Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: Mysterious Heaven Breakthrough, Ninety Percent to Ji Yuan

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San attempts to break through the second layer of the Mysterious Heaven Skill while Xiao Wu watches over him.
• Ji Yuan secretly activates the parasitic network throughout Tang San’s body. When Tang San’s breakthrough produces a large amount of pure inner strength, Ji Yuan siphons away ninety percent of it.
• Tang San believes the painful reaction is caused by the conflict between his Twin Martial Souls. Ji Yuan strengthens this misconception by pushing the remaining Datura Snake poison to the surface.
• After the breakthrough, Tang San vomits black blood and realizes that his newly generated power has been “taken away.” However, Ji Yuan cuts off most of Tang San’s control and disguises the theft as a Martial Soul imbalance.
• Yu Xiaogang arrives and examines Tang San. He concludes that the Blue Silver Grass could not contain the excess power, forcing the deeper origin of the Clear Sky Hammer to absorb it and stabilize the Twin Martial Souls.
• Yu Xiaogang reassures Tang San that the vomiting is merely the expulsion of impurities. Although Tang San is left weak, his meridians are tougher and the remaining Soul Power is purer.
• Ji Yuan compresses and refines the stolen energy inside the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine, strengthening its body, metallic barbs, venom channels, and the Disorder Splitting Wind Vine Technique.
• By morning, rumors spread that Tang San nearly died. Xiao Chenyu hears of his weakness and sees it as an opportunity for revenge.
• Ji Yuan begins planning to infect more students at Notting Academy, recognizing that the upcoming grand competition will provide a large gathering of people, chaotic Soul Power, and strong emotions.
• The chapter ends when Xiao Wu announces that the competition roster has been posted and that she and Tang San will compete in the first round. Ji Yuan sees the tournament as the ideal time to expand his “farm.”

Character Developments

• Tang San: Successfully breaks through the Mysterious Heaven Skill but is left physically weak after losing most of the resulting energy. His suspicions about the theft are suppressed when he confirms that his meridians have genuinely strengthened. He becomes more dependent on Yu Xiaogang’s explanation and accepts that he was too reckless.
• Ji Yuan: Gains a major amount of cultivation energy and further develops the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine. His confidence and ambitions expand beyond Tang San, and he begins planning to parasitize the wider student population.
• Xiao Wu: Becomes extremely worried about Tang San, stays beside him through the night, scolds him for risking his life, and takes on a protective, caretaking role.
• Yu Xiaogang: Provides a plausible explanation for Tang San’s symptoms, unintentionally helping Ji Yuan conceal the parasitic theft. He interprets the event through the framework of Twin Martial Soul rejection and becomes an important tool in maintaining Tang San’s false understanding.
• Xiao Chenyu: Retains his resentment after his previous humiliation and views Tang San’s weakness as a chance to retaliate.
• Wang Sheng: Shows concern for Tang San and assists by fetching help and water.

Significant Themes

• Deception and misinterpretation: Ji Yuan manipulates Tang San’s physical sensations and allows others to explain the evidence incorrectly.
• Parasitic exploitation: Tang San’s breakthrough, which should benefit him, instead becomes nourishment for Ji Yuan and the Demon Vine.
• False reassurance: Yu Xiaogang’s explanation contains enough truth—stronger meridians and purer remaining Soul Power—to make the larger lie convincing.
• Dependence and care: Xiao Wu’s worry and Yu Xiaogang’s guidance contrast with Ji Yuan’s cold exploitation of Tang San.
• Expansion of power: Ji Yuan moves from cultivating through a single host toward creating a broader network across the academy.
• Danger beneath ordinary progress: Tang San believes he has achieved a breakthrough, but his cultivation is secretly being redirected and controlled.

Important Character Interactions

• Tang San and Xiao Wu: Xiao Wu tries to interrupt Tang San’s breakthrough, then supports and cares for him after he vomits blood. Her concern turns into affectionate scolding.
• Tang San and Yu Xiaogang: Tang San reports that his power was taken away, but Yu Xiaogang interprets this as the Twin Martial Souls sharing power. Tang San accepts the explanation after sensing genuine improvements in his body.
• Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu: Xiao Wu challenges Yu Xiaogang’s vague explanations, while he calmly reassures her and instructs her to prevent Tang San from circulating his power again.
• Ji Yuan and Tang San: Ji Yuan controls Tang San’s breakthrough from within, siphoning away most of his energy while preserving just enough to keep him alive and make the deception believable.
• Xiao Chenyu and his followers: Xiao Chenyu uses news of Tang San’s condition to encourage thoughts of revenge, while Liu Qiang remains intimidated by their previous confrontation.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The academy's end-of-term tournament begins, with Tang San and Xiao Wu both in the first round.
• Xiao Wu's first match is against Zhao Hu, a strength-type Battle Soul Master with an Ironback Bear Martial Soul. She defeats him with her superior close-combat skills and throwing techniques.
• Tang San's third match is against Zhou Ming, who has been tampered with by Xiao Chenyu. Zhou Ming attacks Tang San with poisoned cold arrows, aiming to cripple him.

Character Developments

• Xiao Wu demonstrates her powerful close-combat skills and throwing techniques, winning her match against Zhao Hu.
• Tang San shows concern for Xiao Wu's safety and takes responsibility for handling the situation with Zhou Ming.
• Xiao Chenyu's animosity towards Tang San and Xiao Wu intensifies, as he arranges Zhou Ming to attack Tang San during the tournament.

Significant Themes

• Competition and rivalry among students, both within and between dormitories.
• The use of underhanded tactics and manipulation by Xiao Chenyu to gain an advantage.
• The importance of inner strength and cultivation for Soul Masters.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Wu and Tang San show mutual concern and support for each other, with Xiao Wu expressing pride in Tang San's abilities and Tang San taking responsibility for dealing with Zhou Ming.
• Xiao Chenyu's animosity towards Tang San and Xiao Wu leads him to manipulate the tournament roster and arrange an attack on Tang San.
• The students from Seventh Dormitory cheer for Xiao Wu during her match, showing their support and camaraderie.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San's sleeve arrow is blocked at a crucial moment.
• Zhou Ming attacks Tang San with poisoned hidden arrows.
• Zhou Ming accidentally shoots at Xiao Chenyu.
• Zhou Ming implicates Xiao Chenyu as the one who sent him.
• Zhou Ming and Xiao Chenyu are taken to the Academic Affairs Office.
• The tournament is temporarily suspended, and Zhou Ming is disqualified. Xiao Chenyu is suspended from the remaining matches.

Character Developments

• Tang San remains calm and composed amidst the chaos.
• Xiao Wu becomes more protective of Tang San.
• Xiao Chenyu's actions backfire, causing him to lose face and face consequences.
• Zhou Ming's actions lead to his disqualification and a major demerit.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and its consequences (Xiao Chenyu's actions backfire, causing him harm).
• The power of luck and timing (Xiao Wu attributes Zhou Ming's injury to luck).
• The importance of evidence in accusations (Xiao Chenyu cannot prove Tang San's involvement).

Character Interactions

• Tang San and Xiao Wu's growing bond and protectiveness towards each other.
• Xiao Chenyu and Zhou Ming's alliance, which ultimately leads to their downfall.
• The teachers' role in maintaining order and punishing rule violations.
• The students' reactions to the chaos, with some laughing at Xiao Chenyu's misfortune.

Chapter Summary: “Toxins Lurk, Controlling the Upperclassmen”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Ji Yuan secretly infects several upperclassmen, including Liu Qiang and Xiao Chenyu, with dormant spores. The spores leave toxic residue in their meridians, making Soul Power circulation sluggish and exhausting them without causing obvious injury.
• Xiao Chenyu and other students begin experiencing fatigue, chest tightness, and disrupted cultivation. Ji Yuan deliberately keeps Xiao Chenyu alive because his status as the City Lord’s son and leader of the upperclassmen can help spread the spores.
• A registration teacher is also parasitized, expanding Ji Yuan’s influence among the academy staff.
• The following day, the affected students perform poorly during training. Their Soul Power repeatedly scatters, while Ji Yuan absorbs the energy they lose.
• Tang San notices that the upperclassmen’s weakness is too widespread to be ordinary fatigue. He asks Yu Xiaogang to investigate.
• Yu Xiaogang examines the students and Tang San, but Ji Yuan conceals the true cause by leaving only signs of fatigue and depleted vitality.
• Ji Yuan manipulates Tang San’s symptoms so that Yu Xiaogang concludes Tang San’s unstable cultivation, Twin Martial Soul conflict, Datura Snake Soul Ring, and recent breakthrough are causing a form of “Soul Power resonance” that is affecting those nearby.
• Yu Xiaogang advises Tang San to avoid unnecessary fights, stabilize his Blue Silver Grass Soul Power, and stay away from the upperclassmen’s cultivation area.
• Ji Yuan continues harvesting energy from the academy, including a small amount from Xiao Wu, while carefully avoiding draining Tang San too severely.
• By the end of the chapter, the spores and underground roots have formed the beginnings of a network throughout Notting Academy. However, Yu Xiaogang’s Soul Power detector senses a strange fluctuation connected to Tang San, suggesting that Ji Yuan’s hidden system may soon attract closer scrutiny.

Character Developments

• Ji Yuan: Becomes increasingly strategic and patient. Rather than killing or crippling his targets, he uses low-level toxins and dormant spores to create a sustainable energy network. He identifies Tang San as his primary source of nourishment and the academy as a broader reservoir of energy.
• Tang San: Grows more suspicious of the strange coincidences surrounding him and the upperclassmen’s decline. Despite his weakened condition, he remains concerned about their health and seeks help from Yu Xiaogang.
• Xiao Wu: Acts as Tang San’s forceful protector and keeps him from attempting another reckless breakthrough. Her teasing and threats reveal her growing concern for him, while she also remains hostile toward the upperclassmen.
• Yu Xiaogang: Investigates the unusual symptoms but is misled by Ji Yuan’s manipulation. His attempt to explain events through Soul Power theory unintentionally provides Ji Yuan with an effective cover. At the end, however, his detector begins to reveal an unexplained connection to Tang San.
• Xiao Chenyu and Liu Qiang: Lose confidence and authority as their physical and cultivation abilities deteriorate. Xiao Chenyu becomes increasingly irritable and abusive toward his subordinates, while Liu Qiang openly struggles with fear and weakness.

Significant Themes

• Hidden control and parasitism: Ji Yuan’s influence spreads invisibly through spores, allowing him to control and drain others without detection.
• Manipulation of perception: The true cause of the students’ decline is concealed behind a plausible but false theory involving Tang San’s unstable Soul Power.
• Sustainable exploitation: Ji Yuan treats Tang San as a valuable but fragile resource and builds a wider network so he can harvest energy without destroying his primary source.
• Power and hierarchy: Xiao Chenyu’s authority depends on strength and status, but his sudden weakness exposes how unstable that authority is.
• Concern versus suspicion: Tang San genuinely worries about the affected students even though they previously targeted him, while he also begins recognizing the pattern behind the academy’s strange events.

Important Character Interactions

• Liu Qiang complains about his symptoms, but Xiao Chenyu dismisses him and later becomes increasingly hostile toward him.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu argue over his reckless cultivation, with Xiao Wu taking responsibility for supervising his recovery.
• Tang San reports the upperclassmen’s condition to Yu Xiaogang, who examines both them and Tang San.
• Xiao Wu challenges Yu Xiaogang’s explanations and remains skeptical of his theories, though Tang San largely accepts them.
• Yu Xiaogang’s investigation unintentionally strengthens Ji Yuan’s disguise, but his final detection of the connection between Tang San and the strange fluctuations threatens to expose the hidden network.

Chapter Summary: “Master’s Suspicion, Perfect Disguise”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Yu Xiaogang detects abnormal Soul Power fluctuations around Dorm Seven and suspects they are connected to Tang San.
• He examines Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass and discovers that it has become unusually tough, with dark patterns and signs of possible mutation.
• Yu Xiaogang theorizes that Tang San’s Twin Martial Souls—the weak Blue Silver Grass and domineering Clear Sky Hammer—are conflicting, especially after Tang San absorbed an overly powerful Datura Snake Soul Ring. He believes this conflict is causing Tang San’s body to absorb surrounding Soul Power.
• When Yu Xiaogang probes Tang San’s meridians, Ji Yuan disguises the parasitic network as internal damage and Soul Power backlash. He also manipulates Tang San’s Clear Sky Hammer and releases residual snake venom to make the condition appear dangerous.
• Tang San collapses, coughing black blood, forcing Yu Xiaogang to stop the examination. Yu Xiaogang believes he was too reckless and accepts responsibility.
• After Tang San wakes, Yu Xiaogang orders him not to use his left-hand Martial Soul without permission and warns him against prolonged Blue Silver Grass use around other people.
• Yu Xiaogang gives Tang San medicinal herbs to restore his qi and blood. Ji Yuan secretly absorbs most of the medicinal essence instead.
• The academy’s hidden “Dark Web” resumes operating, though its Soul Power return is more compressed and discreet.
• The chapter ends with a new mystery: the blood-replenishing herbs were purchased using the Gold Soul Coins Tang San had just received from the Spirit Hall subsidy, suggesting that someone—or something connected to Tang San—is secretly spending his money.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Becomes increasingly dependent on Yu Xiaogang’s guidance and accepts the Twin Martial Soul conflict explanation. He feels guilty for causing trouble, unaware that Ji Yuan is manipulating his body and symptoms.
• Yu Xiaogang: Moves from suspicion to a flawed but convincing theory about Tang San’s condition. His examination nearly exposes the hidden parasitic network, but the staged collapse makes him blame his own recklessness and become more protective of Tang San.
• Xiao Wu: Acts protectively toward Tang San, challenges Yu Xiaogang’s methods, and becomes openly angry when Tang San is harmed. Her distrust of Yu Xiaogang grows, although she accepts his help after he takes responsibility.
• Ji Yuan: Demonstrates increasingly sophisticated control over Tang San’s body, disguising the Parasitic Network, manipulating the Clear Sky Hammer, faking internal injuries, and exploiting Yu Xiaogang’s theories. He also continues secretly consuming Soul Power and medicinal energy.

Significant Themes

• Deception and disguise: Ji Yuan successfully hides his presence by presenting parasitic activity as Martial Soul mutation, meridian damage, and Soul Power backlash.
• Misinterpretation of truth: Yu Xiaogang reaches a partially plausible explanation, but his theory is built on manipulated evidence.
• Protection versus control: Xiao Wu and Yu Xiaogang both believe they are protecting Tang San, while Ji Yuan uses Tang San’s body without his knowledge.
• The danger of theoretical certainty: Yu Xiaogang’s knowledge helps him interpret unusual symptoms, but his reliance on theory also makes him vulnerable to Ji Yuan’s staged evidence.
• Hidden parasitism and resource consumption: Ji Yuan quietly drains academy Soul Power, medicine, and other resources while allowing Tang San and others to believe he is merely ill.

Important Character Interactions

• Xiao Wu physically confronts Yu Xiaogang to prevent another dangerous examination, while Tang San reassures her that the master will not hurt him.
• Yu Xiaogang questions Tang San about the altered Blue Silver Grass and warns him about the possible consequences of his Twin Martial Souls.
• Tang San collapses during the meridian examination, causing Xiao Wu to blame Yu Xiaogang and forcing him to admit his mistake.
• Afterward, Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu both care for Tang San, though Xiao Wu remains suspicious and critical.
• The final exchange between Yu Xiaogang and the registrar introduces a wider mystery concerning the unauthorized use of Tang San’s Spirit Hall funds.

Chapter Summary: “Notting City’s Dark Web, Spores Everywhere”

Key Plot Points and Events

• An apothecary reports that someone used a Gold Soul Coin from Tang San’s allowance to purchase a hundred-year-old Blood Ginseng, apparently framing Tang San since he is ill and never left the academy.
• Investigation reveals that a runner named Liu Er delivered the money. The disguised buyer wore a bamboo hat, collected the medicine, and headed toward Notting City’s Dark Web.
• Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and Xiao Wu visit the Dark Web and find the Blood Ginseng reduced to a worthless husk. The seller confirms that the buyer wore a bamboo hat and concealed their identity.
• A note hidden beneath the medicine box warns Tang San to stop using Spirit Hall’s money if he wants to investigate. This convinces Yu Xiaogang that someone is attempting to isolate Tang San from Spirit Hall and disrupt his cultivation.
• Suspicion falls on several possible enemies, including the Xiao Family, though Yu Xiaogang rules out Su Yuntao as unlikely.
• Over the following month, Ji Yuan secretly spreads spores through coins, goods, shops, guards, academy personnel, and city streets, building an extensive underground surveillance network.
• A second, higher-quality Blood Ginseng appears at auction. When Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Yu Xiaogang investigate, Ji Yuan’s roots reach the auction house. The genuine ginseng suddenly decays into a thin layer of skin, revealing that Ji Yuan has consumed its essence as well.

Character Developments

• Ji Yuan becomes increasingly organized and ambitious. Rather than merely manipulating individuals, he establishes a city-wide network through spores and roots, using commerce and ordinary movement to expand his reach.
• Tang San grows more suspicious and determined to uncover the conspiracy. His resentment toward Spirit Hall deepens, partly due to Ji Yuan’s subtle poison affecting his emotions.
• Yu Xiaogang becomes increasingly concerned about the forces targeting Tang San. He begins observing Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass more carefully and considers whether Tang San’s Twin Martial Souls are the reason for the interference.
• Xiao Wu remains fiercely protective and outspoken, repeatedly insisting on helping Tang San and confronting authority figures who refuse to act.
• Liu Er is established as an uninformed courier rather than a conspirator, frightened by the investigation and the Dark Web’s dangers.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation and misdirection: Ji Yuan constructs false clues and competing suspicions so that Tang San and Yu Xiaogang blame Spirit Hall, the Xiao Family, or other factions instead of discovering the true culprit.
• Surveillance and hidden influence: The spread of spores through money, goods, clothing, and travel routes symbolizes an invisible network that quietly controls the city.
• Trust and political isolation: The anonymous warning is designed to distance Tang San from Spirit Hall and make him distrust potential allies.
• Power beneath appearances: Ji Yuan’s influence remains hidden beneath ordinary events—medicine purchases, auctions, market transactions, and guard patrols—while the visible characters focus on surface-level clues.
• The dangers of investigation: Every attempt by Tang San to uncover the truth instead gives Ji Yuan more opportunities to expand his network.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Wu angrily defends Tang San when the apothecary’s evidence appears to implicate him.
• Yu Xiaogang tries to keep Tang San away from the Dark Web because of his injuries, but eventually accompanies him after Tang San and Xiao Wu insist.
• At the Dark Web, Tang San interrogates the medicine seller while Yu Xiaogang pressures him for information and Xiao Wu discovers the hidden note.
• Yu Xiaogang and Tang San discuss whether Tang San’s Twin Martial Souls have made him a target.
• Xiao Wu continues to push Tang San to rest, while Tang San remains focused on investigating the threat.
• The chapter ends with Tang San preparing to investigate the second Blood Ginseng while Ji Yuan’s hidden network activates across the city, culminating in the auctioned medicine being drained before anyone can secure it.

Concise Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• At the auction house, a century-old Blood Ginseng is discovered completely drained of its medicinal essence despite the sealed box showing no damage or traces of Soul Power.
• Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and Xiao Wu investigate. Yu Xiaogang suspects either a parasitic Soul Beast or a special Martial Soul capable of extracting energy remotely, unaware that Ji Yuan has secretly consumed the ginseng through roots extending from beneath Tang San’s shoe.
• The academy tournament’s disturbances fade, while Ji Yuan’s Dark Web continues expanding through spores placed around Notting City. Tang San remains his primary source of energy.
• When vacation begins, Xiao Wu decides to accompany Tang San to Holy Soul Village. Yu Xiaogang gives Tang San medicine and warns him not to overuse his left Martial Soul or cultivate alone for long periods.
• Back in Holy Soul Village, Tang San discovers that his father, Tang Hao, has abruptly left the blacksmith shop, leaving only a short letter asking him not to search for him.
• Tang San is deeply shaken, though he insists that Tang Hao must have had his reasons. Xiao Wu stays beside him for support.
• Ji Yuan views Tang Hao’s departure as the removal of a major threat. He immediately strengthens his influence within Tang San, drains part of his internal energy, plants a dormant spore in the blacksmith shop, and begins preparing the back mountain as a retreat and possible new network.
• While Tang San cultivates that night, Ji Yuan secretly siphons some of his energy. Just as Ji Yuan senses the Blue Silver Grass network spreading through the back mountain, Old Jack arrives with alarming news: someone has seen the patch of Blue Silver Grass “bleeding” at night.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Becomes increasingly troubled by the unexplained energy-draining incidents surrounding him. His return home turns painful when he finds Tang Hao gone, but he responds by suppressing his grief and resolving to work harder.
• Xiao Wu: Demonstrates her loyalty and protectiveness by accompanying Tang San home, defending him during the Blood Ginseng investigation, comforting him after Tang Hao’s departure, and standing guard while he cultivates.
• Yu Xiaogang: Grows more suspicious that an unknown force is influencing or interfering with Tang San, though all evidence can still be rationalized through Tang San’s unusual abilities and Twin Martial Souls.
• Tang Hao: His unexplained departure creates emotional uncertainty and removes the immediate danger he posed to Ji Yuan.
• Ji Yuan: Expands his hidden network, becomes more aggressive in exploiting Tang San’s weakened emotional state, and begins establishing Holy Soul Village—especially the back mountain—as a secondary base.

Significant Themes

• Hidden parasitism and manipulation: Ji Yuan quietly feeds on Tang San’s body and energy while allowing him to believe his weakness comes from grief or exhaustion.
• Family, grief, and responsibility: Tang San struggles with his father’s disappearance while Old Jack encourages him to rise beyond the poverty and limitations of the village.
• Trust and emotional support: Xiao Wu’s presence contrasts with Tang Hao’s absence, providing Tang San with companionship when he is most vulnerable.
• Invisible control: Ji Yuan views emotions such as hope, affection, and duty as “ropes” that can guide Tang San and make him easier to exploit.
• Expansion and concealment: Ji Yuan continually grows his network while hiding his actions behind plausible explanations, leaving others to investigate impossible symptoms without discovering the true culprit.

Important Character Interactions

• Yu Xiaogang questions the unexplained Blood Ginseng incident, while Tang San recognizes its similarity to earlier energy-draining events.
• Xiao Wu openly defends Tang San and later persuades him to let her accompany him home.
• Yu Xiaogang gives Tang San medicine and cautions him about cultivation, while Xiao Wu lightens the moment by asking for candied fruit.
• Old Jack warmly welcomes Tang San and Xiao Wu but becomes somber when discussing Tang Hao’s absence.
• Xiao Wu comforts Tang San after he reads the letter and criticizes Tang Hao for leaving without saying goodbye.
• Old Jack’s final warning about the “bleeding” Blue Silver Grass introduces the chapter’s new mystery and suggests that Ji Yuan’s hidden activity in the back mountain may already have been noticed.

Chapter Summary: Tang San Returns Home, the Back Mountain’s Rebirth

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San learns that the Blue Silver Grass on Holy Soul Village’s back mountain appears to be “bleeding.” Auntie Zhang’s report frightens the villagers, who suspect something supernatural or a soul beast.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Old Jack investigate. Tang San discovers that the red substance is actually altered grass sap caused by changes in the soil and the absorption of new nutrients.
• The grass has become tougher and develops small, blade-like serrations. Xiao Wu is lightly scratched, though Ji Yuan secretly removes the poisonous energy before it can harm her.
• Ji Yuan, concealed beneath Tang San’s shoe, continues transforming the hillside by spreading the impure poison, medicinal energy, and other power accumulated during their journey. He intends to turn the back mountain into an underground root network and hidden base.
• Tang San notices that the Blue Silver Grass now responds unusually strongly to his Martial Soul. He begins cultivating on the hillside and finds it more comfortable and restorative than cultivating at home.
• Tang San decides to visit and protect the back mountain regularly during his vacation, unknowingly helping Ji Yuan establish the area as a long-term base.
• After the villagers leave, Ji Yuan strengthens the grassland with warning mechanisms: serrated leaves and roots capable of detecting intruders and transmitting signals through dormant spores.
• Ji Yuan places the final portion of poison beneath an old tree, intending to make it the core of an illusion formation. He plans to use Tang San’s emotions as the formation’s trigger.
• Tang San dreams of a dark-red grass sea, a gigantic black ape, and an impossibly tall tree. The dream suggests hidden dangers and reflects Ji Yuan’s developing influence.
• The next morning, Old Jack tells Tang San that the villagers believe he has subdued the back mountain’s grass and asks him to come outside. At the same moment, Tang Hao’s letter is revealed to bear a mysterious dark-red grass mark, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Shows responsibility and curiosity by investigating the strange grass despite his fatigue. He becomes increasingly attached to the back mountain after sensing its improved cultivation environment and decides to monitor it regularly. His sensitivity to the area’s changes is growing, though he does not realize Ji Yuan is manipulating them.
• Xiao Wu: Remains protective and outspoken, challenging the villagers’ fear and refusing to leave Tang San alone on the mountain. Her closeness with Tang San is emphasized when he examines her scratched finger and later covers her with his robe.
• Ji Yuan: Advances his hidden plan substantially. He transforms the back mountain into a living surveillance and cultivation network, secretly draws a small amount of Xiao Wu’s powerful aura, supports Tang San’s cultivation, and begins constructing an illusion formation.
• Old Jack and the villagers: Their fear and rumors show how unusual the transformation appears to ordinary people. Old Jack tries to protect the village while also trusting Tang San’s judgment.
• Tang Hao: Does not appear directly, but his letter becomes connected to the supernatural developments through the unexplained grass mark.

Significant Themes

• Hidden manipulation: Ji Yuan uses Tang San’s actions and perceptions to advance his own plans without revealing himself.
• Nature transformed into power: The back mountain changes from ordinary grassland into a living, defensive, semi-magical base.
• Trust versus appearance: The villagers interpret the red sap as blood and danger, while Tang San offers a rational explanation that is only partially true.
• Growing interdependence: Tang San benefits from the back mountain, while Ji Yuan benefits from Tang San’s continued presence and Martial Soul.
• Foreshadowing and concealed danger: The ominous dream, the black ape and giant tree, and the mark on Tang Hao’s letter suggest larger supernatural forces and future conflict.

Important Character Interactions

• Tang San and Xiao Wu: Xiao Wu worries about Tang San’s health, accompanies him to the mountain, and stays despite his attempts to send her home. Tang San responds protectively after she is scratched and covers her with his robe while she sleeps.
• Tang San and Old Jack: Old Jack brings him the villagers’ concerns and looks to him for reassurance. Tang San takes responsibility by agreeing to remain on the mountain and investigate further.
• Tang San and the Blue Silver Grass: His Martial Soul now causes the altered grass to lean toward him, reinforcing his belief that the area has a special connection to his powers.
• Ji Yuan and Tang San: Ji Yuan secretly strengthens Tang San’s body and cultivation while steering his decisions, encouraging him to treat the back mountain as a valuable personal sanctuary.
• Ji Yuan and Xiao Wu: Ji Yuan briefly absorbs a small amount of Xiao Wu’s source aura, then withdraws before being detected, highlighting both his greed and caution.

Chapter Summary: “Old Jack’s Hopes, Ji Yuan’s Indifference”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San discovers a mysterious dark red stain on a letter, increasing his unease, but hides his reaction from Old Jack and Xiao Wu.
• Old Jack visits Tang San to praise his actions on the back hill and encourage him to pursue greatness rather than remain tied to his father’s blacksmith shop.
• He gives Tang San silver soul coins and a cloth towel, asking him to accept the help as a sign of respect. Old Jack expresses his hope that Tang San will become a powerful Soul Master and bring honor to Holy Soul Village.
• Ji Yuan secretly manipulates Tang San’s emotions and body. He releases refined internal energy to relieve Tang San’s distress, then uses the resulting emotional dependence to strengthen Tang San’s determination.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu revisit the back hill. Ji Yuan hides the maze formation and sensory threads beneath the grass, making the area appear normal while preserving his control over it.
• Tang San admits that ordinary cultivation feels insufficient and that he constantly senses an inner emptiness. He also describes dreaming of a black giant ape and a great tree, which causes Xiao Wu to react nervously and avoid the subject.
• During dinner, Old Jack urges Tang San to stay with him during the holidays, but Tang San refuses because he wants to wait for his absent father at home.
• Ji Yuan intensifies Tang San’s sense of weakness and Soul Power depletion. Tang San becomes dizzy and finds cultivation increasingly difficult, prompting him to return to the academy sooner than planned.
• Tang San makes one final visit to the back hill to practice the Purple Demon Eye, reaffirming his desire to become stronger, find his father, and rebuild the Tang Sect.
• After leaving the village, Ji Yuan drains Tang San’s Soul Power and creates the illusion that his meridians are empty. Xiao Wu becomes alarmed and hurries him back to the academy.
• At Notting Academy, Yu Xiaogang immediately notices Tang San’s abnormal condition. Before Tang San can explain, a heavy black light emerges from his left palm, revealing an alarming development connected to his Martial Soul.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Becomes more emotionally vulnerable and increasingly obsessed with becoming stronger. His concern for his missing father and the Tang Sect drives him forward, while Ji Yuan’s manipulation makes him believe he is genuinely suffering from a mysterious cultivation deficiency.
• Old Jack: Acts as a caring guardian and emotional support for Tang San. His pride and expectations reinforce Tang San’s ambitions, though his repeated hopes also place psychological pressure on him.
• Xiao Wu: Remains protective and attentive, monitoring Tang San’s health and supporting his return to the academy. Her uneasy reaction to the black giant ape suggests she knows more about Tang San’s dream than she admits.
• Ji Yuan: Continues operating covertly beneath Tang San’s shoe, manipulating his energy, emotions, and perceptions. He treats Tang San’s ambitions and relationships as tools for control and deliberately prepares circumstances that will lead Yu Xiaogang toward a dangerous explanation or decision.
• Yu Xiaogang: Appears highly concerned when Tang San returns with completely depleted Soul Power, immediately recognizing that the situation is abnormal.

Significant Themes

• Hope as control: Old Jack’s encouragement gives Tang San motivation, but Ji Yuan views these hopes as “reins” that can be used to direct him.
• Manipulation and false dependence: Ji Yuan alternates between relieving Tang San’s suffering and causing new weakness, making Tang San increasingly dependent on outside explanations and guidance.
• Ambition and sacrifice: Tang San’s desire to find his father, rebuild the Tang Sect, and become stronger pushes him to ignore exhaustion and potential danger.
• Appearance versus reality: The back hill appears ordinary while concealing Ji Yuan’s dormant formation, and Tang San’s apparent illness is actually being manufactured.
• Secrets and hidden identities: Xiao Wu’s reaction to Tang San’s dream and the black light from his palm hint at larger secrets involving powerful soul beasts and Tang San’s unusual abilities.

Character Interactions

• Tang San and Old Jack: Their conversation combines affection, grief, and pressure. Old Jack offers practical support and urges Tang San to fulfill the village’s hopes.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu: Xiao Wu teases him but also watches over his health. Her concern becomes more serious as Tang San’s symptoms worsen, while Tang San begins noticing that she is hiding knowledge about his dream.
• Tang San and Ji Yuan: Their relationship remains entirely one-sided from Tang San’s perspective. Tang San experiences Ji Yuan’s influence as unexplained warmth, hunger, fatigue, and Soul Power depletion, while Ji Yuan deliberately shapes his thoughts and actions.
• Tang San and Yu Xiaogang: The chapter ends with Yu Xiaogang confronting the apparent crisis, setting up his likely involvement in diagnosing Tang San’s abnormal condition.

Chapter Summary: “Return to Notting, Scheming for Star Dou”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San suffers a dangerous relapse involving his left hand and the Clear Sky Hammer. Black energy makes the hammer feel abnormally heavy, while his Soul Power seems to be constantly drained.
• Yu Xiaogang secretly examines him in his office, with Xiao Wu assisting and Wang Sheng keeping the other students away.
• Through an instrument, Yu Xiaogang determines that Tang San’s meridians have grown stronger, but a deeper force is consuming all newly generated Soul Power. He concludes that the Clear Sky Hammer is overpowering Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and its current Soul Rings.
• Yu Xiaogang explains that ordinary Soul Rings will not solve the problem. Tang San instead needs stronger vitality and a richer source of Soul Power, leading him to recommend the dangerous Star Dou Great Forest.
• Tang San agrees to go, believing the journey is necessary to prevent his condition from worsening. Yu Xiaogang plans a cautious expedition to the forest’s outskirts with medicine, antidotes, insect-repellent powder, supplies, and a merchant caravan.
• Tang San is ordered to stop intensive cultivation but begins preparing hidden weapons for protection. Xiao Wu watches over him and ensures he takes the medicinal herbs.
• Yu Xiaogang spends the night studying maps and planning the route, insisting that the trip is meant to help Tang San survive rather than serve as an adventure.
• Tang San admits he is afraid, but more afraid of remaining in Notting while his condition deteriorates.
• Ji Yuan manipulates the situation from within Tang San’s shoe, deliberately making the Clear Sky Hammer appear barely out of control so Yu Xiaogang will blame it for Tang San’s problems. He looks forward to the richer nourishment available in Star Dou’s older, stronger soul beasts.
• Ji Yuan suppresses his presence, shuts down the academy’s Dark Web, and sends Tang San another dream involving the black giant ape and giant tree.
• Xiao Wu remains awake and reacts with fear to the plan, whispering, “Why did it have to be the Star Dou Great Forest...?”
• Tang Hao’s mysterious letter slips from Tang San’s belt, revealing a dark-red mark that forms the crooked character: “Go.”

Character Developments

• Tang San: Becomes more aware of the danger posed by his twin Martial Souls but chooses to face the risk rather than remain helpless. His determination and sense of responsibility strengthen, and he prepares hidden weapons to protect himself and the group.
• Yu Xiaogang: Acts as a cautious and responsible teacher. He investigates Tang San’s condition, accepts the necessity of a dangerous journey, and takes personal responsibility for preparing and supervising it.
• Xiao Wu: Shows strong concern for Tang San, helping conceal his condition, monitoring his medicine and cultivation, and supporting him physically. Her unusually fearful reaction to Star Dou suggests a personal connection or painful history with the forest.
• Ji Yuan: Continues manipulating events from inside Tang San’s body and footwear. He disguises his influence as Clear Sky Hammer instability, guides Tang San’s dreams, and views the journey as an opportunity to feed on powerful life energy.
• Wang Sheng and the academy staff: Help preserve secrecy, while the registration teacher voices concern about the academy’s responsibility for such a dangerous expedition.
• Tang Hao: Remains absent but exerts influence through the strange letter and its final command to proceed.

Significant Themes

• Survival versus safety: Tang San must leave the relatively safe Notting Academy because remaining there may allow his condition to worsen.
• Hidden manipulation: Ji Yuan secretly engineers the apparent cause of Tang San’s illness and influences both the investigation and Tang San’s dreams.
• Dangerous growth: Strength and advancement require entering increasingly perilous environments, with Star Dou representing both opportunity and mortal danger.
• Responsibility and sacrifice: Yu Xiaogang accepts personal responsibility for Tang San, while Tang San chooses risk over passivity.
• Unresolved mysteries: The dreams, Tang Hao’s message, Xiao Wu’s fear, and the connection between the black ape and giant tree hint at deeper secrets surrounding Star Dou and Tang San’s powers.
• Predation beneath protection: The journey is presented as a rescue mission, but Ji Yuan sees it as a chance to obtain nourishment from stronger life forms.

Character Interactions

• Yu Xiaogang diagnoses Tang San while Xiao Wu presses him for answers and refuses to let the seriousness of the situation be minimized.
• Tang San and Yu Xiaogang reach an understanding: Tang San will risk visiting Star Dou, while Yu Xiaogang will carefully prepare the expedition.
• Xiao Wu argues with Tang San over his stubbornness but ultimately supports him, supervises his treatment, and remains emotionally affected by the destination.
• Wang Sheng obeys Xiao Wu’s orders to conceal Tang San’s illness from the other students.
• Yu Xiaogang and the registration teacher debate the danger and responsibility of taking a student into Star Dou.
• In the final scenes, Ji Yuan influences Tang San’s dream while Xiao Wu, secretly awake, reveals that Star Dou carries a deeply personal significance for her.

Chapter Summary: “Lodging in Soto City, Eyeing the White Tiger”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San discovers a strange dark-red character on the back of the letter left by his father, Tang Hao. The mark appears to have emerged on its own.
• Yu Xiaogang suspects it may be a secret message from Tang Hao and warns Tang San and Xiao Wu not to discuss it openly. However, Ji Yuan secretly reveals that he created the mark to redirect Tang San’s journey.
• Instead of going directly to the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San and Xiao Wu are sent to Soto City and then toward Shrek Academy, where Ji Yuan hopes to find more powerful young Soul Masters to exploit as sources of blood and vitality.
• Yu Xiaogang remains behind, claiming poor health and explaining that Tang San needs to train with peers and experience real combat. He gives Tang San supplies, money, medicine, a route, and letters of introduction.
• Upon arriving in Soto City, Xiao Wu persuades Tang San to stay at an expensive hotel.
• They discover that the hotel has only one suitable room left, but Dai Mubai, a powerful blond Soul Master, attempts to claim it because he is a regular guest.
• The disagreement escalates into a confrontation. Tang San steps in to defend Xiao Wu, while Dai Mubai reveals his White Tiger Martial Soul.
• Ji Yuan identifies Dai Mubai as an exceptionally valuable “blood bag” because of the dense vitality associated with his top-tier Beast Martial Soul.
• As Tang San and Dai Mubai prepare to fight, Ji Yuan creates and deploys a parasitic sub-spore hidden within Tang San’s inner force. He attempts to use the confrontation to infiltrate Dai Mubai’s body.
• The chapter ends when Dai Mubai’s White Tiger instinct detects the sub-spore’s presence, forcing Ji Yuan’s roots to tense in alarm.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Becomes increasingly concerned about his father’s mysterious message and uneasy about traveling without Yu Xiaogang. Nevertheless, he remains disciplined and protective, trying to restrain Xiao Wu and handling the confrontation with Dai Mubai calmly. His combat readiness and use of hidden weapons are emphasized.
• Xiao Wu: Shows her energetic, impulsive personality through her insistence on buying sweets and staying in the luxurious hotel. She is quick to anger when Dai Mubai cuts in line and is ready to fight, but she also worries about Tang San and supports him.
• Yu Xiaogang: Demonstrates concern for Tang San’s growth while concealing the deeper circumstances surrounding their separation. He encourages Tang San to gain practical combat experience and trusts Xiao Wu to watch over him.
• Ji Yuan: Reveals more of his manipulative strategy. He deliberately alters Tang San’s path, treats Tang San as a continuing source of nourishment, and begins targeting Dai Mubai as a stronger and more valuable host. His confidence is challenged when Dai Mubai’s Martial Soul senses the implanted sub-spore.
• Dai Mubai: Is introduced as arrogant, aggressive, and accustomed to privilege. Despite his casual behavior, his powerful White Tiger Martial Soul and instinctive perception suggest that he is a dangerous opponent.

Significant Themes

• Manipulation of fate: Ji Yuan secretly alters events while allowing Tang San to believe that circumstances are naturally guiding him toward Soto City and Shrek Academy.
• Predation and exploitation: Ji Yuan views Soul Masters not as people but as sources of blood, vitality, and spiritual nourishment. His “blood bag” terminology highlights the story’s parasitic horror.
• Hidden messages and concealed motives: The mysterious mark on Tang Hao’s letter creates uncertainty, while Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and Ji Yuan each possess different understandings of the journey’s true purpose.
• Growth through conflict: Yu Xiaogang believes Tang San must leave familiar surroundings and face real battles to develop, setting up the confrontation with Dai Mubai as an important test.
• Power versus social rules: The hotel dispute contrasts ordinary expectations of fairness with Dai Mubai’s belief that his status and strength allow him to ignore those rules.

Character Interactions

• Tang San and Xiao Wu argue playfully over food and lodging, showing their familiar, sibling-like closeness.
• Yu Xiaogang gives Tang San practical guidance while avoiding a full explanation of why he is separating from the group.
• Xiao Wu challenges Dai Mubai directly, while Tang San attempts to mediate and protect her.
• Dai Mubai’s arrogance provokes both of them, turning a dispute over a hotel room into a martial confrontation.
• Ji Yuan remains hidden beneath Tang San’s shoe, manipulating events and preparing to attack Dai Mubai without any of the human characters knowing.
• The final clash is not only between Tang San and Dai Mubai; it is also an unseen contest between Ji Yuan’s parasitic strategy and the White Tiger Martial Soul’s instinctive defenses.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Tang San and Xiao Wu meet Dai Mubai at the hotel and a fight ensues over the Presidential Suite.
• Tang San uses his Blue Silver Grass and Mysterious Jade Hand against Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul.
• Ji Yuan, hidden within Tang San, releases sub-spores that infiltrate Dai Mubai's body through his ankle.
• Dai Mubai retreats, allowing Tang San and Xiao Wu to take the room, but not before challenging Tang San to meet him at Shrek Academy.

Character Developments

• Tang San demonstrates his strength and skill, but is still no match for Dai Mubai's power.
• Dai Mubai shows his formidable strength and White Tiger martial soul, but also displays a strategic retreat.
• Xiao Wu shows concern for Tang San and determination to protect him.

Significant Themes

• The struggle for power and dominance between characters.
• The use of strategy and restraint in combat.
• The introduction of Ji Yuan's parasitic abilities.

Character Interactions

• Tang San and Xiao Wu work together to fight Dai Mubai, showing a growing bond and mutual support.
• Dai Mubai challenges Tang San, hinting at a potential rivalry or friendship in the future.
• Ji Yuan's presence is felt through his manipulation of the battle and infiltration of Dai Mubai's body, setting the stage for future developments.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Ji Yuan successfully infiltrates Dai Mubai’s body by sacrificing part of the spore shell while hiding the true root threads within Dai’s meridians. Dai notices only brief chest tightness and dismisses it as fatigue.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu prepare to leave for Shrek Academy. Tang San continues suffering unexplained weakness whenever he consumes medicines or cultivates, unaware that Ji Yuan is draining his blood, qi, and internal energy.
• Ji Yuan secretly uses traces of wood-element Soul Power to soothe Tang San, concealing the cause of his exhaustion while drawing energy from him.
• After Dai Mubai’s White Tiger blood and qi circulate, Ji Yuan absorbs the residual energy through the implanted spore. He wraps and refines it using Tang San’s Mysterious Heaven Skill energy, strengthening the Demon Vine’s bark and roots.
• Dai Mubai becomes increasingly weak, experiencing soreness, heavy limbs, poor sleep, and reduced physical ability. He assumes his condition results from overindulgence and decides to restrain himself, unknowingly providing Ji Yuan with a convenient explanation.
• The next morning, Tang San and Xiao Wu encounter Dai Mubai on the way to Shrek Academy. Dai is more restrained than before and challenges Tang San to meet again during the entrance examination, though he nearly collapses after walking away.
• Ji Yuan takes another, deeper “bite” from Dai’s White Tiger Origin, further strengthening his own roots.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu arrive at the shabby village entrance of Shrek Academy, initially doubting whether it is truly an academy.
• An old man at the registration desk reveals powerful Soul Emperor-level strength through a Dragon-Pattern Staff, silencing the protesting parents and making Tang San and Xiao Wu recognize the academy’s hidden power.
• Ji Yuan senses several promising young Soul Masters inside the academy, including a noble, law-enhanced aura and a powerful food-based aura rich in vitality. He views Dai Mubai as only an appetizer and anticipates harvesting even greater sources of energy.
• Ji Yuan attempts to form a sub-spore on the noble girl, but she senses that she is being watched, forcing him to remain cautious.

2. Character Developments

• Ji Yuan becomes more cunning and confident in his parasitic strategy. He avoids direct confrontation, manipulates both Tang San and Dai Mubai’s perceptions, and discovers that White Tiger blood and qi can significantly strengthen the Demon Vine.
• Dai Mubai shifts from arrogant confidence to concealed anxiety and physical vulnerability. Although he remains proud and eager to challenge Tang San, his unexplained weakness begins affecting his confidence and behavior.
• Tang San continues to misinterpret his exhaustion as the result of Twin Martial Souls, medicine rejection, or battle fatigue. His Blue Silver Grass grows tougher and develops abnormal dark edges, showing Ji Yuan’s influence.
• Xiao Wu remains protective and outspoken. She notices Tang San’s pallor and forces him to rest, while also mocking Dai Mubai’s weakness and arrogance.
• The noble girl at Shrek’s entrance demonstrates strong awareness by detecting Ji Yuan’s surveillance, establishing her as a potential obstacle or valuable target.

3. Significant Themes

• Parasitism and concealed manipulation: Ji Yuan grows stronger by secretly draining Tang San and Dai Mubai while making both believe their symptoms have ordinary explanations.
• Pride and vulnerability: Dai Mubai’s arrogance prevents him from admitting weakness or seeking treatment, allowing Ji Yuan’s infection to progress.
• Power hidden beneath appearances: Shrek Academy appears shabby and disorganized, yet houses powerful Soul Masters and a Soul Emperor-level examiner.
• Growth through predation: Ji Yuan’s Demon Vine evolves physically by absorbing White Tiger blood and qi, turning another character’s vitality into his own strength.
• Misunderstanding and deception: Tang San repeatedly misreads the cause of his condition, while Ji Yuan deliberately reinforces those mistaken beliefs.
• Caution before greater opportunities: Ji Yuan recognizes that stronger and more valuable targets exist at Shrek, but the noble girl’s perception warns him that future infiltrations will be more dangerous.

4. Character Interactions

• Ji Yuan and Dai Mubai: Ji Yuan secretly infects and harvests Dai’s White Tiger Origin while exploiting his pride and self-blame.
• Ji Yuan and Tang San: Ji Yuan drains Tang San’s internal energy but also provides minimal soothing energy to prevent suspicion, maintaining control over him.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu: Xiao Wu repeatedly worries about Tang San’s health and orders him to rest, while Tang San conceals or minimizes his symptoms.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Dai Mubai: Their roadside exchange is more restrained than their earlier confrontation. Dai proposes a rematch at Shrek, and Tang San acknowledges that neither fought at full strength.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the registration elder: The elder’s Soul Emperor pressure transforms their view of Shrek from a shabby rural school into an institution guarded by formidable experts.
• Ji Yuan and the noble girl: Ji Yuan attempts to probe or infect her but is detected almost immediately, creating a new threat and demonstrating that not every target can be observed safely.

Chapter Summary: “Shrek Admissions, Dark Web Reconnected”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter opens at Shrek Academy’s registration line, where a noble girl remarks that she feels watched. The registration elder harshly tells her that cowards are not welcome, prompting her to hide her unease behind arrogance.
• A wealthy family protests when their level-21 son is rejected for lacking a hundred-year first Soul Ring. The registration elder reveals himself as a powerful Soul Emperor, silencing the crowd and demonstrating Shrek’s strict standards.
• Xiao Wu argues with Dai Mubai after he boasts that Shrek accepts only “monsters.” Ji Yuan secretly drains some of Dai Mubai’s vitality through the White Tiger spore hidden in his shoe, causing Dai to suppress his anger and worsening Tang San’s suspicions about his recurring weakness.
• Ning Rongrong, the noble girl, passes the entrance test with her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul and level-26 cultivation. Ji Yuan senses the exceptional quality of her support-type origin but cannot yet infiltrate it.
• Oscar, a food-type Soul Master and Shrek student, appears to flirt with the incoming girls. Ji Yuan identifies Oscar as another promising “blood bag” because of his healing-related life energy and secretly sends roots toward his shoe.
• Tang San passes despite possessing the seemingly ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, impressing the registration elder with his level-29 cultivation and unusually resilient grass. Xiao Wu also passes easily.
• Dai Mubai leads Tang San and Xiao Wu into the academy, where the shabby surroundings cause Xiao Wu to criticize Shrek. They learn that the registration elder, Li Yusong, is a powerful Soul Emperor.
• The group encounters Zhu Zhuqing, a cold, distant agility-type Soul Master. Her strained relationship with Dai Mubai is revealed through their awkward exchange, suggesting emotional conflict and a troubled shared past.
• For the fourth test, the students face Zhao Wuji, the “Immovable Bright King,” a level-76 Soul Saint. Instead of fighting Dai Mubai, Zhao Wuji challenges Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing together. They must survive for the duration of one incense stick.
• Tang San organizes their strategy: he will control Zhao Wuji with Blue Silver Grass, Ning Rongrong will provide support, Zhu Zhuqing will exploit openings, and Xiao Wu will engage in close combat without directly taking Zhao Wuji’s attacks.
• As the battle begins, Zhao Wuji releases all seven Soul Rings and overwhelms the area with pressure. Ji Yuan prepares to test his toxins by sending a poisoned barb through the soil toward Zhao Wuji’s feet.

Character Developments

• Tang San: Demonstrates calm judgment and leadership by analyzing the team’s abilities and creating a battle strategy. His suspicions about Dai Mubai’s mysterious weakness deepen.
• Xiao Wu: Remains outspoken and confrontational, especially toward Dai Mubai, but accepts Tang San’s tactical authority when she realizes the danger posed by a Soul Saint.
• Dai Mubai: His pride is repeatedly challenged by Xiao Wu and further undermined by Ji Yuan’s hidden siphoning. His emotional pain over Zhu Zhuqing becomes apparent when she dismisses their relationship.
• Ning Rongrong: Reveals her elite identity and exceptional support abilities through the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Though arrogant, she accepts a cooperative role in the team.
• Zhu Zhuqing: Is introduced as cold, disciplined, and highly guarded. Her distance from Dai Mubai hints at unresolved personal conflict.
• Oscar: Appears playful and flirtatious, but his food-type abilities make him an important potential support asset—and a target for Ji Yuan.
• Ji Yuan: Continues secretly cultivating parasitic spores and searching for high-quality hosts. He avoids attacking powerful or unsuitable targets prematurely and begins devising a faster method to poison Zhao Wuji.
• Zhao Wuji and Li Yusong: Establish Shrek’s teachers as exceptionally powerful figures who enforce the academy’s demanding standards.

Significant Themes

• Strength over appearances: Shrek’s dilapidated buildings conceal powerful teachers and highly selective standards, reinforcing the idea that true ability matters more than prestige or outward splendor.
• Talent and exceptionalism: The academy seeks individuals with unusual potential rather than merely high Soul Power or wealthy backgrounds.
• Cooperation versus arrogance: The applicants must set aside personal pride and work together to survive Zhao Wuji’s test.
• Hidden danger and manipulation: Ji Yuan’s parasitic influence operates beneath the group’s awareness, draining Dai Mubai and targeting new hosts while the characters remain focused on the entrance trials.
• Emotional conflict: Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing’s strained interaction introduces themes of guilt, rejection, and unresolved relationships.
• Predation and exploitation: Ji Yuan views talented young Soul Masters as sources of vitality, contrasting sharply with the students’ efforts to grow through trust and teamwork.

Important Character Interactions

• Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai trade insults, establishing their antagonistic but energetic dynamic.
• Tang San restrains Xiao Wu during the registration dispute and later takes command of the team’s battle planning.
• Oscar teases Dai Mubai, while Dai threatens to cut off his sausage business.
• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing exchange almost no words, but their tense silence reveals more than open confrontation.
• Tang San questions Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing about their abilities, forming the foundation of the team’s strategy.
• Zhao Wuji deliberately intimidates the applicants, while Tang San responds by accepting the challenge rather than backing down.
• Ji Yuan observes all these relationships from concealment, treating both physical vitality and emotional turmoil as potential nourishment.

Chapter Summary: A Stick of Incense Test, Poison Vine Infiltration

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Shrek students begin their one-stick-of-incense endurance test against Zhao Wuji. Ning Rongrong immediately supports Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda’s Strength and Speed boosts.
• Ji Yuan secretly siphons off a small portion of Ning Rongrong’s enhancement energy to study how amplification abilities work without weakening the support enough for her to notice.
• Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Tang San launch a coordinated attack, but Zhao Wuji’s Immovable Bright King Body easily withstands their direct assaults. Tang San realizes that attacking Zhao Wuji’s joints, eyes, and throat will be more effective than striking his hardened body.
• While Tang San appears weakened, Ji Yuan secretly sends poison-laced roots and tiny spikes beneath the ground. He combines several toxins and conceals their Soul Power with Xiao Wu’s aura so Zhao Wuji cannot detect them.
• Tang San devises a plan to make Zhao Wuji move his feet, creating openings in the Soul Power protection around his ankles. Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu target Zhao Wuji’s legs, provoking him into stomping and shifting his stance.
• The first poisoned spike only grazes Zhao Wuji’s heel, but a later attack penetrates the skin near his ankle. Zhao Wuji mistakes the wound for a mosquito bite.
• Zhao Wuji uses his second Soul Skill, Gravity Control, severely restricting the students’ movements and targeting Ning Rongrong first as the support-type fighter.
• Tang San protects Ning Rongrong with layers of Blue Silver Grass but is knocked down and injured by Zhao Wuji’s attack. Ji Yuan absorbs part of the impact through the Demon Vine, using the force to temper its hardened material.
• Tang San begins deploying increasingly dense waves of hidden weapons. These attacks force Zhao Wuji to circulate his Soul Power more rapidly, accelerating the spread of Ji Yuan’s compound poison through his meridians.
• Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing continue fighting despite their injuries. Tang San repeatedly rescues Xiao Wu with Blue Silver Grass and coordinates with Zhu Zhuqing, who understands that he is waiting for a decisive opening.
• As the poison reaches Zhao Wuji’s nerves, leg, waist, abdomen, spine, and finally the meridians near his eyes, his movements begin to slow and weaken.
• Near the end of the excerpt, Zhao Wuji attempts to seize Tang San but misses due to the toxin’s effects. Tang San uses Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to evade him and prepares his strongest hidden weapon while Ji Yuan tightens his attack from within Zhao Wuji’s body.

Character Developments

• Tang San demonstrates strong tactical judgment and leadership. Rather than relying on brute force, he identifies Zhao Wuji’s vulnerabilities, protects his teammates, and uses coordinated attacks to create opportunities for Ji Yuan’s poison strategy. Despite serious injuries, he continues fighting and prepares his true hidden weapon.
• Ji Yuan acts as the battle’s concealed strategist and infiltrator. He studies Ning Rongrong’s support ability, exploits underground weaknesses in Zhao Wuji’s defense, refines his poison-delivery method, and uses Tang San’s attacks to accelerate the poison’s spread.
• Zhao Wuji remains overwhelmingly powerful and confident, initially treating the students’ attacks as harmless. However, his arrogance and failure to recognize the ankle wound allow the poison to build unnoticed. His slowing movements reveal that even his superior defenses have limits.
• Xiao Wu remains aggressive and loyal, continuing to fight despite her injured leg. She works closely with Tang San but also worries about his condition.
• Zhu Zhuqing displays discipline and combat awareness. She follows Tang San’s indirect plan, focuses on Zhao Wuji’s legs, and keeps fighting even after being injured.
• Ning Rongrong provides crucial support but is physically vulnerable and increasingly exhausted as the incense burns. Her anxiety emphasizes the time pressure of the test.
• Dai Mubai recognizes the severity of the trial and shows concern for the students, especially Tang San. His previous defeat by Tang San is also teased through Oscar’s remarks.
• Oscar provides comic relief by joking about Dai Mubai’s apparent trauma while observing the battle.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over strength: The students cannot overpower Zhao Wuji directly, so Tang San and Ji Yuan rely on teamwork, positioning, deception, and exploiting small weaknesses.
• Hidden preparation and patience: Ji Yuan’s poison attack succeeds because it is introduced gradually and concealed until its effects become significant.
• Teamwork and mutual protection: Tang San protects Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, while Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu create openings for him. Their survival depends on coordinated effort rather than individual victories.
• Endurance under pressure: The burning incense creates a strict time limit, forcing the students to continue despite pain, exhaustion, and injury.
• Arrogance versus awareness: Zhao Wuji’s confidence prevents him from taking the mysterious ankle injury seriously, allowing the weaker fighters to undermine him.
• Growth through adversity: Tang San’s tactical abilities, Ji Yuan’s control over the Demon Vine, and the team’s coordination all develop under the pressure of facing a vastly stronger opponent.

Character Interactions

• Ning Rongrong confidently supports the team, while Xiao Wu praises her ability and Rongrong responds proudly.
• Tang San gives instructions to Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, stopping Xiao Wu from recklessly attacking after her injury and assigning Zhu Zhuqing the task of forcing Zhao Wuji to move.
• Ji Yuan operates secretly beneath Tang San’s shoe, complementing Tang San’s battle plans without revealing his presence or methods.
• Zhao Wuji taunts the students and dismisses their attacks, while Tang San quietly studies him and turns his confidence against him.
• Tang San repeatedly uses Blue Silver Grass to catch or protect Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, reinforcing their close combat partnership.
• Dai Mubai and Oscar observe from the sidelines, with Dai Mubai showing concern and Oscar teasing him about Tang San’s earlier victory.
• By the end, Tang San and Ji Yuan’s efforts converge: Tang San prepares the decisive hidden weapon while Ji Yuan’s poison reaches Zhao Wuji’s eyes and central meridians.

Chapter Summary: “Slapping Zhao Wuji’s Face, Poison Test Successful”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Wuji attempts to seize Tang San, but Tang San evades him using his agility and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
• Tang San unleashes multiple hidden weapons—Dragon Beard Needles, Bone-Piercing Nails, sleeve arrows, and locust stones—from several directions.
• Ji Yuan secretly uses the poison already introduced into Zhao Wuji’s body. The poison briefly disrupts the flow of Zhao Wuji’s Soul Power, creating an opening in his defenses.
• Several Dragon Beard Needles pierce Zhao Wuji’s shoulder and arm, proving that even a powerful Soul Saint’s defensive abilities have weaknesses.
• Zhao Wuji activates a stronger ability and charges Tang San. With Ji Yuan secretly restoring strength to Tang San’s legs, Tang San narrowly avoids the attack.
• When Zhao Wuji’s vision is obstructed, Tang San summons the Clear Sky Hammer and strikes him directly in the face, swelling one eye and causing his nose to bleed.
• Although Zhao Wuji is furious, the agreed test period has not ended. Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing insist that he honor the rules.
• The incense burns out before Zhao Wuji can defeat Tang San. He is forced to acknowledge that Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing have passed the test.
• Afterward, Zhao Wuji removes the Dragon Beard Needles and investigates his body, but Ji Yuan has already withdrawn the poison and erased all evidence beyond the weapon injuries.
• Tang San pretends to be severely exhausted, allowing Ji Yuan’s involvement and the poison attack to remain hidden.
• Dai Mubai leads the group to the dormitories. Oscar offers his recovery sausages, but Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu recoil from the embarrassing incantation associated with them.
• In the dormitory, Tang San collapses from the strain and is put to bed by Xiao Wu.
• Ji Yuan begins investigating the academy’s underground water veins and considers using them to spread spores. However, he detects a Soul Power-based monitoring array and stops his roots before they are discovered.
• The chapter ends with Flender noticing Zhao Wuji’s injuries and Zhao Wuji angrily revealing that Tang San caused them, while Ji Yuan realizes that Zhao Wuji is approaching the dormitory and that the academy’s detection array remains active.

Character Developments

• Tang San demonstrates exceptional combat intelligence, combining evasion, hidden weapons, and the Clear Sky Hammer to overcome an opponent far stronger than himself. His successful strike against Zhao Wuji greatly boosts his reputation among the other students.
• Ji Yuan continues manipulating events from the shadows. He controls the poison’s timing, secretly supplies Tang San with strength, creates the appearance of genuine exhaustion, and conceals all traces of his interference.
• Zhao Wuji shifts from confident amusement to anger and embarrassment after Tang San penetrates his defense and strikes his face. Nevertheless, he honors the rules and admits the students have passed.
• Xiao Wu becomes increasingly protective of Tang San, supporting him physically and scolding him for repeatedly claiming that he is fine when he is clearly exhausted.
• Dai Mubai gains more respect for Tang San’s abilities while also teasing him about humiliating Zhao Wuji. His attitude toward Tang San becomes more impressed and companionable.
• Ning Rongrong proves bold and outspoken, openly reminding Zhao Wuji of the rules and defending the group’s victory.
• Zhu Zhuqing remains quiet and disciplined but contributes to the team by keeping her Martial Soul active and continuing to participate despite numbness and fatigue.
• Oscar provides comic relief with his recovery sausages, though his food becomes a source of embarrassment for the others.

Significant Themes

• Cleverness overcoming brute strength: Tang San cannot defeat Zhao Wuji through power alone, so he relies on strategy, timing, hidden weapons, and teamwork.
• Hidden abilities and deception: Ji Yuan’s poison and manipulation remain undetected, emphasizing the danger of concealed powers and carefully constructed appearances.
• Respect earned through adversity: Tang San’s performance forces Zhao Wuji and the other students to acknowledge his strength and ingenuity.
• Rules and honor: Even after being humiliated, Zhao Wuji accepts the result because the students survived the full incense period.
• Comradeship and protection: Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dai Mubai each support Tang San in different ways, helping establish the group’s developing bonds.
• Foreshadowing of a larger threat: Ji Yuan’s plans to spread spores through the academy’s water system suggest that the poison test is only the beginning of a much broader scheme.

Important Character Interactions

• Tang San and Zhao Wuji: Their battle becomes a contest between Zhao Wuji’s overwhelming strength and Tang San’s precision and tactics. Tang San’s final hammer strike humiliates Zhao Wuji and confirms the success of the test.
• Tang San and Xiao Wu: Xiao Wu protects and supports Tang San after the fight, showing her concern and growing emotional closeness.
• Tang San and Dai Mubai: Dai Mubai recognizes that Tang San’s achievement is extraordinary, even while joking about his tendency to strike opponents in the face.
• Ning Rongrong and Zhao Wuji: Ning Rongrong repeatedly reminds Zhao Wuji that he must obey the conditions of the test, displaying confidence despite being newly admitted.
• The students and Oscar: Oscar’s recovery sausages offer practical help but create comedic tension because of their unpleasant activation phrase.
• Zhao Wuji and Flender: Zhao Wuji’s anger at being injured sets up a likely confrontation with Flender over the kind of “monsters” the academy has recruited.

Chapter Summary

1. Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhao Wuji returns to confront Tang San about the hidden weapons used during their entrance test, accompanied by Flender.
• Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dai Mubai defend Tang San, who is still injured and too weak to explain himself.
• Tang San’s apparent weakness is secretly intensified by Ji Yuan, who drains his newly recovered Mysterious Heaven Skill energy to conceal the Demon Vine’s presence.
• Zhao Wuji discovers several Dragon Beard Needles and demands an explanation the following day. He also warns Tang San and Xiao Wu that he will personally train them if they cannot justify themselves.
• Flender briefly notices something unusual near Tang San’s feet, but Ji Yuan withdraws his roots and avoids detection.
• After the teachers leave, the students settle into Shrek’s crude dormitory. Ning Rongrong complains about the poor living conditions, while Zhu Zhuqing accepts them without complaint.
• Oscar offers Tang San a Recovery Sausage, but Xiao Wu refuses because of the embarrassing activation chant.
• During the night, Ji Yuan helps soothe Tang San’s injuries, then extends roots through the dormitory and around the academy’s underground detection array.
• He deliberately triggers the formation slightly, then makes Tang San appear to suffer in his sleep, creating a future explanation for any disturbance.
• Ji Yuan reaches the academy’s central well and releases colorless, odorless spores into the water. The spores do not immediately harm anyone; instead, they establish a connection between Ji Yuan and those who drink the water.
• Dai Mubai is the first to drink from the well, allowing Ji Yuan to reinforce the existing White Tiger-related node in his body.
• By dawn, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu are also about to consume the contaminated water, giving Ji Yuan access to the academy’s entire water supply and potentially all its inhabitants.

2. Character Developments

• Tang San: Remains physically weakened after the battle, while unknowingly serving as Ji Yuan’s cover. His condition makes Zhao Wuji hesitant to interrogate him further.
• Ji Yuan: Demonstrates increasing patience, subtlety, and strategic ambition. Rather than attacking directly, he manipulates Tang San’s condition, avoids detection, and begins turning Shrek Academy into his territory through its water system.
• Xiao Wu: Acts protectively toward Tang San and confronts Zhao Wuji and Oscar on his behalf. Her loyalty and quick reactions help shield Ji Yuan’s activities.
• Zhao Wuji: Although angry and humiliated by the earlier battle, he shows restraint when faced with Tang San’s apparent injuries. He remains suspicious of the hidden weapons and Tang San’s abnormal Soul Power.
• Flender: Appears more observant and cautious than Zhao Wuji, briefly examining Tang San’s feet and nearly noticing Ji Yuan’s activity.
• Ning Rongrong: Displays her pride and dissatisfaction with Shrek’s harsh conditions, but firmly decides to remain at the academy despite her complaints.
• Zhu Zhuqing: Continues to be stoic, practical, and emotionally restrained, contrasting with Ning Rongrong’s vocal discomfort.
• Dai Mubai: Takes responsibility for organizing the students’ food and lodging and becomes Ji Yuan’s first successful target in the water-contamination plan.
• Oscar: Is introduced as a useful recovery-oriented Soul Master, though his awkward sausage incantation makes the others reluctant to accept his help.

3. Significant Themes

• Deception and concealment: Ji Yuan repeatedly disguises his influence as Tang San’s injuries, allowing him to operate beneath the teachers’ notice.
• Patience versus direct force: Instead of confronting Shrek openly, Ji Yuan slowly infiltrates the academy through its underground formations and water supply.
• Control through infrastructure: The well becomes a symbol of hidden domination; by contaminating the water, Ji Yuan can reach nearly everyone without immediate suspicion.
• Trust and loyalty: Xiao Wu and the others defend Tang San despite uncertainty, while Ji Yuan exploits their concern for him.
• Vulnerability beneath authority: Zhao Wuji and Flender possess overwhelming strength, yet Ji Yuan’s subtle methods allow him to act around them undetected.
• Adaptation to harsh conditions: The students must accept Shrek’s poor dormitories and demanding environment, revealing differences in personality and privilege.

4. Character Interactions

• Xiao Wu openly challenges Zhao Wuji and prevents him from pressuring Tang San while he is injured.
• Ning Rongrong also argues with Zhao Wuji, leading him to dismiss her reliance on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Dai Mubai mediates between the adults and students, stopping the conflict from escalating and later managing the group’s practical needs.
• Zhu Zhuqing’s blunt acceptance of the dormitory conditions contrasts with Ning Rongrong’s complaints, creating tension between them.
• Xiao Wu cares for Tang San directly, while Oscar tries unsuccessfully to provide medical help with his Recovery Sausages.
• Zhao Wuji threatens future training for Tang San and Xiao Wu, leaving the hidden-weapon issue unresolved.
• Ji Yuan does not interact openly with the students, but secretly manipulates Tang San and begins establishing links with Dai Mubai and the rest of the academy through the contaminated water.

Chapter Summary: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Fragrance, Supreme Support

Key Plot Points and Events

• At breakfast, Ning Rongrong criticizes the poor-quality tea, while Oscar tries unsuccessfully to impress her with his Recovery Sausage.
• Ji Yuan secretly activates spores planted in the well water, using them to influence Ning Rongrong’s meridians. Rather than forcing entry into the defenses surrounding her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, he supplies gentle wood-element vitality and siphons off some of the Martial Soul’s naturally leaking energy.
• Ji Yuan discovers that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda’s residual energy greatly accelerates the Demon Vine’s energy conversion.
• Tang San drinks porridge made with the contaminated well water. Ji Yuan drains part of Tang San’s recovering Mysterious Heaven Skill and replaces it with soothing energy, making Tang San believe his injuries are improving naturally.
• The students discuss Tang San’s victory over Zhao Wuji. Ning Rongrong questions how he injured a Soul Saint, but Tang San attributes it to hidden weapons and luck. Zhu Zhuqing dismisses the need for explanations, creating tension with Dai Mubai.
• Flender summons the students and announces that they are now officially students of Shrek Academy. Their first lesson is to consume Oscar’s sausages and learn to trust a food-type Soul Master in battle.
• Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing each eat Oscar’s Recovery Sausage. Ji Yuan secretly intercepts much of the restorative energy:
  • Tang San’s injuries and the Demon Vine’s scorched true body are partially repaired.
  • Xiao Wu’s pain from the previous day’s backlash disappears.
  • Ning Rongrong’s Seven Treasure Glazed Tile energy responds to the sausage’s restorative power, strengthening Ji Yuan’s connection and improving the Demon Vine’s devouring efficiency.
  • Zhu Zhuqing eats hers without hesitation.
• Flender emphasizes that battlefield survival matters more than personal preferences.
• Ning Rongrong notices that her Soul Power is circulating more smoothly, though she does not realize Ji Yuan is responsible.
• Ji Yuan stabilizes his connection to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and turns his attention toward Zhu Zhuqing, whose Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul is especially sensitive to unusual auras. Zhu Zhuqing then walks alone toward the back mountain with a kettle.

Character Developments

• Ji Yuan: Becomes increasingly effective at exploiting the academy’s shared food and water sources. He avoids directly attacking Ning Rongrong’s defenses and instead establishes a subtle, sustainable connection to her Martial Soul. He also recognizes Oscar as a continuous source of life-force law fragments.
• Ning Rongrong: Initially remains arrogant and disgusted by Oscar’s sausage, but reluctantly accepts its practical value. Her resistance begins to weaken as she experiences improved circulation and recovery, though she still rejects Oscar’s attempts to flatter her.
• Oscar: Continues trying to gain Ning Rongrong’s approval and is repeatedly rejected. Despite his embarrassment, his Recovery Sausage proves vital, establishing his importance to the team.
• Tang San: Recovers from the previous battle with Xiao Wu’s support and becomes the first student to openly accept Oscar’s sausage. His calm example helps Xiao Wu overcome her reluctance.
• Xiao Wu: Remains protective of Tang San and openly dislikes Oscar’s incantation, but she accepts the sausage after seeing Tang San recover and experiences immediate relief from her injuries.
• Zhu Zhuqing: Displays discipline and emotional restraint by eating the sausage without complaint. Her cold rejection of Oscar reinforces her guarded personality, while her sensitivity to auras makes her a possible threat to Ji Yuan’s plans.
• Dai Mubai: Shows concern over Zhu Zhuqing’s coldness but is unable to bridge the distance between them.
• Flender and Zhao Wuji: Flender establishes the academy’s harsh practical philosophy, while Zhao Wuji remains embarrassed by his injuries from the previous assessment.

Significant Themes

• Trust and teamwork: Flender’s lesson shows that effective cooperation requires accepting help from companions, even when that help is unpleasant.
• Appearance versus usefulness: Oscar’s sausage is disgusting in presentation but extremely valuable in battle, illustrating that practical utility matters more than personal taste.
• Hidden manipulation: Ji Yuan quietly exploits the students’ food, water, injuries, and Martial Soul energies while allowing them to believe their recovery is natural.
• Resource accumulation and parasitism: The Demon Vine grows stronger by harvesting energy from powerful Martial Souls and Oscar’s restorative abilities.
• Survival over pride: The students are forced to endure humiliation and discomfort because battlefield survival takes priority over dignity.
• Foreshadowing and danger: Ji Yuan’s growing connection to Ning Rongrong’s Martial Soul creates both opportunity and risk, especially as Zhu Zhuqing’s heightened sensory abilities may expose him.

Important Character Interactions

• Oscar repeatedly attempts to charm Ning Rongrong, but she rejects him harshly.
• Dai Mubai mocks Oscar and later notices Zhu Zhuqing avoiding him, creating emotional tension between them.
• Xiao Wu supports Tang San during his recovery and pressures Oscar to stop chanting his sausage incantation around her.
• Tang San encourages Xiao Wu to eat the sausage, demonstrating trust in Oscar and indirectly strengthening team unity.
• Flender forces the entire group to confront their prejudices and accept Oscar’s role as a support specialist.
• Ning Rongrong’s improving condition draws attention to the unseen effects of Ji Yuan’s manipulation, while Zhu Zhuqing’s departure toward the back mountain sets up the next stage of the conflict.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zhu Zhuqing leaves the training field for the back mountain, rejecting Dai Mubai’s attempt to warn her about the dangerous terrain. Ning Rongrong mocks Dai Mubai, creating further tension between the group.
• Ji Yuan secretly monitors everyone through his expanding Dark Web and confirms that the “blood packs”—the Shrek students—are positioned throughout the academy.
• While Zhu Zhuqing trains, Ji Yuan’s spores awaken when she drinks from her flask. He avoids her heart meridian and instead attaches the spores to her heavily used leg meridians, where they are concealed by the heat and strain of her training.
• Ji Yuan absorbs part of Zhu Zhuqing’s shadow-based Soul Power, strengthening and concealing his Demon Vine body. Her speed improves slightly, though she attributes it to recovery from Oscar’s sausages.
• During dinner, the academy’s food and soup—both prepared with contaminated well water—spread Ji Yuan’s spores through the students. Nodes are established in Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Oscar, and Tang San.
• Ma Hongjun’s Evil Fire reacts violently against the spores. Ji Yuan does not force penetration, instead surrounding the spores with water vapor and waiting for Ma Hongjun’s flames to weaken.
• Flender announces that formal training begins the following day and warns the students that anyone who falls behind will receive additional training. He also reprimands Ma Hongjun for causing trouble in the village.
• Ning Rongrong notices that Tang San’s recovery from his injuries seems unusually consistent. Ji Yuan secretly drains some of Tang San’s recovered energy, making him appear weak and preventing suspicion.
• After dinner, Ma Hongjun loses control of his Evil Fire and leaves for the village. Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Xiao Wu follow to stop him.
• At the village entrance, a girl cries out for Ma Hongjun to release her as dark-red flames erupt around him. Ji Yuan prepares to feed through the Demon Vine’s pores.

Character Developments

• Ji Yuan: Continues transforming Shrek Academy into a concealed network of spores and energy nodes. He becomes more confident and predatory, treating the students as resources for evolution rather than individuals. Zhu Zhuqing’s shadow power and Ma Hongjun’s Evil Fire provide new challenges and potential sources of strength.
• Zhu Zhuqing: Remains emotionally distant and distrustful, especially toward Dai Mubai. Her intense training improves her speed, unknowingly making her a more effective host for Ji Yuan’s spores.
• Dai Mubai: Attempts to show concern for Zhu Zhuqing but is sharply rejected. He remains protective of the others, particularly when Ma Hongjun begins losing control.
• Ning Rongrong: Shows her usual pride and sharp tongue, trading insults with Dai Mubai and Oscar. However, she also demonstrates perceptiveness by noticing inconsistencies in Tang San’s recovery.
• Ma Hongjun: His unstable Evil Fire continues to cause physical and emotional problems. He tries to conceal his condition, but his worsening symptoms eventually force him to leave the academy.
• Tang San: Discusses the weaknesses he observed in Zhao Wuji’s defenses and becomes the subject of Ning Rongrong’s suspicion. Ji Yuan manipulates his energy to hide the unusual nature of his recovery.
• Xiao Wu: Remains protective of Tang San and follows him when he pursues Ma Hongjun.
• Flender: Establishes his authority before formal training begins and attempts to control Ma Hongjun’s behavior.
• Oscar: Gains importance as the provider of the sausages and the source of food-related healing, though the others continue to tease him.

Significant Themes

• Infiltration and hidden control: Ji Yuan’s spores spread through water and food, allowing him to influence the entire academy without being detected.
• Evolution through absorption: Ji Yuan views the students’ different Martial Souls, attributes, and weaknesses as resources that can strengthen his own growth.
• Suppression versus instability: Zhu Zhuqing hides her emotions and maintains strict control, while Ma Hongjun’s Evil Fire represents uncontrolled desire and violent internal pressure.
• Suspicion and concealment: Ning Rongrong begins noticing irregularities in Tang San, but Ji Yuan manipulates events to deflect suspicion.
• Authority and discipline: Flender’s warnings about formal training establish the academy’s harsh expectations and foreshadow conflict among the students.
• Predation beneath ordinary life: A normal communal dinner becomes the mechanism for Ji Yuan’s expansion, emphasizing the danger hidden beneath the academy’s everyday routines.

Important Character Interactions

• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing: Their strained relationship is highlighted by Zhu Zhuqing’s cold rejection of Dai Mubai’s concern.
• Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong: They exchange sarcastic insults, reflecting Ning Rongrong’s defiance and Dai Mubai’s irritation.
• Ma Hongjun and Zhao Wuji: Ma Hongjun jokes about Tang San injuring Zhao Wuji, provoking Zhao Wuji’s anger.
• Flender and Ning Rongrong: Flender refuses to explain the next day’s training and tells her to stop expecting everyone to accommodate her.
• Ning Rongrong and Tang San: Ning Rongrong questions Tang San’s unusually smooth recovery, but Ji Yuan’s interference makes him appear visibly weak.
• Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Xiao Wu with Ma Hongjun: The three follow Ma Hongjun to the village when his Evil Fire begins to overwhelm him, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Chapter Summary: “Cuihua Demands a Breakup, the Evil Fire Fatty”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Cuihua tries to break up with Ma Hongjun after another incident in which his uncontrolled Evil Fire burns her arm. She begs Tang San and Xiao Wu for help.
• Xiao Wu intervenes and pulls Cuihua away, while Tang San attempts to calm Ma Hongjun. Dai Mubai arrives and confirms that Ma Hongjun has repeatedly lost control of his flame.
• Cuihua explains that although she does not hate Ma Hongjun, she is afraid he will eventually burn her to death. Her words devastate Ma Hongjun and cause him to lose the last of his restraint.
• Ma Hongjun’s mutated phoenix Martial Soul erupts, spreading intense dark-red flames throughout the village entrance. Cuihua flees, and Tang San restrains Ma Hongjun with Blue Silver Grass to stop him from pursuing her.
• The flames burn through Tang San’s restraints, forcing him to fight defensively. His Blue Silver Grass is heavily disadvantaged by Ma Hongjun’s fire attribute.
• Dai Mubai prepares to intervene, while Xiao Wu, Oscar, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing arrive. However, no one can safely subdue Ma Hongjun without risking serious injury.
• Ma Hongjun activates his second Soul Skill, Phoenix Bathing in Fire, greatly intensifying the flames. Tang San is pushed back and prepares to use hidden weapons and acupoint-sealing techniques.
• At the same time, Ji Yuan, secretly hiding beneath Tang San’s shoe, extends his roots underground toward Ma Hongjun’s feet. He intends to absorb the mutated Evil Fire and gain greater fire resistance.
• Ji Yuan secretly siphons some of Tang San’s Mysterious Heaven Skill energy and Dai Mubai’s White Tiger vitality to protect his roots from the heat.
• As Ma Hongjun prepares another Phoenix Fire Wire, Ji Yuan’s roots break through the soil and touch the sole of Ma Hongjun’s foot, setting up an attempt to devour the fire at its source.

Character Developments

• Ma Hongjun: His insecurity, pain, and dependence on Cuihua are revealed. His fear of being hated worsens his emotional instability, causing him to surrender almost completely to the Evil Fire. Despite insisting he does not want to hurt Cuihua, his lack of control makes him increasingly dangerous.
• Cuihua: She finally stands up for herself and ends the relationship, making clear that fear and repeated injury have overcome her affection for Ma Hongjun.
• Tang San: Takes responsibility for protecting Cuihua and the others, even though his Blue Silver Grass is poorly suited to fighting fire. He remains calm and tactical, considering hidden weapons when direct restraint fails.
• Xiao Wu: Acts decisively and protectively, immediately defending Cuihua and confronting Ma Hongjun. She is willing to fight but listens when Tang San warns her about the flames.
• Dai Mubai: Understands Ma Hongjun’s condition and tries to stop him without causing severe harm. His concern for his teammate conflicts with the need to protect everyone nearby.
• Zhu Zhuqing: Remains observant and cautious. She notices that something unusual is happening beneath Ma Hongjun’s feet, threatening to expose Ji Yuan’s hidden presence.
• Ji Yuan: Reveals his opportunistic and secretive nature. Rather than simply helping Tang San, he exploits the crisis to absorb Ma Hongjun’s Evil Fire and improve his own resistance, while secretly draining energy from both Tang San and Dai Mubai.

Significant Themes

• Love versus safety: Cuihua’s breakup emphasizes that affection cannot justify enduring repeated abuse or mortal danger.
• Loss of control: Ma Hongjun’s Evil Fire functions both as a physical defect and as a symbol of emotional instability, turning fear and rejection into destructive rage.
• Responsibility and restraint: The others try to stop Ma Hongjun without killing or seriously injuring him, highlighting the difficulty of protecting people from someone who is both victim and threat.
• Hidden exploitation: Ji Yuan’s behavior introduces a darker theme: even during a crisis, allies may secretly use the situation for personal advancement.
• Compatibility and weakness: Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass is naturally vulnerable to fire, forcing him to rely on strategy rather than overwhelming strength.

Character Interactions

• Cuihua appeals to Xiao Wu and Tang San for protection, while Xiao Wu openly condemns Ma Hongjun’s treatment of her.
• Dai Mubai confronts Ma Hongjun as both a teammate and an authority figure, but Ma Hongjun’s unstable emotions make him increasingly unwilling to listen.
• Tang San and Ma Hongjun clash directly, with Tang San trying to restrain rather than destroy him.
• Xiao Wu and Tang San work together to protect Cuihua, while Dai Mubai and the others prepare to support them.
• Zhu Zhuqing’s suspicion creates an unspoken threat to Ji Yuan’s secrecy.
• The chapter ends at a critical confrontation: Ma Hongjun launches another fire attack just as Ji Yuan’s roots reach his foot, leaving it uncertain whether Tang San can dodge and whether Ji Yuan can successfully consume the Evil Fire.