Chapter Summaries

After defeating Zhou Yi’s team and secretly injuring Zhou Yi with spiritual power, Xiao Yan trained his classmates in the Dream Arena and led his team through the Freshman Assessment without revealing his Martial Soul. As the round-robin reached its crucial matches, Ning Tian’s team faced Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Wang Gang.

• Xiao Yan defeated Class One’s team, then struck Zhou Yi’s Sea of Consciousness with an invisible wave of zither music and sent her fleeing after she spat blood.
• Xiao Yan left the assessment with Xiao Xiao and the others, then intensified their Dream Arena training against a stronger team.
• Ning Tian’s team won its first nine matches in District Eight, while Xiao Yan’s unusual tactics carried his team through nine rounds without him showing his Martial Soul or Spirit Rings.
• Several teams forfeited against Xiao Yan, making him the favorite to win the Freshman Assessment, while Ning Tian’s team became the second favorite.
• Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xiao Xiao met Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Wang Gang in a crucial District Eight match, and Ning Tian’s gaze clashed with Huo Yuhao’s.

Ning Tian's team gained the upper hand as Wu Feng overwhelmed Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao eliminated Wang Gang, while Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Shock failed to disrupt Ning Tian's support. Wang Dong escaped the ensuing pincer with Butterfly Goddess Light and retreated to Huo Yuhao, where they embraced.

• Ning Tian boosted Wu Feng and Xiao Xiao with her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda as they clashed with Wang Dong and Wang Gang.
• Wu Feng evaded Wang Dong's Wing Guillotine and counterattacked, while Xiao Xiao used her Earth-Shaking Desolate Bear Right Arm Bone skill to smash Wang Gang's shield and injure him.
• Huo Yuhao struck Ning Tian with Spiritual Shock, but her mental resilience let her shrug it off and maintain the speed enhancement.
• Xiao Xiao struck Wang Gang again, sending him out of bounds and eliminating him.
• Wang Dong unleashed Butterfly Goddess Light to hold off Wu Feng and Xiao Xiao, then retreated to Huo Yuhao and embraced him.

Xiao Xiao interrupted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s attempted Martial Soul Fusion Skill, securing victory for Ning Tian’s team in the District Eight match. After the crowd celebrated, Xiao Xiao sought Xiao Yan’s praise, while Ning Tian watched with unrecognized envy.

• Ning Tian recognized that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were attempting a Martial Soul Fusion Skill and called for Xiao Xiao and Wu Feng to stop them.
• Xiao Xiao used Phoenix Cry Piercing Clouds to pierce the fusion’s defenses, then struck Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong with Nine Phoenix Soul Shock.
• The interrupted fusion collapsed, and its backlash knocked Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong unconscious.
• The referee declared Ning Tian’s team from New Student Class Nine the winners of the match.
• Xiao Xiao went to Xiao Yan, who praised her, and she clung happily to his arm while Ning Tian looked away with envy.

Xiao Yan advanced to the freshman assessment semifinals as opponents repeatedly surrendered rather than face his illusions, while Ning Tian's team won its matches through combat. The semifinal draw paired Ning Tian's team against Dai Huabin's and Xiao Yan's team against Huo Yuhao's, thwarting Huo Yuhao's chance to face Dai Huabin.

• Huang Chutian surrendered his team's match against Xiao Yan before it began, and Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo joined him.
• Xiao Yan advanced through three elimination rounds as every opposing team forfeited, while Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xiao Xiao fought their way to the semifinals.
• Xiao Yan checked the draw box for tricks, then drew Number Two as Ning Tian, Dai Huabin, and Huo Yuhao also selected slips.
• Ning Tian's team drew Dai Huabin's team, and Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Xiao Xiao cheered while Dai Huabin grew furious.
• Du Weilun announced that Xiao Yan's team would face Huo Yuhao's team, leaving Huo Yuhao unable to challenge Dai Huabin in the semifinal.

In the semifinals, Xiao Yan sealed Huo Yuhao’s spiritual detection and faced Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Golden Path fusion skill without defending himself. He emerged unharmed, leaving the exhausted pair and the spectators stunned.

• Wang Dong charged Xiao Yan, who used Void Zither Playing to seal Huo Yuhao’s ability to project spiritual power.
• Huo Yuhao warned Wang Dong to retreat, and the two joined together to unleash their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Wither in Radiance—Golden Path.
• Xiao Yan stood directly in the Golden Path’s beam, which encased him in a golden statue.
• After the beam faded, cracks spread across the statue and the golden shell broke away, revealing Xiao Yan unharmed.
• Xiao Yan looked at the exhausted Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong and said, “Not bad.”

Xiao Yan's team defeated Huo Yuhao's team in the semifinal after Xiao Yan revealed four Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings. Ning Tian's team won the other semifinal but forfeited the final, making Xiao Yan the Freshman Assessment champion.

• Huo Yuhao urged Wang Gang to attack Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan summoned the Fuxi Zither without being affected by their fusion skill.
• Xiao Yan revealed four Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings, stunning Wang Gang, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong into surrendering their will to fight.
• Xiao Yan played the Fuxi Zither and put Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Wang Gang to sleep, and Du Weilun declared Xiao Yan's team the winner.
• Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng defeated Dai Huabin's team after Xiao Xiao knocked Dai Huabin unconscious with her Three Lives Soul-Suppressing Cauldron.
• Ning Tian's team voluntarily forfeited the final, so Du Weilun announced Xiao Yan as the Freshman Assessment champion.

After the Freshman Assessment, Yan Shaozhe brought Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao to Sea God Pavilion to confront Ma Xiaotao’s out-of-control Evil Fire. Xiao Yan discovered that her fire-attribute treasures had fed the dormant Evil Fire, and the chapter ended with Ma Xiaotao in mortal danger as Mu En struggled to contain it.

• Xiao Yan sent Ning Tian and Wu Feng to celebrate while agreeing to accompany Yan Shaozhe, and Xiao Xiao insisted on joining them.
• Yan Shaozhe flew Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao across Sea God Lake to Sea God Pavilion, where Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire had erupted.
• Xiao Yan saw that Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire was invading her meridians and Sea of Consciousness while Mu En held it back with his Soul Power.
• Xiao Yan demanded to know whether Ma Xiaotao had absorbed fire-attribute treasures, and Yan Shaozhe admitted that she had consumed many over the past three months.
• Yan Shaozhe explained that the Evil Fire had lain dormant beneath Xiao Yan’s musical seal, devoured the treasures’ energy, and erupted at noon.

Xiao Yan explained that Ma Xiaotao’s mutated Evil Fire could rebound through his zither music and endanger his cultivation. Mu En offered him a three-hundred-thousand-year Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou right arm bone as compensation, leaving Xiao Yan to decide whether to accept the risk.

• Yan Shaozhe pleaded with Xiao Yan to save Ma Xiaotao, but Xiao Yan sighed, making Yan Shaozhe fear she could not be saved.
• Mu En used the Radiant Sacred Dragon Soul Power to tear the Evil Fire from Ma Xiaotao and seal it in her dantian, saving her life.
• Xiao Yan warned Mu En and Yan Shaozhe that the mutated Evil Fire might follow his sound waves and spiritual energy back into his body.
• Mu En opened a spatial rift and revealed a three-hundred-thousand-year Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou right arm bone as Xiao Yan’s reward.
• Mu En described the Soul Bone’s spatial and sound-control domains and asked whether the reward was enough to match the danger.

Xiao Yan fused four Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring and used the Fuxi Zither to purify Ma Xiaotao’s mutated Evil Fire. After a day and night of treatment, Ma Xiaotao awakened with the power of Ultimate Fire.

• Xiao Yan stored the Void Sound-Suppressing Hou Right Arm Bone and asked Xiao Xiao to meditate while Mu En sealed the Sea God Pavilion hall with a barrier.
• Xiao Yan used Ring Fusion to combine his four Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, unlocking Lock Rhythm: World Purification.
• Xiao Yan played Sunny Spring and White Snow on the Fuxi Zither, stripping away Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire while Xiao Xiao, Mu En, and Yan Shaozhe benefited from the music’s Dao resonance.
• The remaining Evil Fire attacked Xiao Yan and then retreated around Ma Xiaotao’s heart, forcing him to carefully cleanse it without damaging her heart meridians.
• After a day and night, Xiao Yan removed the last trace of Evil Fire and collapsed from exhaustion as Xiao Xiao supported him.
• Ma Xiaotao awakened with a phoenix cry and revealed the aura of pure Ultimate Fire.

Xiao Yan helped Ma Xiaotao purify her Evil Fire and gain Ultimate Fire, then absorbed the Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou Right Arm Bone in the Sea God Pavilion. After Xiao Yan insisted that the Soul Bone payment settled their transaction, he and Xiao Xiao returned to the Outer Court, leaving Mu En reflecting on his words.

• Yan Shaozhe confirmed that Ma Xiaotao had recovered and gained Ultimate Fire, while Mu En invited Xiao Yan to absorb the Soul Bone beside the Golden Tree.
• Mu En shielded Xiao Yan during cultivation and rebuked Yan Shaozhe for losing his composure and neglecting the broader situation.
• The Eastern Emperor Bell suppressed the Taixu Sound-Suppressing Hou's remnant will, allowing Xiao Yan to absorb the Soul Bone and gain two domain-type Soul Skills.
• Ma Xiaotao and Yan Shaozhe bowed to Xiao Yan in gratitude, but he said the Soul Bone had paid for his help and refused to accept a favor.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao left for the Outer Court, while Mu En watched them go and wondered whether it had been just a transaction.

Xiao Yan learned how to comprehend the Eastern Emperor Bell’s spatial divine runes using his three-hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone skill, Void: Immeasurable, while he and his friends settled into their new school routines. Five months passed, bringing the academic year’s courses close to their end.

• Ning Tian and Wu Feng told Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao how Director Du improvised an explanation after the champion team missed the Freshman Assessment awards ceremony.
• Ning Tian explained that Xiao Yan and Wu Feng would join Class One under Mu Jin, while she had been assigned to Class Three.
• Xiao Yan used Void: Immeasurable to perceive the Eastern Emperor Bell’s spatial divine runes and touched the bell without being repelled.
• Electrolux praised Xiao Yan for beginning to understand the spatial runes and the artifact’s power.
• Xiao Yan and his friends followed a peaceful routine for five months as he practiced comprehending Spatial Law at night.

As the first-year students prepared for vacation, Mu Jin announced strict promotion exams that would eliminate those who failed to meet the requirements. Xiao Yan and his friends said farewell at Sea God Lake, where his music first moved them to tears and then lifted their spirits; Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao departed for home while Ning Tian and Wu Feng remained behind.

• Wang Yan praised Class One, and Mu Jin announced that students needed Soul Power above level twenty, had to defeat a hundred-year Soul Beast, and risked elimination if they ranked in the bottom ten percent.
• Xiao Yan, Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng gathered by Sea God Lake to discuss their vacation plans.
• Xiao Yan played Willow-Breaking Weeping Sunset on the Fuxi Zither, moving Xiao Xiao, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng to tears.
• After the three girls scolded him, Xiao Yan played Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves, lifting their spirits.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao boarded their carriage and left Shrek Academy, while Ning Tian and Wu Feng waved goodbye.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Xiao returned to Xiao Mansion, where Xiao Zhan learned they were ready to acquire new Spirit Rings. Xiao Yan chose to seek a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the Extreme North, and the family arranged to split up for the hunt.

• Xiao Xiao reunited enthusiastically with Qing Wan, while Xiao Yan greeted his parents at Xiao Mansion.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan that he had reached level fifty and Xiao Xiao had reached level forty.
• Xiao Yan announced that he wanted to travel to the Extreme North for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Spirit Ring.
• Xiao Zhan revealed that he had reached level ninety-six and offered to accompany Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan explained that Xiao Xiao could not safely enter the Extreme North’s Core Zone, so Qing Wan agreed to take her to the Star Dou Forest for her fourth Spirit Ring.

Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan reached the Extreme North and used Xiao Yan’s divination compass to find Snow Empress transforming in an ice cavern. A Soul Engineer tried to capture her, but the God-Sealing Platform was destroyed, freeing Snow Empress as she descended in her full majesty.

• Xiao Zhan took Xiao Yan to the Extreme North, where Xiao Yan used the Art of the Fuxi Emperor to withstand the cold.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Fuxi Bagua Compass and divined that Snow Empress was deep in the ice valley, nearing the end of her transformation into human form.
• Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan found Snow Empress weakened in an ice cavern after she absorbed the essence of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Snow Lotus.
• A Soul Engineer emerged from hiding and used the God-Sealing Platform to try to capture Snow Empress as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast embryo.
• Xiao Zhan attacked with his Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, and the Soul Engineer detonated his Soul Power core, destroying himself and the God-Sealing Platform.
• Snow Empress was freed from her restraints, and the Lord of the Far North appeared amid the gathering ice and snow.

Xiao Yan brought Xiao Zhan to meet the Snow Empress and asked her to become his Soul Spirit. After Electrolux stopped her attack and revealed the terms of Xiao Yan’s revised Soul Spirit Contract, the Snow Empress began reconsidering her refusal.

• The Snow Empress confronted Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhan, then attacked them with Emperor Sword, Ice Extreme Peerless.
• Xiao Yan summoned Electrolux, who caught the Snow Empress’s sword between two fingers and scolded Xiao Yan for shouting.
• The Snow Empress began compressing her origin to destroy herself rather than be captured by humans.
• Xiao Yan stopped her and said he wanted her to become his Soul Spirit, but the Snow Empress rejected the offer.
• Electrolux transmitted the revised Soul Spirit Contract to the Snow Empress, and she learned she could keep her consciousness, cultivate, and potentially survive without her host.

Xiao Yan persuaded Snow Empress to accept becoming his Soul Spirit by emphasizing his talent and the protection of Electrolux. After she agreed, Electrolux prepared the Soul Spirit Magic Array, and Xiao Yan and Snow Empress entered it to begin the process.

• Xiao Yan described his abilities and Electrolux's protection, convincing Snow Empress that he could lead her toward becoming a god.
• Snow Empress hesitated out of embarrassment before accepting Xiao Yan's invitation to a partnership and clasping his hand.
• Xiao Yan asked Electrolux to handle the next step, and Electrolux inscribed a magic array combining light and death energy into the ice.
• Electrolux declared the array ready, and Xiao Yan and Snow Empress took their places at its yang and yin cores as the Soul Spirit Magic Array began.

Electrolux completed Snow Empress’s Soul Spirit transformation, and Xiao Yan fused her with the Eastern Emperor Bell. The bell absorbed most of her energy, but the fusion gave Xiao Yan a strange Mystic Yellow Spirit Ring and revealed his Second Martial Soul’s first soul skill.

• Electrolux activated the formation and transformed Snow Empress into a Soul Spirit, freeing her from the threat of heavenly tribulation.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Eastern Emperor Bell, which repelled Snow Empress before reluctantly allowing her to fuse with it.
• The Eastern Emperor Bell forcibly drew Snow Empress inside and left her with a tiny mark on its surface.
• Xiao Yan rose from level fifty to level fifty-one, then realized the bell had absorbed most of Snow Empress’s origin energy.
• A Mystic Yellow Gilded Gold Spirit Ring appeared beneath Xiao Yan, and he learned the Eastern Emperor Bell’s first soul skill.

Xiao Yan gained the water-element authority [Mystic Yellow · Water Controller] through Snow Empress’s origin energy and tested his effortless control over water, ice, and mist. After the Eastern Emperor Bell returned Snow Empress, she emerged reverent toward Xiao Yan and eagerly offered to bring him more Soul Spirits.

• Xiao Yan learned that [Mystic Yellow · Water Controller] let him command water, ice, and snow without activating his Spirit Ring or spending Soul Power.
• Electrolux explained that the new authority would help Xiao Yan safely comprehend the Eastern Emperor Bell’s water-element divine inscriptions.
• Xiao Yan transformed the ice cavern’s icicles into water, ice needles, and mist, confirming the authority’s overwhelming control.
• The Eastern Emperor Bell returned Snow Empress, who had witnessed its vast inner cosmos and recognized Xiao Yan’s divine artifact and power.
• Snow Empress approached Xiao Yan and offered to bring him more Soul Spirits whenever he wanted.

Snow Empress summoned Ice Empress and Xiaobai to the cavern and explained how Xiao Yan and Electrolux had helped her become a Soul Spirit. Ice Empress recognized that the Soul Spirit Contract might offer a way to escape her own impending tribulation, leaving her to consider the possibility.

• Snow Empress used Xiao Yan's Soul Power to send a powerful call across the Extreme North.
• Ice Empress and Xiaobai raced to the cavern, but Snow Empress stopped them from attacking the humans inside.
• Ice Empress and Xiaobai took smaller forms and entered the cavern.
• Snow Empress recounted her transformation into a Soul Spirit and the events that led to it.
• Ice Empress's hostility faded as she saw Snow Empress's intact consciousness and learned that the contract might help her overcome her own tribulation.

Xiao Yan transformed Ice Empress and Xiao Bai into soul spirits, but his Sea of Consciousness could not support fusing them into his martial soul yet. Ice Empress and Xiao Bai agreed to wait until his mental power grew stronger.

• Snow Empress explained that Xiao Bai had nearly three hundred thousand years of cultivation and would be vulnerable to rivals if left alone in the Extreme North.
• Ice Empress and Xiao Bai agreed to become Xiao Yan's soul spirits, and Electrolux used his magic array to transform them into energy bodies.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Eastern Emperor Bell to begin fusing the two soul spirits, but his Sea of Consciousness shook under the strain.
• Electrolux warned that Xiao Yan's Rank Fifty mental capacity could not bear Ice Empress and Xiao Bai's power, so Xiao Yan stopped the fusion.
• Ice Empress agreed to wait until Xiao Yan's mental power broke through its bottleneck, while Xiao Bai accepted the delay without complaint.