Recaps

As sect teams gathered to register for the expanded tournament in Ming Capital, Sloth of the Witch Cult frightened Nan Qiuqiu and drew Nan Shuishui into a tense confrontation. Nan Shuishui led the Earth Dragon Sect away after warning them to surrender if they faced Sloth’s team, which she suspected was tied to Evil Soul Masters.

• The Sun Moon Empire opened tournament registration to sects and offered Soul Tools as prizes, prompting a large increase in participating teams.
• Sloth introduced his Witch Cult team at Mingyue Hotel, then bit his own finger while preaching about love and the Witch.
• Nan Qiuqiu panicked at Sloth’s bloody behavior, released her Rouge Dragon Martial Soul, and drew the Earth Dragon Sect into a defensive formation.
• Nan Shuishui stepped between Sloth and the Earth Dragon Sect, but Sloth checked his Gospel and withdrew when it gave no revelation to fight her.
• Nan Shuishui told Nan Qiuqiu to concede if they encountered Sloth’s team and suspected its members were Evil Soul Masters or vile criminals.

The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament opened in Ming Capital, where Huo Yuhao detected a second possible Evil Soul Master team and Nan Fusheng planned to make the Witch Cult notorious. The Witch Cult’s first match began against Proud Sword Sect, drawing Zhongli Wu’s attention to Real Person.

• Nan Fusheng’s Witch Cult completed registration and received basic tournament accommodations.
• The teams marched to the competition grounds, where Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection was repelled by a mental Soul Master whose aura resembled the Holy Spirit Cult’s.
• Xu Tianran and Ju Zi arrived to cheers, and Xu Tianran officially opened the tournament.
• The preliminary elimination matches began, and Shrek Academy received a bye as the previous champions.
• The Witch Cult was matched against Proud Sword Sect, and Real Person and Wu Yifan entered the field.
• Huo Yuhao warned his companions to watch the match, while Zhongli Wu took notice of Real Person.

Real Person defeated Wu Yifan of the Proud Sword Sect with his grotesque summons, and the referee declared Wu Yifan killed in battle. Huo Yuhao identified the aura of wraiths around Real Person, leaving the Tang Sect suspicious that he was an Evil Soul Master despite his concealed aura.

• Zhongli Wu told Xu Tianran that Real Person seemed destined to join the Holy Church, prompting the emperor to suspect he might be an Evil Soul Master.
• Wu Yifan and Real Person began their match as Spirit Emperors, and Real Person overwhelmed Wu Yifan with waves of Modified Humans.
• Wu Yifan charged Real Person with his fifth soul skill, but Real Person swallowed them both inside a giant flesh-and-blood mouth that soon burst apart.
• Real Person claimed victory, and the referee declared Wu Yifan killed in battle; the Proud Sword Sect demanded his body, but Real Person denied knowing what happened to him.
• Huo Yuhao told the Tang Sect that he had sensed wraiths around Real Person and concluded that the aura of Wraith Entanglement could not be faked.

Huo Yuhao suspected Real Person’s summons were suffering beings, while Real Person concealed his true abilities behind summoning and body transformation. Wu Di battled Real Person and a Purple Platypus, only to hear the wounded summon speak in his cousin Wu Yifan’s voice.

• Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection and sensed the summons were alive, in pain, and begging to be killed, but kept his suspicions from the Tang Sect.
• Real Person revealed his Idle Transfiguration abilities as Wu Di, captain of the Proud Sword Sect, challenged him and vowed to avenge Wu Yifan.
• Wu Di attacked Real Person, who transformed his arms into weapons and summoned a powerful Purple Platypus that knocked Wu Di back.
• Xu Tianran, Ju Zi, and Zhongli Wu discussed Real Person’s abilities, while Zhongli Wu suspected the Witch Cult members were Evil Soul Masters.
• Wu Di fought the Purple Platypus, cut it in half, and heard it cry out in Wu Yifan’s voice that it was in pain.

Wu Di realized the Purple Platypus he had killed was his cousin Wu Yifan, transformed into a Modified Human by Real Person, and charged at the Witch Cult leader in rage. Real Person used civilians as human shields, forcing Wu Di to abandon his attack and leaving the tournament exposed to a shocking atrocity.

• The dying Purple Platypus spoke of Wu Di and Wu Yifan’s shared dream, and Wu Di recognized it as his cousin before it died in his arms.
• Huo Yuhao concluded that the supposed summoned creatures were living people transformed into monsters, and the teams turned their anger toward Real Person.
• Wu Di attacked Real Person, who sent weapon-shaped Modified Humans against him and then flew out of reach.
• Real Person threw five ordinary civilians between himself and Wu Di, and Wu Di stopped his attack to catch one woman while the other four fell and were injured.
• The civilians’ injuries shocked the arena and officials, and Regent Xu Tianran realized the Witch Cult had caused the tournament’s first major scandal.

At the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament, Real Person used ordinary people as human shields and transformed them into weapons and monsters, enraging the referee and the crowd. Wu Di resumed their duel, with the Sun Moon Empire citizens cheering him on against Real Person.

• Real Person fired bone bullets at Wu Di, who shielded a girl and told her to escape.
• Real Person targeted the fleeing girl, but the referee protected her and challenged Real Person for bringing unrelated people onto the arena.
• Real Person claimed the commoners were his summons, then used Idle Transfiguration to turn them into a sword and malformed monsters.
• The referee became furious, but Wu Di stood back up and asked for their match to continue.
• The referee resumed the match, and the Sun Moon Empire crowd shouted support for Wu Di and called for Real Person to be killed.

Wu Di appeared to kill Real Person with a devastating sword strike, but Real Person survived and killed him moments later. The Proud Sword Sect withdrew from the tournament, while Xu Tianran worried the Witch Cult’s brutality would increase opposition to making the Holy Spirit Cult the state religion.

• Wu Di used his fifth and sixth soul skills together and destroyed the Modified Humans and Real Person in a powerful sword strike.
• The Audience celebrated Wu Di’s apparent victory, while Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen discussed his skill and Xiao Hongchen’s desire to challenge him.
• After the referee began announcing Wu Di’s win, Real Person emerged behind him and killed him with Idle Transfiguration.
• The Proud Sword Sect elder attacked Real Person, but chief referee Zheng Zhan intervened; the elder then forfeited the tournament and carried away Wu Di’s remains.
• Real Person’s Witch Cult received all twelve points and left amid boos, while Xu Tianran warned Zhongli Wu that the public’s anger could complicate making the Holy Spirit Cult the state religion.

Nan Fusheng found that the Witch Cult had slightly accelerated his Potion’s digestion, then studied the Evil Demon Forest’s decline and formed a plan for the Pseudo-Imperial Divine Beast. Ten thousand years in the past, the Evil Emperor killed his son and fed the corpse to a pink ball of flesh meant to become the forest’s auspicious beast.

• Nan Fusheng concluded that the Witch Cult’s small impact on history had slightly accelerated his Potion’s digestion.
• The first elimination round ended, and the tournament organizers banned contestants from bringing civilians onto the arena; the Witch Cult’s next opponents surrendered rather than face it.
• Nan Fusheng accessed Federation records about the Evil Demon Forest and learned how humanity had reduced it to a managed breeding ground for Soul Beasts.
• Nan Fusheng devised a plan to help the Pseudo-Imperial Divine Beast survive until the era of Dragon King Legend, and noticed his Potion’s digestion speed increase again.
• In the Evil Demon Forest ten thousand years earlier, the Evil Emperor killed his three-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-year-old son and fed his remains to the pink ball of flesh.

The Witch Cult entered the Round-Robin Tournament and drew the Bright Jade Sect for its first match in Group Two. Sharu and You Chen began their individual elimination match as the other major teams watched.

• The Witch Cult avoided the remaining elimination rounds after its opponent conceded, and it advanced to the final thirty-two.
• The tournament organizers divided the thirty-two teams into four groups, placing the Witch Cult in Group Two and the Tang Sect, Shrek Academy, and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy in Group One.
• Qingque attended the tournament as a spectator, where an elderly woman tried to introduce her to her nineteen-year-old grandson.
• Nan Fusheng entered the VIP resting area with the Witch Cult, whose members received hostile stares from the other teams.
• The Witch Cult faced the Bright Jade Sect in the opening match of Group Two, and Nan Fusheng sent Sharu to fight You Chen.
• Zheng Zhan warned Sharu and You Chen against killing, then started their match as the major teams watched.

Sharu fought Bright Jade Sect’s You Chen in the tournament and revealed his monstrous first form after surviving You Chen’s strongest attack. He shattered You Chen’s Invincible Barrier, pierced him with his spiked tail, and killed him, leaving the arena in stunned silence.

• Zheng Zhan started the match, and Sharu and You Chen summoned their Martial Souls as You Chen rushed in with his paired Soul Tools.
• Sharu blocked You Chen’s first strike with his unusually hard skin, while You Chen evaded Sharu’s attempted grab and circled him with afterimages.
• You Chen activated an Invincible Barrier and launched his fifth Soul Skill, combining with his afterimages to deliver a high-speed attack with his High-Frequency Vibration Blades.
• Sharu’s body stopped the blades, and the attack tore away his robe, revealing his grotesque, insect-like appearance.
• Sharu compressed You Chen’s barrier until his spiked tail shattered it, then pierced You Chen’s chest despite Zheng Zhan’s command to stop.
• You Chen’s body melted away, leaving only his Bright Jade Sect clothing on the arena floor.

Sharu defeated Bright Jade Sect’s Ade in the Individual Elimination Tournament after overcoming Ade’s blood-draining Soul Skills with a blinding Solar Flare and swallowing him. The match ended with Zheng Zhan arriving too late to save Ade.

• After Sharu killed Bright Jade Sect’s previous fighter, Zheng Zhan declared Sharu the winner and Ade entered the arena for the next match.
• Ade revealed his Vampire Bat Martial Soul and battled Sharu in midair, using Fear Scream, Blood Shadow Puppet, and Vampirism to weaken and drain him.
• Sharu flew above Ade and unleashed Solar Flare, blinding the audience, Zheng Zhan, and Ade while suppressing Spiritual Detection.
• Ade activated his Invincible Barrier, but Sharu swallowed him through his transformed tail after the barrier expired.
• Zheng Zhan rushed to stop Sharu, but Ade had already been swallowed and absorbed.

Sharu regenerated his severed tail, then forfeited the third match and sent Tomie Kawakami to face Cain of the Bright Jade Sect. Cain revealed her Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King Martial Soul Avatar and launched a deadly attack, leaving Tomie bleeding and apparently unable to resist.

• Cain ambushed Sharu after his match, but Zheng Zhan stopped her and ruled the match a Bright Jade Sect forfeit.
• Sharu regrew his severed tail and asked Zheng Zhan to let Cain continue competing, then forfeited the next match and requested a Witch Cult substitution.
• Tomie Kawakami entered the arena to face Cain, and both women released six Soul Rings.
• Cain wounded Tomie with dark golden beams, transformed into the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, and attacked her with a Blood Shadow Puppet and sonic shrieks.
• Cain absorbed the Blood Shadow Puppet and slashed at the bleeding, trembling Tomie as the watching teams waited to see how she would respond.

Cain killed Tomie Kawakami and won the fourth match for Bright Jade Sect, but the Witch Cult leader, “Sloth,” insisted Tomie was still on the arena. Zheng Zhan found no sign of life and demanded that Tomie show herself, leaving the result unsettled.

• Cain detected no life from Tomie’s shattered body, then used Blood Thorn Dance to tear it into fragments.
• Cain absorbed Tomie’s Essence Blood, which rapidly raised her Soul Power to level sixty-nine and brought her close to becoming a Soul Saint.
• Zheng Zhan declared Bright Jade Sect the winner, and the Sun Moon Empire audience cheered while the Tang Sect members discussed Tomie’s death.
• “Sloth” claimed Tomie was still on the arena, so Zheng Zhan warned the Witch Cult leader to produce her or face punishment.

After Cain attacked Sharu over her younger brother’s death, Sharu regenerated his severed tail and manipulated the referee into letting her continue before conceding and requesting a substitution. Tomie Kawakami entered the match against Cain, who transformed into a Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King and prepared a powerful strike as Tomie appeared unable to defend herself.

• Cain ignored the rules and attacked Sharu, severing his tail, but Zheng Zhan stopped her and ruled the match against her.
• Cain revealed that Sharu had killed her younger brother, Ade, while Sharu regenerated his tail and asked Zheng Zhan to withdraw Cain’s penalty.
• Sharu said the Witch Cult intended to eliminate the Bright Jade Sect during the individual matches, then conceded and requested a substitution.
• Tomie Kawakami entered the arena to face Cain, and both women released six Soul Rings.
• Cain pierced Tomie with her claws, transformed into a Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, and struck her with a Blood Shadow Puppet and sonic attack.
• Cain absorbed the Blood Shadow Puppet’s blood and sent a dark golden slash toward Tomie, who appeared unable to resist.

Xu Tianran secretly hoped the Witch Cult could cure his hidden affliction, while Nan Fusheng considered his Doppelgangers and sent Qiangu Dongfeng a misleading letter to provoke a confrontation with Yun Ming. Nan Fusheng then prepared a modified Lovesick Heartbreak Red that could make someone develop affection for him and narrowed his potential test subjects to Na Nali and Ye Xinglan.

• Xu Tianran concealed his desire to restore his third limb and watched the Witch Cult depart, unsure whether they could help him.
• The Witch Cult's opponents in Group Two surrendered rather than risk fighting them, while Nan Fusheng learned that Zhang Geyang had lost the Soul Spirit Battle to Tang Wulin.
• Nan Fusheng decided to move Yun Ming from the Spirit Pagoda to the Dragon Valley Minor World and sent Qiangu Dongfeng a letter and blurred photographs intended to make him investigate Leng Yaozhu.
• Nan Fusheng produced a modified Lovesick Heartbreak Red that would make its consumer feel an initial fondness for him.
• Nan Fusheng ruled out several possible test subjects and narrowed the candidates to Na Nali and Ye Xinglan.

Tomie emerged from Cain’s body, killed her, and secured the Witch Cult’s victory over Bright Jade Sect after the remaining disciples surrendered. Watching the Witch Cult leave, Xu Tianran became fixated on whether its strange abilities could restore his lost third limb.

• Sloth called out to Tomie, and she revealed that she was still alive despite Cain’s search of the arena.
• Tomie appeared as a second face on Cain’s neck and stopped Cain from attacking her.
• Tomie burst Cain’s body apart from within, leaving Cain dead and standing alone in the arena.
• Zheng Zhan declared the Witch Cult the winner, and Bright Jade Sect surrendered rather than send another contestant.
• Xu Tianran considered whether the Witch Cult’s abilities could restore his lost third limb.

Xu Tianran considered whether the Witch Cult could cure his hidden affliction while Nan Fusheng plotted to draw Qiangu Dongfeng into a confrontation with Yun Ming and prepared to test his modified Lovesick Heartbreak Red. The chapter ended with Nan Fusheng narrowing his possible test subjects to Na Nali and Ye Xinglan.

• Xu Tianran recalled his failed attempts to restore his abilities and decided to remain cautious about approaching the Witch Cult for treatment.
• The Witch Cult continued through the round-robin matches as its opponents surrendered rather than risk fighting it.
• Nan Fusheng assessed his Doppelgangers and decided to send Yun Ming to the Dragon Valley Minor World to help his cultivation recover.
• Nan Fusheng sent Qiangu Dongfeng a letter and blurry photographs meant to provoke him into confronting Leng Yaozhu and Yun Ming.
• Nan Fusheng took out his modified Lovesick Heartbreak Red, which could inspire affection for him in whoever consumed it, and considered whom to test it on.
• Nan Fusheng ruled out Xu Xiaoyan, Nahida, Sirin, Zi Ji, Bai Xiuxiu, and Bella, leaving Na Nali and Ye Xinglan as candidates.

Nan Fusheng found Na Nali being humiliated by Sirin, then gave her a Lovesick Heartbreak Red to test whether it would recognize her feelings. Na Nali mistook his blood offering for proof that he loved her, and she began to confess something as the chapter ended.

• Nan Fusheng entered the living room and found Sirin playing games while Na Nali served as her footstool and Bella massaged her shoulders.
• Nan Fusheng stopped Sirin from tormenting Na Nali and took Na Nali into the corridor to speak with her privately.
• Na Nali pretended that she had only reached three rings, concealing her true cultivation from Nan Fusheng.
• Nan Fusheng offered Na Nali a Lovesick Heartbreak Red and used his heart's blood to awaken it.
• Na Nali recognized the legendary herb and believed Nan Fusheng's offering proved that he loved her, then began to tell him what she wanted to do.

Sirin interrupted Na Nali’s private meeting with Nan Fusheng, warned her to take the Lovesick Heartbreak Red only under Nahida’s supervision, and left Na Nali determined to consume it that night. Nan Fusheng then turned his attention to Ye Xinglan, who was assigned to guard an important guest at a Skysea City cruise ship auction in two days.

• Sirin caught Na Nali and Nan Fusheng together, spotted the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, and told Na Nali that Nahida must supervise her use of it.
• After Nan Fusheng left, Na Nali stored the herb and decided to take it that night so she could advance her cultivation.
• Nan Fusheng used Spiritual Detection to check on Na Nali, then began planning how to make Ye Xinglan approach him.
• Ye Xinglan finished training at the Eastern Fleet Legion and learned she had reached Rank 83 Soul Douluo and Senior Colonel.
• Major General Lucy assigned Ye Xinglan to guard an important figure during a cruise ship auction near Skysea City in two days.

The quarterfinal draw placed Witch Cult and Holy Spirit Sect together, a pairing Xu Tianran had secretly arranged so the two Evil Soul Master teams would wear each other down. After the morning quarterfinals, Shrek Team and Heavenly Dragon Gate advanced, and Witch Cult versus Holy Spirit Sect began, leaving Tang Sect’s team watching closely because Tang Ya was with Holy Spirit Sect.

• The tournament officials divided the eight teams into brackets and drew the quarterfinal matchups, pairing Witch Cult against Holy Spirit Sect and Tang Sect against Snow Demon Sect.
• Xu Tianran revealed to Ju Zi that he had secretly manipulated the draw to force the two Evil Soul Master teams to clash and ease pressure on his rule.
• Shrek Team defeated Ming Capital Soul Engineer Academy, and Heavenly Dragon Gate defeated Star Luo Royal Academy in the morning quarterfinals.
• Witch Cult and Holy Spirit Sect began their individual elimination match under Zheng Zhan’s relaxed oversight.
• Nan Fusheng sent a delicate-looking man to represent Witch Cult, while a short young man took the field for Holy Spirit Sect as Tang Sect Team watched because Tang Ya was on that side.

The Witch Cult's Naraku faced the Holy Spirit Sect's Jili in the first individual match between the teams and revealed an ability that let him absorb his opponent. After Jili was swallowed, the Witch Cult won, while Bei Bei remained worried about Tang Ya, who was with the Holy Spirit Sect.

• Bei Bei worried that Tang Ya would have to fight the Witch Cult, and Huo Yuhao promised to save her if her life was in danger.
• Naraku of the Witch Cult and Jili of the Holy Spirit Sect began their quarterfinal match as six-ringed Spirit Emperors.
• Jili transformed into his Brain-Eating Beast form and attacked Naraku with his claws and tongue, believing he had pierced Naraku's brain.
• Naraku revealed that Jili's tongue was trapped in his body, then absorbed Jili after Jili stabbed him in the chest.
• The Witch Cult won the first individual match, and Jili was declared dead.

Naraku fought Lu Genggeng of the Holy Spirit Sect, whose Abomination Martial Soul combined poison, resilience, and powerful attacks. Lu Genggeng swallowed Naraku, but Naraku had devoured him from within and took over his body, winning the Witch Cult’s second match.

• After Jili’s death, Scorpion Tiger Douluo dismissed him, and Lu Genggeng entered the arena to face Naraku.
• Lu Genggeng unleashed his Abomination Martial Soul, while Naraku attacked with Spider Spears and combined thunder and fire.
• Lu Genggeng caught Naraku with Chain of Annihilation and swallowed him with Samsara Devour.
• Lu Genggeng realized Naraku had eaten him from the inside and replaced his body parts as he took over.
• Zheng Zhan declared the Witch Cult the winner and announced Lu Genggeng’s death.

Nan Fusheng replaced Naraku with Pudu Cihang for the Witch Cult’s match against the Holy Spirit Sect. Pudu Cihang purified Wang Xiaolei’s Wraith-powered attacks and vanished him in golden light, leaving the audience stunned.

• Zhang Peng signaled Tang Ya, and the Holy Spirit Sect sent a tall, skeletal-looking fighter onto the platform.
• Nan Fusheng recognized the opponent and made Naraku concede, then sent Pudu Cihang to face Wang Xiaolei.
• Wang Xiaolei used Evil Frost and his Whip of Death to attack Pudu Cihang from a distance.
• Pudu Cihang’s golden light broke the frost and purified the Wraiths within Wang Xiaolei’s whip.
• Wang Xiaolei unleashed Death Wither, but Pudu Cihang’s chanting and golden radiance overwhelmed him.
• Pudu Cihang declared he would ferry Wang Xiaolei to the Western Paradise, and Wang Xiaolei disappeared as the golden light faded.

Pudu Cihang defeated Tang Dai with his mysterious golden light, leaving the Tang Sect and Zhongli Wu suspicious of his supposed Purification Power. Tang Ya then entered the arena, and Huo Yuhao and Zhang Lexuan secretly agreed to protect her if the match put her in danger.

• Zhongli Wu questioned why the Witch Cult had a fighter with Purification Power as Pudu Cihang began his match against Tang Dai.
• Pudu Cihang turned Tang Dai to ash with golden light without revealing his Soul Rings, securing the Witch Cult's win.
• Huo Yuhao, Bei Bei, and the other Tang Sect members suspected that Pudu Cihang's golden light concealed a dangerous ability.
• Zhongli Wu silently instructed Tang Ya to enter the arena, and Bei Bei recognized her with shock and struggled to stay composed.
• Huo Yuhao secretly coordinated with Zhang Lexuan to have the Tang Sect and Shrek Team protect Tang Ya if she faced danger.

Tang Ya faced Pudu Cihang in the tournament, revealing that she had become a seven-ring Soul Saint, while his golden light and chanting weakened her attacks and threatened to control her mind. Huo Yuhao saw a vast Buddha-like figure within Pudu Cihang, suffered spiritual backlash when it attacked him, and prepared the Tang Sect to intervene as Tang Ya staggered under the chant.

• Tang Ya and Pudu Cihang introduced themselves before the match, and Pudu Cihang invited her to join his order.
• Tang Ya revealed seven Soul Rings and attacked Pudu Cihang with Spider Web Binding and Dark Blue Silver Grass vines.
• Pudu Cihang's golden light dissolved Tang Ya's attack as his Life-Taking Sanskrit Sound spread across the arena.
• Huo Yuhao used the Eye of Destiny to see a towering Buddha-like figure within Pudu Cihang, which attacked his consciousness until Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and the Ice Empress helped him escape.
• Huo Yuhao warned the Tang Sect to prepare to rescue Tang Ya, while Wang Dong'er supported him after his spiritual backlash.
• Tang Ya staggered beneath Pudu Cihang's chant, clutched her forehead in pain, and sent more vines toward him as her Fourth Soul Ring lit up.