Chapter Summaries

Su Ming and Zhen Hua struggled to create Artificial Rare Metal and realized the process required a Saint Craftsman-level technique. After weeks of research, Su Ming hit a bottleneck, then learned the Su Family had established the Blacksmith Association and Body Sect branches and uncovered Shrek spies.

• Su Ming's first attempt to infuse Ordinary Metal with an Artificial Spirit failed when the metal split and the spirit dispersed.
• Mu Ye proposed removing only some of an Artificial Spirit's traits, and Zhen Hua decided to first develop the technique using their own spirits.
• Zhen Hua recognized that granting traits to metal resembled Soul Forging and had Su Ming join the research as a warm-up for that technique.
• Su Ming learned Electrolux's forging principles from another plane and drew on collaborators across time and space to develop new methods.
• After half a month, Su Ming remained stuck on integrating external traits into metal and went to Su Can's research institute seeking materials with special traits.
• Su Can told Su Ming that the Blacksmith Association and Body Sect branches were established, with ten blacksmiths recruited, twenty-seven Body Sect members gathered, and eight Shrek spies identified.

Su Ming brought Nana to Elder Lei Zhen to verify her Ghost Martial Soul and helped her discover how to develop it as a Body Martial Soul. After Lei Zhen formally welcomed Nana into the Body Sect, he offered to destroy the Holy Spirit Cult branch holding her parents.

• Su Ming told Su Can he planned to deal with the Holy Spirit Cult branch and make it look as though people from Mingde Hall had acted, and Su Can directed him to work with Lei Zhen.
• Su Ming brought Nana to Lei Zhen at the Sun Moon Grand Hotel and asked him to verify her Ghost Martial Soul.
• Su Ming reasoned that Nana's ghost state let her move with fewer restraints, and Nana demonstrated that using her other Soul Skills while transformed created several afterimages.
• Lei Zhen formally welcomed Nana into the Body Sect and asked about her troubles.
• Nana explained that the Holy Spirit Cult held her parents, and Lei Zhen angrily offered to wipe out the branch.

Su Can revealed that the Body Sect had developed Spiritual Metal and proposed that Jing Hongchen cooperate with it to counter the Evil Soul Masters and establish a Blacksmith Association branch in the Sun Moon Empire. Jing Hongchen weighed the offer and asked whether he could obtain the technology itself.

• Nana recognized Lei Zhen's support, and Su Ming agreed that it was time for revenge.
• Su Can showed Jing Hongchen a piece of Spiritual Metal and explained that the Body Sect, not the Douluo Three Kingdoms, had developed it.
• Su Can proposed that the Body Sect help the Sun Moon Empire confront the Evil Soul Masters while establishing a Blacksmith Association branch to recruit Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls.
• Su Can said the Body Sect would not attack the empire and would guarantee Mingde Hall one piece of Spiritual Metal per day after the Soul Fighting Tournament.
• Jing Hongchen asked Su Can what would happen if he wanted the Spiritual Metal technology.

Su Can persuaded Jing Hongchen to accept cooperation with the Body Sect, and the two sides moved against a Holy Spirit Cult stronghold after Lei Zhen killed its Evil Soul Masters. After the attack, Su Can assured Jing Hongchen that the spread of Spiritual Metal would not threaten his standing as a Rank 9 Soul Engineer.

• Jing Hongchen realized the Body Sect planned to use the Blacksmith Association to expand its influence, but he accepted cooperation rather than obstructing it.
• Su Can told Jing Hongchen that the Body Sect would destroy a Holy Spirit Cult stronghold before Mingde Hall took over, and Jing Hongchen agreed despite his doubts.
• Lei Zhen killed thirteen Evil Soul Masters in a courtyard in eastern Mingdu, while Nana recovered her parents' Vengeful Spirits and Su Ming purified them.
• Jing Hongchen ordered Soul Engineers to seal off the stronghold after Soul Cannon Shells erased the courtyard, then voiced support for fighting the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Su Can told Jing Hongchen that Spiritual Metal would not affect his position as a Rank 9 Soul Engineer.

Su Can believed the Spiritual Alloy he had forged could help him temper his Soul Power and break through to Rank 90, while he assessed the political consequences of Jing Hongchen opposing the Holy Spirit Cult. Jing Hongchen’s move left Xu Tianran’s plans in disarray, and Xu Tianran feared the Holy Spirit Cult but could not turn against it yet.

• Su Can recalled that Su Ming’s Spiritual Alloy formed the foundation for a Soul Power Tempering Device that could repair the flaws in his Soul Power.
• Jing Hongchen postponed discussing cooperation and admitted he was frustrated that Mingde Hall’s move against the Holy Spirit Cult had forced him into the conflict.
• Su Can left Jing Hongchen’s office and reasoned that Xu Tianran would be unable to oppose Mingde Hall without risking his position.
• Xu Tianran learned that Jing Hongchen had entered the fray and realized the move had disrupted his plans to deal with the Holy Spirit Cult later.

Xu Tianran and Xu Lingtian struggled to respond to Jing Hongchen’s confrontation with the Holy Spirit Cult as Jing Hongchen strengthened Mingde Hall and began purging Mingdu’s Black Markets. Su Ming told the Body Sect disciples that the purge would help establish their branch in the city, while three disciples who had studied at Shrek grew restless.

• Ju Zi reported to Xu Tianran, who refused to support the Holy Spirit Cult and sent imperial Soul Engineers to study at the Hall of Worship.
• Xu Lingtian considered handing power to Xu Tianran but feared being sidelined and blamed for the coming conflict.
• Jing Hongchen used Spiritual Silver to plan improvements to Humanoid Soul Tools and Rank 9 Soul Tools.
• After Evil Soul Masters repeatedly attacked Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen organized a five-hundred-person force to patrol Mingdu and investigate its Black Markets.
• Su Ming told the gathered Body Sect disciples that Jing Hongchen’s purge would help establish the Blacksmith Association and the Body Sect’s branch, as three former Shrek students grew restless.

Su Ming reassured Zhang Wei that the Body Sect accepted his past as a Shrek spy, then joined Mingde Hall’s raid on the Xi Shui Alliance. The assault exposed a powerful evil soul master, whom Jing Hongchen attacked as Su Ming and the others moved through the black market.

• Su Ming told Zhang Wei to keep gathering intelligence in the Black Market and cooperate with the Body Sect against evil soul masters.
• On the third day, Su Ming joined Jing Hongchen and Mingde Hall’s soul engineers as they sealed and entered the Xi Shui Alliance.
• Jing Hongchen used a light-based soul tool to destroy poisonous gas and force an evil soul master out of the flames.
• Nangong Wan burned his soul rings to escape the light beams, but Jing Hongchen attacked him and ordered Old Ma to guard Su Ming and the others.
• Old Ma told Su Ming, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Ma Rulong to search for useful items, and they headed toward a less heavily contested area.

Su Ming and his companions looted the Black Market during a purge, then survived an Evil Soul Master's self-destruction after Xiao Hongchen shielded them. Su Ming discovered the attacker's altered Blood Mosquito Martial Soul, and later rescued Zhang Wei, who learned that Shrek's shopkeeper had knowingly abandoned the group.

• Su Ming, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Ma Rulong encountered a six-ring Evil Soul Master who ambushed Xiao Hongchen during the Black Market purge.
• Xiao Hongchen activated Hongchen's Blessing to protect the group when the Evil Soul Master self-destructed, draining much of his Soul Power.
• Electrolux intercepted the Evil Soul Master's Martial Soul, and he and Su Ming determined it was a Blood Mosquito modified in an attempt to imitate a Body Martial Soul.
• After Xiao Hongchen recovered some Soul Power, Su Ming and his companions resumed looting the Black Market.
• Su Ming brought Zhang Wei out of custody and learned that the shopkeeper had known about the operation but had abandoned the workers without warning.

Su Ming explained Shrek Academy’s betrayal to Zhang Wei and taught him how to develop his Gallbladder Martial Soul through his own will. Zhang Wei chose to follow Su Ming, leaving the Black Market with him as a potential future subordinate of the Body Sect.

• Su Ming told Zhang Wei that Shrek Academy had abandoned the Black Market clerks to protect its more deeply embedded spies.
• At Su Ming’s request, Zhang Wei released his four Soul Skills and resolved to act against Shrek Academy.
• Su Ming explained Zhang Wei’s Soul Skills and taught him to strengthen his will so it could work in a cycle with his Martial Soul.
• Zhang Wei’s willpower broke through, increasing the effectiveness of his First Soul Skill, and he accepted Su Ming’s guidance.
• Su Ming and Zhang Wei left the Black Market, with Su Ming expecting Zhang Wei to become a capable subordinate after the Body Sect established a branch.

Su Can negotiated a two-and-a-half-year partnership between the Blacksmith Association and Mingde Hall, including a shift toward inscribing Core Arrays directly. He secured places for Nana and Zhang Wei on the Sun Moon Royal Team, where Zhang Wei began introducing himself.

• Jing Hongchen agreed that Mingde Hall would buy the Blacksmith Association's products for two and a half years in exchange for its help changing Soul Tool production to begin with Core Array inscription.
• Su Can showed Jing Hongchen a Spiritual Alloy communication tool and asked that Nana and Zhang Wei join the Sun Moon Royal Team.
• Jing Hongchen accepted Nana for the Reserve Team and agreed to consider Zhang Wei after Su Can promised his strength matched a Shrek Academy Soul King.
• Director Gao introduced Nana and Zhang Wei to the team and announced that Li Qing would leave for a new role studying forging through the Blacksmith Association.
• Zhang Wei introduced himself as a nineteen-year-old Rank 44 Practical Control Soul Engineer.

Zhang Wei challenged Xiao Hongchen to prove himself despite his low Soul Power Level and ordinary-looking soul rings. After Zhang Wei overwhelmed Xiao Hongchen with a will-infused punch and activated a brutal energy-gathering device, he replenished his strength and launched another attack.

• Xiao Hongchen questioned Zhang Wei's placement on the team, and Zhang Wei challenged him to a fight.
• Director Gao told Xiao Hongchen to go all out, and the two faced each other in the arena.
• Zhang Wei activated all four Soul Skills and used his gauntlets to send a powerful Fist Force through Xiao Hongchen's Soul Cannon, striking him with physical and spiritual damage.
• Zhang Wei activated his energy-gathering device and absorbed heaven-and-earth vitality, while Su Ming assured Director Gao that he could handle it.
• Zhang Wei rapidly digested the vitality, replenished his strength, and threw another will-infused Fist Force at Xiao Hongchen.

Zhang Wei lost to Xiao Hongchen because he lacked experience with Soul Tools, while Jing Hongchen recognized the potential of cultivating Martial Souls properly. At Shrek Academy, Mu En made his final arrangements and died peacefully.

• Xiao Hongchen used his Soul Cannons and Repulsion Halo to defeat Zhang Wei, whose strength and Soul Skills still impressed the onlookers.
• Su Ming sent Nana to fight, and she performed well, though her display was less striking than Zhang Wei's.
• Jing Hongchen studied the training footage and concluded that proper Martial Soul cultivation could help Soul Engineers develop their abilities.
• Su Ming prepared for the Soul Fighting Tournament and left theoretical work on Forging to Elder Yi.
• Mu En privately advised Bei Bei, Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Duo Duo before closing his eyes and passing away.

After Mu En's death, his final Life Baptism strengthened Shrek's younger students and left Xuan Zi confronting his new responsibility. Meanwhile, Su Ming helped Du Busi prepare for a dangerous breakthrough as the Holy Spirit Cult remained quiet.

• Mu En used a fraction of his reserved power to give Shrek's two generations of Seven Monsters a Life Baptism, raising Huo Yuhao's group by one level and pushing Huo Yuhao to level 20.
• Xuan Zi realized that Mu En would no longer be there to cover for his mistakes, then twisted Mu En's confinement order to demand a feast from Wang Yan.
• Du Busi arrived at the Blacksmith Association to protect Su Ming and the Body Sect, and Electrolux estimated that danger in battle could give Du Busi over a ninety percent chance of breaking through to Level 99.
• Su Ming spent five days forging Spiritually Forged Nether Iron-Blue Pregnancy Copper and gave it to Du Busi.
• The Blacksmith Association continued its work without incident, while the Holy Spirit Cult made no retaliation.

The Holy Spirit Cult attacked the Sun Moon Royal Team with Level 8 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonballs and a force led by Zhong Liwu. Du Busi confronted Zhong Liwu while the team fled, but Zhong Liwu summoned a Bone Dragon King that broke away and flew toward them.

• During the three-month preparation period, Xiao Hongchen made Level 6 Walls of Tenacity, and the Sun Moon Royal Team gathered additional Soul Tool trump cards.
• As the academies traveled toward a town beyond the Ming Dou Mountain Range, Su Ming warned the team of danger, and ten Level 8 Fixed Soul Tool Cannonballs descended on them.
• Lei Zhen and Elder Ma intercepted some cannonballs, while Elder Ma used three Level 7 Invincible Shields to protect the team from the remaining explosions.
• Zhong Liwu appeared and declared that the Holy Spirit Cult would stop the next generation from developing, but Du Busi emerged from the team and struck him with his awakened Golden-grade Martial Soul.
• Elder Ma urged the team to flee as Lei Zhen killed the attacking Evil Soul Masters, and the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps mobilized from the front line.
• Zhong Liwu summoned a Bone Dragon King, which broke away from the battle with Du Busi and flew toward the Sun Moon Royal Team.

Du Busi fought Zhong Liwu while the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps arrived to protect the Sun Moon Royal Team and contain the battle. As Zhong Liwu’s Soul Rings burned away and the forces around him grew more dangerous, he began considering retreat.

• Du Busi intercepted the Bone Dragon King, then used it as a weapon against Zhong Liwu until the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps arrived.
• Lei Zhen reached Su Ming’s group, while Elder Ma identified the approaching troops as the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps led by Luan Feng.
• Luan Feng ordered her forces to protect the Sun Moon Royal Team and take positions around Zhong Liwu and Du Busi, then learned that Zhong Liwu was an Evil Soul Master and Du Busi was the Body Sect’s sect master.
• Du Busi recognized Zhong Liwu’s Death God Puppet Martial Soul, and the two resumed fighting, with Zhong Liwu still at a disadvantage despite burning his Soul Rings.
• Yan Shaozhe led fourteen Supervisory Team students toward the Star Luo Empire border and taught them how to fight Evil Soul Masters.
• After seeing most of his Soul Rings burned and the Bone Dragon King stalled by the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps, Zhong Liwu decided he could not keep letting himself be worn down.

Zhong Liwu retreated after Du Busi demonstrated the threat posed by the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps, and Du Busi revealed that Su Ming’s forged alloy had fueled his Gold-tier Second Awakening. In the Death Mountain Range, the Death God Envoy ambushed the Shrek Supervisory Team with exploding corpses, and Yan Shaozhe pursued him into the caves.

• Zhong Liwu recalled the Bone Dragon King and fled, while Du Busi observed the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps’ coordinated cannon fire.
• Elder Ma warned Luan Feng that Evil Soul Masters might attack the other academy teams, and Luan Feng said she would inform the Frontline Marshal.
• Du Busi showed Su Ming the spent Heart Protection Mirror and explained that its alloy let him use his Gold-tier Second Awakening without consuming his Origin.
• Su Ming agreed to prepare a similar alloy for Lei Zhen, though it would require time and a suitable Fusion Forging formula.
• In the Death Mountain Range, Huo Yuhao guided the Shrek Supervisory Team through bandit-filled terrain until the Death God Envoy set off explosions among the corpses in a cave.
• Yan Shaozhe protected the team from the blasts, then pursued the fleeing Death God Envoy, who sacrificed twelve Corpse Slaves in another chain of explosions.

Yan Shaozhe pursued the Death God Envoy for three days before the fleeing Evil Soul Master charged at Su Ming and the Sun Moon Royal Team. Su Ming killed him with a purifying blast, ending the chase.

• Long Xiaoyao warned Ye Xishui that pushing Du Busi too far might help him break through, and Ye Xishui flew toward the Sun Moon Empire with Long Xiaoyao following.
• Yan Shaozhe caught up with the exhausted Death God Envoy after preventing him from using people and Soul Beasts to escape.
• Su Ming and the Sun Moon Royal Team encountered Yan Shaozhe and the dying Death God Envoy.
• The Death God Envoy charged at Su Ming, who used Domain of Chaos and a Soul Cannon's purifying flames to kill him.

Su Ming killed the Death God Envoy and discussed selling the Purifying Fire Soul Cannon to Mingde Hall. In his Sea of Consciousness, Electrolux revealed the Death God Envoy's stripped Martial Soul, and Su Ming considered fusing it with the other Evil Martial Souls as he sought to reach level forty.

• Yan Shaozhe saw Su Ming kill the Death God Envoy, then flew toward Star Luo City without confronting the Sun Moon Royal Team.
• Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen wondered why they kept encountering Evil Soul Masters, and Elder Ma told the group to continue onward.
• Su Ming told Elder Ma that his Rank 5 Soul Cannon had been developed to counter Evil Soul Masters, and they began preliminary negotiations over its Purifying Fire technology.
• Electrolux revealed that he had secretly stripped the Death God Envoy's Martial Soul, a lich capable of turning corpses into Corpse Slaves.
• Su Ming asked about fusing the three Evil Martial Souls, and Electrolux explained that fusion could make them more complete but would not cause a qualitative transformation.
• Su Ming reflected on how his Soul Core and repeated feedback accelerated his cultivation and hoped to reach level forty during the tournament.

In Star Luo City, Xu Jiawei worried that the Blacksmith Association’s Spiritual Metal rewards would strengthen Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Empire. Su Ming told Duan Lin that the Association would expand rapidly across the Four Great Empires, decentralize production, and auction off branch locations to fund its growth.

• Xu Jiawei recalled how the Star Luo Royal Family had secured seven of the Spiritual Metal pieces produced the previous year, then grew alarmed when the tournament offered the champions ten commissionable pieces and the runners-up and third-place teams additional pieces.
• Xu Jiawei learned that the Blacksmith Association had recruited three Forging Masters and planned branches in the Three Great Empires, each producing at least twenty Spiritual Metal pieces annually.
• Su Ming told Duan Lin he could forge every Rare Metal available to him in the Sun Moon Empire into Thousand Forgings First Grade.
• Su Ming said each Association branch would receive a Forging Master skilled in Thousand Forgings with Spirit and train local blacksmiths, ending strict control over production.
• Su Ming ordered Duan Lin to arrange an Auction for ten proposed branch locations and use the proceeds to expand the Blacksmith Association across the Four Great Empires and beyond.

Xu Jiawei planned to use Soul Spirits and Soul Bones to accelerate the Star Luo Empire's blacksmith training while Xu Jiujiu prepared to auction the Blacksmith Association's branch slots. Yan Shaozhe arranged treatment for the injured Shrek students and left Wang Yan in charge while the reserve team filled in for the missing competitors.

• Xu Jiawei learned that the Blacksmith Association's students needed Soul Spirits to study Thousand Forgings with Spirit and ordered Xu Jiujiu to recruit suitable Soul Masters and help bottlenecked experts break through.
• Xu Jiujiu agreed to auction all ten branch slots as the finale lots, while Xu Jiawei confirmed Star Luo City's auction houses had received no Spiritual Metal.
• Yan Shaozhe assessed Chen Zifeng, Gongyang Mo, and Yao Haoxuan's injuries and promised to secure a Life Attribute Soul Bone and treatment for Yao Haoxuan.
• Yan Shaozhe said three Reserve Team members would need to compete until the injured students recovered and left Wang Yan in charge before taking Yao Haoxuan back to the academy.