Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Cao Kun criticizes Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass technique, arguing that although Tang San has made it tough and effective at binding opponents, he has treated it as a Soul-Power-controlled tool rather than a living plant.
• He claims this approach leaves it vulnerable to elemental counters and stronger forces—and, more importantly, prevents it from developing its natural abilities or evolving.
• To demonstrate, Cao Kun releases a faint green light containing “Plant Essence Vitality.” It causes a nearly dead weed to grow rapidly into a vigorous, unusually vital plant.
• Tang San senses the difference between this living growth and his own Blue Silver Grass, which he has forced into shape with Soul Power. Cao Kun presents the demonstration as proof that Blue Silver Grass needs life energy and resonance with nature to grow independently.

Character developments

• Tang San is shaken by Cao Kun’s critique. His confidence in his control techniques gives way to anger, doubt, and the fear that years of work may have taken his Martial Soul down the wrong path. Cao Kun’s ideas also connect with fragments of Tang San’s past-life knowledge and Grandmaster’s theories, making them difficult to dismiss.
• Cao Kun establishes himself as a knowledgeable, composed mentor figure. Rather than merely asserting his theory, he supports it with a striking practical demonstration.
• The others react in different ways: Dai Mubai’s amusement turns to uncertainty, Zhu Zhuqing senses that Cao Kun’s analysis is credible, and Ning Rongrong recognizes it as unusually advanced Martial Soul theory. Xiao Wu does not understand the technical argument but worries about Tang San.

Significant themes

• Growth versus control: A Martial Soul may be more than a weapon to optimize; forcing it into a useful shape can limit its deeper potential.
• Nature and living energy: The chapter contrasts mechanical toughness with vitality, adaptability, and the ability to draw nourishment from the environment.
• Pride and uncertainty: Tang San’s achievements make it painful to consider that his methods may be flawed, while the possibility of a better path opens before him.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun directly challenges Tang San’s proudest accomplishment, and Tang San pushes back, defending the reliability and strength of his Blue Silver Grass.
• Cao Kun answers with a demonstration rather than further argument, forcing Tang San to confront the distinction between his controlled vines and genuinely vigorous plant life.
• The observers’ varied reactions underscore the impact of the exchange: several begin to take Cao Kun seriously, while Xiao Wu focuses on Tang San’s distress.

Plot points and events

• Cao Kun tells Tang San that his Blue Silver Grass may have been suited to nurturing life, but Tang San’s pursuit of control and poison has forced it into a path that conflicts with its natural potential. He suggests it might have become a “Spirit-Tuned Divine Tree,” making Tang San question his cultivation choices, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang’s theories, and his father Tang Hao’s opinion.
• When Tang San asks what to do, Cao Kun appears to advise him to commit fully to poison and pursue “Ultimate Poison.” In reality, Cao Kun is deliberately misleading him and uses his Chaos Bell Martial Soul to plant the advice in Tang San’s mind, ensuring it will continue to shape his doubts.
• Tang San accepts the advice as a revelation and thanks Cao Kun sincerely. The others, including Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu, are astonished by how completely Cao Kun has shaken and persuaded him.
• Cao Kun then critiques Dai Mubai’s fighting style and emotional state. He says Dai’s White Tiger Martial Soul is powerful, but fear and personal burdens keep him from using it fully. He advises Dai either to let go of those burdens or turn them into fuel for battle, then hints that there is another option.

Character developments

• Tang San shifts from prideful certainty to painful self-doubt, then embraces Cao Kun’s false guidance as a new path. His trust in Grandmaster’s judgment is weakened.
• Cao Kun reveals himself as perceptive and manipulative: he uses plausible insight to steer Tang San toward a harmful direction. He also plans to strengthen Dai Mubai for eventual use as a puppet.
• Dai Mubai is forced to confront the fears and pressures behind his confident exterior. Though he does not openly submit to Cao Kun, he takes the criticism seriously.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun acts as a mentor to Tang San, first exposing vulnerabilities in his cultivation and then exploiting Tang San’s desire for direction.
• Tang San responds with genuine gratitude, while the onlookers react with disbelief at Cao Kun’s influence.
• Cao Kun’s exchange with Dai Mubai is more challenging than reassuring: Dai resists verbally at first but ultimately acknowledges the accuracy of the critique.

Significant themes

• Misleading guidance and manipulation: Cao Kun’s apparent wisdom conceals an intent to derail Tang San.
• Identity versus imposed cultivation: Tang San’s struggle concerns whether his Martial Soul’s nature has been misunderstood or forced into the wrong form.
• Emotional burdens and strength: Dai Mubai’s power is limited by unresolved fear and pressure, which may either hinder him or become a source of strength.
• The gap between appearance and reality: Tang San’s certainty, Dai Mubai’s bravado, and Cao Kun’s helpful persona all hide deeper conflicts or motives.

Key plot points and events

• Cao Kun tells Dai Mubai he could pursue darkness rather than light with his White Tiger Martial Soul—or combine both attributes—and claims this could make him powerful enough to surpass many Titled Douluo. He secretly uses his Chaos Bell’s influence to plant the idea in Dai Mubai’s mind.
• Cao Kun then assesses the other Shrek students, identifying weaknesses and offering possible paths for improvement:
  • Xiao Wu needs disciplined close-combat techniques and better Soul Power control.
  • Zhu Zhuqing should improve coordination and learn to rely on teammates.
  • Ning Rongrong must build fitness, evasiveness, and survival skills rather than depend on her family’s protection.
  • Oscar needs combat experience and creative tactics for his Food-Type Soul Skills.
  • Ma Hongjun needs finer control and more varied uses of his Phoenix Flame.
• The students are surprised by how accurately Cao Kun diagnoses their shortcomings and are left reconsidering their training.

Character developments

• Dai Mubai begins seriously considering a path involving darkness and possibly dual attributes, though the idea has been subtly implanted by Cao Kun.
• Xiao Wu recognizes that her instinctive fighting style may lack technique; Tang San starts considering how to adapt his former-life martial arts to her abilities.
• Zhu Zhuqing sees that her solitary approach is a weakness and cautiously accepts the value of teamwork.
• Ning Rongrong is stung by Cao Kun’s criticism but cannot dismiss its truth.
• Oscar and Ma Hongjun are prompted to think beyond their current, limited uses of their abilities.
• Cao Kun presents himself as a perceptive mentor, but his private thoughts reveal possessive intentions toward Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, whom he regards as future “pets.”

Significant themes

• Growth through confronting weaknesses: Each student is urged to develop beyond relying on talent, status, or a single strength.
• Teamwork and survival: Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong are reminded that individual power is not enough without coordination and self-protection.
• Power and ambition: Dai Mubai is tempted by the prospect of combining opposing attributes to reach extraordinary strength.
• Manipulation beneath mentorship: Cao Kun’s advice may be useful, but his concealed influence over Dai Mubai and possessive interest in the girls complicate his role.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun challenges Dai Mubai’s assumptions about his Martial Soul, while Dai presses him for an answer.
• Xiao Wu instinctively seeks safety beside Tang San; Cao Kun’s pointed look prompts Tang San to consider helping her train.
• Zhu Zhuqing listens coolly, then gives a small nod as she accepts Cao Kun’s advice.
• Ning Rongrong openly protests his criticism, but is left without a convincing rebuttal.
• The group’s initial doubt shifts toward respect and reflection as Cao Kun evaluates each of them.

Key plot points and events

• After giving the seven students advice, Cao Kun dismisses them to train independently. His guidance is part of a larger plan to influence Shrek’s promising students; he has also begun steering Tang San away from his current approach to Blue Silver Grass and toward Ultimate Poison.
• Zhu Zhuqing is deeply affected by Cao Kun’s lesson about cooperation. Raised in the ruthless Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire, she has learned to trust no one—including her fiancé, Dai Mubai—and to rely on her own strength.
• Cao Kun privately invites her to meet him on the Back Mountain if she wants to change her fate. After a day of doubt and reflection, Zhu Zhuqing decides to go.
• She follows a clear path through the supposedly forbidden woods to an unusual, tranquil courtyard. Dugu Yan meets her at the gate and says Cao Kun expected her.
• Inside, Zhu Zhuqing finds Cao Kun in an unexpectedly ordinary setting: a bubbling hot pot is cooking over a charcoal fire. The chapter ends before his purpose or their conversation is revealed.

Character developments

• Zhu Zhuqing begins questioning the isolation and relentless self-reliance she has treated as necessary for survival. Though still wary, she allows herself to consider that her future might be changed and acts on a fragile hope.
• Cao Kun is presented as a calculating mentor who gives advice both to help the students and to advance his own broader plans. His invitation suggests a particular interest in Zhu Zhuqing.
• Dugu Yan appears as Cao Kun’s trusted attendant or associate, confidently guiding Zhu Zhuqing into the courtyard.

Significant themes

• Fate versus choice: Zhu Zhuqing wonders whether she can escape the destiny imposed by her family and engagement.
• Isolation versus cooperation: Cao Kun challenges the belief that survival requires acting alone, suggesting that a skilled fighter can use allies and circumstances to her advantage.
• Influence and ambition: Cao Kun’s teaching is also a means of shaping the students’ futures for his own purposes.
• Hope amid fear: Zhu Zhuqing’s decision to visit him marks a small but meaningful break from her despair and suspicion.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun gives the students advice but leaves them free to decide whether to follow it.
• His words unsettle Zhu Zhuqing and prompt her to reconsider how she relates to others, especially Dai Mubai.
• Dugu Yan greets Zhu Zhuqing, confirms Cao Kun anticipated her arrival, and leads her into the courtyard, where the chapter closes on Zhu Zhuqing’s surprise at finding him preparing a meal.

Plot points and events

• Zhu Zhuqing meets Cao Kun privately to learn whether he truly can change her fate. His relaxed manner—eating hotpot and drinking wine—contrasts with the serious, dangerous meeting she expected.
• Cao Kun presents Dugu Yan as proof of his abilities. At eighteen, she is a Soul King with an exceptional Soul Ring configuration. He says that three years earlier she was level twenty-one, but his training, resources, and guidance helped her overcome her Martial Soul’s harmful backlash and evolve it into a Demigod-level Three-Headed Poisonous Flood Dragon.
• Cao Kun claims Dugu Yan can fight a Soul Emperor, convincing Zhu Zhuqing that his promise may be real.
• Zhu asks what price he expects. Cao Kun says she is too young and weak to offer anything of value, then explains that he approached her out of interest: he sees her potential as a shadowy assassin wasted by the fate imposed on her.
• He offers her a chance to escape that prescribed path and take control of her future.

Character developments

• Zhu Zhuqing begins guarded and skeptical. Dugu Yan’s transformation gives her hope, but she remains wary of hidden costs. Cao Kun’s dismissal unsettles her even as it relieves her.
• Cao Kun presents himself as confident and powerful, treating fate as something that can be altered. He frames his offer as curiosity and a desire to cultivate Zhuqing’s potential, rather than an exchange.
• Dugu Yan serves as living evidence of Cao Kun’s capabilities and displays her power without boasting.

Significant themes

• Fate versus self-determination: Cao Kun promises Zhuqing the possibility of breaking from the life laid out for her.
• Power, growth, and transformation: Dugu Yan’s advancement suggests that a Martial Soul and a person’s prospects need not be fixed.
• Trust and cost: Zhuqing assumes an extraordinary opportunity must demand a steep price, while Cao Kun’s motives remain mysterious.

Character interactions

• Zhuqing presses Cao Kun for proof and asks what he wants in return; he answers through Dugu Yan’s example and bluntly dismisses the idea that Zhuqing can currently repay him.
• Dugu Yan quietly demonstrates her strength and offers Zhuqing a reassuring smile, strengthening the credibility of Cao Kun’s claims.
• Cao Kun shifts from casual host to intent judge, describing Zhuqing as a blade whose potential has been constrained and offering her a chance to reclaim her future.

Key plot points and events

• Cao Kun offers Zhu Zhuqing a new path: serve as his maid and join Mount Buzhou as an outer disciple. Dugu Yan explains the sect’s promise of training and resources in exchange for loyalty and service.
• Though initially wary of the maid role, Zhu Zhuqing sees the offer as a chance to escape her family’s expectations and Shrek Academy’s limits. She accepts.
• Cao Kun provides her with the foundational Nether Shadow Body Refining Art, a guide to sensing shadow energy, and a dose of Hundred-Herb Body-Tempering Elixir.
• With Cao Kun guiding the elixir’s effects, Zhu Zhuqing breaks through from level twenty-seven to the peak of level twenty-nine. She also feels her body strengthen and her sensitivity to shadows improve.
• Cao Kun reminds her that loyalty and contribution are Mount Buzhou’s foremost rules, and says Dugu Yan will explain her duties and arrangements.

Character developments

• Zhu Zhuqing chooses to pursue a future outside her inherited identity and conventional affiliations. The dramatic improvement in her abilities quickly turns her initial uncertainty into gratitude and respect.
• Cao Kun takes a confident, deliberate role as Zhu Zhuqing’s patron and trainer, rewarding her decision while emphasizing the obligations attached to his offer.
• Dugu Yan acts as both recruiter and guide, presenting the sect’s terms and serving as proof of what Cao Kun’s support can enable.

Significant themes

• Self-determination and changing one’s fate: Zhu Zhuqing weighs her old status against the possibility of forging a different life.
• Power tied to allegiance: Mount Buzhou offers exceptional resources, but expects loyalty, service, and contribution in return.
• Opportunity and dependence: Zhu Zhuqing’s rapid advancement makes the value of Cao Kun’s training tangible, while placing her within his authority and the sect’s structure.

Character interactions

• Dugu Yan explains Mount Buzhou and encourages Zhu Zhuqing to decide for herself.
• Zhu Zhuqing accepts Cao Kun’s offer and receives training materials and elixir from him.
• Cao Kun personally guides her cultivation, producing a striking breakthrough that deepens her gratitude and commitment.

Key plot points and events

• Zhu Zhuqing asks to stay with Cao Kun. He turns her down for now, telling her to focus on consolidating her cultivation, and asks Dugu Yan to take her in, explain the rules, and arrange her training.
• Cao Kun considers how to develop Zhu Zhuqing’s shadow- and darkness-based abilities, and dismisses the Star Luo Empire’s brutal succession customs as a petty game that strength can overturn. He also expects Yu Xiaogang to arrive soon.
• Over the next three days, Zhu Zhuqing trains under Dugu Yan and studies Cao Kun’s techniques. Her soul power reaches level 30, leaving her one soul ring short of becoming a Soul Elder. She also improves her physique and shadow perception.
• Cao Kun receives several cultivation rewards. He gives Dugu Yan a soul-power pill, which raises her from level 55 to 57, and plans to give Zhu Zhuqing a soul-ring age enhancement card.
• Flender emerges from seclusion recovered and strengthened, nearing level 79. Convinced that Cao Kun’s resources offer better prospects than Shrek can, he prepares to join Mount Buzhou. Before he can approach Cao Kun, Yu Xiaogang arrives at Shrek Academy.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhu Zhuqing becomes more disciplined and composed, and begins building a new path beyond the expectations of her engagement and family.
• Cao Kun acts as her mentor and benefactor while keeping her training as the priority. He also continues to influence the Shrek students through advice and rewards.
• Dugu Yan welcomes Zhu Zhuqing, guides her daily routine, and oversees her physically demanding training.
• Tang San struggles to follow Cao Kun’s advice to communicate with Blue Silver Grass rather than simply control it. Small responses encourage him, but the change challenges years of habit.
• Dai Mubai tries to improve his battle mindset, though his family pressure and unresolved feelings about Zhu Zhuqing remain.
• Xiao Wu grows closer to Tang San. Ning Rongrong reluctantly adds physical training but struggles to persevere. Oscar and Ma Hongjun experiment with new applications of their martial souls.
• Flender decides to join Mount Buzhou after weighing Cao Kun’s support against Shrek’s poor condition.
• Yu Xiaogang’s arrival sets up a coming encounter with Cao Kun and the “master and disciple” pair.

Significant themes

• Power and self-determination: Cao Kun believes strength is what allows people to reject oppressive systems and decide their own fate.
• Growth through difficult change: Tang San’s retraining and Zhu Zhuqing’s new cultivation path require patience and a break from old habits.
• Opportunity and loyalty: Flender’s choice reflects the tension between attachment to Shrek and the promise of greater support and advancement elsewhere.

Key plot points

• Yu Xiaogang arrives at Shrek Academy to teach theory and take charge of his intended disciple, Tang San. Flender greets him and asks Oscar to fetch Tang San.
• While practicing a new method of “communicating” with his Blue Silver Grass, Tang San learns his teacher has arrived. He respects Yu Xiaogang but has begun questioning the poison-focused training plan after hearing Cao Kun’s advice.
• Flender praises the academy’s new students, especially Oscar, a Food-Type Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. He also begins describing Tang San’s performance before Tang San enters.
• Yu Xiaogang asks whether Tang San has followed his training plan. Tang San admits he has tried Cao Kun’s approach: nurturing his Martial Soul’s life essence, and, if pursuing poison, aiming for Ultimate Poison.
• Yu Xiaogang reacts furiously, insisting his carefully researched poison-and-control path is best. He dismisses Cao Kun as unqualified and accuses him of leading students astray.
• Flender tries to defuse the argument but cannot explain Cao Kun’s true strength or knowledge. Yu Xiaogang demands to meet him; Cao Kun answers from outside the room.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San is caught between loyalty to his teacher and growing doubts about the training plan. He chooses to be honest, showing increasing independence.
• Yu Xiaogang reveals how deeply he identifies with his theories and authority as Tang San’s teacher. His confidence turns to anger when challenged.
• Flender tries to mediate, but his knowledge of Cao Kun’s abilities—and his need to keep them secret—leaves him uncomfortable and evasive.
• Oscar briefly appears as Flender’s unusually gifted disciple, helping establish Shrek’s promising new intake.
• The central conflict is between Yu Xiaogang’s established theory and Cao Kun’s alternative guidance, with Tang San caught between them.

Significant themes

• Tradition versus new knowledge: Yu Xiaogang trusts a lifetime of research, while Tang San explores a different understanding of Blue Silver Grass.
• Teacherly authority versus student independence: Tang San’s willingness to question his plan strains his relationship with Yu Xiaogang.
• Pride and openness: Yu Xiaogang’s certainty prevents him from considering Cao Kun’s advice fairly, setting up a direct confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• Cao Kun confronts Yu Xiaogang, mocking his self-proclaimed “Grandmaster” status and accusing him of damaging Tang San’s potential by steering his Blue Silver Grass toward poison.
• Cao Kun claims Yu Xiaogang knew Tang San was Tang Hao’s son, and suggests resentment toward the Clear Sky Sect—and possible interest in the secret of Tang San’s mother, a human-form Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast—may have influenced his teaching.
• Yu Xiaogang denies the accusations and tells Tang San not to listen. But Tang San is shaken by the revelations about his father, his teacher’s knowledge, and Yu Xiaogang’s reaction.
• Tang San uses his Purple Demon Eye to scrutinize Cao Kun. His gaze encounters the overwhelming presence of Cao Kun’s Chaos Bell martial soul, triggering a devastating backlash: Tang San’s eyes bleed, and he collapses unconscious.
• Xiao Wu and Yu Xiaogang rush to Tang San, while Flender arrives to assess the situation. Cao Kun pretends to examine Tang San and suggests the symptoms indicate “cultivation deviation.”

Character developments

• Cao Kun reveals extensive knowledge of Yu Xiaogang’s and Tang San’s hidden backgrounds. He remains outwardly composed and disguises his role in the backlash, having secretly limited its damage.
• Yu Xiaogang is pushed into a furious, defensive reaction as Cao Kun targets his failures and suspected motives. His response gives Tang San reason to doubt him.
• Tang San loses his trust in Yu Xiaogang’s certainty for the first time and becomes overwhelmed by new questions about his family. His attempt to uncover the truth ends in injury and unconsciousness.
• Xiao Wu and Flender respond with alarm and concern, with Xiao Wu especially distraught.

Significant themes

• Trust and betrayal: Tang San’s faith in his teacher is unsettled by allegations of concealed knowledge and harmful guidance.
• Ambition and resentment: The chapter raises the possibility that Yu Xiaogang’s personal grievances and interests shaped his treatment of Tang San.
• Hidden power and dangerous knowledge: Tang San’s attempt to probe Cao Kun’s true nature shows that some powers cannot be examined safely.
• Truth versus manipulation: Cao Kun’s accusations may expose real secrets, but his concealed role in Tang San’s collapse leaves his own motives uncertain.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun verbally confronts and provokes Yu Xiaogang, using sensitive personal history to challenge his authority.
• Yu Xiaogang tries to preserve Tang San’s trust by dismissing Cao Kun’s claims, but his anger and distress deepen Tang San’s doubts.
• Tang San’s scrutiny of Cao Kun precipitates the supernatural backlash.
• Xiao Wu, Yu Xiaogang, and Flender gather around the unconscious Tang San, while Cao Kun presents himself as a concerned examiner.

Key plot points and events

• Cao Kun claims Tang San’s cultivation went awry because Yu Xiaogang’s poison-based methods conflicted with Blue Silver Grass’s life-oriented nature. He says the resulting Soul Power backlash damaged Tang San’s eyes, concealing any role he may have played.
• When Yu Xiaogang accuses him of causing the injury, Cao Kun slaps him into a wall and warns that he would cripple him if Flender were not present. He urges Flender to remove Yu from the academy, then leaves.
• Flender focuses on treating Tang San. He believes Cao Kun probably did not cause the injury, though he cannot be certain, and concludes that the immediate aftermath matters more than discovering the truth.
• Over three days, Flender’s medicines—and Clear-Mind Tranquility Powder supplied by Cao Kun through Dugu Yan—help stabilize Tang San’s Soul Power and general condition. His sight, however, does not recover.
• A healing Soul King diagnoses severe damage to Tang San’s eyes and visual pathways, beyond his ability to heal. Without a rare, powerful remedy, Tang San’s chances of regaining his sight are extremely low.

Character developments

• Tang San remains outwardly composed despite the devastating possibility of permanent blindness. The injury threatens his combat abilities, future, and independence.
• Yu Xiaogang is left battered, confused, and consumed by regret. Tang San’s suffering shakes his confidence in the theories and teaching on which he built his life.
• Flender assumes responsibility for Tang San’s care and weighs the uncertain truth against the need to manage the crisis.
• Xiao Wu stays at Tang San’s bedside, distressed and devoted.
• Cao Kun uses the crisis to discredit Yu Xiaogang, while maintaining an appearance of concern by providing medicine.

Significant themes

• Truth and blame: Cao Kun’s account becomes the accepted explanation despite Flender’s lingering doubts.
• The consequences of misguided teaching: Yu Xiaogang’s theories are presented as potentially responsible for Tang San’s cultivation crisis.
• Power and intimidation: Cao Kun’s effortless violence silences Yu and reinforces his dominance.
• Resilience amid loss: Tang San suppresses his despair, while those around him confront the possibility that his life and ambitions may change irreversibly.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun confronts and humiliates Yu Xiaogang, then leaves Tang San’s care to Flender.
• Flender organizes Tang San’s treatment, asks Cao Kun for medicine despite their tensions, and tells Yu to rest.
• Xiao Wu remains beside Tang San and holds his hand as the healer delivers the grim prognosis.
• Yu Xiaogang visits Tang San mechanically, unable to reconcile his disciple’s condition with his own failed theories.

Plot points and events

• Tang San lies in bed after losing his sight. He privately replays the events that led to it, wondering whether Yu Xiaogang’s conflicting cultivation theories caused the backlash or whether Cao Kun somehow intervened. The image of a vast, bell-like phantom he glimpsed with the Purple Demon Eye adds to his uncertainty.
• Yu Xiaogang blames himself and promises to search everywhere for a cure, naming powerful healing arts, sect techniques, and rare treasures. Tang San remains quiet but determined to pursue any chance of recovery; Xiao Wu vows to help.
• On the fourth morning of Zhao Wuji’s seclusion, an enormous surge of Soul Power erupts from his hut and alarms the entire academy. His Great Strength Vajra Bear spirit phantom appears above the hut.
• Zhao Wuji emerges at level 89, having recovered from his injuries and broken through the level-88 bottleneck in just three days, aided by Cao Kun’s restorative liquid and pills. He celebrates his newfound strength and reunites enthusiastically with Flender and the students.

Character developments

• Tang San shows resilience and resolve despite blindness, while privately growing wary and fearful of Cao Kun and suspicious of Yu Xiaogang’s explanations.
• Yu Xiaogang is consumed by regret and makes an emphatic commitment to finding a cure.
• Xiao Wu remains supportive and promises to stand by Tang San.
• Zhao Wuji undergoes a major leap in power, emerging stronger and more confident.
• Flender is delighted by Zhao Wuji’s breakthrough, sees it as a stronger foundation for Shrek Academy, and becomes more determined to join Mount Buzhou. Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun admire Zhao Wuji and aspire to grow stronger.

Significant themes

• Resilience and hope: Tang San refuses to give up, while his friends and mentor commit to helping him.
• Uncertainty and mistrust: Tang San cannot tell whether his blindness resulted from flawed theories or Cao Kun’s actions, and questions what Yu Xiaogang may be concealing.
• Power and advancement: Zhao Wuji’s breakthrough demonstrates the dramatic benefits of rare cultivation aids and the importance of strength.
• Guilt and loyalty: Yu Xiaogang’s remorse and Xiao Wu’s support underscore the bonds surrounding Tang San.

Character interactions

• Yu Xiaogang comforts Tang San and promises to seek a cure; Xiao Wu echoes his encouragement and offers her help. Tang San listens but remains largely silent.
• Zhao Wuji shares his breakthrough with Flender, who congratulates him and recognizes the benefit to the academy.
• Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai approach Zhao Wuji with admiration, while Dai Mubai privately longs for comparable strength.

Key plot points and events

• Zhao Wuji celebrates his breakthrough, then learns Tang San has been badly injured and may have lost his sight.
• Flender explains that Tang San’s cultivation went wrong while he was attempting a new method that conflicted with Yu Xiaogang’s teachings. He leaves out the details of the argument between Yu Xiaogang and Cao Kun.
• Zhao Wuji offers to contact healing-type Soul Saints and encourages Tang San not to give up, pointing out that a blind Soul Master can still develop other senses and Spiritual Power.
• Elsewhere, the badly wounded Tang Hao senses Zhao Wuji’s powerful new aura. He suspects Cao Kun helped him advance and becomes more determined to seek revenge, but decides to wait until he has recovered.
• Tang Hao considers taking Tang San away from Shrek Academy, weighing destinations such as the Clear Sky Sect, Slaughter City, or the sea.
• Later, Flender tells Yu Xiaogang that Ning Rongrong has used her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect connections to bring in healing Soul Masters to examine Tang San, giving Yu Xiaogang a renewed glimmer of hope.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhao Wuji responds to Tang San’s condition with concern and practical support. Though he questions Yu Xiaogang’s explanation, he avoids judging the dispute and focuses on finding a cure.
• Yu Xiaogang remains defensive of his theories and blames Cao Kun, but Tang San’s condition leaves him increasingly helpless and exhausted. News of Rongrong’s connections briefly restores his hope.
• Tang Hao shifts from nursing his injuries to planning revenge against Cao Kun, while also worrying about Tang San’s future. Despite his hatred, he recognizes that confronting Cao Kun too soon could be fatal.
• Tang San, unable to see, is overwhelmed by pain and growing despair, but Zhao Wuji’s encouragement gives him a small measure of warmth.
• Flender manages the crisis and relies on Ning Rongrong’s sect connections to seek medical help.

Significant themes

• Hope amid crisis: Zhao Wuji’s encouragement and the arrival of outside healers offer possibilities, though Tang San’s recovery remains uncertain.
• Pride and blame: Yu Xiaogang refuses to accept that his theories may be flawed, while Tang Hao’s wounded pride fuels his desire for revenge.
• Restraint and survival: Tang Hao’s recognition of Cao Kun’s overwhelming strength forces him to delay action.
• Found family and support: Zhao Wuji, Flender, and Ning Rongrong each contribute in different ways to helping Tang San.

Key plot points and events

• Flender brings Elder Lin, a senior healing Soul Master from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, to examine Tang San. His assistants also investigate.
• Elder Lin finds that Tang San’s other injuries are stabilizing, but his eyes have suffered damage to their very source from an unusually powerful, law-like force. Ordinary healing skills and medicine cannot repair it.
• He says recovery might require a rare Divine Object, a powerful life- or light-aligned Soul Bone, or a legendary secret art—but admits such remedies may never be found.
• The diagnosis devastates the group. Ning Rongrong recognizes that even her sect’s wealth and connections cannot solve everything; Flender leaves Yu Xiaogang and Tang San alone.
• Tang San tells Yu Xiaogang not to blame himself and accepts the possibility that blindness is his fate. Privately, he grows wary of Cao Kun and begins questioning whether Yu Xiaogang’s theories were correct.
• Five days later, Tang Hao—still badly injured and avoiding Shrek because of Cao Kun—buys a discreet report about his son. Hearing that Tang San may be permanently blind and that Cao Kun blamed conflicting cultivation theories, Tang Hao becomes enraged.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San shifts from desperate hope to weary resignation, while also becoming suspicious of Cao Kun and less certain of Yu Xiaogang’s guidance.
• Yu Xiaogang is overwhelmed by guilt and helplessness, but promises he will keep searching for a cure. Tang San tries to comfort him.
• Ning Rongrong has taken the initiative to secure expert help, but the failed examination unsettles her confidence in her family’s influence.
• Flender supports Yu Xiaogang briefly, then withdraws to give teacher and student privacy.
• Elder Lin is compassionate and honest about the limits of his healing abilities.
• Tang Hao remains distant for safety’s sake, but his concern for Tang San turns to fury as he hears the reported diagnosis and its possible connection to Cao Kun.

Significant themes

• Hope and despair: A brief prospect of recovery collapses when even an elite healer cannot help.
• Limits of power and wealth: Skill, medicine, and influential connections prove insufficient against an injury beyond ordinary healing.
• Trust and doubt: Tang San’s faith in both Cao Kun and Yu Xiaogang’s theories begins to weaken.
• Parental and mentor helplessness: Yu Xiaogang and Tang Hao both care deeply for Tang San, yet neither can presently protect or heal him.

Key plot points and events

• Furious over Tang San’s blindness, Tang Hao blames Cao Kun rather than accepting the explanation that conflicting theories caused a cultivation backlash. He remembers Cao Kun’s overwhelming power but recognizes that, still badly injured, attacking him would likely mean suicide.
• Tang Hao sends a messenger with a letter and money to summon Yu Xiaogang, insisting that the meeting remain secret and that the matter concerns Tang San.
• On the sixth day after Tang San’s eye injury, Yu Xiaogang meets Tang Hao alone in the ruins of a burned estate.
• Tang Hao recounts his defeat at Shrek Academy, but portrays himself as having been attacked after defending Zhao Wuji, omitting that he initiated the confrontation.
• He claims Cao Kun secretly caused Tang San’s blindness and used the “cultivation backlash” diagnosis as a cover. Yu Xiaogang, already desperate for a way to help Tang San, accepts the accusation.
• Tang Hao explains that Cao Kun’s presence prevents him from approaching Shrek or taking Tang San away. Unable to fight Cao Kun while injured, he turns to Yu Xiaogang for help. The chapter ends before a plan is revealed.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang Hao remains consumed by grief and hatred, but restrains his impulse to attack Cao Kun because he knows he is outmatched. He shifts from direct revenge to seeking an indirect solution through Yu Xiaogang.
• Yu Xiaogang arrives worried and suspicious, then is shocked by Tang Hao’s condition and the account of Cao Kun’s strength. His uncertainty turns into anger and certainty that Cao Kun harmed Tang San.
• Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang bond over their shared concern for Tang San, but Tang Hao controls the conversation by presenting a self-serving version of his defeat. Yu Xiaogang is receptive because he desperately wants an explanation and a way to help his student.

Significant themes

• Rage versus restraint: Tang Hao’s desire for revenge clashes with the practical need to survive and protect Tang San.
• Manipulation and unreliable accounts: Tang Hao omits his own role in the Shrek confrontation, steering Yu Xiaogang toward blaming Cao Kun.
• Grief and the search for certainty: Yu Xiaogang accepts a confident explanation amid fear and helplessness, showing how desperation can turn suspicion into conviction.

Key plot points and events

• Tang Hao secretly orders Yu Xiaogang to get Tang San out of Shrek Academy, arguing that Tang San’s blindness cannot be treated while Cao Kun is nearby. He gives Yu Xiaogang a map, meeting points, and strict instructions to tell no one.
• Yu Xiaogang agrees, convinced that leaving is necessary to protect Tang San and give him a chance at treatment.
• Back at the academy, Yu Xiaogang invents a cover story for Flender: a traveling physician may know of a reclusive Soul Master who treats eye conditions. He persuades Flender that only he and Tang San should go.
• That afternoon, Yu Xiaogang asks Xiao Wu to leave Tang San’s room and tells Tang San they must depart immediately. He insists Tang San trust him and remain silent.
• Though blind, Tang San senses Yu Xiaogang’s fear and urgency, realizing this is not an ordinary medical trip. The chapter ends before they leave.

Character developments

• Yu Xiaogang moves from hesitation to determined action, driven by concern for Tang San. He lies convincingly to Flender but struggles to conceal his anxiety from Tang San.
• Tang Hao acts protectively and strategically, arranging a secret escape while emphasizing Tang San’s safety above all else.
• Tang San remains perceptive despite his blindness. His heightened awareness makes him question Yu Xiaogang’s explanation.
• Flender is hopeful and trusting, agreeing to the trip after Yu Xiaogang frames it as Tang San’s best chance of treatment.
• Xiao Wu is briefly asked to leave, leaving Tang San alone with Yu Xiaogang.

Significant themes

• Protection and sacrifice: Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang are willing to deceive others to safeguard Tang San.
• Trust and uncertainty: Tang San is asked to trust his teacher even as his instincts warn him something is wrong.
• Deception and secrecy: The supposed medical lead is a fabrication designed to conceal the real plan.
• Hope amid danger: The promise of a cure offers hope, but the urgency and secrecy suggest serious risks.

Character interactions

• Tang Hao pressures Yu Xiaogang to act, then equips him with a secret plan and cautions him to prioritize survival.
• Yu Xiaogang persuades Flender by presenting a plausible medical lead and discouraging additional escorts.
• Yu Xiaogang sends Xiao Wu away, then urges Tang San to leave without questions; Tang San senses the fear behind his teacher’s words but remains silent.

Key plot points

• Tang San decides to leave Shrek Academy with Yu Xiaogang, despite lingering doubts about his teacher. Yu helps him dress and disguises his injured eyes beneath a broad-brimmed hat.
• Xiao Wu sees them leaving and wants to come along. Yu Xiaogang refuses, claiming the person they are visiting will only see Tang San and his escort. Xiao Wu reluctantly lets them go and urges them to return safely.
• Yu Xiaogang takes Tang San through the academy’s back gate to an unmarked carriage. Flender notices but assumes they are seeking treatment; the other students pay little attention.
• Once they are on the road to Suotuo City, Tang San asks where they are going. Yu reveals that they are meeting Tang San’s father, Tang Hao—not an old Soul Master.
• Yu claims Tang Hao is a Clear Sky Douluo who was gravely wounded by Cao Kun, a powerful Titled Douluo. He further alleges that Cao Kun caused Tang San’s blindness and disguised it as a cultivation backlash.
• Shocked and unsure what to believe, Tang San begins to accept Yu’s account. His loyalty to his father and trust in Yu outweigh his uncertain impressions of Cao Kun, and he considers that he cannot remain at Shrek.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San remains vulnerable and conflicted, but the revelations reshape his view of Cao Kun and make him more willing to leave the academy.
• Yu Xiaogang acts hurriedly and protectively, concealing the true purpose of the trip from Xiao Wu and the others. He presents a forceful explanation that directs Tang San’s suspicions toward Cao Kun.
• Xiao Wu shows deep concern for Tang San and wants to accompany him, but yields when Yu insists.
• Flender and the other students remain unaware that the departure is more than a routine trip for medical help.

Significant themes

• Trust and doubt: Tang San must choose whom to believe while his understanding of recent events is uncertain.
• Protection versus secrecy: Yu Xiaogang frames the departure as necessary for Tang San’s safety but keeps its real purpose hidden.
• Manipulation and unreliable claims: Yu’s accusations radically change Tang San’s loyalties, though the chapter does not independently verify them.
• Vulnerability and dependence: Tang San’s blindness limits his independence and leaves him reliant on those guiding him.

Plot points and events

• Yu Xiaogang secretly takes the blinded Tang San to an abandoned warehouse outside Suotuo City, where they reunite with Tang Hao, who is badly injured and missing an arm.
• Tang Hao comforts his son, blames Cao Kun for both their injuries, and vows revenge. He plans to take Tang San somewhere safe and seek a cure for his eyes.
• To conceal their escape, Tang Hao gives Yu Xiaogang money and supplies and instructs him to remain in Suotuo City, then return to Shrek Academy after three days with a fabricated explanation.
• Two days pass at the academy without word from Yu Xiaogang or Tang San. Xiao Wu grows increasingly anxious, while the others continue their routines or worry privately.
• On the third day, Flender sends Ma Hongjun to question the apothecary Yu Xiaogang had supposedly consulted. The apothecary reveals that he had no contact with Yu Xiaogang recently and knew nothing of any specialist who could treat eye injuries—exposing the story as a likely cover. The chapter ends as the implications begin to surface.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San is overwhelmed by seeing his father again after six years. Though blind and emotionally shaken, he accepts Tang Hao’s help and leaves with him.
• Tang Hao shows tenderness and remorse toward his son, but his grief over their injuries hardens into hatred of Cao Kun and a desire for revenge.
• Yu Xiaogang helps arrange the secret reunion and agrees to deceive the academy, while privately nurturing his own resentment toward Cao Kun.
• Xiao Wu becomes the most openly distressed by Tang San’s unexplained absence and presses Flender for answers.
• Flender initially trusts Yu Xiaogang’s explanation, but the lack of news makes him suspicious; Ma Hongjun’s report confirms that something is amiss.
• The other students largely continue training, though Ning Rongrong thinks about Tang San and Cao Kun, and Zhu Zhuqing remains focused on cultivation.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and reunion: Tang Hao and Tang San’s reunion is tender but overshadowed by pain and loss.
• Revenge and resentment: Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang direct their anger at Cao Kun, setting up future conflict.
• Deception and secrecy: Tang Hao’s escape plan depends on Yu Xiaogang misleading Shrek Academy.
• Uncertainty and growing suspicion: The academy’s lack of information turns concern into doubt about what truly happened to Tang San.

Key plot points and events

• Ma Hongjun reports that Yu Xiaogang and Tang San have disappeared. Flender realizes Yu Xiaogang lied about taking Tang San for medical treatment.
• Flender and Zhao Wuji search their rooms but find almost nothing, prompting a discreet search of Suotuo City and nearby settlements.
• In truth, Tang Hao has taken Tang San far from the city, while Yu Xiaogang has also left and cut ties with Shrek Academy.
• At his Back Mountain retreat, Cao Kun concludes that Tang Hao arranged the escape with Yu Xiaogang’s help. He suspects they intend to treat Tang San’s blindness, strengthen themselves, and eventually seek revenge.
• Rather than pursue them openly, Cao Kun orders Dugu Yan to watch for signs of their movements. He also sends her to bring Xiao Wu to him, using the possibility of information about Tang San as an inducement.

Character developments

• Flender responds quickly but is deeply unsettled, recognizing that Tang San and Yu Xiaogang’s departure involves a larger secret.
• Xiao Wu is devastated by Tang San’s disappearance and desperate to know where he is.
• Cao Kun remains composed and calculating, choosing cautious surveillance over direct pursuit while looking for a way to draw Xiao Wu into his orbit.
• Dugu Yan shows loyalty and sympathy for Xiao Wu, but follows Cao Kun’s orders.

Significant themes

• Deception and loyalty: Yu Xiaogang betrays Flender’s trust to help Tang San escape.
• Protection and revenge: Tang Hao risks acting while injured to protect his son, while Cao Kun expects the conflict to continue.
• Power and manipulation: Cao Kun prefers indirect observation and uses Xiao Wu’s concern for Tang San as leverage.
• Uncertainty: The pair leave few clues, leaving Shrek Academy—and the reader—to wonder what comes next.

Character interactions

• Ma Hongjun’s report alarms Flender and Xiao Wu; Flender then coordinates the search with Zhao Wuji.
• Dugu Yan reports the disappearance to Cao Kun and discusses the risks of tracking Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang.
• Cao Kun directs Dugu Yan to approach Xiao Wu gently, presenting possible news of Tang San as a reason to meet him.

Key plot points

• After Dugu Yan leaves, Cao Kun privately reflects on Xiao Wu’s true nature, recognizing her as a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit transformed into a human and expressing possessive interest in her.
• Xiao Wu has spent two days grieving and worrying because Tang San and Grandmaster disappeared after Tang San lost his sight. The academy’s search has found no trace of them.
• Dugu Yan invites Xiao Wu to meet Cao Kun. Xiao Wu refuses, blaming Cao Kun’s comments about Grandmaster’s theories for prompting Tang San to alter his cultivation.
• Dugu Yan argues that Tang San’s own rashness caused his cultivation to backfire, and that Cao Kun had only pointed out flaws in Yu Xiaogang’s approach to Blue Silver Grass.
• Dugu Yan hints that Cao Kun may know where Tang San is. She then leaves to arrange surveillance for Tang Hao, Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang.
• Torn between distrust and hope, Xiao Wu eventually goes to Cao Kun’s courtyard at dusk. Zhu Zhuqing greets her and silently directs her inside.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Wu is overwhelmed by fear and grief, and her anger at Cao Kun gives way to uncertainty when she hears he may know Tang San’s whereabouts. Her longing for news ultimately overcomes her caution.
• Dugu Yan remains composed under Xiao Wu’s hostility, defends Cao Kun, and uses Xiao Wu’s concern for Tang San to persuade her to come.
• Cao Kun is shown as calculating and intrigued by Xiao Wu, regarding her less as an innocent girl than as a powerful Soul Beast he might possess.
• Zhu Zhuqing acts as the quiet, formal gatekeeper to Cao Kun’s meeting with Xiao Wu.

Significant themes

• Grief and uncertainty: Tang San’s unexplained disappearance leaves Xiao Wu emotionally adrift.
• Trust and manipulation: Xiao Wu distrusts Cao Kun but is drawn to him by the possibility of learning the truth.
• Responsibility and blame: Xiao Wu and Dugu Yan offer opposing accounts of whether Cao Kun’s advice contributed to Tang San’s injury.
• Hidden identity and power: Cao Kun’s recognition of Xiao Wu’s true nature introduces a threatening, possessive undertone.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Wu is summoned to meet Cao Kun, who asks whether she knows the true identities of Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
• He reveals that Yu Xiaogang is the disgraced son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect’s leader, and that Tang San’s father is Tang Hao, the famed Clear Sky Douluo.
• Cao Kun then claims Tang Hao killed Tang San’s mother—a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form—and used her as his ninth Soul Ring.
• Xiao Wu fears Tang San may know her own identity and may be treating her as future prey. Cao Kun confirms that he knows she is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form.
• When Xiao Wu tries to escape, an unseen force traps her in the room.

Character developments

• Xiao Wu shifts from anxious hope to shock, terror, and distrust as Cao Kun’s revelations make her question Tang San’s motives and fear for her life.
• Cao Kun presents himself as calm and informed, using sensitive knowledge to unsettle Xiao Wu and establish control over her.

Significant themes

• Secrecy and exposure: Xiao Wu’s hidden nature becomes a weapon others can use against her.
• Trust and betrayal: The story of Tang Hao’s treatment of Tang San’s mother leads Xiao Wu to doubt Tang San.
• Power and coercion: Cao Kun controls the conversation—and ultimately Xiao Wu’s movement—through threats and an overwhelming force.

Character interactions

• Cao Kun first questions Xiao Wu indirectly, then reveals increasingly disturbing information to provoke fear and doubt.
• Xiao Wu presses him for answers, but ends up confronting his threat: he knows what she is and can expose her.