Chapter Summaries

Dai Mubai reunited with the Shrek Seven Monsters in Gengxin City and revealed that he and Zhu Zhuqing were competing to win Grace Hall’s support for his claim to the Star Luo crown prince position. Tang San proposed using Titan’s Blacksmith Association connections to investigate Yu Xiaogang and approach Grace Hall, but Zhu Zhuqing pointed out that bad news about Yu Xiaogang could put their goals at odds.

• Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing reunited with the Shrek Seven Monsters, and the group gathered for a feast in Gengxin City.
• Dai Mubai explained that Dai Tianfeng had sent him and Dai Weisi to win Grace Hall’s support, with the victor becoming the next crown prince.
• Tang San advised Dai Mubai to secure Grace Hall’s support quickly, while Flender suggested Dai Tianfeng might only expect him to gain their backing rather than win them over completely.
• Dai Mubai revealed that Grace Hall had shown no recognition of Yu Xiaogang, alarming Tang San, Flender, and Liu Erlong.
• Tang San realized that Titan, the Blacksmith Association’s vice president, could help investigate Yu Xiaogang and connect Dai Mubai with Grace Hall.
• Zhu Zhuqing warned that if Yu Xiaogang was in danger inside Grace Hall, Tang San’s response could conflict with Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing’s mission.

Tang San and his companions visited the Blacksmith Association, where Titan learned it planned to expand into a Craftsmen Association. They met Lou Gao and his guest elder Qiuniu, who sensed something unusual among the newcomers and scrutinized Xiao Wu.

• Tang San reassured Zhu Zhuqing that the Shrek Seven Monsters would remain friends, and the group went with Titan to the Blacksmith Association.
• Dai Mubai learned about Tang San's Tang Sect and considered discussing hidden weapons for the Star Luo Empire after the group's business in Gengxin City was settled.
• At the headquarters, Titan discovered a long line of people registering to join the organization and grew angry when Si Long said it planned to change its name.
• Si Long explained that the association would admit craftsmen such as carpenters and stonemasons, and Flender recognized how widely the expanded organization could reach.
• The group met Lou Gao and Qiuniu, a guest elder of Grace Hall who had been arguing with Lou Gao about his work.
• Qiuniu sensed a peculiar aura among the group and gave Xiao Wu a deliberate, curious look.

Qiuniu met Tang San’s group at the Blacksmith Association and impressed them with his humble manners. Tang San and Dai Mubai tried to keep him from leaving, but Qiuniu saw that Dai Mubai lacked the bearing to wield power.

• Xiao Wu followed Tang San into the forging room without noticing Qiuniu’s brief, observant glance.
• Lou Gao introduced Qiuniu to Titan, and Tang San and the others greeted the Grace Hall elder, who responded with scholarly humility.
• Qiuniu prepared to leave because Lou Gao had guests, so Tang San pushed Dai Mubai in front of him to stop him.
• Dai Mubai introduced himself as a prince of the Star Luo Empire and praised Grace Hall while Tang San coached him through their exchange.
• Dai Mubai told Qiuniu that it was proper for a junior to bow, and Qiuniu judged that he was unsuited to wield power.

Mo Lin waited on Soul Beast Island for Gu Yuena to come for treatment before his month away ended. She arrived through a spatial passage with the transformed Three-Eyed Golden Lion, whom Mo Lin named Qiu'er, and explained that she had delayed until Qiu'er had mastered a skill she wanted to show him.

• Mo Lin worried about Baxia and the Holy Hall Orca Clan, Gu Yuena's soul injuries, and the approaching end of his month away.
• A girl with golden hair burst through Gu Yuena's spatial passage and knocked Mo Lin down, calling him Big Brother.
• Mo Lin recognized the girl as the transformed Three-Eyed Golden Lion after seeing her red eyes.
• Mo Lin named the Three-Eyed Golden Lion Qiu'er, and she excitedly embraced him.
• Gu Yuena said she had come on the last day because Qiu'er had insisted on showing Mo Lin the results of her efforts.

Mo Lin treated Gu Yuena’s injuries while reminding Qiu'er to be considerate of her sister and the other soul beasts. Gu Yuena’s recovery reached sixty percent, and she then asked Mo Lin to take her to see the children and young soul beasts living nearby.

• Mo Lin reminded Qiu'er that Gu Yuena and Di Tian had cared for her for over five thousand years, and Qiu'er agreed to think more about them.
• Gu Yuena sent Qiu'er to play in the sea, and Mo Lin led her to a prepared room for treatment.
• Mo Lin completed Gu Yuena’s treatment in half an hour, and she said she could wield sixty percent of her peak strength.
• Mo Lin warned Gu Yuena that recovering her peak strength would not let her defeat the God Realm, but she believed his awakened divine power might reach the Dragon God's realm.
• Gu Yuena asked Mo Lin to take her to meet the human children and young soul beasts living nearby, and he agreed.

Mo Lin reunited Gu Yuena and Qiu'er with Snow Empress and the students, where Gu Yuena learned how quickly the five young soul beasts had grown. Gu Yuena and Snow Empress questioned whether the humans and soul beasts truly stood as equals, and Mo Lin overheard their concerns.

• Mo Lin teleported Gu Yuena and Qiu'er to Snow Empress and the students in Soul Beast Island's forest.
• Gu Yuena was astonished that the five young soul beasts had grown to nearly a hundred years of cultivation in such a short time.
• Mo Lin explained that exchanging Soul Power could help humans and their accompanying soul beasts grow, potentially strengthening soul beasts in the ten-thousand-year range.
• Gu Yuena asked Snow Empress whether the five humans and five soul beasts were equals, and Snow Empress said she could not know their true feelings.
• Snow Empress worried that the humans might actually hold control without either side realizing it, and Mo Lin accidentally overheard their conversation.

Dai Mubai failed to get information about Grace Hall from Qiuniu, so Tang San decided to investigate it himself. Meanwhile, Mo Lin finished a month of forging in Slaughter City, planned a trip to Gengxin City with his students, and reached the 937th step of the Hell Staircase.

• Dai Mubai met with Qiuniu, but Qiuniu repeatedly redirected the conversation whenever Dai Mubai asked about Grace Hall.
• Tang San judged Dai Mubai unable to gather the information he needed and resolved to infiltrate Grace Hall himself.
• Mo Lin finished forging another component for his magical artifact, but found Slaughter City's materials and facilities inadequate.
• Mo Lin planned to take his students to Gengxin City so he could find better materials and they could visit their families.
• Mo Lin climbed the Hell Staircase to the 937th step before turning back.

Hu Liena asked Mo Lin to take her to Gengxin City, intending to watch him and Snow Empress together. Meanwhile, Tang San infiltrated the brightly lit city and headed for Grace Hall as Xiao Wu worried about his dangerous plan.

• Hu Liena visited Mo Lin and struggled to ask about his relationship with Snow Empress.
• Hu Liena asked to accompany Mo Lin to Gengxin City, and Mo Lin agreed.
• Tang San raced across Gengxin City’s night market toward Grace Hall.
• Xiao Wu waited anxiously at the hotel while Tang San carried out his plan.
• An unknown speaker called Xiao Wu clingy and said they had finally found an opportunity.

Qiuniu visited Xiao Wu and revealed that he was a soul beast, easing her fear that he had uncovered her identity for hostile reasons. He offered to introduce her to other soul beasts in human society if she kept their existence secret, and Xiao Wu agreed while deciding not to tell Tang San.

• Xiao Wu tried to escape from the unfamiliar visitor, but Qiuniu subdued her with Soul Power and said he had not come to kill or kidnap her.
• Xiao Wu recognized Qiuniu as an elder of Grace Hall and grew anxious because Tang San had gone there to gather intelligence and had not returned.
• Qiuniu released his soul beast aura, and Xiao Wu's panic faded when she realized he was also a soul beast.
• Qiuniu told Xiao Wu that he could introduce her to other soul beasts, but required her to keep them secret from everyone, including Tang San.
• Xiao Wu agreed to Qiuniu's condition because she wanted to meet the other soul beasts and learn from their experience living in human society.

Tang San infiltrated Grace Hall by drawing its guards away with a staged collapse in the night market, while Qiuniu rescued the injured and brought Xiao Wu inside. Mo Lin and his companions arrived at Grace Hall, leaving him exhausted by the long-distance teleportation.

• Tang San watched Grace Hall's guards and waited for a shift change before using Parasitism to collapse two nearby houses and lure them away.
• Tang San slipped into Grace Hall and evaded a patrol as he searched the lower floor for information and tried to reach the upper levels.
• Qiuniu noticed the collapsed houses, knocked Xiao Wu unconscious, placed her in a Devouring Pouch, and used his Soul Power to rescue people trapped in the wreckage.
• Qiuniu told the Grace Hall Soul Masters to tend to the wounded and report what had happened.
• Mo Lin arrived at Grace Hall with his students, Snow Empress, and Hu Liena, then reflected on how much spiritual power and Soul Power his teleportation had consumed.

Mo Lin returned to Gengxin City with Hu Liena and learned that two buildings near Grace Hall had collapsed, disrupting their night-market outing. After inspecting the ruins, he found several seeds and concluded that an unexpected guest had arrived.

• Mo Lin dismissed his students for a month of free time, then heard the Snow Empress cryptically warn him to wash before going out.
• Mo Lin explained to Hu Liena that their Asura God's aura could cause a disturbance, then took her to see Gengxin City's night market.
• Mo Lin and Hu Liena found two collapsed buildings near Grace Hall, and Mo Lin suspected someone had deliberately damaged them to challenge his authority.
• Qiuniu arrived and reported what the guards had learned about the collapse.
• Mo Lin examined the ruins, discovered several seeds, and concluded that Grace Hall had received an unexpected guest.

Tang San searched Grace Hall for the dungeon but was detected and captured by the Snow Empress. At the night market, Mo Lin identified Blue Silver Grass seeds as evidence that Tang San had caused the destruction of two houses, and recognized the diversion as his work.

• Tang San searched Grace Hall’s first three floors but found no useful information or dungeon entrance.
• As the room grew colder, Tang San realized he had been discovered and tried to escape through the door.
• The Snow Empress froze Tang San unconscious, stored him in a Devouring Pouch, and planned to hand him over to Mo Lin.
• At the night market, Mo Lin showed Qiuniu and Hu Liena black particles from the ruins and identified them as Blue Silver Grass seeds.
• Mo Lin concluded that Tang San had used real seeds and a soul skill to destroy two houses as a diversion, and Hu Liena recognized whom he meant.

Snow Empress returned with Tang San captured and frozen, leaving Mo Lin to decide how to deal with him. Hu Liena recognized Tang San only after Mo Lin explained how his martial soul awakening had changed his appearance.

• Mo Lin asked Qiuniu to guard the scene briefly, then returned to Grace Hall with Hu Liena.
• Mo Lin and Hu Liena found Snow Empress waiting in his room, while Hu Liena interpreted their familiarity as evidence of an intimate relationship.
• Snow Empress released the unconscious Tang San from her Devouring Pouch, and Hu Liena was shocked by how different he looked.
• Mo Lin explained that Tang San’s martial soul awakening could have changed his appearance, and Hu Liena recalled how the Nine Illusion Rose had affected her.
• Snow Empress asked how Mo Lin would deal with Tang San, and Mo Lin hesitated over whether to kill him.

Mo Lin chose to spare Tang San and leave him in the woods outside Gengxin City because he believed Tang San could still serve as a valuable pawn. Meanwhile, Qiuniu brought Xiao Wu to meet a group of soul beasts, and she woke to find herself among her own kind.

• Mo Lin decided to thaw Tang San and leave him in the woods outside Gengxin City rather than waste his potential by killing him.
• The Snow Empress eased the ice around Tang San, and Mo Lin left him safely outside the city before returning to Grace Hall with Hu Liena.
• Qiuniu brought the unconscious Xiao Wu to a farmhouse where Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the Ice Empress, Mock Wind, Suanni, Pulao, and Ice Bear Xiao Bai were waiting.
• Qiuniu used mysterious music to wake Xiao Wu and asked the gathered soul beasts to reveal a trace of their auras.
• Xiao Wu recognized the gathering as soul beasts and cried with joy at finding others of her kind in human society.

Tang San woke in an unfamiliar forest after his encounter with the Snow Empress and began recovering, while Xiao Wu told the others that he had infiltrated Grace Hall to seek information about Yu Xiaogang. The group worried over his disappearance and focused on finding him, dead or alive.

• Tang San woke in the forest, checked for danger, and slowly recovered with the Mysterious Heaven Skill and spiritual herbs.
• Xiao Wu returned to the hotel before dawn and realized Tang San had not come back.
• Xiao Wu searched the hotel, then gathered the others and revealed Tang San's plan to infiltrate Grace Hall and why he had kept it secret.
• Dai Mubai felt embarrassed when the others understood that Tang San had taken the risk partly because Dai Mubai had failed to make progress with Qiuniu.
• Flender called Tang San's decision reckless and warned that it risked his life and could undermine Dai Mubai's efforts.
• The group set aside blame and resolved to find Tang San, dead or alive.

Mo Lin reviewed Yu Yuanzhen’s report on Grace Hall’s rapid development of Gengxin City and learned how Phoenix’s flames had improved its metalwork. Mo Teng then raised the issue of Mo Lin carrying on the family line, leaving Mo Lin to face his elders’ unspoken matchmaking plans.

• Mo Teng and Yu Yuanzhen visited Mo Lin to report on Grace Hall’s development, and Mo Lin asked Hu Liena to wait in his bedroom while they discussed official business.
• Mo Lin read that Gengxin City had grown into a diverse metropolis, with Phoenix’s flames improving ore smelting and the quality of weapons, armor, and magical artifacts.
• Mo Lin praised Yu Yuanzhen for managing the city’s growth, and Yu Yuanzhen credited Mo Lin’s plans and guidance.
• Mo Teng told Mo Lin that, as a faction leader in his twenties, it was time for him to carry on the family line.

Mo Teng and Yu Yuanzhen urged Mo Lin to marry and have children, but Mo Lin argued that family life would distract him from Grace Hall and clash with his many public roles. Mo Teng accepted that children could wait but pressed him about marriage, leaving Mo Lin wary that his grandfather might be considering a political match.

• Mo Lin nearly spat out his tea when Mo Teng urged him to have children, and he argued that he was only twenty and had responsibilities to Grace Hall.
• Mo Teng and Yu Yuanzhen conceded that Mo Lin should not rush to have children, then Mo Teng suggested that he could at least consider marriage.
• Mo Lin said his many identities made a public marriage inconvenient, though he had considered marrying Qian Renxue and Hu Liena.
• Mo Teng said Grace Hall's master should not remain unmarried, and Mo Lin frowned as he suspected his grandfather might be proposing a political marriage.

Mo Lin rejected Mo Teng and Yu Yuanzhen’s assumptions that he was romantically involved with the Snow Empress and said he would not marry within three years. Meanwhile, Tang San returned to the Tang Sect hotel in Gengxin City, puzzled about why he had been left in a forest instead of imprisoned or killed.

• Mo Lin’s anger briefly pressured Mo Teng and Yu Yuanzhen until Yu Yuanzhen asked whether Mo Lin had become involved with anyone besides Qian Renxue and Hu Liena.
• Mo Lin realized the elders suspected he had an improper relationship with the Snow Empress and denied it, saying she only helped care for his students.
• Mo Teng and Yu Yuanzhen continued to regard Mo Lin as a womanizer, and Mo Lin said he would not marry within the next three years before leaving with Hu Liena.
• Tang San arrived at the Tang Sect hotel after finding himself in a forest inside Gengxin City, still confused about why he had not been imprisoned or killed.
• The Tang Sect members relaxed when Tang San returned.

Tang San recounted his failed infiltration of Grace Hall and puzzled over why he had been left in a forest instead of imprisoned. Later, he discovered that he could use only half his Soul Power without suffering a severe chill, but kept the problem secret to protect his standing with Titan.

• Tang San told Dai Mubai, Flender, and the others how he entered Grace Hall, used the destruction of civilian homes as a diversion, found no useful information, and was subdued by a mysterious expert.
• The Shrek Seven Monsters and their elders reacted to Tang San's account, and Flender questioned how he had escaped Grace Hall's prison so quickly.
• Tang San explained that he had awakened in a forest between Gengxin City's outer and inner walls, leaving everyone unable to understand why Grace Hall had released him there.
• After returning to his room to rest, Tang San found that using more than half his Soul Power triggered a bone-piercing chill throughout his body.
• Tang San suspected he had suffered internal injuries but kept his condition secret because he feared losing Titan's confidence and endangering the Tang Sect.

Flender confronted Tang San over the irresponsibility of infiltrating Grace Hall alone, reminding him that his actions as Tang Sect Master affected the whole sect. Meanwhile, Qiuniu had become the first soul beast to master artifact refining and was forging in Lou Gao’s workshop.

• Tang San concealed the chill in his body and assured Flender that his injuries had mostly healed.
• Flender criticized Tang San for acting alone, and Tang San defended his choice as a way to keep others from being implicated.
• Flender reminded Tang San that, as Tang Sect Master, his actions represented the entire sect, then left without realizing Tang San remained dissatisfied.
• Qiuniu forged in Lou Gao’s workshop, having become the first soul beast to master artifact refining and advanced to second only to Lou Gao in skill within the association.