Recaps

Long Zhanye asked Kong Deming why he used several Engraving Knives to carve a Level 9 Core Array, and Kong explained how the technique brought him close to creating Level 10 Soul Tools. He showed Long Zhanye and Ye Guyi five top-ranked knives he had used for decades, then began introducing them.

• Long Zhanye asked Kong Deming why he switched between multiple Engraving Knives while carving Level 9 Core Arrays.
• Kong Deming explained that engraving multiple Soul Power circulation methods and attributes into one Level 9 Core Array was a key step toward making a Level 10 Soul Tool.
• Kong Deming said no one knew how to engrave a true Level 10 Core Array, so he sought to make Level 9 arrays reach comparable strength.
• Kong Deming summoned five Ranked Engraving Knives, each among the top ten on the Engraving Knife Ranking, and said they could carry five attributes and circulation methods.
• Kong Deming revealed that he had forged the top eight knives on the ranking and began pointing out the crimson knife among his five finest.

Kong Deming showed Long Zhanye five of the highest-ranked engraving knives and explained their origins and powers. He then revealed that his sixth-ranked knife had been destroyed, his seventh had been given to the Sun Moon Imperial Family, and his eighth was the Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Blade.

• Kong Deming described the fifth-ranked Nine Phoenix Facing Sun Engraving Knife and its Phoenix Flame, which could strengthen a Soul Tool by more than thirty percent.
• Kong Deming explained that the Necrotic Evil Demon Blade contained the souls of ten thousand innocent people, then described how he made the Thunder Judgment Blade from a rock altered by a Lightning Tribulation.
• Kong Deming identified the Ice Extreme Divine Blade as the second-ranked engraving knife and revealed that his first-ranked Sun Moon Divine Blade came from a god's inheritance temple.
• Long Zhanye asked where the other three of Kong Deming's eight top-ten engraving knives were, and Kong Deming put away the five he had displayed.
• Kong Deming said the sixth-ranked knife had been destroyed in an experiment and the seventh had been given to the Sun Moon Imperial Family.
• Kong Deming showed Long Zhanye the eighth-ranked Azure Heaven Dragon Transformation Blade, whose blade bore a dragon pattern and carried wind-attribute power.

Kong Deming explained the histories and powers of several Ranked Engraving Knives, then examined Long Zhanye’s Dark Green Dragon Engraving Knife and discovered its fusion with the Crimson Blade had greatly improved its quality. He challenged Long Zhanye to surpass Jing Hongchen’s record for becoming a Level 9 Soul Engineer, promising him an engraving knife as a reward, and Long Zhanye left determined to study.

• Kong Deming described several powerful engraving knives and said Jing Hongchen owned the ninth-ranked Blade of the Other Shore Red Dust, which Kong had forged for him.
• Long Zhanye showed Kong his Dark Green Dragon Engraving Knife and revealed that it had devoured another engraving knife.
• Kong identified the absorbed weapon as the sixty-second-ranked Crimson Blade, which had chosen to assimilate with Long Zhanye’s knife and raised its quality to at least the forty-second rank.
• Kong recalled that Jing Hongchen had advanced from a Class 8 to a Level 9 Soul Engineer in seven years and offered Long Zhanye an engraving knife if he broke that record.
• Long Zhanye acknowledged the difficulty of reaching Level 9 and agreed to hurry off and study.

Jing Hongchen sought Long Zhanye’s help with Xiao Hongchen’s Soul Power solidification and offered him a chance to approach the Holy Spirit Cult in exchange. Long Zhanye accepted, hoping to find a True Dragon Pill, and was promised a place on Mingde Hall’s next monthly delivery.

• Jing Hongchen asked Long Zhanye whether he could resolve Xiao Hongchen’s Soul Power solidification, and Long Zhanye replied that he had some ideas but no proven method.
• Jing Hongchen said Mingde Hall did not possess a True Dragon Pill, but suspected the Holy Spirit Cult might have one because of its extensive soul-beast hunting.
• Long Zhanye offered to help Xiao Hongchen if Jing Hongchen introduced him to the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Jing Hongchen offered Long Zhanye the researcher’s spot on Mingde Hall’s next full-moon delivery to the Holy Spirit Cult, and Long Zhanye accepted.
• Jing Hongchen and Long Zhanye each believed the exchange served their own interests, with Jing focused on his grandson and Long Zhanye on finding the True Dragon Pill.

Long Zhanye’s Heavenly Eye showed him a veiled Evil Soul Master who looked like his missing mother, leaving him desperate to learn whether she had become part of the Holy Spirit Cult. On the night of the full moon, he prepared to deliver Soul Tools to the cult and uncover the truth.

• Long Zhanye repeatedly saw images of Holy Spirit Cult sacrifices and a veiled woman in visions from his Heavenly Eye.
• Long Zhanye recognized the woman’s face as nearly identical to his mother’s and wondered what had happened to his missing mother and baby brother.
• Long Zhanye blamed Shrek for his family’s fate and swore to make Shrek pay if it had caused his mother to become an Evil Soul Master.
• On the fifteenth day of the month, Long Zhanye prepared to attend the transaction between Mingde Hall and the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Jing Hongchen privately warned Long Zhanye to count the Soul Tools, avoid provoking the Evil Soul Masters, and conceal his strength before giving him a black robe and mask.

Long Zhanye reached a hidden Holy Spirit Cult camp to investigate after collecting unusual soul tools from Jing Hongchen. He found Elder Mask inside the lead tent and searched the camp for the woman from the Heavenly Eye image while assessing the danger around him.

• Long Zhanye stored the soul tools and suspected their sealed compartments were designed to hold extracted souls.
• Following Jing Hongchen's instructions, Long Zhanye flew to a secluded camp in the Evil Demon Forest under a blood moon.
• A black-clad Spirit King-level Evil Soul Master let Long Zhanye enter after he identified himself as Po Hongchen of Mingde Hall.
• Long Zhanye sensed more than four hundred Evil Soul Masters throughout the camp and heard women being abused in the tents.
• A guard said Elder Mask was occupied, and Long Zhanye recognized the powerful aura from the Ming Capital black market.
• Long Zhanye used his Double Pupil and Mental Power to search the camp for the woman from the image and any threats.

Long Zhanye delivered Soul Tools to Elder Mask and assessed the unstable Title Douluo as a potential target. He stirred Elder Mask’s desire by claiming to know women far more beautiful than the ones in his tent, then said they were noblewomen beyond his reach.

• A guard told Long Zhanye that Elder Mask was ready to receive him, and Long Zhanye entered to find three abused women and Elder Mask’s grotesque, unmasked face.
• Elder Mask asked to inspect the Soul Tools from Mingde Hall, and Long Zhanye displayed them for him.
• Long Zhanye sensed that Elder Mask’s rank-ninety-one Soul Power was unstable and considered exploiting his weakness and desperation for talent.
• Long Zhanye praised the women in the tent, then claimed he had seen beauties who surpassed them and made Elder Mask demand to meet them.
• Long Zhanye said the women were noble daughters from powerful families and that he had no way to approach them.

Long Zhanye bargained with Masked Douluo for a reward and accepted the Soul Manipulation Technique, hoping it might help him investigate the visions of soul extraction and find the woman in them. After leaving the Holy Spirit Cult camp, he decided that Shrek Academy students at the upcoming Spirit Master Elite Tournament would make suitable targets to trade for Masked Douluo’s favor.

• Long Zhanye persuaded Masked Douluo to promise generous rewards in exchange for finding him beautiful women, but rejected a seventh Soul Ring and a Spirit Bone.
• Masked Douluo offered to teach Long Zhanye the Soul Manipulation Technique, and Long Zhanye accepted because it might reveal the truth behind his visions.
• Long Zhanye left the camp while Masked Douluo turned his attention back to the women on the bed.
• Long Zhanye considered taking women from the Ordinary Alliance but decided Masked Douluo would likely find them too familiar.
• Long Zhanye resolved to target female Shrek Academy students at the upcoming Spirit Master Elite Tournament, believing the Sun Moon Empire would bear the blame.

Long Zhanye doubted Masked Douluo’s offer and decided to test his sincerity before acting against Shrek. He visited the Bright Jade Sect, surveyed its weak disciples, and fell asleep on a pavilion roof, where the sect’s elders eventually came to confront him.

• Long Zhanye suspected Masked Douluo might be deceiving him, so he planned to test the proposed deal before moving against Shrek.
• Long Zhanye flew to the Ming Capital to visit the Bright Jade Sect, where his dead fiancée had once been a disciple.
• Long Zhanye surveyed the sect from its tallest pavilion and found that most disciples were weak, with no seventh-rank soul engineers.
• Long Zhanye fell asleep on the pavilion roof until the gathered disciples’ shouting woke him.
• Three Bright Jade Sect elders, each with an aura above the Soul Saint level, emerged to confront Long Zhanye.

Long Zhanye confronted the Bright Jade Sect over Xiahou Ling’s death and challenged its members to prove they were not Evil Soul Masters. After the Vice Sect Master Gai Feng threatened him, the Bright Jade Sect Master arrived and faced him.

• A Bright Jade Sect elder called Long Zhanye a rat, and Long Zhanye reminded the crowd that the sect had proposed marriage to his village six years earlier.
• Two elders recognized Long Zhanye as the surviving Twin Martial Souls genius from Body Village, and the crowd reacted with surprise.
• Long Zhanye accused the sect of causing Xiahou Ling’s death and demanded to know whether it was a sect of Evil Soul Masters.
• Gai Feng revealed herself as the Vice Sect Master, activated her eight Soul Rings and bat wings, and threatened Long Zhanye.
• Long Zhanye asked Gai Feng her name, then saw the Bright Jade Sect Master arrive and recognized her from the engagement banquet six years earlier.

Long Zhanye fought Gai Feng of the Bright Jade Sect after she attacked him with her Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King Martial Soul. He avoided her sonic attacks and destroyed most of her bat swarm, but Gai Feng transformed into her Martial Soul Avatar and lunged at him.

• Long Zhanye provoked the Bright Jade Sect Master over the sect's past involvement, and Gai Feng attacked him with her Fourth Soul Skill, Supersonic Sonic Wave.
• Long Zhanye dodged Gai Feng's sonic attacks using his Supersonic Bionic Wings, while Gai Feng used Level 7 Thrusters to pursue him.
• Gai Feng unleashed her Fifth Soul Skill, Dance of the Demon Swarm, and sent a swarm of dark-gold bats after Long Zhanye.
• Long Zhanye used a Level 7 Thunder Giant Cannon to destroy the bats, draining Gai Feng's Soul Power and exposing her weakening form.
• Gai Feng revealed her Martial Soul Avatar, transforming into a giant three-headed bat and lunging at Long Zhanye.

Long Zhanye battled Gai Feng, Bright Jade Sect’s Soul Douluo Vice Sect Master, while concealing his true plan. After wearing down her Soul Power, he used a Puppet and a Weakening Ray to defeat her, leaving her helplessly falling from the sky.

• Gai Feng charged Long Zhanye, but his Killing Intent repelled her and forced her to spend Soul Power breaking through his attacks.
• Long Zhanye kept Gai Feng at a distance, using Killing Intent and soul tools to drain her strength while the Bright Jade Sect disciples watched in disbelief.
• Long Zhanye’s Puppet fought Gai Feng while his true body waited for her Soul Power to weaken.
• Long Zhanye struck Gai Feng with a Level 8 Weakening Ray, overwhelming her after she had spent most of her Soul Power.
• Gai Feng’s Martial Soul Avatar vanished, and she fell helplessly as the pavilion below fell silent.

Long Zhanye defeated Gai Feng and confronted the Bright Jade Sect with eight Sun Moon God Needles, forcing its sect master to let him take the Vice Sect Master away. He left with Gai Feng stored in his Storage Soul Tool while the sect's elders and master remained powerless to object.

• Long Zhanye and his clone struck Gai Feng from both sides, knocking the weakened Vice Sect Master to the ground.
• Long Zhanye lifted Gai Feng by the collar and demanded that the Bright Jade Sect answer for her lethal attack.
• Long Zhanye revealed eight Sun Moon God Needles, terrifying the Bright Jade Sect Master and its elders into silence.
• Long Zhanye placed Gai Feng in his Storage Soul Tool, and the Bright Jade Sect Master agreed that he could take her.
• Long Zhanye turned to leave the Bright Jade Sect.

Long Zhanye forced the Bright Jade Sect to reveal their Martial Souls and learned that Xiahou Ling’s Blood Red Bat King had supposedly mutated after she took a growth-accelerating medicine. Doubting the sect’s explanation, he left after warning the Bright Jade Sect Master that he would return.

• Long Zhanye ordered everyone in the Bright Jade Sect to release their Martial Souls and found that most had Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King or other dark-type Martial Souls, but none had Xiahou Ling’s Blood Red Bat King.
• Long Zhanye asked whether Xiahou Ling had relatives, and the Bright Jade Sect Master identified an elderly sect elder as her father.
• The Bright Jade Sect Master said Xiahou Ling’s Martial Soul had mutated after she took medicine to accelerate her Soul Power growth, while Long Zhanye suspected the sect might have caused the mutation deliberately.
• Long Zhanye considered using Masked Douluo’s soul-manipulation method to uncover the truth, then warned the Bright Jade Sect Master he would return and flew away.
• The Bright Jade Sect’s disciples and elders relaxed after Long Zhanye departed, and the Bright Jade Sect Master ordered them to disperse.

Long Zhanye returned to Masked Douluo with Gai Feng as the bargaining chip and learned the secret art of manipulating souls. Masked Douluo demonstrated the technique by pulling Gai Feng’s soul from her body.

• Long Zhanye flew back to Masked Douluo’s camp and presented the half-conscious Gai Feng.
• Masked Douluo eagerly inspected Gai Feng, then told Long Zhanye the method for manipulating souls.
• Long Zhanye asked Masked Douluo to demonstrate the secret art so he could verify its effects.
• Masked Douluo used an incantation and intertwined Soul Power and Mental Power to seize Gai Feng’s soul.
• Masked Douluo yanked a pale-blue, human-shaped soul out of Gai Feng’s crown.

Long Zhanye learned Masked Douluo’s soul-manipulation method and successfully extracted a wisp of Gai Feng’s soul. Back in his Mingde Hall dormitory, he released another wisp from his Sea of Consciousness and examined it.

• Long Zhanye stopped Masked Douluo from extracting Gai Feng’s soul and asked to try the method himself.
• Long Zhanye followed the incantation and used his Soul Power and Mental Power to draw a wisp of Gai Feng’s soul into his Sea of Consciousness.
• Long Zhanye told Masked Douluo he had taken the soul wisp to play with, while Masked Douluo claimed Gai Feng’s body for himself.
• Masked Douluo offered to teach Long Zhanye more secret arts in exchange for being sent more beautiful women, and Long Zhanye left without responding.
• Long Zhanye returned to his dormitory, checked for eavesdroppers, and released another wisp of Gai Feng’s soul from his Sea of Consciousness.

Long Zhanye forced Gai Feng's soul to explain Xiahou Ling's Martial Soul mutation and the Bright Jade Sect's reasons for arranging her engagement. He imprisoned Gai Feng in his Sea of Consciousness and was left wondering whether Xiahou Ling's death had been a conspiracy.

• Long Zhanye threatened Gai Feng's soul with Tang San's flames until she agreed to reveal what she knew.
• Gai Feng said medicine had transformed Xiahou Ling's Martial Soul, and explained that Xiahou Ling's mother was an Evil Soul Master.
• Gai Feng explained that the Bright Jade Sect arranged Xiahou Ling's engagement to send her somewhere powerful enough to protect her and to win support for the sect.
• Long Zhanye refused to release Gai Feng until he could verify her account and imprisoned her in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Long Zhanye wondered whether Xiahou Ling's death had been an accident or a carefully planned conspiracy.

As the Spirit Master Elite Tournament approached, the Sun Moon Empire prepared for its largest edition in nearly a thousand years, with sects returning and Soul Tools offered as prizes. In the imperial palace, Xu Tianran asked Ju Zi how the Emperor was doing.

• Long Zhanye spent the months before the tournament learning Soul Tool crafting from Kong Deming, studying secret techniques, and gathering information around Ming Capital.
• The Sun Moon Empire reinstated sect participation in the tournament, and 167 teams qualified under the age and cultivation requirements.
• The tournament offered a Level 9 Soul Tool to the champions, a Level 8 Soul Tool to the runners-up, and a Level 7 Soul Tool to the third-place team.
• Ju Zi pushed Xu Tianran through the imperial rear garden, where he asked her how the Father Emperor was doing.

Juzi briefed Xu Tianran on the emperor’s failing health, the military’s loyalties, and preparations for the tournament. Xu Tianran planned to deal with remaining opposition after taking the throne, while Juzi reaffirmed her resolve to stay by him and destroy the Star Luo Empire.

• Juzi told Xu Tianran that the emperor had suffered repeated comas and described how much of the army supported or opposed them.
• Xu Tianran said Juzi could eliminate stubborn military opponents after he ascended the throne.
• Xu Tianran promised to make Juzi empress, and Juzi said she wanted to remain with him and destroy the Star Luo Empire.
• Xu Tianran praised Juzi’s military performance and said she could become his marshal in a future war against the Star Luo Empire.
• Juzi reported that the tournament preparations were complete, including the venue, security, and arrangements for all 167 teams.

Xu Tianran discussed Shrek Academy’s return and its destruction of Mingde Hall with Juzi, then sent her to summon Zhongli. At Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, Long Zhanye learned that Shrek and the Tang Sect had entered separate teams and headed for Mingyue Hotel after questioning Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

• Xu Tianran asked whether Shrek Academy had arrived and warned Juzi that the academy would answer for destroying Mingde Hall.
• Xu Tianran told Juzi to invite Zhongli for an important discussion, and Juzi left while concealing her unease.
• Long Zhanye visited Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, who told him that Shrek and the Tang Sect were competing with separate teams.
• Xiao Hongchen revealed that Ghost Nana was a Tang Sect substitute and that Wang Qiu'er led Shrek’s team.
• Long Zhanye learned that the Tang Sect team was staying at Mingyue Hotel and said he would fight only if the Sun Moon team reached the finals.
• Long Zhanye left the academy and headed straight for Mingyue Hotel.

Long Zhanye abducted Ghost Nana from Ming Capital and brought her to Masked Douluo as a prospective target. Masked Douluo eagerly accepted her while Gai Feng lay badly injured in the tent.

• Long Zhanye watched Ghost Nana leave Mingyue Hotel and decided to abduct her, viewing her as a traitor to Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy.
• Long Zhanye struck Nana with a Weakening Ray, then used Chaos Qi to confuse nearby passersby and carry her away unnoticed.
• Long Zhanye returned to Masked Douluo's tent with the unconscious Nana and saw Gai Feng lying severely injured on the bed.
• Long Zhanye presented Nana to Masked Douluo, who eagerly praised her and groped her while holding her in his arms.

Masked Douluo taught Long Zhanye the Secret Spirit Bone Technique, then offered him a Holy Spirit Cult secret in exchange for five women. After Long Zhanye agreed, Masked Douluo revealed a technique that could increase Soul Ring age limits, though Long Zhanye questioned whether it was real.

• Masked Douluo explained how the Secret Spirit Bone Technique could produce a spirit bone by killing one hundred soul beasts within half an hour and stirring their Soul Rings.
• Long Zhanye considered whether he had the strength to meet the technique’s requirements while Masked Douluo groped Nana.
• Masked Douluo offered another secret technique in exchange for five women, and Long Zhanye agreed after hearing it was a high-level secret of the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Masked Douluo cleared the women from the tent and raised a barrier before revealing that the technique could increase Soul Ring age limits.
• Long Zhanye doubted the claim and asked to see Masked Douluo’s Soul Rings, so Masked Douluo revealed his nine rings and Demon Maggot Martial Soul.

Long Zhanye weighed the costly, uncertain secret technique for increasing Soul Ring ages after learning its limits from Masked Douluo. Medusa announced that Long Zhanye had completed the first three Trials of Sin and granted him a God-Bestowed Soul Ring, leaving him asking when he had passed them.

• Masked Douluo told Long Zhanye that the Soul Ring-enhancement technique had a success rate below two percent and had yielded only a few thousand years of total increases in his own attempts.
• Long Zhanye considered the technique’s dangers and poor returns as he walked through the night, weighing whether it was worth trying to strengthen his Soul Rings.
• Medusa announced that Long Zhanye had completed the First Three Trials of Sin and increased his God of Sin affinity by thirty percent.
• A silver-white God-Bestowed Soul Ring emerged from between Long Zhanye’s brows and entered his Sea of Consciousness.
• Long Zhanye asked Medusa when he had passed the first three trials, and she answered with sinister laughter.

Medusa explained that Long Zhanye had passed three God Trials and revealed that his fourth trial required improper relations with multiple women. Hoping to earn several God-Bestowed Soul Rings before breaking through rank seventy, Long Zhanye decided to suppress his cultivation and began designing a Soul Tool to restrict its growth.

• Medusa told Long Zhanye that bringing Ye Guyi into Mingde Hall under a false identity had completed his first trial, while his deal with Masked Douluo and his treatment of Ghost Nana completed the second and third.
• Medusa explained that completed trials could grant God-Bestowed Soul Rings at cultivation bottlenecks and revealed that Long Zhanye's fourth trial was Lust.
• Long Zhanye decided to remain at rank seventy and complete as many God Trials and other preparations as possible before obtaining his seventh soul ring.
• Long Zhanye conceived a Soul Tool that could suppress his Soul Power growth and returned to his Mingde Hall laboratory to begin designing it.

Long Zhanye tested his Seal Lock, which restricted his Soul Power to level sixty-nine so he could prepare for a later breakthrough. He went to Qingse Hotel to complete his fourth trial and left the chapter waiting for Shangguan Wei'er after demanding the hotel’s prettiest girls for the night.

• Long Zhanye tested the Seal Lock and found it sealed his dantian, limiting his usable Soul Power to level sixty-nine.
• Long Zhanye planned to keep his cultivation sealed while he completed his God Trials and prepared to break through to Soul Saint.
• Long Zhanye entered Qingse Hotel to complete his fourth trial and drank eight bowls of beer before going to the top-floor room.
• Long Zhanye offered a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and demanded that the server bring him the prettiest girls for the whole night.
• The server hurried to find Shangguan Wei'er, who was sitting in her office with a glass of red wine.