Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Giving Up”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Simulated Puppet introduces the Mobile Soul Tool Bed, a fist-sized device that unfolds into a comfortable, climate-controlled bed. Ning Rongrong buys a pink one for 300 gold soul coins, while Zhu Zhuqing shows interest because of her frequent outdoor travel.
• Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong observe Xuan Xiao creating a tent for a customer. Zhu then asks about the golden armor he previously wore.
• Xuan Xiao explains that the armor is Martial Soul Avatar Armor, a secret technique that allows its user to borrow portions of the Martial Soul Avatar’s power before reaching the required seventieth rank.
• Zhu Zhuqing realizes the technique could dramatically change her future as an agile attack-type soul master and asks to learn it.
• Xuan Xiao refuses immediately, telling her to first understand why she wants the technique and what she intends to do with it. He reveals that he knows her true identity and connection to the Star Luo imperial family.
• Ning Rongrong learns that Zhu Zhuqing is connected to the Star Luo imperial family and is the fiancée of Dai Mubai, the runaway third prince.
• Xuan Xiao confronts Zhu Zhuqing about fleeing her arranged fate and asks whether she can truly escape either the person involved or her destiny.
• When Zhu asks what she should do, Xuan Xiao advises her to “give up.” He defines giving up not as defeat, but as liberation from harmful relationships, impossible expectations, and destructive obsessions.
• The Simulated Puppets clarify that Xuan Xiao is encouraging Zhu Zhuqing to stop living in the past, accept what cannot be changed, and move forward.

Character Developments

• Ning Rongrong displays her wealth and curiosity by purchasing the soul-tool bed, but she is also repeatedly frustrated by Xuan Xiao’s teasing and cryptic remarks. Her admiration and suspicion toward him deepen as she recognizes how much he knows.
• Zhu Zhuqing shifts from curiosity about Xuan Xiao’s armor to openly seeking a way to strengthen herself. Her confidence falters when Xuan Xiao exposes her hidden identity and emotional burdens, forcing her to confront her fear of fate and her unresolved relationship with Dai Mubai.
• Xuan Xiao acts as both shopkeeper and mentor. He demonstrates extensive knowledge, keeps his abilities mysterious, and refuses to teach Zhu Zhuqing merely because she asks. Instead, he challenges her motivations and urges emotional detachment.
• The Simulated Puppets function as assistants and interpreters, explaining Xuan Xiao’s philosophical advice when Ning Rongrong fails to understand it.

Significant Themes

• Letting go as strength: Abandoning harmful attachments is presented as an act of courage and self-liberation rather than surrender.
• Living in the present: The chapter emphasizes moving beyond past injuries, resentment, and uncontrollable circumstances.
• Self-knowledge and purpose: Power should not be pursued blindly; Zhu must determine what she truly wants before learning a potentially transformative technique.
• Fate versus personal choice: Zhu’s escape from the Star Luo Empire raises the question of whether one can escape destiny, but Xuan Xiao suggests that she can at least choose how she responds to it.
• Mystery and hidden power: Xuan Xiao’s knowledge of secret techniques and political relationships reinforces his enigmatic, seemingly all-knowing image.

Character Interactions

• Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing admire the soul-tool products and question Xuan Xiao about his armor.
• Zhu directly asks Xuan Xiao to teach her Martial Soul Avatar Armor, showing more determination and directness than Ning Rongrong.
• Xuan Xiao exposes Zhu’s identity in front of Ning Rongrong, creating a moment of tension and vulnerability.
• Ning Rongrong reacts with surprise and gradually becomes more impressed—and more wary—of Xuan Xiao.
• Xuan Xiao’s advice deeply affects Zhu Zhuqing, leaving her stunned and forcing her to reconsider her attachment to her past, her engagement, and her presumed fate.

Chapter Summary: “Tired... Very Tired”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Electrolux counsels Xuan Xiao about the pain of clinging to things that can no longer be recovered. Although his advice is directed partly at Zhu Zhuqing, it also reflects Xuan Xiao’s own inability to let go of his former world.
• Zhu Zhuqing is deeply affected by Electrolux’s words. She leaves the shop visibly lighter in spirit, while Ning Rongrong follows her and continues asking about her background.
• Alone, Xuan Xiao confronts his profound emotional exhaustion. Despite becoming extraordinarily powerful, he feels his achievements have no purpose because he cannot return home, has no true enemies to avenge himself against, and has already surpassed his peers.
• He drinks heavily, laughs bitterly at his own helplessness, and eventually falls asleep. In his dream, he returns to his modern-world home but cannot speak, cannot be noticed by anyone, and cannot find his way back. His grief manifests as tears in reality.
• At Shrek, the injured group recovers somewhat after taking Shao Xin’s restorative sweet beans. Tang San visits his injured father, Tang Hao, and the two begin addressing the long-hidden truth of Tang Hao’s identity as the Clear Sky Douluo.
• Flender arrives and is shocked to find Yu Xiaogang, Tang Hao, and numerous others injured. Zhao Wuji explains that a young fighter of the fourth rank defeated both him and Tang Hao with the aid of powerful summoned creatures.
• Tang Hao identifies the mysterious vine as the Thunderous Hell Prison Vine, a rare and terrifying being that grows stronger through enduring and attracting lightning. It may possess a trace of the Thunder God’s bloodline and can eventually kill even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
• Tang San and the Sea God Tang San realize that the opponent who quoted Daoist Lü Zu may also be from another world—or possibly an immortal cultivator. This revelation makes Tang San increasingly wary and uncertain about the true forces operating in the world.

Character Developments

• Xuan Xiao: His outward strength contrasts sharply with severe homesickness, loneliness, and spiritual exhaustion. He recognizes that he cannot release his attachment to his old world, even though he understands Electrolux’s advice.
• Electrolux: Acts as a compassionate mentor, offering wisdom based on personal experience rather than imposing abstract moral lessons. His guidance emphasizes acceptance, release, and continuing forward.
• Zhu Zhuqing: Appears emotionally affected by Electrolux’s counsel and leaves the shop with a more relaxed outlook, suggesting the conversation has helped her begin processing her own burdens.
• Ning Rongrong: Remains energetic and socially persistent, following Zhu Zhuqing and trying to learn more about her origins.
• Tang San: Begins reconciling with the truth about his father while also becoming increasingly suspicious of the existence of other transmigrators or supernatural cultivators.
• Tang Hao: Reveals knowledge of the Thunderous Hell Prison Vine and shares its frightening history, but his weakened condition shows the severity of his recent battle.
• Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Yu Xiaogang: React with shock to the battle’s outcome and the revelation that an apparently low-ranked youth wielded power capable of defeating top-level experts.

Significant Themes

• Inability to let go: The chapter emphasizes that understanding the need to move forward does not necessarily make emotional release possible.
• Power versus purpose: Xuan Xiao’s immense strength has not solved his deepest problem; achievement and status cannot replace belonging or a lost home.
• Isolation and homesickness: His dream highlights the alienation of living in a world where he is unseen and unable to return to the people and places he remembers.
• Hidden identities and origins: Tang Hao’s concealed status and the possibility of multiple otherworldly individuals reinforce the theme that appearances and public records are unreliable.
• The limits of knowledge: Even Yu Xiaogang and Tang San lack information about the Thunderous Hell Prison Vine, suggesting that the world contains forces beyond established systems of understanding.
• Escalating supernatural conflict: References to godly bloodlines, immortal cultivation, and figures from other realms indicate that the story’s conflict is expanding beyond ordinary soul cultivation.

Important Character Interactions

• Electrolux and Xuan Xiao: Electrolux indirectly confronts Xuan Xiao’s unresolved homesickness through advice about accepting loss and moving forward.
• Electrolux and Zhu Zhuqing: His counseling gives Zhu Zhuqing emotional relief, even though the full nature of her burden remains unclear.
• Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong: Ning Rongrong’s lively concern contrasts with Zhu Zhuqing’s quiet emotional processing.
• Tang San and Tang Hao: Their reunion begins a reconciliation over Tang Hao’s secrecy and long absence.
• Flender, Zhao Wuji, Yu Xiaogang, and Tang Hao: They discuss the battle and the terrifying abilities of the Thunderous Hell Prison Vine.
• Tang San and Sea God Tang San: Their internal conversation reveals growing concern that another otherworldly or immortal figure may be active in the world and may already understand Tang San’s true origins.

Chapter Summary: “Xuanqiao and the Dream Worm”

Plot Points and Events

• Xuan Xiao wakes after accidentally sleeping through the afternoon, briefly recalling similar habits from his former life.
• He summons his lower corpse god, Xuanqiao, one of the Three Pengs. Xuanqiao resembles him almost exactly and possesses six blood-red-glowing wings.
• Xuan Xiao reveals his anger over the earlier confrontation with Tang Hao, Tang San, and the others. Although he avoided violence because it was his business’s opening day, he now decides to retaliate.
• He orders Xuanqiao to travel to Shrek Academy and worsen Tang Hao’s injuries so that he remains bedridden for at least three months. Xuanqiao is also instructed to punish Tang San.
• Xuanqiao reaches Shrek Academy and mocks its rundown appearance. He releases seven dream worms, targeting Flender, Zhao Wuji, Yu Xiaogang, Tang Hao, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai.
• Dream worms trap their victims in nightmares, with dream injuries being projected onto their real bodies without causing death.
• The chapter focuses on Flender’s nightmare: he is attacked repeatedly by a mysterious black figure. Each time he awakens, the wounds from the dream remain on his body, leaving him terrified and trapped in a cycle of pain.
• The chapter ends with Flender screaming as the nightmare begins again.

Character Developments

• Xuan Xiao: His restrained attitude from earlier is revealed to have been temporary. He is vindictive, proud, and eager to punish those who insulted or harmed him. He follows an “eye for an eye” philosophy rather than forgiving his enemies.
• Xuanqiao: As Xuan Xiao’s lower corpse god and evil side, he embodies Xuan Xiao’s jealousy, greed, pride, wrath, and other negative impulses. He shares Xuan Xiao’s memories and personality, making him equally contemptuous of Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
• Flender: He shifts from confidence in his dream to panic and helplessness when the nightmare’s injuries carry into reality. His inability to escape or understand the attack emphasizes his vulnerability.
• Tang Hao and Tang San: They do not act directly in this chapter, but they become the primary targets of Xuan Xiao’s retaliation for their earlier confrontation.
• Yu Xiaogang and the others: They are included among the seven targets because of their involvement in the daytime conflict.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and retribution: Xuan Xiao believes insults and attacks must be answered directly, rejecting mercy or saintly forgiveness.
• The division of the self: Xuanqiao represents Xuan Xiao’s darker impulses, allowing the protagonist to externalize and act through his violent side while still claiming to pursue “righteousness.”
• Dreams and reality: The dream worms blur the boundary between illusion and physical existence, turning nightmares into tangible suffering.
• Power and humiliation: Xuan Xiao retaliates because Tang Hao and the others treated him as someone they could intimidate or command.
• Psychological terror: The repeated nightmare cycle creates fear through helplessness, confusion, and the inability to wake free of the consequences.

Character Interactions

• Xuan Xiao commands Xuanqiao, treating him as an extension of his own will.
• Xuanqiao internally echoes Xuan Xiao’s contempt for Tang Hao, Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang.
• The dream worms silently infiltrate the seven Shrek members without detection.
• Flender confronts the mysterious black figure in his nightmare, repeatedly begging and attempting to flee, but remains powerless as the attack continues.

Key plot points and events

• Zhao Wuji suffers a series of increasingly vivid nightmares about the Golden Earth Dragon King, which follow his real injuries from the day’s battle.
• In the dreams, the dragon repeatedly attacks him—first as a beast, then as a half-dragon. Zhao wakes several times, but each apparent escape gives way to another frightening vision.
• The half-dragon mocks Zhao, catches him as he tries to flee, and appears to cook his severed head. The visions end with it appearing right behind him and saying, “It’s not over yet,” causing him to faint.
• The next nightmare centers on Dai Mubai. He dreams he has seized the crown prince’s throne by any means necessary, imprisoned his elder brother Dai Weisi, and married Zhu Zhuyun off to an old man.
• As the hall darkens, the ghostly forms of Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun confront him, accusing him of making them suffer. Dai tries to escape, but the doors will not open, and the two close in on him.

Character developments

• Zhao Wuji is reduced to panic and helplessness by the repeated attacks and shifting dreams. His real wounds deepen during the nightmare sequence, though they stop bleeding by the time he checks them.
• Dai Mubai is shown imagining himself as ruthless and triumphant, willing to use poisoning, assassination, and false accusations to gain power. The dream turns that ambition into guilt and fear.

Significant themes

• Fear and helplessness: Zhao cannot tell when he is awake or safe, while Dai finds himself trapped with no way out.
• Guilt and consequences: Dai’s imagined betrayal of his brother and Zhu Zhuyun returns as a haunting accusation.
• Ambition and moral compromise: Dai’s dream questions what victory means when it is achieved through cruelty.
• Reality versus nightmare: Zhao’s real injuries blur the boundary between dreams and waking life.

Character interactions

• The Golden Earth Dragon King—or its half-dragon form—torments Zhao through taunts, pursuit, and repeated attacks.
• Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun confront Dai Mubai as victims of the ruthless actions he imagines taking, turning his dream victory into a reckoning.

• Key events: Dai Mubai is trapped in a repeating nightmare in which his dead brother, Dai Weisi, and Zhu Zhuyun appear to haunt him. Each apparent awakening leads to another horror: their bodies beneath his bed, bloody footprints, and a hand gripping his ankle. Terrified, he curls up and begs to be left alone. Yu Xiaogang dreams of receiving public acclaim as a great theorist, but the audience vanishes and his Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao, appears as a Golden Sacred Dragon. It accuses Yu Xiaogang of stunting it, wasting his potential, and passing off borrowed ideas as original theories, then attacks and devours his leg. Yu Xiaogang wakes believing it was only a dream—only to find Luo Sanpao actually chewing on him.
• Character developments: Dai Mubai’s fear and guilt overwhelm him as the nightmare gives form to his unresolved remorse. Yu Xiaogang’s fantasy of vindication collapses into a confrontation with the insecurity beneath his self-image: he fears he is neither a true scholar nor a capable master. Luo Sanpao is portrayed as both a victim of Yu Xiaogang’s choices and a force of judgment.
• Character interactions: Dai Mubai is confronted by visions of Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun, who address him as their “little brother.” Luo Sanpao directly condemns Yu Xiaogang’s treatment of him and attacks him, turning their master–Martial Soul relationship into one of accusation and revenge.
• Themes: The chapter explores guilt and consequences, the gap between public acclaim and private insecurity, and the harm caused by wasted potential and self-deception. Its repeated false awakenings blur dream and reality, making the characters’ fears feel inescapable.

Chapter summary

• Dream and downfall: Tang Hao dreams of storming Spirit Hall, demolishing its buildings and killing everyone in his path. Just as he celebrates its destruction, the earth opens beneath him and drops him into the underworld.
• Confronted by his past: On his journey through the underworld, Tang Hao passes the Mirror of Life, which shows both his past and the Soul Beasts he has hunted. Their anguished spirits emerge and seize him, forcing him to face the harm he has done.
• Judgment: Before the King of Hell, Tang Hao insists that his victims were merely animals and denies committing any crime. The King declares him guilty of killing Soul Beasts and taking their Soul Bones, sentencing him to a thousand years of punishment.
• Power stripped away: Tang Hao attacks the King, but underworld chains stop his Clear Sky Hammer and shatter it. His nine Soul Rings fade, and his cultivation is destroyed. Now powerless, he is dragged away by Ox-Head and Horse-Face.
• Punishment: Tang Hao is taken through successive levels of torment, including painful punishments, repeated visions of his hunts, the Mountain of Blades, Ice Mountain, a boiling-oil cauldron, an ox pit, and crushing weight. The chapter ends as he suffers in the eleventh level.

Character development and interactions

Tang Hao is presented as proud, violent, and convinced that strength places him beyond judgment. When challenged, he refuses to acknowledge the Soul Beasts’ right to live and tries to attack the King of Hell rather than reconsider his actions. Losing his hammer, cultivation, and status leaves him helpless and terrified. The King of Hell remains cold and authoritative, while Ox-Head and Horse-Face carry out his order without sympathy.

Significant themes

• Accountability: Tang Hao’s past actions are judged, even though he believed himself justified.
• The value of life: The King rejects Tang Hao’s claim that Soul Beasts are mere animals, affirming that all living things have a right to live.
• Pride and powerlessness: Tang Hao’s mortal-world strength cannot protect him in the underworld, where his status means nothing.
• Retribution: The punishments force him to confront the suffering and consequences associated with his choices.

Plot points and events

• Tang Hao survives all eighteen levels of hell, only to learn from the Black-Faced King of Hell that the ordeal is merely the first round of a thousand years. Too weak to resist, he is dragged back to the first level and tortured again.
• Tang San dreams of returning to the Tang Sect, where the grand elder praises him for secretly studying the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and creating the Buddha’s Fury Tang Lotus. He makes Tang San his personal disciple, and Tang San’s hidden-weapon skills flourish over three years.
• When Shushan comes to recruit disciples, Tang San joins and is accepted only as an outer disciple. Resentful of his low status, he spends ten years enduring the contempt of inner disciples.
• Hoping to gain Shushan’s techniques, Tang San breaks into its Scripture Repository. He is caught and brought before the elders, who sentence him to thirty years guarding Demon-Subduing Valley instead of destroying his cultivation or expelling him.
• At the valley, Tang San is tasked with guarding the Southern Bright Lihuo Divine Sword, which seals the Demons within. Though Sea God Tang San warns him not to engage with them, Tang San grows curious. The Demons tempt him with promises of power and release from his monotonous punishment, and he begins to waver.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Hao shifts from endurance to despair when he learns that his torture will continue for a thousand years.
• Tang San moves from relief and gratitude at the Tang Sect to pride and resentment at Shushan. His sense of being a genius is challenged when the elders reveal that Shushan is full of exceptional talents; nevertheless, his frustration and curiosity lead him toward increasingly dangerous choices.
• The Tang Sect grand elder rewards Tang San’s ingenuity, while Shushan’s elders discipline him firmly but mercifully.
• Sea God Tang San urges caution, but Tang San dismisses his warning. The Demons exploit his resentment and dissatisfaction, offering to help him obtain what he wants.

Significant themes

• Endurance and despair: Tang Hao’s suffering continues even after he believes it is over.
• Ambition, pride, and entitlement: Tang San struggles to accept a lower rank and believes his talent should earn him more.
• Temptation and consequences: Tang San’s curiosity and resentment make the Demons’ promises appealing, despite the danger.
• Talent and humility: Shushan forces Tang San to confront that he is not uniquely gifted among its members.

Plot points and events

• In Tang San’s nightmare, he gives in to demons’ whispers and slightly pulls the Southern Bright Lihuo Divine Sword from its seal. The demons escape, attack him, and tear Sea God Tang San’s soul from his body.
• Tang San wakes in his Shrek dormitory, only to find the demons there too. He repeatedly seems to wake from the attack, but each apparent escape leads to another nightmare—eventually with a severe bite wound.
• Xuanqiao, who has been watching the nightmares he arranged for six people, checks Ma Hongjun’s dream and is so horrified by its content that he destroys his own eyes.
• He calls Xuan Xiao and asks to borrow Summoning Money. Xuan Xiao grants permission, and the coin reaches Xuanqiao, transforming into a jade-green ruler.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San is first tempted by the demons, then overwhelmed by fear as he realizes he has released them. The repeating nightmare traps him in escalating terror.
• Xuanqiao appears pleased with the other nightmares he created, but Ma Hongjun’s dream breaks his composure. His reaction reveals that even his cruelty has limits.
• Xuan Xiao recognizes Xuanqiao’s distress and lends him the item without asking for details. Their exchange establishes that the summoned corpses can use Xuan Xiao’s abilities only with his permission.

Significant themes

• Temptation and consequences: Tang San’s brief act of disobedience unleashes a catastrophe in the dream.
• Fear and helplessness: Repeated false awakenings make Tang San doubt his escape and deepen his despair.
• Cruelty meeting its limits: Xuanqiao can devise brutal nightmares, yet Ma Hongjun’s dream proves more disturbing than he can bear.
• Shared power and dependence: Xuan Xiao’s control over Summoning Money gives him authority over how his other selves use it.

Plot points and events

• Xuanqiao’s eyes recover after the previous night’s ordeal. He chooses not to revisit Ma Hongjun’s dream and waits in a tree until dawn.
• He recalls the seven Shrek figures’ severe injuries: Flender, Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, Yu Xiaogang, Tang Hao, Tang San, and Ma Hongjun. Ma Hongjun appears especially ruined, though his Evil Fire has grown stronger.
• Using the Shennong Ruler, Xuanqiao slowly heals their wounds only enough to keep them alive. He intends to torment them with recurring nightmares rather than kill them outright, and warns that this was only the first night.
• Xuanqiao returns to Xuan Xiao, who is cultivating near a breakthrough to level seventy-two. He avoids disturbing him and re-enters his body.
• Tang San wakes with vivid memories of being attacked in Demon-Subduing Valley, but Sea God Tang San remembers nothing. Tang San finds a real, deep bite wound on his arm, suggesting the experience was not merely a dream.
• Sea God Tang San speculates about Shi Nian’s Remnant Dream Martial Soul, but notes it should not cause physical injuries. Tang San treats his wound and searches the academy for the others.
• Finding the dormitories empty, Tang San follows groans to Shao Xin’s room. He opens the door and is stunned by what he sees; the chapter ends before revealing the scene.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuanqiao is calm and calculating after his earlier distress. He takes satisfaction in the victims’ suffering and is determined to prolong their fear.
• Tang San becomes alarmed as his apparent nightmare proves physically real. He questions Sea God Tang San, grows frustrated by his ignorance, and sets out to investigate the others.
• Sea God Tang San is confused and cannot explain the attacks, underscoring that the incident lies beyond his knowledge.
• Xuan Xiao remains focused on cultivation, while Xuanqiao deliberately leaves him undisturbed.

Significant themes

• Fear as deliberate torment: Xuanqiao believes prolonged dread will be more satisfying than a quick death.
• Dreams and reality blurred: Tang San’s memories, Sea God Tang San’s lack of recollection, and the physical wounds make the attacks difficult to explain.
• Cruelty and control: Xuanqiao keeps the victims alive while controlling the pace of their recovery, leaving them vulnerable to further suffering.

Plot points and events

• Tang Hao, Flender, and Yu Xiaogang wake with serious injuries they suffered in a nightmare. None can explain how dream damage became real. Tang San recalls a warning from the previous night and fears they were deliberately spared by a powerful, unknown enemy.
• Tang Hao decides the group must leave Shrek and head to Heaven Dou City, where Tang San’s aunt can offer support. Tang San also learns from the Sea God voice in his mind that he should seek Dugu Bo and the Icefire Yin Yang Well.
• Flender asks Shao Xin to retrieve Oscar, whose rare talent as a food-type soul master persuades Tang Hao to wait for him.
• Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing keep visiting Xuan Xiao’s shop. Xuan Xiao, using the alias “Xuanqiao,” focuses on crafting and cultivation and avoids drawing attention.
• A flashback explains why Ning Fengzhi has not come looking for Rongrong: Xuan Xiao found and brought back the covert guard secretly assigned to follow her, exposing how easily he could defeat the sect’s surveillance.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San is alarmed by the unexplained attacks and increasingly recognizes the danger his group faces. His interest sharpens when he hears about the Icefire Yin Yang Well.
• Tang Hao takes charge and prioritizes retreat, while his dismissive treatment of Yu Xiaogang and his assumption that Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun are Tang San’s subordinates reveal his arrogance.
• Flender tries to keep the injured group cooperative and advocates waiting for Oscar.
• Yu Xiaogang has no explanation for the phenomenon and is silenced by Tang Hao’s contempt.
• Ning Rongrong is embarrassed and frustrated to learn she never escaped her father’s guard; she is also impressed by Xuan Xiao’s overwhelming ability.
• Zhu Zhuqing continues to visit but remains too hesitant to speak openly. Xuan Xiao, meanwhile, is determined to keep his life private and avoid involvement with powerful factions.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Even formidable figures are helpless against an unknown enemy, while Xuan Xiao’s strength makes ordinary surveillance and threats ineffective.
• The limits of knowledge: Yu Xiaogang’s scholarship cannot explain the dream injuries, underscoring how little the group understands their situation.
• Secrecy and control: Tang San’s group does not know who attacked them, Ning Rongrong has been secretly monitored, and Xuan Xiao carefully conceals his identity and intentions.

Key plot points and events

• In the present, Xuan Xiao continues working on soul tools while Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing try to get his attention.
• He bluntly advises Zhu Zhuqing to abandon her bid for the Star Luo crown-princess position and live quietly, warning that pursuing it will lead to disaster. Zhu Zhuqing admits internally that she still wants to return and challenge Zhu Zhuyun.
• When Zhu Zhuqing asks whether Xuan Xiao wants power, he says he trains for self-protection, not ambition: in a dangerous world, strength is necessary to live safely.
• Xuan Xiao reveals that Shrek Academy left for Heaven Dou City three days earlier. He explains that Dai Mubai’s superior innate soul power does not guarantee victory over his older brother, since Dai Weisi has years more experience and the imperial succession favors the eldest son.
• His remarks lead Zhu Zhuqing to reconsider why Dai Mubai fled. She concludes he may have run from fear of losing to Dai Weisi—and questions why she devoted herself to following him.

Character developments

• Xuan Xiao remains calm, practical, and uninterested in status or appearances. He presents strength as a means of survival rather than advancement.
• Ning Rongrong is first irritated by Xuan Xiao’s indifference, then intrigued by his unusual outlook. His explanation also challenges her simplistic belief that innate talent determines success.
• Zhu Zhuqing is shaken by Xuan Xiao’s blunt assessment. Her ambition and attachment to the imperial contest remain unresolved, but his words make her question both her goal and her loyalty to Dai Mubai.

Significant themes

• Ambition versus peace: Zhu Zhuqing struggles to let go of a lifelong pursuit, while Xuan Xiao values a quiet, secure life.
• Talent versus experience: Innate potential offers a starting advantage, but age, effort, and circumstances shape the outcome.
• Self-preservation and courage: Xuan Xiao sees cultivation as protection; Zhu Zhuqing begins to suspect Dai Mubai’s escape was driven by fear.
• Truth and disillusionment: Xuan Xiao’s directness forces Zhu Zhuqing to confront uncomfortable possibilities about her past and future.

Character interactions

• Ning Rongrong playfully confronts Xuan Xiao for ignoring the two women, while he responds with dry humor.
• Xuan Xiao’s advice wounds Zhu Zhuqing but prompts her to question her ambitions.
• Ning Rongrong tries to defend Zhu Zhuqing and later changes the subject to soul tools when the mood turns tense.
• Xuan Xiao’s explanation of Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi reshapes Zhu Zhuqing’s view of Dai Mubai and leaves her emotionally devastated.

Key plot points and events

• Zhu Zhuqing is upset after realizing Dai Mubai may have avoided challenging his elder brother out of fear. Xuan Xiao bluntly suggests that her presence may also have held him back.
• Zhu Zhuqing breaks down, describing years of relentless training and sacrifice to keep pace with Zhu Zhuyun.
• Xuan Xiao compares their starting Soul Power levels and current strength, arguing that Zhu Zhuqing is unlikely to catch up: she is level 27, while Dai Mubai is level 37, and Zhu Zhuyun is already a Soul Ancestor. He tells Zhu Zhuqing that competing for her family’s position may be hopeless.
• When Zhu Zhuqing asks what she should do, Xuan Xiao advises her to abandon the contest and hide somewhere remote. She rejects the idea of spending her life alone, but his suggestions—traveling elsewhere in the empire, the forest, or beyond the continent—help her realize she has choices.
• Zhu Zhuqing regains her composure and thanks him. Xuan Xiao dismisses her gratitude as concern for his shop; Ning Rongrong scolds him for being needlessly harsh.

Character developments

• Zhu Zhuqing shifts from despair and self-blame toward a clearer sense of agency. She begins to see that her life need not be defined by the competition or her family’s expectations.
• Xuan Xiao remains practical and unsentimental, delivering painful truths without offering comfort, though his advice ultimately helps Zhu Zhuqing reconsider her future.
• Ning Rongrong acts as Zhu Zhuqing’s protector, trying to comfort her and challenging Xuan Xiao’s cruelty.

Significant themes

• Reality versus comforting lies: Xuan Xiao insists on facing the odds rather than sustaining false hope.
• Freedom and choice: Zhu Zhuqing’s assumptions about duty and competition narrow her world until she recognizes that she can choose another path.
• Unequal starting points and effort: Her dedication is real, but differences in innate talent and circumstances make effort alone insufficient to close the gap.
• Harsh honesty and compassion: The chapter leaves open whether blunt truth is helpful or needlessly damaging, as Ning Rongrong repeatedly objects to Xuan Xiao’s manner.

Character interactions

• Xuan Xiao’s direct criticism triggers Zhu Zhuqing’s anger and tears, while Ning Rongrong tries to defend and steady her.
• Zhu Zhuqing turns to Xuan Xiao for guidance despite his earlier harshness.
• Xuan Xiao offers options rather than comfort; Zhu Zhuqing takes his point to heart, while his flippant response to her thanks restores the antagonistic banter between him and Ning Rongrong.

Key plot points and events

• The Shrek group arrives at Moonlight Pavilion after enduring three days of violent nightmares that left them severely injured. Tang Hao has lost a kidney and an eye, and the others have extensive wounds; Ma Hongjun has been castrated.
• Tang Yuehua introduces Dugu Bo, physician Ye Renxin, and Vice Principal Ah Yin. Seeing Ah Yin triggers an intense reaction from the weakened Sea God Tang San, who recognizes her as his mother.
• Tang Hao insults Dugu Bo, who knocks him down and uses his overwhelming pressure to pin everyone but Ah Yin and Ye Renxin to the floor. Dugu warns them not to provoke him again.
• Ye Renxin examines the wounds but cannot identify their cause. Ah Yin concludes that whoever inflicted them did not intend to kill the group.
• Dugu says the absent “young master” might know what happened. Ah Yin becomes visibly distressed at the mention, still worried about Xuan Xiao, her benefactor.
• When Tang San asks who the young master is, Ah Yin avoids answering and leaves with Dugu and Ye Renxin. Tang Hao claims not to know the man, though he has a guess; Yu Xiaogang recalls Xuan Xiao’s extraordinary feats.
• Tang Hao reports that Xuan Xiao’s Lion Dog subdued his grandfather, a Peerless Douluo, and bit through his shoulder. The revelation shocks Tang Yuehua.
• The Sea God within Tang San realizes that events and people in this world contradict his memories. Tang San, too, recognizes that this is not the world he thought he knew.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San: Grows increasingly suspicious and unsettled as his inherited memories prove unreliable. His exchange with the Sea God highlights the tension between his own perspective and the other Tang San’s.
• Sea God Tang San: Reacts emotionally to Ah Yin as his mother, then becomes alarmed by the altered history and the survival of people he expected to be dead.
• Tang Hao: His injuries leave him powerless, and Dugu Bo’s humiliation forces him to suppress his anger. His guarded response suggests he knows—or suspects—more about Xuan Xiao than he admits.
• Ah Yin: Shows concern for the injured group but remains cautious around the Tang and Yu families because of Xuan Xiao’s warning. Her longing for her absent benefactor is made clear.
• Dugu Bo: Establishes his dominance and authority, while expressing regret that the young master is unavailable to explain the injuries.
• Ye Renxin: Approaches the injuries methodically but is baffled by their unfamiliar energy.

Significant themes

• Unreliable memory and divergent realities: The Sea God’s recollections do not match this world, suggesting a major departure from the history he knows.
• Power and vulnerability: Tang Hao’s former status offers no protection while he is crippled; Dugu Bo’s strength dictates the room’s balance.
• Mystery and foreboding: The unexplained injuries and Xuan Xiao’s immense power deepen the chapter’s central unanswered questions.
• Trust and caution: Ah Yin’s reluctance to speak openly reflects warnings and tensions surrounding powerful families.

Key plot points and events

• Ye Renxin finds a strange mass of dark-red energy and asks Dugu Bo to identify it. Neither can, but they suspect it is connected to Xuan Xiao, the absent “young master.”
• Ah Yin recalls that their benefactor warned her and Ah Rou to distrust anyone surnamed Tang, Ning, or Yu—members of the Upper Three Sects. Ye Renxin realizes this suggests a serious grievance involving the powerful sects.
• Dugu Bo reassures Ye Renxin that Xuan Xiao can cure the curse afflicting the Nine-Heart Begonia. Ye stores the mysterious energy in a jade vial to show Xuan Xiao when he returns.
• At the counter, Ning Rongrong asks Xuan Xiao to teach her Soul Tool crafting. He readily gives her a huge introductory book, explaining that he will teach anyone willing to learn, regardless of talent.
• Zhu Zhuqing asks about True Body Armor, but Xuan Xiao says it is restricted family knowledge.
• When Ning Rongrong asks about his carving knife, Xuan Xiao reveals it was made from the Soul Bone of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. Both young women are astonished by its value and by the power it implies.
• Ning Rongrong struggles to understand the book and asks Xuan Xiao for help. He refuses, leaving her to study on her own.

Character developments

• Ye Renxin moves from skepticism toward hope that his curse might finally be cured.
• Ning Rongrong shows genuine curiosity and determination to learn, though she is frustrated by the difficult material and Xuan Xiao’s bluntness.
• Zhu Zhuqing becomes more comfortable around Ning Rongrong and sees a warmer, more amusing side to her.
• Xuan Xiao is presented as generous with knowledge but practical and unsentimental: he teaches freely, expects students to work independently, and does not give away costly tools or protected techniques.

Significant themes

• Hope against seemingly incurable affliction: Ye Renxin’s curse may have a cure after years of failed searches.
• Suspicion and hidden conflict: The warning about the Upper Three Sects hints at a deeper feud.
• Teaching and merit: Xuan Xiao rejects talent-based gatekeeping, while still insisting students put in effort.
• Power and value: The extraordinary knife demonstrates Xuan Xiao’s access to rare resources and formidable strength.
• Growing understanding between people: Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing begin to see beyond each other’s reputations.

Character interactions

• Dugu Bo comforts Ye Renxin and encourages him to trust Xuan Xiao’s ability to help.
• Ah Yin’s warning prompts Ye Renxin to connect the mysterious energy and Xuan Xiao to the Upper Three Sects.
• Xuan Xiao’s direct teaching style both impresses and frustrates Ning Rongrong.
• Zhu Zhuqing watches Ning Rongrong struggle, smiles at her, and gently encourages the developing rapport between them.

Key plot points and events

• After half a month of exhausting study, Ning Rongrong finishes a thick book on soul tools, only for Xuan Xiao to reveal she never needed to read it all. She explodes in frustration.
• Ah Rou and Xiao Wu arrive at the soul-tool shop. Ah Rou sees Xuan Xiao, whose face resembles the benefactor she has not seen in eighteen years, and asks whether he is that person.
• Xuan Xiao explains that he is one of Xuan Xiao’s “Three Corpses,” then demonstrates by having Xuanqiao appear. Xuanqiao identifies himself as Xuan Xiao’s dark side, while Xuan Xiao is the calm side. He later merges back into Xuan Xiao.
• Ning Rongrong realizes that Xuan Xiao is the person her father and Spirit Hall’s Supreme Pontiff have searched for for over twenty years. Xuanqiao playfully—but sharply—corrects her for confusing him with the whole person.
• Ah Rou asks when the benefactor will return. Xuan Xiao says it will happen when the time is right, and she resolves to wait.
• Xiao Wu explains that she and Ah Rou brought academy students out for experience; the students are at the Great Soul Arena with Liu Erlong.
• Ah Rou says Liu Erlong became a Titled Douluo six months ago but still lacks a suitable ninth soul ring. Asked for advice, Xuan Xiao considers the problem—and realizes he is growing tired of his current amusement.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Rongrong shows how hard she can work, but her anger at being made to study unnecessarily brings out her impulsive, comedic side. Her discovery of Xuan Xiao’s identity adds a new layer of intrigue.
• Xuan Xiao maintains a calm, guarded manner. He conceals the truth about his relationship to the absent benefactor and invents an explanation for Ah Rou.
• Xuanqiao contrasts sharply with Xuan Xiao: he is mischievous, forceful, and openly teasing, especially toward Ning Rongrong.
• Ah Rou is emotionally affected by seeing Xuan Xiao’s resemblance to her long-lost benefactor. Despite uncertainty, she chooses to wait for him.
• Xiao Wu warmly reconnects with Ning Rongrong and responds with curiosity to the two contrasting Xuan Xiao figures.
• The chapter shifts from comic frustration and reunion to a more serious concern: finding Liu Erlong a ninth soul ring.

Significant themes

• Identity and divided nature: Xuan Xiao’s “Three Corpses” represent distinct aspects of one person, embodied by the contrast between calm Xuan Xiao and dark, mischievous Xuanqiao.
• Longing and patience: Ah Rou’s continued devotion is captured in her decision to wait for the benefactor’s return.
• Learning and effort: Ning Rongrong’s strenuous study is played for humor, while underscoring the gap between effort and knowing what is truly necessary.
• Responsibility and difficult choices: Liu Erlong’s need for a suitable soul ring raises a problem shaped by the relationships and loyalties surrounding potential candidates.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Ah Rou tells Xuan Xiao she will stay out of his plan, then sends Xiao Wu to fetch Liu Erlong.
• Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing ask Xuan Xiao what level he has reached. He reveals six Soul Rings—four red, one orange-gold, and one purple-gold—then manifests a seventh, deep-blue ring streaked with silver.
• Ning Rongrong consults her Soul Beast Encyclopedia and learns that Blue Demon Birds are nearly extinct beings associated with space or time. The two types could produce a true Phoenix capable of wielding Creation Power. She suspects Xuan Xiao summoned one, but he offers no explanation.
• Liu Erlong arrives and recognizes Xuan Xiao, who has been gone for twenty years. Their reunion is emotional but combative: after teasing her about gaining weight, Xuan Xiao slaps her to the floor for insulting him. Despite the shock, Liu Erlong is overjoyed that he has returned.
• Xuan Xiao says he will remain until he reaches level 100 and becomes a god. He clarifies that he means a self-earned kind of godhood, not the same as inheriting a Divine Realm position.

Character developments

• Xuan Xiao displays overwhelming strength and unusual Soul Rings, while remaining casual and domineering. He explains that his long absence felt to him like a single sleep.
• Liu Erlong shifts from shock and grief to happiness and relief at Xuan Xiao’s return. Her affection is evident despite their rough, teasing dynamic.
• Ning Rongrong becomes increasingly astonished by Xuan Xiao’s power and the rare creatures connected to his abilities.
• Zhu Zhuqing abandons her earlier pursuit of a position but remains impressed by strength, and is surprised by Xuan Xiao’s ambition to become a god.
• Xiao Wu remains concerned for Liu Erlong and helps bring her to Xuan Xiao.

Significant themes

• Time and reunion: Xuan Xiao’s decades-long absence affected those around him far more than it affected him.
• Power and ambition: His extraordinary Soul Rings establish his strength, while his goal of reaching level 100 gives him a new objective.
• Earned versus inherited status: Xuan Xiao distinguishes hard-won godhood from receiving a divine position.
• Affection expressed through conflict: The reunion’s tenderness is mixed with teasing, bluntness, and physical dominance.

Character interactions

• Xuan Xiao reassures Ah Rou that he can handle the situation, while Ah Rou and Xiao Wu act to bring Liu Erlong to him.
• Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing question Xuan Xiao and react with awe to his displayed power; Ning Rongrong investigates the blue ring herself.
• Liu Erlong and Xuan Xiao reunite with tears, teasing, and a slap, revealing both their intimacy and their unequal strength.
• Zhu Zhuqing questions Xuan Xiao’s claim about becoming a god, prompting him to distinguish his intended path from conventional divine inheritance.

Plot points and events

• Xuan Xiao explains that gods are real and reveals Spirit Hall’s overwhelming strength: it has seven Enshrined experts at level 96 or higher, including one level-99 fighter, while the two empires lack even a level-96 Titled Douluo.
• He says the Angel God once defeated evil and drove away soul beasts, gaining divinity through people’s faith. The Six-Winged Angel’s innate soul power can exceed the world’s normal level-10 limit because the excess is a divine gift.
• Xuan Xiao claims Qian Daoliu’s granddaughter may now have innate soul power of level 25 after receiving his medicinal herb. He also hints that his own “innate full soul power” cannot be measured by ordinary standards.
• When Xiao Wu asks whether the girl might be stronger than him, Xuan Xiao boasts that his martial soul, the Explosive Giant Fist, could defeat the Angel with one blow.
• Xuan Xiao gives Liu Erlong a Soul Spirit Ball and sends her and the others away, saying he will visit Heaven Dou City later and does not want to be disturbed. He pointedly warns off a hidden Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect guard.
• Liu Erlong leaves, saying she will wait for him. Xiao Wu and Ah Rou follow. Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing choose to remain with Xuan Xiao.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Rongrong is stunned to discover how little she knew about Spirit Hall and the world’s power structure. Though shaken by the comparison between her own talent and Qian Daoliu’s granddaughter’s, she stays to study soul tools with Xuan Xiao.
• Zhu Zhuqing rethinks her assumptions about the Star Luo Imperial Family and understands why Xuan Xiao dismisses her ambition to become crown princess. She decides to stay as well.
• Liu Erlong questions how Xuan Xiao knows so much, then accepts the Soul Spirit Ball and his decision to leave later. Her promise to wait for him shows her trust and attachment.
• Xuan Xiao presents himself as vastly beyond ordinary measures of talent and power, speaks with striking confidence, and asserts control over who may approach him.
• The covert guard, already frightened by Xuan Xiao’s past display of strength, is intimidated into keeping his distance.

Significant themes

• The limits of conventional power and knowledge: Imperial status and familiar measures of talent seem insignificant beside Spirit Hall, divine gifts, and Xuan Xiao’s unexplained potential.
• Shattered assumptions: Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing are forced to reconsider what they thought they knew about their world.
• Power and confidence: Xuan Xiao’s overwhelming self-assurance shapes how others respond to him, while the group’s reactions reveal their differing degrees of awe, trust, and resolve.

Plot and events

• Bibi Dong tries Xuan Xiao’s Virtual Space device and is overwhelmed by his summoned Thunderous Hell Prison Vines, despite being a Level 98 Peak Douluo. Furious, she tears off the helmet and demands another attempt.
• Qian Daoliu reminds her that she has a task to complete for Xuan Xiao. After struggling to contain her anger, Bibi Dong orders Yue Guan and Gui Mei to deliver Storage Rings to the sects and advanced academies, making clear that recipients must pay for them.
• Curious about the device, Light Feather Douluo (Guang Ling) puts on the helmet and enters the Virtual Space. He selects Du Busi as his opponent.
• Guang Ling attacks with an ice arrow and briefly freezes Du Busi, but Du Busi breaks free and reveals his Martial Soul. His final three Soul Rings are all Hundred-Thousand-Year rings, astonishing Guang Ling.

Character developments and interactions

• Bibi Dong is shown as formidable but unable to hide her fury at being humiliated. She rejects attempts to calm herself and channels that anger into carrying out Xuan Xiao’s instructions.
• Qian Daoliu acts as a voice of restraint, reminding Bibi Dong of her obligation; Qian Xunji and the elders watch uneasily.
• Yue Guan and Gui Mei obey Bibi Dong without question, wary of provoking her further.
• Guang Ling moves from skepticism about the device to eager combat, then shock at Du Busi’s strength.
• Du Busi demonstrates immense resilience and power by breaking Guang Ling’s Ice Seal and displaying his extraordinary Soul Rings.

Significant themes

• Power and humiliation: Even elite figures can be caught off guard or overwhelmed.
• Anger versus duty: Bibi Dong struggles to control her temper but still follows through on her assigned task.
• Surprise and escalation: The Virtual Space exposes unexpected abilities, culminating in Du Busi’s rare and alarming Soul Ring configuration.

Key plot points and events

• Du Busi’s Martial Soul Avatar overwhelms Light Feather Douluo in the virtual arena, beating him so badly that the injuries and pain carry over to his real body.
• Over the next half day, several Spirit Hall fighters—including Qian Xunji, Jiang Mo and Qian Jun, Lion Douluo, Azure Luan Douluo, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and Bibi Dong—challenge Du Busi and are defeated. Even Golden Crocodile’s exceptional defenses only let him last a little longer.
• Qian Daoliu refuses to enter the arena. He claims age is the reason, but privately fears that without divine power he would suffer the same humiliating defeat.
• Furious at her loss and earlier setbacks, Bibi Dong vows to cultivate toward godhood so she can eventually take revenge on Xuan Xiao.
• Meanwhile, Xuan Xiao watches the results from his shop in Suotuo City. He sends Ning Rongrong to buy groceries and assigns Zhu Zhuqing to clean and arrange the soul tools and handle the accounts.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Busi is established as a nearly unstoppable force, defeating Spirit Hall’s strongest fighters with overwhelming strength and durability.
• Bibi Dong turns repeated humiliation into renewed ambition, resolving to pursue godhood and revenge.
• Qian Daoliu reveals a rare streak of cowardice beneath his authority, dodging the challenge and ignoring his comrades’ resentment.
• Xuan Xiao remains smug and bossy, treating Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing as workers rather than guests. Ning protests but ultimately leaves to shop; Zhu Zhuqing quietly complies.
• The defeated Spirit Hall fighters share a sense of shock and resentment, while Golden Crocodile directly challenges Qian Daoliu’s excuse for staying out.

Significant themes

• Power and humiliation: Even prestigious Titled Douluo are helpless against overwhelming strength.
• Consequences without death: The virtual arena is technically safe, but its realistic pain and injuries make defeat physically and emotionally costly.
• Ambition born of failure: Bibi Dong uses humiliation as motivation to pursue greater power.
• Comedy through contrast: Spirit Hall’s battered elites are juxtaposed with Xuan Xiao’s casual, teasing control of his shopmates.

Plot points and events

• Yue Guan and Gui Mei deliver Soul Tools to Dugu Bo on Xuan Xiao’s orders. Dugu Bo accepts the goods but refuses to pay, arguing that he serves Xuan Xiao and that the academy belongs to him. He also taunts the two about the Pope’s feelings for Xuan Xiao, leaving them humiliated and empty-handed.
• Three months pass. Xuan Xiao has sent Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong back, but his own whereabouts remain unknown.
• Tang San and Tang Hao enter Dugu Bo’s Medicine Garden, the Icefire Yin Yang Well. Tang San hopes to take the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass and Infernal Delicate Apricot for his own cultivation, and possibly the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower for Ma Hongjun.
• Dugu Bo confronts them and refuses Tang Hao’s claim that the garden belongs to the Tang family. The dispute quickly becomes a fight.
• Tang Hao’s Clear Sky Hammer strikes Dugu Bo’s dragon claws, but Dugu Bo withstands the blow with only a faint mark. Tang Hao activates Clear Sky Avatar; Dugu Bo responds with a soul-bone ability that converts his toxins into physical strength, dramatically increasing his power. The confrontation is left unresolved.

Character developments

• Dugu Bo is confident, combative, and fiercely protective of the garden. His new soul-bone skill lets him meet Tang Hao’s renowned hammer head-on.
• Yue Guan and Gui Mei show frustration at Dugu Bo’s shameless refusal to pay, but retreat rather than escalate the dispute.
• Tang Hao remains proud and aggressive despite his recent injuries and losses. He assumes his strength will secure the garden, then appears surprised by Dugu Bo’s resilience.
• Tang San is focused on acquiring the herbs and quietly considers taking them during the fight, rather than simply defending his father’s claim.

Significant themes

• Entitlement versus stewardship: Tang Hao claims the garden as the Tang family’s by right of discovery, while Dugu Bo argues that years of guarding it give him the right to protect it.
• Power and confidence: Both Dugu Bo and Tang Hao rely on their reputations and abilities, but the clash suggests that old assumptions about strength may be unreliable.
• Humor and humiliation: Dugu Bo’s teasing of Yue Guan and Gui Mei provides a comic contrast to the deadly confrontation that follows.

Character interactions

• Dugu Bo mocks Yue Guan and Gui Mei over payment and Xuan Xiao’s relationship with the Pope, forcing them to leave without compensation.
• Tang Hao dismisses Dugu Bo as weak; Dugu Bo answers with a direct challenge and proves his strength in their first exchange.
• Tang San listens to Sea God Tang San’s guidance while watching for an opportunity to obtain the herbs.