fight, and Wang Yan agreed.

Wang Dong’er met Meng Hongchen, who admitted to reading her planted diary and tried to recruit her and her companions to Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Back at the Star Emperor Hotel, the team agreed to fight Zheng Tian Academy, but Jiang Nannan stormed out after Bei Bei treated her like a reward, leaving her wandering the streets.

• Bei Bei insisted on fighting in the next match, while Huo Yuhao refused to help Shrek cheat with his Mental Detection.
• Meng Hongchen approached Wang Dong’er, apologized for reading her diary, and offered to bring her and her companions into Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Wang Dong’er destroyed the diary and reasoned that Meng Hongchen might use its contents to expose Shrek’s cheating during a future match.
• Bei Bei, Xu Shishi, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Wang Dong’er, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao agreed to compete against Zheng Tian Academy as Wang Yan outlined a strategy centered on Xu Shishi’s Mysterious Nether Swap.
• Bei Bei joked that Jiang Nannan could reward Xu Shishi if he held out, and Jiang Nannan angrily left the meeting; Wang Dong’er followed her, while Xu Shishi agreed to Wang Yan’s plan.
• Jiang Nannan wandered aimlessly through the streets outside the Star Emperor Hotel.

Jiang Nannan told Wang Dong'er about her past and was persuaded to return to her mother after the tournament. As Shrek Academy faced Zheng Tian Academy in a perilous match, Jiang Nannan and Xu Shishi entered the first two-versus-two bout, where Xu Shishi opened with a position swap.

• Jiang Nannan shared how poverty, her father's death, and her mother's illness led her to make a deal with the Mysterious Nether Sect and meet Xu Shishi.
• Wang Dong'er comforted Jiang Nannan, who resolved to visit her mother after the tournament and stopped letting her past with Xu Shishi weigh on her.
• Wang Yan warned Shrek's reserve team about the danger of the Zheng Tian match, but Bei Bei refused to concede and urged the team to fight for Shrek's honor.
• Bei Bei paired Jiang Nannan with Xu Shishi, hoping her provocation would awaken Xu Shishi's hidden power; Jiang Nannan agreed to fight but warned Bei Bei not to use her.
• Jiang Nannan and Xu Shishi faced Zheng Tian Academy's Yang Yifan and Yu Mengdi, whose attacks targeted Xu Shishi; Xu Shishi used Mysterious Nether Swap to exchange places with Yang Yifan.

Jiang Nannan and Xu Shishi won the opening match for Shrek Academy, though Xu Shishi’s Black Tortoise awakening badly injured him and widened the distance between him and Jiang Nannan. As Shrek prepared for the second match, Wang Dong’er and Huo Yuhao challenged Bei Bei and Wang Yan over the team’s cheating, while Zheng Tian Academy’s captain Ye Wuqing stayed off the stage.

• Yu Mengdi and Yang Yifan broke Jiang Nannan’s Defense Soul Tool, but Xu Shishi awakened his Black Tortoise Bloodline and held Yu Mengdi’s attack long enough for Jiang Nannan to eliminate both opponents.
• The referee declared Shrek Academy the winner, and Jiang Nannan refused Bei Bei’s request to take Xu Shishi back to the hotel, having an Outer Court core disciple carry him instead.
• Xu Shishi woke while being carried away and wondered why Jiang Nannan had become so distant from him.
• Bei Bei assigned Xiao Xiao and He Caitou to the second match, but Xiao Xiao said she was strongest with Wang Dong’er, so Bei Bei sent her and Wang Dong’er out instead.
• Huo Yuhao told Bei Bei that competition glory had to be earned honestly rather than through cheating, while Wang Dong’er and Huo Yuhao prepared to compete in the third match.
• Zheng Tian Academy sent two contestants into the second match without its captain, Ye Wuqing, prompting Bei Bei to worry about Shrek’s chances.

Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao defeated Zheng Tian Academy’s Tang Xiaolei and Blood Wolf, with Wang Dong'er stunning the arena by instantly overpowering a Soul King. Their victory advanced Shrek Academy, though their pointed look toward the team’s waiting area left others wondering whether they still considered themselves part of Shrek.

• Ye Wuqing worried about Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao’s abilities but trusted Tang Xiaolei and Blood Wolf to win.
• Blood Wolf charged Xiao Xiao while Tang Xiaolei fired an arrow at Wang Dong'er, who dodged it.
• Xiao Xiao trapped Blood Wolf with Cauldron's Shockwave and struck him with her Dark Gold Terror Claw, knocking him off the stage.
• Wang Dong'er used Soul Torrent to stun Tang Xiaolei, then hit him with Butterfly God's Light and held a Butterfly Wing Blade to his neck.
• Ye Wuqing and Ma Rulong recognized that Wang Dong'er’s soul-bone skill and combat ability made her a threat comparable to a Soul King.
• Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao looked toward Shrek Academy’s waiting area as Wang Yan anticipated that Ling Luochen would join the team for the next match.

Wang Dong'er defeated Zheng Tian Academy’s Soul King and drew attention from Ye Wuqing, while Meng Hongchen warned Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy that Shrek Academy was dangerous and might be cheating with cigars. As Shrek’s injured Inner Court students discussed the next matches, Wang Yan put Bei Bei in charge of the lineup and urged the team to use He Caitou’s cigars.

• Ye Wuqing praised Wang Dong'er’s strength, said he would lead Zheng Tian Academy toward the semifinals, and considered recruiting her and Xiao Xiao.
• Elder Ma announced that Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen had been selected to lead an exchange visit to Shrek Academy, but Meng Hongchen refused and warned that Shrek was dangerous and its students were cheating with cigars.
• Meng Hongchen urged Elder Ma to expose Shrek’s cigar use publicly rather than report it privately, and asked the academy to cancel the exchange or warn the students being sent.
• Wang Yan told Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochen that Wang Dong'er had overwhelmed a Soul King, prompting Ling Luochen and Dai Yueheng to offer to fight in upcoming matches.
• Wang Yan told the recovering students to bring He Caitou’s cigars and gave Bei Bei authority over the next match’s arrangements.

Shrek Academy defeated Changning Academy and learned that its round-of-sixteen opponent would be Dou Ling Royal Academy. Wang Dong'er received a separate VIP invitation to a Starlight Auction House auction, and the chapter left Shrek’s group waiting in adjoining private rooms.

• Wang Dong'er, Xiao Xiao, and Ling Luochen used Huo Yuhao’s Mental Detection to help Shrek Academy defeat Changning Academy in a team battle.
• Wang Yan learned that Shrek Academy would face Dou Ling Royal Academy, whose team had five Soul Kings, two Soul Ancestors, and Soul Tools.
• Wang Yan selected Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Shishi, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong'er for the upcoming team battle.
• Qing Ya brought Shrek Academy invitations to the Starlight Auction House’s top-tier auction and gave Wang Dong'er a separate VIP invitation.
• Wang Yan and Wang Dong'er disagreed over whether Shrek Academy should use her private room, so Qing Ya arranged for the group to wait in Rooms Seven and Eight.