Chapter Summaries

Key plot points

• Qian Duoduo tries to stop Huang Jinxu with a powerful Spatial Barrier Soul Tool, but Huang easily breaks it and knocks him into the street. Huang had deliberately struck the tool rather than Qian, recognizing that he was trying to protect Nan Qiuqiu.
• Yan Shaozhe activates his Bright Phoenix Martial Soul, convinced he can now face Huang. Huang attacks with overwhelming force, crippling Yan and shattering his Martial Soul, leaving him unable to become a Soul Master again.
• Huang goes immediately to Nan Qiuqiu, apologizes for the years she suffered, and shields her as the other Shrek elders prepare to respond.
• Yan’s wife, Cai Mei’er, tries to attack Huang, but Divine Eagle Douluo Song Yunzhi restrains her and orders her to check whether Yan can be saved. Song and Xuan Zi then demand an explanation from Huang and question his allegiance.

Character developments and interactions

• Huang Jinxu reveals both immense power and restraint: he spares Qian Duoduo, but mercilessly disables Yan. His attention turns from the confrontation to his daughter, whom he comforts and protects.
• Nan Qiuqiu is overwhelmed by seeing her father and hearing his apology. She realizes her mother was right that Huang had reasons for being absent, though she remains frightened by the threat around him.
• Yan Shaozhe goes from confidence to catastrophic defeat after underestimating Huang.
• Qian Duoduo is shocked by the gulf in strength and survives because Huang recognizes his protective intent.
• Cai Mei’er reacts to Yan’s injury with rage, while Song Yunzhi prioritizes preventing another casualty and preserving a chance to assess Yan’s condition.
• Song Yunzhi and Xuan Zi confront Huang as possible traitors, keeping the encounter on the verge of a larger fight. Huang reassures Qiuqiu that he will protect her.

Significant themes

• Power and restraint: Huang’s ability to spare Qian while devastating Yan shows that his actions are deliberate, not indiscriminate.
• Family and reconciliation: Qiuqiu’s reunion with her father begins to repair the pain caused by his long absence.
• Misjudgment and consequence: Yan’s confidence and assumptions leave him unprepared for Huang’s true strength.
• Loyalty and suspicion: The elders’ immediate questions about Huang’s allegiance underscore the distrust surrounding his actions.

Key plot points

• Huang Jinxu faces Shrek Academy’s senior figures without backing down after crippling Yan Shaozhe. Xuan Zi prepares to attack, but Song Yunzhi stops him and asks Huang to explain himself.
• Huang reveals that Yan interrupted him twice while he was preparing a life-extending pill for Mu En. He suspects Yan deliberately tried to prevent Mu En from surviving.
• Huang produces the Primordial Bone-Shaping Pill, made from rare ingredients. He says it can suppress the dangerous energy in Mu En’s Dragon Core, restore his Martial Soul Origin, and potentially extend his life by about ten years—provided Mu En avoids fighting.
• Zhuang Yusen confirms the pill contains extraordinary life force, though he cannot guarantee it will still help Mu En.
• The group learns that Mu En recently used Sea God’s Light to save students and Ma Xiaotao after her Evil Fire went out of control.
• The timing raises suspicions: Yan had summoned the academy’s teachers to a meeting just as Ma Xiaotao’s rampage began, leaving Mu En to intervene. The senior figures begin to suspect Yan engineered the crisis as well as obstructed the pill-making.

Character developments and interactions

• Huang Jinxu shifts from anger toward explanation, presenting evidence and the pill rather than continuing the confrontation. His devotion to Mu En becomes clear.
• Song Yunzhi acts as a voice of reason, restraining Xuan Zi and urging the others to hear Huang out.
• Xuan Zi initially reacts with fury, then asks the crucial question about whether the pill can still help Mu En.
• Zhuang Yusen recognizes the pill’s potency but deliberately returns it, wary of his own temptation to keep it.
• Yan Shaozhe, already crippled, becomes the focus of growing suspicion. Cai Mei’er is the only other person not swept up in the others’ renewed hope for Mu En.
• Huang’s accusation transforms the meeting: the elders’ attention shifts from condemning him to scrutinizing Yan.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Huang risks his standing to protect Mu En and expose what he sees as deliberate harm.
• Power and accountability: Yan’s actions are judged not only by their consequences but by whether he manipulated events behind the academy’s authority.
• Coincidence versus conspiracy: The repeated interruptions and the timing of Ma Xiaotao’s rampage make the elders question whether events were arranged.
• Hope amid crisis: The pill offers a possible reprieve for Mu En, but uncertainty about his condition keeps that hope precarious.

Key plot points and events

• After Yan Shaozhe’s suspicious conduct and his attack on Huang Jinxu, Shrek’s leaders decide to imprison him until Mu En wakes. Song Yunzhi warns Xuan Zi to kill Yan if he makes a suspicious move; Cai Mei’er is also watched.
• Huang Jinxu agrees to examine Mu En but privately suspects that larger forces have been manipulating Huo Yuhao’s Fortune to benefit Shrek and the Tang Sect—and perhaps to make Huo Yuhao easier to control.
• Huang reveals that Nan Qiuqiu is his daughter and gives her a Storage Soul Tool full of gifts. She accepts his need to attend to the emergency.
• Huang discovers that a trace of Huo Yuhao’s Fortune has helped preserve Mu En in a deathlike state. However, Mu En’s condition is worse than expected: the Primordial Bone-Shaping Pill can extend his life by only three or four years, rather than ten.
• Huang and Elder Zhuang Yusen use the Tree of Life’s vitality, the pill’s medicinal power, and starlight and moonlight to treat Mu En and purge the Dragon Core’s violent energy. At dawn, Mu En opens his eyes.
• Huang appears severely exhausted, though he is exaggerating his fatigue to create an opportunity to obtain one of Shrek’s remaining Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones for Nan Qiuqiu.

Character developments

• Huang Jinxu emerges as a capable healer and strategist. He is genuinely concerned for Mu En, but also continues to pursue his own plans and protect his daughter.
• Nan Qiuqiu shows quiet understanding toward her father, accepting his gifts and letting him focus on the crisis.
• Yan Shaozhe loses the academy’s trust and is left imprisoned, gravely injured, and suspected of betrayal.
• Song Yunzhi and the other elders become more wary and decisive, prioritizing Mu En’s survival while keeping Yan and Cai under close watch.
• Zhuang Yusen readily cooperates with Huang, using his healing Martial Soul to help save Mu En.

Significant themes

• Trust and suspicion: Yan’s actions fracture the academy’s confidence, while Huang’s own motives remain mixed.
• Fortune and manipulation: Huo Yuhao’s Fortune may have preserved Mu En, but the possibility that it is being exploited raises broader questions about hidden schemes.
• Duty and self-interest: Huang helps Shrek in a crisis while also seeking a Soul Bone for his daughter.
• Hope amid limited time: Mu En survives, but only for a few more years—enough to give the academy a chance to prepare for the future.

Character interactions

• Song Yunzhi confronts the crisis by ordering Yan’s confinement and asking Huang to assess Mu En.
• Huang and Nan Qiuqiu share a restrained, affectionate reunion; she acknowledges his obligations without demanding more.
• Huang and Zhuang work together closely, combining their abilities to treat Mu En.
• The elders’ anger at Yan intensifies when they learn that his actions may have cost Mu En several years of life.

Key plot points and events

• Mu En wakes after Huang Jinxu uses the Primordial Bone-Shaping Pill. He can stand and walk again, though the cure is incomplete: intense fighting could return him to his former condition.
• Shrek’s elders are relieved and grateful, but their anger toward Yan Shaozhe remains. They blame his interference for worsening Mu En’s situation and intend to punish him.
• Huang Jinxu leaves the academy to reunite with his daughter, Nan Qiuqiu. He tells her that his Heavenly Lone Star Martial Soul caused harm to those close to him, leading him to stay away from her and her mother.
• Huang Jinxu conceals the full danger: after his Martial Soul’s Second Awakening, he may not be able to control its harmful influence until he reaches the level of a Limit Douluo. For now, he can direct it toward a chosen target.

Character developments and interactions

• Mu En is restored to some mobility and recognizes Huang Jinxu’s sacrifice, worrying that the treatment may have cost him strength or cultivation.
• Huang Jinxu refuses to take credit for saving Mu En and prioritizes returning to his daughter. He opens up about his past, while withholding some details to protect her.
• Nan Qiuqiu is overwhelmed with guilt and emotion. She had doubted her father’s reasons for being absent, but now understands his separation as an attempt to protect the family. Huang Jinxu comforts her and promises to make up for lost time.
• Shrek’s elders rally around Mu En’s survival, but their resentment toward Yan Shaozhe remains unresolved.

Significant themes

• Sacrifice and duty: Huang Jinxu risks much to save Mu En, while his long separation from his family was intended as protection.
• Family, regret, and reconciliation: Father and daughter begin healing years of hurt through an honest conversation.
• Truth and concealment: Huang Jinxu explains his past but hides the continuing danger of his power, leaving reconciliation built on an incomplete account.
• Fragile recovery and lasting consequences: Mu En’s renewed ability to walk offers hope, but his condition remains vulnerable.

Key plot points and events

• Huang Jinxu reflects on his estranged family and realizes he should visit them again.
• Nan Qiuqiu gives him a letter from her mother, Nan Shuishui. It says she never regretted their relationship, reports that preparations to explore the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow are nearly complete, and asks that Qiuqiu take her father’s surname.
• Huang Jinxu leaves the choice to his daughter. Qiuqiu readily agrees, becoming Huang Qiuqiu. Their reconciliation gives Huang Jinxu a sudden breakthrough opportunity.
• At Shrek Academy, the Sea God Pavilion debates how to punish Yan Shaozhe. Mu En decides to remove him as Martial Soul Department dean, restrict him to Shrek City, and allow his Soul Bone to pass to his child if he can pass on the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul; otherwise, it will go to the academy.
• Mu En judges that Yan acted out of bad luck rather than deliberate betrayal. With the dean’s post vacant, Mu En plans to approach Huang Jinxu about taking it.

Character developments and interactions

• Huang Jinxu and Huang Qiuqiu: Their reunion becomes a formal father-daughter bond. Qiuqiu’s eagerness to share his surname deeply moves him.
• Huang Jinxu: His thoughts about Huo Yuhao and the influence of mothers’ teachings help him understand how a parent shapes a child’s outlook. He also recognizes that Qiuqiu does not share Yuhao’s deep-rooted insecurity.
• Mu En and Yan Shaozhe: Mu En imposes a severe but measured punishment, while acknowledging Shaozhe’s loyalty to the academy and asking whether he feels wronged.
• Mu En and Huang Jinxu: Mu En trusts Huang to help Shrek in a future crisis and sees him as the best candidate for the vacant dean position.

Significant themes

• Family, acceptance, and identity: Qiuqiu’s surname change symbolizes her acceptance of her father and their renewed bond.
• The lasting influence of parents: Huang reflects on how mothers’ backgrounds and teachings shape their children’s character.
• Responsibility and fairness: Mu En balances institutional consequences with his personal understanding of Yan Shaozhe.
• Fate and opportunity: The family reconciliation unexpectedly brings Huang a chance to advance in cultivation.

Key plot points and events

• Mu En decides Huang Jinxu’s loyalty to Shrek Academy must be secured through practical rewards, not appeals to its history. He retrieves a hundred-thousand-year Right Leg Bone and a Right Arm Bone, intending to give them to Huang Jinxu.
• He discovers Huang Jinxu is breaking through and considers his potential: at rank 98 he could briefly challenge a Limit Douluo. Mu En worries, however, that even a Limit Douluo might not be enough to oppose Beast God Di Tian.
• Mu En hopes either Huang Jinxu will accept the Sea God Pavilion Master position, or Xuan Zi will advance and awaken his divine-beast bloodline. He privately blames Spirit Hall’s legacy for the academy’s troubles, then leaves Huang Jinxu to his seclusion.
• New students begin classes. Huo Yuhao, having joined the Soul Tool Department, studies under Suo Ke, a Soul Emperor and rank-six Soul Engineer.
• Ning Tian, the twelve-year-old daughter and direct disciple of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect’s leader, has also chosen the Soul Tool Department. The sect is declining and hopes Soul Tools can help restore its influence.
• Ning Tian notices Huo Yuhao after seeing Mu En’s interest in him. As Huo Yuhao quickly masters Soul Tool theory and shows exceptional aptitude, she decides to investigate him and recruit him into her sect.
• After training with Zhou Yi, Wang Dong feels physically fine but senses that the class is missing something—or someone.

Character developments and interactions

• Mu En acts strategically, using valuable soul bones to bind Huang Jinxu to Shrek. His concern about Di Tian and frustration with the academy’s leaders reveal the pressure he feels to protect Shrek.
• Huang Jinxu is shown to be nearing a major breakthrough, though his reluctance to lead Shrek remains an obstacle.
• Ning Tian emerges as ambitious and pragmatic. Though her intended path was to find a powerful partner through the Martial Soul Department, she adapts to the sect’s changing needs and sees Huo Yuhao as a valuable recruit.
• Huo Yuhao demonstrates a natural gift for Soul Tools, impressing both his teacher and Ning Tian through his rapid learning and independent insights.
• Wang Dong appears to miss someone’s presence, suggesting an emotional attachment or growing sense of absence.

Significant themes

• Loyalty through mutual benefit: Mu En believes tangible rewards will secure Huang Jinxu’s commitment more effectively than tradition or prestige.
• Institutional decline and adaptation: The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect turns toward Soul Tools as it struggles to survive and regain influence.
• Talent as a source of power: Huo Yuhao’s aptitude makes him a target for recruitment, while Huang Jinxu’s potential shapes Shrek’s plans.
• The burden of leadership: Mu En weighs the academy’s future against the threat posed by Di Tian and the uncertain prospects of its key figures.

Key plot points and events

• Wang Dong is distracted during training and ignores Zhou Yi’s instructions. Zhou Yi berates her, then uses her aura to intimidate her.
• Already upset by Huo Yuhao’s absence and unsettled by a hollow feeling she cannot explain, Wang Dong refuses to accept Zhou Yi’s treatment. She leaves the field, saying the academy has other classes.
• To preserve her authority, Zhou Yi uses her Fourth Soul Skill, Fire Tornado, to trap Wang Dong. She intends to restrain, not injure, her.
• Wang Dong counters with her Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul and thousand-year Butterfly God’s Light Soul Skill. The attack fails to break the restraint, and its backlash badly injures her.
• Zhou Yi withdraws the tornado, but Wang Dong rushes at her and reveals a second Martial Soul: the Clear Sky Hammer. Zhou Yi recognizes its significance and realizes she may have misjudged Wang Dong.

Character developments

• Wang Dong shows fierce pride and a strong refusal to submit to intimidation. Her usual confidence is undercut by unexplained emotional distress and her inability to put her anger into words.
• Zhou Yi is revealed as an authoritarian teacher who uses her position and selective discipline to control students. Her anger makes her overstep, and her confidence falters when Wang Dong reveals her lineage’s renowned Martial Soul.

Significant themes

• Authority versus defiance: Zhou Yi’s attempt to enforce obedience escalates into a physical confrontation.
• Power and misjudgment: Zhou Yi assumes she can control Wang Dong, underestimating both her resolve and her hidden strength.
• Emotional vulnerability beneath pride: Wang Dong’s anger is intensified by her unease over Huo Yuhao’s absence and her sense of inner emptiness.

Character interactions

• Zhou Yi’s insults and display of power provoke Wang Dong rather than cowing her.
• Wang Dong’s attempt to leave challenges Zhou Yi’s authority in front of the class, prompting the teacher’s attack.
• Their confrontation shifts dramatically when Wang Dong reveals the Clear Sky Hammer, leaving Zhou Yi shocked and wary.

Key plot points

• Fearing the Clear Sky Sect’s influence, Zhou Yi deliberately lets Wang Dong’s Clear Sky Hammer injure her so she can portray herself as the victim and control the account of their confrontation.
• Du Weilun arrives, hears that a student struck a teacher, and announces that Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao are expelled—ignoring Xiao Xiao’s attempt to explain.
• Zhou Yi intervenes, claiming she and Wang Dong were sparring and that the injury was accidental. Wang Dong then realizes Zhou Yi set her up.
• Wang Dong leaves with Xiao Xiao, saying she will report the incident to her fathers if the academy refuses to treat them fairly.
• Zhou Yi tells Du Weilun privately that Wang Dong is from the Clear Sky Sect. Du Weilun decides to report the matter to the Dean, unaware that Yan Shaozhe has lost his position. He finds Yan bedridden and badly disfigured.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Yi abandons concern for her authority or dignity, prioritizing her position and trying to manipulate the situation. Her anxiety grows once Wang Dong leaves.
• Wang Dong initially feels confused and guilty after injuring Zhou Yi, but eventually sees through the setup. She stands up for herself and Xiao Xiao and refuses to accept unfair treatment.
• Xiao Xiao tries to defend Wang Dong, but Du Weilun cuts her off and includes her in the expulsion.
• Du Weilun is quick to condemn the students before hearing their side. Learning Wang Dong’s background makes him cautious, though he still insists that academy rules apply.
• Zhou Yi and Du Weilun coordinate their response around the risk of provoking the Clear Sky Sect, while Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao leave together in protest.

Significant themes

• Manipulation and self-preservation: Zhou Yi engineers an injury to protect herself and shape the narrative.
• Authority versus fairness: Du Weilun enforces discipline without investigating the full story, highlighting the danger of judging by appearances.
• Power and reputation: The Clear Sky Sect’s influence affects how academy officials respond.
• Loyalty and solidarity: Wang Dong takes Xiao Xiao with her and promises to seek outside help rather than abandon her friend.

Key plot points

• Yan Shaozhe remains crippled, powerless, and wrongly accused of harming Mu En. Mu En has suggested he may recover if he recognizes his own shortcomings, but Yan believes he has done nothing wrong and secretly plans to ruin Huang Jinxu’s reputation.
• Yan’s misery worsens when his bed collapses, injuring him again. Cai Mei’er takes him for treatment, but Elder Zhuang is recovering from treating Mu En and cannot be disturbed.
• Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao spend several days wandering Shrek City after their expulsion. Du Weilun repeatedly fails to reach the academy’s leaders, so they do not learn that a Clear Sky Sect disciple has been expelled.
• As Xiao Xiao’s anxiety grows, Wang Dong contacts the Clear Sky Sect through a hidden local shop. Its representative is outraged and promises to inform the First and Second Sect Masters.
• Huo Yuhao’s life proceeds normally, but he befriends Ning Tian. After discovering he is Heavenly Fiend Douluo’s disciple, she decides to cultivate a relationship with him.

Character developments and interactions

• Yan Shaozhe is bitter and humiliated, but remains convinced of his innocence. His exchanges with Du Weilun and Cai Mei’er underscore how sharply his status and authority have fallen.
• Du Weilun is overwhelmed by the academy crisis and unable to report it to senior leaders, despite repeated attempts.
• Wang Dong reassures Xiao Xiao and takes responsibility for seeking help, eventually turning to her sect. Xiao Xiao, initially comforted by Wang Dong, becomes increasingly fearful about the consequences of expulsion for her and her family.
• The Clear Sky Sect representative reacts fiercely to Wang Dong’s report, setting the stage for a broader dispute with Shrek.
• Ning Tian shifts from curiosity about Huo Yuhao to a deliberate effort to gain his trust and friendship.

Significant themes

• Misfortune and powerlessness: Yan’s injuries and loss of authority compound his sense of injustice.
• Pride and self-reflection: Mu En’s suggestion that Yan must recognize his flaws clashes with Yan’s certainty that he has none.
• Delayed consequences: Shrek’s failure to inform its leaders gives the expelled students a brief reprieve, but Wang Dong’s message now threatens to bring the conflict to the Clear Sky Sect.
• Loyalty and strategic relationships: Wang Dong seeks support from her family, while Ning Tian approaches Huo Yuhao with an eye toward his connections.

Key plot points and events

• The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Merchant Guild learns that Heavenly Fiend Douluo drove back Black Dragon Douluo and crippled Yan Shaozhe. It judges him to have “potential Limit Douluo” and sees value in befriending his disciple.
• Ning Tian spends several days cultivating a friendship with Huo Yuhao, hoping to build a connection with the powerful expert’s disciple.
• Huang Jinxu remains in seclusion to fuse with a 150,000-year-old Head Soul Bone before attempting a breakthrough, improving his chances of success.
• Tai Tan, the Clear Sky Sect’s rank-98 second sect master, arrives at Shrek Academy in a fury, demanding that Zhou Yi be brought out. Mu En confronts him, ready to defend the academy, but Wang Dong’s appearance calms Tai Tan.
• Recognizing the risk of a fight, Mu En invites Tai Tan inside to discuss the matter. Tai Tan agrees, partly because Wang Dong is safe and partly because Mu En’s condition is unexpectedly strong.
• Zhou Yi realizes how serious the situation is and rushes to seek help from her husband, Fan Yu. Du Weilun, meanwhile, decides to shift all blame onto Zhou Yi to protect himself.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Tian proves socially perceptive and deliberately builds rapport with Huo Yuhao for her sect’s benefit.
• Tai Tan moves from open hostility to restraint after seeing Wang Dong safe. His affection for Wang Dong overrides much of his anger.
• Mu En stands firm to protect Shrek’s reputation, then turns the confrontation into a diplomatic opportunity. He also sees Tai Tan’s presence as possible leverage against the Sun Moon Empire.
• Zhou Yi changes from confidence in her position to fear once she understands the power of the person backing Wang Dong. She turns to Fan Yu as her last hope.
• Du Weilun responds to the crisis self-preservingly, choosing to sacrifice Zhou Yi to save himself.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: An expert’s actions quickly reshape how factions assess their influence and future prospects.
• Political calculation: Mu En and the merchant guild both view personal connections and displays of strength as strategic assets.
• Loyalty and protection: Tai Tan’s concern for Wang Dong softens his hostility, while Zhou Yi seeks protection from Fan Yu.
• Self-preservation and blame: Du Weilun’s decision highlights the academy’s internal politics and the willingness to sacrifice others when threatened.

Key plot points and events

• After learning that Zhou Yi had abused her authority—humiliating and physically punishing students, then expelling them—Shrek’s senior leadership moved to punish her. Xuan Zi was especially furious because her actions had nearly provoked a battle between Mu En and Tai Tan, a powerful Clear Sky Sect expert. He seized Zhou Yi and brought her before the academy leaders.
• Tai Tan immediately struck Zhou Yi, leaving her half-dead and crippling her Martial Soul. Mu En then formally expelled her for violating the academy’s teaching principles. Zhou Yi protested her achievements and status, but the academy’s judgment stood.
• Shrek promised to find Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao a capable, considerate teacher and granted both core-disciple privileges. Tai Tan left after receiving compensation.
• Soon afterward, Soul Power gathered around Huang Jinxu as he emerged from seclusion having broken through to level 98. The breakthrough greatly increased his strength; he believed he could defeat Xuan Zi within ten moves. He left his chamber to meet Mu En—and saw two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Zi reacts forcefully to Zhou Yi’s misconduct, partly because he fears the strain another fight would place on Mu En. His concern is also tied to Mu En’s recent reprimand and demands that Xuan Zi take greater responsibility.
• Tai Tan acts as Xiao Qi’s avenger, attacking Zhou Yi without waiting for explanations. His intervention makes clear that Shrek must answer for the harm its teacher caused.
• Mu En makes the final ruling, though Tai Tan’s sudden attack prevents him from stopping the assault. He later reflects that recent crises may require him to live longer than he expected.
• Qian Duoduo considers defending Zhou Yi because of her relationship with Fan Yu, but ultimately accepts the decision and agrees that she went too far.
• Zhou Yi loses the position that had been central to her pride. Her punishment echoes the arbitrary expulsions she imposed on students.
• Huang Jinxu’s successful breakthrough establishes him as a dramatically stronger force and ends the chapter on a new development: the two valuable Soul Bones awaiting him.

Significant themes

• Abuse of authority and consequences: Zhou Yi’s treatment of students comes back upon her when the academy expels her without the process she denied them.
• Power and accountability: Shrek’s response changes once the victims’ powerful allies become involved, exposing how status can affect whose grievances are taken seriously.
• Responsibility and loyalty: Xuan Zi’s concern for Mu En’s health shapes his actions, while Tai Tan’s loyalty to Xiao Qi drives his uncompromising retaliation.
• Advancement and strength: Huang Jinxu’s breakthrough illustrates how extraordinarily difficult—and consequential—progress beyond level 95 can be.

Key plot points and events

• Mu En offers Huang Jinxu two hundred-thousand-year Soul Bones: one as a gift connected to his newly acknowledged daughter, and the other as thanks. Huang refuses to accept them until he knows what Mu En wants.
• Mu En asks Huang to become Dean of Shrek Academy’s Martial Soul Department, oversee the academy and Bei Bei after Mu En’s death, and possibly help Bei Bei’s Martial Soul evolve.
• Huang accepts the Soul Bones and the position. He intends to protect Shrek so long as doing so does not conflict with his own aims, but privately recognizes that he would abandon the academy if a threat exceeded his ability to handle.
• Mu En explains the recent upheaval at Shrek, including the Titan Giant Ape’s arrival. Huang wonders whether killing the revived legendary beasts could yield God-level Soul Rings and Soul Bones, but knows he currently lacks the power to act on that idea.
• Huang visits the crippled Yan Shaozhe to take over the department. Yan’s luck has become disastrously bad under the lingering suppression of Huang’s Heavenly Lone Star, leaving him struggling just to stay alive.

Character developments

• Huang Jinxu shows restraint by not accepting valuable gifts without knowing their purpose, but ultimately agrees to serve Shrek. His commitment is conditional: he cares about the academy, yet prioritizes his own survival and goals.
• Mu En entrusts Huang with Shrek’s future and with Bei Bei’s welfare, believing Huang’s reluctance to take authority came from concern about harming the academy.
• Yan Shaozhe is left physically powerless and overwhelmed by repeated accidents after losing his cultivation.

Significant themes

• Power versus loyalty: Huang’s strength makes him valuable to Shrek, but neither gifts nor reputation can fully bind him.
• Patronage and responsibility: Mu En uses the Soul Bones as rewards while asking Huang to shoulder substantial duties.
• Ambition and limits: Huang considers the possibilities of gaining divine-level power, but recognizes that speculation cannot overcome his current weakness.
• Fate and misfortune: Yan’s severe run of accidents illustrates the destructive consequences of Huang’s luck-suppressing ability.

Character interactions

• Mu En candidly explains his requests and Shrek’s recent troubles; Huang listens, weighs the offer, and accepts both the gifts and the job.
• Huang’s relationship with Mu En is marked by mutual understanding: Mu En trusts his underlying affection for Shrek, while Huang keeps his own conditions private.
• Huang’s arrival at Yan Shaozhe’s residence signals the transfer of authority, but Yan is too debilitated to resist or cause trouble.

Plot points and events

• Huang Jinxu visits Yan Shaozhe and demands that he prepare all Martial Soul Department records and handover information that day, invoking Shrek Academy’s legacy and the department’s stability.
• Cai Mei’er realizes the demand would deeply distress Shaozhe, who would feel compelled to help his enemy despite his condition. She keeps Huang away from him and gathers the materials herself, with Ma Xiaotao watching over Shaozhe.
• Huang reviews the documents and recognizes how easily a dean could exploit the department’s resources. Before officially taking office, he arranges extra resources and a Golden Tree Hollow cultivation opportunity for his daughter.
• He decides the dean’s routine duties are limited, and considers using Brain Domain Development to check staff information rather than pursuing extensive reforms.
• Huang then goes to the teaching building to follow up on the Clear Sky Sect matter and inspect Wang Dong, whose divine heritage interests him. He notices Xiao Xiao first and identifies her as carrying unusually powerful Fortune.

Character developments and interactions

• Cai Mei’er shows fierce loyalty to Yan Shaozhe, putting herself between him and Huang’s calculated provocation. She takes on the handover work rather than risk Shaozhe’s emotional collapse.
• Huang Jinxu displays a cool, opportunistic approach to authority: he knowingly uses Cai’s hostility to make her do the work, and immediately uses his prospective position for personal advantage.
• Yan Shaozhe remains absent from the direct confrontation, but his pride, loyalty to Shrek, and vulnerable condition shape Cai’s actions.
• Xiao Xiao is revealed to possess National Fortune, marked by three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons and a Rainbow Phoenix. Huang interprets this as the destiny of an “Empress Consort.”
• Wang Dong’s inspection is postponed; Huang’s interest in her remains a key motivation for his visit.

Significant themes

• Psychological cruelty and coercion: Huang’s demand is framed as service to Shrek, but would force Shaozhe to aid a mortal enemy, threatening his emotional stability.
• Loyalty and protection: Cai Mei’er’s actions contrast with Huang’s self-serving use of institutional authority.
• Power and corruption: Huang sees the dean’s role as an opportunity to access resources and exercise broad, largely unchecked influence.
• Fortune and destiny: Huang outlines four levels of Fortune—ordinary, rainbow, manifested, and plane-favored—linking exceptional individuals to the struggle for influence and the world’s larger opportunities.

Key plot points and events

• Huang Jinxu reflects on how a deity may have manipulated fortune ten thousand years ago, drawing conclusions from what he can perceive now.
• He recognizes Xiao Xiao as a person with unusually strong fortune. He considers taking her as a disciple, partly as insurance against the possibility that his Heavenly Lone Star power will become far more dangerous after he reaches rank 99.
• Huang Jinxu examines Wang Dong and discovers that her fortune is fragmented and tangled into an unnatural equilibrium. Though she should possess extraordinary fortune and divine gifts, none of them currently benefit her.
• This leads him to suspect that Wang Dong’s soul has been severely tampered with, possibly by Tang San. He abandons the idea of taking her as a disciple, fearing that exerting his suppressive power on her could destroy her fortune and alert Tang San.
• Huang Jinxu signals Mu Jin to bring Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao out of class.

Character developments

• Huang Jinxu becomes more cautious about his future power and its consequences. He shifts from considering Wang Dong as a useful safeguard to avoiding her entirely, while continuing to weigh Xiao Xiao as a potential disciple.
• Wang Dong/Tang Wutong is revealed to possess an astonishing collection of divine bloodlines, blessings, and protections—but her fortune is unusable, and her soul appears damaged or altered.
• Xiao Xiao is identified as having exceptional fortune, though the story hints that some unknown scheme may have prevented her from reaching her potential.

Significant themes

• Fortune and divine interference: Individuals’ destinies can be divided, suppressed, or redirected by higher powers.
• Power and unintended harm: Huang Jinxu’s strength may become so great that merely affecting Wang Dong could devastate her.
• Family and betrayal: The possibility that Tang San damaged his own daughter’s soul raises questions about the limits—and failures—of parental care.
• Potential versus circumstance: Wang Dong’s extraordinary gifts have not translated into good fortune or an easy life.

Character interactions

• Huang Jinxu silently evaluates Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong, treating them as possible safeguards or risks in his plans.
• He decides not to approach Wang Dong as a disciple, but chooses to pursue the safer option of considering Xiao Xiao.
• He communicates with Mu Jin through a glance; Mu Jin pauses his lesson and brings both girls out of the classroom at Huang Jinxu’s request.

Key events

• New Martial Soul Department Dean Huang Jinxu invites Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao to discuss whether the academy mishandled a recent incident. Wang Dong thinks it did nothing wrong; Xiao Xiao is more cautious.
• Huang reveals that he is a level 98 Titled Douluo and offers to take Xiao Xiao as his disciple. She eagerly accepts, becoming his second disciple after Huo Yuhao.
• He gives Xiao Xiao cultivation materials, Mysterious Water Potions, and a level-seven Invincible Shield, then explains his lineage’s methods and offers guidance on cultivating Twin Martial Souls.
• Huang sets Xiao Xiao a goal: begin developing a cultivation technique within half a month, ideally keeping pace with Huo Yuhao’s seven-day assignment.
• Wang Dong fixates on Huo Yuhao’s name and wrestles with whether to transfer to the Soul Tool Department. Her body feels drawn toward it, while her soul resists, and competing inner impulses leave her confused and slow to decide. She wonders whether trying a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Huo Yuhao might resolve the conflict.
• Xiao Xiao leaves for class, but Wang Dong stays behind, visibly uncertain.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Xiao gains a powerful mentor and responds with excitement and determination, recognizing the opportunity as a path to focused training.
• Huang Jinxu acts as a generous, hands-on mentor: he gives Xiao Xiao substantial resources, identifies a problem with Wang Dong’s Second Martial Soul, and begins preparing Xiao Xiao to manage the risks of her Fortune.
• Wang Dong shows growing awareness that something is wrong within her, though an ingrained voice keeps telling her that her conflicting impulses are normal. Her curiosity about Huo Yuhao and his teacher deepens.
• Huang’s formal concern initially confuses the girls. His offer and teaching establish a close mentor-disciple bond with Xiao Xiao, while Wang Dong’s unresolved inner struggle keeps her apart from the opportunity.

Significant themes

• Opportunity and unequal knowledge: Most Soul Masters lack the information needed to develop their talents fully; Huang’s guidance gives Xiao Xiao an unusually strong advantage.
• Mentorship and preparation: Training involves not just gifts and instruction but anticipating future dangers, as Huang takes precautions around Xiao Xiao’s Fortune.
• Conflicted identity and agency: Wang Dong’s competing impulses—along with the instinctive denial that anything is wrong—complicate her ability to choose her own path.

Key plot points

• Wang Dong privately asks Dean Huang Jinxu why she sometimes feels as if someone else is controlling her. Huang realizes the question may involve Tang San, whose hidden influence he fears, and avoids giving a direct answer.
• Instead, Huang invents a psychological explanation: Wang Dong’s disguise and the strain of maintaining it may be causing inner conflict. He suggests finding an enjoyable activity to redirect her attention.
• Huang also explains that he recognized Wang Dong as a girl because the Light Goddess Butterfly Martial Soul appears only in exceptionally beautiful women, but says he will respect her privacy.
• Reassured, Wang Dong decides to try a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Huo Yuhao after class.
• Huang visits his daughter, gives her cultivation guidance, and postpones giving her a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone until after the Soul Master Tournament, when she will be stronger and safer.
• Huang later visits the Golden Tree Hollow to investigate whether the Golden Ancient Tree’s consciousness remains. He is curious about strange happenings in the Star Dou Great Forest but chooses not to intervene yet.
• After school, Wang Dong waits for Huo Yuhao, unaware that he is still working in the Soul Tool Department with Ning Tian, who is advising him as he makes his first Level 1 Soul Tool.

Character developments and interactions

• Wang Dong reveals her anxiety and seeks help, but accepts Huang’s improvised explanation and forms a plan to work with Huo Yuhao.
• Huang Jinxu is cautious and evasive, prioritizing the danger of drawing Tang San’s attention. He nevertheless offers Wang Dong a plausible explanation and advice, while balancing concern for his daughter’s future safety.
• Ning Tian supports Huo Yuhao’s technical progress by accompanying and advising him.

Significant themes

• Hidden identities and inner conflict: Wang Dong’s disguise may be contributing to her uncertainty about herself.
• Powerful unseen influence: Huang fears that Tang San may be secretly observing events and that even an innocent answer could trigger consequences.
• Protection and risk: Huang delays giving his daughter the soul bone to shield her from enemies, weighing immediate growth against her safety.
• Different perspectives and timing: Wang Dong’s plans depend on Huo Yuhao, who is occupied elsewhere, highlighting how characters’ intentions can miss one another.

Plot points and events

• Huo Yuhao completes his first Level One Soul Tool and thanks Ning Tian for helping him learn. They credit each other with offering useful support and ideas.
• Ning Tian invites him out to celebrate. Yuhao agrees, partly because he hopes to visit his teacher, but the teacher’s restaurant is damaged and closed. They eat elsewhere instead.
• Wang Dong waits for Yuhao at the dormitory, while Wu Feng waits for Ning Tian. Yuhao returns late, disappointed that he could not see his teacher, and resolves to train harder.
• Wang Dong initially decides not to try Martial Soul Fusion with Yuhao, but when he returns, she quickly changes her mind and proposes they attempt it.
• Their Martial Souls and Soul Power seem highly compatible, but the fusion fails twice: first while holding hands, then while embracing.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao gains confidence from completing his first Soul Tool. He appreciates Ning Tian but senses that her interest may extend beyond friendship and prefers to keep their relationship as classmates. He remains focused on improving and pleasing his teacher.
• Ning Tian recognizes Yuhao’s unusual insight and is increasingly determined to bring him into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
• Wang Dong overcomes her embarrassment and resistance to Soul Tools, feeling compelled to pursue the fusion attempt. Her eagerness contrasts with her earlier resolve to ignore the idea.

Character interactions

• Yuhao and Ning Tian share mutual gratitude and enjoy a meal together, though Yuhao is wary of her deeper motives.
• Wang Dong’s impatience turns to eagerness as soon as Yuhao returns. She guides their fusion attempts, drawing on advice from her father, while Yuhao readily cooperates.
• The two feel a powerful, almost natural resonance, but cannot make it produce a successful fusion.

Significant themes

• Growth through collaboration: Yuhao and Ning Tian both benefit from exchanging help and ideas.
• Ambition and devotion: Yuhao’s disappointment at missing his teacher strengthens his resolve to train.
• Intuition versus uncertainty: Wang Dong and Yuhao sense that their Martial Souls are compatible, yet neither understands why the fusion fails.
• Unspoken feelings and identity: Yuhao notices that Wang Dong’s hand does not feel like a boy’s, while Wang Dong experiences a striking sense of becoming herself again.

Key plot points and events

• Another attempt at a Martial Soul Fusion between Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong fails at the last moment, despite their apparent compatibility.
• Wang Dong accuses Huo Yuhao of not cooperating. He rejects the accusation, suggests their Martial Souls may never have been compatible, and leaves the dormitory.
• Alone, Wang Dong realizes that her outburst felt unlike herself. Suspecting that her missing memories and past illness were part of a deception, she is overwhelmed by fear and distrust.
• Her emotional turmoil triggers the premature awakening of Tang Wutong, the other divine soul within her. Tang Wutong’s consciousness begins overpowering Wang Dong’s, threatening to erase her identity.
• Wang Dong, unable to resist, accepts the possibility of death and takes comfort in believing that her suspicions were real.
• Mu En senses the surge of Sea God’s power and rushes to Dormitory 203. He finds Huo Yuhao outside and warmly recognizes him as Xu’s disciple.

Character developments

• Wang Dong / Tang Wutong: Wang Dong becomes aware that something is deeply wrong with her past and behavior. Her fear and confusion inadvertently accelerate Tang Wutong’s awakening, turning their shared body into the site of a struggle between two wills.
• Huo Yuhao: Hurt by Wang Dong’s accusation, he becomes defensive and withdraws. His earlier kindness to Mu En is also recalled as a defining act.
• Mu En: He responds immediately to the supernatural disturbance and reveals affection and gratitude toward Huo Yuhao.

Significant themes

• Identity and autonomy: Wang Dong’s struggle raises the question of whether she can retain control of her body and self.
• Truth, memory, and deception: Her suspicion that others have lied about her past intensifies her crisis.
• Emotion versus imposed control: The passage emphasizes that even powerful divine safeguards cannot fully govern a person’s heart; Wang Dong’s own emotional state disrupts them.
• Unintended consequences: A premature awakening derails what was meant to be a gradual process of fusion and repair.

Character interactions

• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong: Their failed fusion exposes a rupture in their partnership. Wang Dong’s angry accusation clashes with Huo Yuhao’s insistence that he has tried to cooperate, and he leaves before she can apologize.
• Wang Dong and Tang Wutong: Though Wang Dong does not understand the force within her, Tang Wutong’s awakening begins to guide and overpower her.
• Mu En and Huo Yuhao: Mu En recognizes him, offers the familiar address “Grandpa Mu,” and recalls Huo Yuhao’s kindness when he was near death.

Plot points and events

• Mu En reflects on Huang Jinxu’s mysterious motives and concludes that, whatever they may be, Huang is still one of Shrek Academy’s own.
• Mu En meets Huo Yuhao and offers to answer questions about cultivation. Huo Yuhao politely declines, preferring to seek guidance from his teacher as a way to spend time with him.
• In the Divine Realm, Tang San discovers that Tang Wutong—“Xiao Qi”—has awakened prematurely. A power intended both to protect Wang Dong and later strengthen Tang Wutong has begun destroying Wang Dong’s original consciousness.
• Tang San uses Mu En as a conduit for Sea God’s Descent, pulling Tang Wutong from the dormitory and suppressing the dangerous power before Wang Dong’s soul is erased. Wang Dong is left in a deep, deathlike sleep.
• Unable to repair the complicated soul situation immediately, Tang San decides she must be taken to the Clear Sky Sect. He tells Mu En that she was his daughter, that an evil god’s influence caused her condition, and that she will return to Shrek after recovering.
• Tang San also identifies Huo Yuhao as his chosen Sea God successor and instructs Mu En to nurture him—but is startled to find Yuhao’s fortune appears dull and obscured, contrary to his expectations.

Character developments and interactions

• Mu En remains loyal to Shrek and treats Huo Yuhao warmly, while continuing to wonder what Huang Jinxu truly wants.
• Huo Yuhao shows his devotion to his teacher: he avoids asking Mu En for help because he hopes to use cultivation questions to grow closer to his own teacher.
• Tang San acts urgently to save Wang Dong, but his intervention reveals that he has been managing her identity and awakening as part of a larger plan to bind Huo Yuhao to Tang Wutong.
• Tang Wutong/Wang Dong is rescued from immediate destruction, but remains unconscious, leaving her future and Tang San’s plans uncertain.
• Tang San and Mu En interact through Sea God’s power: Tang San commands Mu En’s body, then entrusts him with Tang Wutong’s care and Huo Yuhao’s training.

Significant themes

• Protection versus control: Tang San’s safeguards become a threat, exposing the danger of treating people’s lives and souls as parts of a plan.
• Uncertainty and destiny: Tang San’s surprise at Huo Yuhao’s altered fortune challenges his assumptions about the boy’s fate.
• Loyalty and belonging: Mu En’s faith in Shrek’s people persists even when their motives are unclear.
• Personal attachment: Huo Yuhao’s wish to spend time with his teacher contrasts with the larger schemes unfolding around him.

Plot points and events

• Tang San investigates the unexpected changes in Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao. He concludes that the Plane Will may be hiding the true Child of Fortune by presenting Huo Yuhao as a decoy, and resolves to investigate the Douluo Continent more thoroughly later.
• Tang San prioritizes stabilizing Wang Dong’s collapsing Sea of Consciousness. He sends instructions to Niu Tian and Tai Tan and leaves measures in Mu En before withdrawing.
• Beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, Huang Jinxu realizes how close he came to being exposed. The tree’s concealment shielded him while Tang San’s divine consciousness descended.
• Huang Jinxu recalls his agreement with the Golden Ancient Tree: its seed has merged with his Sea of Consciousness, strengthening his Spiritual Power and hiding him from detection. In return, he is meant to find a place where the seed can grow—but he has his own plans.
• Huang Jinxu discovers that the Golden Ancient Tree is imprisoned by magical shackles and drained by the mindless souls of 256 former Shrek deans. Their stolen power reinforces its seal and will eventually help someone take control of the tree.
• After seeing Tang San descend through Mu En, Huang Jinxu grows suspicious that Mu En may also contain one of Tang San’s contingencies.

Character developments and interactions

• Tang San remains calculating and focused on protecting his plan. He recognizes that Huo Yuhao’s unusual Fortune may be a deliberate deception by the Plane Will, but is occupied with Wang Dong’s crisis.
• Huang Jinxu becomes more cautious and determined to free himself from Huo Yuhao’s influence. He fears Tang San, distrusts Mu En, and promises the Golden Ancient Tree that he will protect it—or give it his Demon Star power as a final weapon if he fails.
• The Golden Ancient Tree is revealed as a powerful but imprisoned being. Its alliance with Huang Jinxu offers him protection while giving it a chance to escape and grow anew.
• Tang San’s intervention through Mu En, and the Golden Ancient Tree’s concealment of Huang Jinxu, establish a tense contest of hidden plans and mutual suspicion.

Significant themes

• Deception and misdirection: The Plane Will may be concealing its true chosen figure behind Huo Yuhao.
• Power and imprisonment: The Golden Ancient Tree’s vast strength is rendered useless by its bindings and the parasites draining it.
• Trust and survival: Huang Jinxu relies on the tree but has different goals, while his faith in Mu En is shaken.
• Control and hidden contingencies: Tang San’s preparations, the tree’s secret alliance, and Huang Jinxu’s escape plans all show characters trying to outmaneuver one another.