Chapter Summaries

Tang San continued caring for Tang Hao while beginning to learn blacksmithing, and Zhang Yang privately considered his chances of awakening Soul Power and attending the academy. With the Awakening Ceremony only days away, Zhang Yang wondered whether he should visit the blacksmith shop to get closer to Tang Hao and Tang San.

• Tang Hao drank in the village tavern as its owner and regulars discussed the coming Awakening Ceremony and urged him to consider Tang San's future.
• Tang San asked to use a piece of pig iron and told Tang Hao he wanted to learn blacksmithing, so Tang Hao began teaching him to forge.
• The tavern owner's family discussed Zhang Yang's education and hoped he would awaken Soul Power, while Zhang Yang listened and thought about the work-study slot and Tang San's future.
• Zhang Yang worried about the upcoming Awakening Ceremony and considered visiting the blacksmith shop to make himself familiar to Tang Hao and Tang San.

Zhang Yang worried that his ordinary family left him little chance of gaining Soul Power, while he and Tang San awaited the village Awakening Ceremony. When Zhang Yang awakened, his Martial Soul appeared as Borsalino, leaving him wondering whether he was destined to be a protagonist.

• Zhang Yang visited Tang San at the blacksmith shop, discussed inherited and mutated Martial Souls, and learned from Tang Hao that Tang San could inherit a hammer.
• Zhang Yang grew anxious about the possibility that he would awaken without Soul Power because both his parents had ordinary Weapon Martial Souls and no Innate Soul Power.
• Zhang Yang and his parents went to Saint Soul Village’s Spirit Hall, where Su Yuntao began awakening the nine children’s Martial Souls.
• After seven children awakened ordinary Martial Souls without Soul Power, Zhang Yang stepped into the formation before Tang San.
• Su Yuntao’s awakening ritual revealed a three-meter-tall Borsalino as Zhang Yang’s Martial Soul, stunning Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang awakened a Crooked-Mouth Human Martial Soul and Innate Full Soul Power, but refused Su Yuntao’s offer to join Spirit Hall. After arguing with his parents, he ran away to Tang San’s house, where his warning about the price of fate’s gifts reached Tang Hao.

• Su Yuntao identified Zhang Yang’s Crooked-Mouth Human as a Mutated Beast Martial Soul, and Zhang Yang awakened Innate Full Soul Power.
• Su Yuntao invited Zhang Yang to join Spirit Hall, but Zhang Yang refused because he distrusted its offer of free support.
• Su Yuntao awakened Tang San’s Martial Soul and discovered that Tang San also had Innate Full Soul Power, then hurried out.
• Tang San congratulated Zhang Yang, while both boys kept their other secrets from each other.
• Zhang Yang argued with his parents over joining Spirit Hall, ran away to Tang San’s home, and explained that he believed free gifts came with a price.
• Tang Hao paused his hammering after hearing Zhang Yang’s saying and recalled the losses he had suffered.

Zhang Yang decided to attend Nuoding City Elementary Soul Master Academy and discovered that possessing his Borsalino Martial Soul granted him the Navy Six Styles. Tang San admitted he wanted to become a Soul Master, and Tang Hao accepted that choice before Zhang Yang tested his new abilities on the mountain.

• Zhang Yang urged Tang San to attend the academy, explaining the Soul Master stipend and the work-study opportunity, but Tang San initially claimed he did not want to go.
• Tang Hao asked Tang San whether he wanted to become a Soul Master, and Tang San admitted that he did; Tang Hao sighed and returned to his room.
• Zhang Yang persuaded his parents to fund his academy studies, then went to the mountain to test his Borsalino Martial Soul.
• Zhang Yang used Martial Soul Possession and found that his body grew taller and stronger while seven Soul Power circulation pathways appeared.
• Zhang Yang discovered that the pathways enabled the Navy Six Styles and Rokuogan, then tested the moves and learned how much Soul Power each consumed.

Zhang Yang and Tang San traveled to Nuoding City to begin at the junior Soul Master academy, where they unexpectedly met Master. Master agreed to take both boys with him, leaving Tang San poised to accept him as his Teacher.

• Zhang Yang spent three months studying Paper Art and trying to make the Rokushiki work through physical strength, but he made no breakthrough.
• Zhang Yang's father took Zhang Yang and Tang San by carriage from Saint Soul Village to Nuoding City, and the boys discussed academy life along the way.
• At the academy gate, Zhang Yang's father gave the gatekeeper ten Copper Soul Coins so Tang San could enter as a work-study student.
• A passing Teacher examined Tang San's Spirit Hall certificate and took him along, then learned that Zhang Yang also had Innate Full Soul Power and a mutated Martial Soul and invited him too.
• As the boys followed the Teacher through the academy, he revealed that he was called Master and offered to become Tang San's Teacher.

Tang San and Zhang Yang became Master’s disciples, then Zhang Yang established himself in Dormitory 1 by beating a bully and joined Tang San’s work-study friends for lunch. Master invited both boys to eat with him and advised Zhang Yang to make friends sincerely.

• Master explained his deductions about Tang San’s Twin Martial Souls, and Tang San and Zhang Yang each knelt to ask him to become their teacher.
• After enrollment, Tang San was assigned to Dormitory 7 and Zhang Yang to Dormitory 1, where Zhang Yang beat a round-bodied student who threatened him.
• Zhang Yang met Tang San and offered to treat the Dormitory 7 work-study students to lunch, then joined them on the way to the cafeteria.
• At the cafeteria, Tang San greeted Master, who said he had sent bedding for Tang San and invited both boys to eat with him.
• Zhang Yang chose to honor his promise to treat Tang San’s dormmates, and Master advised him to rely on sincerity when making friends.

Tang San defended Master after Wang Sheng disparaged him, while Zhang Yang helped Tang San keep his promise to treat the dormmates and tested their worth. Later, Master examined Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer and Zhang Yang’s unusual Martial Soul and learned that it granted seven powerful martial skills.

• Tang San warned Wang Sheng not to insult Master, and Zhang Yang left with Tang San after giving Wang Sheng money for the promised lunch.
• Zhang Yang told Tang San that the money would reveal whether their dormmates were worth befriending, and Tang San promised to repay him.
• Master examined Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer, told him to keep it hidden and never add Soul Rings to it, and Tang San agreed.
• Zhang Yang released Borsalino and demonstrated Martial Soul Possession, explaining that it increased his attributes.
• Zhang Yang demonstrated the Navy Six Styles and Rokuogan’s techniques, astonishing Master and Tang San with their power and versatility.

Master took Zhang Yang and Tang San into Soul Hunting Forest to search for suitable Soul Beasts and teach them survival and combat skills. When a pack of Nether Wolves attacked their campsite, Zhang Yang killed its alpha wolf, and Master moved the group to avoid attracting stronger beasts with the blood scent.

• Master explained Soul Beast tracking and selection as Luo Sanpao led Zhang Yang and Tang San through Soul Hunting Forest.
• Master camped with the two disciples, tested their knowledge, and instructed Zhang Yang to fight a pack of six Nether Wolves while Tang San observed.
• Zhang Yang used Soru to disrupt the pack’s encirclement, dodged the alpha wolf’s bite with Paper Art, and killed it with Rankyaku.
• The surviving Nether Wolves fled, and Master praised Zhang Yang before burying the carcass and leading the group away from its blood scent.

Master, Zhang Yang, and Tang San found a Mandala Snake and an Iron Horned Bull fighting, and Master planned to use the exhausted beasts to obtain suitable Soul Rings. Zhang Yang killed the bull and joined Master against the snake, while they prepared to risk using Zhang Yang’s Rokugan to defeat it.

• Luo Sanpao discovered a century-old Iron Horned Bull battling a four-hundred-year Mandala Snake, and Master recognized both as potential Soul Ring targets for Zhang Yang and Tang San.
• Master explained his Martial Soul Mimicry Theory and told Tang San that he could absorb the beast-type Mandala Snake’s Soul Ring despite having a plant Martial Soul.
• As the Mandala Snake gained the advantage, Master sent Zhang Yang to kill the bull while he distracted the snake, and Zhang Yang killed the Iron Horned Bull and obtained its yellow Soul Ring.
• Master used Luo Sanpao’s Thunder Shock to blast the Mandala Snake into the air, and Zhang Yang asked him to help set up a Rokugan attack.
• Master warned that coordinating Thunder Shock with Rokugan was risky, but Zhang Yang argued that Rokugan offered their best chance of hurting the Mandala Snake.

Zhang Yang and Tang San killed the Mandala Snake, and Zhang Yang absorbed the Iron Horned Bull's Soul Ring. He discovered that his First Soul Skill was Elementalization and prepared to demonstrate it to Master.

• Master agreed to Zhang Yang's plan, and he, Tang San, and Zhang Yang worked together to blast the Mandala Snake into Zhang Yang's Rokugan and Tang San's dagger.
• Zhang Yang began absorbing the Iron Horned Bull's Soul Ring while Master stood guard and Tang San absorbed the Mandala Snake's Soul Ring.
• Zhang Yang finished absorbing his Soul Ring and told Master he felt stronger, faster, and sharper.
• Zhang Yang summoned Borsalino and found he could not activate his First Soul Skill until he used Martial Soul Possession.
• Zhang Yang realized his First Soul Skill was Elementalization, wondered whether anyone in this world could counter it, and told Master he would demonstrate it.

Zhang Yang demonstrated that his First Soul Skill, Elementalization, let him survive being stabbed and cut, while Tang San successfully gained a Mandala Snake Soul Ring and began planning to save his hammer’s Soul Rings for later. Back at the academy, Zhang Yang confronted Xiao Laoda over his threat to make work-study students his pets and challenged him to meet in the Small Forest.

• Zhang Yang showed Master that Elementalization let him stab and slice his own body without injury, and said it could last at least thirty minutes.
• Tang San completed his cultivation, gaining the Mandala Snake’s toughness and paralyzing venom in his Blue Silver Grass and breaking through with the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
• Master sent Zhang Yang and Tang San to Spirit Hall, where both tested at Level 13 Soul Power and registered for monthly subsidies.
• Zhang Yang explained that Tang San should save his hammer’s Soul Rings until he could absorb much stronger ones, and Tang San agreed not to attach one secretly.
• Tang San began working part-time at a blacksmith shop, while Zhang Yang continued to enjoy a more relaxed routine at the academy.
• Zhang Yang grabbed Xiao Laoda by the throat after hearing him threaten to make work-study students his pets, declared himself Boss Zhang, and agreed to fight him in the Small Forest.

Zhang Yang defeated Xiao Chenyu and became the boss of the academy’s ordinary students. After learning that Zhang Yang would join the coming fight against the Work-Study Students, Xiao Wu assigned Tang San to face him, but Tang San admitted he could not win.

• Zhang Yang provoked Xiao Chenyu into leading his lackeys to the Small Forest, where they agreed that the winner would become the academy’s boss.
• Xiao Chenyu revealed his Wolf Martial Soul and challenged Zhang Yang, who displayed his level thirteen Soul Power and Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
• Zhang Yang used his Borsalino Martial Soul’s First Soul Skill to evade Xiao Chenyu’s attack, then knocked him down and beat him.
• Xiao Chenyu accepted Zhang Yang as the new boss and told him the Work-Study Students planned to fight them the next day; Zhang Yang agreed to go.
• Xiao Wu told Tang San that Zhang Yang would help the ordinary students and assigned Tang San to face him; Tang San said he could not defeat Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang faced Xiao Wu in a duel over who would be academy boss and defeated her with his Martial Soul and First Soul Skill. He kept his position, ordered Xiao Wu to serve him for a month, and left with his underlings.

• Tang San refused to reveal Zhang Yang's First Soul Skill but advised Xiao Wu to prevent him from using his Martial Soul, Soul Skills, and Soul Power.
• Xiao Wu challenged Zhang Yang to a one-on-one duel, and they agreed that the loser would serve the winner tea and water for a month.
• Xiao Wu rushed Zhang Yang and tried to throw him with her Soft Skill, but his Iron Body let him catch her ankles and bring her down without injury.
• Zhang Yang activated his Martial Soul Possession, and Xiao Wu released her rabbit Martial Soul before attacking again with her Waist Bow.
• Zhang Yang used Elementalization to let Xiao Wu's attack pass through him, then knocked her down and won the duel.
• Zhang Yang said the academy's arrangement would stay unchanged, reminded Xiao Chenyu that Tang San could defend the Work-Study Students, and ordered food and a school uniform.

After graduating, Zhang Yang, Tang San, and Xiao Wu traveled to Suotuo City and checked into the Rose Hotel, where a sudden disturbance brought them into conflict with Dai Mubai. The chapter ended with Dai Mubai challenging Zhang Yang to fight in the corridor.

• Zhang Yang, Tang San, and Xiao Wu arrived in Suotuo City and took the Rose Hotel’s only available room.
• Xiao Wu persuaded Tang San to go out with her while Zhang Yang stayed behind to cultivate and reflected on his Flash Physique Soul Skill.
• A loud crash filled the room with golden particles, and Zhang Yang and Tang San hurried to gather them before anyone noticed.
• Dai Mubai confronted Zhang Yang over the noise, but Zhang Yang denied that it came from their room.
• Dai Mubai challenged Zhang Yang to a match, and Zhang Yang realized he could not avoid the fight.

Zhang Yang defeated Dai Mubai in a spar at the Rose Hotel, then traveled with Tang San and Xiao Wu to Shrek Academy. The three passed the entrance test, where Dai Mubai recognized a potential Martial Soul complement in another applicant and hurried off to meet her.

• Dai Mubai challenged Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang’s Elementalization let him evade attacks and defeat Dai Mubai despite his lower Soul Power.
• Dai Mubai admitted defeat and praised Zhang Yang’s unusual Soul Skill, then offered to help him at Shrek Academy.
• Zhang Yang, Tang San, and Xiao Wu left Suotuo City and found Shrek Academy at a shabby village entrance, where Dai Mubai helped enforce the admissions rules.
• The trio paid the registration fee and passed the initial tests, with Tang San’s bone age checked through his lower leg because of his Mysterious Jade Hand.
• Dai Mubai sensed that a beautiful girl’s Martial Soul complemented his own and hurried away to see her, prompting Xiao Wu to mock him.

Zhang Yang, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing skipped ahead to Shrek Academy’s Fourth Stage after revealing their high Soul Power. Their trial against Zhao Wuji began with Ning Rongrong boosting the group and Zhang Yang and Xiao Wu charging in.

• Dai Mubai brought Zhang Yang to Shao Xin, who let him skip the remaining preliminary tests after Zhang Yang’s Soul Power measured Rank 28.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu each tested at Rank 29, while Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing also revealed Soul Power above Level 25, making five freshmen eligible to skip ahead.
• Dai Mubai led the five to Zhao Wuji, who set their Fourth Stage test: withstand one incense stick’s worth of his attacks, with the group passing if even one of them lasted.
• The five introduced their Martial Souls and planned their teamwork; Tang San would control Zhao Wuji, Ning Rongrong would support them, Zhang Yang and Xiao Wu would attack, and Zhu Zhuqing would strike from the side.
• Ning Rongrong used her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to boost the group’s strength and speed, then Zhang Yang and Xiao Wu charged Zhao Wuji as he moved to meet them.

Zhang Yang and the others faced Zhao Wuji in the Fourth Stage examination, using teamwork and Zhang Yang’s intangibility and powerful attacks to make him concede their victory. Zhao Wuji then beat the other students during his promised “First Lesson,” and Zhang Yang carried Ning Rongrong to the dormitory while defending his decision to stay out of the final exchange.

• Zhang Yang, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing coordinated their attacks against Zhao Wuji, while Zhang Yang used Rokuogan and Finger Gun to wound him.
• Tang San declared that the group had won because Zhao Wuji had no way to counter Zhang Yang’s intangibility, and Zhao Wuji accepted the examination result.
• Zhao Wuji used the remaining incense time to give the students a rough lesson, beating Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing while Zhang Yang and Ning Rongrong stayed out of reach.
• Dai Mubai carried Zhu Zhuqing toward the girls’ dormitory, and Zhang Yang carried Ning Rongrong despite her saying she could walk.
• Zhu Zhuqing criticized Zhang Yang for not helping during the latter half of the battle, and Zhang Yang defended his choice by warning her not to trust an enemy’s concession.

Zhang Yang recovered from the entrance trials, joined Shrek Academy’s first lessons, and began his first Soul Fighting match at Soto Great Soul Arena. He evaded Lin Shuai’s opening attack, leaving the match underway.

• Zhang Yang reached level 29 after cultivating overnight and met Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing at breakfast.
• Dai Mubai gathered Shrek’s students, and Dean Flender welcomed the newcomers before assigning Oscar and Ning Rongrong to run laps.
• Flender took the students to Soto Great Soul Arena, where Zhang Yang registered for Soul Fighting and gave Dai Mubai 300 Gold Soul Coins to bet for him.
• Zhang Yang entered his first one-on-one match against Lin Shuai, whose Iron Staff Soul Skill boosted his strength.
• Zhang Yang narrowly dodged Lin Shuai’s staff strike, which smashed a crater into the stage.

Zhang Yang won his first Soul Fighting Arena match against Lin Shuai and rejoined the academy group, where Dai Mubai attacked Ning Rongrong after she provoked him. Zhang Yang and Tang San stopped the conflict, but Zhang Yang rejected Ning Rongrong’s demand for revenge and left her in tears; Oscar expected she would return the next day.

• Zhang Yang defeated Lin Shuai by forcing him out of bounds and earned his first Arena victory.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu won their 2v2 battle against Tie Long and Tie Hu, while Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun also won their 1v1 matches.
• Ma Hongjun exposed Dai Mubai’s romantic history to Zhu Zhuqing, worsening the tension between them.
• Ning Rongrong mocked Dai Mubai at the academy entrance, and Dai Mubai’s Soul Power sent her flying until Zhang Yang caught her and Tang San intervened.
• Ning Rongrong asked Zhang Yang to help kill Dai Mubai, but Zhang Yang rebuked her spoiled behavior and walked away with Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Oscar.

The Shrek students traveled toward the Star Dou Great Forest to help Oscar obtain his third Soul Ring, while preparing supplies and practicing their team formation. At a hotel near the forest, a clash began brewing between them and students from Canghui Academy.

• Oscar appeared late after breaking through to Level 30, and Flender praised his prospects as a Food System Soul Elder.
• The students ate Oscar's sausages during training, and Flender announced that Zhao Wuji would lead them to the Star Dou Great Forest the next morning.
• Zhang Yang bought provisions and water in Suotuo City, then reviewed his supply list with Tang San.
• The group set out under Dai Mubai's formation plan, traveled to a town near the forest, and stopped at a hotel for the night.
• Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai mocked Canghui Academy when its students entered, and Oscar suggested that provoking them counted as cultivation.