Chapter Summaries

Plot points

• At Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong prepare to fight after Wang Dong provokes him. Chi Hong interrupts, eager to test his theory that battles against important characters yield unusually high experience.
• Chi Hong knocks Wang Dong down with a single punch, then accepts her challenge when she recovers and summons her Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul.
• Chi Hong summons Charmeleon. It dodges Wang Dong’s attacks, blinds and disorients her with Smokescreen, then defeats her with a critical Flamethrower.
• The victory grants enough experience for Charmeleon to evolve into Charizard, which also learns Air Cutter and Wing Attack. Chi Hong’s own rank rises from level 17 to 19.
• Chi Hong invites Huo Yuhao to battle next. Huo Yuhao refuses, claiming he must look after Wang Dong, and hurries away with her.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong is confident, opportunistic, and focused on advancing through Pokémon battles. His past experience with the game—and his suspicion that plot-important opponents give more experience—drives him to seek out Shrek’s central characters.
• Charmeleon demonstrates effective teamwork with Chi Hong, combining evasion, Smokescreen, and Flamethrower before evolving into Charizard.
• Wang Dong begins arrogant and dismissive of Chi Hong, but is swiftly overwhelmed. Her defeat provides the turning point for Charmeleon’s evolution.
• Huo Yuhao initially stands up to Wang Dong, but becomes a bystander when Chi Hong takes over the fight. He retreats rather than risk facing Chi Hong himself.

Significant themes

• Game mechanics and progression: Battles generate experience and trigger Pokémon evolution, making combat the route to Chi Hong’s growth.
• Strategy over strength: Charmeleon wins through timing and tactical moves, not a direct contest of power.
• Ambition and opportunity: Chi Hong treats encounters with major characters as valuable chances to advance.

Plot points and events

• Chi Hong continues challenging students and older academy pupils to battles, with Charizard overwhelming nearly everyone. He wants another match with Wang Dong, but Wang Dong avoids him.
• Mu En briefly comments on Chi Hong’s unusual fire dragon Martial Soul and warns him that partnering with a Soul Beast is dangerous. Chi Hong explains that Charizard hatched from a family dinosaur egg and dismisses the warning.
• On the first day of school, Chi Hong is placed in Class One. His reputation as a relentless challenger has made him feared among the freshmen.
• Homeroom teacher Zhou Yi orders everyone except Chi Hong to run one hundred laps as a test. Chi Hong objects, arguing that combat practice would be more useful, and proposes that the class fight him instead.
• Zhou Yi rejects the idea and doubles Chi Hong’s punishment to two hundred laps. When she uses her Soul Emperor aura to intimidate him, he remains unfazed and challenges her to a race.
• Zhou Yi accepts, unwilling to lose face in front of the class. At the square, Chi Hong offers her a ten-second head start. She flies off using her Soul Rings; Chi Hong then mounts Charizard and sets out to catch her.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong remains confident, provocative, and fixated on gaining experience through battles. He sees Charizard as both a beloved companion and a powerful means of defeating opponents. He also refuses to defer to authority, even Zhou Yi’s.
• Zhou Yi establishes herself as a harsh, domineering teacher who values toughness and obedience. Chi Hong’s challenge threatens her authority, but her pride compels her to accept.
• The classmates, especially Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, are wary of Chi Hong. Yet as Zhou Yi turns her pressure on him, they begin to admire his fearlessness—and hope his victory will spare them the laps.
• Mu En offers a cautious, experienced perspective, warning Chi Hong about the risks of his Soul Beast partnership.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts practical combat training with rigid discipline: Chi Hong argues for fighting, while Zhou Yi imposes running as a test of endurance and obedience.
• Power and authority are challenged as Chi Hong refuses to be intimidated by either a teacher’s status or her Soul Emperor strength.
• Battles as growth and experience drive Chi Hong’s actions, though his pursuit of opponents also makes him a notorious bully in the eyes of other students.

Key plot points and events

• Charizard’s speed lets Chi Hong easily overtake Zhou Yi during a hundred-lap endurance run. He repeatedly taunts her until she quits, then challenges her authority, arguing that a teacher who cannot outperform a student has no grounds to enforce her punishments.
• Zhou Yi insults Charizard and threatens Chi Hong. When Chi Hong questions whether she owes her position to her husband, Fan Yu, she loses her temper and prepares to attack. Du Weilun intervenes, condemns her treatment of students, and says her husband’s status will no longer protect her.
• Zhou Yi leaves in anger. The students celebrate her departure, but Chi Hong immediately tells them to prepare for a hard-fought battle, turning their relief into apprehension.
• That night, Chi Hong reviews his game-like system. Beating Zhou Yi has raised him to level twenty, allowing him to summon a second Pokémon. Professor Oak sends him a Poké Ball containing Froakie, which Chi Hong welcomes as his new partner.

Character developments

• Chi Hong grows more confident in confronting authority and shows that he is willing to defend himself and his Pokémon. He also reveals his longer-term plans: raising powerful Pokémon, capturing Soul Beasts, and collecting Plates to challenge the God King Tang.
• Zhou Yi is exposed as increasingly volatile and vindictive. Rather than reconsidering her conduct, she takes the students’ rejection as a personal affront and leaves to seek Fan Yu’s support.
• Du Weilun finally acts against Zhou Yi’s behavior, despite previously holding back because of Fan Yu’s influence and the academy’s priorities.
• Charizard is shown as fiercely loyal and protective, standing between Chi Hong and Zhou Yi despite her greater strength.

Significant themes

• Authority versus accountability: Zhou Yi’s position does not excuse arbitrary punishment or threats against students.
• Power and self-reliance: The dispute centers on whether strength comes from a Soul Master alone or can include a trusted partner such as Charizard.
• Loyalty and partnership: Charizard’s bond with Chi Hong is contrasted with Zhou Yi’s reliance on her husband’s influence.
• Ambition and advancement: Chi Hong’s Pokémon-training system and quest for the Plates establish his larger goal of gaining power beyond the academy.

Character interactions

• Chi Hong uses humor and provocation to undermine Zhou Yi’s authority; she responds with insults and escalating anger.
• Charizard protects Chi Hong when Zhou Yi threatens him.
• Du Weilun intervenes on Chi Hong’s behalf and openly challenges Zhou Yi’s conduct and connections.
• The Class One students celebrate Zhou Yi’s exit, then hesitate when Chi Hong announces they will continue training through a tough battle.
• Chi Hong begins a new partnership by welcoming Froakie as his second Pokémon.

Key plot points and events

• Chi Hong bonds with a newly arrived Froakie. Though aloof, Froakie accepts him after sharing spicy Pokéblocks and agreeing to battle together; its friendship rises to 60/100.
• Chi Hong continues skipping class to battle other students. Charizard remains undefeated against older students, while Froakie initially struggles against opponents in its year. Froakie persists, grows more battle-hungry, and evolves into Frogadier. Its progress spurs Charizard to train harder, and Chi Hong’s strength rises with both Pokémon.
• At Huo Yuhao’s grilled-fish stall, Xu Sanshi threatens Huo Yuhao to get a fish for Jiang Nannan, who rejects Xu’s advances. Chi Hong seizes the chance to challenge Xu.
• Beibei intervenes, but Chi Hong mocks him over his feelings for Tang Ya. Xu Sanshi’s taunting pushes Beibei into accepting the fight. The pair—known as the Outer Court Twin Stars—face Chi Hong in a crowded Soul Battle Arena.
• Chi Hong announces that he will use both Charizard and Frogadier against them, and the battle is about to begin.

Character developments

• Froakie’s guarded nature softens into trust and resolve. Despite early losses, it keeps fighting and evolves into Frogadier.
• Charizard displays pride and competitiveness, first imitating Froakie’s aloof pose, then becoming motivated by Frogadier’s growth.
• Chi Hong remains confident, provocative, and eager to take on difficult battles, using the twins’ romantic attachments to provoke them.
• Xu Sanshi’s intimidating manner collapses around Jiang Nannan, while Beibei’s composure falters when Tang Ya is mentioned.

Significant themes

• Trust and teamwork develop through shared meals, training, and battle.
• Persistence turns early defeat into rapid growth.
• Pride and rivalry can motivate improvement.
• The chapter humorously contrasts romantic devotion with Chi Hong’s mockery of the “simps.”

Character interactions

• Chi Hong earns Froakie’s trust through patience and food, and Charizard’s competitive bond with Frogadier deepens.
• Jiang Nannan firmly rejects Xu Sanshi, whose behavior shifts from threatening Huo Yuhao to appeasing her.
• Chi Hong needles Xu Sanshi and Beibei into accepting a two-on-one challenge, while Huo Yuhao watches without intervening.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Ya cheers on Beibei, prompting Huo Yuhao to wonder why such a powerful senior joined the struggling Tang Sect. Tang Ya insists Beibei chose to join, though she privately recognizes her complicated feelings for him.
• In the arena, Chi Hong plans around Beibei’s lightning attacks and Xu Sanshi’s defenses. He has Charizard and Froakie use Smokescreen, obscuring the fight and frustrating the spectators.
• Beibei spreads lightning across the arena, but Charizard draws the pair’s attention with Dragon Breath. Xu Sanshi blocks it with his shield, while Charizard dodges Beibei’s counterattack.
• Froakie sneaks up and uses Lick. Its paralysis effect—and Dragon Breath’s—leaves both opponents unable to move. Froakie’s Quick Attack knocks Beibei into Xu Sanshi, and Charizard finishes the fight with Dragon Claw.
• Charizard and Froakie win. The victory gives Froakie enough experience to evolve into Greninja, who gains several new moves, including Water Shuriken and Night Slash.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Ya reveals her emotional conflict: she cares for Beibei but fears holding back his future, while also being unable to let him go. She deflects Huo Yuhao’s teasing by insisting they are only friends and fellow sect members.
• Huo Yuhao recognizes Tang Ya’s feelings and reflects on his mother’s tragic love. He resolves to focus on strength and battle rather than romance, taking Chi Hong as his example.
• Chi Hong combines tactical planning with confidence in his Pokémon’s abilities, exploiting the smoke, paralysis, and openings in the opponents’ defenses.
• Beibei and Xu Sanshi work together to counter Charizard, but their coordination collapses once both are paralyzed. Their defeat draws scorn from the crowd, while Charizard’s defiant stance and Froakie’s satisfaction underscore the Pokémon’s triumph.

Significant themes

• Love and restraint: Tang Ya’s affection for Beibei is complicated by her fear of limiting his future; Huo Yuhao’s memories make him wary of love.
• Tactics over brute force: Chi Hong wins by using concealment, deception, and status effects against stronger-looking opponents.
• Reputation versus performance: Beibei and Xu Sanshi’s celebrated status is challenged by their defeat, while Froakie’s evolution marks a dramatic step forward.

Key plot points and events

• Chi Hong’s Charizard and Froakie defeat Shrek seniors Beibei and Xu Sanshi in the Soul Arena. Froakie evolves into Greninja after the battle.
• Chi Hong explains that he won by using his knowledge of the seniors to strike before they could bring their strongest skills to bear. He expects his Pokémon to be even better prepared for a rematch.
• He urges Huo Yuhao to stay focused on avenging his mother rather than letting romance distract him. Huo Yuhao takes the advice seriously, while Sky Dream Ice Silkworm praises Chi Hong’s unusual Pokémon and their ability to grow stronger through battle.
• News of the upset reaches Shrek’s outer court and Dean Yan Shaozhe, who becomes interested in Chi Hong’s mysterious Martial Soul and awaits his performance in the Freshman Assessment.
• Chi Hong trains Greninja and Charizard together. Their sparring increasingly ends in a stalemate as Greninja’s speed, Water-type attacks, and the lake’s apparent boost to those attacks challenge Charizard’s aerial advantage.
• When Chi Hong prepares to enter Sea God Lake to investigate, the elderly dorm supervisor stops him. Chi Hong recognizes the man as Mu En, the Sea God Pavilion’s master.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong shows tactical skill and confidence, but also reflects on his Pokémon’s weaknesses and focuses on improving their teamwork. He is bluntly wary of romance, viewing it as a distraction from duty.
• Greninja emerges as a stronger, faster partner after evolving, giving Chi Hong a more effective counter to Charizard.
• Beibei and Xu Sanshi are left injured and frustrated. Beibei vows to challenge Chi Hong again, while Xu Sanshi complains enviously about Tang Ya’s concern for Beibei and Nannan’s lack of concern for him.
• Huo Yuhao admires Chi Hong and resolves to learn from him. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm also recognizes the potential of Chi Hong’s Pokémon, though he boasts that they have a long way to go before matching him.
• Yan Shaozhe takes an interest in Chi Hong’s unusual abilities. Mu En’s appearance interrupts Chi Hong’s attempt to investigate Sea God Lake.

Significant themes

• Tactical knowledge and preparation: Chi Hong wins by exploiting what he knows about his opponents, rather than relying only on strength.
• Growth through battle and teamwork: Greninja’s evolution and the Pokémon’s joint training highlight the value of experience and coordination.
• Duty versus romance: Chi Hong warns Huo Yuhao that romantic attachments may undermine his pursuit of revenge, contrasting his priorities with the seniors’ romantic preoccupations.
• Unexplained power and discovery: Greninja’s unusually strong attacks near Sea God Lake hint at a mystery that may connect to the lake itself.

Plot and events

• Chi Hong lets Greninja and Charizard spar beside Sea God Lake, despite knowing the grounds are sacred and battles are forbidden. Mu En, Shrek’s elderly, wheelchair-bound powerhouse, interrupts them. Chi Hong apologizes and calls back his Pokémon.
• Chi Hong claims he chose the secluded spot because he could find few willing sparring partners, but Mu En recognizes that he has visited the lake repeatedly. Chi Hong also asks to swim there, secretly hoping to locate a suspected Splash Plate beneath the water.
• Impressed by Chi Hong’s talent, sincerity, and bond with his Pokémon, Mu En offers him a reward. He channels powerful fire energy into Charizard, awakening the hidden ability Solar Power and teaching him Blazing Inferno. Charizard’s appearance and strength visibly change.
• Chi Hong suspects Mu En’s power may be connected to a Flame Plate and considers whether the other Plates can awaken Pokémon potential, too. He pretends to be surprised by Mu En’s identity; Mu En says he is simply an old man with little time left. Chi Hong thanks him—and hints he will visit again.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong shows respect for authority and concern for human–Soul Beast harmony, but his idealism also serves his pursuit of greater strength and the lake’s possible Plate. He manages his Pokémon firmly and diplomatically.
• Mu En sees Chi Hong as unusually gifted and compassionate, especially because of his trust with his Soul Beasts. He rewards him despite recognizing his ulterior motives.
• Charizard reluctantly approaches Mu En, then welcomes the power flowing into him and gains a major new ability. Greninja is startled and jealous when his sparring partner suddenly grows stronger.
• Chi Hong’s companions initially underestimate Mu En because of his disability. Chi Hong, by contrast, recognizes that it is wiser not to offend him.

Significant themes

• The possibility of peaceful coexistence between humans and Soul Beasts, built on trust rather than exploitation.
• Potential, mentorship, and growth: Mu En’s intervention unlocks Charizard’s latent strength.
• The contrast between sincere ideals and self-interest: Chi Hong believes in harmony, yet also pursues power and the Plate beneath the lake.
• Respect for tradition is tested by Chi Hong’s repeated desire to use sacred Sea God Lake for training.

Key plot points and events

• Mu En strengthens Charizard and Greninja, then notices Charizard’s aura resembles a rare treasure he once possessed. He promises to explain what it is if Chi Hong wins the Freshman Assessment.
• Chi Hong agrees to compete alone, with rewards for both Pokémon if he claims the championship. Mu En warns that a coordinated team—and especially a Martial Soul Fusion Skill—could give him trouble.
• Two months of training pass. Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong all avoid revealing their fusion skill when Chi Hong challenges them.
• At the tournament, Chi Hong’s first opponents are Huang Chutian and the twin sisters Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo. Charizard quickly knocks Huang Chutian out. The sisters then use their fusion skill, Heavenly Net, and Charizard counters with Flamethrower; the excerpt ends before the result is shown.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong remains confident and eager for power, but Mu En’s warning makes him consider the danger of team coordination and fusion skills.
• Mu En shows his perceptiveness by detecting that Charizard is unlike an ordinary Soul Beast, while keeping the treasure’s identity secret to motivate Chi Hong.
• Charizard and Greninja’s rivalry over Mu En’s attention continues playfully; both hope to receive rewards.
• Other students fear Chi Hong’s reputation as the “School Bully,” while Huang Chutian is especially intimidated after repeated defeats.
• Dai Huabin and Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong deliberately conceal their fusion skill rather than risk revealing it to Chi Hong.

Significant themes

• Power and teamwork: Chi Hong’s strength makes him a formidable solo fighter, but coordinated opponents and fusion skills may overcome individual power.
• Ambition and reward: The promised prizes—and the mystery of Mu En’s treasure—fuel Chi Hong’s drive to win.
• Secrecy and strategy: Several students hide their abilities, while Chi Hong tries to provoke them into revealing their techniques.
• Cross-world power systems: Charizard’s retained Blaze ability combines with Solar Power, creating a potent interaction that the story presents as stronger than ordinary Soul Beast abilities.

Plot points and events

• Chi Hong’s Charizard destroys the Lan sisters’ Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Heavenly Net, with Solar Fire. Greninja quickly puts out the flames before they reach the girls, but the sisters’ hair is badly burned and soaked.
• The referee fails to intervene in time. Spectators criticize Chi Hong until Charizard glares at them; they promptly switch to praising him and Greninja.
• The sisters leave the arena, and the system awards Chi Hong substantial experience. Greninja’s age passes two thousand years.
• Chi Hong suspects tournament victories—and defeating multiple or important opponents—grant unusually large experience rewards.
• Shrek leaders Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi discuss Chi Hong’s potential. They admire his Soul Beasts but consider him personally weak because he depends on them too heavily.
• After returning to the dormitory, Chi Hong receives a congratulatory message from Professor Oak and obtains a Life Orb, following Charizard’s awakening of a Hidden Ability.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong demonstrates Charizard’s overwhelming power and Greninja’s quick defensive support, while realizing that his own safety may be a weakness.
• He awkwardly tries to blame the Soul Beasts for the twins’ injuries, though both know they followed his orders. The twins avoid his attempted comfort.
• Charizard intimidates the crowd, then basks in their sudden praise.
• Yan Shaozhe is intrigued by Chi Hong, but Xuan Zi argues that reliance on Soul Beasts limits his prospects. They differ on his potential as a future Shrek Seven Monster, though both recognize his unusual strength.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Chi Hong’s Soul Beasts are formidable, but his dependence on them may leave him exposed.
• Public opinion and intimidation: The crowd’s condemnation turns to praise as soon as Charizard threatens them.
• Progression and reward: Tournament victories appear to accelerate experience and Soul Beast growth, while Charizard’s Hidden Ability brings a rare item reward.

Plot points and events

• Chi Hong gives Greninja a Life Orb from Professor Oak. It strengthens Greninja’s moves by letting it expend life energy, and Charizard accepts the gift without jealousy, confident in its own newly awakened Solar Power.
• The freshman assessment reaches the knockout stage. Chi Hong advances easily, reaching the Final Four without needing his Pokémon to use their abilities. Huo Yuhao’s team also makes it through and is set to face Ning Tian’s team; Chi Hong’s opponents are Dai Huabin’s Class Five team.
• In the stands, Zhou Yi privately hopes Dai Huabin will defeat Chi Hong, whom she resents for rejecting her teaching methods. Mu Jin mocks her hypocrisy, while Zhou insists her own favored students can still win.
• Dai Huabin enters the match with Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie. Though their Soul Rings make them formidable freshmen, Chi Hong counters with two thousand-year rings and Charizard and Greninja.
• Charizard clashes head-on with Dai Huabin’s White Tiger defenses while Greninja uses Smokescreen to attack Zhu Lu. Greninja outmaneuvers her, striking from the shadows with Night Slash and knocking her down.
• Charizard then pins Dai Huabin, leaving him unable to help. But Cui Yajie has disappeared from the main fight: she has used the distraction to approach Chi Hong directly. The chapter ends as she declares that separating the Pokémon from their trainer was Chi Hong’s mistake.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong remains confident and tactical, coordinating his Pokémon while recognizing that Cui Yajie is targeting him.
• Greninja gains a major power boost from the Life Orb and demonstrates stealth, speed, and decisive combat skill.
• Charizard is self-assured and protective of its status as the team’s “boss,” yet shows no resentment toward Greninja.
• Dai Huabin reveals that family honor and a fear of disgrace weigh heavily on him. He steps in to protect his teammates, but Charizard quickly overwhelms him.
• Zhou Yi and Mu Jin clash over Zhou’s resentment toward Chi Hong and her wish for his defeat.
• Cui Yajie emerges as a cunning threat, exploiting the battle’s divided attention to target Chi Hong himself.

Significant themes

• Power and teamwork: Chi Hong’s Pokémon fight effectively together, but separating them creates an opening for his opponent.
• Pride and pressure: Dai Huabin’s sense of family honor drives him to fight, while Charizard’s confidence shapes its rivalry with Greninja.
• Fairness and favoritism: Zhou Yi’s desire for a student she dislikes to lose contrasts with the responsibilities of a teacher.
• Confidence versus vulnerability: Chi Hong dominates the match, but Cui Yajie’s surprise move threatens to turn that apparent advantage against him.

Key plot points and events

• Cui Yajie uses her charm and Nine-Tailed Needle soul skill to target Chi Hong, expecting to bypass his Pokémon and attack the summoner. Chi Hong blocks her attack himself, revealing that he is an experienced fighter, not merely a commander.
• Greninja takes over the duel. It evades Cui Yajie’s second attack with Substitute and defeats her with a critical Aerial Ace.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu join forces to unleash the Hell White Tiger, a powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill that initially seems to rival Charizard.
• Charizard and Greninja fight the tiger in close combat under Chi Hong’s orders. Though they struggle to gain the advantage, Chi Hong deliberately uses the exchange to train their physical abilities.
• Once both Pokémon’s powers are ready, Chi Hong orders Charizard to use Blazing Inferno and Greninja to use Water Shuriken. Charizard’s Blaze and Solar Power ignite, while Greninja’s Torrent activates, setting up a powerful combined assault. The chapter ends before its outcome is shown.

Character developments

• Chi Hong demonstrates confidence, physical strength, and tactical patience. He sees himself as one of the team’s fighters and deliberately turns a difficult battle into training for his Pokémon.
• Greninja shows discipline and skill, using deception and speed to defeat Cui Yajie.
• Charizard and Greninja are shown developing beyond their strongest specialties, as Chi Hong pushes them to improve their close-combat abilities.
• Dai Huabin responds to the setback by relying on his partnership with Zhu Lu and their fusion skill.
• Xuan Zi expresses the belief that Chi Hong’s cooperation with Pokémon will leave him isolated from other Soul Masters; Yan Shaozhe is left considering this judgment.

Significant themes

• Growth through challenge: Chi Hong uses combat to strengthen his Pokémon’s weaknesses, not just to win quickly.
• Different systems of power: The Hell White Tiger’s fusion skill is compared with Pokémon abilities, and Chi Hong reflects that reality allows attributes to grow without a fixed limit.
• Belonging and isolation: Xuan Zi argues that humans and Soul Beasts cannot truly unite, raising the prospect that Chi Hong’s unusual alliances will set him apart.
• Confidence versus underestimation: Cui Yajie and Dai Huabin misjudge Chi Hong and his team, while he remains composed and adapts.

Character interactions

• Chi Hong and Cui Yajie exchange taunts as he counters her plan and then lets Greninja finish the fight.
• Chi Hong directs Greninja and Charizard with trust, while also playfully complaining that they leave him little opportunity to fight.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu act in close coordination to summon the Hell White Tiger.
• Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi debate Chi Hong’s strength and whether his bond with Pokémon will condemn him to stand alone.

Key plot points

• Charizard’s descending flame attack traps the Hell White Tiger in a sea of fire. Greninja follows with a Cross Water Shuriken, destroying the fusion and ending the battle. Zhu Lu is knocked unconscious; Dai Huabin is badly burned and eventually passes out.
• Chi Hong defeats Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, earning experience that raises Charizard’s age to 5,000 years and Greninja’s to 3,000.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong defeat Ning Tian’s team with their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, securing a place in the Freshman Assessment final against Chi Hong.
• After seeing their Golden Road technique, Chi Hong identifies its ability to seal Martial Souls as a threat to his Poké Balls and Pokémon. Professor Oak, intrigued by the Hell White Tiger’s fusion, sends Chi Hong a TM for Protect. Chi Hong gives it to Greninja.
• The final begins the next day. Xiao Xiao tries to hold off Charizard and Greninja while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong unleash Golden Road at Chi Hong. Greninja uses its newly learned Protect to shield him.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong remains confident and dismissive of Dai Huabin’s revenge threat, saying he will likely forget him by the next day. He also carefully assesses Golden Road and prepares a counter.
• Dai Huabin refuses to accept defeat and vows revenge, but collapses before he can rise.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong enter the final determined to defeat Chi Hong; Wang Dong also wants payback for an earlier incident. Xiao Xiao joins their declaration, though awkwardly.
• Zhou Yi worries Chi Hong’s strength will make him harder to control, while hoping Huo Yuyao wins the final. Mu Jin is frustrated that both teams he backed lost to students from Zhou Yi’s class.
• Professor Oak continues exchanging research and gifts with Chi Hong, treating the Hell White Tiger’s fusion as an intriguing form of energy resonance.

Significant themes

• The chapter emphasizes the force of teamwork and fusion, shown both in the Hell White Tiger and in Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
• Strategic preparation matters: Chi Hong studies his opponents’ abilities and uses Greninja’s new Protect to counter a dangerous opening attack.
• Pride and rivalry drive several characters—especially Dai Huabin and the finalists—though confidence can also shade into arrogance, as seen in the adults’ predictions.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points

• Xiao Xiao temporarily restrains Charizard, giving Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong a chance to unleash their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Cauldron Shockwave, against Chi Hong’s Greninja.
• Greninja holds off the powerful attack with Protect, then defeats Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao with a swift counterattack. Charizard also defeats Xiao Xiao, securing Chi Hong’s victory in the Freshman Assessment.
• Winning earns Chi Hong a large amount of experience: Charizard advances to 6,500 years and learns Flare Blitz, while Greninja reaches 4,900 years and learns Extrasensory.
• Dean Yan Shaozhe announces the selected core disciples. Chi Hong is chosen, while Huo Yuhao is not.
• When Yan lists the benefits of being a core disciple, Chi Hong dismisses them and asks for money instead, openly criticizing the academy’s teaching and staff.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong remains confident and practical, valuing tangible rewards over status or conventional academy advantages. His bluntness embarrasses Zhou Yi and frustrates Yan Shaozhe.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong fight on despite exhaustion, but their strongest combined technique fails. Huo Yuhao is left resentful after being excluded from the core disciples.
• Greninja demonstrates the strength of Protect and Psychic Immunity, while its dramatic post-victory pose reinforces its showy personality.
• Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi discuss Chi Hong’s prospects. Xuan believes Chi Hong’s habit of fighting alongside Soul Beasts will keep him from becoming one of the Shrek Seven Monsters because he lacks the ability to cooperate with others.
• Mu Jin enjoys Zhou Yi being publicly criticized, a reversal after his own class’s earlier defeat.

Significant themes

• Strength versus teamwork: Chi Hong’s overwhelming victories fuel doubts about whether he can cooperate with others, even as his Pokémon operate effectively as a team.
• Merit and recognition: The assessment rewards Chi Hong’s power, while Huo Yuhao’s exclusion underscores the academy’s competitive hierarchy.
• Practical rewards versus prestige: Chi Hong challenges the assumption that students should value Shrek’s name and status, demanding concrete benefits instead.
• Institutional arrogance: Yan’s reaction reveals the academy’s expectation that students should feel grateful simply to be admitted—an attitude captured by the chapter’s closing sentiment: if one student refuses to come, plenty of others will.

Key plot points and events

• After Chi Hong wins the championship, he demands a reward. Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe argue that Shrek offers a platform for growth, while warning that the usual reward—a Soul Bone—may not suit Chi Hong’s Soul Beast-based abilities.
• Chi Hong challenges Shrek’s idea of “nurturing talent,” arguing that the academy mostly makes students compete and rewards those who already stand out. He points to Huo Yuhao as someone who deserves support despite his weak first Soul Ring.
• Huo Yuhao is deeply moved by Chi Hong’s defense, and Tian Meng encourages him to prove the academy wrong.
• Chi Hong asks for permission to train in Sea God Lake so Greninja can train in water. Xuan Zi grants it, over Yan Shaozhe’s objections.
• At the lake, Mu En appears with a different reward: the Flame Plate, an artifact containing primordial Fire Law. He explains that it came from a meteor that scattered seventeen Plates across the world.
• Mu En says the Plate responds to Chi Hong and appears destined for him. He gives it to him, then reveals that other Plates are scattered across the continent and held by powerful individuals and factions.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong shows persistence and a willingness to challenge Shrek’s leadership. Though he argues for fairer support of overlooked students, he is also driven by his own desire for rewards and power.
• Huo Yuhao gains confidence and a stronger sense of loyalty toward Chi Hong after being publicly defended.
• Yan Shaozhe is momentarily unsettled by Chi Hong’s criticism, but remains concerned about granting access to Sea God Lake.
• Xuan Zi is blunt and dismissive of Chi Hong’s complaints, yet readily grants his request.
• Mu En recognizes Chi Hong’s connection to the Flame Plate and willingly passes it on, while hinting at a much larger mystery involving the other Plates.

Significant themes

• What it means to nurture talent: Chi Hong argues that true mentorship means helping promising students overcome disadvantages, not simply testing them until the strongest emerge.
• Destiny and power: The Flame Plate’s response suggests a special bond with Chi Hong and introduces a wider quest for the scattered artifacts.
• Ambition and risk: Chi Hong’s excitement over the Plates is tempered by the realization that many are controlled by powerful people he may have to confront.

Key plot points and events

• Mu En reveals that the Flame Plate is beyond his ability to understand and offers it to Chi Hong, explaining that nurturing promising students is part of his duty.
• Charizard senses the plate’s power and emerges from its Poké Ball, visibly eager to claim it.
• Mu En identifies himself as the Sea God Pavilion’s current master and makes the plate conditional on Chi Hong helping his grand-disciple, Ma Xiaotao. Her Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul produces dangerous evil fire that could make her lose control.
• Mu En’s attempt to suppress the fire with the plate’s power and Solar Fire only worsened it. He believes someone who can wield the plate’s true Fire Law could purify the evil fire and turn it into Ultimate Fire.
• When Mu En hands over the plate, it releases overwhelming heat that makes Sea God Lake boil. Mu En contains the blast, while the plate’s power awakens in Chi Hong and merges into his body.
• Chi Hong accepts the task but says he needs time to train; he expects to be ready by next semester. Mu En also reveals another plate lies beneath the lake, but removing it now would destabilize the lake and flood Sea God Island. He expects it to be separated in about the same time.

Character developments

• Chi Hong gains the Flame Plate and a new ability to control flames, though not as strongly as Charizard. He commits to helping Ma Xiaotao once he has trained.
• Charizard benefits greatly from the plate: its Solar Fire approaches Ultimate Fire, and its Fire-type moves become 20% stronger. Its eager response also underscores its bond with Chi Hong and its connection to the plate.
• Mu En shows both humility about his limitations and faith in Chi Hong’s potential. He hopes Chi Hong’s help will secure a brighter future for Shrek and Ma Xiaotao.

Character interactions

• Mu En tests Chi Hong’s understanding and then explains his identity and condition for receiving the plate.
• Chi Hong jokes about accepting nearly any task if it means avoiding class, briefly startling Mu En, before taking Ma Xiaotao’s situation seriously.
• Mu En entrusts Chi Hong with the plate and asks for his help; Chi Hong accepts while honestly setting a training timeline.
• Mu En warns Chi Hong not to take the lake’s second plate yet, explaining the danger and promising to prepare it.

Significant themes

• Mentorship and responsibility: Mu En gives up an object he cannot use to support a promising student and protect another.
• Power and restraint: The plate’s near-divine force is dangerous, and the lake’s plate cannot be taken without consequences.
• Growth through commitment: Chi Hong gains immense power but must train before he can fulfill the obligation tied to it.
• Potential and legacy: Mu En sees Chi Hong’s abilities as a chance to help Ma Xiaotao and strengthen Shrek’s future.

Key plot points and events

• Back at the dormitory, Chi Hong learns that Professor Oak has sent him a Poké Ball containing Ho-Oh, available for one battle against a single threatening opponent. Its use requires the Flame Plate and ends when the opponent is defeated—or Chi Hong dies.
• Chi Hong considers using Ho-Oh against the powerful beasts of the Star Dou Forest, but recognizes the ball’s strict limits and the danger of facing multiple opponents. He decides to pursue other Plates, hoping they may grant access to other Legendary Pokémon.
• He identifies the Far North as a promising place to search for the Ice Pillar Plate, and travels there with Charizard. Because Charizard’s Solar Fire aura could attract dangerous attention, he switches to Greninja for stealth.
• Chi Hong senses the Plate somewhere beneath the ice sheet. He and Greninja begin infiltrating the frozen region.

Character developments

• Chi Hong is astonished by the Ho-Oh ball but quickly shifts from excitement to cautious planning, treating it as a potential last-resort safeguard rather than an easy way to defeat powerful enemies.
• Charizard remains boastful after asserting its status over Greninja, while Greninja avoids a fight until it gains Ultimate Water.
• Greninja confidently adapts to the cold, reassuring Chi Hong that the Far North poses no problem.

Character interactions

• Charizard provokes Greninja, but Greninja declines the challenge; Chi Hong ignores their rivalry.
• Chi Hong reflects on the Ho-Oh ball’s limitations and plans how to gather more Plates.
• Chi Hong thanks Charizard after its long flight, then entrusts the exploration to Greninja.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Even overwhelming strength has conditions and risks; Chi Hong must use it strategically.
• Preparation and exploration: His next step is to investigate and gather Plates rather than rely on brute force.
• Loyalty and teamwork: Each Pokémon contributes according to its strengths—Charizard provides transport, while Greninja is better suited to stealth.

Key plot points and events

• Chi Hong and Greninja travel deeper into the Far North, where Chi Hong senses the Ice Pillar Plate—and a powerful Ferocious Beast guarding it.
• They wait until Tian Meng arrives with Huo Yuhao and draws the Ice Empress away. Tian Meng traps her with his Inner Focus and explains that he has chosen Huo Yuhao as his new master.
• Chi Hong takes advantage of the distraction. He sends Charizard to provoke the Ice Jade Scorpions and lure the colony away, while he and Greninja head for the pillar’s base.
• Greninja cannot damage the pillar, which is made of Ultimate Ice, but the Flame Plate lets Chi Hong melt a passage through it.
• Meanwhile, the Ice Empress rejects Tian Meng’s promise of eternal life and attacks, intending to refine him and pursue godhood herself.

Character developments and interactions

• Chi Hong remains cautious and opportunistic, weighing whether to use Ho-Oh before choosing a less costly plan. He relies on his Pokémon’s cooperation and uses Charizard as a decoy.
• Charizard confidently accepts the dangerous distraction mission, baiting the Ice Jade Scorpions with flames and taunts.
• Tian Meng reveals both his extraordinary power and his new bond with Huo Yuhao, presenting himself as Huo’s chosen partner rather than a free Soul Beast.
• Huo Yuhao is intimidated by Tian Meng’s ability to restrain the Ice Empress, while she belittles him as weak and calls him Tian Meng’s human “pet.”
• The Ice Empress is proud, suspicious, and fiercely independent. She distrusts Tian Meng’s offer and chooses confrontation over accepting his help.

Significant themes

• Cunning over brute force: Chi Hong succeeds by exploiting the Ice Empress’s absence and distracting her guards.
• Trust and self-interest: Tian Meng offers the Ice Empress a path to survival, but she assumes he wants her sacrifice.
• Power and ambition: The Ice Empress would rather risk death and pursue godhood on her own terms than trust a human or accept Tian Meng’s plan.
• Loyalty and teamwork: Chi Hong’s Pokémon support his strategy, each taking a distinct role.

Key plot points and events

• The Ice Empress’s Ultimate Ice overwhelms Tian Meng and nearly kills him and Huo Yuhao. Tian Meng prepares a final attack, but the Ice Empress abruptly abandons the fight and rushes toward the ice pillar, realizing she has been drawn away.
• Inside the pillar, Chi Hong finds and absorbs the Ice Pillar Plate. It merges into his body, advancing his “Path to Godhood” to 2/17, strengthening him and granting him control over ice.
• The pillar begins collapsing once the Plate is removed. Chi Hong escapes, only to confront the returning Ice Empress.
• The Ice Empress’s Ultimate Ice has no effect on Chi Hong, who is now immune to ice. He claims the Plate was rightfully his and warns her that he can summon a Million-Year Soul Beast.
• When she refuses to believe him and moves to attack, Chi Hong opens Ho-Oh’s Poké Ball. A brilliant aurora fills the sky, and Ho-Oh appears.

Character developments and interactions

• Tian Meng is shocked by the Ice Empress’s power and feels guilty for putting Huo Yuhao in danger. He tries to protect him and later uses his Inner Focus to conceal their escape.
• Huo Yuhao, despite being near collapse, accepts the possibility of death calmly and says Tian Meng changed his life. His chief regret is that he may not avenge his mother.
• Chi Hong gains confidence from the Plate’s power, though he initially bluffs to deter the Ice Empress before revealing Ho-Oh.
• The Ice Empress shifts from pursuing Tian Meng to defending the Plate, then becomes enraged and bewildered when Chi Hong proves immune to her ice and appears to have been accepted by the artifact.

Significant themes

• Power and transformation: The Ice Pillar Plate sharply changes Chi Hong’s abilities and standing.
• Sacrifice and loyalty: Tian Meng risks himself for Huo Yuhao, while Huo Yuhao responds with gratitude and acceptance.
• Arrogance and uncertainty: The Ice Empress’s confidence is shaken by a power she cannot explain.
• Revelation and spectacle: Ho-Oh’s arrival turns a desperate confrontation into a dramatic display of divine power.

Plot points and events

• Chi Hong summons Ho-Oh, whose divine aura terrifies the Ice Empress and suppresses her will.
• On Chi Hong’s command, Ho-Oh unleashes Sacred Fire. It burns through the Ice Empress’s Ultimate Ice defenses and leaves her near death.
• The Ice Empress begs for her life. Chi Hong reminds her that he could claim her valuable Soul Ring and Soul Bone, then offers another way to survive: become his partner.
• She rejects the offer, unwilling to submit to a human. Chi Hong explains that his contracts make Soul Beasts companions who grow alongside him, not servants.
• The Ice Empress observes Charizard and Greninja and senses that they are healthy and uncontrolled. She is impressed by their strength despite their youth, but remains skeptical.
• Chi Hong invokes Ho-Oh’s power and promises that, if he becomes a god, his contracted partners can ascend with him. He reveals the Ice Pillar Plate, whose divine Ice Law convinces her that his claim may be genuine.

Character developments

• Chi Hong shifts from combatant to persuader: after defeating the Ice Empress, he uses her fear of death and desire for godhood to negotiate.
• The Ice Empress moves from proud defiance to desperation, then begins to waver when she sees evidence that Chi Hong’s partners are free and that he may offer a path beyond her species’ limits.
• Charizard and Greninja serve as examples of Chi Hong’s partnership system; their strength and apparent freedom help make his offer more credible.
• Ho-Oh establishes overwhelming divine authority, defeating the Ice Empress with a single attack and lending weight to Chi Hong’s promises.

Significant themes

• Power and coercion: Chi Hong’s offer of partnership comes only after Ho-Oh has nearly killed the Ice Empress, leaving her choice under intense pressure.
• Trust and companionship: Chi Hong presents contracts as mutual bonds rather than ownership, though the Ice Empress has reason to doubt him.
• Mortality and ambition: Fear of death and the Soul Beasts’ struggle to survive heavenly tribulations make the Ice Empress receptive to the promise of immortality and ascension.
• The limits imposed on Soul Beasts: The Ice Empress reflects on how powerful Soul Beasts are denied an easy path to godhood.

Character interactions

• Chi Hong taunts the Ice Empress over her defeat, then bargains with her rather than immediately claiming her remains.
• The Ice Empress challenges his motives and rejects becoming his servant; he counters by describing his partners as companions.
• Charizard and Greninja’s condition gives the Ice Empress evidence to examine, while Ho-Oh’s presence and the Ice Pillar Plate help persuade her that Chi Hong may truly offer divine advancement.

Key plot points and events

• The Ice Empress reluctantly agrees to become Chi Hong’s contracted partner after he threatens to summon Ho-Oh again. She accepts his Advanced Poké Ball without resisting, allowing the contract to succeed.
• Chi Hong names her “Ice Empress,” and their new bond lets them sense traces of each other’s thoughts and emotions.
• Ho-Oh returns to his Legendary Poké Ball, which becomes unusable, but leaves behind a Rainbow Wing. Chi Hong suspects it may let him summon Ho-Oh again.
• Chi Hong discovers that his second Martial Soul lets him use the Ice Empress’s abilities and soul skills directly. Her four-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring appears blood-red with four gold lines.
• When summoned, the Ice Empress can initially access only the strength of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. She says her power is limited by Chi Hong’s own weakness, though his presence has increased her control and power over Ultimate Ice by about twenty percent.

Character developments

• The proud Ice Empress accepts the contract out of self-preservation, but remains resentful and defiant. She sees the arrangement as something she must endure, not a partnership she welcomes.
• Chi Hong gains a powerful new source of combat abilities and is pleased that he may no longer need Charizard to protect him. However, he underestimates how much the Ice Empress’s cooperation—and his own strength—will limit what he can use.

Significant themes

• Power and dependence: The Ice Empress has immense potential, but Chi Hong’s weakness and her hostility restrict her usable strength.
• Coercion versus partnership: Their contract creates a connection, yet a formal bond does not create trust or affection.
• Ambition and growth: Both are tied to the prospect of greater power, but only Chi Hong frames their relationship as a route to becoming gods.

Character interactions

• Chi Hong pressures the Ice Empress into accepting the Poké Ball contract; afterward, she rejects his authority and insists on addressing him by name.
• She correctly infers that Ho-Oh cannot remain at Chi Hong’s side, while Chi Hong avoids answering.
• Their status panel reveals her affection is at zero and marked as hatred. When Chi Hong questions her hostility, she lists his taking her treasure, having Ho-Oh defeat her, and forcing her into the contract as reasons she despises him.