Chapter Summaries

Ye Luochen demonstrated a Soul Tool shield built from separate formation arrays and proposed standardized, modular Soul Tool production. Xuan Ziwen was impressed by the idea and recognized that it could transform Soul Tool manufacturing.

• Ye Luochen explained that he had carved reserved interfaces into the shield and inserted matching charging and defensive formation arrays.
• Xuan Ziwen pointed out the risks of assembly, including explosions, mismatched interfaces, and the added complexity, and Ye Luochen admitted this was his first attempt.
• Ye Luochen argued that integrated Soul Tool cores were difficult and expensive to repair, then proposed making their components detachable and replaceable.
• Ye Luochen described standardizing interfaces and dividing production among specialists, with Stamping Machine Tools eventually assembling components on production lines.
• Xuan Ziwen praised Ye Luochen's concept and said it could usher Soul Tool production into a new era; Ye Luochen reflected that he had adapted ideas from Blue Star technology.

Xuan Ziwen embraced Ye Luochen’s idea of modular, assembly-line Soul Tool production as a way to make Soul Tools affordable for everyone and invited him to join his laboratory. They built a simple stamping machine that produced two first-grade formations, then stopped to rest.

• Xuan Ziwen excitedly began dragging Ye Luochen to tell the Hallmaster about assembly-line Soul Tool production.
• Xuan Ziwen explained that his goal was to make Soul Tools accessible to ordinary people, and Ye Luochen pointed out that they would need working results to win the Hallmaster’s approval and funding.
• Xuan Ziwen asked Ye Luochen to join his laboratory, and Ye Luochen agreed.
• Xuan Ziwen dismantled Ye Luochen’s Soul Guidance barrier and worked with him to develop a stamping machine.
• Xuan Ziwen completed the machine, which stamped out two first-grade formations without manual intervention, then called for a break.

Ye Luochen’s Dark Iron Blade resisted being recalled and began attracting metal, then revealed a desire to absorb the Stamping Machine Tool. The blade began drawing the machine’s metal into itself, leaving its mutation underway.

• Ye Luochen’s Dark Iron Blade glowed, trembled, and resisted his efforts to recall it into his body.
• Xuan Ziwen prepared to seek Hall Master Jing Hongchen, but the blade began attracting nearby metal scraps and Ye Luochen sensed it was expressing desire.
• Ye Luochen identified the Stamping Machine Tool as the object his martial soul desired and asked Xuan Ziwen to stand guard.
• Ye Luochen touched the blade to the Stamping Machine Tool, and the blade began tearing off and absorbing its metal.

Ye Luochen’s Dark Iron Blade devoured a stamping machine tool, evolved, and raised his Innate Soul Power by one rank, but neither he nor Xuan Ziwen could explain why. Jing Hongchen called it an acquired mutation, offered to take Ye Luochen to Shrek if needed, and assigned Xuan Ziwen to continue teaching and monitoring him.

• Ye Luochen’s Dark Iron Blade consumed the Stamping Machine Tool and returned to normal, appearing more powerful than before.
• Ye Luochen tested the blade on rare metal and cut it cleanly, then discovered his Innate Soul Power had risen from Rank 4 to Rank 5.
• Ye Luochen and Xuan Ziwen consulted Jing Hongchen, who examined the blade and attributed its change to an acquired mutation.
• Jing Hongchen promised to investigate and offered to take Ye Luochen to Shrek if necessary, moving Ye Luochen with his support.
• Jing Hongchen assigned Xuan Ziwen to keep teaching Ye Luochen and report any further changes in his martial soul.

After the Dark Iron Blade evolved by devouring a Soul Guidance Stamping Machine, Ye Luochen discovered that his cultivation speed had greatly increased. He set out to hunt a soul ring with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, while an accompanying elder warned them to behave.

• Xuan Ziwen confirmed Ye Luochen's martial soul had stabilized, left him a communication Soul Tool, and returned to the laboratory to develop a replacement machine tool.
• Ye Luochen summoned the evolved Dark Iron Blade, failed to understand what had caused its evolution, and began cultivating in his dormitory.
• Ye Luochen found that his energy absorption had become much faster and vowed to make up for his lost progress.
• A teacher learned Ye Luochen had taken leave to obtain a soul ring after advancing his Soul Power, and students noted that Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen had also missed class to accompany him.
• At the academy gates, Ye Luochen questioned why the Hongchen siblings had come; Meng Hongchen teased Xiao Hongchen for wanting to compare Ye Luochen's soul ring with his own.
• An old man in gray robes told Ye Luochen, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen to restrain themselves because taking the siblings along broke the rules.

Ye Luochen traveled with a Level 9 Soul Engineer and the Hongchen siblings to the Evil Demon Forest to find a Fourth Soul Ring. The group reached the edge of the ominous forest and prepared to enter its dangerous outer regions.

• The gray-robed elder silenced Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen by enclosing them in a soundproof membrane, then flew with them and Ye Luochen toward their destination.
• After two hours, the elder landed and explained that they would continue on foot; Meng Hongchen recognized that they were heading to the Evil Demon Forest.
• The elder said Jing Hongchen had ordered him to find a soul beast suited to Ye Luochen and assured him they would search the forest's outer regions.
• Ye Luochen remained wary, recalling a deadly Soul Ring expedition in the Star Dou Great Forest, which was said to be less dangerous than the Evil Demon Forest.
• The group walked for two more hours and reached the edge of a vast, gray-black forest that pressed down on them with an oppressive sense of danger.

Ye Luochen and the others ventured into the Evil Demon Forest to find his Fourth Soul Ring, while the old man explained why he could not personally intervene without attracting the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign's attention. When a Mandala Snake attacked, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen held back to see Ye Luochen fight.

• Ye Luochen said he wanted a sharpness-focused Fourth Soul Ring to match the first three on his Dark Iron Blade.
• The old man warned that he would only act in an emergency because the Evil Eye Tyrant Sovereign could sense disturbances across the forest.
• The group encountered a roughly three-thousand-year-old Mandala Snake, and Ye Luochen identified its species and cultivation.
• Meng Hongchen asked whether Mandala Snakes were revered in Ye Luochen's homeland because of Tang San, and Ye Luochen confirmed that followers had hunted them nearly to extinction.
• The Mandala Snake attacked, while the old man and the Hongchen siblings stayed back and left Ye Luochen to handle it.

Ye Luochen crippled a Mandala Snake and used it as bait to attract a soul beast suitable for his next soul ring. After waiting through the night without success, the group prepared to move, but a figure appeared nearby.

• Ye Luochen dodged the Mandala Snake's charge and struck its vital point, leaving it unable to move.
• Meng Hongchen explained how Ye Luochen's slash had severed the snake's main nerve, then praised his skill and teased Xiao Hongchen.
• Ye Luochen decided the three-thousand-year-old Mandala Snake was unsuitable for him and hung it from a tree as bait for other soul beasts.
• The gray-robed elder concealed the group in film-like spaces, and they waited until night without attracting any soul beasts.
• Ye Luochen decided they should change locations, but a figure appeared nearby.

Ye Luochen and the old man hid in a membrane space while an Evil Eye approached the Mandala Snake bait, but the Evil Eye sensed the trap and exposed their hiding place. The old man fought it off long enough to draw it away, leaving Ye Luochen and the others to find somewhere safe.

• Ye Luochen recognized the approaching Soul Beast as an Evil Eye, and the old man warned that its mental power could detect their hiding place.
• The Evil Eye moved toward the Mandala Snake bait, but sensed that the injured snake was being used in a trap.
• The Evil Eye released its Mental Domain, stripping away the camouflage and revealing Ye Luochen and the others inside the membrane space.
• The Evil Eye attacked with Evil Eye Gaze, and the old man used a Soul Tool barrier to block the beam before striking the creature.
• The old man told the others to hide, then fled into the distance to lure the Evil Eye away.

After the old man lured away a fifty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant, Ye Luochen and the Hongchen siblings ran into three ten-thousand-year Evil Eyes. Ye Luochen killed his opponent in one strike, astonishing Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

• Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Ye Luochen fled in the opposite direction after the old man drew away the Evil Eye Tyrant.
• The group encountered three ten-thousand-year Evil Eyes, and Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen charged in to fight them.
• Ye Luochen fought the remaining Evil Eye, activated all three soul skills, and killed it with a single slash.
• Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen quickly defeated their own opponents and joined Ye Luochen beside the newly formed soul ring.
• Meng Hongchen pointed out that Ye Luochen had killed the Evil Eye in one strike, while Xiao Hongchen doubted it and she teased him for refusing to admit Ye Luochen was better.

After killing three ten-thousand-year Evil Eyes, Ye Luochen and the Hongchen siblings found only two soul crystals and fled, suspecting one Evil Eye had escaped. The three were then caught separately in a mental illusion, and Ye Luochen realized their pursuer was likely a powerful Evil Eye.

• Meng Hongchen found two soul crystals among the three Evil Eye corpses, and the group suspected the third Evil Eye had escaped.
• The group left the area, fearing a stronger Evil Eye would come after them for revenge.
• Ye Luochen felt unnatural resentment toward Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, then realized they had vanished and that he might be trapped in a mental illusion.
• Xiao Hongchen also sensed strange jealousy and resentment before recognizing that something was wrong.
• Meng Hongchen felt resentment toward Xiao Hongchen, then broke free of the thoughts and realized the emotions were unnatural.

Ye Luochen, Meng Hongchen, and Xiao Hongchen fought to escape an illusion created by the Evil Eye Tyrant, which sought the Evil Eye soul crystals. Ye Luochen found a flaw in the illusion, while Xiao Hongchen’s shot failed to break it.

• Ye Luochen concluded the Evil Eye Tyrant wanted the two crystals carried by Meng Hongchen and repeatedly searched the illusion for a way out.
• Meng Hongchen used Jing Hongchen’s Level 9 Soul Tool disc to defend herself from the Evil Eye Tyrant’s attacks.
• Xiao Hongchen forcibly activated Jing Hongchen’s Level 9 Heavy Soul Guidance Cannon and fired at the illusion.
• The explosion shook the illusion, allowing Ye Luochen to sense a flaw and expose a bloodied tentacle disguised as a tree.
• Xiao Hongchen’s shot failed to break the illusion despite making the space tremble.

Xiao Hongchen helped Ye Luochen break the Evil Eye Tyrant’s illusion, revealing Meng Hongchen battling the hundred-thousand-year beast. Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen launched a Martial Soul Fusion Skill that wounded it, and the enraged Evil Eye Tyrant turned its attention toward Ye Luochen.

• Xiao Hongchen recognized Meng Hongchen through the cracks Ye Luochen had made in the illusion and used his Soul Guidance Cannons to drive back the exposed tentacles.
• Ye Luochen struck the tentacles disguised as trees until the illusion shattered.
• Ye Luochen saw the Evil Eye Tyrant attacking Meng Hongchen and realized it was likely a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
• The Evil Eye Tyrant unleashed its full power, and Xiao Hongchen supported Meng Hongchen’s Rank 9 Soul Tool with his Soul Power.
• Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen used a Martial Soul Fusion Skill to strike the Evil Eye Tyrant with a toxin-laced attack.
• The Evil Eye Tyrant, wounded and angry, decided to attack Ye Luochen.

The Level 9 Soul Engineer rescued Ye Luochen from the Evil Eye Tyrant, then took him and the Hongchen siblings back to Mingde Hall. Jing Hongchen punished the team leader and the siblings, while promising to find Ye Luochen a Fourth Soul Ring.

• The Evil Eye Tyrant caught up to Ye Luochen and attacked, but the Level 9 Soul Engineer arrived in time to block its beam and kill it with several Level 9 Heavy Soul Guidance Cannons.
• The old man collected the Evil Eye Tyrant’s hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, rescued Ye Luochen, and revealed that Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen were safe inside the flying Soul Tool.
• The old man ended the Soul Hunting Operation and fled the Evil Demon Forest with the three young Soul Engineers after his cannons were damaged and his Soul Power was nearly exhausted.
• At Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen struck the old man and stripped him of his authority and resources until he made ten Level 9 Soul Tools.
• Jing Hongchen confined Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy until they reached Rank 60, then promised Ye Luochen compensation and a Fourth Soul Ring.

After surviving a life-threatening incident, Ye Luochen received compensation from Jing Hongchen: two Level 9 Mirrors of Protection. He recognized their immense defensive value and was left impressed by Mingde Hall’s response.

• Ye Luochen returned to his dormitory after Jing Hongchen promised compensation for the incident.
• An instructor delivered a storage Soul Tool containing two items that initially seemed unimpressive to Ye Luochen.
• Ye Luochen read the description and learned the items were Level 9 Mirrors of Protection that could block a Titled Douluo’s attack and activate repeatedly.
• Ye Luochen realized the mirrors could provide a total of three minutes of powerful protection, though he could not recharge one quickly enough to keep their barriers active indefinitely.
• Ye Luochen compared Mingde Hall’s compensation and accountability with Shrek’s response to a similar tragedy and felt that Mingde Hall had not let him down.

Ye Luochen visited Xuan Ziwen’s laboratory to see the assembly line that mass-produced Class 2 Soul Guidance Cannons, then tested whether his Martial Soul would absorb the new machinery. The Dark Iron Blade did not react, leaving its earlier evolution unexplained, and Ye Luochen and Xuan Ziwen went to sleep after their exhausting work.

• Xuan Ziwen visited Ye Luochen, confirmed he was unharmed, and told him the Soul Tool assembly line had succeeded.
• Ye Luochen watched the Stamping Machine Tools produce a Class 2 Soul Guidance Cannon and praised Xuan Ziwen’s work.
• Ye Luochen tried to make the Dark Iron Blade absorb the assembly-line machinery, but it showed no reaction.
• Ye Luochen and Xuan Ziwen discussed the production line, ate dinner, and returned to their dormitories to sleep.
• Ye Luochen woke close to noon the next day.

Ye Luochen went to Mingde Hall and discovered that Jing Hongchen had gathered a large selection of soul beasts for him to choose from for his Fourth Soul Ring. He recognized that accepting Jing Hongchen’s generosity tied him more closely to Mingde Hall and began inspecting the beasts.

• Ye Luochen skipped class and headed to Mingde Hall to focus on his Soul Tool studies.
• A Mingde Hall teacher led Ye Luochen to a hall filled with caged soul beasts and plant-type soul beasts.
• Jing Hongchen explained that he had captured beasts of different types and cultivation ages so Ye Luochen could choose a suitable Fourth Soul Ring.
• Ye Luochen saw that nearly ten soul beasts all possessed sharpness attributes and thanked Jing Hongchen for his effort.
• Jing Hongchen told Ye Luochen that each cage had a button-triggered Soul Guidance Cannon to kill its beast, and Ye Luochen began considering his choice.

Ye Luochen used Soul Engineer examination devices to measure his physical and mental abilities before choosing his Fourth Soul Ring. Confident that his attributes exceeded the usual standard, he approached the cages holding Soul Beasts over ten thousand years old, while Jing Hongchen chose not to stop him.

• Ye Luochen considered the risks of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the usual age limit and decided to rely on measurements rather than rough estimates.
• Soul Engineer devices showed that Ye Luochen had Soul King-level physical strength, flexibility at the Soul Emperor level, and mental strength approaching that of a fifth-rank Soul Engineer.
• Ye Luochen passed the Soul Beasts below ten thousand years and walked toward the cages holding older beasts.
• Jing Hongchen considered warning Ye Luochen but let him proceed, seeing him as a suitable candidate to test a bolder approach to Soul Ring cultivation.

Ye Luochen chose a twelve-thousand-year Thorn Vine for his Fourth Soul Ring, hoping its plant-type energy and his solid foundation would let him endure the risk. He absorbed it successfully, leaving Jing Hongchen impressed by his stability and wondering whether he could have chosen an even stronger soul beast.

• Ye Luochen considered the gap between his ordinary martial soul and top geniuses, then decided a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring could help him catch up.
• Ye Luochen selected a twelve-thousand-year Thorn Vine, explaining that its plant-type energy was less violent and its cultivation was within a Soul King's conventional limit.
• Jing Hongchen warned Ye Luochen that the Soul Ring exceeded what a four-ring soul master should endure, but Ye Luochen pressed the button and killed the Thorn Vine.
• Ye Luochen drew the black Soul Ring to himself and began absorbing it, while Jing Hongchen watched anxiously.
• Ye Luochen guided the energy through his meridians, and his aura settled before rising steadily as he refined and absorbed the Soul Ring.
• Ye Luochen completed the absorption without incident, and Jing Hongchen praised his foundation while regretting that he had not chosen a higher-cultivation soul beast.

After absorbing a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring and reaching Soul Ancestor, Ye Luochen was invited to join Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy’s reserve team for the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament. The chapter left him agreeing to help the team use his knowledge of Shrek’s competitors.

• Ye Luochen completed his absorption of a ten-thousand-year Fourth Soul Ring, and Jing Hongchen congratulated him on becoming a Soul Ancestor.
• Jing Hongchen invited Ye Luochen to join Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy’s tournament reserve team alongside Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
• Jing Hongchen explained that Ye Luochen’s experience at Shrek could help Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy prepare for its rivals.
• Ye Luochen realized he knew Shrek’s planned competitors, their martial souls, and their strengths, then decided it was appropriate to share that information.