Chapter Summaries

Xu Zihuang led his team into the semifinal against Dai Huabin’s team and overwhelmed Dai Huabin in close combat. The chapter ended with Dai Huabin beaten into the arena floor and the spectators stunned by his crushing defeat.

• Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo discussed Xu Zihuang’s extraordinary focus as both teams took their places for the semifinal.
• Xu Zihuang and Dai Huabin charged at each other after the referee started the match, while Tuoba Yu and Nanmen Yun'er faced Cui Yajie and Zhu Lu.
• Xu Zihuang crushed Dai Huabin’s White Tiger Fierce Light Wave with his Crystal Dragon Arms and knocked him backward in their first clash.
• Xu Zihuang used dark-red crystals as footholds to dodge Dai Huabin’s attacks from midair, then struck him with a knee and kicked him into the marble floor.
• Dai Huabin tried to rise and threatened Xu Zihuang, but Xu Zihuang kicked him away again as the arena fell silent.

Xu Zihuang overwhelmed Dai Huabin in close combat while Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er remained locked in battle. As Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu moved to meet, Xu Zihuang told Nanmen Yun'er to leave the rest to him and prepared to crush Dai Huabin’s pride.

• Dai Huabin activated White Tiger Vajra Transformation and charged Xu Zihuang again, while Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er continued fighting and Tuoba Yu and Cui Yajie remained evenly matched.
• Xu Zihuang blocked Dai Huabin’s attacks and struck back, shattering his White Tiger Body Protection Barrier and sending him flying.
• Dai Huabin ran toward Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er’s battle as Zhu Lu used her Soul Skills to accelerate toward him.
• Xu Zihuang stopped Nanmen Yun'er from interfering and calmly watched Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu approach each other.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu fused their Martial Souls into the Hell White Tiger to challenge Xu Zihuang, but he stopped and destroyed their attack with his soul skills. After Dai Huabin vowed to catch up, Xu Zihuang walked past him and said he would give him time until he could no longer see his back.

• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu performed the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill, startling the teachers and students watching the assessment.
• The Hell White Tiger charged at Xu Zihuang while Ning Tian trusted him to win and Wu Feng hoped he would lose.
• Xu Zihuang activated his Third Soul Ring to halt the Hell White Tiger in midair, then used his Second Soul Ring to pierce and shatter it with ten Dark Red Crystal cones.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu fell to the ground, and Dai Huabin admitted Xu Zihuang was stronger for now but vowed to win next time.
• Xu Zihuang walked past Dai Huabin and said he would give him time to catch up until he could no longer see his back.

Xu Zihuang defeated Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu’s Hell White Tiger and secured victory for his team in the semifinal. Yan Shaozhe revealed that Mu En might groom Xu Zihuang as a future Sea God's Pavilion Master, while Dai Huabin was left consumed by rage and jealousy.

• Xu Zihuang crushed Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu’s Martial Soul Fusion Skill and declared that he would give them time to catch up.
• Yan Shaozhe told Qian Duoduo that Mu En might consider Xu Zihuang a future successor to the Sea God's Pavilion Master, disappointing Qian Duoduo’s hopes of recruiting him to the Soul Tool Department.
• Yan Shaozhe asked Du Weilun to bring Xu Zihuang to speak with him and Qian Duoduo after the assessment.
• Dai Huabin lost consciousness as Zhu Lu remained fainted, while Cui Yajie conceded to Xu Zihuang.
• The referee announced Yu Tianhuang's team as the winner of the first semifinal match.

After defeating Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, Xu Zihuang was summoned by Shrek Academy’s deans, who discussed his views on Soul Tools and offered him support from both departments. Yan Shaozhe also ordered three Soul Ascension Pills given to the assessment champions.

• Xie Huan Yue, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Yalu reacted to Xu Zihuang’s overwhelming strength and considered what it meant for their own prospects.
• Xu Zihuang left the Assessment Area with Tuoba Yu and Nanmen Yun'er, while teachers carried the unconscious Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu to the infirmary.
• Du Weilun told Xu Zihuang that Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo wanted to see him, then led him to the viewing platform.
• Qian Duoduo asked Xu Zihuang what he thought of Soul Tools, and Xu Zihuang said they were important but that a Soul Master’s foundation remained their Martial Soul.
• Qian Duoduo gave Xu Zihuang a badge granting access to the Soul Tool Department, while Yan Shaozhe urged him to focus on cultivating his Martial Soul.
• Yan Shaozhe instructed Du Weilun to retrieve three Soul Ascension Pills as an additional reward for the New Student Assessment champions.

Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo competed to recruit Xu Zihuang by offering better rewards, while the New Student Assessment finalists were decided. Ning Tian conceded the final to Xu Zihuang’s team, and Xu considered whether to help her evolve her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul.

• Yan Shaozhe offered Xu Zihuang a Soul Ascension Pill, angering Qian Duoduo, and the two argued until Du Weilun and Fan Yu intervened.
• Ning Tian’s team defeated Xie Huanyue’s team, setting up a final between two teams from Mu Jin’s Freshman Class Nine.
• Yan Shaozhe reminded Xu Zihuang that his offer still stood, and Xu returned to his teammates.
• Ning Tian conceded the final to Xu Zihuang’s team, while Cui Yajie conceded the third-place match because Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu could not compete.
• Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian walked to the cafeteria together and discussed her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul.
• Xu Zihuang recalled the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and considered whether to help Ning Tian evolve her Martial Soul.

Shrek Academy announced the New Student Assessment rewards and named its new Outer Court core disciples, with Yu Tianhuang's team receiving the champions' special rewards. Huo Yuhao watched Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao gain provisional core disciple status and left feeling bitter about his own weakness and lack of background.

• Du Weilun announced Xie Huanyue's team in third place, Ning Tian's team in second, and Yu Tianhuang's team as champions.
• Du Weilun said the top three teams could request Academy help obtaining suitable Soul Rings, and he confirmed they could specify the Soul Beast type.
• Du Weilun granted Yu Tianhuang's team two confidential special rewards for its undefeated performance.
• Du Weilun named Yu Tianhuang, Ning Tian, Xie Huanyue, and Dai Huabin official Outer Court core disciples.
• Du Weilun gave provisional core disciple treatment to Tuoba Yu, Nanmen Yun'er, Wu Feng, Zhu Lu, Zhou Sichen, Cao Jinxuan, Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, Cui Yajie, Long Xiangyue, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.
• Huo Yuhao saw Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao among the provisional core disciples and blamed his own weakness and lack of background for falling behind.

Shrek Academy assigned the new students to classes and awarded the New Student Assessment champions three Soul Ascension Pills and a thirty-thousand-year Fear Dragon Head Bone. The chapter ended with Xu Zihuang unimpressed by the Soul Bone, which he considered beneath his needs.

• Shrek Academy divided the freshmen into four classes, and Xu Zihuang and Dai Huabin were assigned to First Class with Wang Yan and Mu Jin as head teachers.
• Du Weilun led Yu Tianhuang, Tuoba Yu, and Nanmen Yun'er to his office to collect their rewards.
• Du Weilun gave Tuoba Yu and Nanmen Yun'er one Soul Ascension Pill each and presented Xu Zihuang with a leather pouch containing the championship prize.
• Du Weilun revealed that the prize was a thirty-thousand-year Fear Dragon Head Bone that could grant a spiritual attack skill and increase Spiritual Power.
• Xu Zihuang showed no interest in the Head Bone, believing that fusing with it would waste his talent.

After receiving two Soul Bone rewards, Xu Zihuang gave the Ghost King Vine Right Arm Bone to Nanmen Yun'er and became First Class’s Control System class monitor. Huo Yuhao learned that Dai Huabin, the man he blamed for his mother’s death, was his classmate and fled the classroom in anguish.

• Yan Shaozhe learned about Xu Zihuang and began considering how to keep him from joining the Soul Tool Department.
• Mu Jin rewarded the team with an eight-thousand-year Ghost King Vine Right Arm Bone, and Xu Zihuang gave it to Nanmen Yun'er after Tuoba Yu declined it.
• Wang Yan’s students unanimously chose Xu Zihuang as Control System class monitor, while Dai Huabin was named Assault System class monitor despite being absent.
• Huang Chutian asked Xu Zihuang whether he had shattered Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu’s Hell White Tiger with one punch, and Xu Zihuang casually confirmed it.
• Huo Yuhao realized Dai Huabin was the same person he blamed for his mother’s death, then rushed out of class with his hatred buried inside.

Yu Tianhuang joined Ning Tian on a visit to the Soul Tool Department, where he finally met his Imperial Brother, He Caitou, after six years apart. After watching He Caitou demonstrate a Fixed Soul Cannon, Yu Tianhuang asked to test it on ten moving targets.

• Huo Yuhao rushed out of class, and Yu Tianhuang noticed the resentment and bloodshot look in his eyes.
• Ning Tian offered Yu Tianhuang an elective Soul Tool course form, and he agreed to go with her to the Soul Tool Department.
• A senior student recognized Yu Tianhuang and led him and Ning Tian to Fan Yu at the Experiment Area.
• Fan Yu summoned He Caitou, and Yu Tianhuang recognized his long-lost Imperial Brother but kept his identity secret.
• He Caitou demonstrated a Fixed Soul Cannon, and Yu Tianhuang formed a barrier to shield himself and Ning Tian from the blast's gust.
• Yu Tianhuang asked to try the cannon at ten moving targets.

Xu Zihuang demonstrated how his Golden Eye’s Dynamic Vision let him hit ten moving targets with one Fixed Soul Cannon shell, impressing Fan Yu and strengthening the Soul Tool Department’s plans for him. Over the next eight months, he studied Soul Tools alongside Ning Tian while focusing on cultivation, and his first school year at Shrek Academy neared its end with the advancement examination ahead.

• Xu Zihuang used his Golden Eye’s Dynamic Vision to strike ten moving targets with one Fixed Soul Cannon shell, stunning He Caitou and the Soul Tool Department’s teachers and students.
• Fan Yu told Qian Duoduo that Xu Zihuang could make the Extreme Soldier Plan far more likely to succeed, with He Caitou serving as his armory.
• Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian discussed how Soul Tools could complement Soul Masters, then Xu Zihuang gave Tuoba Yu the Mysterious Water Pill and took the Soul Ascension Pill himself.
• After the New Student Assessment, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu returned to First Class, while Xu Zihuang continued his classes and studied Soul Tools with Ning Tian.
• Over eight months, Xu Zihuang became proficient in using nearly every type of Soul Tool as his first school year approached its end and the advancement examination drew near.

Freshman Class One completed a demanding physical assessment, during which Xu Zihuang broke through to Level 38 under Teacher Li’s pressure. After Wang Yan dismissed the students and mentioned the upcoming tournament selections, Xu Zihuang met Ning Tian, while Wu Feng watched them together in pain.

• Mu Jin and Teacher Li conducted the physical assessment, and exhausted students—including Huo Yuhao—were carried off the track as the gravity increased.
• Xu Zihuang and Dai Huabin outlasted their classmates, and Teacher Li’s fifth Soul Skill triggered Xu Zihuang’s breakthrough to Level 38.
• Wang Yan recorded the results, told the students to prepare for the promotion assessment, and said the academy would select tournament reserve and official Inner Court members next semester.
• Ning Tian approached Xu Zihuang after class, and the classmates teased him while Zhou Sichen envied their closeness.
• Wu Feng watched Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian chatting together and felt pain she could do nothing about.

Xu Zihuang demonstrated his exceptional Soul Tool talent by inscribing a Level 3 Core Formation, then received a Level 3 Soul Light Ray from Fan Yu and He Caitou. Xian Lin'er decided to negotiate with the Martial Soul Department so Xu Zihuang could continue studying Soul Tools.

• Dai Huabin left Shrek Plaza to cultivate after Zhu Lu asked if he was all right.
• Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian went to the Soul Tool Department, where he successfully inscribed a Level 3 Soul Power Compression Core Formation.
• Fan Yu praised Xu Zihuang’s talent and gave He Caitou instructions to assemble a Soul Light Ray using the formation.
• He Caitou presented Xu Zihuang with the Level 3 Soul Light Ray, and Xu Zihuang thanked his senior before leaving with Ning Tian.
• Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo heard from Fan Yu that Xu Zihuang had inscribed a Level 3 Core Formation, and Xian Lin'er offered to negotiate with the Martial Soul Department.

As the term ended, Xu Zihuang prepared for the break while Wang Yan warned First Class about the difficult promotion assessment awaiting them next semester. Huo Yuhao resolved to stay at Shrek Academy despite being offered a transfer to the Soul Tool Department, and Xu Zihuang received a letter from Qin Yin.

• Xu Zihuang declined to go home for the break and spoke with Xu Sanshi, who remained determined to win Jiang Nannan's heart.
• Wang Yan told First Class that students needed Rank 20 Soul Power and a second Soul Ring to advance, and warned them to prepare for a demanding promotion assessment.
• Zhou Sichen invited the class to dinner, and nearly everyone accepted, while Huo Yuhao stayed behind, distressed about failing the assessment.
• Wang Yan gave Huo Yuhao an application to transfer to the Soul Tool Department, but Huo Yuhao declared that he would stay at the academy.
• Nanmen Yun'er delivered Xu Zihuang a letter from Qin Yin, who had graduated and left the academy.

After the semester ended, Xu Zihuang received a family map from Senior Sister Qin Yin that recorded a route to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and its deadly surroundings. Convinced his abilities could help him survive the dangers, he left Shrek Academy for Sunset Forest to investigate.

• Xu Zihuang and Tuoba Yu exchanged a farewell by Sea God Lake, and Tuoba Yu left Shrek Academy for the holiday.
• Xu Zihuang opened Nanmen Yun'er's letter and found Qin Yin's thanks and an old map of the terrain around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Xu Zihuang read Qin Yin's warning that the map might be uncertain and that he should not approach the valley until he was strong enough.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm identified the map as being made from silk spun by a powerful Ice Silkworm, which suggested it had been preserved reliably.
• Xu Zihuang decided his Purple Sun Thunder Prison Dragon could counter the valley's poisonous plants and set off from Shrek City toward Sunset Forest.

Xu Zihuang traveled to Sunset Forest and discussed saving Sky Dream Ice Silkworm’s million-year soul ring for his seventh ring. After reaching the forest, he hunted a Black Scale Chicken for food, leaving it trapped in dark-red crystal.

• Xu Zihuang proposed that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wait until he reached level 70 and become his seventh soul ring, and Sky Dream agreed.
• Xu Zihuang crossed the Heaven Dou Empire and reached the northeastern edge of Sunset Forest on the third day.
• Xu Zihuang decided to rest before entering the forest at dawn, then went into the outskirts to find a better meal.
• Xu Zihuang found a hundred-year Black Scale Chicken and trapped it in dark-red crystal with his power.

Xu Zihuang met Nan Qiuqiu and Nan Shuishui, the daughter and master of the Earth Dragon Gate, while camping in Sunset Forest. Nan Qiuqiu detoxified the poisoned Xiao Ye as Xu Zihuang recognized her martial soul.

• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm warned Xu Zihuang that eight people, including a powerful Soul Douluo-level woman, were approaching his camp.
• Feng Shen arrived first and questioned Xu Zihuang, then Nan Qiuqiu introduced herself and her group as members of the Earth Dragon Gate.
• Nan Shuishui introduced herself and asked Xu Zihuang to let her exhausted group rest by his campfire, and he agreed.
• Nan Shuishui ordered Nan Qiuqiu to detoxify Xiao Ye, whose right arm had been stained bluish-green by poison.
• Nan Qiuqiu released her Rouge Dragon martial soul and used its pink flames to remove the poison from Xiao Ye's arm, while Xu Zihuang recognized her and Nan Shuishui.

Xu Zihuang clashed with Earth Dragon Gate’s disciples after refusing to humor Nan Qiuqiu, then effortlessly subdued Xu Shenshu when he tried to take the roast chicken. Nan Shuishui apologized and promised compensation, leaving Xu Zihuang with a future claim against Earth Dragon Gate.

• Nan Shuishui asked Xu Zihuang why he was traveling alone in Sunset Forest, but he avoided answering because he suspected she knew his mother.
• Xu Shenshu took offense at Xu Zihuang’s silence, while Nan Qiuqiu pretended to tire herself out so her mother would leave her free to approach him.
• Nan Qiuqiu teased Xu Zihuang beside the bonfire, but he ignored her, and Xu Shenshu threw him a pouch of Gold Soul Coins before reaching for the Black Scale Chicken.
• Xu Zihuang seized Xu Shenshu’s hand, crushed his palm, and defeated him with a knee strike before holding Whale Tooth to his throat.
• Nan Shuishui stopped the confrontation, apologized on Xu Shenshu’s behalf, and promised Earth Dragon Gate would compensate Xu Zihuang for a future request.

Xu Zihuang learned that the Earth Dragon Gate’s Sect Master Token was made of Blazing Sun Warm Jade, a treasure that could purify Soul Power, then entered the Sunset Forest. He pinned a giant serpent with a crystal spear and approached a region of miasma.

• Xu Zihuang dismissed the Earth Dragon Gate youths’ hostility while Sky Dream Ice Silkworm discussed the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow and Xu Zihuang’s potential three Martial Souls.
• Nan Shuishui treated Xiao Ye’s poison, decided the group would hunt Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, and gave Xu Zihuang the Earth Dragon Gate’s Sect Master Token.
• Nan Shuishui told Nan Qiuqiu that Xu Zihuang’s future was extraordinary and warned her that his heart was like Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice.
• Xu Zihuang discovered that the token was Blazing Sun Warm Jade, which could temper and purify Soul Power but might slow his cultivation.
• Xu Zihuang entered the Sunset Forest, used his Golden Eye Martial Soul to scout, and pierced a purple-scaled giant serpent with a crystal spear.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm noticed dimmer light ahead, and Xu Zihuang realized they were nearing a region covered in miasma.

Xu Zihuang advanced through the Sunset Forest’s deadly miasma and discovered Azure Phosphor Seven Absolute Flowers and Azure Phosphor Nine Absolute Flowers guarding the valley containing the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. With Sky Dream Ice Silkworm offering to teleport him out at great cost, Xu Zihuang chose to proceed and used an extreme chill to freeze the flowers and weaken their poison mist.

• Xu Zihuang examined the miasma from above, then entered it with his destructive Soul Power shielding him from the poison.
• Guided by Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Xu Zihuang crossed a poisonous landscape littered with the colorful remains of Soul Beasts.
• Xu Zihuang found orderly clusters of Azure Phosphor Seven Absolute Flowers and Azure Phosphor Nine Absolute Flowers emitting poison mist around the valley where the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm warned that teleporting Xu Zihuang away would consume much of its Origin Power and leave it asleep for at least five years.
• Xu Zihuang approached the gorge, and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm released an extreme chill that froze the surrounding area and weakened the poisonous mist.