Chapter Summaries

Zhong Shenxiu led Class 1-5 to a crushing victory over Class 1-1, prompting Long Hengxu to suspend the Class Promotion Tournament and seek the headmaster. As Zhong Shenxiu prepared to leave, Tang Wulin challenged him to a match, but Zhong Shenxiu refused, and Tang Wulin tried to provoke him into agreeing.

• Ye Yingluo ordered the defeated Class 1-1 students carried off the arena after Zhong Shenxiu defeated them in under a minute.
• Long Hengxu declared Class 1-5 the winner, suspended the tournament for a day, and hurried to the headmaster's office.
• Xie Xie and Tang Wulin celebrated their victory while Zhong Shenxiu anticipated that the academy might create Zero Class and provide its students with resources.
• Tang Wulin blocked Zhong Shenxiu from leaving and challenged him to a match, revealing his renewed confidence after awakening his Golden Dragon King Bloodline.
• Zhong Shenxiu refused, saying he had no time, so Tang Wulin suggested he was scared and Xie Xie blurted out, "You're not awake, are you, bro?"

Tang Wulin accepted Zhong Shenxiu’s challenge and agreed to meet him for training with Teacher Wu every morning. As Wu Zhangkong led him into a hidden training ground, Tang Wulin saw someone waiting at its center.

• Zhong Shenxiu told Tang Wulin to find Teacher Wu at six each day if he was not afraid of dying, and Tang Wulin promised to come.
• Xie Xie asked whether Tang Wulin would win, and Tang Wulin firmly declared that he would.
• Long Hengxu proposed creating a Zero Class for the academy’s most talented students, and Principal Yu Zhen approved the plan with Wu Zhangkong as their homeroom teacher.
• At six the next morning, Tang Wulin met Wu Zhangkong and followed him to a concealed indoor training ground.
• Wu Zhangkong opened the training ground, and Tang Wulin was stunned by the person standing at its center.

Tang Wulin watched Zhong Shenxiu practice precise thrusts with a ten-meter spear weighted by heavy silver, then faced him to measure the gap between them. After Zhong Shenxiu invited him to strike first, Tang Wulin charged and began channeling his Golden Dragon King Bloodline into his right arm.

• Zhong Shenxiu repeatedly thrust a weighted spear at the same spot on the training-ground wall while Tang Wulin and Wu Zhangkong watched.
• Zhong Shenxiu noticed Tang Wulin, who admitted he had come to face him, and Wu Zhangkong stepped aside.
• Tang Wulin recognized how hard Zhong Shenxiu had trained and decided to test his own strength against him.
• Zhong Shenxiu took position ten meters away and gestured for Tang Wulin to attack first.
• Tang Wulin charged directly at Zhong Shenxiu and summoned golden scales across his right arm with his Golden Dragon King Bloodline.

Tang Wulin challenged Zhong Shenxiu but was quickly defeated when his Golden Dragon Claw failed to break Zhong Shenxiu’s Radiant King Dragon scales. Zhong Shenxiu then challenged Wu Zhangkong, who declined because the first-years had to gather on the field.

• Tang Wulin examined his transformed Golden Dragon Claw and charged Zhong Shenxiu to test their strength.
• Zhong Shenxiu blocked Tang Wulin’s claw with his scaled left arm, which showed only faint white marks.
• Zhong Shenxiu punched Tang Wulin in the abdomen and kicked him to the ground, ending the fight.
• Zhong Shenxiu asked Wu Zhangkong to fight him.
• Wu Zhangkong declined because the first-years were due to gather on the field and said they could fight another time.

Long Hengxu announced that the winning first-year class would be promoted to Class One and rewarded with Grade A Meals, then revealed the new First-Year Zero Class and its seven selected students. Zhong Shenxiu welcomed the opportunity to focus on cultivation instead of making Soul Tools for money.

• Long Hengxu announced that the first-year rankings would be adjusted according to the Class Promotion Tournament rules, making the former Class Five the new Class One.
• Long Hengxu awarded every student in the new Class One one Grade A Meal per day for the rest of the semester.
• Long Hengxu announced the creation of First-Year Zero Class, with Wu Zhangkong as homeroom teacher, and named Zhong Shenxiu, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi, and Wei Xiaofeng as its first students.
• Zhong Shenxiu realized that Zero Class would provide resources such as meals and weekly Spirit Ascension Platform access, freeing him to focus on cultivating and growing stronger.

Zhong Shenxiu welcomed the resources that came with entering Zero Class and listened indifferently as Dean Yu Zhen gave the seven selected students a speech. Yu Zhen then handed them an agreement to sign.

• Zhong Shenxiu reflected on his nine years of dream battles and resolved to bring his honed skills into reality using the resources available to him.
• The other first-year students left the field, leaving Zhong Shenxiu, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Gu Yue, Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi, and Wei Xiaofeng behind.
• Yu Zhen gathered the seven and warned them that talent alone would not make them successful.
• Zhong Shenxiu ignored the dean’s speech, thinking the resources were worth listening for a few minutes.
• Yu Zhen handed each of the seven a written agreement to sign.

Zhong Shenxiu and Gu Yue signed Eastsea Academy’s agreement to remain in Zero Class, while the other students faced Yu Zhen’s pressure to decide. Zhong Shenxiu later returned to his dormitory and began cultivating, relieved that Zero Class would free him from work at the Soul Tool workshop.

• Yu Zhen explained that the academy would prioritize resources for Zero Class and required the students to sign an agreement not to transfer before completing the intermediate academy divisions.
• Xie Xie asked to discuss the agreement with his family, and Yu Zhen told him he would be excluded from Zero Class if he delayed.
• Zhong Shenxiu signed the agreement first, and Gu Yue followed; Yu Zhen then pressed the remaining five students for an answer.
• Gu Yue caught up with Zhong Shenxiu and reminded him about their planned visit to an auction that night.
• Zhong Shenxiu returned to the empty dormitory, reflected that Zero Class would free him from workshop work, and began cultivating.

Zhong Shenxiu cultivated the Eternal Myriad Dragon Source Art, rapidly gathering Soul Power while strengthening his body and drawing closer to becoming a Dragon Fighting Warrior. He stopped at dusk and prepared to leave for the auction, which began at seven.

• Zhong Shenxiu activated the Eternal Myriad Dragon Source Art and devoured surrounding energies, refining them into Soul Power and bodily strength.
• Zhong Shenxiu continued cultivating through the day and sensed he was only two or three days from reaching level twenty-two.
• Zhao Tiezhu and Wang Hao returned to the dormitory and quietly watched Zhong Shenxiu cultivate.
• Zhong Shenxiu ended his cultivation, asked the time, and learned it was almost six, an hour before the auction began.

Zhong Shenxiu met Gu Yue outside Eastsea Academy and took her to the auction, where they were given a private box. The chapter ended with Gu Yue relaxing on the sofa as the auction was about to begin.

• Zhong Shenxiu finished training while Zhao Tiezhu watched him with envy.
• Gu Yue waited outside Eastsea Academy for Zhong Shenxiu, arriving nearly half an hour early.
• Zhong Shenxiu startled Gu Yue by placing a hand on her shoulder, then told her they were going to the auction.
• A staff member led Zhong Shenxiu and Gu Yue to Box No. 3 at Eastsea Auction House and explained its bidding system.
• Gu Yue entered the private box and stretched out on the sofa.

Zhong Shenxiu and Gu Yue waited in a private auction room for the fifth item, a Soul Tool that Gu Yue had promised to buy for him. Their awkward, flirtatious tension continued until a young woman took the auction platform, leaving the bidding about to begin.

• Gu Yue considered how easily her Federal Black Card could cover the Soul Tool’s 140,000 Federal Coin starting bid and blushed while thinking about Zhong Shenxiu.
• Gu Yue sat up and turned away when Zhong Shenxiu asked what was wrong, prompting him to suspect that she had been provoking him.
• Zhong Shenxiu set aside his suspicion because he needed Gu Yue’s money to bid on the Soul Tool.
• Gu Yue calmed herself with ice-element power, then lay back down as the auction lights brightened.
• A young woman in a dark purple gown stepped onto the auction platform to replace the middle-aged auctioneer.

At the auction, Gu Yue waited for the fifth lot, a rare Level Five Soul Tool capable of storing and converting energy. The bidding climbed past two hundred thousand Federal Coins, with Gu Yue still holding back.

• Su Mu introduced herself as the auctioneer and opened the auction’s seventeen lots.
• The first four lots, including an Ice Heart Orchid, a defensive Soul Tool, meteoric iron, and a lifeless Soul Beast egg, were sold while Gu Yue waited.
• Su Mu presented the fifth lot, a Level Five Soul Guidance Energy Conversion Storage Device with seven conversion modes and a capacity equivalent to a five-ring Soul King’s Soul Power.
• Bidders raised the device’s price from 140,000 to over 200,000 Federal Coins as Gu Yue and Zhong Shenxiu watched without bidding.

Gu Yue helped Zhong Shenxiu win a Level Five Soul Guidance Energy Conversion Storage Device for 310,000 Federal Coin. After inspecting it, Zhong Shenxiu entrusted the device to Gu Yue, who stored it in her bracelet.

• Gu Yue outbid the second-floor box, raising the offer to 310,000 and winning the Soul Guidance Energy Conversion Storage Device.
• Zhong Shenxiu thanked Gu Yue, and the auction staff delivered the device and its documents to their box.
• Zhong Shenxiu inspected the device and confirmed its stored energy was equivalent to the full Soul Power of a five-ring Soul King.
• Gu Yue offered to keep the device, and Zhong Shenxiu agreed without hesitation.
• Gu Yue stored the metal case in her silver bracelet.

Gu Yue and Zhong Shenxiu watched the auction together, and she reflected on the warmth of his trust and quiet companionship. After the auction, she returned the metal case to him and left him with a playful reminder that he owed her a favor.

• Gu Yue stayed to watch the auction with Zhong Shenxiu, who said he was not interested in forging Star Meteorite Iron.
• As the auction continued, Gu Yue thought about Zhong Shenxiu trusting her with the item and understood why Na'er had developed feelings for Tang Wulin.
• After the auction ended, Gu Yue and Zhong Shenxiu walked together to the dormitory buildings.
• Gu Yue used her bracelet to produce the metal case, and Zhong Shenxiu thanked her as he picked it up.
• Gu Yue walked toward the female dormitory and told Zhong Shenxiu that he owed her a favor.

Zhong Shenxiu returned to his dormitory and meditated, entering the starry inner space where he found the ruined altar and its growing motes of energy. He brought a fifth-grade Soul Tool to the altar, whose faded patterns briefly trembled when the box touched it.

• Gu Yue walked toward the girls' dormitory while Zhong Shenxiu headed back to his own dormitory with the metal box.
• Zhong Shenxiu entered his dormitory quietly, set down the box, and meditated while Zhao Tiezhu and Wang Hao slept.
• Zhong Shenxiu entered the starry space within his soul and saw that more energy motes had gathered around the ruined altar's crystal.
• Zhong Shenxiu carried the Soul Guidance Energy Conversion Storage Device to the altar and placed it on the edge, making its dim patterns tremble briefly.

Zhong Shenxiu opened the Dragon Fighting Card Box, releasing Soul Power that the altar absorbed and used to awaken its patterns and the Twelve Star Dragons. As the statues fired a seven-colored beam at him, the box around his neck finally reacted.

• Zhong Shenxiu poured Soul Power into the Dragon Fighting Card Box and opened it, releasing energy equivalent to the full Soul Power of a five-ring Soul King.
• The altar formed a golden net that trapped and devoured the energy, lighting its patterns and replenishing the crystal at its center.
• Golden patterns spread from the altar to the Twelve Star Dragon Statues, and the statues’ eyes lit up in twelve different colors.
• The Twelve Star Dragon Statues fired beams that converged into a seven-colored pillar aimed at Zhong Shenxiu.
• As the pillar neared him, the Dragon Fighting Card Box hanging from Zhong Shenxiu’s neck moved for the first time.

Zhong Shenxiu’s box absorbed the Twelve Star Dragons’ beams, then the four God King Dragons bestowed their powers on him. He reached peak level twenty-seven, while his Earth Dragon Lizard transformed into a 999-year Soul Spirit.

• The box flew from Zhong Shenxiu’s neck and absorbed all twelve beams, revealing a ring of the Twelve Star Dragons with an empty center.
• The East Sun King Dragon, Luo Sea God Dragon, Overlord God Dragon, and Heavenly Mountain King Dragon awakened and displayed their powers to Zhong Shenxiu.
• The four God King Dragons sent beams into Zhong Shenxiu, shattering his level-twenty-one bottleneck and raising him to peak level twenty-seven.
• Zhong Shenxiu’s Earth Dragon Lizard grew and transformed, developing dragon features and reaching 999 years.

Zhong Shenxiu received four God King Dragon inheritances, reached Soul Power level twenty-seven, and raised his Soul Spirit to nine hundred and ninety-nine years. The next day, Wu Zhangkong began Zero Class lessons by introducing Battle Armor and Second Professions, while Xie Xie asked when the students could start learning about Battle Armor.

• The four God King Dragons’ inheritances gave Zhong Shenxiu four new powers and raised his Soul Power to level twenty-seven and his Soul Spirit to nine hundred and ninety-nine years.
• Zhong Shenxiu grasped the Dragon Fighting Card Box and sensed a connection between himself, the statues, and the world.
• The six Zero Class students sat divided into two factions as Wu Zhangkong began their first lesson.
• Wu Zhangkong explained Battle Armor and Second Professions and gave the students three days to choose a Second Profession.
• Xie Xie asked Wu Zhangkong when the students could start coming into contact with Battle Armor.

Wu Zhangkong cleared the classroom and told the students that five of them lacked basic combat ability outside their martial souls. He challenged their belief that soul skills were enough, setting the focus for upcoming practical combat classes.

• Wu Zhangkong told the students to move their desks aside, and all six—including the reluctant Zhong Shenxiu—made room in the middle of the classroom.
• Wu Zhangkong gathered Gu Yue, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Wang Jinxi, and Zhang Yangzi and said their upcoming practical combat classes would address their weaknesses.
• Wu Zhangkong explained that the five lacked basic combat ability when not using martial souls, even though their experience with soul skills was not severely lacking.
• Wu Zhangkong challenged the five for thinking soul skills were everything and said that belief kept them from reaching their full potential.

Wu Zhangkong demonstrated basic combat techniques by sparring with Zhong Shenxiu, whose swift, lethal attacks pushed his teacher to take the fight seriously. The exchange continued as Zhong Shenxiu launched a powerful downward kick.

• Wu Zhangkong praised Zhong Shenxiu and invited him to demonstrate basic combat abilities in front of the five students.
• Zhong Shenxiu attacked Wu Zhangkong with a fast punch, narrowly missing his throat and prompting Wu Zhangkong to counter with a finger strike.
• Zhong Shenxiu followed with an elbow strike and a series of rapid punches, grapples, hand strikes, and knee attacks that Wu Zhangkong evaded or blocked.
• Zhong Shenxiu aimed paired punches at Wu Zhangkong's throat and heart, then feinted with a sweeping kick before launching a second kick toward his neck.
• Wu Zhangkong ducked and struck at Zhong Shenxiu's supporting ankle, but Zhong Shenxiu leapt into the air and chopped down with his right leg.

Wu Zhangkong stopped his sparring match with Zhong Shenxiu and showed his students how Zhong Shenxiu’s lethal close-combat instincts surpassed their own. He then explained that mastering a Martial Soul meant understanding and applying its power beyond fixed soul skills, leaving the five students to consider how much they still had to learn.

• Wu Zhangkong ended his exchange with Zhong Shenxiu after recognizing that the boy’s battle instincts surpassed those of most adult Soul Masters, even himself.
• Zhong Shenxiu instinctively avoided Wu Zhangkong’s gentle attempt to ruffle his hair, and Wu Zhangkong withdrew his hand.
• Xie Xie and Tang Wulin realized that Zhong Shenxiu’s attacks targeted vital points and that they would likely have been unable to use their soul skills against him.
• Wu Zhangkong told the five students that none of them would have had a chance to use a soul skill against Zhong Shenxiu.
• Wu Zhangkong explained that soul skills were fixed ways of expressing Martial Soul power and demonstrated how understanding that power could produce effects without using a soul skill.
• Wu Zhangkong said that basic combat ability helped Soul Masters unleash their Martial Souls’ full power.