Chapter Summaries

After Zhou Yi rejected Chen Ping’s concerns about her training, Chen Ping opened a massage shop that drew in Class One students seeking relief and supplements. Wang Dong, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng visited to buy supplies before heading out for Huo Yu Hao’s grilled fish.

• Chen Ping warned Zhou Yi that her training risked injuring Class One students, but she refused to change her methods and told him to take back his criticism.
• Half a month later, Chen Ping opened a small Massage Shop near Shrek Academy and earned most of his business from students affected by Zhou Yi’s intense training.
• Wang Dong bought her usual supplement and Purple Sweet Potato Essence Power for Yu Hao, then asked Chen Ping about his records.
• Ning Tian and Wu Feng arrived to buy medicinal powder, and Wu Feng hurried into the private room to prepare a foot soak after Chen Ping joked about withholding grilled fish.
• Chen Ping, Wang Dong, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng prepared to buy more of Yu Hao’s grilled fish.

Huo Yuhao reopened his grilled fish stall after Chen Ping helped replace his equipment, and Chen Ping arranged for two customers to receive fish. Jiang Nannan arrived after tutoring Nanmen Yun'er, but the stall had sold out, leaving Chen Ping waiting to approach her for her simp and pills.

• Chen Ping had a blacksmith make replacement grilling equipment for Huo Yuhao, who reopened his stall and let Chen Ping reserve a daily fish.
• Huo Yuhao greeted Chen Ping and Wang Dong, set aside their fish, and agreed to reserve two more for Chen Ping's customers.
• Huo Yuhao grilled and sold forty fish to the students in line while Chen Ping and Wang Dong waited for their food.
• Jiang Nannan finished tutoring Nanmen Yun'er for a Gold Soul Coin and followed the smell of grilled fish to the stall.
• Jiang Nannan asked Huo Yuhao to buy a fish, but he told her the last two were reserved, so she left without trying one.

Xu Sanshi tried to grab grilled fish at Huo Yuhao’s stall, but Chen Ping struck his hand and accused him of causing trouble. After denying that he was a Shrek student, Xu Sanshi lost his Gold Soul Coin and prepared to confront the three first-year students.

• Xu Sanshi threw a Gold Soul Coin at the grill and reached for the fish, but Chen Ping struck the back of his hand with the Touch Dragon Staff.
• Xu Sanshi released his Soul Rings and pushed Chen Ping back, while Wang Dong also revealed her Soul Rings and challenged him.
• Chen Ping asked whether Xu Sanshi was a Shrek student, but Xu Sanshi denied it to avoid the consequences of a senior attacking a junior.
• Chen Ping accused Xu Sanshi of being hired to wreck the stall, and Xu Sanshi struggled to answer as Jiang Nannan watched.
• Xu Sanshi claimed he had come to buy grilled fish, but the Gold Soul Coin was gone, so he declared that he had come to wreck the stall and dismissed the three students as weak.

Chen Ping forced Xu Sanshi to face the consequences of attacking Huo Yuhao by making him choose between a brutal lot-drawing wager and paying compensation. Xu Sanshi tried to enlist Ning Tian’s help, but Chen Ping refused his initial offer and demanded five Profound Water Pills and fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins.

• Jiang Nannan apologized to Huo Yuhao for Xu Sanshi’s actions and left, while Xu Sanshi agreed to Chen Ping’s wager rather than back down.
• Chen Ping dictated seventy-two frightening bamboo slips, and Huo Yuhao carved the lots as Xu Sanshi realized the wager was far more serious than a Soul Arena fight.
• Wu Feng and Ning Tian arrived to ask about their grilled fish, and Xu Sanshi recognized Ning Tian and asked her to mediate.
• Ning Tian learned that Xu Sanshi had attacked a lower-year student and could either admit he was a student or accept the wager, then relayed his settlement offer to Chen Ping.
• Chen Ping rejected Xu Sanshi’s offer of two Profound Water Pills and twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins and demanded five pills and fifty thousand coins, leaving Xu Sanshi despairing.

Chen Ping’s group forced Xu Sanshi to pay fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins and five Profound Water Pills after a rigged lot drawing. That night, Chen Ping savored the fragrance of his pill in his Massage Shop, still overwhelmed by its value.

• Chen Ping used the group’s Soul Ring display and Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection to secure a guaranteed outcome in the lots against Xu Sanshi.
• Xu Sanshi handed over five Gold Soul Coin Cards and two Profound Water Pills, promising to deliver the remaining three within a month.
• Chen Ping distributed the fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins among everyone present, while he and Huo Yuhao each took one pill.
• Huo Yuhao marveled at his unexpected wealth and calculated that ten thousand Gold Soul Coins would cover only two months of meals at the Eighth Window.
• That night, Chen Ping examined his Profound Water Pill in his Massage Shop and delighted in its fragrance and appearance.

Chen Ping considered whether to spend Points reverse-engineering the Profound Water Pill, then swallowed one to cleanse his body and restore much of his cultivation potential. Though the pill brought him close to Innate Level Three Soul Power, he refused to let his cultivation slow and took another Level Up Fast.

• Chen Ping learned that analyzing the Profound Water Pill formula would cost just over ten thousand Points and decided against it after the system warned that selling copies would likely lose money.
• Chen Ping swallowed the Profound Water Pill, whose medicinal power surged through his body and began forcing out accumulated impurities.
• The pill cleared much of the residue from Chen Ping's supplements, restored his body's resilience, and improved his cultivation potential to around Innate Level Three Soul Power.
• Chen Ping realized that most of his cultivation debt had been cleared, but he chose not to wait for his cultivation speed to recover naturally.
• Chen Ping swallowed another Level Up Fast to keep his cultivation from slowing down.

Chen Ping used a Profound Water Pill to reach level seventeen, then Dai Huabin visited One Dragon Massage and overheard students say Zhou Yi might expel him despite his family background. Dai Huabin finished his massage and found the students who had discussed Zhou Yi had already left.

• Chen Ping used a Profound Water Pill and cultivated through the night, raising his Soul Power from level fifteen to level seventeen.
• The next morning, Dai Huabin visited One Dragon Massage after hearing classmates talk about its services and supplements.
• Dai Huabin overheard students discuss Zhou Yi expelling students and her willingness to expel him despite his White Tiger Duke lineage.
• Dai Huabin finished his massage and asked about the students, but they had already left.

Chen Ping told Wang Yan that his rumor-spreading plan against Zhou Yi had spiraled beyond his control, and Wang Yan warned him of the danger of provoking Shrek Academy and powerful families. They agreed Chen Ping should stop spreading information and focus on collecting student data, but Chen Ping wondered why the rumors had spread so quickly.

• Rumors about Zhou Yi's expulsions spread among Shrek's students, teachers, and the people of Shrek City.
• Over breakfast, Wang Yan reproached Chen Ping for exaggerating information about Zhou Yi and involving the heirs of powerful families in his plan.
• Wang Yan explained that Chen Ping's actions could cause hostility between Shrek and major factions, and said he had already cleaned up the loose ends.
• Wang Yan told Chen Ping to stop his plan, continue collecting students' physical data, and rely on Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong not to expose him.
• Chen Ping asked Wang Yan why the true and false information about Zhou Yi had spread so rapidly and across so many places.

Wang Yan assured Chen Ping that the academy would support his effort to expose Zhou Yi and the staff who enabled her. As Chen Ping’s public-opinion campaign spread, Zhou Yi tried to suppress discussion and found herself increasingly unsettled.

• Wang Yan explained that students, teachers, and former victims of Zhou Yi were joining the effort against her, and promised the academy would cooperate with Chen Ping.
• Zhou Yi noticed people exchanging knowing looks around her and learned that damaging rumors about her were spreading.
• Zhou Yi asked academy administrators to issue a document forbidding private discussion of her reputation and teaching methods.
• Chen Ping used tactics inspired by his university’s Confession Wall to intensify the public-opinion storm instead of giving Zhou Yi a way to escape it.
• The campaign left Zhou Yi anxious and sleepless as the consequences of her past treatment of students caught up with her.

Chen Ping tried to protect Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong from Ma Xiao Tao’s fiery charge across Sea God Lake and discovered a statue of Zhao Wuji beneath the water. As Xuan Zi’s immense Soul Power rushed toward Ma Xiao Tao, Chen Ping was left stunned by the statue’s costly hidden secret.

• Chen Ping met Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong beside Sea God Lake and offered them Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
• Huo Yuhao spotted Ma Xiao Tao racing across the lake, so Chen Ping kicked him and Wang Dong into the water and called Xuan Zi for help.
• Ma Xiao Tao’s Phoenix Evil Fire scorched the lakeside, and Chen Ping guided Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong deeper underwater.
• Chen Ping found a statue of Zhao Wuji at the lake bottom and learned that uncovering its secret required 500,000 Scholar Points.
• A powerful wave of Soul Power rushed across the lake toward Ma Xiao Tao, and Chen Ping complained that Xuan Zi was unreliable.

After Ma Xiao Tao’s Evil Fire incident, Chen Ping and his companions feigned injuries to secure compensation from Yan Shaozhe. Chen Ping left with three High Grade Compensation portions and a promise of Special Grade Material from the Soul Guidance Department.

• Xuan Zi confronted the White-Robed Elders after surfacing from Sea God Lake with Ma Xiao Tao, and Teacher Li confirmed that Chen Ping, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were not seriously hurt.
• Chen Ping pretended to be injured, and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong followed his lead to press for compensation.
• Yan Shaozhe offered each of the three a portion of High Grade Compensation and warned them not to reveal what they had seen.
• Chen Ping pretended to worsen his condition, prompting Xuan Zi to pressure Yan Shaozhe for more compensation.
• After learning that no Special Grade Compensation remained, Yan Shaozhe promised Chen Ping Special Grade Material from the Soul Guidance Department.

After Ma Xiao Tao was taken away, Chen Ping received a Soul Ascension Pill and went to the Soul Guidance Department to collect his Special Grade resources. While waiting outside its testing rooms, he worked on a Soul Tool exercise and reflected on how digital logic helped him understand Core Formations.

• Yan Shaozhe carried the unconscious Ma Xiao Tao back toward Sea God Lake, and Teacher Li gave Chen Ping, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong a Soul Ascension Pill each.
• Xuan Zi left with Chen Ping’s jar of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall after lamenting how difficult it would be to find the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow and an Ultimate Ice-attribute soul master.
• Wang Dong asked Chen Ping to report what Special Grade Resources he received, while Huo Yuhao asked what a Soul Ascension Pill was.
• Chen Ping went to the Soul Guidance Department and searched the testing-zone corridor for Fan Yu, but found every door closed.
• Chen Ping waited in the corridor while working on a Soul Guidance Logic Path exercise, using his knowledge of digital logic to design an Addition Device and understand Core Formations.

Chen Ping redesigned a basic Soul Tool Adder Core Array while waiting at the Soul Guidance Experiment Zone, and Qian Duoduo realized the new student possessed exceptional talent. Qian Duoduo decided he needed to secure Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao for the Soul Guidance Department before Yan Shaozhe could intervene.

• Chen Ping rejected his textbook-style Adder design as too simple and began creating a more advanced version.
• Qian Duoduo arrived late after celebrating Yan Shaozhe being forced to pay for Special Grade Resources, then spotted Chen Ping working in the hallway.
• Qian Duoduo examined Chen Ping’s discarded standard solution and judged his neat circuitry and steady strokes promising.
• Qian Duoduo watched Chen Ping replace the textbook Adder’s XNOR Gate Core with an Inverter Core and two Tri-state Inverter Cores.
• Qian Duoduo verified that Chen Ping’s redesigned Adder worked and outperformed the textbook version in speed and power consumption.
• Qian Duoduo resolved to secure Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao for the Soul Guidance Department before Yan Shaozhe could act.

Chen Ping visited the Soul Guidance Department to collect Special Grade Material, and Qian Duoduo took him to its Testing Zone No. 20. Qian Duoduo explained the material’s high cost and how smugglers crossing the Mingdou Mountain Range affected Rare Metal prices.

• Chen Ping told Qian Duoduo that Dean Yan had sent him to collect Special Grade Material, and Qian Duoduo agreed to take him to it.
• Qian Duoduo opened the heavily secured entrance to Testing Zone No. 20 and showed Chen Ping its equipment and experiments.
• Qian Duoduo teased Chen Ping about trying a cannon, then led him through several locked doors to a secret room.
• Qian Duoduo explained that Special Grade Material could cost forty thousand to one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and was used to make Level 7 Soul Guidance Devices.
• Qian Duoduo told Chen Ping that smugglers crossing the Mingdou Mountain Range affected Rare Metal prices by changing how much material entered the market.

Chen Ping chose Rare Metals from Shrek Academy’s reserve to sell on the Black Market and raise money for the Soul Devouring Evil Blade. He believed the cursed knife could let him advance both soul guidance and physical training, and saw a chance to afford it sooner than expected.

• Chen Ping considered how the Sun Moon Empire used its advantage in Rare Metals and Soul Guidance technology to profit from the other empires.
• Qian Duoduo brought Chen Ping to Shrek Academy’s Rare Metal storage room and offered him about sixty-six thousand Gold Soul Coins’ worth of materials.
• Chen Ping selected five kilograms of Mithril, one kilogram of Adamantine, and five hundred grams of Dark Silver for resale.
• Chen Ping decided to pursue the Soul Devouring Evil Blade, reasoning that Shrek Academy could handle its curse and its Gold of Life could sustain his intense physical training.
• Chen Ping realized that Xu Sanshi’s ten thousand Gold Soul Coins and the Rare Metals could help him save enough to buy the blade ahead of schedule.

Chen Ping traded Rare Metals through Ning Tian, obtained a five-cubic-meter Doppler Sapphire Storage Ring, and sold his materials for sixty-eight thousand Gold Soul Coins. Back in his dorm, he consumed a Soul Ascension Pill and felt its energy surge through his body.

• Chen Ping chose over five hundred kilograms of Wrought Iron, prompting Qian Duoduo to give him a five-cubic-meter storage ring.
• Chen Ping invited Ning Tian and Wu Feng to dinner and asked Ning Tian to help sell his Rare Metals.
• Ning Tian took Chen Ping to a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School shop, where he sold the Rare Metals for sixty-eight thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Chen Ping decided to save one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins before the semester ended.
• Chen Ping bit into his Soul Ascension Pill, drank its floral liquid, swallowed its shell, and felt the pill transform into energy inside him.

Over nearly three months at Shrek Academy, Chen Ping had built up his wealth and connections, improved his cultivation past Level Twenty, and helped Class Nine achieve strong results under Mu Jin. As the New Student Class Assignment competition approached, Mu Jin brought her students to inspect the Assessment Area and ran into Zhou Yi.

• Chen Ping’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall brought in loyal customers, improved students’ physiques, and helped heal Huo Yuhao’s lingering injuries.
• Chen Ping expanded his connections and continued placing near the top in classwork and physical training while his Soul Power broke through Level Twenty.
• Mu Jin saw Chen Ping, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng as leaders who had helped Class Nine excel during their first three months.
• Mu Jin brought Class Nine to inspect the Assessment Area ahead of the New Student competition and explained its layout.
• Mu Jin approached Zhou Yi and mocked her as the academy’s teacher whose name could not be mentioned, making Zhou Yi’s expression turn ugly.

Mu Jin confronted Zhou Yi with evidence that her brutal training had injured the students in her class, while Zhou Yi denied the accusations and claimed the data had been fabricated. The gathered freshmen watched as Zhou Yi regained her composure and turned the accusation back on Mu Jin.

• Zhou Yi admitted to Mu Jin that she had deliberately expelled Mu Jin’s younger brother to ruin Mu Jin’s relationship with Fan Yu.
• Mu Jin told Zhou Yi that Chen Ping had compiled physical data from students who visited his Massage Shop and found that Class One students had suffered widespread injuries.
• Mu Jin accused Zhou Yi of damaging her students with relentless weighted training, inadequate rest, and a lack of salt water.
• Zhou Yi rejected the evidence as fabricated and blamed Mu Jin’s accusations on her resentment over her younger brother’s expulsion.
• Zhou Yi noticed the freshmen gathering nearby and began attacking Mu Jin’s credibility.

Mu Jin confronted Zhou Yi with data showing that students she taught suffered worse physical conditions and that many expelled students and influential families had united against her. Zhou Yi attacked Mu Jin, but a middle-aged man kicked her down as her punishment remained pending.

• Mu Jin showed Zhou Yi comparison charts documenting the poor physical condition of students she had taught and expelled.
• Mu Jin said the data had been verified and that angry parents and influential families were pressuring Director Du Weilun over Zhou Yi.
• Mu Jin explained that students and families across the First Year had joined forces to prevent Zhou Yi from gaining authority over them.
• Zhou Yi called out Chen Ping and then lunged at Mu Jin, swearing that she would kill them both.
• A dark-faced middle-aged man kicked Zhou Yi in the chin, sending her flying and knocking out several teeth.

Du Weilun arrived after Zhou Yi attacked Mu Jin, beat her down, and exposed her as students cheered her disgrace. Chen Ping witnessed the outcome and received a system reward for organizing the student movement that exposed Zhou Yi and changed the Outer Courtyard.

• Du Weilun kicked Zhou Yi down and refused to hear her excuses, furious over the evidence of her misconduct and the damage to Shrek's reputation.
• Du Weilun tore off Zhou Yi's bloodied human-skin mask and condemned her treatment of students, including Huo Yuhao.
• Students cheered Zhou Yi's downfall and declared that evil could not prevail over good.
• Chen Ping watched from the crowd and reflected that students had won fairness by joining together to struggle for it.
• The system credited Chen Ping with planning the Student Movement and awarded him 8888 Scholar Points.