Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Su Chen persuades Bai Xiuxiu to visit the human world, promising to protect her and bring her back if she dislikes it. Curious but wary, she agrees.
• Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi bicker over whether demon whales are villains. Su Chen challenges Xiuxiu to judge for herself and orders both women not to fight once they enter human society.
• Su Chen photographs them with his Camera, gaining two rewards: Turbo Boost, which compresses power for stronger bursts, and the Ice God’s Heart, which can eventually grant its bearer the Ice God’s divine position. He plans to give the latter to Xiuxiu.
• He explains that the photos will help create human identities, hides both women’s Soul Beast auras, and uses spatial power to take them away.

Character developments

• Bai Xiuxiu moves from fear and hesitation to eager curiosity about the human world. Her childishness and trust in Su Chen remain evident.
• Lan Fuzi is more worldly and reserved, but still prickly toward Xiuxiu. She accepts Su Chen’s rules rather than escalating their argument.
• Su Chen acts as their guide and protector, using reassurance and practical precautions to bring them safely into human society.

Significant themes

• Curiosity versus fear: Xiuxiu’s desire to see the human world overcomes her anxiety about its dangers.
• Prejudice and independent judgment: Su Chen encourages Xiuxiu to question what her mother has told her about demon whales.
• Trust and protection: The women rely on Su Chen, while he warns them that their safety depends on concealing their nature and avoiding conflict.

Character interactions

• Su Chen patiently coaxes Xiuxiu into agreeing to travel, then mediates her hostile exchange with Lan Fuzi.
• Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi trade accusations and pouts, revealing their rivalry and contrasting personalities.
• Xiuxiu reacts with delighted curiosity to Su Chen’s Camera and praises his thoughtfulness, while Lan Fuzi watches with quieter skepticism.

Key plot points and events

• Su Chen arranges jobs and a small courtyard for Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi, then teaches them basic skills for living among humans. Lan Fuzi adapts quickly, while curious Bai Xiuxiu is fascinated by nearly everything; both are especially enthusiastic about food.
• After returning to Shrek Academy, Su Chen learns that Yun Ming is away with the Coalition Army hunting Evil Soul Masters. Ya Li has stayed behind after exhausting herself healing the Blood God Legion.
• Hoping to grow closer to Ya Li while Yun Ming is absent, Su Chen visits Sea God Island after Na’er invites him.
• Na’er greets Su Chen affectionately, and the two kiss. Ya Li unexpectedly sees them and challenges Na’er’s claim that they are merely friends.
• Na’er reveals that Su Chen is the childhood “brother” she has long spoken of—and that he has been her boyfriend for a long time.
• Ya Li is surprised but understands why Na’er’s feelings developed so quickly. She thanks Su Chen for saving the Blood God Legion’s fallen soldiers, offers him her help, and invites him to stay for a meal.

Character developments

• Su Chen settles Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi into human life, while privately looking for an opportunity to deepen Ya Li’s affection for him.
• Na’er openly shows how deeply she cares for Su Chen, then chooses to be honest with Ya Li about their history and relationship.
• Ya Li shifts from wariness toward Su Chen to sincere gratitude and warmth after learning who he is and recognizing his role in saving the legion.

Significant themes

• Belonging and adaptation: Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi begin adjusting to human society, with Su Chen guiding them.
• Longstanding affection and trust: Na’er’s childhood bond with Su Chen explains her enduring feelings.
• Recognition and humility: Ya Li’s view of Su Chen changes as she acknowledges his heroic actions and her earlier underestimation of him.
• Duty and compassion: Su Chen frames saving the soldiers as a natural response to their service protecting humanity.

Character interactions

• Su Chen patiently teaches Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi practical skills and gives them freedom while keeping an eye out for their safety.
• Na’er and Su Chen reunite with clear romantic affection, but Ya Li’s arrival makes Na’er’s feelings and their shared history explicit.
• Ya Li thanks Su Chen respectfully, reassures Na’er, and welcomes Su Chen into her home—setting a warmer tone for their relationship.

Summary

• Su Chen and Na’er visit Ya Li, who has prepared an elaborate meal. Na’er fusses over Su Chen and feeds him, while Ya Li notices their affectionate behavior—and Su Chen’s interest in women’s feet and stockings—with amused understanding.
• During dinner, Ya Li playfully asks whose cooking is better: hers or Su Chen’s teacher Leng Yaozhu’s. Su Chen diplomatically says they are about equal, avoiding a potentially awkward rivalry.
• After the meal, Ya Li asks Na’er to leave so she can speak privately with Su Chen about his relationship with her.
• Ya Li says she accepts that Na’er and Su Chen are together, since Na’er loves him, but asks whether he can truly make her happy. Su Chen answers confidently that he can.
• Ya Li then raises a practical concern: Su Chen has several other girlfriends, and she wants to know how he will prevent jealousy or conflict and whose side he would take if Na’er disagreed with them. The chapter ends before he responds.

Character developments and interactions

• Ya Li is warm and playful during the meal, but becomes a protective, serious guardian when discussing Na’er’s future. She treats Su Chen like a prospective son-in-law and tests his commitment.
• Su Chen is affectionate with Na’er and tactful around Ya Li, both in avoiding the cooking comparison and in responding confidently to her concerns.
• Na’er shows trust in both of them: she openly cares for Su Chen and leaves without protest when Ya Li requests a private conversation.

Significant themes

• Love and responsibility: Ya Li sees affection as insufficient on its own; Su Chen must also protect Na’er’s happiness.
• Jealousy and relationships: The presence of Su Chen’s other girlfriends raises questions about fairness, loyalty, and managing conflict.
• Protective family bonds: Ya Li’s approval comes with a guardian’s scrutiny, reflecting her concern for Na’er’s well-being.

Key plot points

• Ya Li questions Su Chen about his many relationships, worried Na’er could be hurt if he makes poor choices. Su Chen admits he cannot predict the future but firmly promises never to let Na’er suffer.
• Reassured by his sincerity—and by her trust in Su Chen’s teacher, Leng Yaozhu—Ya Li accepts him and playfully persuades him to stay.
• After saying that cooking has left her tired, Ya Li asks Su Chen to massage her feet. Though surprised, he agrees and reveals an unusually practiced technique, explaining that he learned by massaging Na’er.
• Ya Li relaxes, teases him about being a womanizer, and eventually falls asleep on the sofa. Su Chen covers her with a blanket and leaves without disturbing her.

Character developments

• Su Chen presents himself as sincere and protective toward Na’er. He also shows consideration for Ya Li, keeping his behavior respectful even when she falls asleep.
• Ya Li moves from cautious scrutiny to greater warmth and trust. She admires Su Chen’s qualities but remains mildly disapproving of his womanizing.
• The chapter notes that Ya Li’s affection for Su Chen has risen to 50, though Su Chen has no immediate romantic intentions toward her.

Significant themes

• Trust and responsibility: Ya Li’s main concern is whether Su Chen will treat Na’er well.
• Boundaries and restraint: Their playful closeness is balanced by Su Chen’s respectful conduct.
• Affection developing through care: Ya Li’s growing fondness comes from Su Chen’s sincerity, skill, and considerate actions.

Character interactions

• Ya Li tests Su Chen’s intentions regarding Na’er; he answers with a solemn promise.
• Ya Li shifts from formal questioning to teasing familiarity, while Su Chen responds modestly and obediently.
• Su Chen’s mention of massaging Na’er reassures Ya Li that Na’er is cherished, and Ya Li’s relaxed trust culminates in her falling asleep beside him.

Key plot points and events

• Su Chen visits Na’er after speaking with Ya Li, who approves of their relationship and tells him to treat Na’er well.
• In Na’er’s room, Su Chen tries to become intimate with her. Na’er stops him because Ya Li is still nearby and might hear them. They settle for a less intimate, affectionate activity instead.
• Worried that Su Chen may pressure Na’er into going too far, Ya Li secretly uses her spiritual power to listen in. She hears their teasing and concludes that Su Chen has already led Na’er into behavior she considers improper, though nothing more serious is happening.
• Ya Li resolves to caution Na’er later without revealing that she eavesdropped.
• A sudden, unusually gentle surge of heaven-and-earth energy gathers around Na’er’s residence. Ya Li recognizes that it is not a typical breakthrough and becomes baffled by what the pair might be doing.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Chen is confident and teasing, eager to be close to Na’er, but accepts her boundary when she says the timing is uncomfortable.
• Na’er shows affection and trust toward Su Chen, while also asserting that she does not want their private moments overheard.
• Ya Li acts protectively toward Na’er, but her concern leads her to violate the couple’s privacy. Her embarrassment contrasts with her self-justifying sense of responsibility.
• Su Chen and Na’er’s playful intimacy—and Ya Li’s secret surveillance—drive the chapter’s comic tension.

Significant themes

• Privacy and boundaries: Na’er is clear about what she is comfortable doing while Ya Li is nearby.
• Protectiveness versus intrusion: Ya Li’s concern for Na’er leads her to spy, even as she recognizes the impropriety.
• Romance and embarrassment: The couple’s teasing and Ya Li’s awkward eavesdropping create much of the humor.
• Mystery and cultivation: The unexplained energy gathering hints at an unusual development beyond ordinary cultivation.

Chapter summary

• Su Chen and Na’er spend the afternoon practicing a secret cultivation art together. Their close physical contact helps them absorb natural energy and cultivate far faster than usual. Su Chen deliberately lets Ya Li notice the energy fluctuations, hoping to reassure her that his relationship with Na’er supports rather than hinders Na’er’s growth.
• Ya Li considers using her spiritual power to investigate, but decides that would violate their privacy. Later, she asks them about the unusual cultivation activity. Su Chen gives her a fabricated explanation: the ancient art works only when the practitioners’ Martial Souls are highly compatible, and he claims Leng Yaozhu has verified that it is not an Evil Soul Master technique.
• After a long session, Su Chen and Na’er stop when they smell Ya Li’s cooking. Na’er is delighted by both the unusually effective cultivation and the meal, and openly tells Su Chen that having him beside her makes her happiest.
• At dinner, Ya Li privately confronts Su Chen. She admits she heard what happened because the room was not soundproof and warns him not to bully or lead Na’er astray. She also urges moderation. Su Chen plays innocent, and Na’er notices their private exchange but stays out of it.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Chen is confident and calculating: he uses the cultivation session to reassure Ya Li, then protects the art’s secrecy with a convincing cover story. He also recognizes Ya Li’s suspicions but avoids addressing them openly.
• Na’er becomes more affectionate toward Su Chen and is thrilled by the cultivation’s results. Her trust in him is clear, though she remains unaware of the full conversation between him and Ya Li.
• Ya Li balances respect for the young couple’s privacy with concern for Na’er’s safety. She acts warmly as a host but privately warns Su Chen like a protective elder.
• Their interactions mix affection, secrecy, and playful tension: Ya Li’s concern clashes with Su Chen’s evasiveness, while Na’er happily focuses on food and cultivation.

Significant themes

• Privacy and boundaries: Ya Li recognizes that curiosity does not justify probing their private space, though she later asks directly.
• Trust and protection: Ya Li’s questioning comes from concern for Na’er, while Na’er’s trust in Su Chen is unquestioning.
• Cultivation and intimacy: The chapter links emotional and physical closeness with accelerated spiritual growth, presenting their relationship as beneficial to Na’er’s progress.

Plot points and events

• Su Chen spends a week at Ya Li’s home, cultivating with Na’er and spending time with Ya Li. Her affection for him rises to 60, but Yun Ming’s return means Su Chen must soon leave.
• The Coalition Army defeats the Holy Spirit Cult: its remaining Heavenly Kings are captured, the Ghost Emperor is killed, and his body is displayed at the cult’s ruined headquarters. Ha Luosa, the Nether Emperor, escapes badly wounded.
• Su Chen uses his Plane Lord authority to locate Ha Luosa in the Endless Mountains, where the deathly atmosphere offers the Nether Emperor a place to recover.
• In a hidden cave, Ha Luosa broods over the cult’s defeat and plots revenge against Shrek and Yun Ming. Su Chen appears behind him, seals the space to prevent escape, and attacks with an enormous palm. The chapter ends as the strike descends.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Chen shifts from his quiet domestic routine with Ya Li and Na’er to pursuing Ha Luosa, determined to eliminate the last major threat from the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Ya Li grows closer to Su Chen; her affection reaches 60 during their week together.
• Ha Luosa is revealed as wounded but still dangerous and consumed by resentment. He blames the Spirit Pagoda, Shrek, and the Abyss’s failed alliance, and intends to undermine Yun Ming’s path to godhood.
• Su Chen confronts Ha Luosa directly, turning the latter’s confidence in hiding and eventual revenge into an immediate fight.

Significant themes

• Consequences and justice: The Coalition Army’s victory brings a measure of retribution for the Holy Spirit Cult’s victims.
• Power and vulnerability: Ha Luosa remains formidable, but his injuries and Su Chen’s control over the battlefield leave him trapped.
• Rising and fading hopes: The defeat of the Abyss and collapse of the cult shatter Ha Luosa’s ambitions, while Su Chen acts to prevent the surviving threat from recovering.

Plot points

• Su Chen defeats the Nether Emperor, then follows his remnant soul into the Netherworld and destroys it completely, preventing the Emperor from resurrecting as he had after an earlier defeat.
• The Netherworld reacts angrily to the death of its chosen “son of destiny,” but cannot challenge Su Chen, who controls the Douluo Plane.
• With the Nether Emperor dead, the Holy Spirit Cult’s leadership is wiped out; Leng Yulai is the only surviving member who has reformed. Su Chen expects evil factions may eventually return, but considers preventing them from threatening his own people his main concern.
• Su Chen returns to the Spirit Pagoda and waits for Leng Yaozhu, who has been coordinating the campaign against the remaining Evil Soul Masters. When she arrives, she confronts him about Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi, whom he has brought into his circle.
• Su Chen explains that he did fight the Demon Empress, but the two women’s involvement was unexpected. Leng Yaozhu learns that both are Soul Beasts—and that Lan Fuzi is the Demon Empress’s daughter—yet remains most upset that Su Chen has taken on still more romantic interests.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Chen demonstrates the full reach of his Plane Lord authority, effortlessly overcoming both the Nether Emperor and the Netherworld’s resistance. He is also casual and unapologetic about his growing romantic entanglements.
• Leng Yaozhu returns from leading a demanding military campaign and is jealous and irritated that Su Chen seemed to enjoy himself while she was working. Her formal, commanding demeanor gives way to a playful confrontation: she presses a foot against his chest, then grabs his ear after hearing his explanation.
• Their teasing, affectionate exchange reveals both Leng Yaozhu’s jealousy and her familiarity with Su Chen. Su Chen tries to redirect her attention toward the women’s identities, but it does not work.

Significant themes

• Power and mortality: Su Chen’s authority over the plane lets him prevent the Nether Emperor from exploiting the Netherworld to escape death.
• The persistence of evil: Destroying the Holy Spirit Cult’s current leadership does not guarantee that evil will disappear permanently.
• Personal motives amid public conflict: Su Chen fights the Evil Soul Masters chiefly to protect those close to him, not from abstract idealism.
• Jealousy and intimacy: The chapter contrasts the large-scale destruction of the cult with lighthearted romantic tension between Su Chen and Leng Yaozhu.

Key plot points and events

• Leng Yaozhu questions whether the Demon Empress’s daughter, Lan Fuzi, poses a threat now that the Demon Empress is dead. She allows Su Chen to decide what to do with Lan Fuzi and Bai Xiuxiu, provided Gu Yue approves.
• Su Chen reassures Leng Yaozhu that he will speak with Gu Yue, then massages Leng Yaozhu’s foot as she relaxes.
• Leng Yaozhu asks about the Nether Emperor, who escaped the campaign against the Holy Spirit Cult. Su Chen reveals he has already dealt with him, explaining that he had prepared a safeguard in case the veteran Quasi-God survived.
• Their conversation turns flirtatious and intimate. Leng Yaozhu is pleased by Su Chen’s attentiveness, and he presses her for a “reward.” They spend the afternoon together.
• That evening, Su Chen visits Lan Fuzi and Bai Xiuxiu at the home he arranged for them. Both have been given captain positions in Spirit Pagoda guard teams, with measures to protect their identities. He finds them grilling food and enjoying their new life.

Character developments

• Su Chen shows that he takes responsibility for plans he proposes, having secretly prepared for the Nether Emperor’s escape. He also continues to use affection and playful coaxing to get close to Leng Yaozhu.
• Leng Yaozhu remains protective of Gu Yue’s position in Su Chen’s life, but is also affectionate and indulgent toward him. She feels embarrassed to learn he handled the Nether Emperor after her forces failed to capture him.
• Lan Fuzi is grateful for Su Chen’s generous arrangements and feels somewhat undeserving, since she expected a difficult atonement.
• Bai Xiuxiu is carefree and delighted by the comfort, food, and pleasures of human life.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and foresight: Su Chen prepares for danger and follows through on the consequences of his own proposals.
• Loyalty and relationship boundaries: Leng Yaozhu insists that Gu Yue’s approval matters in decisions involving other women.
• Reconciliation through generosity: Su Chen gives Lan Fuzi and Bai Xiuxiu safe, comfortable roles rather than subjecting them to hardship.
• Affection and indulgence: Playful intimacy shapes Su Chen and Leng Yaozhu’s relationship, while the newcomers’ contentment highlights the appeal of their new lives.

Character interactions

• Leng Yaozhu sets conditions around Su Chen’s dealings with Lan Fuzi and Bai Xiuxiu, while he promises to consult Gu Yue.
• Su Chen comforts Leng Yaozhu with a foot massage, then flirts with her; she responds with teasing reprimands and affection.
• Lan Fuzi greets Su Chen nervously and gratefully, whereas Bai Xiuxiu immediately offers him food, reflecting their contrasting temperaments.
• Su Chen’s visit shows his ongoing support for both women and their growing ease in human society.

Key plot points and events

• Su Chen checks in on Bai Xiuxiu and Lan Fuzi, who say they are settling into human life thanks to his help.
• Bai Xiuxiu asks to study human Soul Tool technology so she can eventually make Battle Armor and better protect her clan. Su Chen agrees to arrange apprenticeships for both her and Lan Fuzi at the Mecha Master Association.
• Su Chen explains that assigning them to the guard team was partly a test of how they treated humans. Since neither has shown hostility, he sees no problem letting them study.
• Teasing over their nicknames turns into a playful chase between the two. After sharing a meal, Su Chen returns to the academy because final exams are approaching.

Character developments and interactions

• Bai Xiuxiu is eager to gain strength for her clan, but also reacts indignantly when she learns Su Chen had been assessing her. Her closeness with him shows in her playful dependence and embarrassment over her childhood nickname, “Xiao Bai.”
• Lan Fuzi is grateful for Su Chen’s support and quietly interested in Battle Armor. Though normally reserved, she has become more outgoing around Bai Xiuxiu and joins in teasing her.
• Su Chen acts as their sponsor and mediator. He trusts them enough to help them enter a human institution, while still making clear that he had wanted to see how they would adapt.
• The former rivals have become close companions in their unfamiliar surroundings. Their banter over “Little Blue” and “Xiao Bai” shows how comfortable they are with each other.

Significant themes

• Trust and coexistence: Su Chen gives the two Soul Beasts access to human technology after seeing that they can live peacefully among humans.
• Adaptation and belonging: Their growing friendship helps them adjust to the human world.
• Personal growth through support: The chance to study gives both women a path toward greater strength and independence.

Key plot points and events

• Shrek’s semester assessment is a battle-royale match in the Star Dou Battle Network. Students are assigned to thousand-person battlefields, form teams of two or three, and compete to survive as the safe zone shrinks.
• Cultivation differences are limited or suppressed, while randomly placed Soul Tools and virtual Soul Beasts make tactics and ambushes important. Teachers grade individual performance, so surviving to the end is not the only path to a high score.
• Su Chen reflects bitterly on the assessment’s original-story counterpart, accusing its protagonists and Shrek’s training methods of encouraging bullying, deception, and theft. He believes the academy remains headed for ruin despite his having prevented an earlier catastrophe.
• The group settles into two teams: Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan, and Su Chen and Yuanen Yehui. Yuanen leaves when Su Chen tries to persuade her to stay.
• Gu Yue blames Su Chen for making Yuanen uncomfortable. He playfully invokes a past bet, pulls Gu Yue onto the bed, and closes the curtains; Xu Xiaoyan is left waiting awkwardly and moves to the sofa.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Yue takes the initiative in choosing Xu Xiaoyan as her teammate and is openly affectionate toward her. She then teases and argues with Su Chen, though she becomes flustered when he reminds her of their bet.
• Xu Xiaoyan agrees to team with Gu Yue and accepts her attention with shy discomfort. She ends the scene as the amused, inconvenienced observer.
• Su Chen accepts the team arrangement and pairs with Yuanen, while also trying to build a closer rapport with her. His private resentment toward Shrek’s legacy remains strong.
• Yuanen Yehui is willing to team with Su Chen but insists, in effect, that she must contribute and earn her own assessment result. She quickly recognizes the awkward situation and leaves.

Significant themes

• Fairness and merit: The new assessment and dean emphasize balanced competition, team choice, and individual grading.
• Survival through cooperation and strategy: Teamwork, equipment, and tactical play can overcome differences in strength.
• Corruption of institutions and ideals: Su Chen sees Shrek’s past conduct as evidence that the academy has strayed from its principles and may not survive.
• Affection, teasing, and boundaries: The team’s joking intimacy contrasts with Yuanen’s discomfort and Xu Xiaoyan’s awkwardness.

Key events

• Su Chen wakes in bed with Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue after the three spent the night together. Xu Xiaoyan is already awake and enjoys a quiet, affectionate moment with him; Gu Yue is reluctant to get up and playfully bites his arm when he teases her.
• After washing, Su Chen helps Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue dress, then leaves with them and Yuanen Yehui for breakfast.
• In class, Shen Yi explains the final exam’s scoring system: survival time accounts for 40% of the score, while bonus points make up 60%. Students can earn them through actions such as defeating opponents, killing Soul Beasts, obtaining Soul Tools, and rescuing teammates. Students then begin discussing teams.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Xiaoyan’s affection for Su Chen is emphasized: she treasures sharing a bed with him and is content even when Gu Yue is there.
• Su Chen is playful and attentive with both women, teasing Gu Yue in the morning and helping them get dressed.
• Yuanen Yehui joins the group for breakfast. When classmates invite her to team up, she politely declines; they assume she will team with Su Chen, the class’s strongest student.

Significant themes

• Affection and familiarity: The opening focuses on the group’s comfortable, teasing closeness.
• Competition and survival: The exam rewards not only lasting longer but also taking decisive actions, making strategy and teamwork important.
• Pressure and uncertainty: Shrek’s changing exams and the threat of eliminating the lowest-performing students make preparation especially significant for students outside the top ranks.

Plot points and events

• Three days after the previous events, the final exam begins: a large-scale PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds match in the Star Dou Battle Network.
• Su Chen, Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and Yuanen Yehui prepare together. Gu Yue wants to win, but Su Chen is partnered with Yuanen, so he leaves the decision about playing fairly to her.
• Class One receives special permission to enter the same battlefield, while other candidates are matched in from elsewhere. The battlefield is a ruined, enormous replica of Shrek City, surrounded by a shrinking “poison circle” that eliminates anyone who stays outside it.
• Contestants can search for Soul Tools, including unusually powerful items with compulsory effects. Terrain choice and luck matter alongside combat strength.
• Su Chen and Yuanen land west of the ruined city. Recognizing landmarks, they realize Shrek students have an advantage from knowing the layout. Yuanen suggests they split up to search for Soul Tools.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Yue remains fiercely competitive, teasing Su Chen and asking him to help her win. Her earlier decision to let Yuanen partner with him reflects generosity and a wish for them to grow closer.
• Yuanen Yehui is grateful to Gu Yue and no longer worries that Gu Yue might resent her. She is comfortable with the arrangement and takes initiative by proposing a search strategy.
• Su Chen is confident and dependable, but the exam’s rewards mean little to him. He leaves the choice of whether to favor Gu Yue to Yuanen because they are teammates.
• Xu Xiaoyan is present with the group as they enter the exam, though she has little direct involvement in the chapter’s events.

Significant themes

• Competition and cooperation: The exam is a contest, but teamwork and trust shape how the characters approach it.
• Fairness and adaptation: Raw strength is not enough; candidates must use terrain, luck, and unusual equipment effectively.
• Familiarity as an advantage: Shrek students’ knowledge of the recreated city gives them an edge.
• The expanding appeal of virtual combat: The chapter highlights the mode’s popularity and hints that future features could let ordinary people experience life as Soul Masters.

Plot points and events

• Su Chen and Yuanen Yehui split up: she heads for the Mecha Master Association, while he searches the ruined city for Soul Tool items.
• The battlefield rules reduce Su Chen’s cultivation to level 35 and his spiritual power to the Spirit Abyss Realm. He designed the rules to keep the game fair, though his remaining abilities and attributes still make him overwhelmingly powerful.
• A three-person squad of Soul Elders attacks him. The purple-haired woman’s claws cannot harm him, and Su Chen kills her instantly with a single palm strike.
• The two male teammates flee. Su Chen teleports after and kills them as well. One briefly activates a Soul Tool called the Primordial Umbrella, whose barrier delays Su Chen’s strike for an instant but is quickly shattered.
• The umbrella drops when its owner dies, and Su Chen picks it up, recognizing it as a loot item.

Character developments

• Su Chen is confident in both his own strength and Yuanen Yehui’s, and treats the encounter casually. His creator’s knowledge of the game’s rules gives him an additional advantage.
• The three Soul Elders initially attack boldly, but their confidence collapses when the woman’s attack fails and she is killed immediately. The two men panic and try to escape; one makes a desperate attempt to survive with his Soul Tool.

Significant themes

• Power and imbalance: Even after being scaled down, Su Chen’s abilities vastly exceed those of ordinary players.
• Competition and survival: The match turns everyone outside a team—including friends and classmates—into opponents.
• Fairness and protection: The game limits stronger participants and automatically removes players killed by overwhelming force to prevent psychological harm.
• Risk and reward: Players can find Soul Tools through exploration or obtain them as loot by eliminating opponents.

Character interactions

• Su Chen and Yuanen Yehui agree to divide their search and go separate ways.
• The squad treats Su Chen as an easy target and attacks together, but the failed ambush becomes a rout.
• The encounter ends with Su Chen defeating all three and claiming the last opponent’s dropped umbrella.

Key plot points and events

• Soul Tool items can be found across the battlefield or taken from defeated contestants. Since stronger opponents may carry powerful gear, many contestants initially avoid fights.
• Su Chen picks up a level-four Primordial Umbrella, which can block one Soul Ancestor-level attack, then sets out to search for more items.
• The battlefield is crowded and dangerous: contestants are being eliminated by both opponents and virtual Soul Beasts. Su Chen easily kills the beasts and unfamiliar teams he encounters, but lets classmates pass unharmed.
• Su Chen spots Tang Wulin and Xie Xie struggling against a five-thousand-year giant wolf. After a difficult battle, they finally defeat it, leaving it badly wounded but alive.
• Su Chen remembers Tang Wulin’s later objections to killing virtual Soul Beasts and decides to test how he will respond to this one. Concealing his identity behind a white mask, he prepares to intervene.

Character developments

• Su Chen remains overwhelmingly powerful and treats the competition casually. He shows selective restraint toward classmates, but also plans to provoke Tang Wulin under the guise of “tempering” him.
• Tang Wulin is still capable and determined, but losing his Golden Dragon King bloodline has weakened his physical strength and endurance.
• Xie Xie and Tang Wulin demonstrate effective teamwork, compensating for their difficulty against the powerful wolf.

Significant themes

• Survival and luck: Success depends on finding useful equipment, avoiding stronger opponents, and enduring a battlefield where danger can come from anywhere.
• Power and fairness: The competition’s rules reward combat, but differing equipment and abilities can make outcomes highly uneven.
• Hypocrisy and moral consistency: Su Chen recalls Tang Wulin’s later defense of Soul Beasts and views it as inconsistent with his past actions, setting up a challenge to his principles.
• Entertainment through danger: The virtual format makes intense combat inexpensive and popular while keeping the risks of real competition at a distance.

Character interactions

• Su Chen avoids killing classmates, while those classmates flee rather than risk losing their chance to score.
• Tang Wulin and Xie Xie coordinate closely against the giant wolf, gradually wearing it down.
• Su Chen watches their victory and prepares to confront Tang Wulin anonymously, anticipating a clash over whether the wounded virtual beast should be killed.

Plot points and events

• After a brutal fight, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie nearly defeat a giant wolf in the virtual battlefield. Tang Wulin moves to kill it, but a masked stranger, Su Chen, knocks his hammer aside.
• Su Chen argues that soul beasts are nearly extinct in the real world and lets the injured wolf escape. Tang Wulin objects that it attacked them and is only a virtual construct; Xie Xie is furious that their hard-won victory has been undone.
• The two boys attack Su Chen. He uses a level-four soul tool that summons a giant ox to eliminate Xie Xie, then another that summons a train to run over Tang Wulin. Both are expelled from the simulation.
• Back at Eastsea Academy, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie angrily condemn Su Chen as a hypocrite for preaching compassion while singling them out.

Character developments

• Su Chen presents himself as a defender of soul beasts, intervening to spare the wolf. His overwhelming use of unusual soul tools reveals how easily he can dominate the exhausted boys.
• Tang Wulin reacts with anger to being stopped and later interprets Su Chen’s actions as selective moralizing. He insists he would never impose his views on others.
• Xie Xie is openly combative and especially resentful of losing after the pair struggled so hard to defeat the wolf. He backs Tang Wulin’s judgment of Su Chen.

Significant themes

• Compassion versus survival: Su Chen values sparing soul beasts, while Tang Wulin and Xie Xie view the wolf as a dangerous opponent they have earned the right to defeat.
• Hypocrisy and moral authority: The boys argue that Su Chen’s principles lack credibility because he enforces them selectively rather than protecting every soul beast.
• Power and fairness: Su Chen’s intervention turns a hard-fought battle into a one-sided defeat, fueling the boys’ sense that he is bullying weaker opponents.

Character interactions

• Su Chen confronts Tang Wulin over killing the wounded wolf; Tang Wulin challenges his reasoning, and Xie Xie joins the dispute.
• When Tang Wulin and Xie Xie attack, Su Chen defeats them with his ox and train soul tools.
• Afterward, the boys console and affirm one another, agreeing that Su Chen’s actions—not merely his strength—made the encounter infuriating.

Plot points and events

• Shrek’s proctors watch Su Chen’s match footage. Though one objects to his trick against Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, the others decide the rules permit it and assume he was teasing classmates. Su Chen’s strong combat and elimination scores put him among the leading candidates, though surviving to the end remains decisive.
• Su Chen reunites with Yuanen Yehui, who reports that she easily eliminated a team of three Soul Elders. They head from the already-cleared outskirts toward the battlefield’s center to search for better soul tools. More than six hundred participants remain after the opening clashes.
• Elsewhere, Gu Yue faces a group of over a dozen soul masters who have joined forces against her and Xu Xiaoyan. Gu Yue holds them off with wind, fire, and ice, while Xu Xiaoyan stays behind her, ready to use her control abilities.
• Gu Yue recognizes three women leading the attackers: she had defeated them earlier but spared them after they surrendered and pleaded for mercy. They have now returned with allies to ambush her and Xu Xiaoyan.

Character developments and interactions

• Su Chen remains confident and capable, while his classmates’ encounter is treated by the proctors as mischievous rather than malicious. He also shows concern for Yuanen, having kept track of her during the match.
• Yuanen Yehui is composed and self-assured, dispatching three opponents with little effort and readily joining Su Chen’s push toward the center.
• Gu Yue had been trying to curb her hostility toward humans, choosing mercy over killing. The betrayal leaves her furious and reinforces her distrust of people.
• Xu Xiaoyan shows growth: she is no longer merely a frightened bystander, but trusts Gu Yue and is prepared to contribute in combat.
• The attackers deliberately target Xu Xiaoyan as a control-type soul master, coordinating their assault around the three women who previously surrendered.

Significant themes

• Mercy and betrayal: Gu Yue’s decision to spare the women is repaid with an ambush, making her question whether humans can be trusted.
• Competition and survival: The assessment rewards combat, eliminations, and above all lasting until the end.
• Trust and partnership: Xu Xiaoyan relies on Gu Yue’s protection, while Su Chen looks out for Yuanen.
• Skill and advantage: Shrek students’ exceptional ability gives them a major edge over ordinary soul masters, even when outnumbered.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Yue unleashes an expanding Elemental Storm, combining hurricane-force winds, fire, and spinning ice shards. She traps and attacks a group of Soul Masters who are taking part in an academy assessment.
• When one opponent is nearly hit, her companions launch a coordinated assault. Gu Yue’s storm blocks their attacks while her fireballs and elemental strikes injure them without immediately killing them.
• Gu Yue deliberately prolongs the fight: she holds back enough to keep her opponents believing they can still win, while preventing them from escaping.
• The attackers deploy Soul Tools, including a powerful lightning handgun. Xu Xiaoyan uses her second soul skill, Starlight Feedback, to confuse its user. He turns the weapon on a teammate instead, killing him in the assessment.
• Gu Yue praises Xu Xiaoyan and gives her room to contribute, hoping to improve her teammate’s assessment score.

Character developments

• Gu Yue is shown as overwhelmingly powerful and furious. Unlike Su Chen, who tends to end fights quickly, she uses precise, nonfatal attacks to make her opponents suffer. She also remains mindful of her team’s assessment goals.
• Xu Xiaoyan reacts quickly and effectively, using her ability to disrupt the attackers’ plan and turn their weapon against them.
• The opposing Soul Masters prove poorly matched against Gu Yue despite their numbers. Their refusal to surrender—motivated by the chance to improve their assessment results—leaves them vulnerable to further punishment.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Gu Yue could defeat the group instantly, but chooses to control the pace and severity of the fight.
• Teamwork and recognition: Gu Yue makes space for Xu Xiaoyan to contribute, even though Gu Yue herself does not need the help.
• Pride and consequences: The attackers’ determination to keep fighting costs them dearly, while their improvised teamwork collapses under pressure.

Character interactions

• Gu Yue overwhelms the attackers while denying them a clear path to escape or harm her.
• Xu Xiaoyan warns Gu Yue and uses Starlight Feedback to disrupt the Soul Tool user; Gu Yue responds with approving encouragement.
• The attackers argue and blame one another after the confused gunman kills his teammate, further exposing the weakness of their group coordination.

Key plot points and events

• After defeating a group of Soul Masters, Gu Yue prepares to finish them off. One badly injured opponent triggers a rare class-six Soul Tool, Firefall Calamity, summoning a vast storm of deadly flaming meteors.
• The attack wipes out the remaining fighters in its range. Gu Yue shields Xu Xiaoyan inside a massive earth barrier, but the examiners assume the bombardment has eliminated her too.
• The rock shelter crumbles to reveal Gu Yue unharmed, protected by her complete suit of One-Word Battle Armor, forged from spirit-refined metal. The examiners are astonished and immediately argue she deserves full marks.
• Gu Yue explains that her Battle Armor let her withstand the attack, though she could use only most of its power. She and Xu Xiaoyan collect the fallen Soul Tools and head toward Central City, intent on pressing the fight and ending the match.

Character developments

• Gu Yue shows both formidable combat skill and a protective, more tender side: she shields Xu Xiaoyan first, then checks that she is safe. After realizing her earlier mercy left them vulnerable, she resolves not to show such restraint again.
• Xu Xiaoyan supports Gu Yue and reassures her that the betrayal was not her fault. Though Gu Yue’s earlier ferocity frightened her, she still values her kinder nature.
• The examiners move from pitying Gu Yue’s apparent bad luck to stunned admiration once they discover her armor and its exceptional craftsmanship.

Significant themes

• Power and preparation: Gu Yue survives because she has both exceptional ability and advanced equipment.
• Mercy and betrayal: Her decision to spare opponents leaves room for a desperate counterattack, prompting her to reconsider how much mercy is safe in battle.
• Protection and trust: Gu Yue’s priority is keeping Xu Xiaoyan safe, while Xu Xiaoyan responds with loyalty and reassurance.
• Appearances versus reality: The examiners believe Gu Yue has been eliminated, only to discover she has survived in extraordinary fashion.

Character interactions

• Gu Yue affectionately praises Xu Xiaoyan, then later shields her and comforts her with a pat on the head.
• Xu Xiaoyan worries about Gu Yue, defends her choices, and helps gather the dropped Soul Tools.
• The examiners discuss Gu Yue’s apparent elimination before Shen Yi points out that she is still in the competition; her armor then leaves them dumbfounded.

Key plot points and events

• Su Chen and Yuanen Yehui reach the central battlefield and discover Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan surrounded by more than a dozen teams. Nearly a hundred contestants remain overall.
• Gu Yue has been worn down by the repeated attacks. Though her Battle Armor is undamaged, its light has faded, and her soul power is nearly exhausted.
• The attackers hesitate to approach, wary of Gu Yue’s strength and hoping she will surrender so they can conserve their resources for the other contestants.
• Rather than give in, Gu Yue crushes a dark-red crystal and unleashes a class-six attack: a sky full of blazing meteors. The assault engulfs the battlefield, killing or forcing the withdrawal of many opponents.
• Su Chen and Yuanen Yehui move toward the besieged pair, but the chapter ends before revealing what happens when they arrive.

Character developments

• Gu Yue remains defiant and formidable despite her exhaustion. Faced with overwhelming numbers, she chooses a devastating, potentially costly counterattack rather than surrender.
• Su Chen quickly assesses the battlefield and recognizes that Gu Yue’s main weakness is her limited soul-power reserves, not her combat ability. He and Yuanen Yehui act decisively to help.
• Yuanen Yehui is shown to be capable and largely uninjured after many battles, while trusting Su Chen enough to move with him toward the danger.

Character interactions

• Su Chen and Yuanen Yehui exchange a glance and head together toward Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan.
• The besiegers try to pressure Gu Yue into surrendering, but their fear of her prevents them from closing in.
• Gu Yue’s response makes clear that she would rather risk a mass takedown than yield to the crowd.

Significant themes

• Strength and vulnerability: Gu Yue’s overwhelming abilities are constrained by exhaustion and finite soul power.
• Risk and resourcefulness: Outnumbered, she turns a rare, powerful item into a last-resort means of breaking the siege.
• Self-preservation and opportunism: The attackers hesitate to commit while watching for a chance to benefit at minimal cost, until Gu Yue forces the conflict into the open.