Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Xu Sanshi hires Lu Yi to help him dominate Bei Bei, offering four Mystic Water Pills. Lu Yi promises to keep Xu in control throughout the match.
• The inter-team match begins, with both captains relying on their regular members to lead the fight and their reserves to support them. Xuan Zi adds a humiliating penalty for the losing team: they must shout, “I’m a pig!”
• The teams’ support specialists, Ning Tian and Gongyang Mo, reveal comparable support abilities, though Gongyang’s greater cultivation lets him boost his entire team while Ning Tian focuses on key fighters.
• Lu Yi casts a new, more powerful version of the Disillusionment Charm, making himself, Ning Tian, and Ling Luochен invisible. He positions the two women to support their teammates while remaining difficult to target.
• Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection initially tracks the invisible trio and shares their positions with his team. Lu Yi counters with the Conjunctivitis Curse, irritating Huo’s eyes and disrupting his detection just as the teams clash.
• Lu Yi turns to Bei Bei and casts Jelly-Legs, beginning his effort to give Xu Sanshi the advantage.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows both tactical ingenuity and opportunism: he accepts Xu Sanshi’s extravagant offer, uses group invisibility strategically, and targets Huo Yuhao’s main scouting ability. He privately considers sharing one pill with Bei Bei, but still intends to hinder him.
• Xu Sanshi is driven by pride and wants a prolonged fight in which he can control the pace, rather than a quick victory.
• Ning Tian and Ling Luochен adapt quickly to Lu Yi’s instructions, using invisibility to keep supporting the team and improve their positions.
• Huo Yuhao remains composed when Lu Yi first vanishes, trusting Spiritual Detection to counter the trick. Lu Yi’s curse then weakens the ability on which Huo relies.
• Gongyang Mo and Ning Tian briefly recognize one another’s abilities and reflect their contrasting backgrounds and personalities: Gongyang’s rare Rainbow Dragon Martial Soul and feminine presentation contrast with Ning Tian’s prestigious sect upbringing and more assertive, androgynous style.

Significant themes

• Tactics over raw strength: The opening exchange emphasizes positioning, targeted support, and disrupting an opponent’s key advantage.
• Countermeasures and escalation: Huo Yuhao counters invisibility with detection; Lu Yi responds by attacking the detection itself.
• Support and teamwork: Both teams’ support specialists shape the fight, while Lu Yi’s invisibility lets his side operate in new ways.
• Pride and manipulation: Xu Sanshi’s desire to reclaim pride makes him an easy mark, while Lu Yi turns the bargain into a tactical advantage.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Yi’s disruptions—weakening Huo Yuhao’s detection, making Bei Bei’s legs unsteady, and cloaking teammates—help Dai Yueheng’s team gain the upper hand. Ning Tian’s buffs empower Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng, while Ling Luochen counteracts Gongyang Mo’s support.
• Yao Haoxuan’s giant form and roar bolster his team. Xu Sanshi exploits Bei Bei’s weakened state, while Jiang Nannan and Xixi are eliminated.
• Huo Yuhao summons the Ice Empress Martial Soul to suppress Ling Luochen, briefly stunning the arena with its powerful aura. He and Wang Dong use the opening to unleash their fusion skill, Golden Road, toward Yao Haoxuan and the fighters behind him.
• Lu Yi counters with Finite Incantatem, stopping the attack and its golden trail. The effort nearly exhausts him, and the Golden Road eventually dissipates. Xuan Zi orders the match to continue despite Lu Yi’s elimination.
• Dai Yueheng’s team wins, losing only Ling Luochen and Lu Yi. Ning Tian’s Soul Power is also spent. Afterward, Ma Xiaotao’s team is made to declare, “I’m a pig,” and Gongyang Mo restores Lu Yi and Ning Tian.
• While recovering, Lu Yi spends a credit to maximize his Disillusionment Charm’s visibility reduction, making himself invisible.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi proves that his indirect tactics and unusually powerful counterspell can shape the battle, though stopping Golden Road leaves him nearly drained. He also prioritizes improving his stealth.
• Ning Tian sustains powerful buffs for the team at considerable personal cost. She praises Gongyang Mo’s support ability; he responds with flirtatious warmth, whose Spiritual Shock even affects Lu Yi.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong coordinate their fusion skill, but their decisive attack is neutralized before it can change the match’s outcome.
• Xu Sanshi takes pleasure in bullying the impaired Bei Bei, while Xuan Zi treats Lu Yi’s dramatic counter as no reason to pause the fight.
• Ling Luochen is ultimately eliminated by Huo Yuhao’s Ultimate Attribute; Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng benefit greatly from Ning Tian’s support.

Significant themes

• Support and strategy can outweigh raw power: weakening, buffs, and control steadily tip the match before the major attacks occur.
• Power comes at a cost: Ning Tian and Lu Yi expend nearly all their Soul Power to support or counter the opposing team.
• Adaptation and progression: Lu Yi learns from the limitations of his stealth and invests in removing its most obvious flaw.

Plot points and events

• Gongyang Mo’s “fast charging” helped Lu Yi recover some Soul Power after he spent roughly 80 percent of it dispelling Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road. The effort also brought Lu Yi close to Soul Power level thirty.
• Xuan Zi questioned Huo Yuhao after the match, concerned by the Ice Empress aura he had displayed, but confirmed that he was human.
• Lu Yi offered to treat Huo Yuhao’s swollen, sealed eyes. Before curing him, Lu Yi tested whether Ning Tian’s second Soul Skill, Release, could remove the condition. It eased the soreness but did not fully work; Lu Yi then used Finite Incantatem to cure him.
• Ning Tian admired Lu Yi’s range of abilities and rapid cultivation. Her admiration seemed to include romantic interest, though Lu Yi remained cautious about reading too much into it.
• For the next round, Xuan Zi rearranged the teams, pairing Huo Yuhao with Ling Luochen to test their shared ice attribute, and giving Lu Yi a new lineup. Xu Sanshi was delighted to be on Jiang Nannan’s team, while she rejected his protective, lovesick advances.
• Bei Bei praised Lu Yi’s weakening ability. Lu Yi revealed that Xu Sanshi had paid him two Mystic Water Pills to use it against Bei Bei; Bei Bei agreed to help Lu Yi collect the payment.
• Ma Xiaotao approached Lu Yi and asked whether he could use his group-invisibility ability again.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows both the cost and power of his versatile magic: his high-output ability nearly exhausts him, but his skills can affect battles in unexpected ways. He also experiments with Ning Tian’s healing ability and thinks skeptically about the practical limits of her apparent affection.
• Huo Yuhao accepts Lu Yi’s treatment and jokes with him, suggesting their rivalry does not prevent friendly relations outside the match.
• Ning Tian gains greater respect for Lu Yi and is flustered by her own feelings.
• Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan remain comically mismatched: he tries to charm and protect her, while she firmly rebuffs him.
• Bei Bei and Lu Yi share a conspiratorial moment over Xu Sanshi’s payment, and Bei Bei offers to back Lu Yi up.
• Ma Xiaotao recognizes Lu Yi’s invisibility as a major factor in her previous defeat and seeks to learn whether he can use it again.

Significant themes

• Versatility and limits: Lu Yi’s many abilities make him an unusually adaptable fighter, but powerful effects demand substantial Soul Power.
• Testing and tactical adaptation: Xuan Zi changes the teams to explore new combinations, while Lu Yi tests the boundaries of Soul Skills.
• Rivalry alongside camaraderie: Characters can oppose one another in competition yet joke, cooperate, and settle matters amicably afterward.
• Affection versus practicality: Ning Tian’s interest contrasts with Lu Yi’s wary view that attraction and status do not erase real-world considerations.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Before the rematch, Lu Yi offers to make the entire team invisible. Ma Xiaotao and Xixi agree, hoping the ability will give them a major advantage.
• At the start of the match, Lu Yi uses his amplified Disillusionment Charm. All seven members of his team vanish so completely that even Xuan Zi has trouble seeing them. Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection can sense their movements, but cannot clearly distinguish individual figures.
• Huo Yuhao supports Ling Luochеn with his Ice Empress Martial Soul, transforming her ice into Ultimate Ice. Ling’s attacks chill the arena and hinder Ma Xiaotao’s team.
• Ma Xiaotao launches Phoenix Meteor Shower at Ling and Huo Yuhao, but Ling’s Ice Armor protects them. Meanwhile, the Main Team Members use Huo Yuhao’s detection to target the invisible opponents.
• Lu Yi spots a chance to turn the fight around and calls for Xu Sanshi to use Xuanming Displacement on Ling. Ling is suddenly transported into the opposing team’s midst.
• Ling quickly traps herself in a powerful Ice Cage, withstanding Bei Bei’s attack. But Jiang Nannan then pins and restrains her inside the cage, demanding that she surrender.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows initiative and confidence, expanding his use of the Disillusionment Charm and demonstrating its extraordinary concealment. Ma Xiaotao and Xixi recognize his potential and promise him a place in the crucial match if he succeeds.
• Huo Yuhao adapts when his Spiritual Detection proves less effective. He shifts to supporting Ling directly, empowering her with Ultimate Ice and helping her hold off the opposing team.
• Ling proves resourceful under pressure: she protects Huo Yuhao, survives being isolated, and responds to danger with a strong defensive technique.
• Ma Xiaotao is driven by her earlier defeat and humiliation, determined to recover her standing as captain. Xixi is eager to combine her speed with Lu Yi’s invisibility.
• Lu Yi coordinates with Xu Sanshi, while Jiang Nannan exploits Ling’s isolation to try to force a surrender.

Significant themes

• Adaptation and counterplay: Invisibility gives Lu Yi’s team a major advantage, but Huo Yuhao finds ways to respond, and the opposing side adjusts its tactics.
• Teamwork and trust: Lu Yi’s plan depends on close formation, while Huo Yuhao’s support and his teammates’ protection make Ling’s powerful attacks possible.
• Power and vulnerability: Even a formidable fighter like Ling can be exposed when separated from her allies, though her quick defensive response keeps her in the fight.
• Competition and redemption: Ma Xiaotao’s desire to restore her reputation fuels her determination in the rematch.

Key plot points and events

• During the team match, Jiang Nannan uses Instantaneous Movement to slip into Ling Luoche’s Ice Cage and defeat her. With the cold suppression gone, Gongyang Mo strengthens his teammates’ boosts and the counterattack begins.
• Lu Yi realizes that making the whole team invisible also prevents its members from seeing and coordinating with one another. Huo Yuhao can still track them with Spiritual Detection, further limiting the advantage.
• Ma Xiaotao attacks from above, using heat and fire to strike the opposing rear line. She eliminates Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong—key counters to invisibility—but also accidentally takes out her teammate Xu Sanshi and then Ning Tian.
• With Huo Yuhao’s detection sharing gone, Lu Yi’s side loses much of its tactical advantage. Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan keep Dai Yueheng occupied, while Xixi gains the upper hand against Chen Zifeng.
• Lu Yi’s “Expelliarmus” disarms Chen Zifeng briefly, but Chen regains control of his sword and attacks. Xuan Zi blocks the blow; Lu Yi is eliminated shortly afterward. His team, outnumbered, soon loses the match.
• Afterward, Xuan Zi praises the Reserve Team’s adaptability and several players’ performances, but reprimands Ma Xiaotao for attacking without regard for her teammates. He announces that the team will leave for Star Luo City the next morning.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows quick tactical thinking and an inventive new use for his magic, but recognizes that his invisibility strategy has a serious coordination flaw. His unease about the coming trip remains unresolved.
• Jiang Nannan proves resourceful by overcoming Ling Luoche’s level advantage and cage defense.
• Ma Xiaotao displays formidable power and adaptability, but her aggressive, independent style endangers allies. She accepts Xuan Zi’s criticism, though reluctantly.
• Xu Sanshi is upset that Ma Xiaotao’s attack eliminates him, especially given his past efforts to help her manage her Evil Fire. Xuan Zi’s rebuke gives him a sense that his grievance has been acknowledged.
• Xuan Zi acts as a judge and protector, intervening when Reserve Team members face attacks they cannot withstand, then distinguishing between their performance and the Main Team’s shortcomings.
• Huo Yuhao and Lu Yi are recognized as complementary teammates: Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection could solve the coordination problem created by Lu Yi’s invisibility.

Significant themes

• Strengths can become liabilities: Team-wide invisibility conceals allies from opponents but also disrupts their coordination.
• Teamwork versus individual instinct: Ma Xiaotao’s powerful solo attack demonstrates how individual success can come at the cost of teammates.
• Adaptability and judgment: The match rewards quick decisions, while the post-match critique stresses responsibility and learning from mistakes.
• Unequal protection and risk: Xuan Zi is more likely to intervene for Reserve Team members than for Main Team members, who are expected to endure harsher clashes.

Key plot points and events

• Xuan Zi leads a group of sixteen from Shrek on a relaxed journey, with Wang Yan accompanying them. The students chat, though Huo Yuhao remains anxious about being the weakest cultivator in the group and repeatedly seeks sparring partners.
• Xuan Zi explains Shrek’s Inner Court and reveals the secretive Inspection Corps. Its members take on thirty dangerous missions against vicious Soul Masters, with a real risk of death and no pay.
• Five of the seven Reserve Team members immediately agree to join. Ning Tian holds back, and Lu Yi asks why the Corps is limited to student missions rather than becoming a permanent, professional force against crime.
• Lu Yi argues that experienced, powerful members would reduce casualties and that a dedicated law-enforcement career would better serve justice. His comparison to the Aurors—a professional force in the wizarding world—sharply exposes the oddity of Shrek’s system.
• His question silences the Inner Court students. Xuan Zi has no answer and drops the matter without asking Lu Yi to decide again.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows independence and practical judgment. Rather than accepting the Corps’ ideals at face value, he questions its structure, risks, and lack of compensation.
• Xuan Zi presents the Corps with pride but is unsettled by Lu Yi’s challenge; he cannot explain why Shrek does not make enforcement a profession.
• Wang Yan tries to protect Lu Yi by describing him as inexperienced and asking Xuan Zi not to take offense.
• Dai Yueheng first boasts about the Corps’ noble work, then falls silent when Lu Yi’s proposal conflicts with the future he expects as heir to the White Tiger Duke title.
• Ma Xiaotao is the one Inner Court student who genuinely seems ready to devote her life to fighting Soul Master crime.
• Huo Yuhao remains self-conscious about his low cultivation. Xu Sanshi’s crude jokes annoy the girls, especially Jiang Nannan, while Ning Tian makes repeated attempts to keep a conversation going with Lu Yi.

Significant themes

• Idealism versus practical incentives: The Corps asks students to risk their lives for no pay, raising questions about whether noble principles alone can sustain the work.
• Justice and institutional design: Lu Yi distinguishes between occasional, risky student missions and a permanent, specialized profession capable of deterring crime.
• Secrecy and accountability: Shrek claims the Corps protects society but conceals its existence, prompting doubts about how an unseen force can deter wrongdoing.
• Conflicting futures: Inner Court students may praise the Corps while still expecting to serve powerful families after graduation, revealing a gap between the organization’s ideals and its members’ likely paths.

Plot and events

• Xuan Zi lets Lu Yi’s question pass and has Wang Yan distribute blood-bound storage rings to the Reserve Team. Lu Yi and Ning Tian keep their places despite the earlier warning that anyone unwilling to join could return to the Academy.
• Ma Xiaotao explains their inspection mission: travel to the Mingdou Mountains and eliminate the bandit gang known as the Hand of Death. The group plans to reach a border military camp, borrow Flying Soul Tools, then continue to a garrison in western Star Luo.
• To speed the first leg of the journey, Inner Court disciples carry some of the younger students. Lu Yi declines Chen Zifeng’s offer and travels on his own.
• Lu Yi reveals his improved Flying Broomstick, a rare-quality Soul Tool capable of nearly 150 km/h. He catches up with the group and flies alongside them while the others run.
• His unusual ride astonishes the team. Xu Sanshi is so startled that he stumbles and falls; Wang Dong and Ma Xiaotao laugh, while the others watch with envy and curiosity. After a long, exhausting journey, the group rests at midday, and several teammates crowd around Lu Yi to ask where he got the broomstick.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows confidence in his own invention and independence, declining a senior’s help and demonstrating that his broom can keep pace with the group. His practical focus on speed over comfort or handling reflects his priorities.
• Ning Tian accepts Gongyang Mo’s offer to carry her without hesitation.
• Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Jiang Nannan push themselves through the demanding run; Xu Sanshi struggles most and reacts comically to Lu Yi overhead.
• Wang Dong and Ma Xiaotao share a moment of amusement at the broom’s appearance, while the others’ envy and questions signal their interest in flight.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity and self-reliance: Lu Yi’s homemade, enchanted broom gives him mobility without relying on military equipment or another person’s help.
• Technology and access: The group’s need to borrow Flying Soul Tools contrasts with Lu Yi’s ability to fly using his own creation.
• Teamwork and endurance: The mission requires the group to travel together, with stronger members helping others and everyone enduring a difficult journey.

Key plot points and events

• The group gathers food and firewood for a meal. Huo Yuhao plans to cook mushroom and fish soup in a wooden pot, but Lu Yi uses his Wand to transform it into iron.
• The transformation amazes everyone. Xuan Zi wonders whether Lu Yi can turn stone into gold; Lu Yi says he can only transform ordinary materials and that the iron pot is near his limit. In reality, his Transfiguration is more capable than he lets on, though it cannot affect objects containing Soul Power.
• The iron pot helps Huo Yuhao prepare soup, while Ma Xiaotao’s flames speed the cooking. The group enjoys the meal, and Xuan Zi is first to claim two roast chickens.
• Afterward, Ning Tian asks Lu Yi who made his Soul-Power-free Flying Broomstick, offering to pay for the information. Lu Yi hints that the maker has little time and no plans for mass production.
• Ning Tian offers 100,000 Gold Soul Coins for the information alone, and Lu Yi is visibly tempted.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi demonstrates another seemingly impossible ability, but downplays its limits to avoid drawing further attention. He is also intrigued by Ning Tian’s offer.
• Huo Yuhao adapts his cooking plan around the transformed pot and provides the meal that brings the group together.
• Xuan Zi is impressed by Lu Yi’s talent and regrets having given him too low a rating at the Treasure Appraisal Fair. He increasingly sees Lu Yi as someone Shrek should keep close.
• Ning Tian reveals her strong interest in technology and uses a generous offer to probe Lu Yi about the broomstick—and possibly to support him financially.
• The others react with disbelief and wonder, inspecting the pot and joking about hallucinating.

Significant themes

• Technology and innovation: The broomstick and transformed iron pot challenge conventional expectations and attract both curiosity and commercial interest.
• Talent and institutional value: Xuan Zi recognizes that Lu Yi’s unusual abilities could be strategically important to Shrek.
• Trust, discretion, and negotiation: Lu Yi conceals the full scope of his powers, while Ning Tian approaches him indirectly through a paid information offer.

Key plot points and events

• Ning Tian offers Lu Yi a huge sum for a Flying Broomstick. Lu Yi sells her a spare for 1.1 million Gold Soul Coins—more than his original asking price—while admitting indirectly that he made it himself. He promises her priority and a 20% discount on a future upgrade.
• Lu Yi gives Ning Tian flying lessons, and she quickly learns to control the broom. The other students begin to see its appeal.
• At the Star Luo military camp, Dai Yueheng obtains Flying Soul Tools for the group. Their cumbersome equipment is difficult to use and drains Soul Power, especially for the less powerful students. Lu Yi and Ning Tian’s broomsticks prove faster and far more energy-efficient.
• To make up lost time, Xuan Zi carries the group through the final stretch using ropes. Lu Yi protects himself from the wind with a Bubble-Head Charm, while most others are battered by the flight and become violently airsick after landing.
• Soldiers arrive at the landing site. Their leader introduces himself as Du Leisi, prompting Lu Yi to choke on his water at the name’s resemblance to “Durex.”

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows both entrepreneurial confidence and some reluctance to exploit Ning Tian: despite being thrilled by the money, he admits the price is excessive and offers a future discount. His practical magic also helps him endure the high-speed flight.
• Ning Tian demonstrates keen awareness of Lu Yi’s dishonesty about the supposed seller, but accepts the broom and lets the matter go unspoken. She becomes a quick and capable pilot.
• Wang Yan is pleased to see Lu Yi impress Ning Tian and praises his conduct.
• Xuan Zi is confident and dismissive of the group’s discomfort, having avoided the worst of the flight himself.
• The students’ reactions to the broomstick shift from skepticism to envy as they see its speed, ease of use, and lack of Soul Power cost.

Significant themes

• Technology and practicality: Lu Yi’s broomstick outperforms conventional Soul Tools in comfort, speed, and efficiency.
• Wealth and value: Ning Tian’s payment highlights her resources and the high value she places on innovation, while Lu Yi wrestles with the ethics of an enormous profit.
• Ingenuity and adaptability: Lu Yi’s self-created equipment and spell provide advantages in situations where conventional tools fall short.
• Comic contrast: The broom’s smooth flight and Lu Yi’s composure contrast with the group’s cumbersome equipment, battered faces, and nausea.

Key plot points and events

• The group meets the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, commander of the Star Luo Empire’s Central Army. Huo Yuhao is deeply unsettled by seeing his biological father but keeps his feelings hidden.
• After receiving food, intelligence, and maps about the “Hand of Death” bandits, the group enters the Mingdou Mountains. They travel on foot to avoid alerting their quarry and find few clues before making camp.
• Worried that the Inner Court team members are underestimating the danger and refusing to use defensive Soul Tools, Lu Yi devises a way to warn them without openly revealing what he knows about the Death Messenger’s deadly Corpse Explosion ability.
• He pretends to divine the future by reading scattered leaves. His first readings correctly identify Huo Yuhao’s living, influential father and predict that Yuhao will obtain an unusual Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
• Lu Yi then gives Xu Sanshi a reading that nearly exposes a private secret, prompting Xu Sanshi to stop him and beg him to keep quiet.
• With the group gathered, Lu Yi asks whether the mission will bring good or ill fortune. He announces that he has seen “something huge and ominous,” clarifying that the mission faces an omen of great peril.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao struggles to contain his emotions after seeing Dai Hao. Lu Yi’s supposed divination later shocks him by revealing knowledge of his family and future.
• Lu Yi shows resourcefulness and concern for the team, using a performance of divination to make the group take the mission’s danger seriously.
• Xu Sanshi shifts from amusement to belief in Lu Yi’s readings after Lu Yi nearly reveals his secret.
• The Inner Court members remain reluctant to use Soul Tools, exposing their overconfidence in their own abilities.

Significant themes

• Preparation versus pride: Lu Yi’s concern that talent and reputation can make the young fighters overlook their vulnerability highlights the need for practical protection.
• Fate and uncertainty: The fortune-telling frame blurs the line between genuine prophecy and clever manipulation, while foreshadowing danger ahead.
• Hidden truths: Huo Yuhao’s family history, Xu Sanshi’s secret, and Lu Yi’s knowledge of the threat all shape the group’s interactions.

Character interactions

• Lu Yi uses Huo Yuhao’s trust and curiosity to stage the readings, while Huo Yuhao tries to prevent the discussion from exposing his family situation to Dai Yueheng.
• Tian Meng and the Ice Empress react with genuine curiosity to the apparent human ability to divine the future.
• Xu Sanshi joins the activity, then physically silences Lu Yi when the reading approaches a sensitive secret.
• Ma Xiaotao misinterprets Lu Yi’s ominous warning as a remark about her appearance, creating a brief comic misunderstanding before he clarifies the danger.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Yi warns the group that the coming operation may bring heavy losses, possibly due to an unusual enemy ability, and singles out Yao Haoxuan as especially at risk. Most dismiss the warning; Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi believe Lu Yi because of his earlier accurate revelations.
• Lu Yi advises Xu Sanshi to stay at the rear, maintain formation, and be ready to defend. He also secretly summons Electrolux as a safeguard.
• Electrolux identifies Wenlan wood as useful for making a wand that could help Lu Yi cast Necromancy. With Electrolux’s guidance, Lu Yi finds and harvests a young tree while Xuan Zi silently watches.
• The team tracks the enemy to a cave. Ma Xiaotao takes command of the Inner Court students and rejects Lu Yi’s offer of group invisibility, then leads the assault into the cave.
• Lu Yi gathers Wang Yan and the Reserve Team behind him and casts Disillusionment to conceal them.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi remains cautious and resourceful: despite being ignored, he prepares defenses, follows Electrolux’s advice, and secures materials for his future magic.
• Ma Xiaotao is embarrassed by an earlier misunderstanding but remains confident and dismissive of Lu Yi’s warning. She prioritizes an aggressive assault and shows little deference to Wang Yan.
• Dai Yueheng and other Inner Court members trust their intelligence and strength over Lu Yi’s prediction. By contrast, Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi have faith in him and follow his defensive advice.
• Electrolux acts as Lu Yi’s mentor and protector, helping him adapt Necromancy to a wand while warning him that the method is still imperfect. Wang Yan permits Lu Yi to gather wood but is excluded from Ma Xiaotao’s command.

Significant themes

• Belief and skepticism: The group accepts supernatural claims selectively, dismissing predictions when they are unwelcome.
• Overconfidence versus preparedness: The Inner Court’s confidence contrasts with Lu Yi’s caution, setting up a likely clash between them and the danger ahead.
• Trust and responsibility: Lu Yi tries to protect others despite being disregarded, while the few who trust him take practical precautions.

Key events

• Wang Yan, the Outer Court students, and the others enter the bandits’ cave under Lu Yi’s Invisibility and Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection Sharing.
• The cave is filled with blood, corpses, and human skins. As the group fights the remaining bandits, Lu Yi quietly transforms nearby bodies into rocks to keep them from being used as weapons.
• When the Death Messenger’s Corpse Explosion Spell begins, Lu Yi blasts apart the largest corpse pile near Yao Haoxuan. The explosion still injures Yao, but prevents an even more devastating blast; Lu Yi protects himself with a Shield Charm.
• Xuan Zi arrives late. The surviving Soul King escapes as black smoke and charges toward the group, but Lu Yi uses the Cruciatus Curse to force him back into human form.
• Lu Yi discovers that tormenting the Evil Soul Master helps him advance the curse, but his third attempt fails when his excitement leaves him without the negative emotions the spell requires.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao is envious of Lu Yi’s Invisibility, while Tian Meng reassures him that his Simulation skill could eventually become just as versatile. Huo Yuhao then supports the team with Spiritual Detection Sharing.
• Wang Yan prioritizes the students’ training and orders them to eliminate the bandits. Bei Bei leads the charge; Xu Sanshi follows, while Wang Dong, Jiang Nannan, Ning Tian, Huo Yuhao, and Lu Yi favor ranged attacks or distance from the filthy cave.
• Lu Yi shows quick judgment and protects Yao Haoxuan from the worst of the corpse explosions, then turns the Death Messenger’s escape attempt into an opportunity to test and improve his curse.
• Xuan Zi recognizes Lu Yi’s attack and deliberately refrains from killing the Soul King, seemingly leaving him to suffer for the injuries inflicted on the Inner Court disciples.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts the students’ training exercise with the brutal reality of combat: the cave’s horrors provoke anger and force them to act under pressure.
• Lu Yi’s magical abilities offer practical, inventive solutions, but their effectiveness depends on unexpected conditions—here, the Cruciatus Curse’s need for negative emotion.
• The battle underscores the cruelty of the Death Messenger’s methods and the consequences of Xuan Zi’s late arrival.

Plot points and events

• Lu Yi helps restrain the Death Messenger while the reserve students attack. During the fight, he breaks through to level 30, though he has no time to obtain a suitable Soul Ring.
• Xuan Zi checks the injured Inner Court team members. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Ling Luochеn are relatively lightly hurt; four others are more seriously injured and have varying degrees of Corpse Poison.
• Furious at the attack, Xuan Zi crushes the Death Messenger to death. He sends Wang Yan and several students back to the military camp, while taking the four seriously injured members to the Academy. With no time to recruit replacements, he warns the reserve members that they may need to join the competition team.
• Xu Sanshi credits Lu Yi’s warning with saving lives and asks him to confirm whether danger remains. Lu Yi says they are safe for now, but cannot guarantee their safety if Xuan Zi leads them again.
• The group travels back to camp with the injured supported by their companions, while Lu Yi and Ning Tian guide them from above on Brooms.
• Ning Tian tells Lu Yi that she no longer intends to seek admission to the Inner Court. She proposes that they travel together after reaching Soul King level, and Lu Yi agrees.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi reaches level 30 and gains the reserve students’ respect for his foresight and effectiveness. He says he values freedom and wants to travel, though his longer-term plans are shaped by the coming continental war.
• Xuan Zi takes responsibility for the disastrous operation, but his poor leadership leaves Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao doubtful that he can be trusted to protect them.
• Ning Tian is shaken by the failure to safeguard the students and reconsiders her future. She hopes Lu Yi’s unusual abilities and possible background might help her sect’s search for a way to restore the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and uses the return journey to propose traveling with him.
• Xu Sanshi now fully believes Lu Yi’s prophetic ability. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao recognize that Lu Yi’s criticism of Xuan Zi was justified.

Significant themes

• Responsibility and leadership: Xuan Zi admits fault, yet the students’ doubts show that taking responsibility does not erase the consequences of reckless leadership.
• Trust forged by crisis: Lu Yi’s warning earns him the group’s confidence, while the attack reshapes Ning Tian’s priorities and relationships.
• Freedom, ambition, and legacy: Lu Yi favors independence and exploration; Ning Tian balances personal choices with her duty to her sect and its long-running ambition.

Plot points and events

• The injured Shrek Inner Court members recover at the military camp, then travel nearly three days to Star Luo City for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.
• After registering and settling into the Star Emperor Hotel, Wang Yan encourages the Reserve Team by describing the competition as less formidable than it really is. He privately knows strong opponents—including Soul Kings—are likely.
• The Reserve Team holds its own meeting before its first match, determined to win decisively.
• Huo Yuhao proposes using his Simulation Soul Skill to appear to be a Soul Emperor with Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings. Lu Yi objects and devises a more convincing deception: show a plausible progression of rings, then use his Group Invisibility to hide the team before opponents can inspect their real configurations.
• The team approves the plan, hoping the illusion and sudden disappearance will unsettle their opponents and give Shrek an advantage.

Character development and interactions

• Wang Yan acts as a motivator, boosting the Reserve Team’s confidence while withholding the true difficulty of the tournament.
• Huo Yuhao contributes an audacious use of his Simulation Soul Skill. His hidden, extraordinary Soul Ring history gives his performance a truth even Lu Yi does not know.
• Lu Yi proves himself observant and tactically inventive, improving Huo Yuhao’s idea by combining Simulation with Group Invisibility.
• Bei Bei takes charge of the team’s planning, while Xu Sanshi enthusiastically embraces Lu Yi’s scheme and calls it “dirty beyond belief.”
• Wang Dong, usually inclined toward straightforward combat and critical of Lu Yi’s tricks, finds herself relieved and excited to have him on her side. Ning Tian also quickly supports the plan.

Significant themes

• Deception as strategy: The team plans to manipulate opponents’ expectations rather than rely solely on strength.
• Confidence versus reality: Wang Yan’s pep talk lifts morale, even as the team’s leaders understand the competition will be much harder than he suggests.
• Trust and teamwork: The Reserve Team openly tests ideas and unites behind a tactic that combines members’ abilities.

Key plot points and events

• The team settles on a revised tournament strategy: Huo Yuhao will simulate six Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, while Wang Dong adds three simulated Ten-Thousand-Year rings to her existing configuration. Their enhanced appearance should surprise opponents in the first two matches, buying time until the Academy sends help.
• Lu Yi privately admits that reinforcements may not arrive soon, since the Academy likely expects the team to compete until its injured members recover.
• Huo Yuhao visits Lu Yi to ask about his pain-inducing mental attack, the Cruciatus Curse. After explaining that extreme pain may strengthen mental power, he asks Lu Yi to cast it on him.
• With Huo Yuhao using Simulation to look and act like Dai Huabin, Lu Yi summons the emotion needed to cast the curse. Huo Yuhao endures it for an extra ten seconds, despite the severe pain.
• Tian Meng confirms that the strain has expanded Huo Yuhao’s Sea of Consciousness and helps repair the damage.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi contributes a practical improvement to the team’s plan and remains cautious about the Academy’s support. He is surprised by Huo Yuhao’s willingness to suffer, but agrees to help and discovers the curse can affect Huo Yuhao’s mental state.
• Huo Yuhao shows his determination to grow stronger and his trust in Lu Yi. His request is motivated by a desire to improve his mental power, while his longing for his late mother reveals that revenge remains a central drive.
• Tian Meng provides the theory behind using extreme pain to strengthen mental power, then confirms the experiment’s result.
• The light teasing between Lu Yi and Huo Yuhao gives way to a serious, cooperative exchange. Huo Yuhao uses his Simulation ability to help Lu Yi prepare the spell, even taking on the appearance of his hated rival.

Significant themes

• Pain and growth: The chapter explores the idea that extreme suffering can produce greater mental strength, though at serious risk.
• Strategy and deception: The team plans to exploit opponents’ assumptions about Soul Ring configurations.
• Determination and sacrifice: Huo Yuhao willingly accepts intense pain to pursue greater power and avenge his mother.
• Trust and cooperation: Lu Yi’s spell and Huo Yuhao’s Simulation make the experiment possible, while Tian Meng supports him through its dangerous effects.

Plot and key events

• After recovering, Huo Yuhao asks Lu Yi to use the Cruciatus Curse on him regularly so he can strengthen his spiritual power. Lu Yi agrees and offers to teach him the spell; Huo Yuhao jokingly offers to return the favor once he learns it.
• At the opening of the tournament, Shrek Academy’s Reserve Team faces Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy. Lu Yi is not scheduled to fight, but he has helped plan a strategy built around a dramatic display of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s abilities.
• Huo Yuhao reveals increasingly powerful Soul Rings, culminating in a simulated Hundred Thousand Year ring and an intimidating aura. His Mental Interference leaves Tianling’s team dazed.
• Wang Dong joins Huo Yuhao, and together they use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road, to defeat five opponents. Their confident advance frightens the remaining two into surrendering. Shrek wins the opening match without the rest of the Reserve Team needing to act.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao is eager to push his spiritual training and willingly endures painful spell practice. In the match, he follows the plan and uses his abilities with deliberate theatrical timing.
• Lu Yi shows care beneath his teasing: he limits the curse’s strength so he will not seriously harm Huo Yuhao, and he devises a strategy that turns psychological pressure into a decisive advantage.
• Wang Dong acts in close coordination with Huo Yuhao, demonstrating the power of their fusion skill.
• Xu Sanshi envies their dramatic victory and laments that he lacks a comparable finishing move or fusion skill with Jiang Nannan.

Themes and interactions

• Psychological warfare and perception: Huo Yuhao’s staged display and the pair’s fearless approach defeat opponents who are already overwhelmed.
• Trust and teamwork: Huo Yuhao trusts Lu Yi’s training and tactics; Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao execute their fusion attack in sync.
• Power and reputation: Shrek’s fame heightens the crowd’s expectations, while Huo Yuhao’s extraordinary Soul Rings shock spectators and competitors alike.
• The lighthearted banter continues after the match: Xu Sanshi complains about his romantic prospects, and Lu Yi mocks the supposed compatibility of Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan.

Plot points and events

• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong return after their match, and the crowd erupts over their apparent Soul Emperor strength and Huo Yuhao’s unprecedented Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. The Star Luo Emperor orders an investigation.
• The Reserve Team leaves the arena, while Huo Yuhao claims they should skip the remaining elimination matches and return to the hotel. He and Wang Dong are visibly exhausted, though they keep up the impression that their performance was genuine.
• Two Body Sect members, Yu Tao and Lang Ya, discuss Huo Yuhao. Lang Ya doubts the displayed power reflects his true cultivation, noting that Huo Yuhao trembled with exhaustion and had used a spiritual-type Soul Skill. They decide to watch Shrek closely while continuing their search for recruits.
• Back at the hotel, Wang Yan asks how the team devised its unusual strategy. The group credits Huo Yuhao with the central idea and Lu Yi with refining it. Impressed by their preparation and foresight, Wang Yan lets them continue directing their own plans.
• Ning Tian invites the team to dine at the Nine Treasures Pavilion once Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong recover. The others accept.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong earn the crowd’s admiration, but their exhaustion reveals the strain behind their dramatic performance.
• Lu Yi emerges as a strategic thinker who considers not only how to win the match but also its aftermath and the psychological impact on opponents.
• Wang Yan shifts from expecting the students to rely on direct strength to trusting their judgment and giving them greater freedom.
• Lang Ya is cautious and perceptive, questioning the apparent Soul Ring display rather than accepting it at face value. Yu Tao, impressed by Huo Yuhao’s spiritual abilities, wonders whether he might be a Body Sect prospect.
• Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei trade playful insults over Xu Sanshi’s claim to have helped devise the plan. Jiang Nannan’s laughter delights Xu Sanshi, though she ignores his lovesick attention.
• Ning Tian uses her resources to bring the team together socially, while Lu Yi privately jokes about her wealth and avoids the prospect of another extravagant celebration.

Significant themes

• Appearance versus reality: Huo Yuhao’s spectacular public image contrasts with his actual exhaustion and the uncertainty surrounding his displayed power.
• Strategy over brute force: The team succeeds through preparation, coordination, and psychological insight rather than simply fighting head-on.
• Trust and growth: Wang Yan recognizes the students’ capability and gives them more responsibility.
• Competition and recruitment: The match draws public attention while also attracting the Body Sect’s interest in potential recruits.

Key plot points and events

• More than a month after his previous visit, Lu Yi returns to the Nine Treasures Pavilion in Star Luo City with the Shrek group. The chief manager gives them an extravagant banquet, impressing even Teacher Wang Yan.
• Huo Yuhao asks about the promised reinforcements. Wang Yan admits he has no news and worries that the reserve students may be forced into major matches before they are ready, risking both Shrek’s reputation and the students’ confidence.
• Wang Yan outlines the upcoming round-robin formats: One-on-One and 2-2-3 Team Battles. The team settles its lineups:
  • One-on-One: Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, Lu Yi, Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao, then Ning Tian.
  • 2-2-3: Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan go first; Xu Sanshi and Lu Yi go second; Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Ning Tian finish.
    The plan preserves Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s hidden abilities and uses Ning Tian where her support skills matter most.
• With three days to prepare, the main team members focus on recovering from their injuries.
• That evening, Huo Yuhao seeks Lu Yi out for another mental-training session. Lu Yi declines the usual “Cruciatus Curse” exercise, then asks Huo Yuhao to test him with Soul Shock.
• Huo Yuhao’s attack rebounds, causing pain between his brows. Lu Yi is unharmed, having used Occlumency to defend himself, and asks Huo Yuhao to attack harder so he can test the limits of his mental defenses.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Yan reveals the strain of leading the team: he believes in the students but fears that a premature defeat could damage their confidence and future prospects.
• Huo Yuhao shows a playful side by imitating Dai Huabin while joking, then shifts into surprise when his Soul Shock rebounds. He also notices that Lu Yi knows the skill’s true name, but keeps the question to himself.
• Lu Yi demonstrates the unusual strength of his mental defenses and his desire to measure them. His knowledge of Soul Shock hints that he may know more about Huo Yuhao’s abilities than he has let on.
• The team cooperates in planning its battle order, balancing individual strengths, support needs, and the need to conceal certain abilities. Xu Sanshi’s wish to partner with Jiang Nannan is noted, but Lu Yi is judged the better strategic match for him.

Significant themes

• Pressure and responsibility: Wang Yan weighs the students’ potential against the risks of making them compete too soon.
• Strategy and secrecy: The lineups are designed to exploit team strengths while withholding Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s true capabilities.
• Testing limits and hidden strength: Lu Yi’s experiment with Occlumency suggests that both mental power and the characters’ knowledge of one another may be deeper than they appear.

Key plot points and events

• Lu Yi and Huo Yuhao continue their mental training. Lu Yi confirms that his Occlumency can withstand Huo Yuhao’s Soul Shock at reduced strength.
• While defending, Lu Yi uses shallow Legilimency to sense Huo Yuhao’s emotional shifts. He begins connecting those changes to Huo Yuhao’s attacks and eventually blocks a weakened Soul Shock by anticipating it. The experiment is tiring and still unreliable, so they agree to keep training gradually: Huo Yuhao will help strengthen Lu Yi’s mental offense and defense on even-numbered days, while Lu Yi will help expand Huo Yuhao’s mental power on odd-numbered days.
• Three days of elimination matches determine the teams advancing to the round-robin stage. The fights are brutal, with many injuries and some deaths, while the tournament’s popularity—and ticket prices—continues to rise.
• Shrek opens the round-robin stage against Yunluo Advanced Soul Engineer Academy. Xu Sanshi suggests letting Lu Yi go first, hoping he can exploit his disarming ability, but Wang Yan insists that Shrek follow its plan and not reveal the ability casually.
• The captains draw the two-two-three format. Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan are selected for Shrek’s opening pair. Yunluo sends two male Soul Engineers, one stout and one thin.
• The Shrek pair’s standard Soul Ring configurations disappoint spectators expecting to see the team’s powerful Soul Emperors. Yunluo’s fighters, though aware they are underdogs, recognize a possible chance against two Soul Ancestors and prepare to fight.

Character developments and interactions

• Lu Yi shows patience and discipline in developing his skills. His attempt to use Legilimency tactically hints at a new way to predict opponents, though it demands considerable mental effort.
• Huo Yuhao remains competitive but refuses to increase Soul Shock beyond a level he considers safe. Their training becomes a cooperative exchange rather than a one-sided lesson.
• Xu Sanshi is eager to showcase Lu Yi’s unusual ability, while Wang Yan prioritizes keeping Shrek’s tactics concealed.
• Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan follow the planned lineup, while the Yunluo pair sees the matchup as a rare opportunity to challenge Shrek.

Significant themes

• Training through steady practice: Both mental techniques improve incrementally, not instantly.
• Strategy and secrecy: Shrek must balance using its strengths against revealing them too early.
• Spectacle versus human cost: The audience celebrates increasingly violent matches, largely indifferent to the competitors’ injuries and deaths.
• Underdog ambition: Yunluo’s Soul Engineers know they are unlikely to win, but still dare to imagine an upset.

Key plot points and events

• Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan open Shrek’s match against Yunluo Academy. Reading their opponents’ Soul Tools, they split up: Bei Bei evades incoming fire while Jiang Nannan rushes the control-type Soul Engineer.
• Jiang Nannan uses Instantaneous Movement to bypass an electric net and appear behind her target, then knocks him out with Waist Bow. Bei Bei quickly defeats the remaining opponent, giving Shrek the first win.
• For the second match, Xu Sanshi and Lu Yi face Yunluo captain Situ Yu and Shang Yue. Xu Sanshi crudely ogles Shang Yue and boasts that he will handle the fight himself.
• Situ Yu begins assembling a cannon platform while Shang Yue guards him. Xu Sanshi instead leaps off the stage and uses Xuanming Displacement to switch places with Situ Yu, appearing behind Shang Yue.
• Lu Yi points his wand at Situ Yu and casts “Descendo,” dragging him down despite his Flying Soul Tool. Situ Yu crashes to the ground and is eliminated in under five seconds.
• Xu Sanshi’s attempt to surprise Shang Yue is spoiled when her Martial Soul Possession transforms her appearance. He recoils, then blocks her twin-blade attack as the match continues.

Character developments

• Jiang Nannan demonstrates quick judgment and effective use of her agility and spatial ability; Bei Bei complements her with calm, precise evasion and follow-through.
• Xu Sanshi is confident in his signature displacement move, but his lecherous behavior and vanity leave him vulnerable to embarrassment.
• Lu Yi reveals the value of his wand’s unusual power, decisively stopping Situ Yu’s attempted return to the stage.
• Situ Yu proves capable of reacting under pressure, activating his Flying Soul Tool, but is still outmaneuvered.

Significant themes

• Teamwork and tactical awareness: Shrek’s fighters adapt to opponents’ roles and coordinate without needing extensive discussion.
• Matchups and strategy: Agility counters ranged combat, while Xu Sanshi and Lu Yi disrupt Yunluo’s carefully planned cannon-platform formation.
• Confidence versus adaptability: Xu Sanshi’s bold plan succeeds, but he must adjust when reality contradicts his expectations.
• The limits of preparation: Yunluo’s formation is powerful in principle, yet its setup time makes it vulnerable to sudden, unconventional tactics.

Character interactions

• Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan coordinate seamlessly in the opening bout; afterward, Bei Bei warns Xu Sanshi and Lu Yi that Yunluo may send its strongest pair.
• Xu Sanshi’s remarks about Shang Yue disgust Jiang Nannan and amuse Lu Yi, who plays along.
• Xu Sanshi’s displacement catches both Yunluo contestants off guard, while Lu Yi’s spell completes the elimination.
• Shang Yue immediately attacks Xu Sanshi after he appears behind her, forcing him to defend himself.