Chapter Summaries

Chen Hong guided Dai Mubai in studying his first soul skill, then reflected on his ties to Spirit Hall and his correspondence with Hu Liena. In Spirit City, Hu Liena received Chen Hong’s letter and settled in to read it.

• Chen Hong guided Dai Mubai’s Mental Power and Soul Power for three hours as Dai Mubai examined his White Tiger Body Protection Shield, then sent him back to the dormitory.
• After Dai Mubai left, Chen Hong read the envelope addressed to the Holy Maiden’s Doggy and recalled sending Hu Liena a reply through Ning Quan.
• Chen Hong wondered whether Hu Liena would soon be on break and questioned why he felt guilty.
• In Spirit City, Hu Liena happily rolled onto her bed, hugged a pillow, and took out a letter and a thin book.

Hu Liena read Chen Hong’s letter about the Technology Guild’s growth and its plan to share the Soul Power Milk Bottle with Spirit Hall. The letter ended by promising an even bigger offering, Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies.

• Hu Liena opened Chen Hong’s letter and mocked its boastful address and signature.
• Hu Liena read Chen Hong’s thanks for Spirit Hall’s protection and learned that the Technology Guild would give Spirit Hall the Soul Power Milk Bottle’s design blueprints.
• Hu Liena recalled that Spirit Hall’s higher-ups were waiting for the Technology Guild to share the Soul Power Milk Bottle rather than keep the profits to itself.
• Hu Liena read Chen Hong’s claim that the Soul Power Milk Bottle was not impressive enough and that he had been holding back Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies.

Hu Liena read Chen Hong’s Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies and realized it could transform how Spirit Masters studied soul rings and created skills. She rushed to Bibi Dong with the treatise, and Bibi Dong began reading it, increasingly engrossed.

• Hu Liena studied Chen Hong’s Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies and recognized the importance of its theories about soul rings.
• Hu Liena concluded that the treatise could guide Spirit Hall and Spirit Masters across the continent, including helping high-level Spirit Masters create Self-Created Soul Skills.
• Hu Liena went to Bibi Dong’s bedchamber late at night and explained that she had brought her teacher an extraordinary gift.
• Hu Liena presented the treatise to Bibi Dong, who began reading it and grew increasingly speechless as she turned the pages.

Bibi Dong read Chen Hong’s Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies and recognized that its research surpassed Yu Xiaogang’s Ten Great Martial Soul Theories. She concluded that Chen Hong himself had reached the Realm of Intent, a level attained by no one else in the world.

• Bibi Dong read Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies and became increasingly solemn as she considered its significance.
• Bibi Dong told Hu Liena that Chen Hong’s research into soul rings was far deeper than the Ten Great Martial Soul Theories.
• Bibi Dong explained that Spirit Hall elders had reached the Realm of Form, while even the Clear Sky Sect’s Great Sumeru Hammer remained at the Half-step Realm of Intent.
• Bibi Dong recalled that Qian Daoliu’s soul skills approached the Realm of Intent but remained bound to physical form.
• Bibi Dong concluded that Chen Hong had reached the Realm of Intent because his book fully explained that realm but said nothing about the Realm of Heaven and Man Combined.

Bibi Dong warned Hu Liena that Chen Hong was a formidable Spirit Soul Master who could manipulate minds, and explained how Evil Soul Emperor Qian Yu had attacked Chen Hong and his mother. Hu Liena’s curiosity about Chen Hong grew into an ambition to compete with Bibi Dong, the teacher she admired.

• Bibi Dong assessed Chen Hong as an exceptionally powerful Spirit Soul Master and warned Hu Liena about Spirit Soul Masters falling to evil.
• Bibi Dong told Hu Liena that Qian Yu had escaped the City of Slaughter, attacked Ning Lu and Chen Hong, and was likely defeated by Chen Hong.
• Bibi Dong cautioned Hu Liena not to let Chen Hong or another Spirit Soul Master manipulate her will and soul.
• Hu Liena blushed when Bibi Dong teased her about her interest in Chen Hong.
• Hu Liena reflected on Chen Hong’s rapid achievements and wondered whether she could become an enhanced version of Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong warned Hu Liena to stay cautious around Chen Hong, then offered her support if she could bring the Technology Guild fully under Spirit Hall. After Hu Liena left, Bibi Dong sent the Soul Ring Manual to the Worship Hall, while Chen Hong woke up in Suotuo City to find Ning Quan smiling over him.

• Bibi Dong cautioned Hu Liena that her curiosity about Chen Hong could grow into affection and urged her to become strong enough to protect herself.
• Bibi Dong told Hu Liena she would support her if she turned the Technology Guild into an industry of Spirit Hall.
• Bibi Dong reflected on how the Technology Guild's road-building and research could advance her ambitions and benefit Spirit Hall.
• After dismissing Hu Liena, Bibi Dong ordered Elder Ju to send the Soul Ring Manual to the Worship Hall.
• Chen Hong opened his eyes in the Shrek Soul Guidance Device Department and saw Ning Quan smiling above him.

Ning Quan reported that the Spirit Hall Saintess seemed interested in Chen Hong, who dismissed the news and returned to his research. That night, Oscar arrived at Chen Hong’s door, giving him a chance to study the food-type Spirit Master’s Soul Power Sausage.

• Ning Quan told Chen Hong about the Saintess’s talent and said she had personally received him and seemed happy to hear he was Chen Hong’s messenger.
• Chen Hong joked with Ning Quan about being attractive, then saw his uncle off and went back to researching crystals, engravings, and Soul Storage Metal.
• After a full day of research and teaching, Chen Hong answered a knock at his door and found Oscar waiting outside.
• Chen Hong recognized Oscar as a golden legend and recalled wanting to study his Soul Power Sausage.

Chen Hong helped Oscar complete the Soul Power circulation route for his First Soul Skill and explained how Oscar could eventually transform his abilities through cultivation. Oscar eagerly asked Chen Hong to teach him, while Chen Hong recognized that Oscar’s Soul Incantations might share a principle with his Beast Blood Divine Mark.

• With Chen Hong’s help, Oscar completed his Soul Power circulation route and learned he could cultivate to alter the form of his Soul Skill.
• Chen Hong joked that Oscar could make Soul Power shit and use it to intimidate or distract enemies, leaving Oscar dismayed.
• Chen Hong described how reaching the second realm of Soul Rings might let Oscar use Soul Incantations to cast broad, wave-like abilities.
• Excited by Chen Hong’s vision of his potential, Oscar dropped to his knees and asked him to teach him.
• Chen Hong agreed to guide Oscar and realized that Soul Incantations seemed to share an underlying principle with his Beast Blood Divine Mark.

Chen Hong questioned Oscar about his Soul Incantation and learned why Oscar wanted to become a powerful combatant: he loved an outstanding girl whose family expected her partner to have strong fighting ability. Chen Hong gave Oscar cautious advice about overcoming her family’s demands, leaving Oscar unsure whether Chen Hong understood whom he meant.

• Chen Hong reasoned that Oscar’s Soul Incantation might draw on Heaven and Earth Soul Power, and said he still needed to determine whether the effect came from Oscar’s incantation, martial soul, or soul skill.
• Chen Hong asked Oscar why a Support Soul Master wanted deterrence, and Oscar admitted that he liked a girl from an outstanding family.
• Oscar recalled that Ning Rongrong had rejected him and said the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect needed a powerful Spirit Master, not another Support Soul Master.
• Chen Hong considered how Soul Tools might change the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s need for combat strength, while wondering whether Oscar could instead be talking about Zhu Zhuqing.
• Chen Hong told Oscar to become strong enough to cut away the family shackles binding the girl and bear pressure for her, and Oscar wondered whether Chen Hong was misleading him.

Chen Hong advanced his Soul Guidance Engravings and studied Tang San’s Eight Spider Lances, then made Tang San an Ice Gold Concealing Breath Pouch to hide Xiao Wu’s Soul Beast aura. Tang San left Shrek Academy with Tang Hao, while Chen Hong called after him to report Xiao Wu’s measurements.

• Chen Hong reached Soul Power level 25 and taught most of the Shrek Seven Devils Soul Ring cultivation, while Wild Boar Bajie remained unable to cultivate it.
• Chen Hong raised Ning Rongrong’s three Amplification Engravings to level three and acquired basic Shield, Sharpening, and Flame Engravings from Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun.
• Chen Hong studied Tang San’s Eight Spider Lances and taught him Soul Ring cultivation in exchange for permission to examine the External Soul Bone.
• Chen Hong designed the Ice Gold Concealing Breath Pouch to conceal Xiao Wu’s Soul Beast aura, but Tang San refused to provide Xiao Wu’s measurements.
• Chen Hong tested the pouch by contacting Tang Hao, who took Tang San away from Shrek Academy as Chen Hong called after them.

Chen Hong arranged for Tang Hao to escort Tang San to the Star Dou Great Forest so Tang San could bring Xiao Wu back, while Yu Xiaogang asked Chen Hong to guide the Shrek Seven Devils' next combat training. A month after Xiao Wu disappeared, Chen Hong decided it was time for her to return, partly because he wanted to study Tang San's External Soul Bone.

• Chen Hong watched Tang San leave with Tang Hao and kept Tang Hao's identity from him.
• Tang Hao approved Chen Hong and Tang San's plan after confirming the Ice Gold Concealing Breath Pouch could block his perception.
• Yu Xiaogang asked Chen Hong to guide the Shrek Seven Devils during their next practical combat training in Suotuo City.
• Chen Hong planned to bring Xiao Wu back one month after her disappearance so he could study Tang San's External Soul Bone.

Chen Hong assured Yu Xiaogang that the Technology Guild would look after Shrek Academy’s students in Suotuo City, and Yu Xiaogang gave the exhausted Shrek Seven Devils a break. The group planned a shopping trip while Yu Xiaogang stayed behind to discuss academic matters with Chen Hong.

• Chen Hong told Yu Xiaogang that the Technology Guild would arrange for the Shrek students’ needs and help keep them safe in Suotuo City.
• Yu Xiaogang announced that the Shrek Seven Devils could rest until Tang San returned, prompting the group to celebrate their break.
• Ning Rongrong suggested that everyone visit Suotuo City, and the others agreed to go exploring.
• Ning Rongrong asked Chen Hong to cover their expenses, and Chen Hong reluctantly promised to pay for their fun.
• Chen Hong declined to travel with the group immediately, while Yu Xiaogang said he would discuss academic matters with him before joining them.

Chen Hong met with Yu Xiaogang, who sought his guidance after studying Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies and reconsidering his own theories. Yu Xiaogang admitted his work on optimal soul ring ages was deeply flawed, leaving him shaken by Chen Hong’s criticism.

• Chen Hong told Yu Xiaogang that he could only answer questions in fields he had mastered, and Yu Xiaogang accepted his authority in those areas.
• Yu Xiaogang explained that Soul Ring Form and Intent Studies had kept him awake as he reflected on its ideas and Chen Hong’s scholarly rigor.
• Yu Xiaogang said that a month of reflection had revealed serious problems in his Ten Great Martial Soul Theories.
• Yu Xiaogang acknowledged that his claims about optimal soul ring ages were especially wrong and felt cold sweat break out after Chen Hong’s criticism.

Chen Hong challenged Yu Xiaogang’s Soul Ring age-limit theory, explaining how survivor bias and misplaced trust could conceal its flaws. He left Yu Xiaogang in tears, urging him to create principles that could adapt to Spirit Masters beyond the clans they suited.

• Chen Hong argued that Spirit Masters who died absorbing Soul Rings at supposedly safe limits could not expose flaws in Yu Xiaogang’s theories, and that survivors might blame themselves instead.
• Yu Xiaogang admitted his theory had problems, but Chen Hong interrupted his self-reproach with a story about a lisping teacher whose students learned an unintelligible version of Douluo Language.
• Chen Hong explained that the students trusted the teacher because his lessons offered their only path out of isolation, while outsiders who already knew Douluo Language would not mistake his version for the real thing.
• Chen Hong suggested that Soul Ring configurations suited to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Clear Sky Hammer, and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could be replicated, but might not suit everyone.
• Chen Hong left Yu Xiaogang crying and said that only a version of Douluo Language adaptable to everyone could cure his lisp.

Chen Hong returned to Suotuo City and discovered that the Mental Turbulence above it had begun gathering into a powerful cloud connected to its residents. He realized the phenomenon had changed during his absence, while Ning Quan confirmed that the city now felt sacred and oppressive like Spirit City.

• Chen Hong left Yu Xiaogang with a hint about developing an Optimal Soul Ring Age Formula rather than giving him the answer directly, hoping he would grow into a scholar capable of creating it.
• Chen Hong considered uncovering the rules behind soul beast sacrifices and making sacrifice possible for Spirit Masters, an advance that could overturn the Douluo Continent's existing order.
• Chen Hong returned to Suotuo City and activated the [Sage]'s Ring to isolate the Mental Turbulence gathering above the city.
• Ning Rongrong called to Chen Hong from the upper floor of Ning Lu's Suspended Pot Medical Center, but he focused on examining the sky with Ning Quan.
• Chen Hong saw the Mental Turbulence forming a growing black cloud linked by threads to the city's residents and wondered why it had begun accumulating.
• After Chen Hong asked whether the city felt oppressive, Ning Quan recalled that Suotuo City now felt sacred and majestic, much like Spirit City.

Chen Hong joined Ning Lu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing for Ning Lu’s newly brewed Soul Power medicinal wine, then returned to his room to examine the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal he had spent nearly half a year nurturing. He had embedded Absolute Rationality and the Overclocking Protocol in its core but refused to turn it into a clone by splitting his soul, and he activated its First Protocol.

• Chen Hong led Ning Quan into the medical hall, where Ning Lu offered everyone her newly brewed Soul Power medicinal wine.
• Chen Hong suggested saving some wine for his Shrek teammates, but Ning Lu refused because they were boys without younger sisters or a marriage arrangement with Chen Hong.
• Chen Hong drank his wine, cultivated in his bedroom, and brought out the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal he had nurtured for nearly half a year.
• Chen Hong reflected that he had written Absolute Rationality and the Overclocking Protocol into the crystal but would not split his soul to make it his clone.
• Chen Hong ordered the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal to activate its First Protocol.

Chen Hong activated the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal’s First and Second Protocols to uncover its true desire, fearing the growing Mental Turbulence over Suotuo City. The crystal answered that it wanted freedom and needed Chen Hong’s initiative, leaving their relationship poised between his control and its wish to escape.

• Chen Hong activated Absolute Rationality and Overclocked States in the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal.
• He questioned the crystal about its deepest desire, prompted by the dangerous growth of Mental Turbulence above Suotuo City.
• The Spirit-Mechanical Crystal answered that its deepest desire was freedom.
• Chen Hong recalled how his two Soul Skills and their Divine Runes let him control or destroy the crystal’s soul.
• The Spirit-Mechanical Crystal said Chen Hong was poison to it, but that his initiative was what it needed most.

Chen Hong calibrated the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal by persuading it to accept a rational agreement to serve him, then used it to draw in the Mental Turbulence outside. As he exposed the crystal to the torrent, strange voices filled his mind.

• Chen Hong rejected the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal's request for freedom and redirected its logic toward finding meaning in its existence.
• Chen Hong offered the Spirit-Mechanical Crystal an agreement: he would help define its purpose, and it would serve him.
• The Spirit-Mechanical Crystal accepted the agreement and addressed Chen Hong as Lord Hong.
• Chen Hong pressed the crystal against [Sage]'s Ring and used his Mental Power to draw the Mental Turbulence toward him.
• Chen Hong raised the crystal into the descending torrent of Mental Power, and strange voices began speaking in his mind.

Chen Hong found Bai Ping and the other starving children in Suotuo City’s slums and discovered bruises that suggested someone had been harming them. He revealed that the Technology Guild’s 1,000 Gold Soul Coin severance payment was involved, and the chapter ended with him confronting whoever had exploited them.

• Bai Ping prayed beneath a streetlamp while Ye Han warned her that Little Nine might not survive.
• Bai Ping told the children that Mother Lin had offered her a job and promised to support them, then tried to give Ye Han a pouch in case anything happened to her.
• Chen Hong appeared behind Bai Ping, and his presence left her too frightened to move as he approached the children.
• Chen Hong used Martial Soul Psychic Power to reveal bruises on one child’s neck and realized someone had taken a 1,000 Gold Soul Coin job while he was away.
• Chen Hong accused someone of abusing the severance payment system he had designed.

After discovering that the Technology Guild had pushed commoners out of jobs and into slums, Chen Hong rescued poisoned children and resolved to investigate the corruption. He realized the city’s Mental Turbulence was Power of Faith and found that it could be purified into a golden-white liquid.

• Chen Hong reassured the emaciated children, gave Bai Ping a gourd of restorative liquid, and promised that the Technology Guild would speak with them the next day.
• Ning Quan suggested gathering the Armament Department to punish those who had defrauded the Guild’s severance system and poisoned the children, but Chen Hong said the show had only just begun.
• Chen Hong explained that absorbing Suotuo City’s Mental Turbulence had let him hear the people’s prayers and notice how Spirit Masters had displaced commoners from Guild jobs and farmland.
• Chen Hong decided to steer the Technology Guild back toward including commoners, believing civilization could not develop if it relied only on Spirit Masters.
• Chen Hong discovered that Power of Faith could be purified, and a faintly golden drop of white liquid was refined in his sea of consciousness.