Chapter Summaries

Xiao Tianyang returned to Shrek Academy after carrying out his plan against Spirit Hall and found Titan confronting Tang San. He stopped Titan’s punch, then disguised himself as Ma Hongjun and played the injured, impoverished student to make Titan hesitate.

• Xiao Tianyang headed back to Shrek Academy, pleased that his actions had misdirected Spirit Hall and concealed his role in the Soul Power Cuisine affair.
• At the academy gates, Xiao Tianyang saw Titan facing Tang San, Xiao Wu, Tailong, and a burly man.
• When Titan punched Tang San, Xiao Tianyang rushed in and struck Titan’s fist, sending a shockwave through the road.
• Xiao Tianyang introduced himself to Titan as Ma Hongjun and pretended the clash had badly injured his hand.
• Xiao Tianyang’s performance drew sympathy from the watching students and left Titan reluctant to press him further.

Xiao Tianyang negotiated a wager with Titan on behalf of Tang San, requiring Titan to perform one task for him if they endured Titan’s Soul Power pressure. The system then gave Xiao Tianyang a side quest to withstand the pressure for one incense stick, and he immediately lit the incense and called on Titan to begin.

• Titan confronted Xiao Tianyang over Tang San and Tailong, while Xiao Tianyang accused him of faking an injury.
• Tang San stepped forward to take responsibility, and Xiao Tianyang agreed to let him handle the matter.
• Titan replaced the original wager with a test requiring Tang San and Xiao Tianyang to endure his Soul Power pressure for one minute.
• Xiao Tianyang insisted Titan offer a forfeit if he lost, then asked Tang San for permission to set the condition that Titan perform one task within his abilities.
• Titan accepted the condition, and the system triggered the side quest Hercules's Trial, requiring Xiao Tianyang to endure the pressure for one incense stick.
• Xiao Tianyang pulled Tang San back, lit two incense sticks, and told Titan to begin.

Ning Rongrong and Ning Fengzhi watched Xiao Tianyang face Titan, while Ning Fengzhi assessed his potential to evolve the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Elsewhere, Qian Renxue watched Xiao Tianyang and questioned whether he was the attacker who had clashed with Spirit Hall.

• Ning Rongrong rushed toward the crowd, but Ning Fengzhi stopped her from boosting Xiao Tianyang and promised Bone Douluo would keep him safe.
• Ning Fengzhi considered Xiao Tianyang’s achievements and the possibility that he could help the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect evolve its Martial Soul.
• Bone Douluo looked displeased as Ning Fengzhi assessed Xiao Tianyang as a potential match for Ning Rongrong.
• Qian Renxue watched Xiao Tianyang from a distant alley and doubted that he was the person who had attacked Spirit Hall.

Xiao Tianyang endured Titan’s Soul Power trial while experimenting with new ways to use his Soul Power, and Tang San was forced to withdraw after Titan increased the pressure. Xiao Tianyang used a loophole in their agreement to continue alone, leaving him to face Titan’s full attention.

• Titan intensified his Soul Power pressure, and Xiao Tianyang used the strain to experiment with defensive techniques based on the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.
• Titan realized Xiao Tianyang was developing techniques beyond his soul rings and increased the pressure further, causing one of Xiao Tianyang’s Soul Power dragons to shatter.
• The pressure helped Tang San absorb energy from his Immortal Herbs, but Titan’s increased force made Tang San spit blood and stagger.
• Xiao Tianyang revealed that he had been suppressing his Soul Power and argued that Tang San could withdraw without causing them to lose their trial.
• Titan accepted Xiao Tianyang’s interpretation of their agreement, and Tang San withdrew with Xiao Wu while Xiao Tianyang stayed to face Titan alone.

Xiao Tianyang used Titan’s Soul Power pressure to perfect a defensive move and break through to the level-forty threshold. After Titan reacted in shock, Tang San stepped forward with his Clear Sky Hammer to protect Xiao Tianyang.

• Titan raised his Soul Power pressure to its full strength after Xiao Tianyang challenged him, while Zhao Wuji and the others worried about the danger.
• Bone Douluo recognized that Xiao Tianyang was using the pressure to push past his limits, and Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong eased their concern.
• Xiao Tianyang formed a crystalline defense that blocked Titan’s pressure and then blasted it away, forcing the spectators to retreat.
• Xiao Tianyang thanked Titan, and the system awarded him a Sect Breaking Pill for completing the Hercules’s Trial side quest.
• Titan sensed Xiao Tianyang’s breakthrough to the level-forty threshold, and Tang San stood between them with his Clear Sky Hammer.

Titan recognized Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer and asked about his father, leading Ning Fengzhi to explain their connection and invite the group to talk at Shrek Academy. The visitors headed for the reception room while Taino was left to pay for the damage Titan caused.

• Titan recognized Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer and asked who his father was.
• Ning Fengzhi greeted Tang San, and Ning Rongrong introduced him as her father.
• Xiao Tianyang suggested moving the conversation to the academy’s reception room, and Ning Fengzhi agreed.
• Xiao Tianyang called for Zhao Wuji to arrange the room, and Zhao Wuji dispersed the onlookers.
• Flender made the Titan family pay for the damage and related costs, so Taino used his savings to cover the bill.

Xiao Tianyang learned about his connection to Titan's family, then returned to his cabin and used a Sect Breaking Pill to advance his Nine Yang Divine Skill. After Zhu Zhuqing visited to check whether he was injured, she left when she learned he was fine.

• Tang San learned about his background and his relationship to Titan's family while Xiao Tianyang realized Ning Rongrong had drawn him into her situation with Ning Fengzhi.
• Xiao Tianyang made an excuse and left, and Ning Rongrong followed after him but lost track of him.
• Xiao Tianyang secured his cabin, opened the Sect Breaking Pill box, and found two pills inside.
• Xiao Tianyang swallowed a Sect Breaking Pill while sitting on the Orchid Heart Cushion, and his Nine Yang Divine Skill and physical quality improved.
• Zhu Zhuqing came to Xiao Tianyang's cabin to ask whether he was injured, then left after he told her he was fine.

Xiao Tianyang confronted Ning Rongrong about revealing his medicinal-herb secret to her family, explaining the danger it could bring him. Ning Fengzhi promised the secret would remain with them, then turned to the important matter he had come to discuss.

• Tang San told Xiao Tianyang that Ning Fengzhi had asked about him and the medicinal herbs.
• Bone Douluo overheard Xiao Tianyang criticize Ning Rongrong, and Ning Rongrong arrived to defend herself.
• Xiao Tianyang explained that revealing his ability could put him in danger, leaving Ning Rongrong, Ning Fengzhi, and Bone Douluo stunned.
• Ning Fengzhi apologized on Ning Rongrong's behalf and promised they would not tell anyone else about Xiao Tianyang's secret.
• Ning Rongrong apologized to Xiao Tianyang, who accepted her apology while warning her to be careful in front of the elders.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Xiao Tianyang to call him Uncle Ning, then brought up the important matter he wanted to discuss.

Xiao Tianyang left Shrek Academy for the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his Fourth Spirit Ring, while Qian Renxue secretly followed him. After arriving, he triggered a quest requiring a Spirit Ring of at least seventy thousand years and two dangerous side quests.

• Xiao Tianyang told Master he had reached level forty and planned to seek a Spirit Ring in the Star Dou Great Forest, and Master agreed to cover his departure.
• Qian Renxue learned that Xiao Tianyang had left and decided to follow him, with Ghost Douluo withdrawing from his surveillance.
• Xiao Tianyang rode Harley to the Star Dou Great Forest and entered, followed about half a day later by Qian Renxue.
• Xiao Tianyang drove off a Soul Beast that challenged him, then checked the three quests triggered by his arrival.
• Xiao Tianyang considered changing his identity to avoid the Divine Beast System Soul Beasts but concluded that their tracking abilities could still expose him.

Xiao Tianyang learned that Qian Renxue had entered the Star Dou Great Forest, likely seeking her Seventh Spirit Ring as well as pursuing him. After battling two powerful Soul Beasts, he and Bubu prepared to venture deeper in search of a suitable beast for his mission.

• Bubu told Xiao Tianyang that Qian Renxue had reached the Star Dou Great Forest with a Titled Douluo nearby, and Xiao Tianyang deduced that she wanted to obtain her Seventh Spirit Ring.
• Xiao Tianyang set off with Bubu, then beat him after misreading his wary expression.
• Xiao Tianyang defeated two Soul Beasts over thirty thousand years old and earned 360 Lottery Points, but still could not find a fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast.
• Bubu reported finding no useful traces, so Xiao Tianyang decided they had to risk going deeper into the forest.
• Xiao Tianyang relied on Bubu's scouting ability, which could detect most nearby creatures within a ten-kilometer radius.

Qian Renxue was badly injured by an unusually powerful Magic Fire Lava Beast while Xiao Tianyang searched for a suitable soul ring. Xiao Tianyang found a Golden Flame Bear Tiger that was one year short of his target age, provoked it by accident, and prepared to fight.

• Qian Renxue was ambushed by a seventy-thousand-year Magic Fire Lava Beast in the outer region and struggled to escape its attacks.
• Qian Renxue blocked the beast's fireball with her Angel's Charge, suffered severe burns, and fled while vowing revenge.
• Xiao Tianyang used his Ancient Divine Eyes to identify a Golden Flame Bear Tiger that was sixty-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine years old.
• Xiao Tianyang decided not to take the Golden Flame Bear Tiger because it fell short of the seventy-thousand-year requirement, then accidentally provoked it with a grasping gesture.
• The Golden Flame Bear Tiger charged at Xiao Tianyang, who readied himself to fight it.

Xiao Tianyang fought and nearly killed the seventy-thousand-year-old Golden Flame Tiger Bear, but Bubu warned him of danger approaching. He encountered the injured Qian Renxue and shielded her as they narrowly escaped a fireball.

• Xiao Tianyang overwhelmed the Golden Flame Tiger Bear with his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, then pierced it with flaming spears and burned it with Emperor Flame.
• Bubu barked urgently, and Xiao Tianyang realized a dangerous pursuer was approaching, so he prepared to leave the wounded Golden Flame Tiger Bear behind.
• Xiao Tianyang sensed Qian Renxue approaching, but she tackled him to the ground to escape the heat behind her.
• A massive fireball fell toward them, and Xiao Tianyang pulled Qian Renxue close and rolled them down a slope out of its range.
• Xiao Tianyang shielded Qian Renxue from the fireball's heatwave, nearly losing the clothes on his back and burning himself.

Xiao Tianyang protected Qian Renxue from the Magic Fire Lava Beast and revealed that he had prepared a powerful Soul Beast for her Seventh Spirit Ring. He gave her a Heart Protection Pill to help absorb it, while the battle with the Magic Fire Lava Beast continued.

• Xiao Tianyang carried Qian Renxue out of the way of the Magic Fire Lava Beast's attack and used his Ancient Divine Eyes to identify it as a 79,389-year-old Soul Beast.
• Xiao Tianyang countered the beast's fireball with his first soul skill, and the two attacks destroyed each other.
• Xiao Tianyang told Qian Renxue to stay and pointed out the nearly seventy-thousand-year-old Golden Flame Tiger Bear he had knocked down for her Seventh Spirit Ring.
• Qian Renxue worried she could not withstand such a powerful Soul Ring, so Xiao Tianyang gave her a Heart Protection Pill and said it would help her absorb it.

Xiao Tianyang fought the seventy-thousand-year Magic Fire Lava Beast and deliberately enraged it while Qian Renxue prepared to absorb the Golden Flame Tiger Bear’s soul ring. As the beast’s fury escalated and it pursued him, Xiao Tianyang fled, hoping to draw it into his plan.

• Xiao Tianyang attacked the Magic Fire Lava Beast to keep it away from Qian Renxue, who noticed Bubu and then realized it was pointing her toward the dying Golden Flame Tiger Bear.
• Qian Renxue went to absorb the Golden Flame Tiger Bear’s soul ring while Bubu headed toward Xiao Tianyang’s battle.
• The Magic Fire Lava Beast struck Xiao Tianyang’s crystal wall, and he tilted it to make the beast tumble headfirst into the ground.
• Xiao Tianyang insulted the Magic Fire Lava Beast and fled, provoking it into a rampage as its heat and pursuit closed in behind him.

Xiao Tianyang lured the Magic Fire Lava Beast into a fight with the Sky Swallowing Demonic Beast, using a Replacement Talisman and the Bagua Formation to trap and confuse them. He and Bubu then hid nearby as the two beasts clashed.

• Xiao Tianyang reached the planned location with Bubu while fleeing the Magic Fire Lava Beast, despite his severe burns.
• The Sky Swallowing Demonic Beast charged in, and Xiao Tianyang used a Replacement Talisman to switch places with it as the Magic Fire Lava Beast struck.
• Xiao Tianyang activated the Bagua Formation, trapping both Soul Beasts and filling the area with mist that made them forget what had happened.
• The Sky Swallowing Demonic Beast attacked the Magic Fire Lava Beast, and the beasts began fighting inside the formation.
• Xiao Tianyang retrieved the Bagua Plate and retreated with Bubu, hiding nearby as the battle's aura concealed them.

Xiao Tianyang ambushed the Magic Fire Lava Beast after the Bagua Formation collapsed and the two Soul Beasts fled from an approaching Titled Douluo. He trapped the beast in his flames, but its renewed roar showed that it was still alive.

• The Sky Swallowing Demonic Beast and the Magic Fire Lava Beast regained their senses, then backed away as a powerful Titled Douluo approached.
• Xiao Tianyang sent Bubu to follow the Sky Swallowing Demonic Beast and pursued the fleeing Magic Fire Lava Beast.
• The Magic Fire Lava Beast dug a hiding place and buried itself, but Xiao Tianyang attacked it by surprise, striking its back with the Congyun Blade.
• Xiao Tianyang trapped the Magic Fire Lava Beast with his Burning Heaven Shackles Formation and Ice Heart Fire Lotus.
• When the beast's struggles weakened, Xiao Tianyang hurled flaming spears into the black lotus, and the beast roared violently in response.

Xiao Tianyang killed the Seventy-Thousand-Year Magic Fire Lava Beast and began absorbing its soul ring, enduring severe pain as its Soul Power battered his body. He passed out after the worst of the ordeal, then experienced a vision linked to the Scythe of Judgment and memories that felt strangely familiar.

• Xiao Tianyang used the Ancient Divine Eyes to finish off the wounded Magic Fire Lava Beast and watched its black soul ring with a faint crimson glow appear.
• Xiao Tianyang rested, then began absorbing the soul ring with the aid of Emperor Flame.
• The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire appeared in Xiao Tianyang’s mind and destroyed the attacker tormenting his consciousness.
• The soul ring’s immense Soul Power tore through Xiao Tianyang’s body, and his worsening injuries overwhelmed him until he passed out.
• Xiao Tianyang dreamed of a brilliant light that merged with him and recalled a plain of white bones, a lava hell, and an abyss of wandering souls.

Xiao Tianyang woke after three days unconscious from absorbing an over-seventy-thousand-year-old Magic Fire Lava Beast soul ring, and Qian Renxue explained the danger and treated him in a secluded cave. He pretended his internal injuries were fatal to draw out her concern, leaving Qian Renxue distressed and still not having revealed her name.

• Xiao Tianyang woke with hazy new memories and found Qian Renxue beside him, with his head resting on her thighs.
• Qian Renxue said he had been unconscious for three days and explained that the Magic Fire Lava Beast's soul ring was far beyond its normal limit and carried a backlash.
• Qian Renxue recalled rescuing Xiao Tianyang, treating his severe injuries in a cave near Star Dou Forest, and deciding not to seek help from Spirit Hall.
• Xiao Tianyang found he could not sit up because his internal meridians were badly damaged, then pretended he had little time left to live.
• Qian Renxue panicked and tried to take him for help, but Xiao Tianyang stopped her and coughed blood onto her hand.
• Xiao Tianyang asked Qian Renxue for her name, while Bubu watched and recognized his master's act as an attempt to win her over.

Xiao Tianyang coaxed Qian Renxue into revealing her real name, then faked his imminent death to get a kiss from her. After Qian Renxue caught on and attacked him, he provoked her into forgiving him, and she took him back inside to treat his wound.

• Qian Renxue told Xiao Tianyang her real name, and he deduced that she belonged to Spirit Hall.
• Xiao Tianyang pretended to be dying and asked Qian Renxue for a final kiss.
• Qian Renxue kissed Xiao Tianyang, then discovered he had taken advantage of her and attacked him with her Holy Sword.
• Xiao Tianyang grabbed Qian Renxue's sword and begged her to kill him until she said she forgave him.
• Qian Renxue withdrew her sword and led Xiao Tianyang into the cave to treat his wound.

Xiao Tianyang cooked for Qian Renxue in the cave, and she let her guard down as they shared a meal. While she ate, Xiao Tianyang checked his system and realized that although he had completed the Fourth Spirit Ring quest, the danger was not over and escaping safely remained uncertain.

• Qian Renxue helped Xiao Tianyang bandage his wounds and questioned him about the cookbook he had compiled with Tang San.
• Xiao Tianyang prepared Wellington Steak, and Qian Renxue eagerly ate it after he offered her a bite.
• Xiao Tianyang stepped outside while Qian Renxue continued eating, then checked his system interface.
• Xiao Tianyang received a Level 4 Lottery Draw for completing the Fourth Spirit Ring quest and suspected they still faced a crisis before they could leave safely.