Chapter Summaries

Shrek Academy’s teachers finalized a provisional curriculum and organized a rigorous, anonymized recruitment process, with Ming Zhen agreeing to help oversee applicants and investigate their backgrounds. On interview morning, Flender and the other teachers prepared to welcome candidates, while the masked Shrek Seven Devils stood ready at their posts.

• Flender chaired a meeting where the teachers approved provisional department courses and agreed to combine basic combat and physical conditioning classes.
• Dai Mubai presented the recruitment procedure, and Ming Sui raised concerns about long waits as the number of applicants continued to grow.
• Ning Rongrong warned that outside forces might plant candidates among the applicants, so Flender decided to involve City Lord Ming in security and background checks.
• Ming Sui and Tang San organized the applicant lists and interview preparations after registration closed, while Flender posted the finalized recruitment procedure.
• On interview morning, Flender and the teachers dressed for the occasion and joined the masked Shrek Seven Devils, who prepared to welcome the applicants.

Rose and Kaso returned to Calais City and applied to become teachers at Shrek Academy, hoping to settle near their reunited family. On interview day, they arrived with the other applicants and waited under the pressure of Poison Douluo, while Flender prepared to begin the examinations.

• Rose and Kaso returned to Calais City, reunited with Rose's family, and decided to find work after realizing they had become too comfortable at home.
• Rose and Kaso applied to teach at Shrek Academy and grew anxious as they learned that many talented Soul Masters were competing for the positions.
• Rose's family and their longtime companions prepared a fried-dough-stick-and-egg breakfast for the couple on the morning of the interviews.
• Rose and Kaso reached Shrek Academy, signed confidentiality agreements, donned masks, and registered with the interview staff.
• Poison Douluo intimidated the applicants in the waiting room, and Dai Mubai told Flender that everything was ready for the interviews.

Flender and the Shrek staff finished interviewing teachers and began preparing the academy for its expansion. Rose and Kaso settled into their new teaching jobs, while the Shrek Seven Devils welcomed the first administrative teachers and paid them in advance.

• Flender pushed through the exhausting interviews, and the staff submitted the final candidate list to Dugu Bo for background checks.
• Rose and Kaso's neighbors celebrated their upcoming jobs at Shrek, while Rose's parents announced they would work and live at a factory.
• Rose felt upset that her family would soon be apart again, but Kaso comforted her and reminded her that they would all remain in Calais City.
• The Shrek Seven Devils moved into the Inner Court suites after learning the top-floor apartments had room for all of them.
• Flender welcomed the first five administrative teachers, and the Shrek Seven Devils showed Rose, Kaso, and their colleagues to the teacher apartments.
• Tang San paid the new teachers their first month's salary in advance, leaving Rose and Kaso pleased with their new accommodations.

Shrek Academy prepared for its upcoming student admissions by assigning work to its new teachers and the Shrek Seven Devils, while Flender arranged for Calais City residents to rent stalls near the academy. The chapter ended with Xiao Wang taking stall payments as vendors rushed to claim spaces.

• Flender welcomed the new teachers, explained Shrek Academy's goals and staffing, and assigned them work for student admissions.
• Flender noticed that the Shrek Seven Devils had no assignment and ordered them to help assess applicants seeking entry to the Inner Court.
• Kaso explained the admissions stages, including qualification checks, physical tests, Inner Court assessments, and a later jungle exploration competition.
• Flender sent Rose and Kaso to spread word that local residents could rent stalls near the academy during admissions, prompting a crowd of vendors to gather.
• Xiao Wang listed the stall sizes and rental prices, and a vendor paid six Gold Soul Coins to claim a large space.

The Shrek Seven Devils watched the new students begin Shrek Academy’s second trial, then got pulled into demonstrating the physical training equipment and helping run the assessments. The trial proceeded more smoothly after Flender opened additional testing areas, while the new students ended the day wondering whether they could enter the Inner Court.

• The Shrek Seven Devils discussed the new students’ demanding schedule and followed the first group to the second trial’s physical fitness test.
• Zhao Wuji recruited the eight Shrek Seven Devils to demonstrate the equipment after Kaso struggled to orient the unfamiliar children.
• Dai Mubai demonstrated the balance, serpentine, obstacle, and basket-carrying events while the other seven teased him as his fans.
• The children struggled with the equipment, so Flender instructed Kaso to open additional testing areas and have the Shrek Seven Devils help run them.
• Ming Sui and Tang San helped supervise one testing area and shared water while they waited for someone to proceed to the third trial.
• The new students celebrated passing the test in their dormitories and discussed the senior students, the Inner Court, and applying to enter it.

Shrek Academy held a practical competition for its new students while Master and Flender discussed Spirit Hall’s proposal to turn the Elite Competition into a survival-style contest. They sought Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua’s advice on how to respond, suspecting Spirit Hall was quickly gauging the major powers’ positions before public debate could influence them.

• Flender explained the new students’ forest competition rules, and teams entered Xuanji Forest to collect scoring points while avoiding spirit beasts and rivals.
• Master told Flender that Bibi Dong had proposed holding the Elite Competition in a forest or canyon, prompting them to consider the dangers and the role of Calais City’s Soul Tools.
• Flender granted Shrek Seven Devils three days off, and Ming Sui spent the first morning in bed reading a storybook with young Miss Nian Nian.
• Flender and Master visited Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua, where Tang Yunhua noticed that Spirit Hall had advanced its proposal unusually quickly and that Master’s opinion letter remained confidential.
• Ming Zhen contacted Ning Fengzhi to ask whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had received a request for its opinion, while the others weighed how Shrek Academy and Calais City should answer.

Bibi Dong approved preparations to reform the Elite Competition, while the change stirred debate across the continent. At Shrek Academy, the Shrek Seven Devils discussed improving their teamwork, and Tang San revealed that his second martial soul was the Asura Clear Sky Hammer, which he hoped could break Holy Sword's defense.

• Bibi Dong read the factions' replies, noted that Master had written "No objection," and ordered Cole to prepare equipment, a budget, and venues for the competition's new format.
• Bibi Dong criticized Qian Renxue's opposition to the reform and her past mission, then worried that the divine power in her palm was worsening her unstable emotions.
• News spread that the Elite Competition would move from arenas to forests, prompting debate among the continent's residents.
• At Shrek Academy, the Shrek Seven Devils reviewed their combat training, identified weaknesses in their coordination, and discussed strategies against Holy Sword.
• Tang San revealed his Clear Sky Hammer as a way to attack Holy Sword's defense, and Ming Sui explained his ties to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Tang San said the soul bone containing Asura God Power had changed his second martial soul into the Asura Clear Sky Hammer.

The Shrek Seven Devils searched Master’s library for a way to help Tang San control his ringless Clear Sky Hammer. Meanwhile, Dugu Bo asked to teach the young soul masters, and the afternoon ended with urgent intelligence arriving at the City Lord’s Mansion.

• Dai Mubai and the others worried that Tang San’s body might not withstand adding soul rings to his second martial soul, and they made strengthening him a shared mission.
• Tang San found he could not lift the Clear Sky Hammer after exhausting his Soul Power, while Ming Sui theorized that a martial soul without soul rings was difficult to control.
• Tang San led the Shrek Seven Devils to Master’s library to search for a way to help him use the Clear Sky Hammer without adding soul rings.
• Dugu Bo praised the young soul masters to Tang Yunhua and Ming Zhen, then asked to teach them; Tang Yunhua suggested Ming Zhen speak with Flander.
• An intelligence department messenger arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion with urgent intelligence.

Ming Zhen learned that the Star Luo Emperor had supposedly been poisoned, prompting Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing to assess whether the news was a trap or a sign of danger. As rumors blamed Spirit Hall and spread across the continent, the Emperor revealed his strength by punishing Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun after Dai Weisi tried to seize control.

• Ming Zhen told Dugu Bo and Tang Yunhua that the Star Luo Emperor was reportedly poisoned, and they suspected he might be using the news to draw out whoever was behind the scenes.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing discussed the report with the Shrek Seven Devils and decided to wait while they assessed the Emperor's condition.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing visited Ming Zhen, then chose to support the Emperor's public show of concern by asking their maternal families to seek doctors and medicine.
• Rumors spread across Calais City and beyond that Spirit Hall had poisoned the Star Luo Emperor, and Spirit Hall's leaders reacted to the growing public blame.
• Dai Weisi sealed the imperial capital's gates and brought a self-drafted edict to his father, but the Emperor overwhelmed him and punished him and Zhu Zhuyun by barring them from cultivating or using Soul Power for a year.

The Star Luo Emperor punished Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuqing’s older sister for their role in his attempted seizure of power, then learned that help against the coup had come from Calais City. In Calais City, the Shrek Seven Devils tried to comfort Dai Mubai, whose drunken words showed how conflicted he remained about his family and his martial soul.

• The Star Luo Emperor questioned the captain of the guards about Dai Weisi’s punishment, then ordered Dai Weisi and Miss Zhu sent to Dai Weisi’s residence.
• The Star Luo Emperor learned that Calais City had helped counter the crisis and ordered Bai Si to prepare for a visit to Dai Mubai’s teacher.
• Oscar led the Women's Army to the morning market to buy ingredients while Tang San and Ma Hongjun prepared for a feast to cheer Dai Mubai up.
• The Shrek Seven Devils ate together, then Dai Mubai drank and revealed that Dai Weisi had been punished alongside Zhu Zhuqing’s older sister and barred from cultivating for a year.
• Zhu Zhuqing explained that the Emperor’s punishment might improve Dai Mubai’s prospects, while Dai Mubai drunkenly said he did not want to awaken his martial soul anymore.

The Star Luo Emperor visited Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua to warn them that Rakshasa Believers had resurfaced and to seek their help arranging peace talks with Heaven Dou Empire. Dai Mubai declined to meet his father, and the chapter ended with Shrek’s teachers unable to identify the Rakshasa Believers.

• The Star Luo Emperor secretly arrived in Calais City and asked Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua to conceal his visit.
• The Star Luo Emperor told Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua that murders and ritual altars in Star Luo Empire indicated that Rakshasa Believers had returned.
• The Star Luo Emperor asked Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua to act as intermediaries for peace talks with Heaven Dou Empire, and they agreed to make contact without promising success.
• Ming Zhen explained the visit to Dai Mubai, who chose not to meet the Star Luo Emperor because his father had not asked to see him.
• Tang Yunhua asked Shrek’s teachers and the Shrek Seven Devils about Rakshasa Believers, but even Master had never heard of them.

After learning that Rakshasa Believers had returned, Ming Sui contacted the Goddess of Life and learned how their faith-fed power had once devastated Douluo Continent. The history led Ming Sui to a profound realization about the laws and the people’s need to save themselves, and she awoke to find three gods in her Sea of Consciousness.

• Ming Sui and Tang San agreed that the Rakshasa Believers’ appearance was troubling, and Ming Sui decided to warn the Goddess of Life.
• The Goddess of Life explained that Rakshasa followers gained power by feeding their god the resentment of defeated people, and that past generations had sacrificed themselves to stop them.
• Ming Sui’s insight into the laws triggered enlightenment, drawing the Laws, the Asura God, and the Goddess of Fate to her Sea of Consciousness.
• The Goddess of Life and the Asura God suspected Rakshasa remnants had been hiding in the Asura inheritance site and discussed investigating them and blessing Ming Sui.
• Ming Sui witnessed the old war against the Rakshasa Believers and realized Douluo Continent’s people had to save themselves from the threat.
• Ming Sui woke from her meditation and saw the three gods in her Sea of Consciousness.

Ming Sui learned that the Rakshasa threat was tied to events on the continent, while the gods agreed to monitor Rakshasa and leave the continent’s affairs to its people. After Ming Sui and Tang San reported the danger to their parents, the Shrek Seven Devils focused on cultivation and prepared for Spirit Hall’s newly revised Elite Competition.

• Ming Sui received blessings from the Asura God and the Goddess of Life, and the Goddess of Fate gave her a golden feather to guide her when she could not see the way forward.
• The Goddess of Life met with the Asura God and the Goddess of Fate, who agreed to monitor Rakshasa through the laws, while the Asura God planned to warn Tang San about Rakshasa’s inheritor.
• Ming Sui told Tang San about her experience, and he revealed that the Asura Snake had warned him about Bibi Dong; they then informed Tang Yunhua and Ming Zhen about the Rakshasa Believers.
• Tang Yunhua and Ming Zhen told Ming Sui and Tang San to cultivate rather than risk themselves, and Tang Yunhua instructed Ming Sui to wait until she became a Spirit King before absorbing her spirit bone.
• The Shrek Seven Devils trained while Spirit Hall announced that the next Elite Competition would begin the year after next and use actual-combat formats with teams of up to eight members.
• Flender and the teachers planned new training for the Shrek Seven Devils, set targets for their growth, and decided to form a second team to preserve the first team’s strength.

Dugu Bo left after recovering from his lifelong poison, and the Shrek Seven Devils began a brief holiday filled with homework and a rare decision to skip class. Tang San and Ming Sui spent the snowy day together in a pavilion, where she fell asleep against him after their training left her exhausted.

• Dugu Bo said goodbye to Ming Sui and Tang San, gave the Shrek Seven Devils farewell gifts, and left to find spirit bones for Dugu Yan.
• During the Spring Festival break, Zhu Zhuqing read intelligence reports saying the Star Luo Empire had received compensation from Spirit Hall and that events had quieted down.
• Tang San, Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun discussed their holiday homework before the students decided to skip class while the teachers were away.
• Tang San and Ming Sui went to a pavilion by the lake, warmed it with a heater, and worked through their assignments as the first winter snow fell.
• Ming Sui and Tang San discussed their families and relationship over Lemongrass Water, then Ming Sui fell asleep in Tang San's arms.

Tang Yunhua investigated the circumstances surrounding Tang Yuehua's injury and discovered a Rakshasa God's Emblem among the items taken with the Moonfall Qin. Suspecting the Rakshasa Believers were more dangerous than expected, she brought Tang Yuehua and Moonlight Pavilion's people to Calais City, where she and Ming Zhen planned to examine the suspicious items.

• Tang Yunhua reprimanded Tang Yuehua for attacking the group carrying the Moonfall Qin, then learned from A Ping that they had also recovered a box containing a Rakshasa God's Emblem.
• Tang Yunhua read the group's testimony and questioned whether they were truly bandits, whether they had really been delivering gifts to Spirit Hall, and whether the instrument was actually the Moonfall Qin.
• Tang Yunhua asked Ning Fengzhi for discreet, fast transport to Calais City, and he and Sword Douluo accompanied her and Tang Yuehua.
• After Moonlight Pavilion was burned down, Tang Yunhua's group reached Calais City, where Ming Zhen received them and Tang Yuehua was examined by a physician.
• Tang Yunhua told Ming Zhen, Ning Fengzhi, and Sword Douluo why Yuehua's fight, A Ping's interest in the box, and Yuehua's lingering injuries seemed suspicious.
• Ming Zhen explained that Old Poison had arranged the fire to make the Rakshasa Believers think Moonlight Pavilion was empty, and Tang Yunhua said they needed to inspect the Moonfall Qin and the other recovered items.

Tang Yuehua’s injuries worsened because Rakshasa power interfered with their healing, but Ming Zhen, Ming Sui, and Tang San devised a way to purge it. After Tang Yuehua began recovering, Tang Xiao arrived and reprimanded her for acting without informing the Clear Sky Sect, while praising Tang Yunhua and Ming Zhen for their responses.

• Ming Zhen found that Rakshasa power was obstructing Tang Yuehua’s recovery, and Ming Sui used her Life Force to stabilize her.
• Ming Zhen, Ming Sui, and Tang San discussed the Rakshasa Believers and Spirit Hall’s uncertain allegiance as Bibi Dong ordered Cole to halt operations and spread rumors about her replacement.
• Ming Zhen used Holy Light, Ming Sui protected Tang Yuehua with Life Force, and Tang San consumed the expelled evil power, allowing Tang Yuehua’s condition to improve.
• Tang Xiao arrived at Tang Yuehua’s room and scolded her for taking risks and failing to report the danger to the sect.
• Tang Xiao praised Tang Yunhua and Ming Zhen for their caution and help, leaving Tang Yuehua upset that she alone had been reprimanded.

Tang Xiao discussed the Clear Sky Sect’s plan to publicly destroy a Rakshasa Believer hideout, while Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua weighed the risks and the sect’s motives. Tang San agreed to inherit the Clear Sky Sect, and Tang Xiao enthusiastically approved his relationship with Ming Sui, leaving Tang San with a substantial engagement fund and the promise of the young sect master’s assets.

• Tang Xiao told Ming Zhen that the Clear Sky Sect planned to attack a Rakshasa Believer hideout to restore the sect’s reputation, and Ming Zhen warned him about the danger posed by Bibi Dong.
• Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua discussed the risks of the plan and the Clear Sky Sect’s reasons for seeking public recognition and a secure future for Tang San.
• Ming Zhen recalled offering Tang San the choice of becoming Calais City’s live-in son-in-law or inheriting the Clear Sky Sect, and Tang San agreed to inherit the sect partly to give Ming Sui room to decide what she wanted.
• Tang San told Tang Xiao that he had feelings for Ming Sui, and Tang Xiao saw their relationship as a way to strengthen ties between the Clear Sky Sect and Tang Yunhua’s family.
• Tang Xiao gave Tang San a large engagement fund, including property, businesses, valuables, and one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, and promised him the young sect master’s assets after returning to the sect.

Ming Sui reassured Tang San that returning to the Clear Sky Sect would support his ambitions and their future together, easing his guilt about leaving her after the Elite Competition. After learning Tang San had told Eldest Uncle about their relationship and received businesses from him, Ming Sui felt embarrassed that the Clear Sky Sect elders would soon know.

• Ming Sui comforted Tang San about returning to the Clear Sky Sect, telling him she would support his choice and endure their time apart.
• Tang San worried that he had broken his promise to stay with Ming Sui, but she explained that he needed a future so they could remain together.
• Tang San asked Ming Sui to promise she would keep in touch and visit him, and she agreed before serving him pear soup and pastries.
• Tang San told Ming Sui that Eldest Uncle knew about their relationship, gave him businesses, and planned to send him the Clear Sky Sect young master's assets.
• Ming Sui realized the elders would learn about their relationship and returned to her dormitory for quiet, while Tang San's friends teased him about winning Uncle Ming's approval.

Brother Dong visited Calais City, where a meal with the Shrek Seven Devils led him to reveal a stone plaque tied to Rakshasa Believers. He explained that Spirit Hall’s planned Elite Competition venues could expose contestants to believer altars, leaving Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua aware of a new danger.

• Brother Dong reunited with the Shrek Seven Devils in Calais City and described the places he had traveled across the continent.
• After a hotpot meal, Brother Dong gave Oscar a stone plaque as a meeting gift, and Ming Sui brought it to Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua.
• Ming Zhen recognized the plaque as one associated with Rakshasa Believers and sent Tang San to invite Brother Dong to the City Lord's Mansion.
• Brother Dong explained that he found the plaque beneath a believer altar in the Heluo Grand Canyon and was pursued across the continent after taking it.
• Brother Dong said the Rakshasa Believers slaughtered a village where he had once stayed, prompting him to seek the Shrek Seven Devils' help.
• Brother Dong revealed that the altar site was one of Spirit Hall's planned Elite Competition venues and that Rakshasa Altars could empower Spirit Hall soul masters.

Ming Sui recalled the Rakshasa Believers’ brutal sacrifices and, after Brother Dong found a place in Calais City, she collapsed from exhaustion and was drawn into a meeting with the gods and the Shrek Seven Devils. As the gods prepared a mission on Beining Continent, Ming Sui entered a dream showing Spirit Hall’s history and its transformation from a force for justice into an institution that suppressed other faiths.

• Ming Sui remembered the Rakshasa Believers’ ranks, their methods of borrowing Divine Affinity, and a bloody sacrifice led by a Purple-robed Emissary.
• Ming Zhen offered Brother Dong work managing his shops in Calais City, and Tang San stayed with Ming Sui after she became distressed.
• Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils fell into the same void as Ming Sui and were summoned to the Goddess of Life’s temple.
• The Asura God assigned the gods to eliminate Strange Beasts on Beining Continent and investigate their source, while the Shrek Seven Devils were tasked with sorting mission documents.
• The Goddess of Life explained that Ming Sui’s Spiritual Power was growing and sent her to rest; in a dream, Ming Sui witnessed Spirit Hall’s rise and its later suppression of other religions.