Chapter Summaries

Chen Ping overpowered Number Ninety-Eight in the VIP lounge while Huo Yuhao incapacitated the guards, and Number Ninety-Six apologized to prevent the confrontation from escalating. Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao went to the Waiting Area for their match, while the brothers remained wary and Number Ninety-Eight vowed to retaliate later.

• Chen Ping unleashed a terrifying aura and pressed Number Ninety-Eight down by the shoulder, forcing him to bow and injuring him.
• Huo Yuhao struck the four guards with Soul Impacts as Number Ninety-Six’s Soul Engineer apologized for his younger brother’s behavior.
• Chen Ping warned the brothers that he had spared them because they were guests of the Xishui Alliance, then released Number Ninety-Eight.
• A staff member summoned the contestants to the Waiting Area, and Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao left for the match.
• Number Ninety-Six urged Number Ninety-Eight to focus on the competition and stay cautious, but Number Ninety-Eight insisted he would avenge the humiliation.

Chen Ping entered the Golden Hall’s two-hour Soul Engineer contest against Gao Dalou, while observing two other contestants wielding extraordinary Ranked Engraving Knives. The match began with all contestants preparing to craft devices, and Chen Ping recognized that four Ranked Engraving Knives were present in the hall.

• The Golden Hall hosted forty-eight Soul Engineers on an expanded Competition Stage, where the chief referee announced that contestants had two hours to craft Soul Guidance Devices and defeat their opponents.
• Chen Ping was paired with Gao Dalou, whose inherited Blood Condensation Engraving Knife could only be used by him or a bloodline inheritor.
• Chen Ping decided Gao Dalou’s drinking habit made him a poor fit for the Tang Sect and considered him better suited to joining another faction.
• Numbers Ninety-Six and Ninety-Eight began carving metal with unusual precision, using a dark red jade-like knife and an ancient blue-green dragon-patterned knife.
• Chen Ping recognized the two knives, along with his Life Carving Knife and Blood Condensation, as four Ranked Engraving Knives gathered in the Golden Hall.

Chen Ping designed and assembled a Soul Guidance Mechanical Arm Sleeve from numerous rare-metal components, revealing his Mingde Hall background to the judges and unsettling his rivals. After others completed their Level Five Soul Tools, he finished fitting the components into the sleeve and invited Gao Dalou to submit their works together.

• Chen Ping chose Blazing Sun Iron and rapidly processed parts for a Soul Guidance Device inspired by Xiao Hongchen's Balrog Gauntlet.
• Chen Ping's mastery of the processing machine impressed the judges and made Number Ninety-Six and Number Ninety-Eight wary of his Mingde Hall background.
• Chen Ping produced a mechanical glove and arm section along with numerous components, leaving the judges concerned that he was making several Soul Guidance Devices.
• Number Ninety-Six submitted a Level Five Soul Tool after one shichen, and Huo Yuhao and Number Ninety-Eight soon completed Level Five Soul Tools as well.
• Chen Ping assembled his components into a Soul Guidance Mechanical Arm Sleeve, tested it on his left hand, and asked Gao Dalou to submit their works together.

Chen Ping and Gao Dalou submitted their Level Four Soul Guidance Devices, and the judges ordered them to fight to decide the winner. The confrontation began with Chen Ping walking toward Gao Dalou as Gao Dalou fired his cannon at him.

• Gao Dalou submitted a Level Four concussion cannon, while Chen Ping presented a heavy Soul Guidance Mechanical Arm Sleeve built with Mingde Hall techniques and a Soul Guidance Potential Burst Component.
• The judges praised both devices and ruled that Chen Ping and Gao Dalou would fight to determine the victor.
• The chief judge explained that they could use only their newly completed devices and Soul Power, and the judges discussed Chen Ping's mechanical techniques and Gao Dalou's Ranked Engraving Knife.
• Chen Ping and Gao Dalou entered the combat zone as spectators gathered to watch their first confrontation of the day.
• At the start of the fight, Chen Ping put on his arm sleeve and walked toward Gao Dalou, who fired a bright cannon shot at him.

Chen Ping defeated Gao Dalou by using a Rank 4 Soul Guidance Mechanical Arm Sleeve packed with several different Soul Tool modules. After the referees declared him the winner, Chen Ping regretted not getting to use the Thermal Mantis Blade hidden in his sleeve.

• Chen Ping fired three armor-piercing shells from his arm sleeve, detonating Gao Dalou's Shockwave Bomb and forcing him to dodge the last shell.
• Chen Ping used the sleeve's Flamethrower against Gao Dalou, then cut an incoming Shockwave Bomb in half with a heated Thermal Cutting Line.
• Chen Ping redirected the Flamethrower as a thruster and charged Gao Dalou, deliberately striking the Soul Arena instead of him.
• The impact snapped several alloy cables, and Gao Dalou slumped to the ground as the arena swayed.
• The head referee announced Chen Ping's victory, and Chen Ping regretted that he had not used the Thermal Mantis Blade in his sleeve.

The chief judge stopped investigating Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao after Chen An implied they were disciples of powerful Holy Spirit Cult figures. Meanwhile, Wang Dong'er defeated Nan Qiūqiū in a bet during the tournament, and Nan joined Shrek Academy after her mother made her honor the agreement.

• Chen An told the chief judge that Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao were likely disciples of powerful figures, persuading him to stop asking about their origins.
• Chen An secretly resolved to keep the chief judge from meeting Young Master Kun so he could protect his own chance to rise.
• Wang Dong'er defeated three Earth Dragon Gate opponents before knocking out Nan Qiūqiū with her Clear Sky Hammer.
• Nan Qiūqiū explained to Chen Ping that she had planned to skip out on the bet, but her mother sent her to fulfill her promise.
• Nan Qiūqiū said she could not join the Clear Sky Sect without its Martial Soul, so she ended up staying with Shrek Academy.

Chen Ping recognized that Nan Shuǐshuǐ had sent Nan Qiūqiū to Shrek for her safety and offered her a researcher position to study her Rouge Dragon Martial Soul. He then tasked Nan Qiūqiū with warning the Earth Dragon Gate and other sects to leave Mingdu before the Sun Moon Empire began taking hostages.

• Chen Ping offered Nan Qiūqiū a researcher position at Shrek so he could study her Rouge Dragon Martial Soul, and she accepted.
• Wu Feng teased Chen Ping about the Dragon Girls around him, and he explained that Nan Qiūqiū's Annihilation Attribute had valuable research potential.
• Chen Ping asked Nan Qiūqiū to persuade the Earth Dragon Gate to leave Mingdu and urge other sects planning to stay to depart soon.
• Chen Ping hoped the warning would prevent the Sun Moon Empire from capturing large numbers of young contestants, teachers, and elders as hostages.

Chen Ping continued managing Shrek Academy’s progress and pursued valuable tournament rewards with Huo Yuhao. He pressured Chen An over acquiring Rare Metal, then touched his head and restored his vitality, injuries, and stalled cultivation.

• Chen Ping heard that Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect had both remained undefeated and were certain to advance to the Top 8.
• Chen Ping told Huo Yuhao that they had to win their matches because the rewards included controlled Rare Metal and a Rank 9 Fixed Cannonball.
• Huo Yuhao gave Chen An their betting funds and instructed him to split them between himself and Chen Ping without attracting the higher-ups’ attention.
• Chen An explained that strict oversight and competition demand made acquiring Rare Metal difficult.
• Chen Ping warned Chen An that he had to overcome the difficulties to deserve his treatment, then placed his hand on Chen An’s head and flooded him with pure life force.
• Chen An felt his vitality return, his hidden injuries heal, and his soul power stir toward advancement.

Chen Ping faced Number Ninety-Eight in the top-six competition after the drawing of lots paired them together. He used the Soul Devouring Evil Blade to answer Number Ninety-Eight’s wager and demonstrated that he could remove much of its Death Curse.

• Chen Ping encouraged Chen An, who then escorted Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao to the VIP lounge.
• Chen Ping mocked Number Ninety-Eight before the contestants entered the Golden Hall for the top-six round.
• The drawing of lots paired Number Eighty-Eight with Number Ninety-Eight, whose plan was to bait Chen Ping into staking his Ranked Engraving Knife.
• Number Ninety-Eight wagered his Dark Azure Dragon, and Chen Ping countered with the Soul Devouring Evil Blade.
• Chen Ping claimed he could remove the blade’s Death Curse and drew out its power, dispersing much of its Death Aura.

Chen Ping revealed that he could cleanse the Soul Devouring Evil Blade’s Death Curse, prompting Number Ninety-Eight to offer increasingly valuable stakes for it. The remaining matchups were drawn, setting Huo Yuhao against Number Ninety-Six.

• The VIP guests and judges reacted with astonishment as Chen Ping demonstrated that the Soul Devouring Evil Blade’s Death Curse could be removed.
• Number Ninety-Eight offered a Dark Azure Dragon and a Heaven-Splitting Earth-Shattering Cannon for the blade, but Chen Ping rejected the cannon and demanded a Rank Nine spiritual-type defensive soul guidance device.
• Chen Ping mocked Number Ninety-Eight for lacking the requested device, and Huo Yuhao jokingly raised the stakes with his Standard Issue Engraving Knife.
• Number Ninety-Eight asked Number Ninety-Six to lend him an engraving knife, while Number Ninety-Six felt uneasy about the plan.
• The host drew the remaining matchups, pairing Huo Yuhao, number sixty-six, against Number Ninety-Six.

Chen Ping baited Number Ninety-Eight into wagering two Ranked Engraving Knives against his Soul Devouring Evil Blade. After the referees verified the stakes, the contestants prepared to begin the five-hour crafting competition.

• Number Ninety-Eight added Dark Azure Dragon and Flame Wizard to the wager against Chen Ping’s Life Carving Knife.
• Chen Ping accepted, and the chief referee identified his knife as the Soul Devouring Evil Blade and verified that its value matched the two knives.
• The referees established the wager and warned that either side would become an enemy of the Xishui Alliance if they reneged.
• Chen Ping revealed that he had deliberately provoked Number Ninety-Eight into accepting the wager, then shoved past him and took his place at the workbench.
• Number Ninety-Eight settled himself to rest, and the rare metals and refined precision metals were delivered for the competition.

Chen Ping began the five-hour Soul Engineer match, where the winner would claim a large cache of Rare Metal. He committed to using the materials to make multiple Soul Guidance Devices while Number Ninety-Eight watched warily, and the contest continued through the night.

• The chief referee announced that the match had begun and that the winner would receive fifty-four kinds of Rare Metal, including Gini Titanium Magnesium.
• Chen Ping considered how to balance the number and strength of the Soul Guidance Devices he could produce in five hours.
• Chen Ping piled all the Rare Metal onto his table and began cutting components for the shells of the devices he had planned to make.
• Number Ninety-Eight was stunned by Chen Ping's move and developed a bad feeling about the match.
• As the hours passed, the Soul Engineers focused on production, and referees inspected each completed device before its maker set it aside for the upcoming battle.

Chen Ping used the competition’s production round to make fifteen Level Four Soul Guidance Devices, while Number Ninety-Eight completed Level Six devices and challenged Chen Ping’s eligibility under the rules. The judges had not yet ruled when Number Ninety-Eight demanded that Chen Ping be declared defeated.

• Number Ninety-Eight saw Chen Ping making Level Four devices and began crafting an Invincible Shield, confident his higher-grade work would win.
• Chen Ping made a dozen or more Level Four Milk Bottles, charged them on his wrist, and rapidly assembled them into unfinished mechanical dogs.
• Chen Ping inserted the charged Milk Bottles into the devices and signaled that he was finished as the production time ended.
• The judges tested the contraptions, confirmed they could fire Soul Guidance Rays, and counted Chen Ping’s output as fifteen Level Four Soul Guidance Devices.
• Number Ninety-Eight said his devices were all Level Six and argued the rules required Chen Ping to be declared defeated and barred from later rounds.

Chen Ping revealed that he had made a Level 6 Milk Bottle, forcing the judges to allow him to compete against Number Ninety-Eight. As the top-six practical match began, the cult leaders discussed Chen Ping’s origins and talent, while Third weighed whether his disciple Mork could defeat him.

• Chen Ping showed the judges his Level 6 Milk Bottle and proved that Number Ninety-Eight’s argument for his elimination did not apply.
• The head judge qualified Number Eighty-Eight for the match against Number Ninety-Eight and ordered the three contestants involved in the wager to hand over their Ranked Engraving Knives.
• The Deputy Cult Master and Third concluded that Chen Ping was likely trained by a Rank Nine Soul Engineer from Mingde Hall and discussed recruiting him or gathering intelligence from him.
• Third said Mork’s talent exceeded Huang Zheng’s but warned that Mork’s arrogance could hurt him against Number Eighty-Eight.
• The Deputy Cult Master instructed Second Elder to focus on controlling the authorities’ Rare Metal mines and assign more manpower to the effort.

Huo Yuhao entered the combat phase of the wagered Soul Engineer matches and used Nine Luminaries to turn Huang Zheng’s ray attacks back against him. Huang Zheng switched to the dangerous Rending Wave, leaving Huo Yuhao facing a new threat.

• Mork realized Chen Ping’s limited Soul Guidance Devices might give him a chance to win their wagered match and ordered his attendants to investigate Chen Ping.
• Number Eighty-Five defeated Number Thirty-Seven with a point-blank weakening cannon and follow-up kicks.
• Huo Yuhao faced Number Ninety-Six and used Nine Luminaries, guiding its nine Metal Spheres with Spiritual Detection.
• Huo Yuhao’s spheres blocked and reflected Huang Zheng’s disintegration rays, forcing Huang Zheng to change tactics.
• Huang Zheng fired a Rending Wave ray, whose unpredictable cutting force threatened to bypass Nine Luminaries.

Huo Yuhao defeated Huang Zheng by knocking him unconscious with a spiritual attack hidden inside his Electric Eyes Threatening Soul Skill. The final match between Chen Ping and Mork began, and Chen Ping blocked Mork’s Corrosive Decomposition Cannon with a dark light from his palm.

• Huo Yuhao used Electric Eyes Threatening to strike Huang Zheng’s mind and knock him unconscious.
• Huo Yuhao kicked Huang Zheng off the Soul Arena while he was incapacitated.
• Mork reconsidered his chances against Chen Ping and placed his confidence in his two Invincible Shields.
• Chen Ping and Mork began the final match, and Mork fired his Corrosive Decomposition Cannon at Chen Ping.
• Chen Ping intercepted the cannon’s dark green ray with a streak of dark light from his palm.

Chen Ping revealed that his Forged Iron Hand could withstand Mork's Corrosion Ray, then used a Hexagram formation to animate the Soul Guidance machines he had made from Rare Metal. His mechanical dogs and spiders swarmed Mork, leaving him fighting off the relentless attack on the Competition Stage.

• Chen Ping blocked Mork's Corrosion Ray with his mastered Forged Iron Hand and revealed his gray-black Eyes and silver-gray Hexagram mark.
• Chen Ping summoned the Soul Fires of more than a dozen intermediate undead and had them possess the unfinished Soul Guidance machine dogs and spiders.
• The undead assembled their Rare Metal bodies, astonishing the spectators and drawing the VIP guests to the windows.
• Chen Ping's machine dogs fired volleys of Blooming Energy Cannon beams at Mork, forcing him to dodge with a Lazy Donkey Roll.
• Mork smashed several attacking mechanical spiders with his Soul Guidance Scythe, but the remaining spiders charged him with vibrating Piercing Soul Guidance Spears.

Chen Ping’s undead Soul Tool dogs and spiders overwhelmed Mork, while the spectators realized his creations could repeatedly reassemble unless their Sealed Milk Bottles were destroyed. Mork charged Chen Ping after spending his Invincible Shields, but Chen Ping revealed the Rampage Dragon Treasure Staff and blocked his attack.

• Nether Lightning Douluo realized that Soulfire animated Chen Ping’s Soul Tool dogs and spiders, and that destroying their Sealed Milk Bottles was the best way to stop them.
• Nangong Wan and the elders imagined the devastation an army of Chen Ping’s undead Soul Tools could cause, while Feng Ling marveled at his creation.
• Mork used his first Invincible Shield to withstand the Soul Tool creatures’ attacks, then fired a Corrosion Ray and charged at Chen Ping when the shield broke.
• Chen Ping summoned the Rampage Dragon Treasure Staff, a new Martial Soul branch unlocked after his Martial Soul devoured the Hundred Thousand Year Hell Rampage Dragon Skull.
• Mork’s greatscythe struck the staff, but Chen Ping held his ground and made Mork lose his footing; then Chen Ping’s staff split into three sections connected by red bone chains.

Chen Ping defeated Mork with his transforming Rampage Dragon Treasure Staff and collected the tournament wager. The Xishui Alliance announced the top three contestants, who would advance to the Grand Finals.

• Chen Ping disarmed Mork, transformed his Rampage Dragon Treasure Staff into a nunchaku, and struck him with a lightning dragon.
• Mork surrendered, but the attack drained his Soul Power until his Invincible Shield shattered; Chen Ping stopped his Soul Guidance creatures from attacking him.
• Nangong Wan ordered the referees to give Chen Ping the Flame Wizard and Dark Azure Dragon and return the Blade of Life.
• Mork tried to reclaim his Dark Azure Dragon, but Chen Ping’s Soul Guidance dogs aimed their cannons at him, and the Nether Lightning Douluo took Mork away.
• The referees announced contestant number sixty-six, contestant Number Eighty-Eight, and contestant number eighty-five as the top three advancing to the Grand Finals.

After the Zone Division Finals, Chen Ping promised to discuss matters with Nangong Wan after the overall championship and left with Huo Yuhao for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. The Holy Spirit Cult suspected Chen Ping might be its long-sought Holy Son, but its agents lost track of the two.

• Nangong Wan offered Chen Ping a generous gift if he won the overall championship, and Chen Ping asked for a ton of Gini Titanium Magnesium Alloy before leaving.
• Chen Ping gave Huo Yuhao the Flame Wizard and Dark Azure Dragon Soul Tools, and Huo Yuhao chose the Dark Azure Dragon.
• A shadow followed Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao until they vanished in an alley near the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Feng Ling told Nangong Wan that Chen Ping's unusual Holy Power and skills made him seem like the Holy Son the cult had been searching for.
• Nangong Wan's agent reported that Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao had vanished using special invisibility equipment, though they had headed toward the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.