Chapter Summaries

Huo Yuhao noticed that newcomers at Shrek Academy were displaying unusually powerful soul rings and learned from Jin Yuanbao that Soul Beast Farms could provide customized soul rings through captive breeding and sacrifice. He questioned the practice’s price, risks, and why soul beasts would agree to it.

• Huo Yuhao observed that several transfer students and previously quiet classmates had thousand-year or even Ten-Thousand-Year soul rings.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm reacted with alarm and warned Huo Yuhao that the unusual soul-ring configurations suggested a systematic change in Soul Master cultivation.
• Huo Yuhao approached Jin Yuanbao to ask about the newcomers’ special soul rings.
• Jin Yuanbao explained that Soul Beast Farms, an industry run by the Blue King in cooperation with Spirit Hall, bred soul beasts and supplied safe, customizable soul rings through sacrifice.
• Huo Yuhao asked Jin Yuanbao about the cost, the soul beasts’ willingness to sacrifice, and possible hidden dangers.

Jin Yuanbao explained that farmed soul rings offered a safe, rapid shortcut but cost cultivators their eligibility to hunt hundred-thousand-year soul beasts. Huo Yuhao considered the conflict between tradition and pragmatism, then resolved to pursue cultivation in his own way.

• Jin Yuanbao told Huo Yuhao that the Breeding Farm sold soul rings and that Shrek quietly tolerated sponsored students who used them.
• Jin Yuanbao explained that cultivators who relied on farmed soul rings forfeited the eligibility to hunt hundred-thousand-year soul beasts under the old agreement.
• Jin Yuanbao described how the empires favored farmed soul rings while Shrek upheld standard soul rings despite growing pressure to compromise.
• Huo Yuhao watched students train with rings of different ages as Tian Meng questioned the Blue King's motives and doubted their God-Making Project.
• Huo Yuhao resolved to take responsibility for his own cultivation and returned to reading Soul Master Basic Theory.

Huo Yuhao reached level twenty, and Wang Yan brought him to the Spirit Hall branch to buy a second Soul Ring despite Du Busi’s objections. The chapter ended as steward Su Yongfeng welcomed them and asked how he could help.

• Huo Yuhao broke through to level twenty and received Wang Yan’s message to meet him at the academy gate.
• Du Busi urged Huo Yuhao to hunt a mental-attribute soul beast in Star Dou Forest, but Wang Yan insisted they buy a Soul Ring at Spirit Hall.
• Wang Yan proposed that Huo Yuhao eventually obtain nine eighty-thousand-year Soul Rings, stunning Du Busi into agreeing to accompany them.
• Wang Yan carried Huo Yuhao at high speed to the Shrek City Spirit Hall branch, with Du Busi following.
• Steward Su Yongfeng greeted Wang Yan, Du Busi, and Huo Yuhao at the branch and asked how he could help.

Wang Yan bought Huo Yuhao an eighty-thousand-year Silver Elite Beast sacrifice, and Huo Yuhao gained a powerful second soul ring and the Spirit Replication skill. The sacrifice succeeded, but the beast’s despairing final gaze left Huo Yuhao uneasy about the power he had purchased.

• Wang Yan asked Su Yongfeng to arrange an eighty-thousand-year soul beast sacrifice for Huo Yuhao, and Du Busi chose the rare mental-type Silver Elite Beast.
• Su Yongfeng found a suitable Silver Elite Beast, and Wang Yan paid for it before bringing Huo Yuhao to the Contract Chamber.
• Huo Yuhao swore to obey the contract terms as the staff brought in a depleted Silver Elite Beast that showed a venomous look toward Wang Yan before the sacrifice.
• The Silver Elite Beast sacrificed itself, sending its mental power and knowledge of Spirit Replication into Huo Yuhao and forming an eighty-thousand-year black soul ring.
• Huo Yuhao completed the absorption and gained immense mental power, but the beast’s final gaze and the sacrifice troubled him.

After discovering that his new eighty-thousand-year soul ring was losing power, Huo Yuhao learned that the Snow Empress had awakened inside his pendant and absorbed some of the ring’s energy to recover. The ring stabilized at roughly twelve to fifteen thousand years, while Huo Yuhao prepared to study Spirit Replication and watched over the two ancient beings in his Spirit Sea.

• After Wang Yan advised Huo Yuhao to study upper-year battles and practice Spirit Replication, Huo Yuhao returned to his dormitory to stabilize his new soul ring.
• Huo Yuhao sensed that his second soul ring was rapidly losing energy and urgently called for Sky Dream Ice Silkworm’s help.
• The Snow Empress spoke through Huo Yuhao’s pendant and explained that the energy she absorbed from his ring had restored some of her awareness.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm learned that the Snow Empress’s earlier silence had been caused by her severe injuries, not disdain for him.
• The Snow Empress said the energy loss had stopped, and Huo Yuhao confirmed that his ring had stabilized at roughly twelve to fifteen thousand years.
• Huo Yuhao thanked the Snow Empress and resumed practicing Spirit Replication while monitoring the beings in his Spirit Sea.

Kraken persuaded the Ice Empress that the Snow Empress could recover and protect Huo Yuhao through a mutually beneficial guardian contract rather than becoming his soul spirit. They agreed to arrange a staged crisis with Xiao Bai to test Huo Yuhao’s character and clarify the Snow Empress’s independence, waiting until he left Shrek for a suitable task.

• Kraken recounted Huo Yuhao’s past, his hidden million-year soul ring, and the events that awakened the Snow Empress’s consciousness.
• Kraken proposed that the Snow Empress use the Pendant to protect Huo Yuhao, recover through his cultivation, and observe the human world while remaining independent.
• Kraken suggested that Xiao Bai be led to mistake Huo Yuhao for someone who had imprisoned the Snow Empress, provoking a crisis that would test Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress.
• The Ice Empress agreed to the plan after Kraken promised to guide Xiao Bai and prevent anyone from being killed.
• Kraken decided they would wait until Huo Yuhao had mastered his second soul ring and left Shrek City for a suitable opportunity.

Kraken brought Ice Empress to a cavern containing forty-five Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrows and offered some to help her grow stronger. Ice Empress withheld her decision until Kraken revealed his full plan for Snow Empress, Huo Yuhao, and the future.

• Kraken led Ice Empress through deep underground fissures to a vast cavern of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice.
• Ice Empress discovered forty-five Profound Ice Marrows and realized they could help her break through her cultivation bottleneck and aid Snow Empress’s recovery.
• Kraken explained that he had spent decades stabilizing the passage and studying how to safely extract and use the Profound Ice Marrows.
• Kraken offered Ice Empress a portion of the marrows to strengthen her and deepen their cooperation, while reserving the rest for his plans for Snow Empress.
• Ice Empress demanded to hear Kraken’s complete plan before deciding whether to accept the gift and cooperate.

The Kraken revealed that the Deep Sea commanded an army of three hundred thousand artificially cultivated Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, explaining why he considered the Extreme North too weak. He urged the Ice Empress to accept the Profound Ice Marrow and grow stronger, leaving her shaken by how vulnerable her homeland was.

• The Ice Empress angrily challenged the Kraken for calling the Extreme North weak and argued that the Demon Empress's cultivation was no greater than hers.
• The Kraken asked whether the Extreme North had an army of three hundred thousand Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, stunning the Ice Empress.
• The Kraken explained that Deep Sea farms and ancient species enabled it to cultivate vast numbers of powerful, obedient soul-beast soldiers.
• The Kraken said the army was only part of his available forces and that the Demon Empress's direct tribes were not included.
• The Kraken urged the Ice Empress to use the forty-five stalks of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow to strengthen herself and help the Extreme North survive the coming upheaval.
• The Ice Empress stared at the Profound Ice Marrow, newly aware of her homeland's weakness before the great powers.

The Ice Empress consumed the profound ice marrow and survived her five-hundred-thousand-year Lightning Tribulation, emerging stronger. When she challenged Kraken, he revealed that his Water Formless cultivation let him maintain four soul cores, crushing her confidence and leaving their power gap apparent.

• The Ice Empress absorbed the remaining profound ice marrow and began breaking through to five hundred thousand years, drawing down a Heavenly Tribulation.
• Kraken refused to shelter her, explaining that she had to withstand the Lightning Tribulation herself to become a true five-hundred-thousand-year Ferocious Beast.
• After three days of destruction, the Ice Empress survived the final bolt and emerged with a stable five-hundred-thousand-year cultivation.
• The Ice Empress challenged Kraken, but he said she would not be able to beat him after he survived his own Lightning Tribulation.
• Kraken explained that Water Formless let him divide and reorganize his origin, power, and soul cores, and revealed that he possessed four soul cores.
• The Ice Empress abandoned her challenge after realizing Kraken's four soul cores made his strength far beyond what she had assumed.

Kraken ordered the Ice Empress to find prolific breeders so he could strengthen the Far North through large-scale soul beast cultivation. The Ice Empress suggested Ice Silkworms, and Kraken explained how their numbers and adaptability could make them suitable for mass cultivation.

• Kraken told the Ice Empress to find soul beasts that bred prolifically, and she realized he intended to apply the deep sea's breeding methods in the Far North.
• The Ice Empress angrily refused to use Ice Jade Scorpions, her own species, as captive instruments of war.
• After considering other Far North species, the Ice Empress mockingly suggested Ice Silkworms, which were numerous but weak and short-lived.
• Kraken approved of the suggestion and described Ice Silkworms' adaptability, rapid reproduction, and potential for accelerated cultivation.
• The Ice Empress recognized that Kraken seriously intended to cultivate Ice Silkworms into batches of stronger soul beasts and asked if he was serious.

The Ice Empress chose to cultivate Ice Jade Scorpions rather than pursue the slower Ice Silkworm option, gambling on her clan’s future to strengthen the Far North. Several days later, she brought one hundred Ice Jade Scorpions to the Kraken, which began assessing them while she returned to manage the Far North.

• The Kraken warned the Ice Empress that cultivating Ice Silkworms would be slow and uncertain, while the Far North lacked time to wait.
• The Ice Empress decided to use her clansmen and agreed to share the remaining Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow with Xiaobai, A-Tai, and others.
• Several days later, the Ice Empress brought one hundred Ice Jade Scorpions to the Geomantic Vein Profound Marrow Ice Cave.
• The Kraken assessed the Ice Jade Scorpions and said they would undergo inspection, environmental adaptation, and energy immersion.
• The Ice Empress asked whether her clansmen would be harmed, and the Kraken promised to prioritize their safety while warning that the process would involve hardship and elimination.

Kraken tried to turn the Ice Jade Scorpions against the Ice Empress, but their leader dismissed his claim and explained that the Ice Empress had ordered them to undergo a transformation. Kraken moved on to examining the clan, while the leader asked what the transformation entailed.

• Kraken approached the one hundred Ice Jade Scorpions and asked if they could communicate.
• Kraken claimed that the Ice Empress no longer wanted them, provoking anger from the scorpions.
• The Leader Scorpion rebuked Kraken and explained that the Ice Empress had brought them to the secret realm and ordered them to accept the transformation.
• Kraken recognized the clan's loyalty and discipline, then announced that he would examine their bodies, bloodlines, spiritual power, elemental affinity, and potential.
• The Leader Scorpion agreed to cooperate but asked about the transformation's goal, and Kraken said it was meant to make them stronger.

Kraken led the Ice Jade Scorpions through the deep-sea passages to an enormous breeding and processing complex, where the captive sea soul beasts and industrial operations unsettled them. He introduced his powerful subordinates Shrimp Soldier and Crab General, who gave each scorpion a Devil Fish as a welcome gift before Kraken observed how the group absorbed the energy.

• Kraken guided the Ice Jade Scorpions through guarded pipes until they reached a vast underwater breeding and processing complex.
• The Ice Jade Scorpions reacted with discomfort to the captive soul beasts and machinery, while Kraken praised their discipline and endurance.
• Kraken introduced Shrimp Soldier, a two-hundred-thousand-year Diamond Crayfish, and Crab General, a two-hundred-thousand-year Giant Claw Crab, as managers of East District 73 Integrated Breeding Ground.
• At Kraken's instruction, Shrimp Soldier and Crab General provided one fifteen-thousand-year Devil Fish for each of the hundred Ice Jade Scorpions.
• The Leader Scorpion ate first, and the others followed, absorbing the fish's water- and darkness-attribute energy as Kraken monitored their reactions.

Kraken began a brutal pressure test to measure the Ice Jade Scorpions’ mental strength, will, soul-power control, and resilience. The scorpions held their tail hooks against a hundred descending Giant Claw Crab pincers as the force steadily increased.

• The Ice Jade Scorpions finished eating the ten-thousand-year Devil Fish and absorbed its energy efficiently.
• Kraken ordered Crab General to summon a hundred enormous Giant Claw Crab pincers over the testing platform.
• Kraken explained that the scorpions had to brace their tail hooks against the pincers and endure steadily increasing pressure.
• The Leader Scorpion rallied its kin to endure the test for Her Majesty and the Far North.
• The hundred pincers descended, and the scorpions resisted with their tail hooks as Kraken recorded their reactions and the force continued to rise.

Kraken's three-day pressure test pushed the hundred Ice Jade Scorpions to the brink, but they survived, recovered, and grew stronger. After feeding them fifty-thousand-year Devil Fish, Kraken began a more dangerous second phase with unpredictable force and interference.

• The hundredth Ice Jade Scorpion's tail-hook tip snapped, ending the test as all hundred Ice Jade Scorpions collapsed from exhaustion.
• Kraken questioned how the scorpions had endured far longer than his models predicted, then healed and replenished them with Energy Orbs.
• The Ice Jade Scorpions recovered and grew stronger after surviving the pressure test.
• Kraken ordered Shrimp Soldier and Crab General to deliver one fifty-thousand-year Devil Fish to each scorpion, and the scorpions devoured them.
• Kraken began phase two, sending down giant pincers with nonlinear force, high-frequency shock waves, and mental interference.

The Ice Empress received the hundred Ice Jade Scorpions Kraken had taken away two months earlier and found that all had returned safely as Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. After Kraken reported that the Snow Empress was stable and slowly recovering, the Ice Empress led her warriors back to the Ice Palace.

• Kraken sent one hundred Ice Jade Scorpions through a spatial ripple into the Ice Empress's valley, and she sensed that every one had reached the Hundred-Thousand-Year level.
• The Ice Empress questioned Kraken about the lack of losses, and he explained that the scorpions' exceptional talent had overcome the risks of their transformation.
• The Ice Empress welcomed the transformed warriors, who vowed to serve her and fight for the Extreme North.
• Kraken said the Extreme North had gained one hundred Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts and called their transformation mutual benefit.
• The Ice Empress asked about the Snow Empress, and Kraken said the Pendant was stable and showing signs of slow recovery.
• The Ice Empress ordered the warriors to form ranks and follow her back to the Ice Palace.

As the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament approached, Kraken chose the Death God Envoy as an agent to influence the coming events. Kraken erased the Evil Soul Master’s consciousness and took control of his body, then sent the new vessel toward the tournament.

• Kraken observed the continent’s preparations for the tournament and identified the Death God Envoy as a useful agent.
• Kraken overwhelmed the Death God Envoy with spiritual power, destroying his consciousness and memories.
• A fragment of Kraken entered the Death God Envoy’s body and took control of it.
• Kraken’s new vessel inspected the Death Scythe Martial Soul and set out for the tournament, intending to disrupt the unfolding events.

With twenty-five days remaining before the tournament, Shrek Academy intensified training for its powerful official team and promising reserve team, with Huo Yuhao assigned extra work to improve his Spirit Detection Sharing and Spirit Replication. Meanwhile, Kraken’s Death God Envoy headed toward Star Luo City and marked Shrek as prey.

• Dai Yueheng led the official team and reserve team through drills and announced a tougher training schedule for the tournament.
• Dai Yueheng ordered Huo Yuhao to complete two extra hours of daily simulated combat to expand his Spirit Replication library.
• Dai Yueheng told Wang Dong, Beibei, and Wu Feng to raise their combat abilities, while Ning Tian, Xiao Xiao, and Nanmen Yun'er focused on coordination.
• The teams resumed their more demanding training as they prepared to defend Shrek Academy's standing and future.
• Kraken's Death God Envoy walked toward Star Luo City and muttered that Shrek would make interesting prey.

The Death God Envoy ambushed Shrek’s team in a mountain tunnel, killing Yao Haoxuan and abducting Wang Dong. The team pursued him to a hidden fissure, where he vanished with Wang Dong into an underground abyss.

• Shrek’s team encountered refugees and then bandits in the tunnel, but Dai Yueheng drove the bandits aside with his Soul Emperor pressure.
• The disguised Death God Envoy revealed himself, drained the bandits’ life force, and detonated corpses in an attack on the team.
• Yao Haoxuan was overwhelmed by the death energy and killed, while Dai Yueheng and Ma Xiaotao attacked the Death God Envoy.
• The Death God Envoy seized Wang Dong and fled deeper into the tunnel as the team tried to intercept him.
• Huo Yuhao tracked the pursuers to a narrow fissure, but the Death God Envoy escaped through it with Wang Dong, leaving the team to find Yao Haoxuan dead and Wang Dong missing.

After Xuan Zi pursued the Death God Envoy into the underground crack, Dai Yueheng and the others tried to collect Yao Haoxuan’s remains. A hidden corpse explosion detonated, leaving the nearby Shrek team members gravely wounded.

• Xuan Zi arrived in a fury, learned that the Death God Envoy had abducted Wang Dong, and smashed through the closing fissure to pursue him.
• Dai Yueheng ordered Chen Zifeng, Ling Luochen, Gongyang Mo, and Xixi to guard the tunnel while Ma Xiaotao stayed with Huo Yuhao and the reserve team.
• Dai Yueheng prepared to place Yao Haoxuan’s remains in a jade box as the others gathered to help.
• A dark-green corpse explosion erupted from Yao Haoxuan’s remains and engulfed Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, Ling Luochen, Gongyang Mo, and Xixi.
• The explosion critically injured Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, Ling Luochen, and Gongyang Mo, while Xixi lost both legs below the knees.