Chapter Summaries

Yu Xiaogang explained Freedom Guild and Inner Core Soul Rings to Tang San, who planned to examine the new system before choosing his First Soul Ring. That night, Xiao Wu’s thoughts turned to Spirit Hall’s role in the Soul Beast Clan’s fate, while Huo Yuhao anticipated meeting Qiu’er again; Yu Xiaogang received another visitor after sending off his eldest disciple.

• Yu Xiaogang told Tang San that Freedom Guild was a continent-wide task platform backed by Dragon King Hall, and Tang San considered its influence and ambitions.
• Yu Xiaogang affirmed his belief that there were no useless martial souls and explained his research into Inner Core Soul Rings.
• Tang San left after Yu Xiaogang said he would visit the dormitory the next morning, and another person knocked on Yu Xiaogang’s door.
• Xiao Wu asked Tang San about his studies, and Tang San explained that Soul Masters now absorbed or condensed Inner Core Soul Rings issued by Spirit Hall.
• Xiao Wu grew troubled by thoughts of her mother and Da Ming, while Huo Yuhao thought of Dong’er and Qiu’er and hoped to embrace a new Qiu’er in this life.
• After sending off his eldest disciple, Yu Xiaogang heard another knock at his dormitory door.

Tang Hao visited Yu Xiaogang at night, asked him to look after Tang San, and left behind a Martial Soul Hall Elder Token and two Soul Ring Inner Cores. Yu Xiaogang examined the gifts and considered how to pass the cores to Tang San without revealing Tang Hao's visit.

• Yu Xiaogang opened his door and recognized Tang Hao, who explained that he was leaving and entrusted Tang San to his care.
• Yu Xiaogang questioned whether Tang Hao's departure would hurt Tang San, but Tang Hao insisted his son should choose his own path and warned Yu Xiaogang to remember that Tang San was his son.
• Tang Hao left a Martial Soul Hall Elder Token and two boxes for Yu Xiaogang, then vanished after closing the door.
• Yu Xiaogang admired the token and read Tang Hao's note instructing him to give Tang San the two top-grade Soul Ring Inner Cores without revealing their source.

Yu Xiaogang examined the premium Soul Ring Inner Cores Tang Hao had left for Tang San and planned to look for alternatives at the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Branch. Wang Zhao discovered that Tang Hao had stolen the cores and secretly replaced them with disguised Ten-Year cores, intending to leave Tang San with no better option.

• Yu Xiaogang read the instructions for Tang Hao’s premium core and found that it enhanced toughness and sharpness while adding a trace of poison.
• Yu Xiaogang decided to take Tang San to the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Branch the next day before choosing a First Soul Ring.
• Wang Zhao entered Yu Xiaogang’s dormitory after dark and confirmed that Tang Hao’s two premium cores had come from the branch’s missing inventory.
• Wang Zhao stole the premium cores, replaced them with disguised Ten-Year Soul Ring Inner Cores, and returned the boxes to the table.
• Wang Zhao planned to have Sister Dong'er’s subordinates temporarily remove the branch’s better cores so Yu Xiaogang would have to use Tang Hao’s gift.

Tang San went with Yu Xiaogang to the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Branch to look for a Soul Ring Inner Core, but learned that his senior brother had received the belt-shaped Storage Soul Tool he expected. They found only poor-quality inner cores, and Yu Xiaogang decided they had seen enough for the day.

• Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San a bracelet-shaped Storage Soul Tool and explained how Storage Soul Tools worked.
• Tang San asked about belt-shaped Storage Soul Tools and learned that Yu Xiaogang had given his larger belt to his senior brother, whom Tang San blamed for taking the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.
• Yu Xiaogang and Tang San visited the Spirit Hall Branch to inspect Soul Ring Inner Cores.
• A deacon criticized Yu Xiaogang for repeatedly visiting to examine the inner cores and revealed that the staff disliked him.
• Yu Xiaogang realized that the Branch had only poor-quality inner cores and decided that Tang San had broadened his horizons enough for the day.

Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San a Soul Ring Inner Core he claimed was a powerful person's gift, and Tang San believed it might have come from his father. As Tang San absorbed it, he discovered it contained far less energy than expected and formed a ten-year First Soul Ring.

• At the Spirit Hall Branch, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San heard that two top-grade Century Soul Ring Inner Cores had been stolen and that the store's high-quality stock was off the shelves.
• Back at the academy, Yu Xiaogang told Tang San that his First Soul Ring had already been prepared and handed him an Inner Core said to be over four hundred years old.
• Tang San suspected Yu Xiaogang had the stolen Inner Cores and guessed that his father had supplied one, then compared it with Wang Zhao's exceptional soul rings.
• Tang San swallowed the Inner Core and began absorbing it while Yu Xiaogang watched over him.
• Tang San realized the Inner Core's energy was pitifully weak and completed the absorption, forming a ten-year Soul Ring.

Tang San discovered that his First Soul Ring was only ten years old and blamed Yu Xiaogang for ruining his prospects, while hiding his fury and suspicions about the person who provided the Soul Ring Inner Core. When he tested his First Soul Skill, he found his Blue Silver Grass had become weak, spotted, and foul-smelling.

• Tang San revealed his ordinary white ten-year Soul Ring, leaving Yu Xiaogang shocked and muttering that the person who had provided the Inner Core was Tang San’s father.
• Tang San suspected Yu Xiaogang had been entrusted with the Inner Core by his father, but silently vowed revenge against whoever had damaged his foundation.
• Yu Xiaogang searched his books for a solution, then refused to name the person who supplied the Inner Core and advised Tang San to be careful with future Soul Rings.
• Yu Xiaogang urged Tang San to test his First Soul Skill, and Tang San activated it as “Stinky Bind.”
• Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass grew with grayish-white spots, poor toughness, and a foul odor, darkening his expression further.

Tang San learned that his First Soul Skill, Stinky Bind, could use its foul odor for battlefield control, but fled Yu Xiaogang’s explanation in disgust. After overhearing that Xiao Wu and the Work-Study Students were challenging Xiao Chenyu, Tang San headed to watch their fight.

• Yu Xiaogang tested Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass and praised the control potential of its odor-based Stinky Bind skill.
• Tang San left Yu Xiaogang, who suspected Tang Hao’s Soul Ring Inner Cores might have been forged from Ten-Year Soul Rings and kept the second core.
• Wang Zhao noticed Tang San’s unusual Soul Skill and produced a dossier.
• Tang San overheard students discussing Xiao Wu and the Work-Study Students’ wager against Xiao Chenyu.
• Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to head toward the rear mountain forest and watch the fight.

Xiao Wu challenged the mysterious Boss Xiao after a clash between the Work-Study Students and upperclassmen, while Huo Yuhao learned that Boss Xiao had once defeated a powerful instructor despite being a newly advanced Soul Master. Boss Xiao finally appeared on a nearby hillside, leaving Huo Yuhao suspecting that he might be a variable in history.

• Xiao Wu challenged the upperclassmen’s Boss Xiao after hearing that he could suppress anyone who refused to submit.
• An upperclassman claimed Boss Xiao would fight all the Work-Study Students together, and Xiao Wu accepted the challenge.
• Wang Sheng told Huo Yuhao that Boss Xiao had been rumored to have level-three Innate Soul Power and had defeated a veteran instructor after becoming a one-ring Soul Master.
• Huo Yuhao suspected Boss Xiao might be a variable in history.
• Boss Xiao appeared on a nearby hillside and apologized for keeping everyone waiting.

Boss Xiao arrived to challenge Xiao Wu and the Work-Study Students, offering to fight them alone for the right to be recognized as the academy’s boss. Wang Sheng stepped forward to test him, and Boss Xiao met his martial-soul-powered attack with an ordinary palm.

• Boss Xiao arrived at the grove, and the upperclassmen greeted him with admiration.
• Boss Xiao noticed something unusual about Xiao Wu, then dismissed the proposed wager and offered to give her pointers.
• Boss Xiao challenged the Work-Study Students to fight him, promising to accept them as the academy’s boss if they defeated him.
• Wang Sheng volunteered to test Boss Xiao, used Martial Soul Possession, and charged at him with a Tiger Palm.
• Boss Xiao received Wang Sheng’s attack with his bare hand without using his martial soul or a soul skill.

Huo Yuhao stepped forward to face Boss Xiao after Wang Sheng was defeated, and learned that the powerful sixth-year student called himself Xiao Huohuo. The chapter revealed that Xiao Huohuo was formerly Xiao Chenyu and traced the mysterious event that preceded his sudden rise in cultivation, ending as he faced a crushing setback.

• Boss Xiao countered Wang Sheng's attacks and sent him flying with an Iron Mountain Lean, prompting Huo Yuhao to catch him.
• Huo Yuhao stopped Xiao Wu from taking the next round and challenged Boss Xiao, identifying himself as a level-twelve Battle Soul Master with a Spiritual Eye martial soul.
• Boss Xiao introduced himself as Xiao Huohuo, a level-twenty-five two-ring Battle Soul Master, shocking the gathered students.
• Tang San watched from nearby, while Wang Zhao read a document stating Xiao Huohuo was formerly Xiao Chenyu and had rapidly advanced after years of strange cultivation.
• A flashback showed young Xiao Chenyu finding a Heavenly Black Stone; that night, its firelight entered his forehead and left him with pain before his cultivation speed increased.
• Xiao Chenyu's father urged him to keep his unusual progress secret, and Xiao Chenyu later suffered a severe setback that drove him toward depravity.

Xiao Chenyu’s Soul Power repeatedly regressed until a crimson transformation consumed and remade his wolf Martial Soul as a Fire Wolf. After seeing the origin of the Black Fragment in a vision, he realized it had caused his troubles and searched for it.

• For three years, Xiao Chenyu’s Soul Power cultivation advanced quickly but then leaked away, earning him rumors of being a good-for-nothing.
• During the break before his fourth year, crimson flames erupted from Xiao Chenyu and engulfed his wolf Martial Soul while his father watched.
• The flames transformed Xiao Chenyu’s Martial Soul into a wolf-shaped Pure Elemental Martial Soul made of fire.
• Xiao Chenyu saw a vision of a black-robed man whose Black Ruler lost a fragment that fell through a Space Rift and eventually landed where Xiao Chenyu had found it.
• Xiao Chenyu recognized the fragment as the cause of his troubles, woke from the vision, and searched the room until he found it.

Xiao Chenyu absorbed the Black Fragment’s inheritance, reached Soul Power Level ten, and accepted Yu Xiaogang as his teacher. His father explained that Xiao Clan hoped to rise in status but faced suppression if it openly nurtured powerful descendants.

• Xiao Chenyu pressed the Black Fragment to his forehead and received memories of a powerful figure’s rise, then absorbed four inheritances as the fragment shattered into light.
• Xiao Chenyu discovered that his Soul Power had reached level ten and told his father what had happened; his father urged him to keep it secret.
• Xiao Father brought Yu Xiaogang to meet Xiao Chenyu, who accepted him as his teacher and performed a formal disciple’s ceremony.
• After Yu Xiaogang left, Xiao Father explained that small clans faced suppression if they tried to advance by openly cultivating powerful descendants.
• Xiao Father revealed that Xiao Chenyu’s sudden improvement had revived his hopes of advancing the Xiao Clan.

After becoming Yu Xiaogang’s disciple, Xiao Chenyu transformed his Martial Soul, cultivated diligently, and renamed himself Xiao Huohuo. He faced Huo Yuhao in a mountainous clearing, where both summoned their Soul Rings before the battle began.

• Xiao Father arranged for Xiao Chenyu to become Yu Xiaogang’s disciple so Yu Xiaogang could guide his unusual Martial Soul.
• With Yu Xiaogang’s guidance, Xiao Chenyu obtained a fire-attributed First Soul Ring, and his cultivation began advancing without regressing.
• Xiao Chenyu believed his lost Soul Power had fueled his Martial Soul’s transformation into the high-grade Wolf-Patterned Fire, and he changed his name to Xiao Huohuo.
• Xiao Huohuo and Huo Yuhao moved their duel to open mountain ground while students gathered to watch and cheer for them.
• Xiao Huohuo summoned his two yellow Soul Rings and wolf-shaped flames as Huo Yuhao raised his crystalline white Soul Ring.

Xiao Huohuo and Huo Yuhao fought in the arena, where Huo Yuhao used his combat experience and unusual Soul Skills to counter Xiao Huohuo’s speed. The battle remained undecided as Xiao Huohuo prepared to unleash Eight Extremes Collapse.

• Xiao Huohuo restrained his flames and used Explosive Step to charge at Huo Yuhao.
• Huo Yuhao dodged Xiao Huohuo’s punch and struck back, while Xiao Huohuo stumbled because he could not control his speed.
• Xiao Huohuo charged again, and Huo Yuhao used Soul Shock to halt him before attempting a whip kick.
• Huo Yuhao explained that Soul Shock was a special application of his First Soul Skill, and Xiao Huohuo expressed surprise at its power.
• Xiao Huohuo and Huo Yuhao became serious, and Xiao Huohuo shouted that he would use Eight Extremes Collapse.

Huo Yuhao lost to Xiao Huohuo, and Xiao Wu prepared to fight him until Tang San stepped in to take her place. Xiao Huohuo then addressed Tang San as his junior brother and introduced himself as his senior brother.

• Xiao Huohuo sent Huo Yuhao flying with a strike, and Xiao Wu caught him.
• Huo Yuhao warned Xiao Wu that Xiao Huohuo was dangerous, but Xiao Wu refused to back down.
• Tang San blocked Xiao Wu and insisted on taking her place in the fight.
• Xiao Wu let Tang San face Xiao Huohuo, and Tang San confidently promised he would not lose.
• Xiao Huohuo unfastened his school uniform and greeted Tang San as his little junior brother, introducing himself as his senior brother.

Tang San faced Xiao Huohuo in the arena after realizing Xiao Huohuo had become his senior brother and had taken his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. Confident in his hidden weapons despite refusing to reveal his Blue Silver Grass, Tang San urged Xiao Huohuo to attack with everything, and Xiao Huohuo unleashed his fire wolf martial soul.

• Tang San recognized Xiao Huohuo as his senior brother and gritted his teeth when he spotted the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at Xiao Huohuo's waist.
• Xiao Wu shoved Tang San toward the arena, and Tang San agreed to fight Xiao Huohuo before discussing their personal matters.
• Xiao Huohuo asked Tang San to reveal his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, but Tang San refused and privately relied on his hidden weapons.
• Tang San told Xiao Huohuo to attack with everything, intending to prove himself and make Xiao Huohuo pay for taking his storage belt.
• Xiao Huohuo raised his hand, activated his Crimson Fire Wolf, and summoned a vast blaze and imposing fire wolf.

Tang San used handmade hidden weapons against Xiao Huohuo in their sparring match, while Xiao Huohuo countered with flames enhanced by his Heavenly Flame inheritance. The chapter ended as Xiao Huohuo relied on his Green Lotus Fire Shield and Triple Netherflame Quake to withstand Tang San’s attack.

• Tang San warned Xiao Huohuo before beginning their sparring match.
• Tang San fired a Silent Sleeve Arrow, which Xiao Huohuo barely dodged, then explained that he was using handmade hidden weapons as external help.
• Tang San drew a large assortment of hidden weapons from his Storage Soul Tool and launched Sky-Scattering Flower Rain at Xiao Huohuo.
• Xiao Huohuo activated his first and second soul skills, unleashing deep-blue Sea Heart Flame to burn outward and block the weapons.
• Xiao Huohuo prepared to use Green Lotus Fire Shield against the hidden weapons that penetrated his flames.

Xiao Huohuo fought Tang San after blocking his hidden weapons, and eventually defeated him with his flames and Blazing Fire Wolf. He turned his attention toward Xiao Wu, the last Dorm Seven student in the wager.

• Tang San's hidden weapons struck Xiao Huohuo's cyan Fire Lotus barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground.
• Xiao Huohuo used Explosive Step and Eight Extremities Collapse, but Tang San countered with Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and was sent flying without being defeated.
• Xiao Huohuo decided to end the fight quickly, activated Green Lotus Fire Shield, and advanced through Tang San's barrage of hidden weapons.
• Xiao Huohuo fought alongside his Blazing Fire Wolf and kicked Tang San down, leaving him unable to rise.
• Xiao Huohuo glanced at Xiao Wu and prepared to face her next.

Xiao Wu supported the defeated Tang San before entering the arena to challenge Xiao Huohuo. Xiao Huohuo defeated her with little difficulty and remained standing as the winner.

• Xiao Wu helped Tang San back to the Work-Study Students, but dropped him aside after noticing his lecherous expression.
• Tang San urged Xiao Wu to admit defeat, but she refused and went to face Xiao Huohuo.
• Tang San asked Xiao Huohuo to go easy on Xiao Wu, and Xiao Huohuo promised to be careful.
• Xiao Wu challenged Xiao Huohuo, who defeated her using Explosive Step and fire without using Eight Extremities Collapse.
• Xiao Huohuo celebrated his victory and reflected that the protagonist was the one who remained standing until the end.

Xiao Huohuo won the wager against the Work-Study Students but spared them, then graduated from Nuoding Academy. Yu Xiaogang persuaded him to attend Shrek Academy, where he was expected to captain a team of monstrous geniuses.

• After Xiao Wu was defeated, the Work-Study Students conceded the wager, and the upperclassmen celebrated Xiao Huohuo's victory.
• Xiao Huohuo told Xiao Wu she did not have to become his pet, helped her up, and noticed Tang San watching them with an unfriendly expression.
• From the unseen void, Wang Zhao recognized Xiao Huohuo's techniques and speculated about Xiao Wu before setting off for Spirit City.
• At the end of the academic year, Xiao Huohuo completed his graduation procedures at Nuoding Academy and questioned Yu Xiaogang about Shrek Academy.
• Yu Xiaogang described Shrek Academy's powerful staff and plans for a team of geniuses, then told Xiao Huohuo that its dean hoped he would be the team's captain.