Chapter Summaries

Shui Wuchen broke through to Soul Emperor after absorbing a fifty-thousand-year Soul Ring from an Extreme Cold Ice Bird, then flew with Articuno toward Skywater Academy. After a day and night in the air, they arrived above Skywater City.

• Shui Wuchen opened his eyes after breaking through to Soul Emperor in the Frozen Forest, with Articuno watching over him.
• Shui Wuchen recalled that his Articuno Martial Soul had let him absorb Soul Rings beyond conventional limits and create powerful Self-Created Soul Skills.
• Shui Wuchen inspected the dead fifty-thousand-year Extreme Cold Ice Bird and gained the Blizzard Soul Skill, which raised his cultivation to level sixty-two.
• Shui Wuchen climbed onto Articuno and headed toward Skywater Academy, meditating during the journey.
• Articuno flew for a day and night before Shui Wuchen looked down at Skywater City.

Shui Wuchen returned to Skywater City and visited his younger sister Shui Bing'er at Skywater Academy, where the students were preparing for the approaching Elite Tournament. After reuniting with her and giving her favorite pastries, he was called into the dean's office.

• Shui Wuchen entered Skywater City, where a guard identified him as the city's number one genius and said he had reached Soul King level.
• Shui Wuchen decided to visit Shui Bing'er and learned from Teacher Yuexing that Skywater Academy would soon leave for the Elite Tournament.
• Shui Wuchen waited outside the dean's office until Shui Bing'er came out and greeted him and Articuno.
• Shui Yuer teased Shui Wuchen and Shui Bing'er for acting so close, then Shui Wuchen gave Shui Bing'er pastries from Mìxuězhāi.
• The dean called Shui Wuchen into the office.

Shui Wuchen agreed to compete for Skywater Academy in the Elite Tournament and trained for a month on Tianxue Peak. He left cultivation close to Level 63, with the tournament about to begin.

• Shui Yueruo declared Shui Wuchen Skywater Academy’s first male student, persuaded him to compete, and gave him the team uniforms she had prepared.
• Shui Bing'er celebrated Shui Wuchen’s decision, while he warned her not to underestimate other academies’ geniuses.
• Shui Wuchen left Skywater Academy on Articuno and began a month of cultivation on the frigid Tianxue Peak, with Articuno guarding him.
• After a month, Shui Wuchen awoke close to Level 63 and decided he would need a more effective cultivation ground as his Soul Power grew.
• Shui Wuchen prepared to turn his attention to the approaching Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Shui Yueruo warned Skywater Academy’s elite team that powerful rivals, including Godwind Academy’s Soul King and Spirit Hall’s three Soul Kings, threatened their tournament prospects. Shui Wuchen arrived at the academy with Articuno, and Shui Yueruo announced that he would join the team for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

• Shui Wuchen packed his clothes, mounted Articuno, and rode toward Skywater Academy.
• Shui Yueruo praised Skywater Academy’s elite students, then warned them that their strength might not be enough to reach the tournament’s top four.
• Shui Yueruo described the strong teams from the Elemental Academies, the Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall, unsettling Shui Bing’er and the others.
• Shui Wuchen arrived at Skywater Academy riding Articuno, and Shui Yueruo introduced him as a student who would compete with the team.

Shui Wuchen joined Skywater Academy’s team as they set out by carriage for Heaven Dou City, where he revealed that he had reached Soul King. Four days into the journey, a violent gale overturned their carriages, leaving Shui Yueruo wondering what had caused the immense energy fluctuation.

• Shui Yueruo abandoned her idea of having Articuno carry the group, and Skywater Academy’s delegation departed for Heaven Dou City in several carriages.
• Xuewu asked Shui Wuchen about his cultivation, and he confirmed that he had reached Soul King.
• Shui Bing’er compared her progress with her brother’s and began meditating beside him during the journey.
• Four days later, Shui Wuchen woke when a violent gale approached, then carried Shui Bing’er out of the carriage as Articuno rescued Xuewu and another student.
• The gale overturned every carriage, and Shui Yueruo asked what had caused the powerful energy fluctuation.

Shui Yueruo and Huo Yangyan fought a Fallen One while Shui Wuchen rushed to help Huo Yangyan’s students, killing two Black Giant Wolves with ease. After the battle, Huo Wushuang introduced his younger sister Huo Wu, whose unexplained hostility toward Shui Wuchen gave way to an apology.

• Huo Yangyan called for Shui Yueruo’s help against a Fallen One, and she joined him in suppressing their opponent.
• Huo Yangyan warned Shui Wuchen and the others that more Fallen Ones were attacking his students, so Shui Wuchen raced ahead.
• Huo Wushuang warned Shui Wuchen that two Black Giant Wolves were Fallen Ones with Soul King strength, but Shui Wuchen killed both with his saber.
• Shui Bing’er and the other girls arrived after the fight had ended, and Shui Wuchen checked that Huo Wushuang’s group was safe.
• Huo Wu reacted with hostility when she heard Shui Wuchen’s name, then apologized and offered him her Gold Soul Coins.

Shui Yueruo and Huo Yangyan drove off a powerful Fallen One, but he escaped, leaving their academies vulnerable to retaliation. After rejoining the students, they learned Shui Wuchen had defeated the other two Fallen Ones, and Shui Yueruo grew wary that Huo Yangyan might try to recruit him.

• Shui Yueruo and Huo Yangyan activated their Martial Soul Avatars, but the Fallen One feigned a power surge and fled before they could stop him.
• Shui Yueruo and Huo Yangyan returned to the students, where Huo Wushuang revealed that Shui Wuchen had killed both Soul King-level Fallen Ones.
• Huo Yangyan recognized Shui Wuchen from an earlier Four Elements Academy exchange and recalled watching him fight as a child.
• Shui Yueruo sent Shui Wuchen to check the carriages, then warned Huo Yangyan not to poach him from Skywater Academy.
• Shui Yueruo defended her decision to let Shui Wuchen join the team as Shui Bing'er's older brother, though she felt uneasy about making an exception.

After their damaged carriages left them traveling on foot, Skywater Academy and Blazing Fire Academy reached Heaven Dou City and met Godwind Academy’s dean, Feng Qingcang. As the deans discussed their competitors, a Godwind student emerged and recognized Shui Wuchen.

• Shui Wuchen and the others found the Skywater convoy’s horses dead, forcing both academies to continue toward Heaven Dou City on foot.
• Shui Yueruo and Huo Yangyan led the combined group into Heaven Dou City and arrived at the reception area for Elite Tournament teams.
• Feng Qingcang greeted Shui Yueruo and Huo Yangyan, then praised the students they had brought to compete.
• Shui Yueruo told Feng Qingcang that Feng Xiaotian had reached Soul King, and Feng Qingcang noted his student’s talent and age.
• Feng Qingcang recognized Shui Bing’er’s Ice Phoenix Martial Soul and learned she had reached level forty-six at sixteen.
• A confident young man in Godwind Academy’s uniform came out of the courtyard, saw Shui Wuchen, and exclaimed, "It's you!?"

Shui Wuchen reunited with Feng Xiaotian, the rival whose confidence had grown since their clash six years earlier, and Feng Xiaotian reserved their fight for the Elite Tournament. Huo Wu went to seek Feng Xiaotian, while her father acknowledged that the younger generation would have to settle their own affairs.

• Feng Xiaotian recognized Shui Wuchen and recalled the defeat that had once shattered his confidence, but he now felt sure of his strength.
• Feng Qingcang realized Shui Wuchen was the rival Feng Xiaotian often praised, while Feng Xiaotian chose to postpone their confrontation until the Elite Tournament.
• Shui Bing'er warned Shui Wuchen to stay away from Feng Xiaotian, and Shui Yueruo assigned rooms to the Skywater Academy students.
• Huo Wu left Blazing Fire Academy's courtyard to visit Feng Xiaotian, and Feng Qingcang teased Huo Yangyan about her pursuit.
• Huo Yangyan admitted that Feng Xiaotian seemed uninterested in Huo Wu and decided to let the younger generation handle the matter.

Shui Bing'er visited Shui Wuchen late at night, and the siblings went to an arena to spar. Shui Wuchen evaded her Ice Seal and Spinning Ice Rain, then demonstrated his own ice attacks and explained how he had developed his techniques.

• Shui Bing'er told Shui Wuchen she could not sleep, so he took her for a walk.
• Shui Bing'er suggested that she and Shui Wuchen spar at an empty Martial Arts Arena.
• Shui Bing'er froze an afterimage with Ice Seal and struck it with Spinning Ice Rain, but Shui Wuchen appeared behind her using High-Speed Movement.
• Shui Wuchen praised Shui Bing'er's technique, explained that he had created it from Rotating Ice Gravel, and said her version was not yet complete.
• Shui Wuchen unleashed hundreds of Ice Gravel cones and considered how Triple Spin Strike could be developed into a stronger technique.

Shui Wuchen created a powerful new Ice Slash technique, then explored ways to improve his cultivation while staying in Heaven Dou City. He discovered that cultivating thousands of meters above the ground worked well, though the harsh conditions kept it from being a permanent solution.

• Shui Bing'er sparred with Shui Wuchen as he guided her with Spinning Ice Rain, until Dean Feng Qingcang and Feng Xiaotian arrived at the Martial Arts Arena.
• Feng Qingcang noticed the Articuno and wondered how its mutated Ice Phoenix martial soul compared with the Ice Phoenix.
• Shui Wuchen found his cultivation was progressing slowly in Heaven Dou City and went outside to look for a better training location.
• Unable to enter the mountains around the city, Shui Wuchen rode the Articuno thousands of meters into the sky and cultivated there for several hours.
• Shui Wuchen found aerial cultivation more effective than training in the city, but the strong winds and thin oxygen made it unsuitable as a permanent site, so he returned to the ground.

Shui Wuchen and Skywater Academy arrived at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena for the All-Continent Elite Tournament, where they encountered rival academies and watched Shrek Academy enter in humiliating uniforms. A crafty middle-aged man noticed Shrek hiding in a remote corner and asked why they were there.

• Shui Wuchen joined Shui Bing'er and the Skywater Academy team as they set out for the tournament opening.
• Shui Yueruo led Skywater Academy to seats beside Blazing Fire Academy and Godwind Academy, where Feng Xiaotian watched Shui Wuchen with anticipation.
• Huo Wushuang dragged Huo Wu away from Feng Xiaotian, and Huo Yangyan scolded her for openly pursuing him.
• Shrek Academy entered in conspicuous green uniforms marked "sponsorship wanted," prompting laughter and embarrassment among the spectators.
• Tang San, masked among Shrek's team, cursed Flender's choice of uniforms as the group hid in a remote corner.
• A crafty middle-aged man found Shrek's group and asked why they were hiding there.

Shui Wuchen watched the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament opening ceremony, where the teams were introduced and the first-round matches were drawn. The ceremony ended with Heaven Dou Royal Academy paired against Shrek Academy, a matchup that drew complaints from the audience until Platinum Bishop Salas invoked Spirit Hall.

• Shrek and Blue Sunshine Academy traded insults, but their students did not come to blows.
• The host introduced the Skywater Team, and Shui Wuchen watched the VIP section as Shui Yueruo identified Platinum Bishop Salas, Emperor Xue Ye, and Ning Fengzhi.
• The ceremony welcomed twenty-eight teams, and the three VIPs gave brief speeches before Salas began drawing the first-round matchups.
• Skywater Academy drew North Academy, and Shui Yueruo smiled at the favorable matchup.
• Heaven Dou Royal Academy drew Shrek Academy for the opening match, prompting spectators to accuse the organizers of favoritism.
• Salas silenced the complaints by asking whether the crowd was questioning Spirit Hall.

Shui Wuchen predicted Shrek Academy would defeat Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team, and Shrek won easily. Suspicious of Shui Wuchen's frequent solo outings, Shui Bing'er secretly followed him outside Heaven Dou City, where he revealed that he had noticed her.

• Salas announced that the team reaching the Finals could join the Martial Soul Sacred Hall, angering Emperor Xue Ye.
• Shui Wuchen predicted Shrek Academy would beat Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team, and Shrek won in less than a minute.
• Xue Ye left angrily after Heaven Dou Royal Academy's embarrassing defeat.
• Shui Wuchen left Skywater Academy's group and headed toward the outskirts of Heaven Dou City, prompting Shui Bing'er to follow him secretly.
• Shui Bing'er followed Shui Wuchen to a small forest, where he called out and told her to come out because he had found her.

Shui Wuchen brought Shui Bing'er to his high-altitude training site, where she cultivated alongside him before they returned to Heaven Dou City. The next day, Skywater Academy shocked the crowd by fielding an entire team of Soul Ancestors against North Academy.

• Shui Bing'er admitted she had followed Shui Wuchen because she wanted to know why he kept leaving the city, and he took her to his training site on Articuno.
• Shui Wuchen invited Shui Bing'er to cultivate with him, and she trained beside him until sunset.
• Articuno carried the siblings back, and Shui Wuchen showed Shui Bing'er around Heaven Dou City before they returned to the inn.
• Shui Bing'er declared that Skywater Academy would defeat North Academy head-on with minimal effort.
• At the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, Skywater Academy's team revealed that every member was a Soul Ancestor, leaving the lower-level North Academy team dismayed.

Shui Bing'er led Skywater Academy to a swift victory over North Academy, while the officials discussed the academy's championship prospects and Spirit Hall's strength. After breaking through to Level 63, Shui Wuchen returned to prepare for Skywater Academy's match against Lightning Academy, where his unusual Martial Soul astonished Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.

• Shui Bing'er froze all seven North Academy fighters at once, and Skywater Academy defeated them in under thirty seconds.
• Ning Fengzhi praised Skywater Academy's championship prospects, while Salas claimed Spirit Hall's team could not be beaten for first place because it had three Soul Kings.
• Shui Wuchen completed more than twenty days of cultivation and broke through to Level 63 before returning to Skywater Academy.
• Shui Yueruo told Shui Wuchen he might need to compete against Lightning Academy the next day.
• At the match, Shui Wuchen summoned Articuno, prompting Yu Xiaogang to identify it as a beneficial mutation of the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul and leaving Tang San stunned.

Yu Xiaogang explained to Tang San that Shui Wuchen's detached beast martial soul had a physical weakness, leading Tang San to expect Lightning Academy might still win. Instead, Shui Wuchen defeated all seven Lightning Academy members alone in moments, securing victory for Skywater Academy.

• Yu Xiaogang told Tang San that Shui Wuchen's martial soul lacked the physical enhancements of ordinary beast martial souls, which could give Lightning Academy an opening.
• At the start of the match, Shui Wuchen told Shui Bing'er and the other Skywater Academy girls to step back and faced Lightning Academy alone.
• Yu Tianxin ordered Lei Tian, Lu Chen, Lei Dong, and the others to attack Shui Wuchen together.
• Shui Wuchen used his speed and saber strikes to knock Yu Tianxin and the three teammates attacking beside him unconscious.
• Shui Wuchen swiftly incapacitated Lightning Academy's remaining three members, and the referee announced Skywater Academy as the winner.

Shui Wuchen effortlessly defeated Lightning Academy, establishing himself as the favorite in the Preliminary Round and attracting the attention of several powerful factions. After learning about his background, potential allies considered recruiting him, while a pale youth revealed that Shui Wuchen had killed his two subordinates and marked him as a target.

• Other students conceded that Shui Wuchen's overwhelming strength made him the likely first-place finisher, while Feng Xiaotian grew excited at the prospect of facing him.
• Shui Wuchen left the arena with Shui Bing'er and the other Skywater Academy students after they celebrated his victory.
• Xue Ye learned from Prince Xue Xing that Shui Wuchen was the late Marquis Shui's son, and Ning Fengzhi considered recruiting him for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Shui Yueruo praised Shui Wuchen's performance, and he calmly replied that winning had been natural.
• A pale youth watched Shui Wuchen, identified him as the killer of his two subordinates, and declared that geniuses generally did not live long.

After defeating Lightning Academy, Shui Wuchen left Heaven Dou City and discovered that the Pale Youth, a Soul Saint known as the Fallen One, had been following him. The Fallen One attacked him, but Articuno froze the assault, leaving their confrontation poised to continue.

• Tang San questioned Yu Xiaogang after Shui Wuchen defeated Lightning Academy without using Articuno, and Yu Xiaogang suggested that detached beast martial souls could differ.
• Yu Tianxin woke at Lightning Academy's lodging and learned from the headmaster that Shui Wuchen had left him and his teammates with injuries that would heal in time for their next battle.
• Shui Wuchen sensed a malicious presence following him after he left Heaven Dou City and struck the hidden pursuer with an Ice Blue beam.
• The Pale Youth revealed himself as the Fallen One, summoned seven soul rings, and launched black mist skulls at Shui Wuchen.
• Articuno froze the skulls, and Shui Wuchen advanced through falling snow as the Fallen One reacted in shock.

Shui Wuchen used Articuno’s Snow Scene Domain and Instant Nine Slashes to badly injure the Pale Youth, but his Protect soul skill blocked the Pale Youth’s counterattack. The Pale Youth survived, lost an arm, and unleashed his Skeleton True Body as the battle grew more dangerous.

• Shui Wuchen revealed six soul rings, and the Pale Youth realized he was a Soul Emperor.
• Shui Wuchen’s Snow Scene Domain stopped the Pale Youth’s black domain from spreading and empowered Shui Wuchen and Articuno.
• Articuno’s freezing winds dispersed the Pale Youth’s Black-Red Flame while Shui Wuchen attacked with Instant Nine Slashes.
• The Pale Youth evaded a fatal strike at great cost, losing an arm and suffering severe frost wounds, while Shui Wuchen’s Protect blocked his fifth soul skill.
• The furious Pale Youth activated all seven soul rings and transformed into his Skeleton True Body.