Chapter Summaries

Chen An gained Sun Qian’s support and recommendation to Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua, though Zhen Hua’s ties to Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect could complicate matters. After discussing future battle armor plans with Gu Yue Na, Chen An’s story left off as Zhen Hua met a visitor called Skyborne.

• Sun Qian agreed to recommend Chen An to Zhen Hua and offered to guide him in forging, giving him an identity token for the Forging Masters Association.
• Xu Lin supported Chen An’s plan to study under Zhen Hua but warned that Zhen Hua’s closeness to Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect might cause complications.
• Chen An told Gu Yue Na about his forging talent, and they planned to design and forge their battle armor together.
• Zhen Hua welcomed Skyborne to his office and asked what had brought him there.

Yun Ming asked Zhen Hua to repair his damaged Four-Word Battle Armor and described a mysterious powerhouse who had injured him. When Sun Qian recommended twelve-year-old Chen An as a forging prodigy, Zhen Hua watched his forging and praised it as flawless, but Yun Ming recognized Chen An as the junior of the man who had injured him.

• Yun Ming told Zhen Hua that a mysterious powerhouse's Soul Skill had pierced his Four-Word Battle Armor and that he could not be sure of defeating the man.
• Sun Qian called Zhen Hua and urged him to take Chen An, a twelve-and-a-half-year-old Third-Level Blacksmith with only six months of experience, as his disciple.
• Zhen Hua watched footage of Chen An forging and praised his strikes, force, and rhythm as practically flawless.
• Yun Ming recognized Chen An in the footage and told Zhen Hua that Chen An was connected to the powerhouse who had injured him.
• Zhen Hua asked Yun Ming whether he was serious.

Yun Ming explained why he planned to help Zhuo Shi pursue Chen An and Gu Yue Na, putting Zhen Hua in a bind over whether to accept Chen An as his forging disciple. Yun Ming warned Zhen Hua to consider a disciple’s character as well as talent, but Zhen Hua made no decision before returning home.

• Zhen Hua hesitated to reject Chen An after learning that the boy might become a Divine Blacksmith, despite the conflict with Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect.
• Yun Ming told Zhen Hua that Zhuo Shi wanted Chen An and Gu Yue Na dead because the figures behind them had killed Wu Zhangkong, and that Yun Ming had promised to help Zhuo Shi.
• Zhen Hua asked to inspect Yun Ming’s battle armor, and Yun Ming suggested he seek a forging disciple at Shrek Academy instead of pursuing Chen An.
• Yun Ming recalled Zhen Hua’s late teacher and warned him that a disciple’s character mattered as much as talent, but Zhen Hua did not promise to refuse Chen An.
• Zhen Hua examined Yun Ming’s battle armor and returned to his residence while Yun Ming went to the Tang Sect branch in Heaven Dou City to rest.

Zhen Hua decided to meet Chen An in person before choosing whether to take him as a disciple, despite pressure from Shrek Academy. As Zhen Hua finished repairing Yun Ming’s battle armor, Yun Ming invited him to visit Shrek City.

• Zhen Hua called Sun Qian and explained that Chen An’s conflict with Shrek Academy made accepting him as a disciple complicated, but he would judge Chen An for himself in Mingdu.
• Sun Qian told Chen An that Zhen Hua admired his forging talent and planned to meet him in a few days; Chen An and Gu Yue Na agreed he should be honest about his conflict with Shrek Academy.
• Chen An trained and forged as usual, while Sun Qian guided him and sent Zhen Hua videos of his progress, increasing Zhen Hua’s desire to teach him.
• Zhen Hua finished repairing Yun Ming’s battle armor, and Yun Ming invited him to visit Shrek City.

Zhen Hua decided to travel to Mingdu to meet a promising child who might become a divine craftsman, and Mu Ye accompanied him for protection. The two flew in Red-Level Mechas while Yun Ming secretly followed them.

• Yun Ming warned Zhen Hua to consider a disciple’s character as well as talent, and Zhen Hua promised to choose carefully.
• Zhen Hua reaffirmed his resolve to visit Mingdu, and Mu Ye offered to accompany him.
• Zhen Hua and Mu Ye entered their Red-Level Mechas and flew toward Mingdu.
• Mu Ye and Zhen Hua discussed Yun Ming’s immense strength, extraordinary rise, and unrealized potential to become a god.
• Yun Ming followed the two at a higher altitude, concealing his aura so they did not notice him.

Yun Ming let Zhen Hua and Mu Ye continue toward Mingdu, warning himself that Zhen Hua might face consequences for taking Chen An as his disciple. Zhen Hua arrived at Sun Moon Royal Academy and watched Chen An forge, becoming increasingly excited by his skill.

• Yun Ming stopped following Zhen Hua and Mu Ye, reflected on Zhen Hua's determination to take Chen An as his disciple, and returned to Shrek City.
• Chen An continued forging under Sun Qian's guidance while Zhen Hua called Sun Qian and learned that Chen An was at Sun Moon Royal Academy.
• Xu Lin authorized Zhen Hua and Mu Ye to fly their Red-Level Mechas into the academy and welcomed them when they arrived.
• Xu Lin led Zhen Hua and Mu Ye to the forging room, where Sun Qian and Zhen Hua quietly watched Chen An work.
• Zhen Hua listened to Chen An's hammer strikes and grew excited as he observed the forging firsthand.

After watching Chen An forge a perfect second-grade Thousand Refinements, Zhen Hua asked him to become his disciple despite knowing about Chen An’s conflict with Shrek Academy. Chen An accepted, and the group celebrated at dinner.

• Chen An completed a perfect second-grade Thousand Refinements, and Sun Qian praised his progress to fourth-rank blacksmith.
• Zhen Hua told Chen An he wanted to accept him as a disciple, while Chen An asked whether he knew about the conflict with Shrek Academy.
• Zhen Hua acknowledged the conflict and said he would teach Chen An forging without letting Shrek Academy dictate his choices.
• Chen An accepted Zhen Hua as his teacher, and Zhen Hua urged him to study humbly and master the art of forging.
• Xu Lin, Zhen Hua, Mu Ye, Sun Qian, Chen An, and Gu Yue Na celebrated Chen An’s new apprenticeship over a meal.

Zhen Hua began teaching Chen An forging in Mingdu and demonstrated how a Divine Smith could complete Thousand Refinements with one hammer strike. Chen An identified the technique’s core principles, and Zhen Hua prepared to explain them further.

• Zhen Hua decided to stay in Mingdu and teach Chen An at Sun Moon Royal Academy every afternoon.
• Mu Ye observed Chen An and Gu Yue Na and regretted that neither had a Body Spirit suited to the Body Sect’s secret arts.
• The next day, Chen An studied Soul Tools with Xu Lin before meeting Zhen Hua for forging lessons.
• Zhen Hua completed Thousand Refinements with a single hammer strike, and Chen An explained how many energy hammers and precise placement made it work.
• Zhen Hua praised Chen An’s insight, and Chen An asked him to explain the technique in detail.

Chen An learned a more efficient forging technique from Zhen Hua, then built a busy routine of studying, forging commissions, and sparring with Gu Yue Na. On his thirteenth birthday, Gu Yue Na prepared a cake and candles, and Chen An made a wish before blowing them out.

• Zhen Hua taught Chen An to form tiny energy hammers over his forging hammer, and Chen An practiced the technique until the lesson ended.
• Chen An and Gu Yue Na shared dinner and their experiences, then continued their routine of walking and sparring as the new semester began.
• Chen An accepted Level Four forging commissions with Sun Qian’s help and earned several million Federal Currency, which he used to repay the Eastsea Spirit Transfer Pagoda.
• Zhen Hua returned to Heaven Dou City, and Sun Qian took over Chen An’s afternoon forging lessons.
• Gu Yue Na prepared a birthday cake for Chen An’s thirteenth birthday, and Chen An made a wish and blew out the candles.

Chen An and Gu Yue Na celebrated their birthdays together, sharing wishes for a good future. As Chen An neared level thirty, he asked Gu Yue Na to investigate powerful Soul Spirits for him.

• Chen An celebrated his thirteenth birthday with Gu Yue Na and wrote that he hoped they would be well in the coming year and every year after.
• Chen An explained that he would pursue revenge through his own efforts, and Gu Yue Na was pleased to learn his wish included her.
• The next evening, Gu Yue Na celebrated her birthday and wrote the same wish as Chen An, clarifying that it included both of them.
• Chen An told Gu Yue Na he had reached level twenty-eight and asked her to find information about Space, Time, and Devouring Soul Spirits in the Spirit Pagoda.

Chen An and Gu Yue Na investigated the Spirit Pagoda’s Soul Spirits with time, space, and devouring attributes, but found the rarest options scarce and prohibitively expensive. Chen An left considering other ways to acquire time and space power, including dragon souls in Dragon Valley.

• Chen An told Gu Yue Na that he wanted Soul Spirits with time, space, or devouring attributes, and she warned him that conflicting attributes could be dangerous.
• Gu Yue Na used Leng Yaozhu’s identity token to review Spirit Pagoda records, and she and Chen An found that time- and space-type Soul Spirits were rare, mostly unavailable for sale, and extremely costly.
• Chen An examined the devouring-attribute Soul Spirits and estimated that obtaining enough energy could cost nearly two billion Federal Currency.
• Gu Yue Na checked the Spirit Ascension Platform and found only a few time- and space-type soul beasts, but more than a dozen with the Devouring Attribute.
• Chen An decided not to choose a Soul Spirit yet and considered obtaining time and space power through other sources, including dragon souls in Dragon Valley.

Chen An learned that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had stronger specialized life-devouring power than Taotie and discovered that Gu Yue Na could help him obtain a rare inner core. He accepted the offer, promising to repay her, while hoping to use the inner core to gain time or space power.

• Chen An considered asking Di Tian to help him reach the Dragon Valley Space, but kept the idea from Gu Yue Na for the time being.
• At the Star Moon Grand Hotel, Gu Yue Na told Chen An that the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger surpassed Taotie in its specialized devouring of life.
• Gu Yue Na explained that Di Tian had killed several Dark Demon Evil Tigers, including one that had cultivated for over eighty thousand years, whose inner core he had kept.
• Gu Yue Na offered to have Di Tian give Chen An the inner core so he could study its attributes.
• Chen An accepted the offer and promised to repay Gu Yue Na for the precious inner core.

Chen An received the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Inner Core from Gu Yue Na and learned that its spatial and Time Powers had already been extracted, though its Devouring Power remained. After testing the core, he put it away and began cultivating, while Di Tian continued searching for something Gu Yue Na had requested.

• Gu Yue Na explained that Di Tian had absorbed the core’s spatial and darkness-related powers, while she had taken its Time Power, leaving lightning, wind, strength, and Devouring Powers.
• Gu Yue Na contacted Di Tian, who confirmed that he had other inner cores but none with the Devouring Attribute, and then brought over the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Inner Core.
• Chen An declined Di Tian’s offers of fire- and wood-attribute cores, and Di Tian reported that his search for Gu Yue Na’s requested targets had not yet succeeded.
• Gu Yue Na gave Chen An the inner core and warned him to absorb its overbearing energy slowly; Di Tian left, promising to continue searching for up to three years.
• After returning to the academy and sparring with Gu Yue Na, Chen An felt the inner core’s suction force, countered it with the Death God Dragon’s power, and put the core away before beginning his Soul Power cultivation.

Chen An and Gu Yue Na attended Sun Moon Royal Academy’s selection for the Federation Grand Competition’s direct-entry participants. The chapter ended with both being assigned to compete in the young adult division despite their exceptionally young ages.

• Xu Lin explained that the academy would select forty students to represent Sun Moon Royal Academy in the Federation Grand Competition.
• A teacher began calling students for the team competition, and ten youth-division students stepped forward to compete for seven slots.
• Chen An was called for the young adult division and joined the designated group.
• Gu Yue Na was also called for the young adult division, entering the fifteen-to-twenty age bracket at only nine years old.

Chen An and Gu Yue Na entered the youth division of Sun Moon Royal Academy’s team selection, where their first lineup faced a seven-ring Soul Sage. Their fight began with Chen An striking at the Soul Sage, who then vanished and wounded one of the Soul Kings.

• Chen An and Gu Yue Na chose the youth division, aiming to compete against Soul Kings and Soul Emperors and attract the military’s attention.
• Xu Lin arranged for them to enter the division, and the academy began testing possible seven-person team lineups.
• Chen An and Gu Yue Na joined five Soul Kings in an aggressive lineup that faced a teacher with the Phantom Shadow Demon Tiger Martial Soul and seven Soul Rings.
• Gu Yue Na launched elemental attacks to hinder the Soul Sage while Chen An engaged him with the Scythe of Death.
• The Soul Sage caught Chen An’s scythe, then used his second Soul Skill to vanish and strike one of the Soul Kings in the abdomen.

Chen An and Gu Yue Na coordinated with five Soul Kings to battle a Phantom Shadow Demon Tiger Soul Sage, earning the highest individual scores in their youth division assessment. After the match, they stayed to await assessments for the other competitions they had entered.

• Gu Yue Na's elemental attacks created openings for Chen An and the others, who wounded the Phantom Shadow Demon Tiger Soul Sage while taking injuries themselves.
• When the Soul Sage charged at Gu Yue Na, Chen An intercepted his attacks as she struck back with the Silver Dragon Spear, and the five Soul Kings joined in with their fifth Soul Skills.
• The Soul Sage unleashed armor and a powerful shockwave, but Xu Lin stopped the match before he could attack again.
• Chen An and Gu Yue Na were found to be in good condition, and Xu Lin announced a team score of 9.5 and individual scores of 9.9 for both of them.
• Chen An and Gu Yue Na remained at the venue to await assessments for their other events, including Chen An's Soul Engineer crafting and forging competitions and Gu Yue Na's battle armor design competition.

Chen An and Gu Yue Na earned places in the Federation Grand Competition after excelling in several academy assessments, then spent the break studying and exploring the Advanced Spirit Ascension Platform. In the new semester, Chen An broke through to Level Thirty and prepared to use the Dark Demonic Evilgod Tiger Inner Core to obtain Devouring Power.

• Chen An excelled in the forging assessment, while Gu Yue Na qualified for the youth division battle armor design competition, and both won recognition in team battles.
• Chen An failed to qualify for the youth division Soul Tool competition, but secured a place in the teenage division selection.
• The five-day assessments selected forty students for the Federation Grand Competition, including Chen An and Gu Yue Na, who would compete in several events.
• Chen An and Gu Yue Na stayed at the academy during the break and explored the Advanced Spirit Ascension Platform, where Chen An searched unsuccessfully for a soul beast with the Devouring Attribute.
• Gu Yue Na reached the three-ringed Soul Elder rank, and half a month later Chen An broke through to Level Thirty after overcoming the bottleneck on his own.
• Chen An took out the Dark Demonic Evilgod Tiger Inner Core and summoned his small tree, intending to absorb only its Devouring Power into the transparent fruit on its fourth branch.

Chen An absorbed the Dark Demonic Evilgod Tiger Inner Core's Devouring Power into the fourth fruit of the Creation Holy Tree, filling it to a little over eighty percent before the inner core ran dry. After resting, he went to the Spirit Pagoda to search for a powerful soul beast whose energy could fill the remaining portion.

• Chen An guided the inner core's Devouring Power into the Creation Holy Tree's fourth fruit while its other elemental energies flowed back into the core.
• After absorbing through the night, Chen An estimated the fruit needed nearly a hundred thousand years' worth of energy to fill completely and told Gu Yue Na he had broken through to level thirty.
• Chen An received the day off from Xu Lin and Zhen Hua, then continued absorbing the inner core until its Devouring Power was exhausted and the fourth fruit was a little over eighty percent full.
• Chen An slept to recover, then told Gu Yue Na they would spar later and continued resting the next day instead of attending class.
• Chen An entered the Advanced Spirit Ascension Platform and searched for a soul beast over fifteen thousand years old that he had encountered before.

Chen An fought a Man Faced Demon Spider over fifteen thousand years old, testing his abilities against its venom, strength, and Devouring Power. After transforming into the Death God Dragon, he covered the spider with Death Mist, but it fled through the forest and proved difficult to keep within range.

• Chen An recognized the approaching Man Faced Demon Spider and attacked it with the Scythe of Death.
• The Man Faced Demon Spider blocked Chen An's strikes with its spear-like legs and repeatedly drove him back with powerful attacks and venomous silk.
• Chen An transformed into the Death God Dragon after the spider sent him flying toward a tree.
• The Death God Dragon unleashed Death Mist, and the Man Faced Demon Spider answered with Spider Web Binding before fleeing the mist.
• The Death God Dragon pursued the Man Faced Demon Spider, but the Death Mist's effect remained limited as the distance grew.

Chen An transformed into the Golden Armor War God Ape and fought the Man Faced Demon Spider at close range. After using its final spiderweb, the spider activated Spider God Possession, leaving Chen An facing a faster, stronger opponent whose legs nearly pierced his metal shell.

• Chen An abandoned his Death Mist strategy, transformed into the Golden Armor War God Ape, and blocked the Man Faced Demon Spider’s path.
• Chen An struck the spider with the Profound Gold Battle Hammer and resisted its poisoned silk and first two spiderweb attacks.
• Chen An grabbed the spider’s legs and battered them until cracks appeared, while the Man Faced Demon Spider used its final spiderweb without fully ensnaring him.
• The Man Faced Demon Spider activated Spider God Possession and charged Chen An with increased speed and strength.
• Chen An caught two of the spider’s legs, but its next two strikes left deep dents in his body, and he could no longer easily throw it aside.