Chapter Summaries

Chen Ping received a Gigantic Rank Nine Invincible Shield from Ju Zi as his tournament reward, while recognizing Xu Tianran’s gift as a calculated political gesture. He stored the shield in his Starlight Sapphire Ring, and Xu Tianran’s smugness faded when he saw it.

• Chen Ping and Ju Zi met face-to-face and concealed their mutual hostility behind smiles.
• Ju Zi presented Chen Ping with a huge golden sphere that He Caitou and Huo Yuhao recognized as an enlarged Invincible Shield.
• Ju Zi explained that the Rank Nine shield could withstand a Hundred-Level Godhood expert’s attack for three seconds and had been awarded for defeating the Holy Spirit Sect.
• Chen Ping recognized that Xu Tianran was using the reward to publicly distance the Sun Moon Empire from Evil Soul Masters.
• Chen Ping accepted the shield and stored it in his Starlight Sapphire Ring, which had once belonged to Long Xiaoyao.
• Xu Tianran’s expression darkened when he noticed the ring, while Chen Ping considered how the shield might protect him against a God-level attack.

After Chen Ping rested from the tournament, leaders from Shrek and the two other empires met secretly to discuss the threat posed by the Sun Moon Imperial Palace. Xu Tianran prepared a trap for the gathered teams, leaving the story poised for his planned attack.

• Xu Tianran announced a farewell ceremony and champions' parade to delay Shrek and the Tang Sect, while Chen Ping returned to the hotel and fell into a deep sleep.
• Xu Jiujiu, Wei Na, and Zhang Lexuan met in a small restaurant on Dinghou Street and discussed Chen Ping's victory over the Holy Spirit Sect Team and the defenses of the Sun Moon Imperial Palace.
• Xu Tianran's death warrior reported that forces and Rank 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells were positioned in the east, south, and north, while the west was prepared for the remaining teams.
• Xu Tianran ordered close surveillance of the Heavenly Dragon Gate, Body Sect, Tang Sect, Shrek, and Star Luo teams and placed the empire on first-level alert for two days.
• Xu Tianran revealed that he intended to eliminate the gathered talents before focusing on condensing his Soul Core and claiming Shrek's abilities.

The Xishui Alliance prepared for the Mingdu Soul Engineer Elite Tournament finals, where Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao arrived disguised to compete. After Chen An explained the complicated rules, the nine participants prepared to build their devices and face the staged tests.

• The three Underground Forces offered lavish rewards and opened betting pools for the finals, drawing soul engineers and gamblers to Mingdu.
• At Qingse Hotel, Nether Lightning Douluo threatened Chen An over the delayed arrival of Cai Xukun and Xie Guangkun, while Nangong Wan urged him to wait.
• Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao arrived in disguise, and Chen An signaled that their arranged transaction was ready.
• Nangong Wan welcomed the pair and asked them to help defend the Xishui Alliance's glory, but Chen Ping warned that his elder had told him to keep his distance from Underground Forces.
• Chen An explained that each participant would have three hours to make one Soul Guidance Device before facing technique, combat, semifinal, and final rounds.

Nangong Wan offered a Rank 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell and Gini Titanium Magnesium Alloy to whoever won the competition, hoping to draw Chen Ping closer to the underground forces. The group then left Qingse Hotel in a large procession bound for the western outskirts.

• Nangong Wan revealed the Rank 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell Destruction Storm as the Xishui Alliance’s championship reward.
• Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao stayed calm, and Chen Ping mocked the Rank Nine Invincible Shield offered by the Regent as a reward.
• Nangong Wan gave Chen Ping a sample of Gini Titanium Magnesium Alloy and promised him half a ton if he won the championship.
• Nangong Wan privately urged Chen Ping to show his true power and join those who shared it.
• Nangong Wan and Nether Lightning Douluo led Chen Ping and the others from Qingse Hotel toward the western outskirts in a procession of carriages.

Nangong Wan and the Nether Lightning Douluo discussed Chen Ping, Shrek’s Soul Guidance Armor, and the Holy Spirit Cult’s plans to provoke war and charge the Death God Tower with mass slaughter. Chen Ping overheard them and realized the cult was already seeking a massacre in a timeline where the Mingdu Great Explosion would not happen.

• Nangong Wan judged that Chen Ping and his companion were likely disciples of a Rank Nine Soul Engineer connected to Mingde Hall, while the Nether Lightning Douluo accused Jing Hongchen of playing both sides.
• Nangong Wan explained that Shrek’s Soul Guidance Armor could greatly strengthen Soul Masters and armies, and the Nether Lightning Douluo studied a blueprint of its prototype.
• Nangong Wan said the Holy Spirit Cult needed Xu Tianran to ignite a localized war so it could gather cultivation materials and charge the Death God Tower.
• The Nether Lightning Douluo proposed using the tournament’s reward to destroy a major Sun Moon Empire city and collect the resulting Vengeful Spirits and fear.
• Chen Ping overheard the conversation through Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection and realized the Holy Spirit Cult was considering mass slaughter in place of the absent Mingdu Great Explosion.

Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao traveled with the Xishui Alliance to the western outskirts of Mingdu for the final tournament, while Chen Ping prepared to exploit the Holy Spirit Cult’s shortage of resources and target an arsenal near the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. He learned that the Holy Spirit Cult planned to bring several Titled Douluo to the event, leaving Xu Tianran with fewer defenders as rumors spread that he had surrounded Mingdu with Soul Engineer Legions.

• Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection to speak with Chen Ping about the Holy Spirit Cult’s growing desperation for cultivation materials.
• Chen Ping focused on coordinating with Zhang Lexuan, Wei Na, and Xu Jiujiu’s plan to target the Sun Moon Imperial Palace arsenal.
• Chen Ping, Huo Yuhao, and their companions arrived at the western outskirts of Mingdu, where the three major Underground Forces had gathered for the final.
• The Nether Lightning Douluo asked Nangong Wan whether the judges’ affiliations could cause trouble, and Nangong Wan said the Deputy Cult Master would bring several Titled Douluo.
• Chen Ping realized the Holy Spirit Cult’s planned attendance would leave Xu Tianran with fewer people at the palace, while rumors spread that Xu Tianran had mobilized more than six Soul Engineer Legions around Mingdu.

Mingdu’s political tensions rose as rumors spread that Xu Tianran intended to purge the city, while the underground soul engineer tournament began with lavish rewards and rare materials. Chen Ping prepared for the contest, Huo Yuhao studied Ye Yulin’s Sun and Moon God Needle, and the nine contestants took their places.

• The two princesses spread rumors that Xu Tianran had sealed Mingdu and planned a massive purge, stirring doubts among his political enemies.
• Shangguan Wei'er, Nangong Wan, and the other alliance leaders promised rewards to their contestants, while Chen Ping negotiated for more Titanium-Magnesium Alloy.
• Ye Yulin presented the Sun and Moon God Needle as the champion’s prize, and Chen Ping signaled Huo Yuhao to study its technology with Spiritual Detection.
• Chen Ping identified Ye Guyi among the Pingfan Alliance contestants and considered recruiting her for her Sacred Angel Martial Soul.
• Ye Yulin ordered the nine contestants to take their positions, regarding the tournament and its contestants with disdain despite Xu Tianran’s generous compensation.

Chen Ping began the three-hour Soul Guidance Device contest by planning to build an unprecedented Soul Guidance Electromagnetic Cannon powered by his Rampage Dragon Treasure Staff. He started shaping its Guide Rails from ten kilograms of Sky Dragon Silver, leaving the judges appalled by his extravagance.

• Ye Yulin announced the contest rules, warned contestants to conserve energy for the Skill Assessment, and raised a soundproof barrier to begin the timer.
• Chen Ping used hand gestures to work out the force and magnetic-field directions needed for his electromagnetic cannon.
• Chen Ping decided to use the Rampage Dragon Treasure Staff's electrical power to supply the cannon, avoiding the bulky power systems other Soul Engineers would need.
• Chen Ping selected Sky Dragon Silver for its Guide Rails and began processing ten kilograms of it.
• Ye Yulin and the other Soul Engineer judges were shocked by how much expensive Sky Dragon Silver Chen Ping used.

Chen Ping split his attention between crafting a Soul Guidance Electromagnetic Cannon and controlling a Skeleton Soldier, then gathered his trusted companions for a nighttime operation while Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao secured Rare Metals. As the group prepared to act, an explosion shook the imperial palace where Xu Tianran and Ju Zi were discussing threats to his rule.

• Chen Ping used the Six-Aperture As-You-Wish Heart to control a Skeleton Soldier in the Demi-plane while working at the Black Market Tournament.
• Chen Ping met with Wu Feng, Ning Tian, Ji Juechen, Jing Ziyan, and He Caitou outside the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao bought the negotiated Rare Metals, with Wang Dong'er using the Nine Revolutions Soul Transformation Device to deter the seller.
• Wang Dong'er and Xiao Xiao reported that the goods were secured, and Chen Ping prepared to proceed with the operation.
• Xu Tianran told Ju Zi that his younger brothers were becoming restless, and an explosion sounded from the other side of the imperial palace.

King Yan, King Qin, and King Jin prepared to resist Xu Tianran as they feared he planned to eliminate them and the emperor. Outside the palace, Zhang Lexuan’s group planned to infiltrate it, and Xu Jiujiu revealed that they had come to save the Sun Moon Old Emperor, Xu Sixteen.

• King Qin warned King Yan that Xu Tianran had executed their Fifth Brother and could punish them for secretly mobilizing troops.
• King Jin argued that Xu Tianran’s actions and the lockdown of Mingdu left the princes in danger, and King Yan agreed they had to prepare for the emperor’s death.
• King Qin said he would rather avoid getting involved if Xu Tianran was only targeting Shrek and the other empires, but King Yan believed their secret moves had already been exposed.
• Zhang Lexuan briefed the assembled groups on how they would disguise themselves as Imperial Household Department workers and reach the Old Emperor’s bedchamber.
• Wang Xian’er asked whom they intended to save, and Xu Jiujiu told her their target was the Sun Moon Old Emperor, Xu Sixteen.

Xu Jiujiu explained Chen Ping’s plan to use Wang Xian’er to heal Emperor Xu Sixteen and shift the Sun Moon Empire’s balance of power against Xu Tianran. An explosion at the Emperor’s bedchamber interrupted Xu Tianran and Ju Zi, and Xu Tianran ordered his guards to protect the Emperor.

• Xu Jiujiu and Vina told Wang Xian’er that they were infiltrating the palace to save the gravely ill Xu Sixteen, using intelligence and advice from Chen Ping.
• Xu Jiujiu explained that healing Xu Sixteen would strengthen the rival kings and limit Xu Tianran’s power, while helping the group escape the palace.
• Wang Xian’er marveled at Chen Ping’s intelligence and political scheme, then showed interest in learning more about him.
• Jin Peng urged Wang Xian’er to focus on the operation as an explosion sounded inside the imperial palace.
• Xu Tianran assumed the attack was aimed at him, but Ju Zi realized it had come from Xu Sixteen’s bedchamber.
• Xu Tianran ordered the guards to rush to the Emperor’s bedchamber and protect Xu Sixteen.

Xu Tianran realized that Shrek and the Three Great Empires had come to treat Xu Sixteen, while Long Xiaoyao tried to stop them at the imperial palace. As Long Xiaoyao fought Du Busi and Elder Xuan in the sky, Chen Ping signaled his group to begin their own operation.

• Xu Tianran warned Ju Zi that Shrek and the Three Great Empires had come to treat Xu Sixteen, and Ju Zi hurried away.
• Long Xiaoyao confronted Du Busi over the Body Sect's allegiance to the Heaven Dou Empire and threatened to kill him.
• Long Xiaoyao summoned Zhang Peng and Zhong Li Wu as Du Busi, Elder Xuan, and more than twenty powerful figures gathered against him.
• Elder Xuan said their factions had come to heal Xu Sixteen, and Long Xiaoyao attacked Du Busi and Elder Xuan.
• Du Busi used his gold-level Body Martial Soul awakening to tear apart Long Xiaoyao's dragon claw while Elder Xuan assisted.
• Chen Ping watched the battle from a dark street and signaled his group to begin.

Chen Ping led Ning Tian and the others into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy’s armory while the empire’s strongest fighters were drawn away by a battle at the imperial palace. They reached a vast underground vault filled with strategic Rare Metal, ready to seize its contents.

• Ning Tian teased Chen Ping about his Purple-level Skeleton, and Chen Ping urged the group to make the most of the experts being drawn away.
• Eight powerful guards left the academy for the Mingdu Imperial Palace, allowing Chen Ping and the others to enter Li Chong’s guarded courtyard unnoticed.
• Chen Ping’s group used their copied keys and knowledge of the armory’s layout to bypass its protections and descend underground.
• Ji Juechen killed the two Sixth Level Soul Engineers guarding the elevator exit with a swift attack.
• Chen Ping and the others opened the vault and found tens of thousands of tons of tightly controlled Rare Metal across thirty-two categories.

Chen Ping’s group emptied the first level of the treasury and cut through the gate to the second level. After a guard’s Aging Ray failed against Chen Ping’s Purple-level Skeleton, Ji Juechen and Wu Feng killed him, leaving the group poised to advance.

• Jing Ziyan and Ning Tian used their storage devices and the Gate of the Undead to transfer more than ten thousand tons of Rare Metal into the Undead Demiplane.
• Chen Ping used the Life Carving Knife of Gold, wielded by his Purple-level Skeleton, to devour the metal gate’s life force and weaken it.
• Jing Ziyan and Ning Tian finished clearing the first floor as Chen Ping cut through the gate to the second level.
• A Soul Saint guarding the second floor fired an Aging Ray at Chen Ping’s Purple-level Skeleton, but the attack passed through its lifeless bones.
• Ning Tian boosted Ji Juechen and Wu Feng, who attacked together and killed the Soul Saint.

Chen Ping and his companions looted a vast underground warehouse filled with Rare Metals and advanced Soul Guidance Devices, enough to equip several elite Soul Engineer regiments. In the Undead Demiplane, Electrolux stopped Wang Xiaolei from watching the haul and ordered him to continue the Martial Soul Awakening.

• Chen Ping packed away the Rare Metals on the second level and opened the door to the third.
• Chen Ping discovered the third level held enormous stocks of Soul Guidance Cannons, guns, Fixed Soul Guidance Shells, and Sealed Milk Bottles.
• Chen Ping realized the weapons could equip at least four elite Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineer regiments and threaten even powerful Soul Masters in large numbers.
• Ji Juechen, Ning Tian, and Jing Ziyan stored as many weapons and ammunition crates as their Storage Soul Guidance Devices could hold.
• Wang Xiaolei watched the supplies rain into the Undead Demiplane until Electrolux sent him back to the experimental equipment and ordered him to resume the Martial Soul Awakening.

Long Xiaoyao held back against Du Busi and Xuan Zi as their battle kept him occupied while the four factions attacked the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial palace. Zhang Lexuan’s strike team reached Xu Sixteen’s quarters, where she unleashed her Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring against his guards.

• Long Xiaoyao, Du Busi, and Xuan Zi fought in the sky, with Long Xiaoyao restraining his strength because he did not want to harm them.
• Shrek Academy, the Body Sect, the Heaven Dou Empire, and Star Luo launched their assault, while a masked strike team infiltrated the imperial palace under Zhang Lexuan’s leadership.
• Long Ao Tian led the strike team toward Xu Sixteen’s quarters and engaged an inner palace guard who had detected them.
• Long Ao Tian helped Zhang Lexuan soar into the air, where she unleashed her Blood Moon Eclipse and severely injured Xu Sixteen’s guards.

Wang Xian'er entered Xu Sixteen's bedchamber and used her Healing Angel to revive the Old Emperor, but Xu Tianran attacked her and tried to destroy the chamber. The Imperial Guards realized Xu Tianran was trying to kill his father and moved to stop him.

• Wang Xian'er and Xu Jiujiu entered Xu Sixteen's bedchamber after the Blood Moon Eclipse wiped out its guards, and Xu Jiujiu knocked aside the two imperial physicians.
• Wang Xian'er used her Healing Angel to restore Xu Sixteen, expelling black vapor and bringing his breathing back.
• Xu Tianran emerged as a Purple Blazing Sky Dragon and sent Wang Xian'er flying, while accusing Xu Jiujiu of trying to assassinate Xu Sixteen.
• The Imperial Guard expert realized Wang Xian'er had come to heal Xu Sixteen, not kill him.
• Xu Tianran swung his Dragon Tail at the bedchamber, and Long Ao Tian, Lexuan, and the remaining Imperial Guards rushed to block the attack.

Zhang Lexuan and the others escaped after Xu Tianran’s attack exposed the princes’ coup and left Old Emperor Xu Sixteen gravely ill. Xu Tianran ordered Ju Zi and Zhong Li Wu to drive the fleeing forces west, while he weighed the political danger of his father discovering his power.

• Xu Tianran’s tail strike sent Xu Jiujiu flying and destroyed the imperial bedchamber, but Xu Sixteen survived and emerged in his Purple Blazing Sky Dragon form.
• Xu Tianran ordered the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion to surround the Imperial City, but his three younger brothers revealed that four Soul Engineer Legions had already surrounded it.
• Zhang Lexuan and the others fled with Wang Xian’er, while Jin Peng Douluo, Old Song, and the Shrek experts broke away from their battles and retreated.
• Xu Sixteen’s illness worsened after Xu Tianran’s strike and his own Martial Soul Avatar transformation, as the forces that had besieged Mingdu withdrew.
• Xu Tianran ordered Ju Zi and Zhong Li Wu to drive the escapees west and place the remaining Soul Engineer Legions on alert in the other directions.
• Xu Tianran relied on the support of the Sun Moon Royal Enshrinement Hall, Mingde Hall, and the Holy Spirit Cult, but worried about being branded a usurper.

Du Busi, Xuan Zi, and their allies escaped Mingdu under Chen Ping’s plan, leaving the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial family divided. Xu Sixteen recovered enough to challenge Xu Tianran’s authority, while Ye Yulin remained unaware of the palace’s internal struggle.

• Du Busi and Xuan Zi regrouped with the main force and split into groups to leave the city.
• Old Song explained that the operation had preserved their forces and would hinder Xu Tianran’s plans for at least three years.
• Ye Yulin assumed the imperial palace had repelled its enemies and turned his attention to Chen Ping crafting Soul Tools.
• Xu Sixteen recognized Xu Tianran as an enemy but agreed to let him remain regent while demanding military positions for his other sons.
• Xu Tianran agreed to Xu Sixteen’s demand while inwardly resenting it.

Chen Ping continued crafting an unfamiliar Soul Guidance Cannon during the competition while secretly looting the Sun Moon Empire’s arsenal. The referees mistook his delight for a state of flow and agreed to seek his guidance afterward, while Ye Yulin insisted he would claim Chen Ping as his disciple.

• Ye Yulin gave up trying to understand Chen Ping’s electromagnetic weapon and turned his attention to Xie Guangkun’s more familiar work.
• Feng Ling and Nangong Wan remained confident that the Holy Spirit Cult’s plan would eliminate their enemies in the forbidden zone to the west.
• Chen Ping used the Undead in his Demi-plane to empty and organize the Sun Moon Empire warehouse, taking its metals, weapons, and equipment.
• Ye Yulin and the other referees mistook Chen Ping’s happiness over the loot for a state of flow and praised his skill.
• The referees agreed to discuss Chen Ping’s new Soul Guidance Device with him after the competition, and Ye Yulin warned them not to compete with him for Chen Ping.