Chapter Summaries

Jiang Chen left Qian Renxue and Hu Liena and went to Moonlight Pavilion, where he watched Xiao Xuening perform for Tang Yuehua and the young nobles. The chapter ended with Tang Yuehua and the audience marveling at Xiao Xuening’s exceptional talent.

• Jiang Chen declined Qian Renxue’s request to stay and left through the secret passage.
• Jiang Chen met Hu Liena, exchanged a few tender words with her, and departed.
• Jiang Chen arrived at Moonlight Pavilion and watched Xiao Xuening play the zither from outside.
• Tang Yuehua and the young nobles admired Xiao Xuening’s performance and marveled at her talent.

Jiang Chen saw Xiao Xuening perform at Moonlight Pavilion, then tried to leave without her noticing. When she spotted him and jumped from the third floor, he caught her and reunited with her.

• Jiang Chen noticed Tang San’s transformed appearance and saw Xiao Ying watching Xiao Xuening perform.
• Xiao Xuening finished her performance to applause, while Jiang Chen turned to leave.
• Xiao Xuening sensed Jiang Chen and ran to the corridor, then jumped from the third floor after spotting him.
• Jiang Chen caught Xiao Xuening, and Xiao Ying and the others rushed outside to check on her.
• Jiang Chen held Xiao Xuening and warned her not to jump from dangerous heights again.

Jiang Chen left Heaven Dou City after saying goodbye to Xiao Xuening, while Ning Fengzhi lay injured and lamented his daughter’s suffering and the destruction of his clan. The chapter left Jiang Chen heading toward an uncertain future and Ning Fengzhi consumed by guilt.

• Jiang Chen told Xiao Xuening he had to visit her grandmother and promised to bring her treats when he returned.
• Xiao Xuening watched Jiang Chen leave in tears, and Xiao Ying carried her back inside.
• Tang San watched Jiang Chen’s departing figure and felt that it seemed familiar.
• Jiang Chen met the four elders outside the city gates, glanced back at Heaven Dou City, and departed.
• Ning Fengzhi lay helplessly injured, grieving over Ning Rongrong’s suffering and blaming himself for opposing Spirit Hall.

Ning Rongrong found her father, Ning Fengzhi, injured and lying on the floor, while he feared the consequences of what Jiang Chen had done to her. He told her that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was gone, leaving her panicked and confused.

• Ning Fengzhi lay in despair, unable to face his daughter but unwilling to leave her alone by dying.
• Ning Rongrong rushed in and found Ning Fengzhi injured on the floor, then struggled to carry him to the bed.
• Ning Fengzhi noticed Ning Rongrong limping and asked where she was hurt, but she avoided explaining the embarrassing bruise on her thigh.
• Ning Rongrong asked what had happened and where Chen Xin and the other man were, and Ning Fengzhi told her the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was gone.
• Ning Rongrong panicked and questioned how the powerful sect could have disappeared.

Ning Fengzhi told Ning Rongrong that Spirit Hall had destroyed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and she vowed to avenge their clansmen. He then asked Flender to warn the Star Luo Imperial Family that Spirit Hall had hundreds of thousands of soul masters and might soon start a continental war.

• Ning Fengzhi told Ning Rongrong that Spirit Hall had wiped out the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, leaving only him and her two grandfathers alive.
• Ning Fengzhi lied that Sword Grandfather and Bone Grandfather had left to seek revenge, and Ning Rongrong swore to avenge their clansmen.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Ning Rongrong to summon Flender, then reflected on his hopes that Oscar would continue to love her.
• Flender and Zhao Wuji arrived, and Ning Fengzhi asked Flender to warn the Star Luo Imperial Family about Spirit Hall's vast army.
• Ning Fengzhi said a Spirit Hall elder had reported hundreds of thousands of soul masters, shocking Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Ning Rongrong.

Ning Fengzhi grew increasingly suspicious that Xue Qinghe had been deceived by Spirit Hall or was working with it, and planned to test him after recovering. Two days later, Jiang Chen returned to Spirit City and found troops preparing for war as Bibi Dong studied a military map.

• Flender agreed to warn the Star Luo Imperial Family, and Zhao Wuji told Ning Rongrong that Elder Sword had already gone to warn Xue Qinghe.
• Ning Fengzhi considered whether Xue Qinghe had joined Spirit Hall or whether someone with Jiang Chen’s disguising ability had replaced him, then decided to test Xue Qinghe after his injuries healed.
• Jiang Chen and the four elders returned to Spirit City and noticed soldiers moving through the city in armor.
• Jiang Chen went to see Bibi Dong and found her studying a military map; she beckoned him over.

Jiang Chen reported to Bibi Dong about his attack on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and showed her the puppets made from Chen Xin and Gu Rong. Bibi Dong explained that Spirit Hall was ready to conquer the Star Luo Empire without Heaven Dou’s help, leaving the continent’s unification within reach.

• Jiang Chen found Bibi Dong studying a military map, and she told him Spirit Hall was ready to invade the Star Luo Empire with its strengthened Soul Master army.
• Bibi Dong said Spirit Hall could establish its empire after conquering Star Luo, then secure the continent’s unification when Heaven Dou submitted.
• Bibi Dong asked Jiang Chen how his pursuit of Ning Fengzhi had gone, and he recounted the events before summoning Chen Xin and Gu Rong’s corpses.
• Jiang Chen explained that Chen Xin and Gu Rong could still use their Martial Souls but had no Soul Power for soul skills, while their physical abilities remained formidable.
• Bibi Dong told Jiang Chen that crippling Ning Fengzhi and destroying his sect had been crueler than killing him, and they joked about his dark mentality.

Bibi Dong told Jiang Chen that her army was already assembled at the Star Luo Empire's border, and they prepared to march. At Shrek Academy, Ning Fengzhi remained crippled by Jiang Chen's incurable poison and burned with hatred for him.

• Bibi Dong reassured Jiang Chen that she had secretly gathered the army at the Star Luo Empire's border while he was away.
• Bibi Dong and Jiang Chen changed into silver-white battle robes and prepared to eat before setting out.
• Grandmaster and Liu Erlong hurried back to Shrek Academy, and Zhao Wuji joined them at Ning Fengzhi's room.
• Ning Fengzhi sat up as Ning Rongrong gave him medicine, but the treatments could not restore the life force he had lost.
• Ning Fengzhi discovered that no poison expert in Heaven Dou City could cure Jiang Chen's poison, which had crippled his Soul Power and ended his Soul Sage cultivation.
• Ning Fengzhi vowed revenge on Jiang Chen for destroying his sect, crippling him, and violating Ning Rongrong.

Ning Fengzhi and Grandmaster discussed Spirit Hall’s rumored army of hundreds of thousands, though Grandmaster doubted the report. Jiang Chen and Bibi Dong then led ten thousand troops toward the Star Luo Empire’s border.

• Ning Fengzhi vowed to secretly destroy Ning Rongrong’s pregnancy if her stomach began to swell.
• Grandmaster apologized to Ning Fengzhi for Yu Yuanzhen’s role in the destruction of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Ning Fengzhi said Grandmaster had been abandoned by his clan.
• Ning Fengzhi told Grandmaster that Flender had gone to the Star Luo Empire to warn it about Spirit Hall’s army of hundreds of thousands.
• Grandmaster doubted Spirit Hall could have gathered so many soul masters, and Ning Rongrong agreed that Yu Yuanzhen might have been trying to scare Ning Fengzhi.
• Jiang Chen and Bibi Dong finished eating and set out with ten thousand troops toward the Star Luo Empire’s border.

Spirit Hall’s army rapidly conquered the Star Luo Empire while Bibi Dong won over its people with generous policies. Jiang Chen led surprise assaults and harvested enemy commanders, and the army advanced toward Star Luo City.

• Bibi Dong appointed Jiang Chen General of Surprise Assault, giving him a thousand Soul Masters to target enemy commanders.
• Spirit Hall’s army marched south, while Titled Douluo guarded Bibi Dong and the border between the empires.
• Spirit Hall defeated the Star Luo Empire’s forces and captured more than half its territory in three days, advancing toward Star Luo City.
• Bibi Dong announced tax relief and free training for cultivators, gaining support among the Star Luo Empire’s commoners.
• Jiang Chen hunted commanders who refused to surrender, while Bibi Dong ordered powerful Soul Masters captured alive for him.

Spirit Hall’s army reached the outskirts of Star Luo City as widespread surrender weakened the Star Luo Empire. After learning that Spirit Hall had sealed the border, Grandmaster urged Ning Fengzhi to ask Xue Qinghe to send troops to aid Star Luo.

• Spirit Hall’s army advanced to Star Luo City, while frightened soldiers and nobles increasingly chose to surrender.
• Spirit Hall members spread promises of favorable policies among Star Luo City’s people and nobles.
• At Shrek Academy, Grandmaster, Liu Erlong, Zhao Wuji, Ning Fengzhi, and others learned that Spirit Hall had sealed the border between the empires.
• Ning Fengzhi warned that war had likely begun in Star Luo, and Grandmaster urged him to ask Xue Qinghe to send Heaven Dou troops.
• As Ning Fengzhi was about to answer, someone rapidly approached.

Flender reported that Spirit Hall had sealed the border between the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires, while Ning Fengzhi prepared to ask Xue Qinghe for help after the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was destroyed. Ning Fengzhi entered the imperial study alone to determine whether his former disciple was still himself, and Xue Qinghe reacted with apparent shock to his account.

• Flender reported that Title Douluo guarded the sealed border, but he had failed to discover why Spirit Hall closed it.
• Ning Fengzhi told Grandmaster that his cultivation had not recovered, while Ning Rongrong said Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had gone to seek revenge on Spirit Hall.
• Grandmaster, Flender, and Liu Erlong escorted Ning Fengzhi to the palace, where Ning Fengzhi asked them to wait outside the imperial study.
• Ning Fengzhi privately considered whether Xue Qinghe had joined Spirit Hall or was an impostor before entering the study alone.
• Qian Renxue greeted Ning Fengzhi with concern, and he told her that Spirit Hall had destroyed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and left him crippled.
• Qian Renxue appeared shocked and asked Ning Fengzhi to explain how the sect had been destroyed.

Ning Fengzhi told Qian Renxue that Spirit Hall had destroyed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and asked her to send troops against its forces at the border. She refused to act until the Star Luo Empire was confirmed to be under attack, leaving Ning Fengzhi distrustful as he departed.

• Ning Fengzhi recounted the destruction of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Qian Renxue reacted with anger and shock when he revealed Dugu Bo had been working for Spirit Hall.
• Ning Fengzhi warned Qian Renxue that Spirit Hall had deployed soul masters to seal the border between the two empires and might be targeting the Star Luo Empire.
• Ning Fengzhi asked Qian Renxue to send troops to stop Spirit Hall, but she refused to act before receiving definite news of an attack.
• Ning Fengzhi left the palace for Shrek Academy, privately feeling that his heart had gone cold.

After Qian Renxue refused to commit the Heaven Dou Empire to aid the Star Luo Empire, Ning Fengzhi and his companions feared Spirit Hall would soon conquer both empires. Ning Fengzhi sent Flender to warn the secluded Clear Sky Sect, hoping it might intervene.

• Qian Renxue let Ning Fengzhi depart and privately recognized that Spirit Hall would likely occupy the Star Luo Empire before they learned its intentions.
• Ning Fengzhi told Grandmaster, Liu Erlong, and Flender that the emperor had refused to send troops and hoped to profit from the conflict.
• Ning Fengzhi proposed informing the Clear Sky Sect, believing its deep hatred of Spirit Hall might spur it to act.
• Grandmaster agreed that Flender should deliver the warning, and Flender left for the Clear Sky Sect's secluded residence.

Four days after Flender returned without Clear Sky Sect’s support, Zhao Wuji reported that Spirit Hall had conquered the Star Luo Empire and wiped out its imperial family. Grandmaster and Ning Fengzhi hurried to the palace to learn how Xue Qinghe would respond, as fear spread through Heaven Dou City.

• Flender told Grandmaster and Ning Fengzhi that Clear Sky Sect had offered hospitality but had not stated its position.
• Ning Fengzhi noted that Spirit Hall was likely attacking the Star Luo Empire, while Liu Erlong complained about the sealed border.
• Zhao Wuji reported that Spirit Hall had reached Star Luo City in three days and destroyed the Star Luo Imperial Family, taking most of the empire within five days.
• Grandmaster feared the Heaven Dou Empire would suffer the same fate and urged Ning Fengzhi to meet with Xue Qinghe at once.
• Grandmaster, Ning Fengzhi, and the others rushed toward the imperial palace as news of the conquest spread anxiety through Heaven Dou City.

Grandmaster, Ning Fengzhi, and the Shrek Academy group urged Qian Renxue to resist Spirit Hall after the Star Luo Empire fell, but she argued that surrender would spare Heaven Dou’s people from suffering. Grandmaster remained convinced Spirit Hall’s benevolent policies were a smokescreen, leaving their disagreement unresolved.

• Grandmaster and the others entered the palace and overheard Qian Renxue discussing affairs with Heaven Dou’s officials.
• Ning Fengzhi warned Qian Renxue that Spirit Hall would not stop after conquering the Star Luo Empire and urged Heaven Dou to resist.
• Qian Renxue explained that Spirit Hall had spared Star Luo’s civilians, introduced policies that benefited them, and won support from the people.
• Qian Renxue said Heaven Dou should surrender because resisting Spirit Hall would bring greater misery to its people.
• Grandmaster rejected Qian Renxue’s reasoning and insisted Spirit Hall’s kindness was a ruse to ease its conquest of the continent.

After Heaven Dou’s leaders agreed to surrender to Spirit Hall, Ning Fengzhi led Grandmaster and the others away, convinced the decision could not be changed. He revealed that Xue Qinghe might have joined Spirit Hall long ago or been replaced, and that Chen Xin and Gu Rong were already dead.

• Qian Renxue said she would not start a war because most of Heaven Dou’s ministers supported submitting to Spirit Hall.
• Ning Fengzhi accepted that Heaven Dou would surrender, and he left the Imperial Study with Grandmaster and the others.
• Ning Fengzhi explained that the ministers’ swift agreement to surrender suggested hidden dealings, since they risked losing their positions under Spirit Hall.
• Ning Fengzhi said Xue Qinghe might have defected to Spirit Hall or might not be the original Xue Qinghe.
• Ning Fengzhi revealed that Chen Xin and Gu Rong had not gone to seek revenge against Spirit Hall and were already dead.

Ning Fengzhi told Grandmaster, Flender, and Liu Erlong that Spirit Hall had killed Gu Rong and Chen Xin, and they concluded that the Heaven Dou Emperor might be connected to Spirit Hall. The chapter ended as the blockade lifted and visitors discovered that Spirit Hall had taken control of the Star Luo Empire’s surrounding cities.

• Ning Fengzhi recounted Gu Rong’s death and Jiang Chen’s claim that Chen Xin was already dead, but asked the others to keep the news from Ning Rongrong.
• Grandmaster blamed Flender for failing to protect Ning Fengzhi and the two elders, and Ning Fengzhi told Flender not to blame himself.
• Ning Fengzhi, Grandmaster, Flender, and Liu Erlong discussed Spirit Hall’s power and feared they could no longer stop its advance.
• On the tenth day of Spirit Hall’s assault, the blockade was lifted, and visitors entered the Star Luo Empire to investigate.
• Visitors discovered that Spirit Hall had replaced the rulers of the surrounding cities and turned its halls into city lord’s residences.

The Spirit Hall Empire was established under Bibi Dong, and its policies drew common people from across the continent while several former Shrek companions moved toward reunion. Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing reached Shrek Academy, where Ma Hongjun was recounting his travels.

• Bibi Dong became the first emperor of the newly established Spirit Hall Empire, and its benefits prompted many middle- and lower-class citizens to join.
• A black-robed figure watched the Pope Palace as Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing fled through the former Star Luo Empire, a bearded man headed back to Heaven Dou City, and Ma Hongjun decided to return.
• Tang San longed to reunite with Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing and asked his aunt to let him return to Shrek Academy, but she refused unless he passed her test or his father came for him.
• Ten days after the Star Luo Empire fell, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing arrived safely at Shrek Academy.
• Ma Hongjun proudly told the lively assembly hall about his training outside over the past few years.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing returned to Shrek Academy, where they reunited with their friends and explained how they had survived Spirit Hall’s slaughter of the Star Luo Imperial Family. Their escape left them grieving for the family members who had died.

• Ning Rongrong sat beside Oscar as the reunited Shrek group listened to Ma Hongjun talk.
• Oscar asked whether Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had died in the destruction of the Star Luo Empire, and Grandmaster said the imperial family had been killed.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing arrived at the council hall, surprising everyone and prompting Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun to rush over and greet them.
• Dai Mubai explained that he and Zhu Zhuqing had left the royal family after becoming Crown Prince and Crown Princess, then escaped Spirit Hall’s attack on Star Luo City.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing wept as they recalled arriving too late to save the imperial family, while Grandmaster and the others listened with relief and sorrow.