Chapter Summaries

Kong Ming'an forced Tian Meng to sign a Labor Contract and sent him to Elder Yi for research, then returned to Shrek City with Ice Empress. After angering Ice Empress with his blunt explanation of why he treated her differently, Kong Ming'an realized Tian Meng's Soul Skill Modules might let him revive his long-delayed Sub-Brain idea.

• Kong Ming'an gave Tian Meng the choice of signing a Labor Contract or having his consciousness erased, and Tian Meng quickly signed.
• Kong Ming'an had Tian Meng leave behind his Soul Skill Modules, then sent him with Elder Yi for research into Million Year Soul Rings and God Rings.
• Kong Ming'an and Ice Empress returned to the Merchant Guild base in Shrek City, where Kong Ming'an planned to watch Tang San's arrival at Shrek Academy.
• Ice Empress asked Kong Ming'an whether he treated everyone as he had treated Tian Meng, and he said he treated her differently because Snow Empress had brought her.
• Ice Empress punched Kong Ming'an and stormed ahead after his explanation, while Kong Ming'an wondered what had angered her.
• Kong Ming'an placed Tian Meng's Soul Skill Modules on a Laboratory table and realized they might let him develop his old Sub-Brain idea.

Kong Ming'an tested the new Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing skills, discovering they could transmit information and potentially form a continent-wide network. He then considered using the skills to create a distributed thinking system and began to see his Soul Ring as a possible temporary host.

• Kong Ming'an combined Tian Meng's prototype with Huo Yuhao's Martial Soul aura to create the Spiritual Detection and Spiritual Sharing Soul Skills.
• Kong Ming'an Imprinted both skills and tested Spiritual Detection, adjusting its range and clarity by changing how much Spiritual Power he used.
• Kong Ming'an overloaded a sealed Evil Soul Master by sending him Spiritual Detection's raw information through Spiritual Sharing, leaving him mentally incapacitated.
• Kong Ming'an imagined linking base stations into a wide-area communication and surveillance network, but prioritized building a system that could increase his own thinking speed.
• Kong Ming'an considered Tian Meng and the Golden Ancient Tree as possible hosts, then looked at his Soul Ring as a promising temporary alternative.

Zhang Lexuan struggled with Shrek Academy’s distrust and corruption while preparing to advance from level seventy-nine to Soul Douluo. After Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo were unavailable, she joined a soul-hunting team scheduled to depart in two months, reassured that Elder Xuan would lead it.

• Zhang Lexuan reflected on the Academy’s continued blame and social rejection after the team’s defeat, while her Judgment authority left her isolated and unable to uncover evidence against its hidden parasites.
• After an exhausting patrol, Zhang Lexuan returned to her dormitory and briefly remembered the youth who had promised to come if she called, then pushed the thought aside and cultivated through the night.
• Zhang Lexuan reached level seventy-nine and estimated that another month of cultivation could bring her to level eighty, after which she would need a Soul Ring to become a Soul Douluo.
• Zhang Lexuan asked Wu Ming and Han Ruoruo to help with her Soul Ring hunt, but Wu Ming was away on a mission and Han Ruoruo was in seclusion.
• Zhang Lexuan applied to join a soul-hunting team departing in two months and felt reassured when she saw that Elder Xuan would lead it.

Zhang Lexuan led a twelve-person team toward the Star Dou Great Forest after Xuan Zi arrived late and left them to proceed on their own. Meanwhile, Kong Ming'an successfully activated the Ling Shu Protocol and invited Ice Empress to connect to its network.

• Zhang Lexuan gathered the team, introduced their combat roles, and prepared them to hunt Soul Rings.
• Xuan Zi arrived in a drunken state, then flew ahead toward the Star Dou Great Forest to clear his head.
• Zhang Lexuan led the remaining eleven teammates toward the forest, following their established plan.
• Kong Ming'an completed the Ling Shu Protocol, transforming his First Soul Ring into a silver, space-and-spirit-based interface.
• Kong Ming'an guided Ice Empress's consciousness into the protocol, where she heard an invitation to sign a contract and connect to the Ling Shu Network.

Kong Ming'an introduced Ice Empress to the Ling Shu Protocol and explained how its network used his modified Soul Ring and purified souls to process and share information. He planned to expand it with more Soul Computing Units, including stripped Soul Beast Remnant Souls, and eventually turn his attention to all Soul Masters.

• Ice Empress signed the Ling Shu Protocol contract and gained Sub-Creator access to its network and database.
• Kong Ming'an explained that Ling Shu was an information-processing hub built from his shed soul fragments and his spatial Thorn Dragon Soul Ring.
• Kong Ming'an revealed that more than three hundred purified Evil Soul Master souls served as Soul Computing Units powering the network.
• Kong Ming'an described the network's limited local functions and his plans to expand it with Evil Soul Master souls and stripped Soul Beast Remnant Souls.
• Kong Ming'an said that after expanding the network, he would turn his attention toward all Soul Masters.

Kong Ming'an planned to expand the Ling Shu Network by drawing on users’ Soul Power and idle soul-computing capacity, and considered turning Ling Shu into a virtual demiplane. After testing the new Ling Shu Protocol, he checked the progress of its ongoing research deductions.

• Kong Ming'an planned to connect the Ling Shu Network to the Artificial Soul Ring system and eventually use it to gather Soul Power and computing capacity from users across the Douluo Plane.
• Kong Ming'an considered expanding Ling Shu into a virtual demiplane, but noted that increasing its capacity would require rewriting the Ling Shu Protocol.
• Kong Ming'an finished the protocol after two months of research and used Ling Shu to distribute complex deductions across connected Soul Computing Units.
• Kong Ming'an saw the Ice Empress playing games on the network and left her undisturbed while he tested its stability.
• Kong Ming'an asked Ling Shu for progress updates and learned that the Star Ring: Universal Method was 3.62% complete, the Blood Essence Soul Ring was 6.77% complete, and the Universal Shaping Art was 16.66% complete.

Kong Ming'an planned to expand the Ling Shu Network while a soul-hunting team was ambushed by Moon Devouring Silver Wolves in the Star Dou Great Forest. Zhang Lexuan led an escape attempt, but a hundred-thousand-year Moon Devouring Silver Wolf King attacked, leaving her teammates slaughtered and her own fate uncertain.

• Kong Ming'an drafted a proposal to spread the Ling Shu Network among the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce's core members and build base stations in Mingdu and Shrek City.
• A pack of more than a hundred Moon Devouring Silver Wolves surrounded a twelve-person soul-hunting team after it killed a thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast.
• Zhang Lexuan took command, opened a gap in the wolves' encirclement, and ordered Zhao Ming to fly the injured team members to safety.
• The Moon Devouring Silver Wolf King appeared and cut Zhao Ming's Azure Giant Falcon Martial Soul Avatar in half, sending the team crashing to the ground.
• Zhang Lexuan tried to save Lin Lin, but the wolf king's mental assault struck first, and Lin Lin was fatally wounded.

Zhang Lexuan succumbed to despair under the Moon Devouring Silver Wolf King's mental attack, but Kong Ming'an arrived and saved her. She willingly let him take control of her body, and he prepared to face the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

• The Moon Devouring Silver Wolf King's mental assault reopened Zhang Lexuan's painful memories and overwhelmed her with despair.
• As the Wolf King lunged at Zhang Lexuan, Kong Ming'an appeared and blocked its claws with an ice sword, freezing it temporarily.
• Kong Ming'an asked Zhang Lexuan for her hand, and she accepted his Soul Power and Spiritual Power without resisting.
• Zhang Lexuan's consciousness became an observer as Kong Ming'an took control of her body and asked Ling Shu how much Soul Power remained.
• After learning the body had 68% Soul Power left, Kong Ming'an raised his hand toward the Wolf King, intending to conduct a one-time experiment.

Kong Ming'an killed the Moon Devouring Silver Wolf King and saved most of the injured team, then left Zhang Lexuan behind. After Zhang Lexuan awakened to find two teammates dead, she confronted the late-arriving Xuan Zi over his absence.

• Kong Ming'an used a silver needle to disrupt the Moon Devouring Silver Wolf King's Soul Power and Spiritual Power, causing its head to explode and leaving a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
• The surviving wolves fled, and Kong Ming'an absorbed the Soul Ring while using Life Energy and Blue Silver Immortal Grass to treat the injured team members.
• Zhang Lexuan regained consciousness with the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring beside her and learned that Zhao Ming and Lin Lin had died.
• The survivors blamed Xuan Zi for abandoning his duty as their teacher and leaving them unprotected.
• Xuan Zi arrived late and asked what had happened, and Zhang Lexuan demanded to know where he had gone.

After a disastrous Soul Hunting Operation, Zhang Lexuan brought the injured and dead back to Shrek Academy and witnessed Yan Shaozhe prioritize suppressing the news over comforting the survivors. Mu En convened a mandatory Sea God Pavilion meeting, ordered Xuan Zi to kneel, then attacked Yan Shaozhe over his actions toward the dead students’ families.

• Kong Ming'an remotely checked on Zhang Lexuan and worried about whether she would endure her trial.
• Zhang Lexuan returned to Shrek Academy with the injured teammates and their fallen companions, postponing her confrontation with Xuan Zi.
• Yan Shaozhe arrived at the medical district and asked whether the news had been suppressed and what trouble the dead students’ families might cause.
• Zhang Lexuan left for Sea God Island, and Mu En summoned Shrek’s higher-ups to a mandatory Sea God Pavilion meeting.
• Mu En ordered Xuan Zi to kneel and asked Yan Shaozhe why he had sent two Soul Douluo to the homes of the dead students.
• When Yan Shaozhe could not answer, Mu En struck him into a wall and left him badly injured.

Mu En questioned Xuan Zi over the students killed by the Moon Devouring Silver Wolf pack, while Shrek’s elders tried to excuse Xuan Zi’s negligence. Du Busi arrived at the Sea God Pavilion and executed an elder who had dismissed the deaths, leaving the Pavilion in shock.

• Mu En demanded that Xuan Zi explain what he had been doing when the team was attacked, but Xuan Zi could not answer.
• Several elders defended Xuan Zi and argued that the deaths of two students could be settled with compensation, extinguishing Zhang Lexuan’s remaining hope in them.
• Du Busi entered the Sea God Pavilion carrying two badly injured figures and said he had crippled them after one threatened the family of someone connected to his Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce.
• Mu En ordered Xuan Zi to keep kneeling, and Xuan Zi obeyed despite having started to rise.
• Du Busi accused the elders of covering up the students’ deaths and declared that one life would answer for each death.
• Du Busi seized the elder who had minimized the deaths, mutilated him, and crushed his head.

Du Busi punished the Sea God Pavilion elders and Xuan Zi for their role in the students’ deaths and injuries, while Mu En remained silent. Mu En appointed Zhang Lexuan as deputy Pavilion Master and named her his successor, leaving her response uncertain.

• Xuan Zi attacked Du Busi, who struck him down and killed the elder who had pleaded for him.
• Du Busi beat Xuan Zi without killing him, then took him away to apologize to the dead students’ families and the injured students.
• Mu En announced that Zhang Lexuan would become deputy Pavilion Master and inherit his authority, asking who agreed and who objected.
• At the Merchant Guild compound, Kong Ming’an reflected on Mu En’s political calculations and wondered what Zhang Lexuan thought of her appointment.

Drunk and disillusioned with Shrek, Zhang Lexuan confronted Kong Ming'an about his involvement in recent events. Desperate for something to hold onto, she clung to him and asked if he wanted her.

• Kong Ming'an found Zhang Lexuan drinking alone in a tavern and sat beside her.
• Zhang Lexuan offered Kong Ming'an her wine, then asked whether he had arranged everything.
• Kong Ming'an explained that he had marked her for emergencies and had arranged Du Busi's later appearance, but knew nothing about her attack.
• Zhang Lexuan reflected on how Shrek's corruption had destroyed her faith and left her feeling adrift.
• Zhang Lexuan clutched Kong Ming'an's clothes, pressed herself against him, and asked if he wanted her.

Kong Ming'an told Zhang Lexuan he needed her to help him take control of Shrek Academy, and she responded by kissing him. While Ice Empress waited in Kong Ming'an's room and worried about his absence, he remained occupied with Zhang Lexuan.

• Kong Ming'an admitted to Zhang Lexuan that he wanted to use her to gradually take control of Shrek Academy and explained that he needed her because of her abilities and shared bloodline.
• Zhang Lexuan seized on Kong Ming'an's words that he needed her, kissed him, and asked whether he wanted that; he eventually returned her kiss.
• Kong Ming'an and Zhang Lexuan vanished from the booth amid Spatial Ripples, leaving an unsigned contract and empty wine glasses behind.
• Ice Empress noticed Kong Ming'an was missing and contacted him through the Ling Shu Network, but he said he was handling something and might take some time.
• Ice Empress sent Kong Ming'an a brief message, insisted to herself that she was not worried, and fell asleep hugging his pillow.

Kong Ming'an discussed Shrek Academy’s situation and Zhang Lexuan’s plans, then finalized a contract with her before leaving through a Space Gate. Alone afterward, Zhang Lexuan confronted her obsessive attachment to him and realized she might be terminally sick.

• Zhang Lexuan emerged from the bathroom and asked Kong Ming'an to continue, while he warned that she could not handle it.
• Zhang Lexuan explained Shrek Academy’s shifting authority and Mu En’s plans, and Kong Ming'an offered the Merchant Guild’s support.
• Kong Ming'an cautioned Zhang Lexuan against treating herself as a tool, but she insisted she only wanted him to need her.
• Kong Ming'an and Zhang Lexuan negotiated a contract, changing her proposed once-every-three-days clause to once every two weeks and adding situation reports.
• Kong Ming'an left through a Space Gate, and Zhang Lexuan collapsed onto the bed and realized she was probably terminally sick.

Kong Ming'an returned to the Mingmeng Chamber of Commerce residence and found Ice Empress asleep in his bed. After she attacked him for squeezing her foot, he invited her out for a walk, and they left together.

• Kong Ming'an returned to his room and found Ice Empress sprawled asleep in his bed.
• Ice Empress woke and kicked at Kong Ming'an, who caught her foot and squeezed it, prompting her to attack him.
• Ice Empress questioned Kong Ming'an about his absence and changed clothes, but did not press him about her suspicions.
• Kong Ming'an invited Ice Empress for a walk as an apology, and she agreed to accompany him as his guard.
• Kong Ming'an and Ice Empress clasped hands and left the room together.

Tang San reached Shrek City hoping to enroll, but Dai Huabin recognized him as the thief who had stolen from him and had his guards beat him. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao arrived at the admissions office determined to begin his revenge against Dai Huabin.

• Tang San arrived at Shrek City after completing three God Trials and gaining Asura God's Power, which strengthened him and his Clear Sky Hammer.
• Tang San bribed the gate soldiers with Silver Soul Coins and entered the city, planning to change out of his beggar's clothes before applying to Shrek.
• Dai Huabin recognized Tang San as the thief who had stolen his Storage Soul Tool and ordered his guards to beat him.
• Tang San briefly resisted the Soul King guards, but they overwhelmed him and continued kicking and beating him.
• Huo Yuhao entered Shrek's admissions office with his teacher's Dark Green Jade Pendant and resolved to target Dai Huabin first in his revenge.

Ju Zi reported on the Merchant Guild’s plans and grew suspicious that Kong Ming'an’s demeanor had changed, while he monitored Tang San’s God Trial and worked on the Ling Shu Protocol. The Ice Empress emerged from her cocoon transformed into a human and threw herself into Kong Ming'an’s arms.

• Ju Zi reported the Merchant Guild’s cooperation with the Heaven Dou Empire and its progress with Shrek Academy to Kong Ming'an.
• Ju Zi suspected that Kong Ming'an had recently become intimate with someone and resolved to have a pointed talk with Zhang Lexuan.
• Kong Ming'an checked Tang San’s God Trial and realized God Realm Tang San was gradually turning him into a vessel for Asura Divine Power.
• Kong Ming'an considered how Tang San’s divine power could help his research, then resumed modifying the Ling Shu Protocol.
• The Ice Empress broke out of her ice cocoon, embraced Kong Ming'an, and told him she was human now.

Kong Ming'an examined Ice Empress after her perfect transformation into a human and confirmed that she had reached Rank 99. Ice Empress insisted on staying beside Snow Empress and Kong Ming'an, while he worried that Snow Empress might discover his arrangement with Zhang Lexuan.

• Ice Empress teased Kong Ming'an into examining her, and he confirmed that her transformation had left no hidden dangers.
• Ice Empress revealed nine Soul Rings and realized that her human form had freed her from the threat of Heavenly Tribulation.
• Kong Ming'an explained that Ice Empress could return to the Extreme North while Snow Empress stayed with him, but Ice Empress refused to leave Snow Empress.
• Kong Ming'an agreed that Ice Empress could stay, then worried that Snow Empress might uncover his agreement with Zhang Lexuan.

Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan welcomed new Merchant Guild undercover recruits Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao at Shrek Academy, where Tang Ya explained their duties. A fight outside caught their attention, and Tang Ya recognized the student wielding a Clear Sky Hammer as a thief who had stolen the Tang Sect's secret arts.

• Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan met Huo Yuhao at a restaurant and added him as a friend on the Ling Shu Network.
• Tang Ya explained that many Shrek students worked under contract for the Merchant Guild and reassured Huo Yuhao about being an undercover agent.
• Xiao Xiao arrived as a new recruit, and Tang Ya warmly welcomed her and offered to look after her.
• Tang Ya explained the undercover agents' responsibilities and sent Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao detailed materials through the Ling Shu Network.
• Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection to observe two first-year students fighting and recognized Dai Huabin among them.
• Tang Ya watched the Clear Sky Hammer wielder with disgust and accused him of stealing the Tang Sect's secret arts.