Chapter Summaries

Yin Hao told Ning Rongrong about Poison Douluo crippling Grandmaster and turning him into a eunuch, then she caught Xiao Wu cuffed to the bed and learned the cuffs were supposedly a gift for her. The three went to the cafeteria, where Tailong noticed Xiao Wu and his companion encouraged him to approach her.

• Yin Hao returned to his dormitory and told Ning Rongrong what Poison Douluo had done to Grandmaster, asking her to keep it secret.
• Ning Rongrong woke Xiao Wu with a smack and discovered that Xiao Wu was cuffed to the bedside.
• Xiao Wu claimed the cuffs were a gift for Ning Rongrong, who reacted with unexpected interest.
• Yin Hao, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong walked to the cafeteria and attracted attention from students.
• Tailong stared at Xiao Wu, and his companion urged him to approach her despite Yin Hao being with her.

Tailong confronted Yin Hao and his companions after his lackey was kicked, then challenged Yin Hao to fight. Yin Hao enclosed himself and Tailong in a Blue Silver Grass hut, where the sounds of Tailong being beaten soon gave way to his surrender.

• Tailong sent his lackey to ask about Xiao Wu, but Xiao Wu kicked the boy away after he rudely questioned Yin Hao.
• Tailong demanded an explanation, and Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong defended their actions before Tailong challenged Yin Hao.
• Yin Hao accepted Tailong's challenge, warning him not to complain to the academy Master if he lost.
• Yin Hao raised a Blue Silver Grass hut around himself and Tailong, and Tailong soon begged him to stop.

Yin Hao defeated Tailong, who pretended his injuries came from a fall, then joined Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong for lunch. Ning Rongrong revealed her father wanted the Zhuge Divine Crossbow blueprints and had offered an enormous price; half a month later, Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan were still cultivating while Yu Xiaogang remained bedridden.

• Yin Hao emerged from the Blue Silver Grass space with Tailong badly bruised, and Tailong denied being the academy chief before agreeing to claim he had fallen.
• Yin Hao let Tailong leave after warning him that Tang San was his brother, and then went to the cafeteria with Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong.
• Ning Rongrong told Yin Hao that her father wanted the Zhuge Divine Crossbow blueprints and intended to visit Heaven Dou City; she revealed she had asked for fifty million Gold Soul Coins to leave room for bargaining.
• Half a month passed as Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan continued cultivating at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, while Yu Xiaogang remained bedridden and Tang San, Yin Hao, Flander, and the others deflected his questions about his numb legs and the tube.

Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing tested their progress in a spar at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where Zhu Zhuqing’s clever use of her new soul skill briefly gave her the advantage. Dugu Yan eventually turned serious and defeated her after more than a hundred exchanges.

• Tailong had tried to cause trouble for Yin Hao at Shrek Academy and had been defeated and driven away.
• Dugu Yan had reached Soul Power Level 52, while Zhu Zhuqing had obtained a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring and reached Level 43.
• Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing began a spar, and Zhu Zhuqing’s speed and Netherworld Shadow Clone let her evade Dugu Yan’s attacks and counterattack.
• Zhu Zhuqing’s strikes damaged Dugu Yan’s clothing, but Dugu Yan’s scales and strengthened physique limited her injuries.
• Dugu Yan became serious and defeated Zhu Zhuqing after more than a hundred exchanges by sending her flying with Azure Serpent Dance.

Zhu Zhuqing returned from training and reunited with the Shrek group at the academy gates, where Titan had arrived demanding that Yin Hao answer for injuring Tailong and Taino. Yin Hao stepped forward to face Titan as Zhu Zhuqing watched.

• Clone Yin Hao gave Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing a day off, and Dugu Yan left to visit her grandfather while Zhu Zhuqing returned to the academy.
• Zhu Zhuqing found Titan, Taino, and Tailong waiting at the academy gates, where Titan demanded that Yin Hao come out.
• Titan's arrival drew gossip from students, and his aura silenced them as Zhu Zhuqing stayed to learn whom he was seeking.
• Yin Hao, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and the rest of Shrek except Dai Mubai arrived and greeted Zhu Zhuqing.
• Titan asked which person was Yin Hao, and Yin Hao stepped forward to face him.

Titan challenged Yin Hao to withstand his Soul Power pressure until an incense stick burned out, with Yin Hao’s clan membership at stake if he lost. Yin Hao endured Titan’s full pressure, won the bet, and received the Strength Clan’s token before inviting the Shrek group to celebrate Zhuqing’s return.

• Titan proposed a bet: Yin Hao would join the Strength Clan if he failed to withstand Titan’s pressure, while Taino and Tailong would apologize if Titan lost.
• Yin Hao changed the terms so Titan would owe him one reasonable condition if he won, and Titan accepted.
• Titan increased his Soul Power pressure to its full strength, but Yin Hao summoned his martial soul and six soul rings and continued to resist.
• Titan conceded defeat before the incense burned halfway, then gave Yin Hao a Strength Clan token and promised to honor a future condition.
• After Titan, Taino, and Tailong left, Yin Hao invited the Shrek group to have a meal to celebrate Zhuqing’s return.

Titan encountered Clone Yin Hao, the newly appointed Holy Son of Spirit Hall, who invited him to join Spirit Hall. After revealing Yue Guan and Ghost nearby, Clone Yin Hao left Titan believing he could save his family by capturing the Holy Son, and Titan charged him.

• Titan slapped Taino and Tailong as they walked toward the Power Clan Residence, then stopped when he sensed someone hiding near the woods.
• Clone Yin Hao emerged and introduced himself as Spirit Hall’s new Holy Son, saying he had come to invite Titan to join Spirit Hall.
• Titan rejected the invitation angrily, citing the Strength Clan’s enmity with Spirit Hall and the clan members who had died in battle.
• Clone Yin Hao summoned Yue Guan and Ghost from the woods, and Titan shielded Taino and Tailong while preparing to fight.
• Titan charged Clone Yin Hao, hoping to capture him and give his family and clan a chance to survive, while Yue Guan moved toward Taino and Tailong.

Titan confronted Clone Yin Hao but found Niu Gao, Yang Wudi, and Bai He standing in his way, having already joined Spirit Hall. After his old friends challenged his loyalty to Tang Hao and offered a way to support his struggling clan, Titan accepted the post of president of the Heaven Dou City Mercenary Guild and received its token.

• Titan charged at Clone Yin Hao, but Niu Gao stopped him, and Titan discovered that Niu Gao, Yang Wudi, and Bai He had joined Spirit Hall.
• Niu Gao and Yang Wudi urged Titan to stop resisting, and Yang Wudi condemned the Clear Sky Sect and Tang Hao for abandoning their clans.
• Titan defended Tang Hao, threatened to fight anyone who insulted his master, and fell silent when Bai He pointed out the Strength Clan’s poverty.
• Clone Yin Hao offered Titan the presidency of the Heaven Dou City Mercenary Guild, with paid positions for Strength Clan members and a monthly salary of 10,000 Gold Soul Coins for Titan.
• Titan accepted the offer, received a golden Mercenary Guild token from Clone Yin Hao, and bowed to him reluctantly.

Clone Yin Hao welcomed Titan to a banquet while Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo arrived at the academy to see Ning Rongrong. Ning Fengzhi asked Yin Hao to speak with him over tea, and Oscar left upset by Yin Hao and Ning Rongrong’s closeness.

• Clone Yin Hao invited Titan to a banquet, and Niu Gao and the others persuaded Titan to join them for drinks.
• Ning Rongrong greeted Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo at the academy, playfully accepting Bone Douluo’s gift and teasing her father for bringing none.
• Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo greeted Yin Hao coolly, prompting Ning Rongrong to object and threaten to leave.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Yin Hao to talk over tea, and Ning Rongrong chose to go with Yin Hao instead of Bone Douluo.
• Oscar left the group in a sour mood, upset by how close Yin Hao and Ning Rongrong seemed.

Yin Hao and Ning Rongrong negotiated with Ning Fengzhi over the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow blueprints, settling on twenty million Gold Soul Coins. After Bone Douluo questioned Yin Hao's claim that he was a thirteen-year-old Soul Emperor, Yin Hao stood up to prove his cultivation.

• Ning Fengzhi asked Yin Hao about his family and then offered to buy the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow blueprints.
• Ning Rongrong argued with her father over the price, and they negotiated the blueprints down from fifty million to twenty million Gold Soul Coins.
• Ning Fengzhi teased Ning Rongrong about preparing her dowry, making her blush and protest.
• Bone Douluo asked Yin Hao about his cultivation, and Yin Hao said he was a rank sixty-two Soul Emperor at thirteen.
• Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo doubted Yin Hao's claim, so Yin Hao rose to prove it.

Yin Hao demonstrated his strength to Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo, earning their acceptance as Ning Rongrong’s chosen partner. Ning Fengzhi introduced him to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who was secretly Qian Renxue, and both of them studied each other with knowledge supplied by BiBi Dong.

• Yin Hao revealed his Blue Silver Emperor and six soul rings, including a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring, while Bone Douluo examined him and found no problem.
• Ning Fengzhi praised Yin Hao’s talent and accepted Ning Rongrong’s choice, while Rongrong blushed at her father’s teasing.
• After they drank tea for half an hour, Ning Fengzhi sent Ning Rongrong to answer a knock at the door.
• Ning Rongrong greeted Xue Qinghe, who arrived and politely addressed Ning Fengzhi as her Master.
• Xue Qinghe introduced herself to Yin Hao, and they shook hands while each secretly assessed the other using information from BiBi Dong.

Yin Hao met Xue Qinghe and, with Qian Renxue, pretended they had instantly become close while Ning Fengzhi encouraged their alliance. Ning Fengzhi left them together, and Qian Renxue saw him off after shaking off Yin Hao’s arm.

• Qian Renxue read BiBi Dong’s letter urging her to protect Yin Hao and felt jealous of her mother’s concern for him.
• Ning Fengzhi introduced Yin Hao and Xue Qinghe, asked them to spend time together, and told Yin Hao to call him Uncle Ning.
• Qian Renxue feigned surprise at Yin Hao’s age and strength, and she and Yin Hao exchanged extravagant compliments while Ning Rongrong grew bored.
• Ning Fengzhi urged Xue Qinghe and Yin Hao to support one another, and Yin Hao put an arm around Qian Renxue’s shoulders.
• Qian Renxue stiffened, then shook off Yin Hao’s hand and walked Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo to the door.

Qian Renxue took Yin Hao to her Crown Prince Residence and privately asked why BiBi Dong had sent him. Yin Hao claimed BiBi Dong wanted them to get engaged, leaving Qian Renxue furious as he dodged her attempt to grab him.

• Qian Renxue invited Yin Hao to her residence after Ning Rongrong left to see off Ning Fengzhi.
• Qian Renxue dismissed the servants and demanded to know why BiBi Dong had sent Yin Hao.
• Yin Hao revealed that BiBi Dong had sent him to discuss an engagement between him and Qian Renxue.
• Qian Renxue realized Yin Hao was lying, angrily reached for him, and summoned a flaming holy sword when he dodged.

Yin Hao used his abilities to evade Qian Renxue and slap her twice before apologizing. He then told her he wanted the Heaven Dou Empire’s national treasure, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, leaving Qian Renxue wondering why he wanted it.

• Qian Renxue charged Yin Hao with her fist, but it passed through him before he vanished and slapped her from behind.
• Qian Renxue attacked Yin Hao with the Angel Sacred Sword, but Blue Silver Grass blocked her counterattack and Yin Hao slapped her again.
• Yin Hao apologized for taking his joke too far, and Qian Renxue put away the Angel Sacred Sword and asked what he wanted.
• Yin Hao said he wanted the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, and Qian Renxue asked why he wanted the Heaven Dou Empire’s national treasure.

Yin Hao revealed that Xue Beng had been secretly building influence against Qian Renxue and warned that Xue Ye suspected her role in the deaths of the Second and Third Princes. He refused to help kill Xue Beng immediately and instead asked about Princess Xue Ke's upcoming birthday banquet, leaving Qian Renxue alarmed by his apparent plan.

• Yin Hao told Qian Renxue that Xue Beng had been recruiting noble youths at Heaven Dou Royal Academy and weakening her influence.
• Yin Hao warned Qian Renxue that her uncle suspected her involvement in the princes' deaths and was protecting Xue Beng while courting influential families and generals.
• Qian Renxue offered to bring Yin Hao the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud if he killed Xue Beng, but Yin Hao said Xue Beng's death had to appear natural and unrelated to her.
• Yin Hao explained that Xue Ye understood the dangers of royal succession and likely knew more than Qian Renxue assumed.
• Qian Renxue told Yin Hao that Xue Ye would hold a birthday gathering for Xue Ke in three days and invite noble youths as potential consorts.
• Yin Hao asked whether Xue Beng would attend the banquet, and Qian Renxue rose, suspecting he planned to attack the imperial palace.

Yin Hao persuaded Qian Renxue to let him secretly kill Xue Beng with a delayed-action medicine and secured her promise to show him her true face. At the Fourth Prince Residence, Xue Xing learned that Xue Beng had been indulging himself every day since Dai Beauty arrived.

• Yin Hao proposed giving Xue Beng a medicine that would kill him hours later without leaving evidence, and Qian Renxue agreed to let him handle it.
• Yin Hao asked Qian Renxue to let him see her true face after the matter was over, and she agreed and gave him the Crown Prince Token.
• Xue Xing confronted two little eunuchs outside Xue Beng's room and asked whether the Fourth Prince behaved that way every day.
• One little eunuch confirmed that Xue Beng had been like that daily since Dai Beauty arrived, and Xue Xing ordered soldiers to drag both eunuchs away.

Prince Xue Xing reprimanded Xue Beng for abandoning his act as a wastrel and warned him to watch the man chosen for Xue Ke at her birthday gathering. After Xue Xing ordered Dai Beauty killed and left, Xue Beng revealed his defiance by having a eunuch who repeated the order taken away and killed.

• Xue Xing had the two little eunuchs removed and waited for Xue Beng to emerge from the room.
• Xue Xing slapped Xue Beng and scolded him for indulging in debauchery instead of maintaining the wastrel act meant to protect him.
• Xue Xing warned Xue Beng that Xue Qinghe might have caused his older brothers’ deaths and told him to observe the man chosen for Xue Ke at her birthday gathering.
• Xue Beng knelt and admitted his mistake, and Xue Xing ordered him to kill Dai Beauty before leaving.
• Xue Beng struck a little eunuch who repeated Xue Xing’s order and had armored soldiers take him away to be killed.

Xue Beng returned to Dai Mubai and claimed Prince Xue Xing had ordered him to kill him, prompting Dai Mubai to demand that everyone who had seen him be killed. Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang had mostly recovered from his injuries, and something in the teachers' dormitory could no longer be hidden.

• Xue Beng returned to Dai Mubai, who reproached him for leaving and then showed concern over his swollen cheek.
• Xue Beng told Dai Mubai that Prince Xue Xing had called him a calamity-bringing enchantress and demanded that he kill him.
• Xue Beng reassured Dai Mubai that he would not kill him, and Dai Mubai urged him to kill the soldiers, eunuchs, and maids who had seen him.
• Xue Beng agreed to Dai Mubai's demand and moved to be intimate with him as Dai Mubai silently remembered Prince Xue Xing.
• At Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang's injuries had mostly healed after more than half a month, and something in the teachers' dormitory could no longer remain hidden.

Yu Xiaogang discovered the truth about his injury after hearing rumors that he had been castrated, tore off his bandages, and refused to eat. Flander and the others visited him, but Xiao Wu’s attempt to comfort him only made the situation worse.

• Tang San explained that Yu Xiaogang had heard rumors about his injury while Tang San was taking him out in a wheelchair, then tore off his bandages after returning.
• Yin Hao suspected Ning Rongrong had spread the rumors, while Tang San worried that Yu Xiaogang had barely eaten for two meals.
• Flander, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, Yin Hao, and the others entered Yu Xiaogang’s room to check on him.
• Yu Xiaogang ignored Flander at first, then hid a small black box and shouted at everyone to leave.
• Xiao Wu tried to comfort Yu Xiaogang, but Ning Rongrong pointed out that his legs were broken, and Xiao Wu’s revised reassurance began insulting him.

After recovering from his despair, Yu Xiaogang stayed behind with Tang San and Flander while Yin Hao and the others left. Zhu Zhuqing questioned Ning Rongrong about Xue Qinghe’s personal life and grew suspicious of the unmarried Crown Prince’s repeated rejection of women.

• Flander reminded Yu Xiaogang that he still needed to clear his name and see Tang San succeed, and Yu Xiaogang regained some resolve.
• Yin Hao and the others left Yu Xiaogang with Tang San and Flander, and Zhu Zhuqing said she had to return to her Master after her day off.
• Zhu Zhuqing privately asked Ning Rongrong whether she had found any women approaching Yin Hao, then learned that Ning Rongrong had spent the day with her father and Xue Qinghe.
• Ning Rongrong told Zhu Zhuqing that Xue Qinghe was twenty-two, unmarried, and had rejected proposed consorts, beauties, and singing girls.
• Zhu Zhuqing questioned why Xue Qinghe had no imperial consort despite his age, leaving Ning Rongrong puzzled and recalling his past rejections.