Chapter Summaries

Yue Ling celebrated Shrek’s tournament victory with his teammates, then spent a year advancing to fourth year. At a Sea God Pavilion meeting, Yan Shaozhe proposed letting Yue Ling take the Inner Court Assessment early, and the elders debated his age, strength, and the Evil Soul Master within him.

• Dai Yueheng toasted the team’s victory, and Yue Ling joined the relaxed celebration with the main and reserve teams.
• Yue Ling returned to the dormitory with Gongyang Mo, and a year later he had entered his fourth year.
• Yan Shaozhe proposed granting Yue Ling an exception to qualify early for the Inner Court Assessment because of his Soul Fighting District record and strength.
• The elders debated whether Yue Ling was too young and whether his Evil Soul Master posed a danger, while Xuan Zi supported giving him the opportunity.
• Elder Zhuang sided with the supporters and said he was not sure Yue Ling’s Evil Soul Master invited disaster.

The Sea God Pavilion Council approved an exceptional Shrek Inner Court assessment for Yue Ling, leaving his admission to depend on a difficult test in the coming days. Back at the dormitory, Gongyang Mo struggled with the prospect of parting and vowed to enter the Inner Court himself so he could catch up with Yue Ling.

• Elder Zhuang argued that Yue Ling deserved the chance to take the Shrek Inner Court assessment, and Mu En agreed that he could attempt it without any lowered standards.
• The elders approved the exceptional assessment, which Xuan Zi would oversee with Yan Shaozhe assisting.
• Xuan Zi told Yue Ling that the assessment would take place within the next few days.
• Gongyang Mo reflected on Yue Ling's rapid rise to level fifty-eight and resolved to enter the Shrek Inner Court by fifth year to become his teammate.
• Yue Ling reassured Gongyang Mo that he and Ma Xiaotao would wait for him, and Gongyang Mo embraced Yue Ling as he recalled their years together.

Gongyang Mo reflected on how Yue Ling had changed his life and resolved to enter the Shrek Inner Court so he could stand beside him. Yue Ling learned that his assessment would take place that afternoon and prepared himself, aware that his self-created soul skill still needed work.

• Gongyang Mo recalled the years he had spent with Yue Ling, then decided to work hard enough to reach the Shrek Inner Court and keep pace with him.
• Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe flew across Sea God Lake after agreeing on a three-part assessment for Yue Ling.
• Wu Ya told Yue Ling that his Shrek Inner Court assessment was scheduled for four that afternoon at the Soul Fighting District, where Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi would meet him.
• Yue Ling returned to the empty Dormitory and meditated to restore himself before the assessment.
• Yue Ling considered his rank-fifty-eight soul power and the difficulty of developing a self-created soul skill beyond the techniques that had inspired him.

Yue Ling began the first part of his Shrek Inner Court assessment by fighting Zhang Lexuan, whose strength and control quickly put him at a disadvantage. The match was still underway as Zhang Lexuan prepared to launch more attacks.

• Yue Ling arrived at the Soul Fighting District, where Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe explained that his assessment had three parts and that he had to endure a fight against an Inner Court disciple.
• Yan Shaozhe revealed that Zhang Lexuan would be Yue Ling’s opponent, and Yue Ling recalled her strength against a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
• Yan Shaozhe started the match, and Yue Ling charged Zhang Lexuan with his first and fourth Soul Skills active.
• Zhang Lexuan used Moonlight Body Protection to trap Yue Ling’s blades and hold him suspended in the air.
• Zhang Lexuan amplified her attacks with Full Moon and struck Yue Ling with Moonlight Ray, shattering his barrier and blasting him away.

Yue Ling fought Zhang Lexuan in a Shrek Inner Court assessment, using feints, spirit-bone abilities, and a hidden explosive attack to challenge her despite their power gap. Xuan Zi stopped Zhang Lexuan’s final attack, ending the match before its result was stated.

• Yue Ling used his Velvet Domain and Indestructible Diamond to approach Zhang Lexuan through the dust, then attacked her from two directions with chrysanthemum blades.
• Zhang Lexuan trapped Yue Ling and his blades with Moon’s Binding, then launched Moon Blade at him.
• Yue Ling used Earth Shatter to break the restraints and Lone Sunset Reflecting Moon to block Moon Blade.
• Zhang Lexuan countered Yue Ling’s Falling Blossom Storm with her enhanced moon sickle, which continued toward him after his attack shattered.
• Yue Ling detonated a hidden energy crystal beside Zhang Lexuan, while Xuan Zi erased the moon sickle and ended the match.

Yue Ling passed his first Inner Court assessment after a hard-fought duel with Zhang Lexuan, whose strength and composure overwhelmed him. With the second assessment set for the next morning, Yue Ling and Zhang Lexuan left the academy together for a stroll in Shrek City.

• Yue Ling explained how he had concealed his Golden Stamen Piercing Ray Strike behind his other attacks in a final gamble against Zhang Lexuan.
• Zhang Lexuan praised Yue Ling’s performance, and Yan Shaozhe declared that Yue Ling had passed the first Inner Court assessment.
• Xuan Zi told Yue Ling that Wang Yan would find him the next morning for the second assessment.
• Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe left the Soul Fighting District, leaving Yue Ling and Zhang Lexuan alone.
• Yue Ling invited Zhang Lexuan to stroll outside the academy, and the two headed toward Shrek City.

Tang Ya arrived at Shrek Academy to enroll, carrying the Tang Sect’s recommendation letter and a determination to revive the fallen sect. Bei Bei also came to register alone, and Tang Ya reached the front of the queue.

• Tang Ya walked through Shrek City and reflected on Shrek Academy’s history and influence.
• Tang Ya recalled the Tang Sect’s former glory and resolved to revive it despite its decline.
• Tang Ya joined the registration queue with a letter of recommendation from the Tang Sect.
• Bei Bei arrived to apply to Shrek Academy with a city lord’s recommendation letter arranged by Mu En.
• Tang Ya’s turn to register came.

Tang Ya tried to enroll at Shrek Academy as the last heir and leader of the fallen Tang Sect, but the registration steward demanded proof of her identity. With Bei Bei’s suggestion, she demonstrated the Tang Sect’s Mysterious Jade Hand and was admitted, beginning her effort to revive the sect.

• Tang Ya presented her Tang Sect recommendation letter, but the registration steward questioned her claim and demanded proof.
• Tang Ya recalled how the Iron Blood Sect had killed her parents and seized the Tang Sect’s grounds, leaving her as its sole direct heir.
• Bei Bei suggested that Tang Ya demonstrate a Tang Sect Secret Art to prove her connection to the sect.
• Tang Ya displayed the Mysterious Jade Hand, and the steward agreed to report the matter while allowing her to register.
• Tang Ya gave her details as a level twenty-three Control Type Soul Grandmaster with a Blue Silver Grass martial soul, and the steward enrolled her at Shrek Academy.

Yue Ling and Zhang Lexuan ate noodles in Shrek City after their day together, and Yue Ling spotted Bei Bei walking with a girl. Zhang Lexuan remained composed and said she would report what she saw to Mu En as they headed back to Shrek Academy.

• Yue Ling asked Zhang Lexuan for a hint about tomorrow's assessment, but she only told him it would not be too difficult.
• Yue Ling and Zhang Lexuan ordered beef noodles and tomato and egg noodles at a shop in Shrek City.
• Yue Ling spotted Bei Bei walking with a girl and went outside with Zhang Lexuan to watch them.
• Yue Ling asked Zhang Lexuan about the girl, and she said she would report the matter to Mu En exactly as it happened.
• Yue Ling and Zhang Lexuan finished their noodles and walked back toward Shrek Academy.

Yue Ling returned to the dormitory and teased Gongyang Mo about his Shrek Inner Court assessment, while Zhang Lexuan told Mu En about Bei Bei’s apparent affection for another girl. Mu En freed her from the old marriage promise, and Zhang Lexuan realized she wanted to pursue Yue Ling and build a life with him.

• Yue Ling returned to the dormitory, where he gave Gongyang Mo only a few details about his assessment after teasing him.
• Zhang Lexuan told Mu En that Bei Bei seemed to care for a girl his own age and asked what she should do about their promised marriage.
• Mu En admitted that making Zhang Lexuan swear the promise had been selfish and told her she was free to choose her future.
• Zhang Lexuan left Mu En’s room in tears and reflected on her years of protecting Bei Bei and the promise that had shaped her life.
• Zhang Lexuan remembered Yue Ling’s care and realized she had fallen for him and could now openly pursue the person she loved.

Yue Ling began his second Shrek Inner Court assessment, which Wang Yan revealed was a two-hour written exam testing his knowledge of combat. The chapter ended as Yue Ling received the test paper and learned he needed at least seventy-five out of 150 points to pass.

• Yue Ling woke early, prepared for the day, and went to class with Gongyang Mo.
• Yue Ling kept the details of his assessments private when Chen Zifeng and his classmates asked why he could skip class.
• Wang Yan arrived and took Yue Ling to an empty classroom for his second Shrek Inner Court assessment.
• Wang Yan explained that the assessment was a written exam and gave Yue Ling two hours to score at least seventy-five points out of 150.

Yue Ling worked through the basic and intermediate questions in the Shrek Inner Court’s second assessment, applying martial soul theory and recalling examples from Tang San’s experience. He reached the true-or-false section with most answers completed, while the exam’s harder questions still lay ahead.

• Yue Ling began the exam by answering fill-in-the-blank questions on awakening age, spirit ring colors, martial soul categories, and the Grandmaster’s famous saying.
• Yue Ling answered multiple-choice questions about innate soul power, cultivation bottlenecks, the relative strengths of beast and tool martial souls, and martial soul mimicry theory.
• Wang Yan observed Yue Ling’s work and noted that he had answered almost all the questions correctly so far.
• Yue Ling completed the early sections in about fifteen minutes and marked statements about innate full soul power and spirit ring limits as false.
• Yue Ling marked the statement that there are no useless martial souls as true, despite privately disagreeing with the Grandmaster’s theory.

Yue Ling struggled with the Soul Tool theory questions on the second assessment but answered the questions about Martial Soul mutations and fusion skills, along with the remaining topics. Wang Yan collected his paper when time ran out, leaving Yue Ling to face the answer-checking stage.

• Yue Ling finished the true-or-false section early and found that he could not answer the first two questions about Soul Tools.
• Yue Ling wrote about positive and negative Martial Soul mutations, using Ma Hongjun and Grandmaster as examples, and Wang Yan approved of his answer.
• Yue Ling explained the conditions, advantages, and risks of Martial Soul Fusion Skills, giving examples including the Golden Sacred Dragon and Resurrection Divine Light.
• Yue Ling rushed through the remaining long questions, then scribbled incomplete answers to the Soul Tool questions as the deadline approached.
• Wang Yan stopped Yue Ling when time ran out and collected his paper.

Yue Ling completed the theory assessment and earned 101 points, passing the second assessment with an excellent score. After Wang Yan left to submit the paper, Yue Ling headed back to the dormitory to cultivate as he approached the Soul Emperor rank, looking forward to the mysterious third assessment.

• Wang Yan reviewed Yue Ling's paper and found his martial soul theory strong but his soul tool knowledge weak.
• Wang Yan explained the limits of methods for exceeding spirit ring age restrictions, and Yue Ling concluded that they could not eliminate the body's and mind's limits.
• Wang Yan gave Yue Ling 101 points on the theory assessment and congratulated him on passing the second assessment.
• Wang Yan left to submit Yue Ling's paper to Xuan Zi and Dean Yan.
• Yue Ling realized he had no class to attend, then headed to the dormitory to cultivate his soul power.

After Yue Ling passed his written exam, Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe arranged a dangerous third assessment to test the Evil Soul Master influence inside him. Later, Yue Ling discovered that the Golden Crown in his Spirit Sea could communicate and hinted at a connection to the Hundred Flowers Record.

• Wang Yan gave Yue Ling’s exam papers to Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe, who noted his strong results and weak soul tool fundamentals.
• Xuan Zi told Wang Yan to summon Yue Ling to the Soul Fighting District at six the next morning for his final assessment.
• Xuan Zi explained that the third assessment would test the Evil Soul Master influence inside Yue Ling, and Yan Shaozhe agreed to intervene if anything went wrong.
• Yue Ling entered his Spirit Sea and tried to speak with the Golden Crown, which flashed and conveyed a fragmented message about the Hundred Flowers Record, approval, and energy.
• The Golden Crown blasted Yue Ling out of his Spirit Sea after he peppered it with questions, and he began puzzling over its message.

Yue Ling theorized that the crown in his spirit sea could be used by gaining recognition from plants recorded in the Hundred Flowers Record, but his blue silver grass did not respond. Meanwhile, Wu Ming tried to pursue Yue Ling, and Zhang Lexuan confronted her and forbade her from seeing him.

• Yue Ling connected the crown’s appearance to his fifth spirit ring and guessed that gaining recognition from recorded plants would let him use the crown’s power.
• Yue Ling tried to communicate with the blue silver grass beside his window, but it showed no response, so he gave up and resumed cultivating.
• The blue silver grass and the other windowsill plants subtly stirred as if responding to Yue Ling’s care.
• Wu Ming planned to visit Yue Ling and invite him to share desserts, hoping to spend time together beyond their sparring.
• Zhang Lexuan told Wu Ming that Yue Ling had no particular feelings for her and forbade her from seeing him.
• Wu Ming refused to give up on Yue Ling, and Zhang Lexuan released her Soul Sage aura and challenged her to settle the matter with strength.

Wu Ming found Zhang Lexuan at Sea God Lake and learned that she planned to stop Wu Ming from visiting Yue Ling. Their argument over their feelings for him escalated into a confrontation, which remained unresolved when an unexpected visitor arrived.

• Wu Ming spotted Zhang Lexuan beside a ferry and asked to travel with her to the Shrek Outer Court to see Yue Ling.
• Zhang Lexuan refused to let Wu Ming visit Yue Ling, claiming he was undergoing the Shrek Inner Court assessment.
• Wu Ming insisted that she and Yue Ling truly loved each other, while Zhang Lexuan denied that he returned her feelings and barred her from seeing him.
• Zhang Lexuan released her seven Spirit Rings, and Wu Ming answered with her six rings and Golden Crow Martial Soul as they prepared to fight.
• An unexpected visitor arrived while Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming faced off beside Sea God Lake.

Zhang Lexuan fought Wu Ming at the shore of Sea God Lake to stop her from reaching Yue Ling, while Xuan Zi sealed off the area so their spar would not disturb the Shrek Inner Court. Zhang Lexuan quickly gained the upper hand, and Wu Ming struggled to resist as she resolved not to give up.

• Xuan Zi sealed the lakeshore with his soul power after Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming assured him they were only sparring.
• Zhang Lexuan refused to let Wu Ming go to Yue Ling and invited her to attack first.
• Wu Ming unleashed her Golden Crow True Fire skills, but Zhang Lexuan countered with Full Moon and repeated Moonlight Rays.
• Zhang Lexuan pierced Wu Ming's flames and drove her to the ground under a barrage of Moonlight Rays.
• Wu Ming realized she was badly outmatched but thought of Yue Ling and resolved not to admit defeat.

Wu Ming used her strongest Soul Skill against Zhang Lexuan, but Zhang Lexuan restrained the attack with her moonlight abilities. Just as Zhang Lexuan prepared to unleash her Seventh Soul Skill, Xuan Zi intervened and erased Wu Ming’s flames, leaving both women confused.

• Wu Ming summoned her Golden Crow True Flame and unleashed her Sixth Soul Skill, Golden Crow Shining Sun, after asking Zhang Lexuan not to hold back.
• Exhausted and out of Soul Power, Wu Ming told Zhang Lexuan that she would admit defeat if her eldest senior sister survived the final strike unscathed.
• Zhang Lexuan used her Sixth Soul Skill, Moon’s Binding, to halt the fireball, then summoned Moonlight Body Protection as she prepared to counterattack.
• Xuan Zi stopped Zhang Lexuan from using her Seventh Soul Skill and erased Wu Ming’s Golden Crow True Flame with a light palm strike.
• Zhang Lexuan asked Xuan Zi why he had intervened as Wu Ming’s hopes faded.

Xuan Zi stopped Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming from escalating their fight on Sea God Island and scolded them for their reckless conduct. Zhang Lexuan apologized and admitted she liked Yue Ling, while Wu Ming declared she would keep pursuing him and leave the choice to him.

• Xuan Zi rebuked Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming for using powerful soul skills during their fight on Sea God Island and worried the incident could affect Yue Ling’s assessment.
• Zhang Lexuan reflected on her jealousy, regained her composure, and apologized to Xuan Zi and Wu Ming for acting rashly.
• Zhang Lexuan admitted to Wu Ming that she liked Yue Ling, revealing why she had reacted so strongly.
• Wu Ming realized Zhang Lexuan was her rival for Yue Ling’s affection but resolved not to give up and said Yue Ling should choose between them.
• Xuan Zi rebuked Wu Ming for tying her future as a Spirit Master to love, and Wu Ming left for her residence exhausted.