Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• An Chen reunites with Elder Chen, who checks on his cultivation and recovery from mental trauma. An Chen says he has reached level 36, feels well, and was the one who resolved the anomaly in Xiangshi Valley.
• Elder Chen is surprised, since An Chen had been among the low-level recruits sent into a perilous area where even Spirit Hall’s Soul Emperor team was wiped out. An Chen shows him Youxiang Grass he collected; Elder Chen takes three for his collection.
• With the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament about three months away, An Chen plans to refine herbs, aim for level 40 or higher, and then obtain his Fourth Soul Ring.
• Elder Chen gives him his academy token, uniform, and a Spirit Hall badge. An Chen may attend classes or leave as he pleases, but must earn a place on Spirit Hall’s tournament team through competition.
• When An Chen asks where to refine his herbs, Elder Chen offers an empty courtyard room and reveals that his current body—and the one An Chen met in Tieyan City years earlier—are Clones. The current Clone has Soul Emperor strength; the earlier one was a Soul Saint. Elder Chen’s true body remains in Elder Hall.
• Elder Chen raises a Soul Power barrier around An Chen’s room to prevent interference and energy leakage. An Chen opens his eleven herb boxes, reviews the risks and possible combinations, and decides to begin with the Eight-Petal Immortal Orchid.

Character development and interactions

• An Chen has grown powerful and confident: he can now disclose that he solved the valley anomaly, and he approaches his next breakthrough with a deliberate plan. He is also cautious, considering each herb’s effects and suitability before consuming anything.
• Elder Chen shows ongoing concern for An Chen’s health and offers practical support, while trusting him to manage his own academy schedule and compete for a tournament place.
• Their relationship is warm and familiar. Elder Chen’s teasing surprise gives way to pride and protective assistance; An Chen responds respectfully, though his repeated nodding and surprise at the Clone reveal add light humor.

Significant themes

• Growth through risk and preparation: An Chen’s success in the valley contrasts with his former low-level status, while his careful herb plan shows that advancement still demands judgment.
• Mentorship and independence: Elder Chen provides guidance, resources, and protection, but leaves An Chen responsible for his choices and tournament ambitions.
• Secrecy and hidden power: The revelation that Elder Chen has used powerful Clones complicates An Chen’s understanding of his teacher’s past and status.
• Power has limits and conditions: The herbs can strengthen An Chen, but choosing the wrong ones—or taking them in the wrong order—could be harmful.

Key plot points and events

• An Chen experiments with his Iron Pot Martial Soul, placing several Immortal Herbs inside. The pot melts and combines them into a fragrant, shimmering medicinal liquid, while black, foul-smelling drops collect separately as apparent impurities.
• After drinking a portion, An Chen finds that the herbs’ potency has become purer and less violent. His Soul Power rises dramatically—eventually taking him past level forty—though repeated use causes him to develop drug resistance.
• He saves the remaining liquid in a bottle and offers it to Elder Chen. Elder Chen tastes it and judges it powerful enough to raise his true body’s cultivation by a level.
• Since An Chen has reached level forty, the two discuss his Fourth Soul Ring. An Chen wants to attempt a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, despite the risks. Elder Chen agrees to arrange an escort: a level-eighty clone will accompany him into the Star Dou Great Forest. An Chen is told to go to Suotuo City and wait.

Character developments

• An Chen proves resourceful and willing to test the limits of his unusual Iron Pot Martial Soul. His rapid growth gives him confidence, perhaps bordering on overconfidence, as he proposes a Soul Ring beyond the usual age limit.
• Elder Chen is initially incredulous at An Chen’s breakthrough, then recognizes the medicinal liquid’s value. Though cautious about An Chen’s safety, he ultimately supports the dangerous plan with stronger protection.

Significant themes

• Experimentation and unconventional power: An Chen discovers a new use for his Martial Soul by combining Immortal Herbs.
• Power and risk: His rapid advancement opens the possibility of a stronger Soul Ring, but attempting one carries potentially fatal consequences.
• Mentorship and trust: Elder Chen warns An Chen and provides practical support, while An Chen shares his discovery with him.

Character interactions

• An Chen independently tests the medicinal liquid, then shares it with Elder Chen, who confirms its potency.
• Elder Chen advises caution about the Fourth Soul Ring, while An Chen argues that his improved physique and the liquid make a Ten Thousand Year ring achievable.
• They reach a compromise: An Chen will pursue the stronger ring, but with Elder Chen’s powerful clone accompanying him.

Plot points and events

• After a week of travel, An Chen returns to Suotuo City, where he checks in at the Spirit Hall Branch and waits for Elder Chen.
• While lodging at an inn, he examines his Martial Soul, the Big Iron Pot. Since consuming the Aromatic Silk Beauty, its three old cracks have disappeared and been replaced by three patches of mist that compete with the surrounding gray fog. His Soul Skills seem unchanged, so he plans to test the changes on a Soul Beast.
• An Chen and Elder Chen travel to the Star Dou Great Forest to find a suitable ten-thousand-year Shadow-attribute beast. Elder Chen identifies a Shadow Demon Wolf, but the expected wolf and its former king are gone, apparently killed during a change in leadership.
• Elder Chen searches with sparrow-like creatures summoned from his book and finds a surviving wolf nearby. He and An Chen use shadow-merging abilities to approach it unseen.
• The wolf is enormous and scarred: it has a torn ear and a missing lower hind leg replaced by a prosthetic made of shadow. Elder Chen judges that its injuries reflect a brutal fight for dominance.
• Rather than fight the wolf himself, Elder Chen tells An Chen to handle it so he can assess the boy’s progress and the changes to his Martial Soul.

Character development and interactions

• An Chen appears more mature and composed than he did six months earlier. He is curious about his teacher’s abilities and eager to test his own growth, though he is uneasy when told to face the wolf alone.
• Elder Chen is knowledgeable and playful, teasing An Chen while revealing that his clones can share memories over long distances, and that his book-based Soul Skill can imitate abilities he has witnessed.
• Their teacher-student relationship combines trust and instruction: Elder Chen guides the search but deliberately leaves the confrontation to An Chen.

Significant themes

• Growth through testing: An Chen’s return and planned battle mark a chance to measure how much he has changed.
• Adaptation and mystery: The Iron Pot’s unexplained transformation hints at consequences from the Immortal Herb that An Chen has yet to understand.
• Survival and rivalry: The wolf’s injuries and the change in leadership show the harsh struggle for dominance among Soul Beasts.
• Mentorship and independence: Elder Chen supports An Chen but expects him to face challenges on his own.

Plot points and events

• An Chen discovers that his three Soul Skills have mutated. His mist now includes pink mist that draws out hidden desires and emotions; his second skill can induce babbling while stunning a target; and his third can drag a target into a randomly chosen dimensional space.
• He tests the altered abilities on a Shadow Demon Wolf, but the stronger skills consume much more Soul Power. The wolf uses its innate shadow-clone ability to escape.
• Elder Chen reveals that the wolf’s main body was captured by his imprinted Light Giant God Bear, which is the wolf’s natural enemy. An Chen kills the wolf and absorbs its Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
• The absorption causes intense physical and mental agony, but An Chen survives. His Soul Power reaches level 48, and he gains the Fourth Soul Skill, Shadow Servant.
• An Chen demonstrates it: he creates a shadow double that looks exactly like him and can switch places with him.

Character developments and interactions

• An Chen’s abilities have grown substantially, though their increased power brings heavier costs. He remains curious and eager to test how far they have changed.
• Elder Chen acts as mentor and safeguard: he explains the wolf’s abilities, provides the Light Giant God Bear to capture it, and watches over An Chen during the dangerous absorption.
• Elder Chen is impressed by An Chen’s talent and realizes that the medicinal liquid An Chen used earlier was responsible for a major part of his rapid cultivation increase.

Significant themes

• Power and cost: An Chen’s stronger, mutated skills drain more Soul Power, while absorbing a powerful ring exacts severe physical and spiritual suffering.
• Growth through trial: An Chen’s advancement depends on confronting danger and enduring pain.
• Transformation and uncertainty: The changes to An Chen’s Martial Soul and abilities appear linked to outside influences, leaving their full nature unclear.
• Mentorship and preparation: Elder Chen’s guidance and intervention help make a risky hunt and breakthrough possible.

Chapter Summary: “Shadow Servant”

Key Plot Points and Events

• An Chen demonstrates his fourth Soul Skill, Shadow Servant, which creates a shadow clone capable of using weakened versions of some of his abilities. The clone can also merge with shadows and emerge elsewhere.
• Elder Chen praises the skill, noting that it helps compensate for An Chen’s vulnerability to physical attacks, particularly decapitation.
• An Chen stores the corpse of the Shadow Demon Wolf King. Elder Chen explains that consuming or absorbing its remains will strengthen An Chen’s foundation and repair hidden damage caused by his rapid advancement.
• While leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Elder Chen learns that Spirit City has been attacked. The Supreme Pontiff, Bibi Dong, has disappeared, and a large portion of the city has collapsed, causing enormous casualties.
• Elder Chen links the disaster to the strange anomalies appearing across the continent. He sends An Chen toward Tieyan City while he travels to suppress anomalous Soul Masters near Spirit City.
• During the journey, An Chen’s azure bird suddenly vanishes at night, causing him to fall. He survives by using his shadow abilities and discovers a silent town filled with corpses.
• The dead bodies have been split open, with black lumps of flesh attached to them by umbilical cords, suggesting that something monstrous was born from within them.
• An Chen discovers Soul Masters worshiping a being called the “Great Mother” or “Loving Mother.” During their ritual, their abdomens swell before splitting open and releasing malformed creatures that quickly decay into black flesh.
• One surviving worshiper undergoes a grotesque transformation, changing from a man into a woman.
• The ritual affects An Chen as well. His own stomach begins to swell, and he becomes unnaturally affectionate toward the thing growing inside him.
• His Shadow Servant is killed by the phenomenon, apparently while An Chen himself is still hiding nearby. The real An Chen escapes and later reaches a small city at dawn, blending into the crowd entering through its gates.

Character Developments

• An Chen: Gains greater confidence in his shadow-based abilities and uses them to survive the fall and investigate the abandoned town. However, he is exposed to the mysterious ritual and nearly loses control of his mind and body. His concern upon sensing the death of his Shadow Servant shows that, despite its expendable nature, he values the clone as an extension of himself.
• Elder Chen: Acts protectively and practically toward An Chen, advising him how to use the Shadow Demon Wolf King’s corpse and redirecting him away from Spirit City for safety. He assumes responsibility for confronting the wider crisis, demonstrating his strength and sense of duty.
• Bibi Dong: Though absent, her disappearance becomes a major development and raises questions about the connection between the Spirit City attack and the continent-wide anomalies.
• The cultists: Their devotion to the “Great Mother” reveals extreme fanaticism. They willingly submit to horrifying transformations and treat the birth of the black creatures with tenderness rather than fear.

Significant Themes

• Escalating supernatural catastrophe: The collapse of Spirit City and the ruined town suggest that the anomalies are growing in scale and becoming increasingly difficult to contain.
• Corruption of life and birth: The ritual twists childbirth into a horrific process, turning human bodies into vessels for malformed entities. Natural affection and motherhood are transformed into tools of monstrosity.
• Loss of identity and humanity: The cultists’ physical transformations and An Chen’s temporary emotional corruption show how the anomaly attacks both the body and the mind.
• Shadows, doubles, and survival: An Chen’s Shadow Servant reflects his reliance on concealment, deception, and expendable doubles. The clone’s death also emphasizes the dangers of confronting forces that cannot be understood.
• Larger powers bearing responsibility: Elder Chen’s response reflects the idea that powerful figures must confront crises threatening ordinary people, while An Chen is temporarily allowed to focus on survival.

Character Interactions

• Elder Chen and An Chen share a teacher-student relationship marked by trust, teasing, and mutual respect. Elder Chen praises An Chen’s progress while warning him about the consequences of his rapid breakthrough.
• Elder Chen provides practical guidance about the Shadow Demon Wolf King’s corpse and prioritizes An Chen’s safety by sending him away from Spirit City.
• An Chen’s encounter with the cultists is largely indirect, but their ritual affects him personally, turning him from an observer into a victim.
• The Shadow Servant functions as both An Chen’s tool and companion-like extension; its destruction alerts An Chen to the danger and prompts him to flee.

Plot points and events

• An Chen enters the city and checks his system after absorbing his fourth, Shadow-attributed Soul Ring. He claims the reward: the Rose Bishop Potion formula and ingredients, along with abilities tied to the ring’s age.
• Drinking the potion causes an agonizing transformation in which his flesh melts away. He eventually reforms, newly empowered with Flesh Magic, enhanced physical strength, and greater Spirituality.
• Outside the city, he tests his new abilities. He can turn into a puddle of flesh, regenerate lost body parts, create corrosive flesh bombs, and form a crimson cloak that blocks some magical attacks.
• He discovers he can use flesh to make his Shadow Servant more lifelike, though it must be supplied with flesh regularly. He also learns he can alter his appearance—including imitating Tang San and Zhu Zhuqing—but cannot change his sex.
• Back at the inn, An Chen considers where to go next. Spirit City’s unexplained anomaly has disrupted his plans, and he worries that strange events keep following him. He weighs visiting Sunset Forest, investigating Spirit City, or learning how to act as a Rose Bishop. A sudden earthquake and explosion interrupt his thoughts.

Character development

• An Chen gains a powerful but unsettling new set of abilities, becoming more versatile while recognizing the risks of running short on flesh and potentially losing control.
• His cautious, pragmatic nature remains prominent: he tests the potion and his powers, but admits he lacks the strength to confront Spirit City’s crisis directly.
• His memories of a recent, distressing pregnancy reveal lingering fear and discomfort, though his new powers may give him more control in similar situations.

Significant themes

• Power and its cost: An Chen’s new strength comes through extreme pain and grotesque bodily transformation, and it requires ongoing resources to use safely.
• Identity and bodily change: Flesh Magic lets him reshape his body and imitate others, raising questions of appearance and selfhood, while also having clear limits.
• Uncertainty and danger: An Chen’s intended journey is repeatedly disrupted by unexplained anomalies, leaving him unsure where to turn.
• Pragmatism amid chaos: He prioritizes gaining strength and gathering information, rather than rushing into a crisis beyond his abilities.

Character interactions

• The chapter is largely focused on An Chen’s solitary experimentation and internal deliberations. He has no substantial direct interaction with other characters, though he considers seeking Yu Tianyao’s knowledge and speculates about how Xiao Wu might react to his Tang San disguise.

Chapter Summary: “Ambush”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After a loud explosion, An Chen prepares to look outside an inn window, but an attacker suddenly strikes from below. A glowing brown branch bursts through the floor, impales him, and tears his body apart.
• The attacker, a shriveled old man capable of transforming his limbs into branches, assumes An Chen is dead and mocks Mokai for being useless.
• The old man’s companion arrives: a proud young man with a ponytail who can manipulate force or gravity, causing nearby dust and objects to drift toward him. He admits that he attacked someone earlier merely for touching him.
• The two enemies begin to leave, believing the mission is complete, but An Chen’s scattered flesh suddenly transforms into a devastating blood-red storm.
• The old man blocks the storm with a branch shield, while the young man creates a vacuum-like barrier. Both survive, but the inn is destroyed and they suffer severe corrosion and exhaustion.
• The old man regenerates using a Purple Soul Ring, growing new branches, arms, bark, and skin. Before they can recover, gray-white Fog spreads through the ruins.
• The Fog causes both men unbearable mental agony. They collapse, clutching their heads, while An Chen’s flesh infiltrates and then disappears beneath their bodies.
• A mysterious black-cloaked woman appears, observes the incapacitated men, then transforms into a giant winged creature and flies away.
• Elsewhere in the mountains, An Chen reconstructs himself from a pool of flesh. He carries two pieces of flesh, inserts portions of his own finger into them, and swallows them—apparently infecting or preparing to manipulate the two attackers.
• The old man and young man recover, only to discover that flesh is multiplying beneath their skin. Their bodies rupture into masses of living fragments, which eventually decay into rotten meat.
• Two beams of light separate from the remains and shoot into the starry sky, suggesting that the attackers’ souls or spiritual essences have escaped.

Character Developments

• An Chen: Revealed to possess extraordinary regenerative and flesh-manipulating abilities. Although physically destroyed, he survives by reforming his body and turns the ambush into a counterattack. His deliberate infection of the attackers shows his ruthlessness, resourcefulness, and growing control over his powers.
• The Shrivelled Old Man: Initially confident and dismissive, he is badly damaged by An Chen’s blood storm and forced to regenerate through his Soul Ring. His confidence gives way to anger and panic when An Chen’s Fog and flesh-based retaliation overwhelm him.
• The Young Man: Introduced as arrogant, vain, and easily offended. Despite his powerful defensive ability, he becomes exhausted during the blood storm and is later reduced to helpless agony by the Fog. His pride remains even after the inn is destroyed, but his confidence is ultimately shattered.
• The Cloaked Woman: Remains mysterious and largely silent. Her ability to transform into a massive winged being suggests considerable power and establishes her as another important figure connected to the mission.
• Mokai: Never appears directly, but is mentioned contemptuously by the old man, implying that he was involved in the assassination attempt and had already failed.

Significant Themes

• Death and regeneration: An Chen’s apparent death is only a temporary transformation, emphasizing the uncertainty of mortality and the power of supernatural regeneration.
• Underestimating an opponent: The attackers assume the mission is easy, but their confidence leaves them vulnerable to An Chen’s counterattack.
• Body horror and loss of identity: Flesh spreads, multiplies, corrodes, and forms incomplete bodies, portraying physical existence as unstable and horrifying.
• Power concealed beneath weakness: The frail old man, arrogant young man, and seemingly dead An Chen all conceal dangerous abilities, making appearances deceptive.
• Retaliation and consequence: The attackers’ violence against An Chen leads directly to their own grotesque destruction.

Character Interactions

• The old man and young man cooperate as partners but display mutual disdain: the old man mocks the young man’s impulsiveness, while the young man treats the old man dismissively.
• The old man claims responsibility for killing An Chen and criticizes Mokai, while the young man boasts about punishing someone for merely touching him.
• Their brief alliance collapses when An Chen’s blood storm, Fog, and parasitic flesh attack them both.
• The cloaked woman observes the aftermath without aiding either side, then departs, leaving her allegiance unclear.
• An Chen never directly confronts the attackers after reviving, but his flesh infiltrates their bodies and destroys them from within, making the counterattack both indirect and deeply personal.

Plot points

• An Chen realizes a cloaked, winged pursuer can track him through the crimson mist inside his Big Iron Pot. He tries to attack her with the pot’s mist and a spear shaped from his shadow, but she avoids both.
• The woman weakens him with a spoken ability, then uses black flames that consume his Spirituality, leaving him unable to escape. She approaches and says he bears “Mother’s trace.”
• An Chen reveals that the apparent victim is a decoy: while hidden in the shadows, he substituted a Shadow Servant and flesh and blood for his real body. The decoy explodes in a Blood Flesh Storm, badly injuring the woman.
• An Chen escapes and later replenishes his depleted flesh and blood by consuming a giant wolf corpse. He wonders what powers the woman used, since she revealed neither a Martial Soul nor Soul Rings.
• The woman survives, regenerates her damaged body with green light, but is left with her Spirituality exhausted. A day later, she reaches the wolf’s skeleton and continues onward, suggesting the pursuit is not over.

Character developments and interactions

• An Chen proves resourceful under pressure, disguising himself and turning the woman’s confidence against her. His escape comes at a cost: he is low on Spirituality and must feed on a corpse to maintain control.
• The cloaked woman is formidable and composed, overcoming An Chen’s initial attacks and showing interest in his connection to “Mother.” Though gravely wounded, she regenerates and resumes the hunt.
• Their encounter is a contest of pursuit and deception: she tracks and incapacitates him, while he conceals his true position and retaliates with a devastating trap.

Significant themes

• Survival through deception: An Chen wins time to escape by making his enemy believe she has captured him.
• The cost of power: His abilities drain Spirituality and require flesh and blood; the woman’s regeneration similarly leaves her depleted.
• Mystery and pursuit: The woman’s powers and reference to “Mother’s trace” deepen the chapter’s unanswered questions and suggest a larger conflict.

Plot points and events

• An Chen, disguised as the elderly “Old Yang,” travels with a merchant caravan while trying to evade Birdman, who may be tracking him through the blood-red mist inside Iron Pot.
• After receiving a warning from Elder Chen, An Chen abandons his plan to go to Spirit City: the Elder Hall has suffered heavy losses, and Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong is missing.
• He steals and reshapes the special ore from Soul-Power-sealing shackles into a bracelet, which he wears to block the tracking method. He also plants pieces of his flesh along the route to watch for pursuers.
• Traveling toward Tieyan City, An Chen plays the part of a harmless, talkative veteran. When the caravan’s middle-aged driver asks about his family, An Chen recounts that bandits killed them all; he later enlisted in the army.
• At the overnight stop, An Chen secretly sheds his feigned frailty, plants more flesh to monitor his earlier markers, and creates a low-intelligence flesh servant. It melts into the ground and disappears, apparently sent on a covert task.

Character developments

• An Chen is shown as cautious, resourceful, and highly capable at concealment. Beneath his old-man disguise, he remains alert and strategically uses his unusual flesh-based abilities.
• The middle-aged driver begins impatient with An Chen’s repetitive army stories, but his attitude softens after hearing about the old man’s supposed loss. He offers to take over caring for the horses so An Chen can rest.

Significant themes

• Disguise and hidden identity: An Chen’s harmless appearance conceals his true strength and purpose.
• Survival and vigilance: He uses improvised tools and constant surveillance to stay ahead of a dangerous pursuit.
• Loneliness and compassion: The story An Chen tells of losing his family prompts a small act of kindness from the driver, even as An Chen keeps his real self concealed.

Character interactions

• The driver jokes about An Chen’s age and repeatedly gets frustrated by his army anecdotes, but later responds with sympathy and offers to handle the horses.
• An Chen maintains the “Old Yang” persona with the caravan while privately carrying out surveillance and preparing his flesh servant.

Chapter Summary: “Flesh”

Key Plot Points and Events

• An Chen realizes that the flesh reserves sustaining his surveillance and Flesh Servant are nearly depleted.
• He leaves his tent through his flesh-melting ability and travels along the road in his original appearance.
• Drawn by a strange force, he discovers six muscular men performing a ritual around an altar containing a glowing stone. Their setup resembles the techniques used by the ponytailed assassin who previously attacked him.
• The stone fires dangerous dark-green beams at An Chen, melting a tree on impact. The six men then attack:
  • One uses a gravity-like domain to pin An Chen down.
  • Four employ increasingly accelerated physical attacks.
  • The sixth fires the same destructive green beam.
• An Chen’s body is seemingly destroyed, but his scattered flesh transforms into a crimson Fleshstorm.
• While the men focus on resisting the storm, shadowy tentacles emerge beneath them and drag them into darkness, killing all six.
• An Chen reforms from the Fleshstorm and absorbs the men’s flesh, leaving only their clothing, skin, and skeletons.
• He discovers that one corpse carries a bronze Storage Soul Tool bracelet. Inside are body-refinement medicines, formulas, tools, the altar, and the glowing stone.
• An Chen returns to the caravan town and resumes his disguise as the old man “Old Yang.”
• The chapter ends by revealing that the apparently helpless old man is still An Chen: he secretly slips out of his physical form while the middle-aged caravan member believes he is resting.

Character Developments

• An Chen: Demonstrates greater mastery of his flesh, shadow, and deceptive abilities. He uses apparent destruction as a trap, combining the Fleshstorm with hidden shadow attacks to defeat a group of dangerous enemies. His need for flesh becomes increasingly urgent, and he gains valuable resources related to body refinement.
• The six muscular men: Initially appear confident and powerful, believing An Chen to be insignificant. Their overconfidence and fixation on the altar allow him to catch them off guard and kill them.
• The middle-aged caravan man: Remains frustrated and confused by the unresponsive “Old Yang,” but shows resignation and sympathy after the caravan’s difficult experiences.
• The old-man disguise: Becomes more than a simple disguise, allowing An Chen to conceal his movements and abilities while remaining embedded in the caravan.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden identity: An Chen survives by maintaining multiple appearances and concealing his true nature from both allies and enemies.
• Adaptation and resourcefulness: Rather than relying on direct strength, he turns his apparent defeat into an ambush.
• Predation and consumption: The repeated absorption of flesh emphasizes An Chen’s unnatural power and his dependence on consuming others to maintain himself.
• Overconfidence versus vigilance: The six men underestimate An Chen and lose because they focus on the visible threat while ignoring the shadows beneath them.
• Mystery of the enemy faction: The altar, glowing stone, body-refinement formulas, and reference to “the Lord” suggest a larger organization or doctrine connected to the earlier assassin.

Important Character Interactions

• An Chen confronts the six ritual-performing men and withstands their coordinated abilities.
• The men dismiss him as harmless after apparently killing him, exposing their arrogance.
• An Chen attacks from multiple directions—through the Fleshstorm and the shadows—before absorbing their remains.
• He indirectly interacts with the caravan by returning to the tent and maintaining the illusion that he is merely an old, confused traveler.

Chapter Summary: “Bishop”

Key Plot Points and Events

• An Chen travels with a caravan while disguised as the elderly laborer Old Yang. He pretends to sleep while listening closely to the conversations around him.
• The caravan leader, a middle-aged man, learns that Old Yang is being paid only two Silver Soul Coins for the dangerous journey. He sympathizes and considers asking Steward Wang for better compensation, revealing a degree of kindness and concern.
• After a peaceful week of travel, the caravan reaches Yuanxi Town, two days from Tieyan City. The middle-aged man explains that the caravan is protected by three level-forty Soul Masters and by the empire and Spirit Hall’s presence.
• During the journey, An Chen reflects on the meaning of his assumed title, the “Rose Bishop.” He considers the symbolic meanings of roses—beauty, danger, Flesh, and nourishment—and of “bishop,” including authority, guidance, healing, execution, ritual, and redemption.
• At an inn, An Chen overhears the three Soul Masters secretly plotting to steal goods belonging to the Wu Family. They believe Spirit Hall is too weakened by the continent’s growing chaos to stop them.
• The Soul Masters admit that they have allowed bandits to operate near the caravan so they can later seize the surviving goods. An Chen also learns that they plan to kill witnesses rather than merely steal the cargo.
• An Chen secretly uses his detached little finger to monitor events around the camp.
• When the caravan approaches the bandits, An Chen decides to intervene. Though he initially wanted to remain uninvolved, he concludes that protecting the caravan fulfills one aspect of the “bishop” role.

Character Developments

• An Chen: Becomes increasingly thoughtful about his identity and mission as the Rose Bishop. Rather than acting only out of self-interest, he begins interpreting his title as a moral responsibility involving protection and guidance. His careful observation and covert surveillance demonstrate his strategic nature.
• Old Yang’s persona: An Chen maintains the disguise convincingly by acting sleepy, weak, and submissive, allowing others to underestimate him.
• The middle-aged caravan worker: Shows compassion toward Old Yang by feeling that his payment is unfair and considering asking for more. He remains unaware of the treachery among the Soul Masters and innocently discusses his future plans.
• The three Soul Masters: Are revealed to be corrupt and opportunistic. They abuse their position as caravan protectors, cooperate with bandits, and are willing to kill innocent people to conceal their crimes. The female Soul Master shows some hesitation, but ultimately goes along with the plan.

Significant Themes

• Hidden identities and deception: An Chen’s harmless old-man act contrasts sharply with his powerful abilities and constant surveillance.
• Moral responsibility: The chapter explores whether power and titles carry obligations. An Chen gradually interprets “bishop” as someone responsible for protecting and guiding others.
• Corruption and betrayal: The caravan’s supposed protectors are its greatest threat, emphasizing the danger of misplaced trust.
• Chaos and weakening authority: Rumors of the Supreme Pontiff’s disappearance and Spirit Hall’s reduced influence suggest growing disorder across the continent.
• Compassion versus exploitation: The middle-aged man’s concern for Old Yang contrasts with the Soul Masters’ greed and willingness to sacrifice innocent lives.
• Symbolism of the Rose Bishop: Roses represent beauty and danger, while the bishop represents authority, ritual, healing, judgment, and protection. An Chen is still searching for the title’s central meaning.

Character Interactions

• The middle-aged man questions Old Yang about his pay, sympathizes with him, and offers to seek better compensation.
• He later treats An Chen as an insignificant laborer, warning him not to speak carelessly about the powerful Soul Masters.
• An Chen listens to the Soul Masters’ private conversation without revealing his true abilities or suspicions.
• The Soul Masters argue over whether to rob the caravan, with the woman expressing concern and the men emphasizing profit and eliminating witnesses.
• An Chen observes the innocent caravan worker and compares his trustful attitude with the Soul Masters’ treachery, motivating him to act.

Plot points and events

• An Chen’s caravan is ambushed by masked bandits, who bring down the horses and begin killing the ordinary travelers.
• A middle-aged driver shields Old Yang instead of using him as a human shield. When Old Yang stumbles into a bandit, the man’s sword is knocked aside, giving them a chance to flee into the woods.
• A pursuing bandit attacks them, but the blade suddenly freezes and disintegrates. The attacker turns into black liquid and vanishes. An Chen silently reveals that Old Yang’s unseen power—not the caravan’s Soul Masters—saved them.
• The driver assumes the Soul Masters protected them. Meanwhile, the bandits massacre the caravan, apparently facing no resistance.
• Three Soul Masters finally intervene. The bandit leader discovers that their apparent guard is a four-ring Soul Ancestor, while his two companions are Soul Elders. The bandits try to retreat.
• The three Soul Masters deliberately hold back until the bandits report that the travelers are dead and their missing companion—and the two escapees—are unaccounted for. They then swiftly kill the bandit leader and his men.
• The driver hides with Old Yang, fearing the Soul Masters will kill any witnesses. Old Yang, curious and undeterred, walks out to inspect the scene.

Character developments and interactions

• The middle-aged driver shows a flash of conscience when he chooses to protect Old Yang rather than sacrifice him. His initial panic gives way to suspicion and fear as he witnesses the Soul Masters’ conduct.
• Old Yang appears harmless and confused, but his unexplained power is suggested by the bandit’s sudden death. His calm curiosity at the end contrasts with the driver’s terror.
• An Chen understands that Old Yang caused the attacker’s disappearance and recognizes the true danger behind the apparent rescue.
• The three Soul Masters reveal themselves as ruthless opportunists: they let the bandits kill the travelers, then eliminate them and claim the spoils.
• The driver and Old Yang’s relationship shifts from the driver protecting and guiding the old man to the driver trying—and failing—to keep him quiet.

Significant themes

• Deception and misjudgment: The apparent protectors are predators, while the seemingly helpless Old Yang may be the one with real power.
• Moral choice under pressure: The driver’s decision to shield Old Yang distinguishes him from the violence surrounding them.
• Predation and survival: Both bandits and Soul Masters treat ordinary people as disposable, leaving the weak caught between powerful factions.

Chapter Summary: “Closing the Net”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Old Yang and a middle-aged man are discovered by three Soul Masters, who intend to kill them after robbing or eliminating the nearby survivors.
• The Soul Masters underestimate Old Yang because the female Soul Master senses no Soul Power from him and assumes he is an ordinary person.
• When the square-faced Soul Master attacks with water arrows and a water rope, Old Yang reveals a horrifying Flesh Cloak grown from his arm. It completely blocks the attacks.
• The Soul Masters realize Old Yang may be an Evil Soul Master, but they attack together anyway:
  • The leading man transforms into a Werewolf and charges.
  • The square-faced man continues using water-based attacks.
  • The woman binds Old Yang with vines.
• Old Yang counters effortlessly. He uses the Flesh Cloak to defend himself, tears off a finger that explodes into a storm, and transforms his body into blood to escape the vines.
• The Werewolf is caught in the storm and brutally shredded. The other two Soul Masters attempt to heal him, but he is already beyond saving.
• The remaining Soul Masters flee, only to be captured by black arms and tentacles emerging from their own shadows.
• They beg for mercy and blame one another, but Old Yang reminds them of their earlier behavior at the inn in Yuanxi Town.
• Revealing that he is actually An Chen, Old Yang sends both captives into his Shadow Space, placing them in “Echo World,” a realm containing only endless echoes and their own thoughts.
• An Chen retracts the Flesh Cloak and approaches the stunned middle-aged man.

Character Developments

• An Chen/Old Yang: His seemingly harmless, elderly appearance is revealed to be a deliberate disguise. He possesses terrifying abilities involving flesh manipulation, blood transformation, shadow control, and dimensional imprisonment. His confidence and mockery contrast sharply with the Soul Masters’ panic.
• The middle-aged man: Initially desperate and fearful, he clings to Old Yang for protection. He witnesses An Chen’s overwhelming strength and is left shocked and speechless.
• The three Soul Masters: Their confidence collapses once their attacks prove useless. The square-faced man and the female Soul Master become frightened, selfish, and eager to sacrifice one another when defeat becomes inevitable. Their earlier cruelty is exposed as hypocrisy.
• The Werewolf Soul Master: Presented as the group’s leader and strongest combatant, he is quickly overwhelmed and killed by An Chen’s explosive finger attack.

Significant Themes

• Deception and hidden power: An Chen’s ordinary appearance and lack of detectable Soul Power conceal his overwhelming abilities.
• Predatory morality: The Soul Masters treat others as disposable victims, but become terrified when they themselves are hunted.
• Cowardice and betrayal: Once facing death, the surviving Soul Masters abandon loyalty and accuse each other.
• Justice and retribution: Their cruelty is turned back upon them, as they are captured and subjected to a fate resembling the terror they inflicted on others.
• Appearance versus reality: The supposed “Evil Soul Master” appears more restrained and principled than the Soul Masters who attack him.

Character Interactions

• The middle-aged man pleads with Old Yang to stop provoking the enemies, while Old Yang calmly taunts them.
• The three Soul Masters coordinate their attacks but fail to cooperate emotionally once their leader is defeated.
• The square-faced man and the female Soul Master both beg for mercy, each claiming the other was responsible.
• An Chen rejects their excuses by recalling their earlier actions at the inn and silently sentences them to Echo World.

Plot and events

• An Chen reveals that he is a powerful Soul Master to the middle-aged survivor of a caravan massacre. He tells the man to keep quiet and repeat a cover story: bandits killed the caravan, and a passing Soul Master killed the attackers.
• To support the story, An Chen leaves the goods by the road, releases the horses, and sets fire to trees and corpses to suggest a chaotic battle. He then disguises himself as a young man and heads toward Tieyan City, while the survivor goes to report the incident.
• Inside Iron Rock Intermediate Soul Master Academy, Shitou is mocked by the wealthy student Caesar, who offers him money to lick his shoes. Shitou refuses, but is visibly hurt as Caesar and his companions leave.
• An Chen approaches Shitou and reveals his identity by transforming back into the familiar “Brother Pot.” Shitou is overjoyed to see him. An Chen asks about Qian Yiming, who is working in the cafeteria, and suggests they go find him.
• As they leave, An Chen secretly merges a severed finger into Shitou’s body; the wound on An Chen’s own hand heals, and Shitou does not notice.

Character developments and interactions

• An Chen shows both strategic ruthlessness and warmth: he conceals the massacre’s true circumstances, then reunites affectionately with Shitou. His ability to alter his appearance—and apparently transfer body parts—remains mysterious.
• The survivor shifts from arrogance to terror and obedience after witnessing An Chen’s power. He agrees to follow the cover story.
• Shitou endures humiliation without retaliating, partly because of Caesar’s status. Though he claims he is doing well, his tears reveal his distress. Seeing An Chen again brings him immediate relief and happiness.
• Caesar uses his wealth and social standing to demean Shitou, while his companions reinforce the bullying by laughing and kicking the coins aside.
• An Chen and Shitou share an affectionate reunion; An Chen recognizes that Shitou is hiding his troubles but chooses not to press him. Their conversation also recalls their Martial Souls and points toward reconnecting with Qian Yiming.

Significant themes

• Power and intimidation: An Chen’s strength transforms the survivor’s attitude, while Caesar exploits his own social privilege to bully Shitou.
• Secrecy and deception: An Chen carefully manufactures a false account of the massacre and hides his identity through transformation.
• Humiliation and dignity: Shitou refuses Caesar’s degrading offer despite his apparent financial hardship.
• Friendship and concealed hardship: Shitou masks his pain, but An Chen’s return offers reassurance and the possibility of renewed connection.

Summary

Key plot points

• An Chen reunites with Shitou at the Tieyan City Intermediate Soul Master Academy. Shitou explains that he and Qian Yiming enrolled after An Chen left, taking odd jobs to pay tuition.
• An Chen briefly recounts his own travels: he left Shrek Academy, trained outside, and was later called back by Elder Chen to prepare for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament. He says he survived the upheaval in Spirit City because he was away hunting Soul Beasts; Shitou is astonished that he has already reached level thirty.
• An Chen visits the modest dormitory Shitou shares with Qian Yiming and gives Shitou a bottle of cultivation-enhancing medicinal liquid, promising to give Qian Yiming one as well.
• Qian Yiming returns and is stunned to find An Chen. The three friends spend time catching up, but An Chen eventually departs by melting into the shadows.
• The next morning, An Chen watches a village household from afar, observing its ordinary, affectionate routine. He removes the now-dim Stone Bracelet and leaves, drawn toward a strange resonance between himself and a cyan boulder in the village.
• Near the edge of Tieyan City’s jurisdiction, An Chen feels a weakening effect and realizes the Birdman has tracked him down. He waits for her, then attacks when she appears and seems to begin fading from the world. He detonates two severed fingers, creating a vast storm of flesh and blood. As he prepares to escape, the Birdman’s voice comes from behind him: “Finally found you...”

Character developments

• An Chen appears powerful and resourceful—already level thirty, able to transform and melt into shadows or blood—but remains guarded about his abilities and past. His reunion with his old friends reveals a more generous, affectionate side. His quiet vigil over the village suggests a deep personal connection to it, while the boulder’s resonance hints at an unexplained origin or bond.
• Shitou is practical and hardworking, having taken odd jobs to afford schooling. He admires An Chen but is surprised by how quickly his strength has grown.
• Qian Yiming has grown into a muscular young man. His stunned reaction and reluctance at An Chen’s departure show how much he values their friendship.
• The Birdman continues hunting An Chen and demonstrates a dangerous ability to weaken him and evade attacks.

Significant themes

• Friendship and separation: An Chen’s reunion and gifts offer warmth, but his shadowy departure underscores the distance his life has placed between him and his friends.
• Home and belonging: The village’s familiar morning routine, the cyan boulder, and An Chen’s apparent pull toward it suggest a powerful connection to his origins.
• Power and sacrifice: An Chen’s strength comes with unsettling bodily transformations and the willingness to mutilate himself to fight.
• Pursuit and uncertainty: The Birdman’s reappearance turns a reflective visit into a renewed struggle for survival, while An Chen’s connection to the boulder remains unexplained.

Character interactions

• An Chen listens as Shitou recounts their school years, warns him to be cautious around people from Shrek, and encourages him by giving him medicinal liquid.
• He greets Qian Yiming warmly, and the friends spend time catching up before his departure leaves both young men reluctant to see him go.
• An Chen watches the village couple’s familiar quarrel and reconciliation from a distance rather than approaching them.
• He confronts the Birdman with a calculated explosive attack, but she appears behind him as he is about to escape.

Plot points and events

• An Chen escapes the Birdman’s first attack by turning his upper body into flesh, but she tracks the decoy and nearly catches him. Her piercing howl injures his spirituality and Mental Power.
• Realizing flight alone will not save him, An Chen turns to his Big Iron Pot and Gray Cane. He combines black fog, disorienting gray fog, and pink mist to weaken and incapacitate the Birdman.
• He repeatedly knocks her unconscious, then uses shadowy arms to drag her into the Shadow World. There, Shadow Creatures tear her apart—but she regenerates through a powerful green light.
• The Birdman revives again and again, trying various abilities to escape. She can move around the Shadow World but cannot get out; even her howl only briefly stuns the creatures.
• An Chen watches from outside for a day, leaves flesh and bone fragments near the entrance as a precaution, regrows his arm, and departs.
• Elsewhere, black flames begin consuming residents of towns and villages across both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. The fires kill the inhabitants, including children, hinting at a wider catastrophe linked to the Birdman or her power.

Character developments

• An Chen shifts from fleeing to fighting strategically, exploiting his artifacts and abilities despite the physical and spiritual cost. His relief at containing the Birdman is tempered by uncertainty about what she is.
• The Birdman proves exceptionally resilient: she can resurrect from near-total destruction and continues searching for an escape, though she remains trapped for now.

Significant themes

• Survival through ingenuity: An Chen succeeds by combining abilities rather than relying on brute force.
• The persistence of death and life: The Birdman’s repeated resurrection blurs the boundary between defeat and survival.
• Unseen consequences: The spreading black flames suggest that the confrontation has effects far beyond the immediate fight.
• Temporary containment: An Chen gains a reprieve, not a clear victory.

Character interactions

• An Chen and the Birdman engage in a prolonged pursuit and counterattack: she tracks and pursues him, while he lures her into layered hazards and ultimately imprisons her in the Shadow World.
• Inside the Shadow World, the Birdman repeatedly clashes with its creatures, which tear her apart whenever she revives. An Chen observes and prepares safeguards but does not confront her directly again.

Plot points and events

• An Chen’s System shows that his potion digestion has reached 28%, likely after he defeated three Soul Masters and became more adept at Flesh Magic. His next advancement requires a difficult ritual: separate his soul from his body, make the body consume the potion, then return to it.
• Reflecting on the Hanged Man Pathway and the tarot card from his previous life, An Chen connects its themes of sacrifice, endurance, and observation to his role as a potential guide for others. But he feels lost and isolated, unsure where to go or how to lead anyone.
• By morning, he resolves to escape the world’s “cage” and become a god himself. He disguises himself as a kindly, bearded older man and adopts the identity of “Deacon Zhang Jiao,” presenting himself as a religious helper.
• In a village, he agrees to deal with an anomaly that has been damaging the crops. He waits through the night, kills a wild Soul Pig with a black arrow, and absorbs its flesh, leaving behind a hide and skeleton.
• The next morning, he identifies the creature as a ninety-year-old Wild Soul Pig. Asked which deity he worships, he describes the wounded, inverted figure from his vision as a redeemer. The villagers have never heard of this deity but accept his beliefs, and An Chen nearly breaks character.

Character developments

• An Chen moves from doubt and loneliness toward a self-appointed purpose: helping people and pursuing godhood as a way out of his constrained world.
• He begins acting as a bishop-like figure, using a fabricated identity and religious persona to help digest his potion.
• His reflections show that he is trying to understand what “guiding” others means, even as he remains uncertain about his own direction.

Significant themes

• Purpose and uncertainty: An Chen wonders how he can guide others while feeling lost himself.
• Sacrifice and redemption: The Hanged Man’s imagery becomes the basis for his emerging religious doctrine.
• Identity and performance: An Chen’s disguise and invented faith let him take on a role that is both tactical and potentially meaningful.
• Freedom and ambition: He rejects waiting for divine rescue and vows to become a god himself.

Character interactions

• The elderly villager welcomes An Chen’s help despite his not belonging to Spirit Hall, explaining the village’s recurring crop problem.
• An Chen reassures the villagers, removes the threat, and earns their gratitude.
• When the old man asks about An Chen’s deity, the villagers respond with polite confusion rather than hostility, giving An Chen room to continue his act.

Key plot points and events

• An Chen, traveling from one anomaly to another, is approached by Granny Li, who begs him to save her grandson. The boy has a swollen belly and behaves strangely after visiting a village where an explosion killed everyone, including Spirit Hall personnel.
• An Chen suspects exposure to the aura of “Mother,” recalling a previous deadly incident and noting that events in Spirit City seem to be unfolding earlier than expected.
• He takes Granny Li through the shadows to her home. The boy’s abdomen is translucent, with a writhing mass inside.
• An Chen begins using his blood-curse magic to remove the creature. The boy wakes, believes An Chen is trying to kill his “child,” and fights back. An Chen restrains him with shadowy arms and extracts the black, living mass.
• After confirming the boy is safe, An Chen stores the creature in a makeshift shadow bag and then in a copper bracelet. Granny Li reunites with her recovered grandson, and An Chen jokes, “Father and son, both safe.”

Character developments

• An Chen shows calm competence and compassion, acting quickly to help strangers. His own past experience with pregnancy and anomalies informs his judgment, though he meets the disturbing procedure with dry humor.
• Granny Li is desperate but trusts An Chen despite his strange method of travel and the frightening operation.
• The grandson is initially a victim of the anomaly, but its influence makes him see the creature as his child and An Chen as an enemy. He is unconscious after the extraction and appears to be physically safe.

Significant themes

• Anomalies and contamination: The boy’s condition links to a deadly village incident and suggests a spreading supernatural threat.
• Mercy amid horror: An Chen must perform a grotesque, painful extraction to save the boy.
• Trust and family: Granny Li’s devotion drives her long journey, while the grandson’s delusion distorts the idea of parenthood.
• Dark humor: An Chen’s “C-section” remark and final “father and son” joke contrast with the disturbing events.

Character interactions

• Granny Li pleads with An Chen and provides the details that connect her grandson’s illness to the ruined village.
• An Chen reassures and transports her, then asks her to wait outside while he operates.
• The grandson resists An Chen, accusing him of trying to kill his child; An Chen restrains him and removes the creature.
• Granny Li’s fear turns to relief when she sees her grandson recovered.

Plot points and events

• An Chen continues cultivating in a medicinal bath, eating a rare herb and checking his System Panel. His soul power is Level 49, his Rose Bishop Potion digestion has reached 47%, and his next quest is to obtain a shadow-attribute fifth Soul Ring.
• He explains that helping people in villages has advanced his Potion digestion. He has also gathered the ingredients from a prescription found in a Copper Bracelet and has been using them to strengthen his body.
• Curious about the bracelet’s unexplained effects, An Chen uses Divination to learn its functions: it stores objects, manipulates gravity, and emits destructive green rays. Both active abilities attract nearby objects—and potentially the user.
• He tests the bracelet’s gravity control, then charges its ray ability. The beams tear through the room and dissolve whatever they hit, leaving the space badly damaged.
• After surviving the experiment by transforming into flesh and blood, An Chen names the item the Gravity Bracelet and puts it on.
• Disguised as Deacon Zhang, he explains the damage to a crowd as the result of practicing a soul skill. He offers compensation, but the village elder and others decline, grateful for An Chen’s previous help. An Chen bids them farewell and leaves for a new destination.

Character development and interactions

• An Chen is methodical and daring: he uses Divination to investigate an unknown artifact, tests its powers carefully, and adapts when its effects become dangerous.
• He continues his work as a helpful bishop, resolving local problems while concealing his identity and supernatural abilities.
• The village elder and townspeople show gratitude and trust toward “Deacon Zhang,” refusing payment because of the help he has already given. An Chen responds politely before departing.

Significant themes

• Experimentation and risk: An Chen’s pursuit of knowledge leads him to test a powerful artifact despite its hazardous side effects.
• Concealment and identity: He maintains his disguise even in public, separating his true self from the persona others know.
• Service and goodwill: His efforts to help villagers build reciprocal respect and gratitude.
• Power and progression: His training, Potion digestion, and new artifact all point toward further advancement, though the fifth Soul Ring remains an unresolved goal.

Plot points and events

• Two young men ask An Chen, posing as Deacon Zhang Jiao, to take them on as disciples. They want strength because Spirit Hall has stopped protecting their village, leaving it vulnerable to bandits.
• An Chen questions their experience: although both have Innate Soul Power and are above level ten, they have never hunted Soul Beasts and know almost nothing about the dangerous anomalies he faces.
• Rather than accept them as followers, he urges them to take responsibility themselves. He gives them a fast-acting Cultivation Method, Combat Techniques, and Gold Soul Coins for healing potions, and tells them to organize other cultivators in their village and hunt nearby ten-year Soul Beasts.
• As An Chen leaves, he senses that his inner “digestion” has advanced. His system shows it at 62%, and he concludes that guiding people may help him progress.
• At dusk, he reaches Rock City. He reads a plaque explaining that the city was renamed for the unaffiliated Titled Douluo Rock Douluo, then notices the figure’s unusual collection of Masks.

Character developments and interactions

• An Chen demonstrates a mentor’s approach: he refuses to let the boys depend on him, instead equipping them to act independently. His advice reflects hard-won knowledge of how dangerous anomalies and Soul Beasts can be.
• The two young men begin by seeking a powerful protector, but leave with resources and a plan to build their own strength and defend their community. Their earnestness and fear of failing are evident.
• At Rock City, An Chen overhears a child ask about Rock Douluo’s Masks. Her father explains that no one has seen the Douluo’s real face, and that the Masks may resemble the Martial Souls of defeated enemies.

Significant themes

• Self-reliance over dependence: True growth means learning to make decisions and protect oneself, not merely following a stronger person.
• Mentorship and responsibility: An Chen helps by providing knowledge and tools while leaving the boys to choose and pursue their own path.
• The cost of confronting danger: He stresses that facing threats requires practical experience, not just cultivation or confidence.
• Progress through guiding others: An Chen’s increased digestion suggests that teaching and helping people may contribute to his own development.