Chapter Summaries

After the Freshman Assessment, Huo Yuhao weighed whether to pursue Core Disciple status in the Martial Soul Department or seek a future in the Soul Guidance Department. He chose to try the Soul Guidance Department, while Xue Lingyun negotiated supplies for him from Qian Duoduo.

• Zhou Yi treated Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Xue Lingyun to dinner and explained Core Disciple benefits, noting that Huo Yuhao should wait for a notice.
• Xue Lingyun told Huo Yuhao that he could reveal the full strength of his Spiritual Probe to seek Martial Soul Department Core Disciple status or keep it private and try for Soul Guidance Department recognition.
• Huo Yuhao considered his mother’s hopes and his desire to become strong, while Sky Dream Ice Silkworm urged him to try the Soul Guidance Department first.
• Xue Lingyun bargained with Qian Duoduo for 150 High-Explosive Bombs and a Launcher, arguing that Huo Yuhao might stay in the Soul Guidance Department.
• Huo Yuhao told Xue Lingyun he had decided to try the Soul Guidance Department, and Xue Lingyun agreed to take him to see Fan Yu the next day.

Xue Lingyun was announced as the solo champion of the Freshman Assessment and received a confidential special reward, while Huo Yuhao was named a temporary Core Disciple rather than an official one. After collecting a Storage Soul Tool from Yan Shaozhe, Xue Lingyun returned to Zhou Yi, who was waiting at the Teaching Building.

• Du Weilun announced Huang Chutian, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo in third place, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Huo Yuhao in second, and Xue Lingyun as the solo champion.
• Du Weilun awarded the top three academy assistance with future Soul Rings and told Xue Lingyun to collect a confidential special reward.
• Du Weilun named Xue Lingyun, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao official Core Disciples, while Huo Yuhao received temporary Core Disciple treatment.
• Du Weilun assigned the first-year students to four classes and sent Xue Lingyun with him to collect his reward.
• Yan Shaozhe gave Xue Lingyun a Storage Soul Tool containing the rewards he had promised and confirmed Zhou Yi would be his Homeroom Teacher in Class One.
• Xue Lingyun returned to the Teaching Building, where Zhou Yi waited for him and asked whether he had collected his reward.

Zhou Yi rewarded Xue Lingyun with a Secret Law Soul Left Arm Bone for winning the championship. At the first Class One gathering, Xue Lingyun and Xiao Xiao were elected Class Monitors, while Huo Yuhao faced ridicule over his few votes; the new monitors left together after receiving Wang Yan’s instructions.

• Zhou Yi gave Xue Lingyun a Secret Law Soul Left Arm Bone and explained its permanent Soul Power boost and potential for fusion with similar bones.
• Xue Lingyun returned to Class One, where Wang Yan introduced the class and began a secret ballot for Assault Department and Control System Class Monitors.
• Xue Lingyun won the Assault Department vote with forty-three votes, while Xiao Xiao won the Control System vote with twenty-five.
• Huo Yuhao received five votes and endured classmates’ mockery, while Xue Lingyun and Wang Dong noticed his discomfort.
• Wang Yan named Xue Lingyun and Xiao Xiao as Class Monitors and advised them to manage their respective groups.
• Xue Lingyun and Xiao Xiao left the classroom together after Wang Yan dismissed them.

After Huo Yuhao was hurt by classmates questioning his worth, Xue Lingyun helped him regain his resolve and begin formal study in the Soul Guidance Department. Huo Yuhao started forging under Fan Yu’s instruction while Xue Lingyun collected the promised weapons from Qian Duoduo.

• At lunch, Xiao Xiao worried that Huo Yuhao had been upset by criticism of his Class Monitor candidacy, and Xue Lingyun told her he would have to walk his own path.
• Xue Lingyun spoke with Huo Yuhao about the insults he had heard, and Huo Yuhao resolved to formally study Soul Tools.
• Xue Lingyun took Huo Yuhao to Fan Yu, who assessed his Spiritual Probe and began teaching him the basics of forging and Soul Tool creation.
• Huo Yuhao practiced striking metal under Fan Yu and He Caitou’s guidance, continuing even after Fan Yu left.
• Xue Lingyun went to Qian Duoduo’s office and received the promised one hundred and fifty High-Explosive Bombs and a Launcher.
• As Xue Lingyun left the testing area, he saw Huo Yuhao still hammering at the anvil and did not interrupt him.

Xue Lingyun fused Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire with his Vortex to temper both their bodies, then encouraged Huo Yuhao to persevere with blacksmithing despite his injured hands. The chapter ended with Xue Lingyun resuming cultivation and Huo Yuhao preparing to continue training the next day.

• Xue Lingyun began fusing a Secret Law Soul Bone with Wind and Thunder Attribute Spirit Bones, then put them away to finish later.
• Xue Lingyun drew Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire through his body, refined it with his Vortex, and returned a gentler current that suppressed her fire and tempered them both.
• Ma Xiaotao agreed to repeat the process once a week and left Xue Lingyun’s room through the window.
• Huo Yuhao returned from blacksmithing with badly swollen, trembling hands, and Xue Lingyun opened his door and urged him to keep practicing.
• Wang Dong checked Huo Yuhao’s injuries and left him to rest, while Huo Yuhao agreed to return to the Soul Guidance Department the next day.
• Xue Lingyun returned to his Cultivation Room and resumed regulating his Soul Power as the night settled over Sea God Lake.

Xue Lingyun advised Huo Yuhao to earn respect through strength, watched Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu struggle with their strained relationship, and attended Zhou Yi’s strict first lesson. After class, Xue Lingyun met Tang Ya in the Small Garden, where she asked to speak with him alone.

• Xue Lingyun wore his Core Disciple Badge to breakfast and advised Huo Yuhao to fight a strong classmate to discourage others from disrespecting him.
• Zhu Lu gave Dai Huabin an embroidered handkerchief, and Dai Huabin pocketed it after she left.
• Xue Lingyun entered Class One as its monitor, where classmates discussed his Freshman Assessment victory and Zhou Sichen joked about the Core Disciple Badge’s canteen benefits.
• Zhou Yi made late students stand in the hallway and taught the class about obedience, discipline, instinct, and Martial Soul theory.
• Huo Yuhao hurried to the Soul Guidance Department after afternoon classes, while Xue Lingyun declined to join Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao at the Canteen.
• Tang Ya met Xue Lingyun beneath an Old Locust Tree and asked to talk to him alone.

Tang Ya sought another cultivation mark from Xue Lingyun after her previous one faded, trading the Tang Sect’s hidden weapon blueprints for a new mark. Xue Lingyun left after warning her not to distract Huo Yuhao, while Tang Ya accepted that reviving the Tang Sect remained uncertain.

• Tang Ya told Xue Lingyun that her mark had stopped working and asked him to give her another one in exchange for what she could offer.
• Xue Lingyun accepted Tang Ya’s first set of improved blueprints in exchange for three marks and told her that Beibei’s great-grandfather was Mu En, the Pavilion Master of Sea God Pavilion.
• Tang Ya offered all the Tang Sect hidden weapon blueprints she could provide, and Xue Lingyun negotiated the exchange down to five uses.
• Xue Lingyun planted a new mark on Tang Ya and told her not to tell Huo Yuhao because he needed to focus on learning Soul Tools.
• Tang Ya thanked Xue Lingyun, who left the Small Garden thinking about the blueprints and the uncertain future of the Tang Sect.

Xue Lingyun studied Tang Sect hidden weapon blueprints and dismantled weapons to adapt their mechanisms for Soul Tools. After Wang Yan discussed class duties and Core Disciple benefits with him, Xue Lingyun observed Dai Huabin's troubled state, met Jiang Nannan in the library, and returned to cultivate.

• Xue Lingyun analyzed Tang Sect hidden weapon designs and devised ways to incorporate their mechanisms into Soul Tools.
• Xue Lingyun dismantled Sleeve Arrows, Flying Needles, and a Back Crossbow, recording their structures and discrepancies in the blueprints.
• Wang Yan briefed Xue Lingyun on class management and the Core Disciple training plan, asked him to support Huo Yuhao, and heard his concern about Dai Huabin.
• Xue Lingyun noticed Dai Huabin's anger and Zhu Lu's unease during class, then watched Dai Huabin leave while Zhu Lu stayed behind.
• Xue Lingyun met Jiang Nannan in the library, answered her questions about the Extreme North Land, and later returned to the dormitory to cultivate.

Zhou Yi arranged practical combat training in the Battle Soul Area, where Xue Lingyun volunteered to fight all of Class One alone. Armed with a writing brush and red ink, he began defeating his classmates by marking them as if he had struck lethal blows, and the battle continued as Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo attacked him with their Hair Nets.

• Zhou Yi asked how many classmates Xue Lingyun wanted to fight, and he answered that he would take on all of them.
• At the Battle Soul Area, Zhou Yi set the rules and Class One students released their Martial Souls and charged Xue Lingyun.
• Xue Lingyun marked the first attackers with red ink, making them retreat, and he easily defeated Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.
• Xue Lingyun marked Zhu Lu's face and neck, and Zhou Yi ordered Zhu Lu off the field; Wu Feng also attacked but was defeated and joined Zhu Lu at the arena's edge.
• Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo sent their Hair Nets toward Xue Lingyun, who drew on the Wind Attribute Soul Power stored in his heart and swept his brush across them.

Xue Lingyun defeated more than sixty students in a combat class exercise without releasing his Martial Soul, then received praise from Zhou Yi and Wang Yan. Dai Huabin left humiliated after rejecting Zhu Lu’s attempt to comfort him, while Xue Lingyun returned to the dormitory reflecting on the battle.

• Xue Lingyun eliminated the students attacking him, then caught Dai Huabin’s punches and defeated him after a prolonged exchange.
• Zhou Yi ordered Dai Huabin to stop, criticized the class for its poor performance, and praised Xue Lingyun’s showing to Wang Yan.
• The students left the field, while Zhu Lu approached Dai Huabin and he rejected her concern before limping away.
• Zhou Yi told Xue Lingyun to reflect on his shortcomings, and Wang Yan said he would record the performance for the academy.
• Xue Lingyun left the Battle Soul Area and reviewed the students’ tactics as he walked back toward the dormitory.

After Xue Lingyun defeated more than sixty classmates without releasing his Martial Soul, Class One admired him, while Ning Tian struggled to understand his overwhelming strength. He then went to the Soul Guidance Department Testing Area and began forging Cold Iron Essence for a project combining hidden weapons and Soul Tools.

• Xue Lingyun returned to Class One, where his classmates regarded him with newfound admiration after his combat-class victory.
• Ning Tian heard accounts of Xue Lingyun defeating Dai Huabin, Wang Dong, Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and the rest of Class One, and wondered who he really was.
• Xue Lingyun went to the Soul Guidance Department Testing Area and joined He Caitou at the workbenches.
• Xue Lingyun laid out Tang Ya's hidden-weapon blueprints and Cold Iron Essence, planning to combine hidden-weapon mechanisms with Soul Tool power.
• Xue Lingyun heated the Cold Iron Essence and began forging it on the anvil.

Xue Lingyun built and tested a compact wrist-mounted Soul Tool that fired spinning metal needles instead of energy bullets. After confirming its power, he left the Testing Area planning a multi-hole version.

• Xue Lingyun forged the Cold Iron Essence parts, carved a spiral needle slot, and engraved a miniature Soul Power Core.
• Xue Lingyun assembled the compact wrist-mounted device, and He Caitou examined its unusual design.
• Xue Lingyun fired solid needles into a Soul Power Barrier, cracking it with the device’s concentrated penetrating force.
• He Caitou questioned Xue Lingyun about the Soul Tool, and Xue Lingyun confirmed that he had designed its Soul Power Circuit himself.
• Xue Lingyun left the Testing Area and considered how to balance and synchronize the channels in a multi-hole version.

Xue Lingyun broke through to Rank 40 and arranged a two-month leave from Shrek Academy to return home for his Fourth Soul Ring. After encouraging Zhu Lu to focus on becoming stronger and receiving Huo Yuhao’s promise of support, he left for the Far North.

• While tempering Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire, Xue Lingyun broke through to Rank 40, and Ma Xiaotao learned he planned to return home.
• Xue Lingyun requested a month of leave from Wang Yan and Zhou Yi, and Du Weilun gave him Soul Power-restoring pills from Dean Yan.
• Xue Lingyun confronted Zhu Lu about clinging to Dai Huabin, dodged her attacks, and threw her into Sea God Lake after urging her to become stronger.
• Xue Lingyun told Huo Yuhao he was leaving to obtain his Fourth Soul Ring, and Huo Yuhao promised to always stand by his side.
• Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao saw Xue Lingyun off, and he flew north toward the Far North.

Xue Lingyun returned to the Extreme North Ice Palace and told Snow Empress and Ice Empress about Wisdom Soul Rings and the danger of Snow Empress’s approaching Heavenly Tribulation. Snow Empress and Ice Empress chose to become his Wisdom Soul Rings, and the group prepared to visit the Earth Dragon Sect’s Ice Cave.

• Xue Lingyun reunited with Xiao Bai and returned to the Ice Palace, where Snow Empress and Ice Empress welcomed him back and noted that he had reached Level 40.
• Snow Empress and Ice Empress told Xue Lingyun they had found forty-five pillars of genuine Myriad Years Profound Ice Marrow at the Earth Dragon Sect but had left them untouched for him.
• Xue Lingyun explained that a Soul Beast at Shrek had retained its consciousness as a Soul Ring, then warned Snow Empress that her unstable origin power could bring her Heavenly Tribulation early.
• Xue Lingyun offered Snow Empress and Ice Empress three choices: become his Wisdom Soul Rings, absorb the Profound Ice Marrow and face the tribulation, or undergo Human Transformation.
• Snow Empress and Ice Empress chose to become Xue Lingyun’s Wisdom Soul Rings, and Xiao Bai insisted on joining them.
• Xue Lingyun planned for the group to visit the Earth Dragon Sect’s Ice Cave the day after tomorrow to collect the Profound Ice Marrow and prepare for forming Wisdom Soul Rings.

Xue Lingyun, Snow Empress, and Ice Empress traveled to the Earth Dragon Sect and entered the hidden Ice Cave beneath Hanquan Well. They found forty-five pillars of Myriad Years Profound Ice Marrow, leaving Snow Empress facing the possibility of using them to improve her chances of surviving the Heavenly Tribulation.

• Xue Lingyun left Xiao Bai behind to guard the Ice Palace, and he traveled south with Snow Empress and Ice Empress.
• Nan Shuisui welcomed the three at the Earth Dragon Sect, where Xue Lingyun met Nan Qiuqiu before they went to Hanquan Well.
• Xue Lingyun revealed his Extreme Ice Martial Soul and opened the sealed entrance beneath the well with Snow Empress and Ice Empress.
• The three crossed a cavern filled with Ice God Crystals and continued deeper through a narrow underwater crack.
• Xue Lingyun found forty-five pillars of Myriad Years Profound Ice Marrow, while Snow Empress quietly considered their potential to help her survive the Heavenly Tribulation.

Xue Lingyun and the Ice Empress returned to the Extreme North Ice Palace with the Profound Ice Marrow and prepared for her sacrifice to him. After the Ice Empress broke through to Four Hundred Thousand Years, she decomposed the Secret Law Soul Bone and fused its origin into Xue Lingyun’s right arm as a buffer for the coming energy.

• Snow Empress compressed the forty-five stalks of Profound Ice Marrow into Ice Marrow Beads, and Xue Lingyun and the Ice Empress harvested the Ice God Crystals from Earth Dragon Sect’s cave.
• Nan Shuisui saw Xue Lingyun off, while Nan Qiuqiu watched him leave and blushed when her mother teased her.
• Back at the Extreme North Ice Palace, Xue Lingyun explained to the Ice Empress how his body and Ice Prison Dragon King Martial Soul could withstand and contain her sacrifice’s energy.
• The Ice Empress used one Ice Marrow Bead to break through to exactly Four Hundred Thousand Years and agreed to begin the fusion.
• Snow Empress established an Ice Attribute Isolation Array, and the Ice Empress decomposed the Secret Law Soul Bone into origin energy and fused it into Xue Lingyun’s right arm.

Ice Empress transferred her origin essence into Xue Lingyun’s right arm, replacing its bones and strengthening its joints. She then began her sacrifice, leaving her soul origin and cultivation energy gathered in an emerald sphere.

• Ice Empress warned Xue Lingyun that transferring her origin essence was unprecedented, and he insisted they proceed.
• Xue Lingyun explained that his right arm Spirit Bone ended at the wrist and that his Martial Soul would contain overflow energy.
• Ice Empress’s origin essence harmonized with the Secret Law Soul Medium and replaced the bones in Xue Lingyun’s right arm, stopping at the wrist.
• Xue Lingyun endured the painful transformation as the energy formed reservoirs for Pincer Blast in his joints.
• Ice Empress began her sacrifice, transforming into emerald motes that gathered around her Soul Core and complete soul origin.

Xue Lingyun successfully fused the Ice Empress’s four-hundred-thousand-year energy and soul origin into his Ice Prison Dragon King Martial Soul, gaining two Soul Skills while sealing most of her power. After confirming the fusion was stable, he planned to consolidate his cultivation before seeking a Fourth Soul Ring at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

• Xue Lingyun guided the Ice Empress’s energy into his Second Martial Soul and anchored her soul origin inside it behind two protective barriers.
• Xue Lingyun formed Ice Emperor Body Protection and Ice Emperor’s Pincer, then sealed the excess energy in a closed loop through his Martial Soul, Secret Law Soul Medium, and right-arm Spirit Bone.
• The Ice Empress awakened within the Martial Soul core, and Xue Lingyun thanked her before telling her he planned to obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Immortal Grade herb as his Fourth Soul Ring.
• The Snow Empress checked Xue Lingyun’s foundation and said he could visit the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well after adapting for a few days.
• Xiao Bai asked to join the others inside Xue Lingyun, but the Ice Empress told him to take care of himself first.

After stabilizing the Ice Empress’s Soul Ring and Spirit Bone, Xue Lingyun tested his new abilities and prepared to travel with Snow Empress and Xiao Bai to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for his Fourth Soul Ring. As they flew toward Sunset Forest, he explained its poisonous defenses and the hidden realm’s origins; they reached the forest’s outskirts.

• Xue Lingyun tested Ice Emperor Body Protection, Ice Emperor’s Pincer, Domain of Eternal Freeze, and Wrath of the Ice Emperor: Condense, while the Ice Empress explained the Spirit Bone’s shared origin with his right arm.
• Snow Empress told Xue Lingyun it was time to obtain his Fourth Soul Ring, and he confirmed they were heading for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in Sunset Forest.
• Xiao Bai asked to join them, and Snow Empress agreed on the condition that he behaved and did not wander off or eat things at random.
• Snow Empress carried Xue Lingyun and Xiao Bai south through the sky as Xue Lingyun described Sunset Forest’s poisonous miasma, deadly flowers, and the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
• Xue Lingyun explained that the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King had fallen in the forest after the Dragon God War, and their origins had formed the two springs; the group then sighted Sunset Forest.

Xue Lingyun, Snow Empress, and Xiao Bai crossed Sunset Forest’s poisonous defenses and reached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where three Immortal Herbs challenged their right to enter. As Xue Lingyun confronted their claim that Tang San had left them to guard the valley, his Martial Souls resonated with something deep within the spring, and he moved toward it.

• Xue Lingyun used his Spiritual Power to find a brief weak point in the Seven-Colored Poisonous Miasma, then led Snow Empress and Xiao Bai through it with Extreme Ice shielding them.
• Xue Lingyun’s Martial Soul froze the Jade Phosphorus Seven Absolute Flowers and suppressed the Jade Phosphorus Nine Absolute Flowers as the group crossed the flower field.
• Snow Empress formed an ice staircase down to the valley floor, where Xiao Bai saw the Immortal Herbs and Xue Lingyun warned him not to eat them indiscriminately.
• Youyou, Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass, and Infernal Delicate Apricot confronted the visitors, claiming the valley was a forbidden ground they guarded for Tang San.
• Xue Lingyun challenged the Immortal Herbs’ loyalty to Tang San and explained that his Extreme Ice could let him cross the Ice and Fire Barrier from the cold spring’s side.
• Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass sensed that Xue Lingyun’s ice was older and purer than his own, while Xue Lingyun felt his Heart Martial Soul and Ice Prison Dragon King Martial Soul resonate with something in the spring and stepped toward it.