Chapter Summaries

Zhao Tao and his companions completed their Final Assessment in the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform and ventured into its depths to find the Dark Gold Claw Bear. They encountered the beast that guarded the Primary and Intermediate platforms, and Zhao Tao prepared to face it.

• Zhao Tao killed the three-thousand-year Flame Demon Lion King in seconds, then let Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan defeat the remaining lions.
• Zhao Tao said he planned to join the Spirit Pagoda and seek a Second Spirit Soul, and Gu Yue offered to recommend him to its higher-ups.
• Gu Yue used Wind Birds to scout a defensible valley, where Class Zero rested and repelled attacking Soul Beasts until the group completed its Final Assessment.
• Zhao Tao led Class Zero into the depths of the platform, hoping to hunt the Dark Gold Claw Bear for a possible Soul Bone.
• Zhao Tao and Gu Yue identified the Dark Gold Claw Bear as the guardian of the Primary and Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platforms.

Zhao Tao and Class Zero confronted the Dark Gold Claw Bear that had forced them to end an earlier trial, attacking together to create an opening for him. Zhao Tao struck the bear’s neck and poured nearly all his Soul Power into the Time Burial Sword to break its weakened neck bone, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Zhao Tao recalled that the Dark Gold Claw Bear had ended Class Zero’s earlier trial and vowed to defeat it this time.
• Zhao Tao activated Fleeting Bloom and Future Body, while Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xie Xie prepared to help him.
• Class Zero launched a coordinated assault, but the bear shattered Xu Xiaoyan’s and Tang Wulin’s control attacks and blasted Xie Xie away; Gu Yue’s fused-element spear wounded it.
• Zhao Tao used Future Body to boost his strength and slashed the Dark Gold Claw Bear’s neck, cutting through its flesh until his sword met bone.
• Zhao Tao poured nearly all his Soul Power into the Time Burial Sword, causing the bear’s neck bone to age and become brittle.

Zhao Tao defeated the Dark Gold Claw Bear but collapsed from the strain, and Gu Yue healed him with the Light of Life. The beast left behind a Dark Gold Claw Bear Soul Bone, and after recovering, Zhao Tao began to draw it toward himself to fuse with it.

• Zhao Tao severed the Dark Gold Claw Bear's head, killing the guardian, then fell from exhaustion after using Future Body.
• Gu Yue caught Zhao Tao, treated him with the Light of Life, and restored him.
• The Dark Gold Claw Bear's body disappeared, leaving a large dark golden Soul Bone behind.
• Gu Yue explained that the Soul Bone powered the guardian and had to be absorbed inside the Spirit Ascension Platform.
• After recovering for half an hour, Zhao Tao began drawing the Soul Bone toward himself to fuse with it.

Zhao Tao merged with the Dark Gold Claw Bear's right palm bone, gaining a powerful new Soul Bone Skill, and prepared with Class Zero to travel to Shrek City. As the Soul Guidance Train left Eastsea City, he looked forward to finding Na'er after three years apart.

• Zhao Tao refined the Dark Gold Claw Bear's right palm bone, increasing his physical abilities by about fifty percent and gaining Dark Gold Sky-Tearing Slash.
• Zhao Tao explained to Gu Yue how Dark Gold Sky-Tearing Slash complemented his Time Burial Sword, and Class Zero left the Spirit Ascension Platform after completing the trial.
• Wu Changkong praised Zhao Tao's luck, warned him to hide his Soul Bone Skill outside the academy, and told the students they would leave for Shrek City in three days.
• Zhao Tao said goodbye to Mu Xi and Mu Chen in Eastsea City and visited Lin Ximeng in Aolai City before preparing for the trip.
• Zhao Tao, Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, and Tang Wulin boarded the Soul Guidance Train with Wu Changkong, and Zhao Tao thought about finding Na'er.

Class Zero arrived in Shrek City to rest before the entrance exams, and Gu Yue brought Zhao Tao to meet a senior figure at Spirit Communication Tower Headquarters. Zhao Tao expected to meet Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu and considered accepting her as his master.

• The Soul Guidance Train arrived in Shrek City, where Wu Changkong checked Class Zero into a hotel to rest before the entrance exams.
• Gu Yue invited Zhao Tao to visit Spirit Communication Tower Headquarters and said she would introduce him to a senior figure.
• The next morning, Gu Yue and Zhao Tao rode to the headquarters in a luxurious Commercial Soul Guide Car.
• Gu Yue led Zhao Tao through the headquarters and up to a high floor, telling him that her master was waiting.
• Zhao Tao thought that meeting Heavenly Phoenix Douluo Leng Yaozhu and becoming her disciple could help him gain resources and protection.

Zhao Tao met Leng Yaozhu, the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo and Gu Yue’s master, who welcomed him into the Spirit Pagoda and took him as her second disciple. While registering him, Leng Yaozhu noticed his recorded Innate Soul Power was only level one, and Zhao Tao explained that his Spring Autumn Cicada had grown stronger by absorbing Time Power.

• Gu Yue brought Zhao Tao to meet Leng Yaozhu, who introduced herself as the Spirit Pagoda’s Deputy Tower Master and asked to see his Martial Soul and Soul Skills.
• Zhao Tao demonstrated Time Burial Sword, Fleeting Bloom, and Future Body, impressing Leng Yaozhu with his abilities and cultivation.
• Leng Yaozhu offered to take Zhao Tao as her disciple, and he accepted, becoming her second disciple and Gu Yue’s junior brother.
• Leng Yaozhu took Zhao Tao and Gu Yue to register him with the Spirit Pagoda and verified that he had no ties to hostile groups or other organizations.
• Leng Yaozhu questioned Zhao Tao’s recorded level-one Innate Soul Power, and he explained that his Spring Autumn Cicada had absorbed Time Power until his Innate Soul Power reached level nine.

Leng Yaozhu learned that Zhao Tao’s Spring Autumn Cicada could keep growing by absorbing Time Power, potentially surpassing Innate Full Soul Power, and promised him a huge supply of Time Sand. She inducted him into the Spirit Pagoda as a Level 6 Spirit Transmitter and offered to help him choose his Second Spirit Soul.

• Leng Yaozhu asked whether Zhao Tao’s Innate Soul Power could keep growing, and he explained that his Spring Autumn Cicada could potentially surpass Innate Full Soul Power by absorbing Time Power.
• Leng Yaozhu was shocked by the possibility and asked whether Zhao Tao could refine Time Power from natural treasures; he said he had refined Time Sand before.
• Leng Yaozhu promised Zhao Tao ten tons of Time Sand and personally completed his induction into the Spirit Pagoda as a Level 6 Spirit Transmitter.
• Leng Yaozhu praised Zhao Tao for choosing the Spirit Pagoda over the Tang Sect and offered to help him select a suitable Second Spirit Soul.

Zhao Tao asked Leng Yaozhu to help him fuse with the Spirit Pagoda’s dangerous Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit, hoping its control of time would complement his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul. Leng Yaozhu agreed to let him try, and she brought Zhao Tao and Gu Yue into the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform, where Zhao Tao awoke in an unfamiliar space.

• Zhao Tao told Leng Yaozhu that he wanted the extinct Dark Demon Evil God Tiger as his Second Spirit Soul because it could control Time Power.
• Leng Yaozhu explained that the Spirit Pagoda possessed a ten-thousand-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit, but warned that it had injured many Soul Masters who tried to fuse with it.
• Zhao Tao promised not to force the Soul Spirit to accept him, and Leng Yaozhu agreed to take him to see it in the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform.
• Gu Yue asked to accompany Zhao Tao, and Leng Yaozhu teased her before agreeing.
• Leng Yaozhu ordered the staff to shut down recording equipment and prepare their entry, then she, Zhao Tao, and Gu Yue entered the incubation-like tanks.
• Zhao Tao lost consciousness in the nutrient solution and awoke in an unfamiliar space.

Zhao Tao persuaded the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to become his Second Spirit Soul with help from Gu Yue and Leng Yaozhu. Back at the Spirit Pagoda, he began preparing to fuse with it and break through to Soul Ancestor, while Leng Yaozhu kept watch.

• Leng Yaozhu led Zhao Tao and Gu Yue into the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform and found the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
• Zhao Tao offered the tiger a chance to grow stronger and promised to return it to the Spirit Ascension Platform if he died of old age, but it remained reluctant.
• Gu Yue secretly revealed that Zhao Tao was chosen by the Silver Dragon King, and the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger agreed to submit.
• Zhao Tao absorbed the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Spirit Soul into his sea of consciousness, and Leng Yaozhu brought him and Gu Yue back to the Spirit Pagoda.
• In Leng Yaozhu's private Training Room, Zhao Tao reached out to the Spirit Soul to begin fusing with it as Leng Yaozhu watched over him.

Zhao Tao fused the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit and its Soul Ring, then broke through to Soul Ancestor. His advancement formed a Soul Power Vortex, leaving Leng Yaozhu astonished by his potential.

• Zhao Tao fused the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit into his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul.
• Zhao Tao absorbed the spirit’s black Soul Ring and attacked his Soul Ancestor bottleneck with the Time Meditation Method.
• Zhao Tao shattered the bottleneck and strengthened his body, Soul Power, and spiritual power.
• Zhao Tao’s Soul Power condensed into a vortex that absorbed and refined energy from heaven and earth.
• Leng Yaozhu recognized the Soul Power Vortex and marveled that Zhao Tao had formed one at the Soul Ancestor rank.

Zhao Tao broke through to Soul Ancestor, condensed a Soul Power Vortex, and reached Soul Power Level 45 after fusing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit. Leng Yaozhu praised him and asked about his Fourth Soul Skill, which Zhao Tao began to reveal.

• Zhao Tao realized he had condensed a Soul Power Vortex at Soul Ancestor, improving his cultivation prospects and combat endurance.
• Zhao Tao reached Soul Power Level 45 after refining his Soul Power, fusing a Dark Gold Claw Bear Soul Bone, and gaining the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger Soul Spirit and Fourth Soul Ring.
• Zhao Tao chose to compress his Soul Power rather than advance to Level 46, prioritizing a stronger foundation.
• Zhao Tao thanked Heavenly Phoenix Douluo for protecting him, and she praised his breakthrough and achievements.
• Leng Yaozhu saw Zhao Tao as handsome and exceptionally talented, and felt a faint trace of affection for him.
• Leng Yaozhu asked Zhao Tao about his Fourth Soul Skill, and he began checking its effects through his Martial Soul.

Zhao Tao explained that his fourth Soul Skill, As If No Time Had Passed, rewound a target’s condition and recovered injuries and Soul Power spent on other skills, but not the Soul Power used to activate it. He left the explanation having established its costs and its uses on himself, allies, and enemies.

• Zhao Tao explained that As If No Time Had Passed could rewind a person or battle to an earlier state, restoring injuries while leaving the skill’s own Soul Power cost unrecovered.
• Zhao Tao described how the skill could recover Soul Power and bodily damage caused by Future Body, letting him unleash a burst of power and then undo its costs.
• Zhao Tao explained that the rewind’s Soul Power cost increased with the time reversed and the target’s cultivation rank, with five seconds as his current limit.
• Zhao Tao explained that he could use As If No Time Had Passed to restore injured teammates, undo an enemy’s healing, or remove an enemy’s temporary boost.

After breaking through to Soul Ancestor, Zhao Tao explained his time-resetting fourth Soul Skill to Gu Yue. He then used Leng Yaozhu’s supply of Time Sand to fully restore his Spring Autumn Cicada, regain Innate Full Soul Power, and advance his cultivation.

• Zhao Tao told Leng Yaozhu that his fourth Soul Skill, As If No Time Had Passed, could restore an individual’s condition or reset an entire battle, though its greater uses exceeded his current Soul Power.
• Zhao Tao reunited with Gu Yue and explained his new Soul Skill, and Gu Yue congratulated him.
• Leng Yaozhu gave Zhao Tao ten tons of Time Sand and urged him to use it to restore his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul.
• Zhao Tao’s Spring Autumn Cicada refined the Time Sand, fully recovered, and raised his Innate Soul Power from level nine to level ten.
• Zhao Tao’s cultivation rose from level forty-five to level forty-six, and his restored Spring Autumn Cicada returned his greatest trump card.

Zhao Tao used the remaining Time Sand to evolve his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul, breaking through the limit of Innate Full Soul Power and raising his cultivation. Leng Yaozhu promised to gather more Time Sand for another breakthrough, then invited Zhao Tao and Gu Yue to dinner.

• Leng Yaozhu urged Zhao Tao to test whether his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul could break through the limit of Innate Full Soul Power.
• Zhao Tao refined the remaining Time Sand, and his Spring Autumn Cicada Martial Soul evolved as its power transformed him.
• Zhao Tao's Innate Soul Power rose to level eleven, and his cultivation advanced from level forty-six to level forty-seven.
• Zhao Tao told Leng Yaozhu that another breakthrough would require three to five times more Time Sand, and she promised to gather enough.
• Leng Yaozhu invited Zhao Tao and Gu Yue to dinner, where they began eating the premium dishes.

After a meal with Leng Yaozhu, Zhao Tao and Gu Yue prepared for Shrek Academy’s entrance examinations with Class Zero. Shen Yi encouraged Wu Changkong to face his former teacher, and he broke through to Soul Saint before taking the students to the academy.

• Leng Yaozhu praised Zhao Tao and Gu Yue for passing the eating test and said they could enter Shrek Academy’s Inner Court directly.
• Shen Yi arrived to take Wu Changkong and the five Class Zero students to the entrance examinations, then urged Wu Changkong to visit their teacher on Sea God Island.
• Wu Changkong resolved to stop avoiding his past and broke through from Soul Emperor to Soul Saint.
• Gu Yue sat on Zhao Tao’s lap in Shen Yi’s crowded Soul Guidance Car, while Xu Xiaoyan sat beside Zhao Tao and privately vowed to stay with him.
• Shen Yi drove Wu Changkong and the Class Zero students toward Shrek Academy.

Class Zero arrived at Shrek Academy and faced its first entrance assessment, resisting the spiritual pressure of a mural depicting Di Tian. When the assessment ended, Shen Yi and an elderly man appeared beside them.

• Shen Yi drove Class Zero into Shrek Inner City and showed them Spirit Ice Plaza and Shrek Building.
• Shen Yi led the students to a hall where Di Tian’s mural tested their Spiritual Power.
• Tang Wulin supported Xie Xie against the dragon might, while Xu Xiaoyan struggled to remain steady.
• Zhao Tao and Gu Yue joined their Spiritual Power, resisted Di Tian’s pressure, and helped their companions endure it.
• The mural’s pressure vanished after a minute, and Shen Yi and an elderly man emerged from behind a stone pillar.

Class Zero earned high marks in the first entrance test, then Zhao Tao led the team to perfect scores in the combat and blade-gate assessments. The students continued through Shrek Academy’s entrance examination, with Zhao Tao’s abilities and team coordination carrying them through each stage.

• Elder Li awarded Zhao Tao and Gu Yue full marks in the first test, gave Tang Wulin nine points, and scored Xu Xiaoyan and Xie Xie eight and seven points.
• Shen Yi explained the entrance examination rules, then led Class Zero to the combat assessment, where Zhao Tao revealed his Soul Ancestor rank and ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring.
• Zhao Tao used his Power of Time to kill the Earth Demon Rhinoceros, and his fourth Soul Skill restored his condition; Class Zero received full marks for the Beast Arena.
• At the blade-gate assessment, Zhao Tao coordinated the team while Gu Yue accelerated them and shielded them with earth, and Zhao Tao slowed the blades with Fleeting Bloom.
• Class Zero passed through the six blade barriers in eight seconds and earned another perfect score.

Class Zero completed the third trial with full marks and moved on to an assessment of their special talents. Elder Cai awarded high marks to the students and offered Gu Yue a place in the Inner Court and an apprenticeship, then stood in shock after examining Zhao Tao’s Spring Autumn Cicada.

• Shen Yi announced that all five Class Zero students had earned full marks in the third trial and led them to the next assessment after their rest.
• Elder Cai examined Tang Wulin’s Golden Dragon bloodline and awarded him full marks.
• Xu Xiaoyan earned seven points for her Star Wheel Ice Staff, and Xie Xie earned seven points for his Twin Martial Souls and six clones.
• Gu Yue demonstrated her fusion of four elements, received full marks, and declined Elder Cai’s offer to become her disciple because she had already acknowledged the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo as her master.
• Zhao Tao summoned his Spring Autumn Cicada and explained that it controlled Time Power; after examining it, Elder Cai abruptly rose in shock.

Elder Cai learned that Zhao Tao had Innate Soul Power beyond the usual limit and already studied under Heavenly Phoenix Douluo, so she left the fifth assessment to her subordinates. During the second-profession test, Zhao Tao revealed his Spirit Forging ability, stunning the examiners.

• Elder Cai asked Zhao Tao about his Innate Soul Power, offered to take him as her disciple, and learned that Heavenly Phoenix Douluo was already his master.
• Elder Cai gave Zhao Tao full marks and left Shen Yi and the other examiners to oversee the next assessment.
• Zhao Tao told Shen Yi how he had become Heavenly Phoenix Douluo's disciple, and Shen Yi reminded the students to prepare for the second-profession test.
• Zhou Ming explained the assessment rules, and the Class Zero students began demonstrating their second professions.
• Zhao Tao performed Spirit Forging, producing a silver-gray blaze of life energy that left the examiners and Shen Yi speechless.

Zhao Tao stunned the examiners by demonstrating Spirit Forging, while Gu Yue also earned a perfect score with her fifth-rank Mecha Design. Class Zero then passed the eating and endurance assessments, and Shen Yi led them to the eighth stage: comprehensive combat.

• Zhao Tao performed Spirit Forging at thirteen and earned full marks, while Tang Wulin also completed Thousand-Forged Second Grade and Gu Yue earned full marks for fifth-rank Mecha Design.
• Shen Yi explained the steamed-bun assessment, and Tang Wulin ate enough for the whole group to pass with perfect scores.
• After an hour of rest, Class Zero completed the endurance test; Gu Yue, Zhao Tao, Tang Wulin, and Xie Xie earned full marks, while Xu Xiaoyan scored seven.
• Shen Yi told the students they were on track to enter Shrek Academy and led them to the comprehensive combat assessment.