Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Wu and Qin Muchu resume their duel while Dai Mubai and Oscar face Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun.
• Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing exploit Dai Mubai’s need to protect Oscar, steal a Recovery Sausage, and force the pair to retreat into the air using Flying Sausages.
• Xiao Wu tricks Qin Muchu into forgetting about her right-leg Soul Bone. She activates its Star Core Forbidden Domain, grounding Oscar and Dai Mubai and leaving them vulnerable to the opponents waiting below.
• Regretting his oversight, Qin Muchu unleashes his fifth Soul Skill, Heavenly Punishment Thunder Abyss. Xiao Wu escapes with teleportation, but Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing are struck and eliminated.
• Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu continue their close, evenly matched duel. Ning Rongrong watches, shaken by the gap between their abilities and her own.

Character developments

• Qin Muchu recognizes that his inexperience and carelessness cost his teammates their advantage. He responds decisively, but his area attack also takes out Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun.
• Xiao Wu shows tactical patience as well as fighting strength, using her Soul Bone at the right moment and escaping Qin Muchu’s counterattack.
• Dai Mubai and Oscar rely on flight to escape pressure, but their confidence leaves them unprepared for Xiao Wu’s domain.
• Ning Rongrong begins to doubt her own resolve after comparing herself with Xiao Wu and Qin Muchu.

Significant themes

• Tactics and awareness: A forgotten ability and a well-timed trap can outweigh apparent strength or a tactical advantage.
• The cost of complacency: Dai Mubai and Oscar relax once airborne, while Qin Muchu admits that a seasoned fighter would not have made his mistake.
• Self-doubt and comparison: Ning Rongrong’s admiration of powerful peers is mixed with anxiety about her own progress.

Character interactions

• Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing coordinate their attacks to keep Dai Mubai from exploiting openings, while Oscar supports Dai Mubai with sausages.
• Xiao Wu’s hidden Soul Bone ability turns Qin Muchu’s teammates’ escape into a trap; Qin Muchu answers with a powerful attack that removes her allies instead.
• Ning Rongrong supports Xiao Wu with her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, while privately struggling with what the duel reveals about her own strength.

Key plot points and events

• A team sparring match ends in a draw after four students are eliminated, leaving Qin Muchu, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong. Qin Muchu stops the fight rather than pressing his advantage.
• Ning Rongrong is exhausted from boosting several teammates at once. Xiao Wu thanks her and wipes the sweat from her forehead.
• During the post-match debrief, Ma Hongjun celebrates knocking Dai Mubai out, Oscar admits that nerves disrupt his Soul Power control, and Dai Mubai complains that his side faced unfair odds. Flender rejects that excuse, arguing that real opponents will exploit every advantage.
• Flender emphasizes that the Shrek Seven Devils succeed as a team: cooperation and support let them restrain stronger fighters.
• Later, Qin Muchu reflects with Tian Meng that his unusually easy cultivation and powerful Soul Rings have made him underestimate other Soul Masters and the dangers they might pose.

Character developments

• Qin Muchu recognizes that his knowledge and strength do not make him invulnerable. He resolves to take other people’s abilities—and unknown threats—more seriously.
• Ning Rongrong shows the strain behind her seemingly effortless support role, while also enjoying Xiao Wu’s care and friendship.
• Dai Mubai is challenged to stop treating unequal circumstances as an excuse and accept that strength includes using available advantages.
• Ma Hongjun and Oscar identify specific lessons about confidence and controlling their abilities under pressure.

Significant themes

• Teamwork over individual strength: coordination and support can hold back far stronger opponents.
• Adaptability and realism: fairness cannot be expected in combat; survival depends on using advantages and preparing for enemies’ tactics.
• Humility and vigilance: exceptional power and a smooth path to cultivation are no reason to dismiss others or assume every danger is understood.

Character interactions

• Xiao Wu comforts the exhausted Ning Rongrong, reinforcing their warm friendship.
• Flender turns the match into a lesson, confronting Dai Mubai’s complaint and praising the group’s teamwork.
• Qin Muchu teases Xiao Wu about her strength, then privately discusses his doubts with Tian Meng before rejoining his laughing companions.

Key plot points and events

• Ma Hongjun visits Qin Muchu to say that Flender wants to see him. He also reveals that he and Cuihua have broken up because they had little in common.
• Flender asks Qin Muchu to create a cultivation plan for Shrek Academy. Qin agrees, but says he will later ask Flender for a favor.
• Qin writes the plan immediately. Flender is impressed by its contents and approves it, agreeing to begin the training the next day and cover the costs. Qin insists on paying himself, implying that the necessary resources will be expensive.
• As Qin returns to the dormitory, he finds Dai Mubai waiting. Dai catches him by the arm and says he has something important to tell him.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Muchu shows confidence and initiative, criticizing the academy’s lack of structured training and stepping forward to improve it. He also hints at a future request of Flender.
• Flender is initially suspicious that Qin may be trying to extract a secret cultivation method, but becomes enthusiastic when he reads the plan. His pride and stinginess are tempered by his willingness to fund the training.
• Ma Hongjun is cheerful and self-satisfied about his breakup, which he frames as a matter of incompatibility rather than rejection.
• Dai Mubai appears eager and somewhat secretive, setting up a conversation that is left unresolved at the chapter’s end.

Significant themes

• Planning and responsibility: Qin takes practical steps to strengthen Shrek’s training rather than relying on its existing methods.
• Trust and ambition: Flender hopes to learn from Qin’s abilities, while Qin negotiates a future favor without revealing its nature.
• Resources and commitment: Qin’s willingness to pay suggests that effective cultivation requires substantial investment.
• Humor and rivalry: Teasing, boasting, and Flender’s comic suspicions shape the interactions throughout.

Plot points and events

• Dai Mubai privately asks Qin Muchu for advice about Zhu Zhuqing. He explains that they were engaged as children, but he left home under pressure and spent his first years at Shrek giving up on himself. Now he wants a future with her, but she remains distant.
• Qin Muchu advises him to be sincere, stop demanding Zhu Zhuqing’s attention, support her when she is vulnerable, and prove through consistent effort that she can rely on him. Dai Mubai accepts the advice.
• The next day, Flender unveils a six-month special-training program called the Furnace, meant to prepare the Shrek students for dangerous battles.
• Its first, two-month phase focuses on body tempering: students must carry iron weights through marching, water-crossing, and rock-climbing exercises under tenfold gravity, with their Soul Power sealed. Those who fail receive half a lunch the next day. They will also use medicinal baths and practice the Entropy Silence Starforging Art.
• Qin Muchu supplied both the medicinal baths and the body-tempering art, which he had obtained through the System Shop. He shares these resources because he believes a formidable future enemy makes it necessary to unite every available force.
• The students react with disbelief and protest, particularly Ma Hongjun and Oscar. Ning Rongrong appears determined despite being a Support-Type Soul Master. Xiao Wu realizes Qin Muchu supplied the training resources and questions him.

Character developments

• Dai Mubai recognizes how his past behavior damaged his relationship with Zhu Zhuqing and commits to changing through hard work rather than trying to win her over with attention alone.
• Qin Muchu demonstrates emotional insight in advising Dai Mubai and growing willingness to share powerful resources for the group’s future.
• Flender reveals a severe, highly structured approach to training, prioritizing survival and Shrek’s reputation.
• Ning Rongrong shows resolve despite the physical demands and her support role.

Significant themes

• Trust and relationships must be rebuilt through sincerity, patience, and dependable actions.
• Strength comes from sustained hardship and discipline; physical conditioning is presented as essential to surviving real combat.
• Facing a looming threat requires cooperation and sacrifice, including sharing resources and pushing beyond comfortable limits.

Character interactions

• Dai Mubai confides in Qin Muchu, who offers practical advice; Dai thanks him as a brother.
• Flender lays down the Furnace’s punishing rules, prompting complaints from Ma Hongjun and Oscar, while Ning Rongrong responds with determination.
• Xiao Wu connects Qin Muchu to the supplied training materials and confronts him with a suspicious question.

Key plot points and events

• Ma Hongjun and Oscar suspect Qin Muchu knew about the training plan. He denies it, and Flender confirms the teachers created it without telling him.
• Flender credits Qin Muchu for providing the valuable Body Tempering Art, though the students are skeptical of its importance.
• The students put on individual iron weights and begin a roughly fifteen-li mountain route. Their Soul Power is sealed, and Zhao Wuji’s tenfold Gravity Domain makes every movement much harder.
• Oscar and Ma Hongjun quickly ask to rest. Zhao Wuji refuses, threatening to carry them forward and cut their lunches until they can complete the route themselves. They reluctantly continue.

Character developments and interactions

• Qin Muchu is caught in the middle of the students’ suspicions and Flender’s teasing, but remains supportive during the training. He helps steady Ning Rongrong and Oscar when the gravity first hits.
• Flender shows gratitude and integrity by publicly acknowledging Qin Muchu’s contribution rather than taking credit for the Body Tempering Art.
• Ning Rongrong demonstrates greater toughness than before: despite nearly collapsing, she refuses help and insists she can continue. Oscar admires her resolve and follows her example.
• Dai Mubai takes the lead, relying on his strength and higher physical capacity. Zhu Zhuqing and the support-type students struggle more.
• Ma Hongjun and Oscar are the first to falter, but Zhao Wuji’s strict discipline and threats push them to keep going.
• Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu, already accustomed to body-conditioning, find the burden manageable and stay behind the others, ready to help.

Significant themes

• Endurance and discipline: The training tests the students’ bodies and determination rather than their Soul Power.
• Unequal strengths and individual limits: Each student struggles differently according to their role, conditioning, and physical ability.
• Recognition and trust: Flender’s acknowledgment of Qin Muchu’s gift strengthens the sense of fairness and gratitude within the group.

Key plot points and events

• The group reaches the waterfall’s base after a grueling march through the stronger current and slippery stones. Dai Mubai catches Zhu Zhuqing when she loses her footing, warns everyone to be careful, and continues leading.
• Exhausted, the students collapse on the riverbank. Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu help Ning Rongrong out of the water, and the group rests before facing the next obstacle: climbing a steep, wet cliff under tenfold gravity and with heavy packs.
• Qin Muchu climbs first, demonstrating a safe route and guiding the others from above. Dai Mubai follows, briefly dangling after a loose rock gives way, but recovers and reaches the top. Zhu Zhuqing climbs with agility and balance.
• Ma Hongjun struggles badly. As he nears collapse, he hears an inner voice urging him to quit, loses his grip, and falls. Xiao Wu uses Instant Teleportation to catch him.
• Ma Hongjun refuses Zhao Wuji’s offer to rest and continue later, declaring that he is giving up. Zhao warns him that training will continue and his lunch will be halved, but Ma accepts the penalty. Zhao, disappointed, sends Oscar up next.

Character developments and interactions

• Dai Mubai shows concern for Zhu Zhuqing by catching and warning her, while continuing to take responsibility for the group. His near-fall on the cliff exposes the limits of his strength under the training conditions.
• Zhu Zhuqing accepts Dai Mubai’s help with a quiet thank-you and watches him with a complicated expression. Despite her earlier stumble, she handles the climb skillfully.
• Qin Muchu takes the lead on the dangerous climb, prioritizing safety over letting Dai Mubai lead. He slows down to make his footholds easy to follow.
• Xiao Wu helps Ning Rongrong reach shore and later saves Ma Hongjun from falling, showing practical support and quick reflexes.
• Ma Hongjun reaches a breaking point, overwhelmed by exhaustion and self-doubt. He chooses to quit despite the consequences, prompting Zhao Wuji’s anger and disappointment.
• The group’s encouragement of Ma Hongjun contrasts with his sense that he can no longer continue.

Significant themes

• Endurance and personal limits: The training tests not only physical strength but mental resilience; Ma Hongjun’s decision marks the point where perseverance fails for him.
• Cooperation and responsibility: Students warn, guide, support, and rescue one another, while Qin Muchu and Dai Mubai take responsibility for the group’s safety.
• Setbacks and vulnerability: Even capable characters can falter, as shown by Dai Mubai’s slip and Ma Hongjun’s collapse.
• The cost of ambition: Continuing the training promises growth, but demands severe physical and emotional sacrifice.

Plot points and events

• Oscar fails several attempts to climb the cliff and gives up, exhausted. Ma Hongjun has also quit. Zhao Wuji reprimands them and reduces their lunch portions for the next day.
• Ning Rongrong begins climbing despite her exhaustion. She falls, injures her hands, treats them, and repeatedly tries again, reaching different heights before slipping.
• Xiao Wu eventually joins her, offering support without carrying her. With Xiao Wu’s help, Ning Rongrong reaches the top, where Qin Muchu and Dai Mubai pull her over.
• Ning Rongrong collapses, battered but joyful. The group praises her, and Zhu Zhuqing quietly checks her injuries. Zhao Wuji worries about how Ning Rongrong’s father might react, then sends Oscar and Ma Hongjun back separately from the remaining training.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Rongrong reveals pride and persistence beneath her pampered upbringing. Her failures and injuries do not stop her; completing the climb becomes a personal triumph.
• Xiao Wu demonstrates compassion and practical teamwork, supporting Ning Rongrong while leaving her to do most of the climbing.
• Oscar and Ma Hongjun are ashamed after giving up and witnessing Ning Rongrong’s determination. Oscar is especially struck by her resilience.
• Zhao Wuji remains a demanding instructor, using reprimands and consequences to push the students, though his concern for Ning Rongrong also shows through.
• The others respond to Ning Rongrong’s effort with admiration and care, reinforcing their growing bonds as a team.

Significant themes

• Perseverance and self-discovery: Ning Rongrong discovers a determination she had not previously shown.
• Teamwork: Xiao Wu’s assistance shows that strength can include helping a teammate succeed rather than leaving them to struggle alone.
• Pride and growth through hardship: The difficult climb turns pain and repeated failure into a source of confidence—and gives Ning Rongrong a new perspective on reaching the summit.

Key plot points and events

• After the exhausting first day of training, Ma Hongjun and Oscar return disappointed in themselves for giving up, while the other students collapse on the Training Ground.
• Flender considers the group’s effort better than expected. He grants Ning Rongrong a barely passing result because it was her first day and she had to rely on help, but says she must complete the training herself from now on.
• The students are sent to soak for two hours in medicinal baths while practicing Qin Muchu’s Entropy Silence Starforging Art.
• Qin Muchu discovers the art can still improve his body, despite his belief that he had already reached his limit. For the others, the baths repair training injuries, ease exhaustion, and make the art’s strengthening effects especially noticeable.
• Afterward, the group thanks Qin Muchu and promises to protect the secret of his technique. They eat a hearty meal, then learn that Ma Hongjun and Oscar will receive only half as much food the next day as a consequence of quitting early.

Character developments and interactions

• Ma Hongjun and Oscar feel ashamed of giving up, but their renewed confidence after experiencing the restorative training makes them determined to work harder.
• Dai Mubai is impressed by the technique’s superiority to the body-tempering method he learned as a prince. He also reprimands Ma Hongjun and Oscar for interrupting their practice.
• Ning Rongrong endures the day despite her low Soul Power and lack of physical conditioning. Seeing her bruises disappear and her body grow stronger, she recognizes how valuable—and dangerous to share—the technique is. She feels increasingly indebted to Qin Muchu.
• Zhu Zhuqing quietly enjoys the bath’s restorative effects and briefly recalls Qin Muchu’s help during the day, before pushing the memory aside.
• Qin Muchu is moved by the group’s sincere gratitude. Their affection gives him a sense of warmth and connection he lacked in his previous life.
• The group’s promises to repay Qin Muchu and keep the technique secret strengthen their trust and camaraderie.

Significant themes

• Perseverance and accountability: The students’ first failures do not define them; they are expected to try again, while consequences encourage responsibility.
• Growth through hardship: Intense training, followed by recovery, lets the students feel tangible physical improvement.
• Trust and generosity: Qin Muchu shares a highly valuable technique, and the others respond with gratitude, loyalty, and a commitment to protect him.
• Belonging and emotional healing: The group’s warmth helps Qin Muchu begin to make up for the loneliness of his former life.

Key plot points and events

• After recovering from the previous day’s exhausting training, the students gather late in the morning. Flender announces that those who quit yesterday will receive half portions at lunch, then sends everyone back over the same mountain route under Zhao Wuji’s tenfold gravity.
• The group finds the pressure more manageable, thanks to their physical adaptation and Qin Muchu’s cultivation method. Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong make steady progress instead of repeatedly stopping.
• At the waterfall cliff, Dai Mubai climbs first, followed by Qin Muchu and Zhu Zhuqing. Ma Hongjun volunteers to climb before Ning Rongrong.
• Despite fear, pain, and bleeding fingers, Ma Hongjun pushes past his previous limit. Encouraged by the group, he focuses on each next foothold and reaches the summit, where Qin Muchu helps pull him up.
• Oscar follows. Though physically less suited to the task as a Food-System Soul Master, he climbs carefully and steadily, reaches the top, and celebrates with Ma Hongjun.

Character developments

• Ma Hongjun overcomes his fear and self-doubt, driven by memories of disappointing his teacher and by the support of his friends. Reaching the summit gives him a powerful sense of achievement and belonging.
• Oscar shows greater confidence and discipline, using careful balance and a steady rhythm to compensate for his weaker physical condition.
• Ning Rongrong continues to serve as an example of determination; Ma Hongjun’s effort reflects his growing understanding of what she endured.
• The group is adapting physically and mentally to the demanding training, with the previously struggling students making visible progress.

Significant themes

• Persistence and incremental effort: Ma Hongjun succeeds by concentrating on one move at a time rather than the whole climb.
• Encouragement and belonging: The group’s support helps Ma Hongjun keep going, especially significant given his lonely childhood.
• Adaptation and individual strengths: The students improve through training, while Oscar’s careful technique shows that success does not depend on raw strength alone.

Character interactions

• Flender maintains strict discipline, while Zhao Wuji oversees the physical challenge.
• Dai Mubai praises the group’s progress and leads the climb; Qin Muchu helps Ma Hongjun and Oscar onto the summit.
• The students call encouragement to Ma Hongjun as he struggles, and Dai Mubai congratulates him afterward.
• Oscar and Ma Hongjun embrace and celebrate their shared success.

After a week of punishing training, all seven Shrek students grew stronger, and Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun broke through to new soul-power thresholds that required them to hunt for soul rings. Flender led the group toward the Star Dou Great Forest, and they arrived at Soul Hunting Town, where Qin Muchu defended gentle rabbit-type soul beasts.

• Ning Rongrong reached the summit, allowing all seven students to complete their daily training.
• Over the next week, the students grew stronger, and their soul-power levels rose; Dai Mubai reached level forty and Ma Hongjun reached level thirty.
• Flender decided to take Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun to the Star Dou Great Forest for soul rings and bring the other five students for experience.
• The group traveled to Soul Hunting Town, where Oscar explained the nearby forest's dangers and Xiao Wu asked about its hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
• Qin Muchu stroked Xiao Wu's head and told Oscar that some soul beasts, especially rabbits, were gentle and adorable.

Qin Muchu and the others settled into a hotel in Soul Hunting Town, where they clashed with students from Canghui Academy after the students harassed Zhu Zhuqing. The Shrek group swiftly defeated them, leaving their teacher shocked by their strength.

• Qin Muchu secured the four available rooms at the hotel, and Xiao Wu and Ma Hongjun ordered a feast with Ning Rongrong's offer to pay.
• Qin Muchu took Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu around town to search shops for valuable treasures, but they found nothing worthwhile and returned with a few trinkets.
• At the hotel, Dai Mubai confronted a Canghui Academy student who was harassing Zhu Zhuqing.
• Qin Muchu struck the arrogant student with a stool, and he, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing quickly defeated the other six students who attacked them.
• The Canghui Academy teacher saw his students sprawled on the floor and was shocked that the young group had beaten them so quickly.

Qin Muchu and his companions confronted Ye Zhiqiu after Zhao Cheng demanded their deaths, then set out for the Star Dou Great Forest to help their group advance. Ye Zhiqiu backed down after seeing Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu reveal their Soul King strength, while Dai Mubai took Zhao Cheng away unconscious.

• Ye Zhiqiu apologized for his students and asked Qin Muchu which academy the group belonged to, but Zhao Cheng demanded that Ye kill them.
• Ye Zhiqiu slapped Zhao Cheng and refused to hand him over, so Dai Mubai insisted that Canghui Academy answer for the threat.
• Qin Muchu paid the innkeeper for the damage and revealed his soul rings, and Xiao Wu revealed hers as well.
• Ye Zhiqiu learned that Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu were twelve-year-old Soul Kings and left with his students; Qin Muchu handed Zhao Cheng to Dai Mubai, who knocked him unconscious and dragged him away.
• The next morning, Qin Muchu assigned positions and cautioned everyone to hold formation as they set off for the Star Dou Great Forest.

Qin Muchu led the group into the Star Dou Great Forest, where Flender warned them about its dangerous soul beasts. After they found a pack centered on an eight-thousand-year soul beast, Flender left the group to plan how to take it down without injuries.

• Flender warned the group about the dangers of the Star Dou Great Forest and gave them time to rest and prepare Oscar's sausages.
• Qin Muchu led the group through the forest, avoided harmless rodent soul beasts, and explained that soul beasts should not be killed needlessly.
• The group stopped to rest in a clearing, where Ning Rongrong showed concern for Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu responded with a faint smile.
• Flender reported a pack of soul beasts five kilometers away, including one with an aura of at least eight thousand years.
• Dai Mubai volunteered to take the eight-thousand-year soul beast, but Flender told him to sit down and explained that the group had to defeat the pack without getting hurt.

Qin Muchu organized the group to confront a herd of Golden Armored Earthsplitter Rhinoceroses and took on their leader, while Xiao Wu handled the stronger beasts. Qin Muchu knocked the leader unconscious, and Xiao Wu incapacitated all five of her opponents as the others engaged the remaining rhinoceroses.

• Qin Muchu learned from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm that the herd included a leader with over ninety-two hundred years of cultivation and assigned the group to keep the beasts occupied without killing them.
• Qin Muchu led the group toward the herd, while Xiao Wu circled around to face the five rhinoceroses with over four thousand years of cultivation.
• Qin Muchu cut through the leader’s armor, disrupted its attack with Spiritual Storm, and knocked it unconscious with his sword.
• Xiao Wu threw two rhinoceroses into each other, then used her Invincible Golden Body to knock the remaining three unconscious.

Qin Muchu helped Dai Mubai and the others fight ten Golden Armored Earthsplitter Rhinoceroses so Dai Mubai could absorb their leader’s nine-thousand-year soul ring. Dai Mubai successfully gained the Golden Armor Overlord Body skill, and Qin Muchu prepared to help the others find suitable soul beasts.

• Qin Muchu and another fighter swiftly defeated their Earthsplitter Rhinoceroses while Dai Mubai and the others battled ten more from the air.
• Qin Muchu used Heavenly Punishment Thunder Abyss to bring down the rhinoceroses, and Dai Mubai killed their leader to claim its soul ring.
• Dai Mubai endured two hours of pressure before absorbing the nine-thousand-year soul ring successfully.
• Dai Mubai revealed that his fourth soul skill, Golden Armor Overlord Body, granted control-effect immunity and let him detonate stacked golden cracks for damage.
• Qin Muchu told the group they would next help the others find suitable soul beasts.

Ma Hongjun fought a Lava Crimson Flame Vulture with support from Ning Rongrong and Oscar after Qin Muchu identified it as a suitable soul beast. The battle left both Ma Hongjun and the vulture injured, and the fight was still underway.

• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm sensed a suitable Lava Crimson Flame Vulture approaching, and Qin Muchu told Ma Hongjun to fight it himself with Ning Rongrong and Oscar supporting him.
• Oscar gave Ma Hongjun Flying and Recovery Sausages, while Ning Rongrong used her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to enhance his strength and speed.
• Ma Hongjun attacked with Phoenix Fire Line, but the vulture dodged and clawed his shoulder.
• Ning Rongrong maintained her enhancements as Ma Hongjun used a Recovery Sausage and unleashed Phoenix of Rebirth.
• Ma Hongjun and the diving vulture collided in midair, leaving Ma Hongjun bloodied and the vulture badly burned.

Ma Hongjun defeated the Lava Crimson Flame Vulture and absorbed its Soul Ring, reaching level thirty-one and gaining the Explosive Meteor Crash skill. He explained how the attack worked and offered to use it against heavily armored opponents.

• Ma Hongjun clung to the Lava Crimson Flame Vulture and killed it with Phoenix Fire Line before it could crash them into the ground.
• Oscar gave Ma Hongjun a Recovery Sausage, and Qin Muchu praised him for winning the fight.
• Ma Hongjun began absorbing the vulture's two-thousand-year Soul Ring while his companions guarded him and Ning Rongrong helped stabilize his Soul Power.
• After nearly an hour, Ma Hongjun completed the absorption, reached level thirty-one, and strengthened his phoenix wings.
• Ma Hongjun announced that his Third Soul Skill was Explosive Meteor Crash and described how he would dive like a flaming meteor and detonate his Evil Fire on impact.

After Ma Hongjun successfully absorbed his third soul ring, Qin Muchu recognized the nearby people as the Peerless Dragon Snake couple and their granddaughter Meng Yiran, who was dying after absorbing a Man Faced Demon Spider soul ring beyond her limits. He brought Flender’s group to help, and they arrived as Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang confronted them.

• Ma Hongjun showed off his new phoenix-wing skill, then returned with the others under Flender’s direction.
• Qin Muchu heard a woman’s scream and learned from the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm that a young girl was in mortal danger after absorbing an excessive soul ring.
• Qin Muchu identified the girl as Meng Yiran and persuaded Flender to approach the Peerless Dragon Snake couple, saying they might gain powerful allies.
• Meng Shu tried to stabilize Meng Yiran’s chaotic soul power while Chao Tianxiang anxiously watched over her.
• Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang noticed Qin Muchu’s group approaching, and Chao Tianxiang summoned her six soul rings and ordered them to leave.

Qin Muchu used the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm’s Mental Power to help Meng Yiran withstand the Man Faced Demon Spider’s resentment and complete her Soul Ring absorption. Just as her grandparents believed she was safe, Meng Yiran screamed and collapsed again, and Qin Muchu seemed to recognize what was happening.

• Flender persuaded Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang to let Qin Muchu and his students try to save Meng Yiran.
• Ning Rongrong revealed her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul and boosted Meng Yiran, startling the Peerless Dragon Snake couple with her connection to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Qin Muchu asked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm to stabilize Meng Yiran’s Sea of Consciousness and shield her from the Man Faced Demon Spider’s resentment.
• Meng Yiran recovered enough to absorb the Soul Ring, and three rings appeared at her feet as Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang rejoiced.
• Meng Yiran suddenly screamed and collapsed again, and Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang urgently asked Qin Muchu what was happening.

Meng Yiran survived the Man Faced Demon Spider attack and gained an External Soul Bone, while Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu returned to Shrek Academy with the others. Meng Shu offered Qin Muchu his family’s gratitude and hinted at a match with Yiran, and an unseen observer watched Qin Muchu and Xiao Wu holding hands.

• Qin Muchu recognized that Meng Yiran was developing an External Soul Bone, and the bone-like Spider Legs grew from her back.
• Qin Muchu explained the External Soul Bone to the others and helped Chao Tianxiang cover Meng Yiran; Yiran learned to retract her new Spider Legs.
• Meng Yiran thanked Qin Muchu and Ning Rongrong, and Meng Shu promised the Dragon Snake spouses would repay their debt.
• Meng Shu asked Qin Muchu whether he had feelings for Meng Yiran, making her blush, but Qin Muchu excused himself and left.
• Qin Muchu asked Xiao Wu whether she wanted to return to the Lake of Life; she declined, and he promised to protect her as they held hands.
• Qin Muchu and the others returned to Shrek Academy after a day's trek, while another pair of eyes watched the couple.