Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• In the freshman final, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao face Gu Mingyuan, Cao Jinxuan, and Zhou Sichen. Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing gives his team a shared view of the arena, while his Soul Shock briefly tests Gu Mingyuan’s strong spiritual defenses.
• Huo Yuhao identifies Cao Jinxuan, the opposing control specialist, as the priority target. Xiao Xiao’s cauldrons pressure Gu Mingyuan, but he breaks their formation and uses Heaven and Earth Attraction to pull her off balance. Cao Jinxuan freezes her with Time Lock, allowing Gu Mingyuan to knock her out of bounds. Xiao Xiao is eliminated in under ten seconds.
• With Gu Mingyuan separated from Cao Jinxuan, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong exploit the opening. Wang Dong channels her Soul Power into Huo Yuhao’s Soul Shock, overwhelming Cao Jinxuan and interrupting his time-control skill. Wang Dong follows with two attacks, and the referee removes Cao Jinxuan from the match.
• Gu Mingyuan strikes Wang Dong, leaving her arms numb and weakening her wings. He then advances on Huo Yuhao with Zhou Sichen’s summoned Earth Bear and Flame Demon Tiger, while Huo Yuhao dodges their coordinated attacks. Yu Xiaogang and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm warn him to target Zhou Sichen: defeating him would dismiss the beasts, and Huo Yuhao’s shared Soul Power is running low.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao shows tactical flexibility: when his spiritual attack cannot quickly defeat Gu Mingyuan, he shifts focus to Cao Jinxuan and coordinates with Wang Dong.
• Wang Dong demonstrates both strong combat instincts and unusually close Soul Power coordination with Huo Yuhao. Their combined attack proves far more powerful than Huo Yuhao’s Soul Shock alone.
• Gu Mingyuan proves resilient and tactically effective, breaking Xiao Xiao’s formation and coordinating with Cao Jinxuan to eliminate her. He also hits Wang Dong hard enough to weaken her.
• Cao Jinxuan’s time-control ability is formidable but costly; maintaining Time Lock rapidly strains him, and Huo Yuhao’s attack stops it before he can capitalize further.
• Zhou Sichen supports the assault through his summoned Soul Beasts and retreats to protect his position. Huo Yuhao’s advisers recognize him as the key to neutralizing that threat.
• In the stands, Xuan Zi and Wang Yan notice that Huo Yuhao’s techniques resemble the Tang Sect’s, though not exactly as it exists today. The teachers and senior observers also take note of the team’s Soul Power-sharing.

Significant themes

• Coordination and trust: Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s combined Soul Power turns teamwork into a decisive advantage.
• Tactical adaptation: Both sides exploit openings, and Huo Yuhao quickly changes targets when his first plan proves ineffective.
• Strengths and limits: Powerful techniques come with vulnerabilities—Cao Jinxuan tires from maintaining control, Wang Dong is injured, and Huo Yuhao’s reserves are diminishing.
• Knowledge and legacy: The observers’ recognition of Tang Sect-like techniques hints at a connection to older traditions.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong coordinate their attack, using their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Splendor in Decay—Golden Road.
• The golden beam destroys Zhou Sichen’s Earth Bear and Flame Demon Tiger Summoned Beasts, then seals Gu Mingyuan: his body, movement, Soul Rings, and Soul Skills are all frozen.
• Though drained by the attack, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong prepare to face Zhou Sichen, believing the match is nearly won.
• Gu Mingyuan remains conscious. He cannot use Soul Power or Soul Skills, but the physical force stored in his body lets him crack and break Golden Road’s seal through sheer strength.
• The referee confirms that Gu Mingyuan is still able to fight. He offers Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong a chance to surrender; they refuse.
• Gu Mingyuan charges, but the referee intervenes and blocks his punch. The effort leaves Gu Mingyuan’s arm limp, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong are too exhausted to continue.
• The referee declares Gu Mingyuan’s team the champions. Xuan Zi recognizes Gu Mingyuan’s body-based Martial Soul as Ultimate Defense.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong demonstrate powerful teamwork and resolve, but Golden Road leaves them nearly depleted. They refuse to surrender even when they can barely stand.
• Gu Mingyuan reveals the extraordinary resilience of his Body Martial Soul: even with his Soul Rings and Soul Power sealed, he can draw on strength built into his body. His victory confirms his exceptional defensive ability.
• Zhou Sichen follows Gu Mingyuan’s instructions during the fight and celebrates the team’s unexpected win.

Character interactions

• Huo Yuhao calls Wang Dong into position, and the two coordinate their fusion attack through a brief embrace and shared timing.
• Gu Mingyuan’s warning prompts Zhou Sichen to move, while their summoned beasts buy Gu Mingyuan a moment to defend himself.
• Gu Mingyuan offers Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong surrender rather than force them to continue; they choose to stand their ground.
• The referee protects the exhausted pair from Gu Mingyuan’s final attack, then ends the match.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and sacrifice: Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s combined skill nearly decides the final.
• Limits of technique: Golden Road’s sealing power is formidable, but it cannot fully overcome Gu Mingyuan’s unusual physical strength.
• Persistence and resilience: Gu Mingyuan breaks free without Soul Power, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong keep fighting despite exhaustion.
• The body as power: The chapter reveals that Gu Mingyuan’s Martial Soul makes his own body his ultimate defense.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Mingyuan’s team wins the Freshman Assessment Finals after Gu withstands Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Martial Soul Fusion Skill and nearly collapses himself. The referee stops Gu before his punch can seriously injure the frozen Huo Yuhao.
• The victory earns Mu Jin the position of homeroom teacher for Class One and a Soul Bone wagered by Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi bitterly suggests Mu Jin merely got lucky with a good student; he counters by challenging her implication that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao are bad students.
• Huo Yuhao leaves the stage ashamed of freezing under pressure. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Yu Xiaogang reassure him and promise future improvement, while he and Wang Dong limp away exhausted.
• Academy leaders discuss Gu’s extraordinary defenses. Xuan Zi identifies his Golden Jade Body as possibly possessing the rare Ultimate Defense attribute and orders the academy to investigate him while concealing the details of his martial soul and the match.

Character developments

• Gu Mingyuan proves exceptionally powerful but pays a heavy physical and Soul Power cost for taking the fusion skill head-on. His abilities attract the academy’s attention and raise questions about their true limits.
• Huo Yuhao confronts his lack of resolve in the moment of danger. Though embarrassed, he regains some composure with encouragement from his inner companions.
• Mu Jin gains status through his student’s victory and confidently turns Zhou Yi’s criticism back on her.
• Yan Shaozhe moves from admiration of Gu’s talent to concern about the implications of his possible Ultimate Defense.
• Xuan Zi recognizes the potential danger surrounding Gu’s power and takes charge of protecting its secrecy.

Significant themes

• Talent and its consequences: Gu’s rare ability brings prestige but may also make him a target.
• Failure and growth: Huo Yuhao’s hesitation is painful, but the support he receives frames it as something he can overcome.
• Rivalry and recognition: The result shifts the balance between Mu Jin and Zhou Yi, turning the victory into a personal and professional contest.
• Secrecy and protection: Shrek fears that outside forces—especially the Body Sect—could react violently if Gu’s potential becomes known.

Character interactions

• Mu Jin and Zhou Yi exchange pointed remarks over the victory and the Soul Bone wager.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Yu Xiaogang console Huo Yuhao, though Yu Xiaogang dismisses Gu’s success as partly due to circumstances.
• Yan Shaozhe respectfully reports Gu’s background to Xuan Zi, who warns him to keep the boy’s abilities under wraps.

Plot points

• After the final, Bei Bei explains that Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao were right to use their Golden Road fusion skill, but made the mistake of assuming that sealing Gu Mingyuan’s Martial Soul had ended the fight. Gu’s stored energy and physical strength let him continue.
• Tang Ya officially welcomes Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao into the Tang Sect despite their team finishing second. She asks Huo Yuhao to find out whether Gu Mingyuan might join as well; Huo agrees, though he admits they are not close.
• Yu Xiaogang assures Huo Yuhao that his performance should secure him a place as an official core disciple, raising Huo’s expectations.
• At the assembly, Gu Mingyuan’s team is named champion, Huo Yuhao’s team runner-up, and Dai Huabin’s team third. The top three teams receive help obtaining a suitable Soul Beast for their next Soul Ring; the champions also receive a confidential reward.
• The academy announces its official core disciples. Huo Yuhao is not among them. He is instead granted only provisional core-disciple privileges, subject to assessment through the end of the academic year.
• Yu Xiaogang angrily wants to confront the academy, but Sky Dream Ice Silkworm refuses to let him appear, warning that revealing himself could draw dangerous attention to Huo Yuhao and disrupt their plans to seek his second Martial Soul in the Far North.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao takes Bei Bei’s tactical advice seriously and accepts the academy’s decision without lashing out. The provisional status still stings, and he silently grips his badge, disappointed after hoping for full recognition.
• Wang Dong is outraged on Huo’s behalf and moves to challenge Du Weilun, but Huo stops her rather than accept what might look like pity.
• Tang Ya shows growing confidence in the Tang Sect by welcoming Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, and her interest in recruiting Gu Mingyuan becomes clear.
• Yu Xiaogang shifts from confidently predicting Huo’s success to furious indignation when the academy grants only provisional status.
• Sky Dream Ice Silkworm restrains Yu Xiaogang and prioritizes secrecy and Huo’s safety, while encouraging Huo to trust that his future potential will eventually be recognized.

Significant themes

• Recognition versus potential: Huo Yuhao’s current usefulness earns provisional privileges, but the academy remains uncertain about his long-term prospects.
• Resilience and restraint: Huo Yuhao faces disappointment without demanding special treatment, while Wang Dong’s loyalty is expressed through her willingness to defend him.
• Strategy and preparation: Bei Bei’s analysis emphasizes that a strong technique is not enough without a backup plan.
• Secrecy and risk: The debate over revealing Yu Xiaogang highlights the tension between seeking immediate recognition and protecting a longer-term plan.

Plot points and events

• Shrek Academy announces new class assignments. Gu Mingyuan, Cao Jinxuan, Zhou Sichen, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Dai Huabin are all placed in Class One, taught by Mu Jin.
• Gu’s championship team receives two Soul Bones: the academy’s Hollow-Eyed Demon Leopard left leg bone and a Secret Art Soul right arm bone won by Mu Jin in a personal wager.
• Gu gives the left leg bone to Cao Jinxuan, judging that its speed boost would help a control-type fighter. Cao and Zhou decline to claim either bone for themselves, citing Gu’s greater contribution to the victory. Gu keeps the second bone for later.
• That night, Gu drafts three lists for the Holy Spirit Cult: promising talents, unaffiliated cultivators, and students eliminated from the tournament. He includes Huo Yuhao on all three, and adds Ma Xiaotao to the promising-talents list.
• The next evening, Gu delivers the lists in secret. When questioned about Huo Yuhao’s repeated appearance, he explains that the academy has given him only provisional status because he has one soul ring, leaving him disappointed and humiliated.

Character development and interactions

• Gu Mingyuan shows generosity and sound judgment by giving Cao the left leg bone rather than keeping it. He also maintains his covert mission, carefully portraying Huo Yuhao’s situation to the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen demonstrate loyalty and modesty: both refuse to press their claims to the rewards, recognizing how much Gu carried the team. Cao accepts the bone only after Gu insists.
• Mu Jin supports his students and makes clear that the right-arm bone is a personal prize for the team, not an academy reward.
• The Holy Spirit Cult’s projection scrutinizes Gu’s reports, particularly the striking fact that Huo Yuhao appears on every list.

Significant themes

• Fairness and selflessness: The teammates resist taking rewards they feel Gu earned, while Gu distributes a useful Soul Bone according to compatibility.
• Trust and loyalty: The team’s candid exchange contrasts with Gu’s secret work for the cult.
• Manipulation and opportunity: Gu presents Huo Yuhao’s exclusion as a source of resentment, framing him as a potential recruit or asset.
• Public identity versus hidden allegiance: Gu appears to be a successful, generous student while quietly compiling intelligence for a dangerous organization.

Key plot points

• Gu Mingyuan tells a Holy Spirit Cult apparition that Ma Xiaotao, a gifted Shrek Inner Court Soul Emperor with an Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, suffers dangerous backlash and has attacked freshmen while out of control.
• The Cult considers this information exceptionally valuable and opens a file on Ma Xiaotao. Gu Mingyuan negotiates for Gold Soul Coins, a soul-restoring item, and protection for his identity.
• The apparition promises a reward but warns that the Cult cannot simply eliminate every contact who might recognize him. After Gu Mingyuan leaves, the shop assistant is apparently killed—or otherwise silenced—by the Cult.
• The next day, Gu receives 50,000 Gold Soul Coins and Nether God Grass, suitable for restoring Electrolux’s weakened consciousness. The assistant is now a vacant, puppet-like figure who leads him back to the chamber.
• The Cult assigns Gu a new mission: use the money to recruit Shrek’s expelled students, whose resentment and desperation could help the Cult establish a presence in Shrek City.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Mingyuan proves himself a shrewd, composed negotiator. He conceals his real reason for wanting the restorative herb by claiming it is for a roommate harmed by Huo Yuhao’s spiritual attack, and presses the Cult to protect his identity.
• The apparition shifts from condescension to respect after hearing about Ma Xiaotao, then uses the Cult’s influence to investigate Shrek and reward Gu. She also makes clear that his association with the Cult will keep him under its scrutiny.
• The shop assistant changes from an ordinary, silent attendant to an eerie, apparently controlled puppet, underscoring the Cult’s willingness to use and discard people.
• Gu’s conversation with the apparition is transactional: he supplies intelligence in exchange for resources and leverage, then accepts a mission that exploits disaffected former students.

Significant themes

• Information as power: Ma Xiaotao’s vulnerability is more valuable to the Cult than the rest of Gu’s intelligence combined.
• Manipulation and hidden motives: Gu disguises his personal need for the herb, while the Cult turns information and money into tools of influence.
• Exploitation of resentment: The Cult seeks to recruit expelled students by converting their anger at Shrek into political and organizational support.
• The cost of secrecy: Gu wants protection from exposure, but the Cult’s reach—and the fate of its contact—suggests that involvement brings danger and limited control.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Mingyuan empties a Storage Ring of 50,000 Gold Soul Coins, supplied by the Holy Spirit Cult, and hides the Nether God Grass in his robe. He returns the ring to its compartment and leaves the mind-controlled shop assistant behind.
• Freshman Class One begins lessons. Mu Jin appoints Gu Mingyuan class president, Cao Jinxuan vice president, and Zhou Sichen to assist with daily affairs. The positions can be challenged.
• During team drills, Huo Yuhao is paired with Dai Huabin and Nanmen Yun’er against Ning Tian, Wang Dong, and Zhu Lu. Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing gives his teammates exceptional awareness, but Dai Huabin ignores his tactical advice and charges recklessly. The opposing team exploits the resulting gap and wins.
• Dai blames Huo Yuhao for the loss. Wang Dong defends him, and she and Dai nearly fight until Mu Jin suppresses them with her Soul Emperor pressure.
• That afternoon, Zhou Yi asks Mu Jin to transfer Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao to Class Two, citing their specialized training and Huo Yuhao’s importance to the Soul Tool Department. Mu Jin challenges Zhou Yi’s motives and record of expelling students. Zhou Yi sets a cylinder on the desk, leaving the dispute unresolved.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao confronts Dai Huabin, his enemy, but restrains his anger after advice from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Yu Xiaogang. His support ability impresses Dai, even as Dai’s arrogance prevents him from cooperating.
• Dai’s pride makes him disregard Huo Yuhao’s strategy; after losing, he shifts blame rather than accepting responsibility.
• Wang Dong openly stands up for Huo Yuhao and challenges Dai, showing their loyalty and growing closeness.
• Mu Jin and Zhou Yi clash over the transfer, each accusing the other of mishandling students. Zhou Yi’s request also suggests she is positioning Huo Yuhao’s group for specialized instruction.

Significant themes

• Strength and authority: Class leadership is presented as something earned and defended through ability.
• Restraint versus pride: Huo Yuhao suppresses his desire for revenge, while Dai’s ego undermines his team.
• Trust and teamwork: Huo Yuhao’s support is powerful, but it only works when teammates heed his guidance.
• Hidden agendas and institutional rivalry: The Holy Spirit Cult’s covert operation and the teachers’ dispute reveal competing interests behind apparently ordinary school affairs.

Key events

• The Soul Tool Department’s compensation—a costly sixth-level Soul Tool—persuades Class One teacher Mu Jin to approve Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s transfer to Freshman Class Two. Xiao Xiao must remain because she is a newly designated core disciple; she watches her friends leave, feeling lonely but hoping they can stay close.
• In the Holy Spirit Cult’s underground palace, Vice Cult Master Feng Ling reviews intelligence revealing that Shrek’s Ma Xiaotao is increasingly losing control of her Evil Fire. She names Xiaotao a First-Class Saintess Candidate under the codename Red Phoenix, orders the Cult to study her condition and movements, and forbids anyone from approaching her without authorization.
• Feng Ling dismisses concerns that promoting Xiaotao will compete with another candidate, Yan Feng: she intends to claim Xiaotao for herself. She classifies Huo Yuhao as a lesser observation subject and rewards the covert agent Bait Seven for obtaining valuable information.
• In Shrek City, Gu Mingyuan burns a list of expelled students he has investigated, having rejected nearly all as unsuitable for the Tang Sect. He selects Jiang Wenzhou, whose Heartbound Bell can locate a bearer within three kilometers, sense their condition, and send silent messages. Gu tests the ability by having Cao Jinxuan hide in the city and asking Jiang to find him using only the bells.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Xiao accepts that she and her friends can remain friends despite being separated, though the transfer leaves her feeling isolated.
• Feng Ling emerges as ambitious and possessive: she sees Ma Xiaotao’s worsening condition as an opportunity and intends to make her a powerful Cult asset. Her exchange with the elder also shows that Saint-candidate status is a ruthless contest for survival, not a secure succession.
• Gu Mingyuan demonstrates caution as a recruiter, refusing to take on unsuitable former students. He recognizes the strategic value in Jiang’s overlooked ability and gives him a practical test. Jiang, nervous but candid about his past failure, explains his Martial Soul’s true capabilities.

Significant themes

• Potential versus appearance: Jiang’s seemingly weak support ability becomes valuable in the right setting, while the transfer decisions reflect institutional judgments of students’ prospects.
• Ambition and exploitation: The Holy Spirit Cult treats Ma Xiaotao’s vulnerability as a resource and its candidates as rivals who must outlast one another.
• Belonging and separation: Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s move disrupts Xiao Xiao’s daily companionship, even as she tries to preserve their friendship.
• Information as power: Feng Ling rewards espionage, while Gu’s test highlights how communication and tracking can matter beyond direct combat.

Key plot points

• Jiang Wenzhou tracks Cao Jinxuan using the Heartbound Bell, but discovers Cao removed the child bell and tied it beneath a moving cargo cart to mislead him.
• Gu Mingyuan reassures Jiang that the failed pursuit reveals the Martial Soul’s real value: it can locate a bell even when its wearer is gone. He explains its current limits and potential uses in scouting, surveillance, and team coordination.
• Lin Yan gives Jiang a wooden token engraved with “Tang,” deeply moving him.
• That night, Gu Mingyuan cultivates the Purple Emperor Eyes by drawing in moonlight. Xuan Zi appears unexpectedly and asks to inspect Gu’s Golden Jade Body.
• While examining Gu, Xuan Zi inadvertently awakens the mark of Gu’s second Martial Soul, the Demon’s Contract. Gu admits he has kept it secret because he fears its dark aura may bring trouble.
• Xuan Zi finds no signs that the Martial Soul is evil and concludes that darkness alone does not make it dangerous. Its morality depends on how it develops and how Gu chooses to use it.

Character development

• Jiang Wenzhou moves from disappointment toward a clearer understanding of his Martial Soul’s practical strengths.
• Gu Mingyuan shows empathy in mentoring Jiang, but also caution and vulnerability when revealing his concealed second Martial Soul.
• Xuan Zi demonstrates keen insight and a measured, nonjudgmental approach to unfamiliar abilities.
• Electrolux quietly protects Gu by concealing the Holy Spirit Cult’s skull brand from Xuan Zi.

Significant themes

• A power’s value depends on how it is applied, not whether it suits one particular contest.
• Appearance and unfamiliarity do not determine whether something is evil; choices and development matter.
• Trust and protection are important, whether in Gu’s mentorship of Jiang or Electrolux’s hidden guardianship of Gu.

Character interactions

• Gu encourages Jiang after the tracking failure and helps him recognize the Heartbound Bell’s potential; Lin Yan’s token adds an emotional note to the moment.
• Xuan Zi tests Gu’s body and uncovers his second Martial Soul, prompting Gu’s guarded confession.
• Their discussion ends with Xuan Zi offering Gu reassurance rather than condemnation.

Key plot points and events

• After confirming that Gu Mingyuan has Twin Martial Souls, Xuan Zi questions him closely about whether his Golden Jade Body resulted from a Body Martial Soul Second Awakening. Gu gives a cautious account of the painful transformation but reports none of the usual signs of a second awakening.
• Xuan Zi concludes that the medicinal herb likely evolved Gu’s original bone martial soul directly into the Golden Jade Body. Since the body’s current ability is already classified as Ultimate Defense, Xuan Zi suspects it may still have room for a true awakening.
• Xuan Zi gives Gu a Black-Level Sea God Token, granting him discounts on academy goods, access to restricted library materials about Body Martial Souls, Twin Martial Souls, and mutations, and priority use of two training facilities twice a week. He warns that these privileges are an investment and can be revoked if Gu wastes his potential.
• Reviewing Gu’s file, Xuan Zi removes the note claiming a suspected second awakening and records Gu’s Twin Martial Souls, Ultimate Defense, and the possibility of a beneficial evolution. Troubled by the idea that the Golden Jade Body may be Ultimate Defense without having truly awakened, he sets out to find Mu En.
• Back in the dormitory, Gu finds Zhou Sichen training late. Zhou admits Gu’s progress has pushed him to work harder, fearing he might otherwise become a weak link.
• Gu asks whether Zhou resents him for giving the team’s thousand-year Soul Bone to Old Cao. Zhou admits some disappointment but trusts Gu’s judgment and values their friendship more than the bone.
• The chapter ends as Xuan Zi enters the Sea God Pavilion and approaches a resting old man, apparently Mu En.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Mingyuan carefully withholds certainty about his transformation, while recognizing that the academy’s “Ultimate Defense” classification could bring him greater support. He also reassures Zhou Sichen with humor before addressing the Soul Bone honestly.
• Xuan Zi shifts from suspicion to excitement, then to deeper concern about Gu’s unexplored potential. He rewards Gu with resources but makes clear that the academy expects him to keep progressing.
• Zhou Sichen shows loyalty and candor: Gu’s strength motivates him, but he does not let the Soul Bone dispute damage their friendship.
• Gu and Zhou’s teasing exchange underscores their close, comfortable bond before they discuss a more serious matter.

Significant themes

• Potential and uncertainty: Gu’s Golden Jade Body is extraordinarily powerful, yet its origin and future limits remain unclear.
• Talent as responsibility: The academy’s privileges are framed as an investment that Gu must earn through continued effort.
• Trust and friendship: Zhou accepts Gu’s decision about the Soul Bone because he trusts Gu and values their relationship.
• Knowledge and secrecy: Gu receives access to restricted research, but the academy tightly controls how that information may be used.

Key plot points and events

• Xuan Zi reports Gu Mingyuan’s unusual second martial soul, Demon’s Contract, to Mu En. It shows only darkness and judgment—not bloodlust, resentment, or lingering souls—so Mu En cautions against equating darkness with evil.
• Xuan Zi recounts Gu’s performance in the freshman final: despite having his Soul Skills sealed and his Soul Power nearly halted, Gu endured the full force of Huo Yuhao’s Golden Road and used the impact to push his strength further. Mu En takes a special interest in his physical and spiritual potential, though he says it is too soon to judge what Gu might become.
• Gu studies Soul Tools to address gaps in his combat abilities, including his lack of ranged attacks, mobility, and restraint techniques. He also sees Soul Tools as essential to building a new Tang Sect that can adapt to the modern era.
• After a rough first attempt at carving a pattern, Gu uses his Purple Emperor Eyes to improve his precision. Fan Yu accepts him as an elective student and begins training him in basic Soul Tool work.
• Gu follows a demanding routine of academy classes, Soul Tool training, and cultivation. At the Tang Sect’s South City base, Lin Yan gathers information while Jiang Wenzhou develops the Heartbound Bell and gains a tracking-and-warning Soul Skill.
• Eight months later, Gu has earned a first-rank Soul Engineer badge and expects to reach the second rank soon. He has also broken through level thirty, finished his first year at Shrek, and plans to visit the Holy Spirit Cult to obtain money.

Character developments and interactions

• Mu En remains reserved but becomes quietly attentive to Gu, asking Xuan Zi to keep him informed. His remark, “Darkness is not the same as evil,” signals an open-minded view of Gu’s second martial soul.
• Xuan Zi acts as the messenger between Gu and Mu En, recognizing Mu En’s interest but respecting his warning that Gu’s potential must be judged over time.
• Gu Mingyuan responds to his weaknesses with study and discipline rather than relying only on strength. He expands his skills into Soul Tool engineering while keeping his second martial soul secret.
• Fan Yu tests Gu’s precision, identifies both his natural strengths and lack of technical foundation, and agrees to teach him.
• Lin Yan and Jiang Wenzhou strengthen the Tang Sect’s operations through intelligence gathering and improved communication and tracking.

Significant themes

• Darkness versus evil: A frightening or shadowy power does not automatically make its wielder evil.
• Adaptation and progress: Gu believes the Tang Sect must embrace Soul Tools rather than depend on outdated traditions.
• Potential requires cultivation: Mu En emphasizes that raw talent matters less than what a person becomes through training.
• Discipline and practical preparation: Gu’s steady work broadens his abilities and helps him prepare for threats his physical strength alone cannot overcome.

Plot points and events

• Gu Mingyuan visits a Holy Spirit Cult hideout during the holiday and reports that he has reached level thirty. He plans to hunt for a third Soul Ring rather than use Shrek’s offered targets.
• He asks for a physically powerful Soul Beast able to disperse and channel impacts. The Cult’s contact provides a map and identity token, directing him to a herd of Cold Jade-Horned Rhinos near the Far North and support in Frostfall City.
• The contact criticizes Gu’s slow recruitment for the Cult’s local network. Gu argues that caution is necessary in Shrek City; she gives him until the end of the next academic year to assemble an operational team.
• Gu privately intends to verify that Huo Yuhao has traveled north before sharing that information with the Cult, since he cannot explain how he knows it.
• Huo Yuhao, having reached level twenty, prepares to travel to the Far North to obtain his second Martial Soul. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm warns him to prepare for severe cold.
• Yu Xiaogang tells Huo Yuhao that success will earn him acceptance as his second personal disciple. He invokes Tang San’s past divine achievements and predicts that Huo Yuhao can become “the second god.”

Character developments

• Gu Mingyuan is ambitious and calculating: he pursues a Soul Ring suited to his goals, manages the Cult’s expectations without revealing everything he knows, and remains wary of becoming its permanent servant.
• Huo Yuhao is eager to gain a second Martial Soul, partly to prove Shrek wrong and close the gap with Gu, and partly to avenge those who harmed his mother.
• Yu Xiaogang presents himself as a mentor but appears self-important, framing Huo Yuhao’s future around his own connection to Tang San.
• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm remains an enthusiastic guide, focused on Huo Yuhao’s preparations and survival.

Character interactions

• Gu bargains with the Holy Spirit Cult’s representative over his mission and recruitment pace; she recognizes his value but demands future results.
• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm encourages and cautions Huo Yuhao as he packs.
• Yu Xiaogang offers Huo Yuhao discipleship and grand promises, prompting Huo Yuhao’s surprise at being named the “second” disciple.

Significant themes

• Ambition and rivalry: Both young men pursue major power gains, with Huo Yuhao explicitly measuring himself against Gu.
• Secrecy and manipulation: Gu withholds his foreknowledge and carefully manages what the Cult learns.
• Mentorship and grand promises: Yu Xiaogang’s boastful prophecy contrasts with Huo Yuhao’s doubts about his usefulness.
• Power tied to revenge and recognition: Huo Yuhao’s hopes for a second Martial Soul are bound to status, vindication, and settling old scores.

Key plot points and events

• Huo Yuhao is thrilled to become Yu Xiaogang’s personal disciple. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm objects, claiming credit for giving Yuhao his second martial soul, but Yu Xiaogang argues that power also needs proper instruction. Their bickering lifts Yuhao’s spirits as he prepares to travel north.
• Seven days later, Yuhao reaches Frostfall City and heads alone toward the Far North to hunt for his second Soul Ring. Gu Mingyuan spots him and secretly reports his movements to the Black Feather Medicine Shop, instructing them to follow without alerting him.
• Gu Mingyuan meets a three-person team from the Far North Branch Altar—one Soul Saint and two Soul Kings—originally assigned to capture Yuhao. Using an official token, he persuades them to delay that mission briefly and help him hunt two Soul Beasts.
• The team cripples a young Cold Jade-Horned Rhino and a much larger, roughly 7,500-year-old adult. Gu Mingyuan kills both, then gives the Soul Saint a tracking device, claiming it will help locate Yuhao. In reality, Gu keeps the paired device so he can track the hunters.
• Left alone, Gu swallows a Cold Marrow Gall to strengthen his body and suppress the strain of absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his level. He begins absorbing the adult rhino’s ring, using the Golden Jade Body to endure its overwhelming energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao feels newly supported by both Yu Xiaogang and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, gaining hope after a long history of neglect and hurt.
• Yu Xiaogang and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm clash over who deserves credit for Yuhao’s progress: the silkworm provides power, while Yu Xiaogang claims the role of teacher.
• Gu Mingyuan shows himself to be calculating and deceptive. He manipulates the branch team with an official token, conceals his true purpose, and turns their tracking tool into a way to monitor them.
• The Soul Saint is suspicious of the detour at first, but accepts Gu’s terms once he believes the task will be quick and will not jeopardize the mission. He and the Soul Kings act efficiently, relying on their overwhelming strength.

Significant themes

• Guidance and care: Yuhao’s joy reflects how deeply he needs both power and a mentor.
• Deception and divided loyalties: Gu Mingyuan appears to cooperate with the branch team while secretly keeping control of their movements.
• Ambition and risk: Gu attempts to absorb a Soul Ring beyond what his level should normally withstand, relying on preparation and physical resilience.
• Power imbalance: The Soul Beasts’ desperate resistance is easily overcome by the powerful hunting team, while Gu faces a different kind of danger in absorbing the adult rhino’s ring.

Plot and events

• Gu Mingyuan completes his third Soul Ring, gaining Golden Jade Strength Transformation: it doubles all his attributes and lets him freely convert Strength and Defense. His new purple trait, Strictest Father of the Elements, permanently halves damage from elemental attacks, though their physical force still affects him normally.
• His tracking disk shows that the pursuit squad has reached the Far North’s core, then goes dark—evidence that the squad has met disaster. Gu Mingyuan stores the two dead rhinos and heads north, suspecting Huo Yuhao’s Ice Empress fusion is underway.
• At the edge of the core, Huo Yuhao is merging with the Ice Empress when a Holy Spirit Cult team—a Soul Saint and two Soul Kings—attacks, seeking his hundred-thousand-year torso bone.
• To save Huo Yuhao, the Ice Empress interrupts the fusion and unleashes uncontrolled Ultimate Ice, freezing all three attackers. The Soul-Locking Nail nevertheless hits Huo Yuhao’s shoulder, leaving a trace of black energy beneath his skin.
• The interruption wrecks the fusion: the Ice Empress is badly weakened and seals her martial-soul seed and vital essence inside Huo Yuhao; most of her remaining power dissipates. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm exhausts himself protecting Huo Yuhao’s mind, leaving only Yu Xiaogang conscious in the Sea of Spirit.
• Huo Yuhao escapes at Yu Xiaogang’s urging, barely able to move. Half an hour later, Gu Mingyuan reaches the empty icefield, finds the three frozen cultists, and takes the Soul Saint’s storage belt. Inside is another tracking disk whose marker is moving north.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Mingyuan gains powerful offensive and defensive flexibility, along with significant resistance to elemental damage. Though focused on his own advancement, he responds to the pursuit squad’s disappearance and continues north.
• Huo Yuhao survives, but the interrupted fusion leaves him physically devastated and his new Soul Ring incomplete.
• The Ice Empress sacrifices control of the fusion to protect Huo Yuhao, at great cost to her essence.
• Yu Xiaogang becomes Huo Yuhao’s sole conscious guide, pressing him to flee despite his exhaustion.
• The Holy Spirit Cult squad’s greed overrides its capture order: the Soul Saint attacks Huo Yuhao outright, triggering the Ice Empress’s desperate response.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and survival: The Ice Empress’s intervention saves Huo Yuhao but damages their fusion and her own essence.
• Power’s cost and unpredictability: A rushed interruption prevents the planned sealing of the Ice Empress’s power and leaves Huo Yuhao in a precarious state.
• Greed and danger: The cultists’ desire for the torso bone turns an attempted capture into a lethal attack.
• Contrasting strengths: Gu Mingyuan’s newly acquired elemental resistance is introduced alongside Huo Yuhao’s vulnerability to the hostile forces closing in.

Plot points and events

• After defeating the Holy Spirit Cult’s fighters, Gu Mingyuan searches their bodies, takes a low-grade left-leg Soul Bone and other valuables, then heads back toward Shrek Academy. He chooses not to pursue the injured Huo Yuhao, both because the unconscious Ice Empress may still be dangerous and because a living Yuhao will attract attention.
• Huo Yuhao wakes in an ice cave badly weakened by his injuries and the Ice Empress’s incomplete fusion. Tian Meng explains that the Ice Empress’s martial soul and Torso Bone fused with Yuhao, but she had to interrupt the process to save him. Her essence was damaged, and her red Soul Ring is unreliable for now.
• Yu Xiaogang welcomes Yuhao as his personal disciple. On Tian Meng’s advice, Yuhao hunts a weak, roughly three-thousand-year-old Snow-Hiding Ice Silkworm and gains a second Spirit Eyes Soul Ring with a Simulation skill. He uses it to disguise the Ice Empress’s red ring as a purple one.
• Yu Xiaogang helps Yuhao prepare an explanation for his new powers and delayed return. Yuhao sets off for Shrek, knowing he will miss the start of term.
• At Shrek’s second-year advancement assessment, Wang Dong worries about Yuhao’s absence. Xiao Xiao tries to reassure her, while Dai Huabin mocks Yuhao as weak and possibly dead. Wang Dong is angered but is restrained from starting a confrontation.
• Gu Mingyuan is the first student from Class One to enter the Beast Arena. He requests a thousand-year-tier challenge and withstands the shock wave of a three-thousand-year Ironclad Bear with his Golden Jade Body. The bear then charges him.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao survives but is left physically depleted and faces the challenge of hiding the Ice Empress’s power. His new Simulation skill gives him a practical way to conceal his unusual Soul Ring.
• Tian Meng explains the risks and limitations of the incomplete fusion, then helps Yuhao secure a suitable Soul Ring before falling asleep again.
• Yu Xiaogang openly claims Yuhao as his personal disciple and supports him with a cover story, even threatening the academy if it expels him for being late.
• Gu Mingyuan acts cautiously after the fight, prioritizing the uncertain threat of the Ice Empress and the value of keeping Yuhao alive; at the assessment, his exceptional defense is on display.
• Wang Dong’s concern for Yuhao is clear, while Xiao Xiao acts as a calming influence. Dai Huabin’s contempt reflects his sense of status and entitlement.

Significant themes

• Power and cost: Yuhao gains a major new ability, but the interrupted fusion leaves both him and the Ice Empress weakened.
• Concealment and survival: Yuhao must disguise his strength and craft a plausible account of what happened.
• Loyalty and mentorship: Yu Xiaogang’s support contrasts with the hostility Yuhao faces from Dai Huabin.
• Status and prejudice: Dai Huabin’s dismissal of Yuhao shows how rank and background shape others’ judgments.
• Measured strength: The assessment tests not only victory, but also combat ability, resilience, and adaptability.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Gu Mingyuan uses his Third Soul Skill, Golden Jade Strength Transformation, to convert nearly all of his defensive power into strength. He lands a Serious Punch that kills a three-thousand-year-old Ironclad Bear in one blow, though the strain splits the skin on his fist.
• The arena judges praise his physique, Soul Power control, and performance. Du Weilun confirms the kill was genuine and predicts Gu will earn the round’s highest score.
• Gu explains his Soul Skill to Du Weilun, claiming he gained it from a wounded Cold Jade-Horned Rhino in the Far North. His account is deliberately incomplete. Du Weilun decides the academy will seal the updated records to keep the unusual ability from attracting attention.
• Gu’s classmates Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan are astonished by the feat and question how his new skill works. Gu brushes off their praise by calling the matchup favorable.
• Dai Huabin, provoked by Gu’s performance, chooses a three-thousand-year strength-type Soul Beast for his own assessment. He wounds the Fierce Tusked Boar but cannot overcome its defenses. The referee intervenes just before it can gore him.
• The chapter also contrasts the arena action with Huo Yuhao, who is struggling onward through the snowy Far North. Wang Dong looks back toward the academy gates, while the assessments continue.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Mingyuan demonstrates that his flexible Soul Skill can switch between extreme defense and extreme strength, making him a formidable fighter. He conceals the true circumstances of acquiring it, gives Du Weilun a partial explanation, and hides his injured hand.
• Du Weilun moves from impressed evaluator to cautious protector: he recognizes the skill’s unusual potential and arranges for its records to be sealed.
• Zhou Yi watches Gu’s success with visible unease, while Mu Jin takes quiet pride in her student and remarks that he excels in direct clashes.
• Wang Dong reassesses Gu as a serious threat, realizing she may not be able to beat him alone. Dai Huabin, rather than backing down, becomes more determined to prove himself, but his risky choice nearly gets him seriously hurt.
• Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan approach Gu after the fight; their admiration and questions highlight how far his abilities now exceed expectations.

Significant themes

• Power and trade-offs: Gu’s skill is powerful because it lets him shift between defense and offense, but he cannot maximize both at once—and the punch still takes a physical toll.
• Competition and pride: Gu’s victory raises the stakes for the other students, especially Dai Huabin, whose pride pushes him into a dangerous challenge.
• Secrecy and responsibility: Gu withholds the full truth about his Soul Ring, and Du Weilun’s decision to restrict the records reflects the risks of exposing rare abilities.
• Contrasting journeys: Gu’s triumph in the arena is set against Huo Yuhao’s arduous progress through the Far North, suggesting that important struggles are unfolding beyond the assessment.

Key plot points and events

• After his absence delayed the start of term, Huo Yuhao returns to Shrek Academy on the seventh day, battered but alive. The academy has already begun the process of expelling him for missing the advancement assessment.
• Huo explains that his Spirit Eyes led him to the Far North, where he gained a second Martial Soul and a torso Soul Bone. The officials doubt his account until he demonstrates his Twin Martial Souls and the power of Ultimate Ice.
• Fan Yu identifies Huo as a core disciple of the Soul Tool Department and claims the trip was a secret test. Huo is allowed to stay, but receives a major demerit and must take the advancement assessment while injured within three days. His new abilities are classified, and future absences require advance notice.
• Gu Mingyuan later meets secretly with Vice Cult Master Feng Ling. Asked about a missing team sent to track Huo, Gu reveals that the Soul Saint and two Soul Kings were frozen to death. He presents a thousand-year leg bone and the Soul-Tracking Disk.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao returns with powerful new abilities, but his survival does not earn him immediate respect or security. He accepts responsibility for worrying others while privately resenting the academy’s distrust and feeling unsure of his own strength.
• Wang Dong, who has been anxious throughout his absence, punches Huo in relief and anger. Huo apologizes, and their reunion shows their strong attachment.
• Xiao Xiao is relieved to see Huo but feels a pang watching him and Wang Dong together, sensing that their former closeness has changed.
• Zhou Yi scolds Huo harshly, while Fan Yu intervenes to protect his place at the academy and secure his status as a Soul Tool Department core disciple. Du Weilun weighs the rules against the value and secrecy of Huo’s new power.
• Gu Mingyuan remains composed as he reports the Far North killings, revealing his connection to the cult’s operations and the danger surrounding Huo.

Significant themes

• Rules versus exceptional talent: Shrek enforces its attendance and assessment policies even when a student’s unusual potential might justify leniency.
• Power and recognition: Huo’s new abilities impress the adults, but he still must prove himself—and feels overlooked rather than celebrated.
• Loyalty and worry: Wang Dong’s anger and relief, and Fan Yu’s advocacy, show the personal bonds that support Huo.
• Secrecy and danger: Huo’s second Martial Soul is classified, while the missing tracking team signals that the Far North journey has consequences beyond the academy.

Key plot points and events

• Feng Ling questions Gu Mingyuan about the deaths of a Soul Saint and two Soul Kings in the Far North, and about Huo Yuhao’s unexplained return. She orders Gu to investigate Huo Yuhao, raises his surveillance priority, and rewards him with a Soul Bone and a Soul-Tracking Disk.
• Gu recognizes that the Holy Spirit Cult still distrusts him, but values his intelligence foothold inside Shrek more than pressing him about the dead team.
• Back at the South City courtyard, Gu finds Tang Ya and Bei Bei confronting him alongside Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong. Tang Ya has discovered that Gu’s group wears Tang Sect tags and teaches its arts under the same name.
• Tang Ya accuses Gu of secretly establishing a rival Tang Sect. Gu refuses to back down, saying he has always belonged to the Tang Sect and that her objections will not stop him.
• With the dispute escalating, Tang Ya challenges Gu to prove his sect’s worth. Gu summons a hundred soul-power-formed hidden weapons, and the chapter ends as the two sides prepare to settle the matter by force.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Mingyuan remains guarded and pragmatic with Feng Ling, deflecting a dangerous assignment while protecting his position at Shrek. At the courtyard, he stands firmly by his own Tang Sect, despite the risk of alienating Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
• Feng Ling treats Huo Yuhao as a growing threat or mystery and shifts from questioning Gu to ordering discreet surveillance.
• Tang Ya reveals how deeply the Tang Sect is tied to her parents, her hopes, and her identity. Her anger stems not only from Gu’s use of the name and techniques, but also from fear that he may succeed where she has struggled.
• Huo Yuhao tries to mediate, but his appeal to Gu to explain himself first makes clear that he sides with Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
• Bei Bei tries to keep the confrontation controlled and seeks Gu’s motives before judging him, while remaining wary of him.
• Lin Yan and Jiang Wenzhou remain loyal to Gu’s group, keeping their Tang Sect tags despite the pressure.

Significant themes

• Legacy and ownership: The Tang Sect’s name and teachings represent both a shared tradition and Tang Ya’s deeply personal inheritance.
• Loyalty and division: The confrontation exposes a growing split between the two Tang Sects and forces characters to reveal whom they support.
• Power and suspicion: Huo Yuhao’s survival and the Far North deaths attract the Holy Spirit Cult’s attention, while Gu must balance espionage with his standing at Shrek.

Plot points and events

• Tang Ya is shaken by Gu Mingyuan’s rapid rise to three Soul Rings, especially as her own Soul Power has barely advanced. She resolves to confront the gap between them.
• Bei Bei steps in to defend her and challenges Gu Mingyuan, while Gu sends his companions away and insists they be charged for any damage.
• Bei Bei attacks at full strength, aided by Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing. Gu withstands the lightning and absorbs much of its force into his second Soul Skill.
• Bei Bei’s powerful fourth-Soul-Ring attack demolishes part of the courtyard wall but leaves Gu essentially unharmed. Gu reminds Bei Bei about the repair bill.
• Bei Bei tries to trap Gu at close range, but Gu catches and holds his wrist. Tang Ya’s Blue Silver Grass cannot free him.
• Huo Yuhao uses his newly acquired torso-bone skill, Ice Emperor’s Fury. The blow finally makes Gu stagger and cracks the ground, though it does not stop him. Gu releases Bei Bei and swings at his chest; the chapter ends before the hit’s outcome is shown.

Character developments

• Tang Ya confronts her stagnating strength and the widening distance between herself and Bei Bei, as well as the burden of reviving the Tang Sect.
• Bei Bei drops his usual gentleness and fights without restraint, but recognizes that Gu’s defense and power-absorption ability make prolonged combat dangerous.
• Huo Yuhao supports Bei Bei with his perception-sharing ability, then takes a difficult risk by using his strongest available attack despite the danger of catching Bei Bei in it.
• Gu Mingyuan demonstrates formidable defense, strength, and composure, treating even devastating attacks—and the property damage—as minor inconveniences.

Significant themes

• Growth and inadequacy: Gu’s rapid progress forces Tang Ya to face her own stalled advancement.
• Power and tactics: Bei Bei understands that attacking Gu can strengthen him, while Huo Yuhao’s intervention reveals the need for coordinated, risky choices.
• Limits of support: Tang Ya’s and Bei Bei’s efforts cannot overcome Gu’s defense alone.
• Strength with levity: Gu’s calm jokes about repair costs contrast with the escalating violence.

Character interactions

• Tang Ya’s concern for Bei Bei drives her to intervene when he is caught, first with Blue Silver Grass and then by calling on Huo Yuhao.
• Bei Bei and Huo Yuhao work together through Spiritual Detection Sharing, giving Bei Bei a tactical advantage that proves insufficient.
• Huo Yuhao weighs the danger to Bei Bei before unleashing Ice Emperor’s Fury.
• Gu and Bei Bei exchange increasingly direct attacks, while Gu’s taunts and remarks about the wall heighten the tension.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Mingyuan defeats Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong in less than a minute. He breaks Tang Ya’s Blue Silver Grass, throws her aside, and strikes down Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong while holding back enough to avoid provoking the Tang God King.
• Shrek City defense troops arrive under Xu Sanshi. After checking that the four are not in mortal danger, Xu sends them to the academy infirmary and has the scene documented.
• Xu warns Gu that the academy will consider the injuries and property damage, not only who started the fight. He also hints that Bei Bei has influential backing.
• Gu and his companions go to the infirmary, where senior academy figures and teachers are gathered. Du Weilun reports that the auxiliaries confirmed Bei Bei attacked first, but calls the fight and damage a serious incident. He asks Gu to explain himself.

Character developments

• Gu Mingyuan demonstrates overwhelming strength and tactical control, but his confrontation with Tang Ya is also a direct challenge to her authority as sect master. He expects the academy to address the incident.
• Tang Ya remains defiant even when physically overpowered, though Gu’s accusations expose her inability to protect the Tang Sect’s legacy and guide its members.
• Bei Bei is seriously injured but stays conscious long enough to catch Tang Ya.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong rush to protect their companions despite being outmatched; both are incapacitated, and Huo Yuhao’s old shoulder wound reopens.
• Xu Sanshi acts pragmatically, helping the injured and warning Gu about the political consequences. His prior rapport with Gu makes the warning personal as well as practical.

Significant themes

• Power and leadership: Gu questions whether Tang Ya’s title is justified when she cannot protect or strengthen the people who follow her.
• Consequences and accountability: Being attacked first does not erase the responsibility for severe injuries and property damage.
• Loyalty and protection: Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Bei Bei all act in defense of one another, even at great personal cost.
• Influence and fairness: Bei Bei’s connections may affect how the academy handles the dispute.

Character interactions

• Gu confronts Tang Ya over her leadership, then throws her clear of the fight; Bei Bei catches her despite his injuries.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong each attack Gu to defend their companions, but he quickly defeats them.
• Xu Sanshi mediates the immediate aftermath, assists the injured, and privately cautions Gu.
• At the infirmary, the academy’s leaders and teachers gather around the injured students. Du Weilun establishes that Bei Bei struck first but gives Gu the floor to explain his actions.