Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Su Chen uses spatial displacement to rescue Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan from the explosion caused by Gu Yue’s grade-six item.
• He checks on Gu Yue, who has internal injuries despite insisting she is fine. She accepts his comfort, though she becomes embarrassed when he kisses her during the assessment.
• Teachers question how Su Chen moved the girls such a long distance, but Shen Yi concludes that his spatial ability explains it and dismisses the idea that he cheated.
• Su Chen then dominates the remaining competitors, defeating nearly a hundred people in five minutes and clearing the map. With only Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and Yuanen Yehui left, he withdraws, honoring his promise to let Gu Yue take first. Yuanen also withdraws, leaving Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan as the final team.
• The final rankings are Gu Yue first, Su Chen second, Xu Xiaoyan third, and Yuanen Yehui fourth. Gu Yue’s survival points help put her ahead of Su Chen, who has the most kills.
• The students wake from the virtual assessment and prepare to leave for the holidays.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Yue shows determination and fierce protectiveness toward Xu Xiaoyan, shielding her throughout the battle. Though injured, she resists being treated as fragile and finds comfort in Su Chen’s presence. She is also easily flustered by his public affection.
• Su Chen demonstrates overwhelming strength and spatial skill, but deliberately withdraws so Gu Yue can claim the promised victory. He balances concern for her with respect for her independence.
• Xu Xiaoyan survives because Gu Yue protects her and recognizes that Su Chen rescued them. She benefits from Gu Yue’s performance to earn third place.
• Yuanen Yehui acknowledges Gu Yue’s strength and willingly withdraws rather than contesting the result.
• The teachers are impressed and briefly suspicious of Su Chen’s rescue, but ultimately trust his abilities.

Significant themes

• Protection and loyalty: Gu Yue risks herself to shield Xu Xiaoyan, while Su Chen rescues both of them.
• Strength and restraint: Su Chen’s power is unquestioned, yet he chooses not to claim first place.
• Respect for independence: Su Chen worries about Gu Yue but does not try to keep her from fighting.
• Trust and intimacy: The affectionate exchanges between Su Chen and Gu Yue reveal their closeness, while also creating comic embarrassment in a public setting.

After Gu Yue revealed her One-Word Battle Armor during the assessment, her classmates crowded around her for advice, while Su Chen and the others waited. At dinner, Gu Yue invited Yuanen Yehui to stay with her at the Spirit Pagoda over the holiday, giving Yuanen an alternative to returning to her clan or remaining alone at the academy.

• Gu Yue's classmates congratulated her on having a complete set of One-Word Battle Armor and asked her for design advice.
• Gu Yue escaped the crowd and teased Su Chen before pinching him in the corridor.
• Su Chen, Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan, and Yuanen Yehui went to a hotel for dinner, where Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan fed Su Chen.
• Su Chen asked Yuanen Yehui about her holiday plans, and she said she would probably stay at the academy because she was too ashamed to return to her clan.
• Gu Yue invited Yuanen Yehui to stay with her at the Spirit Pagoda and offered to arrange access to places that could help her cultivation.

Yuanen Yehui and Xu Xiaoyan discussed their plans for the vacation, while Su Chen sensed Xiong Jun approaching Shrek City to capture him on Di Tian’s orders. Xiong Jun reached the outskirts of the city, intending to test Gu Yue’s feelings for Su Chen.

• Su Chen persuaded Yuanen Yehui to accept Gu Yue’s help with her cultivation, and Xu Xiaoyan said she wanted to visit her family.
• Su Chen agreed to go home with Xu Xiaoyan, then asked her and Yuanen Yehui to take the exhausted Gu Yue back while he handled a matter.
• After the others left, Su Chen used his Plane Lord authority to spot Xiong Jun approaching Shrek City.
• Di Tian had sent Xiong Jun to capture Su Chen after seeing Gu Yue and Su Chen together in a livestream, planning to gauge Gu Yue’s reaction.

Xiong Jun confronted Su Chen outside Shrek City, intending to capture him, but Su Chen overwhelmed him in two clashes of strength. Enraged and wounded, Xiong Jun transformed into a gigantic Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear, leaving the fight poised to escalate.

• Xiong Jun approached Shrek City and was startled when Su Chen appeared behind him.
• Su Chen confirmed that Xiong Jun had come looking for him, and Xiong Jun attacked with an attempt to pin him beneath his palm.
• Su Chen repelled Xiong Jun with a single punch, sending him crashing into the ground.
• Xiong Jun charged again at full strength, but Su Chen knocked him into a dead tree and a crater, splitting the skin over his knuckles.
• Xiong Jun lost control of his anger and transformed into a Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear over ten meters long.

Su Chen crushed Xiong Jun beneath a gigantic palm and took him away, while the shockwaves drew Shrek’s experts to the scene. He later demanded that Xiong Jun call his boss to pay a ransom, and Yun Ming suspected the attacker was the same powerful man who had defeated him before.

• Su Chen let Xiong Jun attack, then summoned a massive golden palm that smashed him into the ground and left him gravely injured.
• Su Chen grabbed Xiong Jun and vanished, while the underground shockwaves shook Shrek City and alarmed its residents.
• Yun Ming and Shrek’s experts investigated the enormous palm print, and Yun Ming suspected its maker was the man who had defeated him on the Endless Sea.
• Su Chen beat Xiong Jun for his foul mouth, rejected his claim that nobody had sent him, and ordered him to use a Soul Tool to call his boss and arrange a ransom.

Di Tian descended to investigate after Xiong Jun told him that Su Chen had captured him, while Su Chen revealed a weapon capable of piercing Xiong Jun’s defenses. Di Tian arrived at the hillside and confronted Su Chen, still unaware of how dangerous his opponent was.

• Xiong Jun called Di Tian and admitted that Su Chen had captured him, but Di Tian refused to believe his information had been wrong.
• Di Tian smashed a table in anger, then decided to go see who had taken Xiong Jun.
• Su Chen cut Xiong Jun’s neck with the shrunken Heaven-Sage Abyss-Rending Halberd, and Xiong Jun realized it was a Super Divine Artifact.
• Di Tian searched the area, found no trace of Gu Yue, and sensed Su Chen without recognizing any danger from him.
• Di Tian arrived on the hillside and asked Su Chen whether he had captured Xiong Jun.

Su Chen used the Douluo Plane’s power to suppress Di Tian, then warned him and Xiong Jun not to bully Gu Yue, whom he believed was his girlfriend. Di Tian mistook Su Chen’s ignorance of Gu Yue’s identity for proof that she had cleverly won humanity’s strongest expert over to the Soul Beast side.

• Su Chen snapped his fingers and called on the plane’s power to bind Di Tian and slam him to the ground.
• Di Tian realized Su Chen wielded the power of the plane, while Xiong Jun recognized why he had been defeated so easily.
• Su Chen confronted Di Tian for trying to capture him, and Di Tian realized Xiong Jun had not explained their motives.
• Su Chen said Gu Yue was his girlfriend and threatened to kill anyone who bullied her.
• Di Tian concluded that Gu Yue had manipulated Su Chen into supporting the Soul Beasts and believed their revival was near.

Su Chen sent Di Tian and Xiong Jun away after warning them not to disturb Gu Yue or tell her about their meeting. After Shrek's final exams, he visited Ye Xinglan, who had stayed at the academy for the holidays, and they reunited in the hills behind the school.

• Su Chen spared Di Tian and Xiong Jun for Gu Yue's sake and told them to keep their meeting secret and avoid interrupting her research.
• Su Chen watched Di Tian and Xiong Jun leave without reporting the encounter to Gu Yue, then concluded they would stop pressuring her.
• After Shrek's final exams, Su Chen chose to visit Ye Xinglan before going home.
• Ye Xinglan cultivated on the Miniature Star Gazing Platform and wondered whether Su Chen had gone home for the holidays.
• Su Chen arrived in the hills, sat beside Ye Xinglan, and she leaned against him as they discussed her plans to remain at the academy.

Su Chen took Ye Xinglan to an island for a seaside vacation, hoping she would rest from her intense training. After waking in a bamboo house and enjoying the view, Ye Xinglan was surprised when Su Chen gave her a revealing swimsuit to try on.

• Su Chen invited Ye Xinglan on a mystery outing and took her to an island for a vacation.
• Ye Xinglan woke in a bamboo house, realized they were beside the sea, and felt relaxed seeing the Endless Sea again.
• Su Chen told Ye Xinglan she deserved to rest, and she admitted she had been training harder to catch up to him.
• Su Chen handed Ye Xinglan a pale blue two-piece swimsuit, and she blushed at how little fabric it had.

Su Chen dressed Ye Xinglan in a bikini and took photos of her at the beach, while she shyly cooperated and later tried to destroy the pictures. He saved them, then prepared grilled food and seafood soup as Ye Xinglan swam and returned from a shower in a one-piece swimsuit.

• Su Chen helped Ye Xinglan put on a pale blue bikini and took several photos of her inside the bamboo house and on the beach.
• Ye Xinglan inspected the printed photos and tried to tear up the ones she thought were unsuitable, but Su Chen took them back and kept them.
• Su Chen kissed Ye Xinglan and told her to swim while he prepared grilled meat, vegetables, and seafood soup.
• Ye Xinglan swam in the shallows, then showered in the nearby changing room and came back wearing a pale blue one-piece swimsuit.

Su Chen and Ye Xinglan shared a beach outing, where Ye Xinglan ate, practiced swordsmanship, and overcame her nerves about diving into deeper water. They explored the seabed together, collecting seafood as Ye Xinglan grew more confident swimming beside Su Chen.

• Su Chen teased Ye Xinglan while they ate grilled food on the beach, and she pushed him away after he stole a bite.
• Ye Xinglan practiced swordsmanship on the beach while Su Chen recorded her, then rested with water in the shade.
• Su Chen suggested a deep-sea dive, and Ye Xinglan agreed despite feeling nervous about the water.
• Su Chen guided Ye Xinglan through coral reefs, where she gradually relaxed and became fascinated by the fish and scenery.
• Su Chen and Ye Xinglan collected a lobster, crabs, sea cucumbers, abalone, and a grouper among the rocks as Ye Xinglan grew more nimble in the water.