Chapter Summaries

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San discovers he's spent 340 Gold Soul Coins, leaving him with less than 60.
• He tries to bluff his way out, leaving his stolen Soul Guidance Storage Bracelet as collateral.
• The girl at Yichun Courtyard sees through his act but agrees to keep the bracelet.
• Tang San is escorted out by four girls, feeling a sense of loss.
• Yu Xiaogang is found unconscious and injured in the room.
• A girl from Yichun Courtyard is later caught using a counterfeit Gold Soul Coin, leading to her arrest.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Realizes the value of money and the consequences of his actions.
• Yu Xiaogang: Remains unconscious and injured, highlighting his vulnerability.
• The girl at Yichun Courtyard: Shows shrewdness in dealing with Tang San but is later caught with a counterfeit coin.

Significant Themes

• The value of money and the consequences of overspending.
• Deception and its consequences (Tang San's bluff and the girl's arrest).
• The double standards of society (the girl's fear of admitting her profession).

Character Interactions

• Tang San and the girl at Yichun Courtyard: They engage in a cat-and-mouse game, with the girl ultimately seeing through Tang San's bluff.
• The girl and her colleagues: They show camaraderie but also betray each other when faced with danger.
• Tang San and Yu Xiaogang: Their interaction is minimal, with Yu Xiaogang remaining unconscious throughout.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Heaven Dou City Guard captures Yu Xiaogang, mistaking his genuine Gold Soul Coins for counterfeits.
• Yu Xiaogang is imprisoned in Heaven Dou City's prison.
• Ye Lin receives 10,000 points for the plot alteration.

Character Developments

• Yu Xiaogang's situation worsens as he is now imprisoned.
• Ye Lin becomes more aware of her powers and the system's capabilities.

Significant Themes

• The severity of counterfeiting currency in the world.
• The consequences of one's actions and the ripple effects they can have.

Character Interactions

• The owner of Yichun Courtyard disassociates himself from Yu Xiaogang to avoid trouble.
• Ye Lin and the system communicate, with Ye Lin learning about Tang San's progress and Yu Xiaogang's predicament.

Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yu Xiaogang, Tang San's foster father, is severely tortured in prison for refusing to confess about counterfeit Gold Soul Coins.
• Tang San, unaware of Yu Xiaogang's situation, arrives in Heaven Dou City and spends a day visiting various academies.
• He decides to apply to Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the most prestigious academy in the city.

Character Developments

• Yu Xiaogang remains stubborn and refuses to confess, showing resilience under torture.
• Tang San demonstrates determination and persistence in his pursuit of education.

Significant Themes

• The harsh reality of the legal system and the power dynamics between the rich and the poor.
• The importance of education and the struggle to access it.

Character Interactions

• Yu Xiaogang and the prison guards: A power struggle where Yu Xiaogang refuses to confess despite severe torture.
• Tang San and Xue Beng (and his lackeys): A confrontation at the entrance of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, where Tang San is initially dismissed as a beggar but later threatens Xue Beng.

Key plot points and events

• Tang San is attacked outside Heaven Dou Royal Academy by Xue Beng and nine other students. Though he briefly restrains Xue Beng, the group overwhelms and badly injures him.
• Tang San unleashes his third soul skill, Blue Silver Suona. Its powerful sound knocks the attackers unconscious and also affects people inside the academy and students nearby.
• Liu Erlong hears the sound while returning with Blue Tyrant Academy students. She investigates, finds Tang San collapsed among the unconscious Heaven Dou students, and carries him away, believing he was bullied by them.
• Separately, Yu Xiaogang confesses to stealing more than nine thousand gold soul coins from Shrek Academy, claiming the coins were counterfeit. The city guards doubt his story and plan to investigate Tang San’s identity. They order Yu Xiaogang’s painful interrogation to continue.

Character developments

• Tang San is shown as resilient and capable of using a powerful area attack, but his injuries and the strain of his own skill leave him unconscious.
• Liu Erlong acts protectively toward an apparent victim, intervening without knowing what caused the fight or the sound.
• Yu Xiaogang gives a detailed confession about the theft but insists on an implausible explanation, leaving him increasingly powerless in custody.

Significant themes

• Mob violence and vulnerability: Tang San is outnumbered and brutally beaten before he can turn the fight around.
• Power’s collateral effects: Blue Silver Suona incapacitates not only the attackers but also bystanders and nearby students.
• Misjudgment and incomplete information: Liu Erlong assumes Tang San was the victim of bullying, while the guards dismiss Yu Xiaogang’s account before verifying it.
• Abuse of authority: The guards’ interrogation becomes deliberately cruel rather than simply investigative.

Character interactions

• Tang San fights Xue Beng and the other students, then incapacitates them with his soul skill.
• Liu Erlong discovers Tang San, treats his face, and takes him back to her group; she tells her colleagues only what she observed and orders everyone back to the academy.
• Yu Xiaogang argues with the guard captain about the stolen coins and Tang San, but the captain rejects his claims and orders his torture to continue.

Key plot points and events

• Tang San wakes after being rescued and treated at a rustic cottage near a small lake. His injuries have healed, and his clothes have been changed.
• He meets Liu Erlong, who learns that the Heaven Dou Royal Academy rejected him because he is a civilian. She invites him to join Blue Tyrant Academy, which has a strong record despite being smaller.
• Tang San reveals he is already a Soul Elder. Liu Erlong is impressed, and the two bond over martial-soul theory and knowledge associated with Yu Xiaogang.
• Meanwhile, Heaven Dou City guards search for Tang San but discover he has already left the city. They continue questioning Yu Xiaogang, who insists he simply sent Tang San to find an academy. The guards suspect a planned escape and send investigators toward Shrek Academy.
• At Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai completes a demanding training session and breaks through to level thirty-eight.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San is grateful for Liu Erlong’s help and eager to join her academy. He is immediately captivated by her, though neither openly discusses their growing feelings.
• Liu Erlong admires Tang San’s talent and feels he resembles Yu Xiaogang in character and inner qualities. Her long-standing longing for Yu Xiaogang begins to shift toward Tang San.
• Yu Xiaogang remains imprisoned and in pain, frustrated that the guards accuse him of arranging Tang San’s departure.
• The guards are driven by the prospect of recognition and promotion, leading them to pursue Tang San and investigate Shrek.
• Dai Mubai shows progress under Ye Lin’s intense training, reaching level thirty-eight.

Significant themes

• Prejudice and belonging: Blue Tyrant Academy’s welcome contrasts with the Royal Academy’s discrimination against civilians.
• Talent and mentorship: Tang San’s ability earns Liu Erlong’s respect and offers him a place to develop.
• Longing and emotional projection: Liu Erlong sees Yu Xiaogang in Tang San, while Tang San develops an attraction to her.
• Ambition and self-interest: The guards’ investigation is motivated partly by hopes of advancement and rewards.

Key plot points and events

• Dai Mubai has broken through, while Ye Lin is nearing level forty and expects to reach it within a month.
• Ye Lin gives the growing Golden Claw Bear a copy of the Beast God Art. The two train in ways that can benefit each other.
• Zhao Wuji explains that daily practice with gravity control has let him develop a small-scale Gravity Control Domain: he can halve gravity or raise it to four times normal. Flender tests it, then gets slammed to the ground when Zhao Wuji suddenly increases the force.
• Flender retaliates. Their sparring reveals that he has developed a Detection Domain based on the Cat Owl’s eyesight, allowing him to sense movement within twenty meters and anticipate Zhao Wuji’s attacks. The two call off the fight and take the students to the Soto Great Soul Arena.
• The Shrek team enters another match, aiming for a fifth consecutive victory. Ye Lin watches through a clone with half her strength, ready to intervene if necessary.
• Their opponents, the experienced Sword God Team, have also won four straight matches. The chapter ends as Ye Lin studies their varied swords and unusual formation.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin continues improving as a cultivator and tactician, training alongside the Golden Claw Bear and using her clone to test herself against stronger opponents.
• Zhao Wuji’s control of gravity has advanced into a domain-like ability, while Flender has developed a countering domain of his own.
• Their playful sparring turns briefly rough, prompting the students—especially the support fighters Oscar and Ning Rongrong—to retreat to safety. Zhao Wuji is unsettled by Flender’s ability to read his attacks.
• Flender and Zhao Wuji’s rivalry remains friendly, and they lead the group back to competition together.

Significant themes

• Mutual growth: Ye Lin and the bear’s training reinforces the idea that companions can strengthen one another.
• Practice and innovation: Both teachers turn familiar abilities into new, domain-like techniques through sustained training.
• Strategy and preparation: Ye Lin carefully manages risk with her clone, while the Sword God Team’s formation and weapons foreshadow a demanding tactical battle.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Before the match, Ye Lin assesses the Sword God Team: it has high Soul Power but weak soul-ring quality. The plan is to take advantage of its vulnerable support member.
• The Sword God Team’s fighters rush Ye Lin, expecting to neutralize Shrek’s strongest member. She uses a Flying Mushroom Sausage and Ning Rongrong’s strength and speed boosts to fly past them and eliminate the support Soul Master before she can assist her teammates.
• Two Sword God Team defenders attack Ye Lin. She activates her Third Soul Skill, Emperor’s Aura, and cuts through both of their giant-sword Martial Souls, severely injuring them and leaving them unable to fight effectively.
• Meanwhile, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun contain the remaining opponents. Shrek wins and earns its fifth consecutive victory.
• In Heaven Dou City, investigators looking into Yu Xiaogang’s counterfeit gold coins find no evidence linking the crime to Shrek Academy. Yu Xiaogang is sentenced to one month in prison, while Shrek’s members are relieved that the money came from the Great Soul Arena and that they knew nothing about the counterfeiting.
• The closing revelation is that Tang San and Liu Erlong have already held hands.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin demonstrates confidence, speed, and tactical precision, deliberately drawing the opposing team’s attackers away before striking its support member. Her overwhelming strength also becomes clear when she breaks the defenders’ weapons.
• Ning Rongrong supports Ye Lin with her amplification abilities, improving the effectiveness of her attack.
• Shrek’s fighters coordinate well: Xiao Wu restrains an opponent, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing intercept others, and Ma Hongjun supplies ranged damage.
• Flender and the Shrek students are startled by the investigation, but the younger members celebrate Yu Xiaogang’s trouble and voice their dislike of him. Flender insists that Shrek had no involvement.
• The Heaven Dou investigators pursue the case partly for career advancement, but find no supporting evidence at the academy.
• Tang San and Liu Erlong are revealed to have grown closer, with their hand-holding signaling a developing personal connection.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and tactical awareness: Shrek’s victory comes from coordinated roles, not Ye Lin’s power alone.
• Power and vulnerability: A weakly protected support fighter can become the decisive target, while Ye Lin’s strength lets her overwhelm opponents directly.
• Justice mixed with self-interest: The investigation is shaped partly by officials’ hopes for promotion, and Yu Xiaogang’s punishment comes despite the lack of evidence tying the counterfeiting to Shrek.
• Shifting relationships: The final reveal hints at a new emotional development between Tang San and Liu Erlong.

Key plot points and events

• During the nearly month-long period at Blue Tyrant Academy, Tang San and Liu Erlong grow close. On the twenty-ninth day, they officially become a couple.
• Liu Erlong encourages Tang San to make a name for himself in the upcoming Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament and lead the academy to victory.
• Tang San reassures her that he will introduce her to his adoptive father, while Liu Erlong worries that the age gap might make her unacceptable to him.
• Meanwhile, at the Soto Great Soul Arena, Manager Ao asks Flender to let the Shrek team compete in the Central Main Soul Fighting Arena despite not yet meeting its usual Silver-rank requirement. The arena has suffered heavy losses, and nobles have placed large bets on the team’s matches.
• Ao explains that Shrek’s unbeaten record, strong spirit-ring configurations, and the mysterious strength of the Master of the Immortal Sword have made the team a major draw. The chapter ends as the Shrek Eight Devils’ registration badge causes a staff member to react with surprise.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San and Liu Erlong: Their affectionate hand-holding and teasing develop into an acknowledged romantic relationship. Tang San’s promise to introduce Liu Erlong to his adoptive father reassures her, especially given her painful past with Yu Xiaogang.
• Flender and Manager Ao: Their familiar, businesslike conversation reveals the arena’s financial pressure and its interest in promoting Shrek’s next match.
• Yu Xiaogang: His conditions in prison have improved through outside connections, and he is expected to be released in two days.
• Shrek’s team: Their recent victories have raised their reputation despite their relatively low soul-power levels.

Significant themes

• Love and acceptance: Tang San’s public commitment contrasts with Liu Erlong’s earlier experience of being abandoned by Yu Xiaogang.
• Talent versus rank: Shrek’s record and ability challenge the arena’s formal ranking rules.
• Reputation and spectacle: The team’s success—and the uncertainty around the Master of the Immortal Sword—draws bettors and creates financial stakes for the arena.

Plot points and events

• The Soul Fighting Arena recruits the Shrek Eight Devils for a high-stakes match against the Imperial Fighting Team. Flender negotiates for a share of the betting proceeds, finally agreeing to a cut after Manager Ao resists.
• Flender and Zhao Wuji warn the Shrek students that their opponents are an exceptionally strong, well-balanced team. Their key threats include captain Yu Tianheng, a level-39 Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master; Dugu Yan, a level-38 poison specialist; and the healing power of a Nine Heart Begonia Soul Master.
• Qin Ming arrives with the Imperial Fighting Team and presents a dossier on Shrek. Its warning singles out the Master of the Immortal Sword: despite being only a suspected level 31, their combat ability is unknown and reportedly rises against powerful opponents.
• Dugu Yan laughs at the warning, dismissing the Master of the Immortal Sword as too weak to be a serious threat. Qin Ming cautions her not to underestimate any opponent and stresses that the Shrek team has earned its reputation.
• Before the match, Flender orders the Shrek students not to kill, cripple, or maim anyone. He also insists Dugu Yan administer an antidote immediately if her poison affects an opponent. Both teams prepare to enter the arena.

Character developments and interactions

• Flender uses the arena’s financial incentives to negotiate firmly, then shifts into a serious, protective coach, warning Shrek against overconfidence and setting strict limits on violence.
• Qin Ming is caught between his role as Imperial Fighting Team leader and his ties to Shrek Academy. He takes his opponents seriously and tries to keep his students from repeating Dugu Yan’s mistake of dismissing them.
• Dugu Yan is confident in her team and skeptical of the Master of the Immortal Sword’s reputation, but Qin Ming’s warning checks her briefly. He also emphasizes her responsibility to neutralize her poison after the fight.
• Yu Tianheng recognizes the threat posed by Shrek’s strongest fighters and is visibly shaken by the dossier’s account of the Master of the Immortal Sword.
• The Shrek Eight Devils are impressed by the Imperial team’s strength, but Dai Mubai acknowledges the pressure while Ye Lin counters with confidence that Shrek is also a top-tier team.

Significant themes

• Never underestimate an opponent: Qin Ming’s central warning contrasts with Dugu Yan’s dismissive attitude and foreshadows the danger of judging the Master of the Immortal Sword by apparent level alone.
• Strength beyond appearances: The mysterious fighter’s reputation suggests combat ability cannot be measured simply by soul-power level or known techniques.
• Competition and responsibility: The match promises a fierce contest, but Flender insists victory must not come at the cost of needless injury or death.

Key plot points and events

• Shrek and the Imperial Fighting Team enter the Soto Great Soul Arena for a group match. The Imperial side is led by Yu Tianheng, with Dugu Yan close beside him; Qin Ming’s presence surprises Shrek coaches Flender and Zhao Wuji.
• The teams reveal their formations. Shrek’s Ye Lin leads the attack alongside Dai Mubai, while Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing prepare to flank the opposing formation and reach its support soul master, Ye Lingling.
• Yu Tianheng opens with a powerful Thunder Dragon Claw aimed at Ye Lin. She meets it calmly with her Immortal Sword and splits the attack apart, stunning him.
• The Shi brothers form a defensive wall with their Black Tortoise shells. Dai Mubai’s claws cannot break through, but Ye Lin identifies their vulnerable legs and cuts them, forcing the pair to retreat in pain.
• With the match underway, both sides launch their attacks. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing rush around the Shi brothers toward the Imperial team’s rear, while Ye Lin and Dai Mubai press forward.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin remains strikingly composed, showing both the power and tactical precision to counter major attacks and bypass strong defenses rather than meet them head-on.
• Yu Tianheng enters with confidence and intense fighting spirit, but Ye Lin’s effortless-looking defense and swordsmanship unsettle him and sharpen his desire to test her.
• Dai Mubai recognizes the difference in strength between himself and Ye Lin, then praises her clever decision to target the Shi brothers’ weak point.
• The Shi brothers underestimate Ye Lin, but their confidence turns to pain and retreat after she defeats their defensive strategy.
• Flender and Zhao Wuji are surprised to see Qin Ming, linking the opposing team to Shrek’s past.

Significant themes

• Tactical intelligence over brute force: Ye Lin wins advantages by identifying weaknesses instead of attacking the strongest defense.
• Composure under pressure: Her calm contrasts with Yu Tianheng’s heated resolve and the crowd’s excitement.
• Team strategy: Shrek’s formation and coordinated flanking attacks show the importance of exploiting openings and targeting the enemy’s support.
• Confidence challenged: The early exchange unsettles the Imperial team, especially Yu Tianheng, before the battle has fully developed.

Plot points and events

• At Blue Tyrant Academy, Liu Erlong drinks with Tang San and secretly plans to take advantage of him. She has spiked the drinks with an old drug intended for Yu Xiaogang and taken an antidote herself.
• The expired drug still affects Tang San: he grows hot and uncomfortable, but then suddenly falls asleep. Liu Erlong is frustrated that her plan has failed and tries to wake him.
• At the Soto Great Soul Arena, Ye Lin’s team fights the Imperial Fighting Team. Ye Lin overwhelms Yu Tianheng with her sword, breaking through his dragon-arm defenses and badly wounding him—even after he uses his second and third soul skills. Ma Hongjun’s fire also proves effective against the Black Tortoise defense.
• Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu press toward Ye Lingling while Osler and Yu Feng try to protect her. Dugu Yan, enraged by Yu Tianheng’s injuries, unleashes a dense poisonous mist.
• Ye Lin considers possible counters to Dugu Yan’s poison, including borrowing Tang San’s approach, using a clone to attack her directly, or relying on the system.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Erlong reveals a manipulative, opportunistic side: she has planned to exploit Tang San, but her scheme is thwarted by his unexpected sleep.
• Tang San is inexperienced with alcohol and confused by the drug’s effects; he becomes feverish before passing out.
• Ye Lin remains composed and decisively outclasses Yu Tianheng, while adapting to the threat posed by Dugu Yan.
• Yu Tianheng fights at full strength but is badly injured, provoking Dugu Yan’s fury.
• Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu support Ye Lin’s team, while the Imperial Fighting Team’s members focus on protecting Ye Lingling.

Significant themes

• Power and tactical advantage: Ye Lin’s skill and strength neutralize Yu Tianheng’s powerful abilities.
• Deception and failed schemes: Liu Erlong’s secret plan backfires because the drug is expired and Tang San reacts unexpectedly.
• Escalation and teamwork: The arena fight intensifies as each side responds to injuries and new threats, especially Dugu Yan’s poison.

Plot and key events

• Ye Lin faces the Imperial Fighting Team and quickly identifies their healer, Ye Lingling, as the key target. Dugu Yan tries to stop her with poisonous mist, but Ye Lin’s Eight God Wings purify it.
• Ye Lin uses a kettle filled with realgar and strong liquor as an improvised weapon. Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai fire at it, triggering an explosion that burns away another cloud of poison.
• With Ning Rongrong’s speed boost and a flying mushroom sausage, Ye Lin dodges attacks from Yu Tianheng, Yu Feng, and Osler. She then reaches Ye Lingling and kicks her off the arena, removing the opposing team’s support.
• The Imperial team closes in around Ye Lin. She uses her Emperor’s Aura to suppress them, though they quickly recover and reason that her powerful skill cannot last long. Qin Ming urges them not to lose heart over a setback.
• The system rewards Ye Lin for changing events: first with the Nine-Color Medical Classic, then with God-tier Alchemy. Ye Lin is pleased by the rewards but notes that she still lacks a heavenly flame.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin shows tactical adaptability: she exploits the team’s dependence on its healer, relies on purification to counter poison, and improvises with an explosive attack. Her composure unsettles Dugu Yan, whose poison has failed twice.
• Dugu Yan shifts from confidence to panic, then calls for her teammates to press the attack. Yu Tianheng, Osler, and Yu Feng coordinate to protect Ye Lingling and surround Ye Lin.
• Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai respond instantly to Ye Lin’s cue, while Ning Rongrong supports her with a speed boost.
• Ye Lingling is caught off guard and knocked out of the fight. Yu Tianheng and the Shi Brothers are shown recovering from their wounds through healing petals.
• Zhao Wuji watches anxiously from the stands and questions whether a clone should be sent into danger.

Significant themes

• Resourcefulness over brute force: Ye Lin turns ordinary materials and her surroundings into effective counters.
• Tactical disruption: Taking out the healer threatens the whole team’s formation.
• Adaptation and confidence: Ye Lin learns from previous encounters, while Dugu Yan’s certainty crumbles when her signature poison proves ineffective.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Lin sends only a clone to fight the Imperial Fighting Team, while her true body continues cultivating near a breakthrough at level forty. Her clone is powerful enough to defeat Ye Lingling and destroy Osler’s clone, but she holds back because she is unsure which opponents are real.
• The Shi brothers launch their spinning-tortoise-shell attack, trapping Ye Lin’s clone. Ye Lin uses her second skill, Shadow of Black and White, to create a second-generation clone. Though this copy cannot attack, it draws the brothers’ attention and absorbs their assault, leaving them vulnerable.
• Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai exploit the opening, heavily injuring the Shi brothers. With Dugu Yan’s poison countered, Yu Tianheng still recovering, and the other fighters defeated or impaired, the Shrek Eight Devils win.
• The group collects its winnings, including fifty thousand gold soul coins for Flender. Afterward, Ye Lin proposes an exchange at Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Flender agrees to take the team there in two months, persuaded by Ye Lin’s argument that the academy’s name could eventually be changed.
• Yu Xiaogang is released from prison and goes looking for Tang San. His acquaintance Dacheng tells him that Tang San is attending Blue Tyrant Academy and has apparently found a girlfriend.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin’s calm confidence is reinforced: she handles a major match through a clone, carefully limits her strength, and keeps her true body focused on cultivation.
• Flender benefits from the victory and winnings, and Ye Lin helps him accept the move to Heaven Dou Royal Academy without losing face.
• The Shi brothers’ confidence in their defense proves misplaced once Ye Lin’s decoy draws out their attack and the others strike back.
• Yu Xiaogang is pleased to be free and eager to find Tang San, but privately looks down on Dacheng’s help even as Dacheng has clearly worked to secure his release and gather news.
• The Shrek team celebrates together; Ma Hongjun boasts about the win, and Dai Mubai quickly teases him back.

Significant themes

• Strategy over brute force: Ye Lin wins by using clones and creating an opening for her teammates rather than revealing her full strength.
• Teamwork: The victory depends on Ye Lin’s distraction and her teammates’ coordinated counterattack.
• Appearance versus reality: Ye Lin’s copies confuse the opponents, while Yu Xiaogang’s assumptions about his own importance contrast with Dacheng’s practical assistance.
• Change and ambition: The planned move to Heaven Dou Royal Academy hints at the group’s growing opportunities and future plans.

Plot points and events

• After being rescued and helped by Dacheng, Yu Xiaogang argues with him over whether Dacheng is now distancing himself. Dacheng reminds him that his reckless conduct nearly cost him his life and that he spent most of his Yichun Courtyard getting him out of trouble. They declare themselves even, but Dacheng still agrees to ask others to treat Xiaogang leniently at Blue Tyrant Academy.
• Xiaogang reaches the academy and asks to see Tang San. The receptionist welcomes him warmly and provides tea and a comfortable seat while Tang San is summoned.
• Tang San tells Liu Erlong that his adoptive father has arrived and plans to introduce her. Erlong is excited but nervous about meeting him, worries about the age difference, and repeatedly touches up her appearance.
• Tang San reassures her, praises her, and tells her that Xiaogang will like her. He takes her by the hand and leads her to meet Xiaogang.

Character developments

• Dacheng remains loyal to Xiaogang but sets a firm boundary: he will help him, yet expects him to show restraint and recognize the cost of that help.
• Yu Xiaogang is pleased by the respectful treatment he receives, though he reacts defensively when Dacheng challenges him.
• Tang San is openly affectionate toward Erlong and eager to gain his adoptive father’s approval of their relationship.
• Liu Erlong reveals an unusually vulnerable, self-conscious side. Despite her confidence and high status, she is anxious about how Xiaogang will judge her.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and obligation: Dacheng helps Xiaogang because of their history, while insisting that loyalty cannot mean unlimited rescue.
• Family approval and belonging: Tang San’s introduction of Erlong makes Xiaogang’s acceptance feel important to their relationship.
• Age and insecurity: Erlong’s concern about appearing too old contrasts with Tang San’s insistence that she is beautiful and that their lives as soul masters differ from ordinary families.

Character interactions

• Dacheng confronts Xiaogang about his recklessness, and Xiaogang bristles before they settle their debt.
• Academy staff show Xiaogang deference, reinforcing his sense of status.
• Tang San comforts Erlong, praises her, and leads her toward Xiaogang, while Erlong nervously prepares for the meeting.

Key plot points and events

• Yu Xiaogang waits in an expensive Heaven Dou City coffee shop for his adopted son, Tang San, expecting to meet Tang San’s older girlfriend.
• Tang San arrives holding hands with Liu Erlong. Yu Xiaogang and Erlong recognize each other immediately: she is Yu Xiaogang’s former lover.
• Their reunion leaves all three stunned. Tang San realizes his girlfriend used to be his adopted father’s partner, while Yu Xiaogang struggles to accept that Tang San is now with the woman he once loved.
• Erlong explains their past: she, Yu Xiaogang, and Flender formed the “Golden Iron Triangle” and could perform a Trinity Martial Soul Fusion Skill. She and Yu Xiaogang planned to marry, but discovered they were paternal cousins, so Yu Xiaogang ran away.
• Erlong says she has since let go of Yu Xiaogang and chosen Tang San. She leaves with Tang San, while Yu Xiaogang calls after them—only to be stopped by the café clerk, who demands payment for his coffee.

Character developments

• Yu Xiaogang shifts from complacent anticipation to shock, jealousy, and reluctant acceptance. Despite telling the couple to be happy, he is still emotionally affected by Erlong and tries to follow her.
• Liu Erlong reveals lingering hurt and complicated feelings, but ultimately affirms that she has moved on and intends to be with Tang San.
• Tang San begins confident and pleased to introduce Erlong, then becomes increasingly bewildered and awkward as he learns about her history with his adopted father.

Significant themes

• Love entangled with family and history: Tang San’s romance is complicated by Erlong’s past relationship with his adopted father and their shared connections to Flender.
• Letting go versus lingering attachment: Erlong claims to have moved on, while Yu Xiaogang’s reaction suggests unresolved feelings.
• Awkward irony: The emotional confrontation ends with the mundane—and comic—problem of Yu Xiaogang’s unpaid coffee bill.

Character interactions

• Tang San introduces Yu Xiaogang and Erlong, forcing them to confront their past.
• Yu Xiaogang tries to act supportive, but his comments and reactions make the meeting more uncomfortable.
• Erlong recounts the history to Tang San, then leaves with him; Yu Xiaogang follows until the clerk stops him.

Key plot points and events

• Yu Xiaogang realizes he has no money to pay for coffee. The café manager lets him leave with the drink, then plans to publicize the incident as charitable publicity—presenting Yu as a thirsty, one-armed scavenger.
• Yu returns to Blue Tyrant Academy, still unable to find Tang San or Liu Erlong. He decides to enter the academy as a teacher, using connections arranged by Dacheng, so he can wait for them there.
• At Shrek Academy, Ye Lin breaks through to rank 40 just before her thirteenth birthday, setting another age-related record. The next day, the group sets off for Star Dou Forest to find her fourth spirit ring.
• The expedition moves quickly without Yu Xiaogang and Tang San. With Golden Claw Bear’s help, they locate a roughly five-thousand-year Gold-Swallowing Mouse.
• Lu Qibin traps the beast with his control skill. Golden Claw Bear defeats it, and Ye Lin begins absorbing its deep-purple spirit ring.
• Flender discovers a large gold ingot inside the mouse, worth at least 100,000 gold soul coins. Though the group is excited by its value, Flender refuses to sell it.

Character developments and interactions

• Yu Xiaogang is reduced to relying on others’ connections and a humiliating public image; he remains determined to find Tang San and Liu Erlong.
• Ye Lin demonstrates remarkable growth by reaching rank 40 at nearly thirteen and takes the next step toward becoming a spirit ancestor.
• Golden Claw Bear shows both intelligence and strength: it understands the group, helps locate the beast, and eagerly joins the fight.
• Lu Qibin displays confidence in his control abilities, successfully containing the Gold-Swallowing Mouse.
• Flender combines practical knowledge with a possessive streak about valuable finds, scolding Ma Hongjun for immediately wanting to sell the ingot.

Significant themes

• Rapid growth and achievement: Ye Lin’s breakthrough highlights her exceptional talent.
• Teamwork and complementary strengths: Golden Claw Bear locates the beast, Lu Qibin restrains it, and Ye Lin claims the ring.
• Money and value: The café turns Yu’s embarrassment into publicity, while the ingot sparks debate over wealth and whether valuable natural treasures should be sold.
• Changing fortunes: Shrek’s expedition is efficient and rewarding without Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, contrasting with Yu’s increasingly precarious situation.

Plot points and events

• Flender explains that the Gold Ingot can be absorbed by soul masters to greatly boost their attack and defense. He suggests dividing it among the group once Ye Lin finishes absorbing her spirit ring.
• Ye Lin secretly uses her system to alter her new ring: a 5,380-year Gold-Swallowing Mouse ring becomes a 37,900-year Heaven-Swallowing Dragon ring. The system will not let her raise its age beyond 30,000 years.
• The absorption briefly releases a powerful aura. Flender recognizes it and becomes certain that Ye Lin’s spirit rings conceal something unusual.
• Ye Lin alters the system’s description so it says the group did not notice anything suspicious. Their attention shifts to a supposedly nearby powerful soul beast, and Flender orders everyone to leave.
• The group escapes the Star Dou Forest and returns safely to Shrek Academy.
• Flender proposes distributing the Gold Ingot among the fighters, initially leaving out support specialists Oscar and Ning Rongrong. Ye Lin offers to share her portion with them, then cuts off only a small piece for herself and leaves.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin remains determined to hide her system. She cleverly redirects suspicion and appears generous by giving up most of her share, while knowing that even a small piece is enough for her purposes.
• Flender becomes increasingly suspicious of Ye Lin’s extraordinary spirit rings, but chooses not to confront her, respecting that she may have private secrets. He prioritizes the group’s safety and later makes a practical proposal for dividing the Gold Ingot.
• Oscar and Ning Rongrong accept that the Gold Ingot would benefit the combat-focused students more. Ye Lin’s offer ensures they receive a small share.
• The group follows Flender’s orders during the retreat and accepts his proposed distribution without argument.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and trust: Ye Lin protects her hidden system, while Flender suspects her secret but refrains from pressing her.
• Practicality and fairness: The Gold Ingot is allocated according to who can use it most effectively, with Ye Lin making room for the support students.
• Power and risk: Ye Lin’s unusually strong ring aura nearly exposes her, and the group’s escape underscores the dangers of the Star Dou Forest.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Lin absorbs a small piece of Gold Ingot. When the process proves painful, she uses her system to remove the pain without stopping the benefits. The material soon stops helping, so she gives the remaining Gold Ingots to Xiao Wu, who discovers that absorption is extremely painful.
• Ye Lin asks Flender for an empty room and begins experimenting with God-tier Alchemy. She buys a Nine-Mouth Cauldron and a god-tier projection of the Fallen Heart Flame, which also accelerates her Soul Power circulation.
• She successfully makes a rank-four Shengzong Pill and spends the next month and a half producing many kinds of pills. Her cultivation continues to advance, reaching rank 44.
• On emerging, Ye Lin prepares for a meeting with Heaven Dou Royal Academy. She distributes pills to the Shrek students, giving different amounts to different people, along with identical jade bottles of black pellets.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin shows her usual confidence and resourcefulness: she uses the system to make painful cultivation painless, redirects the Gold Ingots to Xiao Wu, and turns alchemy into a prolonged experiment.
• Xiao Wu is surprised that Ye Lin has absorbed Gold Ingot before and accepts Ye Lin’s remaining share—only to find the process far more painful than expected.
• Flender and Ma Hongjun speculate that Ye Lin took only a small portion because she prefers self-reliance. Later, Flender notices the medicinal fragrance coming from her room.
• The students’ cultivation improves during Ye Lin’s alchemy work. Ning Rongrong reports reaching rank 29, Ma Hongjun has also advanced, and several others have made breakthroughs; Oscar jokes that he has only recently leveled up.
• Xiao Wu compliments Ye Lin’s appearance, while Ning Rongrong asks what she has been doing in seclusion. Ye Lin gives only a vague explanation before handing out the pills.

Significant themes

• Effort versus shortcuts: Ye Lin uses powerful external aids, but her choices also suggest she values personal effort and practical experimentation.
• Power and its costs: Cultivation and advancement involve pain, limited resources, and diminishing returns; Ye Lin can bypass pain, but Xiao Wu still experiences it.
• Knowledge shared through action: Ye Lin’s alchemy benefits the wider group, whose cultivation improves even before they receive their own pills.
• Resourcefulness and ambition: Ye Lin spends system points and a month and a half experimenting to expand her abilities and prepare for what comes next.

Plot and key events

• Ye Lin explains the pills she has brought: several types can raise Soul Power by one rank for cultivators at particular levels, while others heal, counter poison, restore Soul Power, or speed cultivation.
• The group is astonished by their value. Ye Lin recommends that Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong—who are close to breakthroughs—take the rank-raising pills. Xiao Wu and Oscar should wait until they are closer to level thirty-nine.
• After Ye Lin persuades everyone to buy fine clothes, the Shrek group leaves for Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Flender has finished settling Shrek’s affairs, including selling the academy and transferring his shop. They travel by hired carriages so the others can cultivate and refine pills on the way.
• A few days later, they arrive near Heaven Dou City and then reach the academy before sunset. The mountain, forest, and lake within the academy’s grounds impress the group, who are pleased at the prospect of living there.
• At the academy entrance, Xue Beng and his followers block their path. After looking over the well-dressed newcomers, Xue Beng is captivated by Ye Lin and makes a show of welcoming her inside.

Character developments and interactions

• Ye Lin acts as the group’s benefactor and guide, sharing valuable pills and advising each person on when to use them. Her blunt, playful authority is clear when she kicks Ma Hongjun away and threatens to make him “one of the girls” if he says something foolish.
• The Shrek group show increasing trust and gratitude toward Ye Lin. Zhu Zhuqing worries that making the pills may have cost Ye Lin time and cultivation, and promises to do whatever Ye Lin asks if the pills help her overcome her obstacle. Dai Mubai and others eagerly accept the opportunity to improve.
• Flender is practical and money-conscious, initially preferring to walk, but changes his mind once he sees the benefit of travelling by carriage while the group cultivates.
• Ma Hongjun is comically overenthusiastic about the pills, then quickly backs off when Ye Lin threatens him.
• Xue Beng shifts into flirtatious, ingratiating behavior after noticing Ye Lin’s beauty. His greeting contrasts with his group’s earlier attempt to stop the newcomers.

Significant themes

• Power and opportunity: The pills promise rapid advancement, making them objects of awe and highlighting how valuable cultivation resources are.
• Loyalty and gratitude: The group’s thanks and Zhu Zhuqing’s promise show the bonds forming around Ye Lin’s generosity.
• Ambition and self-interest: The brief discussion of the empire’s political limits points to how personal interests and rival powers obstruct central control.
• New beginnings: The move from Shrek to Heaven Dou Royal Academy marks a major transition, framed by the group’s hopeful reaction to their new surroundings.

Key plot points and events

• Flender’s Shrek delegation visits Heaven Dou Royal Academy, where Xue Beng guides them through the grounds and shows particular interest in Ye Lin.
• Teacher Sun Buyu arrives, learns the visitors are from Shrek and connected to Qin Ming, and welcomes them respectfully.
• Sun describes the academy: it has more than 500 mostly noble students and over 50 teachers, but its students are generally weak despite the institution’s prestige.
• The group tours the mountain campus, admires its setting and facilities, and is shown to a reception room while Sun fetches Qin Ming.
• Qin Ming greets his former teachers and prepares Shrek’s own spacious courtyard. He arranges a lavish meal and says the academy will hold a formal welcome banquet the next day.
• After the long journey, the visitors are allowed to rest for the night.
• The chapter closes with a shift to Blue Tyrant Academy: although Tang San and Liu Erlong are secretly together, Liu Erlong has developed feelings for Yu Xiaogang again after seeing him.

Character developments and interactions

• Xue Beng acts as a host but is chiefly distracted by Ye Lin; he plans to find out her name so he can approach her.
• Sun Buyu is initially impressed by Xue Beng’s conduct, then becomes deferential toward the Shrek visitors because of their connection to Qin Ming.
• Flender and the Shrek teachers are pleased with the academy’s surroundings and Qin Ming’s hospitality, while recognizing that appearances may not reflect the students’ quality.
• Qin Ming demonstrates his organizational ability and affection for his former teachers through his careful arrangements.
• Liu Erlong’s renewed attraction to Yu Xiaogang creates tension with her existing, still-hidden relationship with Tang San.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus substance: Heaven Dou Royal Academy looks grand and well-resourced, but its noble students are portrayed as lacking ability.
• Hospitality and loyalty: Qin Ming’s generous reception reflects gratitude and attachment to his former teachers.
• Romantic complications: Xue Beng’s interest in Ye Lin and Liu Erlong’s renewed feelings for Yu Xiaogang foreshadow interpersonal conflict.