Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Six-year-old Jiang Hao enters Shrek Academy’s Awakening Hall for his long-awaited Martial Soul awakening. He is the adopted son of Qian Duoduo, and the ceremony has been arranged especially for him.
• Jiang Hao’s unusual ability creates one independent, obedient Clone inside him every day. More than two thousand Clones now share his mind, constantly arguing and imagining the powers and destinies they might awaken.
• Before the ceremony begins, Qian Duoduo charges the onlooking Elders to watch. Xuan Zi pays by sucking the collected Gold Soul Coins into his wine gourd, then insults Jiang Hao as a “bastard.” Jiang Hao privately vows to make him pay, suspecting Xuan Zi was involved in an old operation against Evil Soul Masters.
• Jiang Hao has prepared extensively: while he sleeps, his Clones exercise and study, including books on Soul Tools. He hopes awakening his birth parents’ Martial Souls will give him a path to power.
• The awakening produces a jumble of results among the Clones: mostly unimpressive or ordinary Martial Souls, including farm tools, Blue Silver Grass, and Food Type abilities. A few standouts appear, including a Scythe with Innate Soul Power, Lone Bamboo, a pig-like External Beast Martial Soul, and a Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
• Jiang Hao decides to keep the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda secret, fearing it would attract the sect’s attention and make the Elders question his parentage.
• The ceremony requires far more Soul Power than a normal awakening. Qian Duoduo helps the exhausted officiant by supplying Soul Power alongside a Titled Douluo, but Jiang Hao’s own Martial Soul still has not appeared.
• At last, Jiang Hao’s body swells with energy, and a humanoid phantom appears behind him—revealing a Body Martial Soul.

Character developments

• Jiang Hao is ambitious and resentful of the people he believes harmed him, but he is also cautious: despite the exciting Martial Soul results, he prioritizes protecting his identity and avoiding Shrek’s suspicions. His hope of finding an easy route to strength is tested by the many disappointing awakenings.
• Qian Duoduo is shown as a caring adoptive father who arranged Jiang Hao’s ceremony, though his greed and theatrical fundraising embarrass the boy.
• Xuan Zi comes across as crude and provocative, worsening Jiang Hao’s resentment with his insult and his conspicuous handling of the payment.
• The Clones collectively reveal Jiang Hao’s strange predicament: they are independent-minded and imaginative, but remain loyal to him, and their varied awakenings create both comic chaos and genuine potential.

Significant themes

• Power and chance: Jiang Hao’s thousands of Clones seem to offer extraordinary odds, yet most awakenings are ordinary, underscoring how unpredictable talent can be.
• Identity and belonging: Jiang Hao’s uncertainty about his birth parents and his fear that unusual abilities could expose doubts about his family make the awakening personally risky.
• Ambition versus reality: Jiang Hao dreams of rapid strength and revenge, but the disappointing results force him to confront the limits of wishful thinking.
• Comedy amid danger: The Clones’ outrageous fantasies and Qian Duoduo’s money-making antics contrast with Jiang Hao’s serious motives and the mystery of his final Martial Soul.

Character interactions

• The Clones chatter, boast, bargain, and complain inside Jiang Hao’s mind, while he tries to manage their noise and choose which results to reveal.
• Qian Duoduo organizes the ceremony and supports the awakening when it begins draining too much Soul Power.
• Xuan Zi’s insult provokes Jiang Hao’s private vow of revenge.
• Jiang Hao suppresses the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda result rather than let the Elders—or his adoptive father—draw conclusions about his origins.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao awakens his Martial Soul: a complete Body Martial Soul encompassing his entire body, inherited and expanded from his mother’s partial Body Martial Soul. His Soul Power is to be tested next.
• His unusual strength and the twenty defensive Soul Tools he has worn since childhood underscore the exceptional protection Qian Duoduo has given him.
• Qian Duoduo argues that Jiang Hao is entitled to compensation because his parents—Shrek instructors and Inspection Corps members—died on a mission against Evil Soul Masters. Mu En acknowledges Shrek’s responsibility and promises the overdue death benefits and allowance, a residence on Sea God Island, and an invitation to join the academy at age twelve.
• Jiang Hao accepts the residence, seeing it as something his parents earned with their lives, though he suspects Mu En is also interested in the power of his Body Martial Soul.
• Qian Duoduo vows to help Jiang Hao collect what he is owed and later find him a Soul Beast for his first Soul Skill. He recommends building on speed and close-combat strength, supplemented by Soul Tools.
• That night, Jiang Hao settles into his new lakeside home beneath the Golden Ancient Tree. His many inner voices urge him to attack Shrek’s enemies, but he restrains them. He proposes a plan connected to the coming Soul Beast hunt and tells his clones to master a Soul Power recovery method.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao is proud of his parents and increasingly assertive about claiming what Shrek owes them. He remains wary of the academy’s motives and avoids reckless confrontation, despite his anger at Xuan Zi and Shrek’s past neglect.
• Qian Duoduo emerges as Jiang Hao’s devoted guardian and advocate. He combines practical support, affection, and humor, and treats Jiang Hao’s success as a rebuttal to Shrek’s past suspicions of him.
• Mu En admits Shrek’s failure and offers substantial restitution, but Jiang Hao believes his concern is mixed with a desire to strengthen Shrek by cultivating Jiang Hao’s rare Martial Soul.
• Jiang Hao’s inner voices/clones alternate between encouragement, despair, bravado, and calls for vengeance. Jiang Hao keeps them in check while directing them toward training.

Significant themes

• Justice and restitution: Jiang Hao’s new home and promised benefits represent overdue recognition of his parents’ service and sacrifice.
• Care versus institutional neglect: Qian Duoduo’s personal devotion contrasts with Shrek’s failure to protect or properly support Jiang Hao’s family.
• Power and self-interest: Mu En’s compensation may be sincere, strategic, or both; Jiang Hao understands that Shrek sees potential in his rare Martial Soul.
• Restraint and preparation: Though angry, Jiang Hao chooses cultivation and planning over an attack he cannot win.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao discovers that his clones share Soul Power progression: when one levels up, the others rise to the same level. This gives even weaker Martial Souls a practical path to gaining Soul Rings and fighting.
• After Qian Duoduo fails to appear for the planned hunt, Yan Shaozhe offers to take Jiang Hao Soul-Beast hunting. He also brings his disciple Ma Xiaotao, who needs a fourth Soul Ring.
• Yan Shaozhe introduces Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao, but their first meeting is awkward: she is dismissive, and Jiang Hao privately resents her attitude. He suspects Yan has a hidden motive for arranging the introduction.
• On the way out, they encounter Xuan Zi, who takes over the expedition and brings Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao along with his own group. Yan reluctantly leaves them in Xuan Zi’s care.
• A day later, Xuan Zi departs the group. In the Star Dou Great Forest, Jiang Hao watches Ma Xiaotao converse easily with familiar students, including Zhang Lexuan. When Ma Xiaotao says she plans to challenge Lexuan after entering the Inner Court, Jiang Hao recognizes the ominous combination of people and place and worries that trouble is coming.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao remains wary and observant. His thoughts reveal deep distrust of Xuan Zi and suspicion that Yan Shaozhe’s matchmaking has an ulterior purpose.
• Yan Shaozhe shows affection toward Jiang Hao and tries to steer his personality, while also encouraging him and Ma Xiaotao to get acquainted. He is uneasy about handing them over to Xuan Zi but ultimately does so.
• Ma Xiaotao initially acts cold toward Jiang Hao, yet is lively and comfortable among people she knows. She treats fighting as a form of friendly recreation and looks forward to challenging Zhang Lexuan.
• Xuan Zi abruptly takes charge of the hunt, presenting himself as responsible for the students despite Jiang Hao’s strong belief that he is dangerous and unreliable.
• Zhang Lexuan responds warmly to Ma Xiaotao’s promised challenge, suggesting mutual familiarity and respect.

Significant themes

• Shared strength and collective advancement: The clones’ linked Soul Power creates an unusual advantage that can compensate for individual limitations.
• Trust and danger: Jiang Hao’s suspicions of Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe’s motives shape his view of the expedition.
• First impressions versus familiarity: Ma Xiaotao seems aloof to Jiang Hao but becomes animated around friends.
• Foreshadowing: Jiang Hao’s recognition of Zhang Lexuan, Xuan Zi, and the Star Dou Great Forest signals that the hunt may lead to serious complications.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao realizes that Xuan Zi’s absence, Zhang Lexuan’s presence, and the group’s mission may recreate a disastrous past incident involving a dangerous Soul Beast. Fearing for his life, he turns to the mental-attribute Clones in his mind for a way to escape.
• A Clone named Sanpao proposes leaving a duplicate in Jiang Hao’s place while the real Jiang Hao hides. Jiang Hao rewards him with the nickname “Cannon Bro” and makes him chief of his “brain trust.”
• Jiang Hao claims he has a stomachache and is sent off with two senior students, Liu Zixuan and Ma Ben. Their considerate supervision gives him time to create a Clone to serve as his decoy and slip away under cover of Blue Silver Grass.
• After Cannon Bro returns with the seniors, Jiang Hao confirms the group is far enough away, summons more Clones, then recalls most of them to avoid attracting attention. The remaining Clones help him make a Blue Silver Grass mask.
• The chapter closes with Jiang Hao’s Clones discussing their desired Soul Rings, hinting that the Soul Beasts on the forest’s outskirts are about to face a very unconventional hunt.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao is resourceful but deeply self-preserving. He treats his Clones as both collaborators and expendable stand-ins, while their banter reveals a playful, irreverent relationship.
• Cannon Bro earns a place of distinction through his clever escape plan, though Jiang Hao immediately uses him as the decoy. Their teasing exchange highlights the imbalance—and familiarity—between Main Body and Clone.
• Zhang Lexuan is protective and responsible: she worries that Xuan Zi has unfairly burdened the students with guarding a six-year-old during an already dangerous mission, and plans to challenge him later.
• Liu Zixuan and Ma Ben show unexpected kindness by accompanying Jiang Hao and patiently keeping watch while he supposedly takes care of his stomachache.

Significant themes

• Survival and ingenuity: Jiang Hao uses deception, teamwork, and his Blue Silver Grass abilities to avoid a danger he believes the group may encounter.
• Duty versus recklessness: Zhang Lexuan’s concern contrasts with Xuan Zi’s apparent disregard for the risks imposed on the students.
• Comedic identity and sacrifice: The Clones’ shared face and willingness—or unwillingness—to serve as “sacrificial pawns” turn a potentially serious escape into farce.
• Power and exploitation: Jiang Hao’s plan to distribute Soul Rings to his many Clones foreshadows the strain they may place on the forest’s Soul Beasts.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao rallies his many Clones to hunt Soul Beasts together, declaring that whoever kills a beast may absorb its Soul Ring. The Clones bicker over who gets priority, especially support-type users and those with unusual Martial Souls.
• Their first target, a small Spotted Cat, is overwhelmed by a chaotic mob attack. Since no one can tell who dealt the fatal blow, Jiang Hao makes Hoe Bro absorb its white Soul Ring to test whether a group kill causes problems. Absorption succeeds, and Hoe Bro unexpectedly gains an External Soul Bone: a steel claw. His First Soul Skill, Three Hoe Strikes, grants an extra, cost-free hit on every third swing.
• The group next wears down a hundred-year Mandala Snake through coordinated attacks. Hoe Bro finishes it, and a brawl breaks out over who gets its ring. A Blue Silver Grass Clone wins and becomes Grass Bro, gaining Mother’s Entanglement, a binding skill.
• Jiang Hao sends more than two thousand Clones to hunt in small groups while keeping them within reach of the Shrek Academy party. Several important Clones remain with him: Grass Bro, Hoe Bro, Blue Bro, Pagoda Bro, Ice Sword Bro, and Flame Bro.
• Pagoda Bro absorbs a yellow ring and gains Enhancement, which boosts elemental attributes. Flame Bro absorbs a Fire Lizard’s ring and gains Fire Shield, useful for both defense and offense. The Clones return with many more rings, though some have chosen Soul Beasts carelessly and acquired skills that do not suit their roles. Jiang Hao warns them to plan their builds.
• Cannon Bro, who has been accompanying the Shrek group, repeatedly urges Jiang Hao to take his place. Jiang Hao approaches, intending to switch with him, but a powerful wolf’s howl and a fierce aura knock him into a tree. The Shrek party is facing a Wolf King that is holding its own against several Soul Emperors. Cannon Bro is caught in the danger and demands compensation for the mission.

Character developments

• Jiang Hao becomes more strategic as he organizes the Clones into a large hunting force. He tests how Soul Ring absorption works, begins assembling a team with varied abilities, and recognizes the danger of poorly chosen skills. Though he wants to rescue Cannon Bro, he is cautious about entering a lethal battle.
• Hoe Bro gains an External Soul Bone and a speed-focused attack skill, becoming a promising frontline fighter. His confidence and grand ambitions are played for comedy, but he nearly dies when the Mandala Snake throws him into a tree.
• Grass Bro gains a useful binding skill and immediately adopts an exaggerated, superior persona.
• Pagoda Bro and Flame Bro acquire complementary support and defensive abilities, expanding the group’s tactical options.
• Cannon Bro shifts from a reluctant participant to an openly panicked one, feeling abandoned by Jiang Hao and recognizing that he may be trapped in a deadly fight.

Significant themes

• Strength through teamwork: The Clones can defeat stronger Soul Beasts by rotating fighters and attacking from many directions.
• Individual merit versus collective effort: A crowded group kill makes it impossible to identify who deserves the Soul Ring, prompting Jiang Hao to test whether shared kills count.
• Planning and specialization: Jiang Hao’s warning about matching Soul Beasts and Soul Skills to a fighter’s role emphasizes that power alone is not enough; a coordinated team needs suitable, varied abilities.
• Ambition and comic rivalry: The Clones compete for rings, boast about future greatness, and tease one another, turning dangerous training into slapstick competition.
• Caution in the face of danger: Jiang Hao’s hesitation to approach the Wolf King contrasts with the Clones’ reckless enthusiasm and highlights the real stakes of the forest.

Character interactions

• Jiang Hao manages the Clones with a mixture of command, teasing, and practical guidance, while they challenge his decisions and jockey for valuable Soul Rings.
• The Clones’ chaotic mobbing of the Spotted Cat leads to collective uncertainty over who killed it; Hoe Bro becomes the test case for group-kill absorption.
• Blue Silver Grass users fight other candidates for the Mandala Snake’s ring, then Grass Bro demonstrates his new binding skill on an unfortunate bystander.
• Jiang Hao warns the returning hunters to choose Soul Beasts thoughtfully and reassures them that they will have time to improve their builds.
• Cannon Bro’s repeated pleas for relief clash with Jiang Hao’s caution. Their situation turns urgent when the Wolf King’s howl reveals that the Shrek group is in the middle of a dangerous battle.

Plot points and events

• After the Silver Moon Wolf King’s attack leaves Shrek’s students badly injured or dead, Jiang Hao weighs whether to intervene. Knowing he cannot simply flee, he sends out his Clones to help defeat the beast and rescue survivors.
• Zhang Lexuan, Shrek’s strongest remaining fighter, unleashes her Martial Soul Avatar and a powerful Moon-based attack. The Wolf King withstands it, knocks her away, and kills the last three Soul Emperors who had been fighting it.
• As the wounded Zhang prepares to die, Jiang Hao’s masked Clones arrive. They use improvised attacks, massed Soul Skills, buffs, healing, and hit-and-run tactics to wear down and distract the Wolf King.
• Jiang Hao coordinates the battle from hiding, withdrawing badly injured Clones for treatment. He learns that recalling them does not heal their wounds, making the operation costly and difficult to sustain.
• While Zhang and other Shrek students receive aid, support Clones restore her Soul Power and urge her to finish off the Wolf King. She is moved by their apparent generosity—until Banner Bro arrives, boasting that he has collected the souls and bodies of fallen Shrek students for refinement.
• Zhang realizes that her rescuers may be Evil Soul Masters.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao chooses to risk his Clones rather than abandon the Shrek students. He shows growing tactical skill, coordinating a large force and managing its injuries, while worrying about the steep resource costs.
• Zhang Lexuan goes from confident combatant to near-despair after the Wolf King turns the fight against her. The Clones’ rescue restores her hope, but Banner Bro’s arrival sharply complicates her view of them.
• The Clones display teamwork and resourcefulness, combining combat, support, healing, and rescue roles. Their rough humor and strange methods contrast with the gravity of the battlefield.
• Zhang and the Clones form a brief bond of trust as they treat her and encourage her; that trust is undermined when Banner Bro openly celebrates harvesting souls.

Significant themes

• Duty versus self-preservation: Jiang Hao acts despite the danger, rejecting the idea of abandoning his companions.
• The cost of rescue: Saving others consumes the Clones’ strength and resources, and their injuries persist after withdrawal.
• Appearance versus morality: The masked Clones seem compassionate, but their actions—and especially Banner Bro’s soul-harvesting—make the label “Evil Soul Master” unsettlingly plausible.
• Cooperation and ingenuity: A coordinated group of weak fighters can still challenge a powerful enemy through support, persistence, and tactics.

Plot points and events

• Banner Bro drives the Soul-Refining Banner into the ground, calling up fourteen souls. His Undead Hymn skill strengthens them, and he sends them after the exhausted Wolf King.
• The spirits’ incorporeal nature frustrates the Wolf King, whose physical attacks cannot hit them. Their assault keeps him occupied and leaves him vulnerable.
• Zhang Lexuan recognizes several spirits as dead Shrek classmates and friends. Though horrified by what they have become, she resolves to free them someday.
• She uses a sequence of Moon-based Soul Skills, culminating in Sundering Dusk, to kill the badly wounded Wolf King with a single devastating strike.
• Exhausted, Zhang Lexuan is caught by the Clones. She warns Banner Bro that she will kill him if they meet again, but allows him to go. The Clones give her food and enhancements so she can recover and absorb the Wolf King’s Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring.
• As Zhang Lexuan begins absorbing the ring, Jiang Hao’s group tends to the surviving Shrek students, including Ma Xiaotao, who remains unconscious. Their powerful family connections suggest the disaster may bring serious consequences for Shrek Academy.
• One survivor, a duke’s daughter, vows to urge her father to impeach Xuan Zi. Another student argues that Shrek’s support obliges them to be grateful, but the girl angrily promises to protect him.

Character developments and interactions

• Banner Bro proves resourceful and ruthless, using his spirits effectively while remaining wary of Zhang Lexuan. He helps her at a calculated moment, hoping to avoid becoming her next target.
• Zhang Lexuan moves from grief and shock over her friends’ fate to decisive action. She kills the Wolf King despite her emotional turmoil and intends to find a way to release the spirits.
• Jiang Hao continues directing events through his Clones. He wants Zhang Lexuan to survive, gain the soul ring, and return with evidence of the deaths—an outcome that could later help him resist Shrek’s demands.
• The survivors respond differently to the tragedy: one defends Shrek out of gratitude, while another rejects that reasoning and pledges to challenge Xuan Zi.

Significant themes

• Moral compromise and consequences: Zhang Lexuan accepts help from a soul-refiner despite her disgust, while Jiang Hao openly treats the crisis as an opportunity.
• Grief and loyalty: The spirits are former companions, making the battle a painful reminder of the students’ losses and of the bonds they shared.
• Gratitude versus accountability: The survivors’ argument exposes the tension between appreciating Shrek’s support and demanding justice for its failures.
• Power and survival: Zhang Lexuan’s strength and the group’s calculated assistance determine who can survive and bring the truth back.

Key plot points and events

• Zhang Lexuan completes absorption of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, breaking through a cultivation blockage and gaining three levels. By the time she wakes, the accompanying Soul Bone has disappeared, and the other Clones have fled.
• She and Jiang Hao gather the badly injured students and take refuge in a cave. Zhang Lexuan admits that her injuries make it unsafe to hunt another Soul Ring for Jiang Hao, so they head toward the forest’s edge after Ma Xiaotao wakes.
• The group returns to Shrek City in a suspicious wagon. Zhang Lexuan recognizes the masked driver as possibly connected to the people who fled, but has no proof.
• Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Hao report the incident to Yan Shaozhe. Ma Xiaotao, newly warmer toward Jiang after he cared for her, urges her teacher to punish Xuan Zi for abandoning the students.
• Mu En already knows what happened. He refuses to remove Xuan Zi, explaining that the flawed elder will become the academy’s sole Guard after Mu En’s death. He assigns Yan Shaozhe to arrange compensation for the dead and injured, and says Xuan Zi must make amends by serving as Path Protector at the next tournament.
• Mu En also asks Yan Shaozhe to investigate Jiang Hao. Zhang Lexuan reported that a group of young, one-ring Soul Masters helped her, including a Food-Type Soul Master who sounded like Jiang. Mu En wonders whether the child the academy took in years ago is really the child they believe him to be.
• In private, Ma Xiaotao persistently questions Jiang Hao about himself. He keeps his distance, reasoning that her strong loyalty to Shrek could eventually put them at odds.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhang Lexuan regains her ability to cultivate, but her composure conceals grief and anger over the losses, the missing Soul Bone, and Xuan Zi’s absence. Her anger becomes especially clear when she rejects the idea of waiting for him.
• Jiang Hao remains guarded and practical, helping move the injured and avoiding emotional closeness with Ma Xiaotao. He describes his Martial Soul as “me,” offering no real explanation.
• Ma Xiaotao becomes more affectionate and protective toward Jiang after he cares for her. With her Evil Fire less dominant, she is more openly emotional, breaking down in Yan Shaozhe’s arms.
• Yan Shaozhe is angry at Xuan Zi but feels constrained by his influence. He must carry out Mu En’s instructions and manage the aftermath.
• Mu En prioritizes the academy’s future over immediate punishment of Xuan Zi. His concern about Jiang Hao—and his cryptic words to Yan Shaozhe—suggests a deeper unresolved secret.

Significant themes

• Institutional loyalty versus accountability: Shrek compensates victims but shields a powerful elder whose negligence endangered students.
• Grief and restrained anger: Zhang Lexuan and Yan Shaozhe suppress or channel their reactions, while Ma Xiaotao expresses hers openly.
• Trust and hidden identity: Mu En’s suspicions about Jiang Hao and Jiang’s reluctance to confide in Ma Xiaotao point to secrets beneath the group’s relationships.
• Personal attachment as risk: Jiang Hao treats closeness as potentially dangerous when loyalties may later diverge.

Key plot points and events

• Ma Xiaotao jokes with Jiang Hao, then punches him; he catches her blow, surprising her with his strength. She gives him an embroidered handkerchief and claims it will identify him as under her protection.
• Ma Xiaotao suddenly coughs gray vapor as her Evil Fire flares. She leaves, flying across Sea God Lake.
• Jiang Hao directs his Clones to stage a coordinated public scandal in Shrek City. Disguised as grieving children, they accuse Shrek Academy—and especially Elder Xuan Zi—of abandoning students during a Soul Hunting mission, resulting in eighteen deaths and four serious injuries.
• In the city’s Commercial Street, the Clones perform a staged funeral and fake poisonings, making it appear that Shrek has killed witnesses to suppress the accusations. The resulting panic causes a stampede.
• Other Clones distribute flyers repeating the allegations. The City Defense Army arrives to restore order and search for those responsible. Jiang Hao gathers his returning Clones and heads toward the Outer Court.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao remains calm and calculating, using his Clones to engineer a public-relations attack against Shrek. He recognizes Ma Xiaotao’s kindness but remains wary of her strong loyalty to the academy.
• Ma Xiaotao shows a teasing, almost protective side by offering Jiang Hao her handkerchief, but her Evil Fire continues to trouble her. She is also surprised by his unusual physical strength.
• Brother Tree and the Clones enthusiastically carry out Jiang Hao’s plan, using theatrical grief, staged deaths, and false accusations to manipulate the crowd.
• A lost little girl is caught in the fleeing crowd and quietly rescued by one of Jiang Hao’s Clones, showing that the operation includes some concern for bystanders amid its calculated chaos.

Significant themes

• Manipulation of public opinion: The staged spectacle and flyers turn allegations into a citywide crisis before authorities can respond.
• Appearance versus truth: The mourners’ grief and deaths appear genuine, though they are carefully fabricated.
• Power and vulnerability: Ma Xiaotao’s strength contrasts with her lack of control over the Evil Fire, while Jiang Hao’s apparent youth conceals considerable ability and influence.
• Loyalty and institutional distrust: Jiang Hao’s plan exploits public outrage over Shrek’s alleged failure to protect its students.

Key plot points and events

• Shrek Academy faces a wave of damaging rumors linking Elder Xuan Zi to the Evil Soul Masters and even to the long-ago Zhang Mansion massacre. Other claims accuse Shrek of secretly suppressing young Soul Masters to aid a future Sun Moon Empire invasion.
• Cai Mei’er argues that Xuan Zi’s past failures make the rumors believable: he allegedly mishandled an Evil Soul Master pursuit, leading to deaths in the Inspection Corps, and later injured Shrek students during a Soul Beast hunt. She warns that the scandal is hurting recruitment.
• Mu En orders Yan Shaozhe and Xian Ling’er to retrieve Xuan Zi from the Star Dou Great Forest. Yan reveals that the rumors appear to be retaliation by Evil Soul Masters, but Xuan Zi’s actions have given them ammunition.
• At a private courtyard, Jiang Hao returns to find it dusty and uses Soul Tools to clean it. He discusses a research paper his Clone is preparing for Soul Tool expert Xuan Ziwen, hoping it will help recruit him later.
• A visitor arrives, and Jiang Hao opens the door to find someone he recognizes as a senior sister.

Character developments and interactions

• Cai Mei’er breaks her silence and openly condemns Xuan Zi, showing both her anger at his conduct and her concern for Shrek’s reputation and recruitment.
• Yan Shaozhe is frustrated and anxious: he believes the rumors are an Evil Soul Master attack, but knows Shrek may struggle to contain the damage.
• Xian Ling’er shares Cai Mei’er’s hostility toward Xuan Zi, shaped by the death of her friend’s family member and her resentment of the Martial Soul faction’s treatment of the Soul Tool Department.
• Jiang Hao is pleased that his campaign against Xuan Zi is gaining traction. His exchange with his Clone also shows his strategic approach: delegating Soul Tool research while keeping the knowledge stored separately.
• Mu En’s order forces Yan Shaozhe and Xian Ling’er to work together despite their dismay.

Significant themes

• Rumor, truth, and reputation: Even unverified allegations gain force when past mistakes make them seem plausible.
• Accountability and institutional trust: Shrek’s leadership must confront how Xuan Zi’s behavior has damaged confidence in the Academy.
• Factional rivalry: Tensions between the Martial Soul and Soul Tool departments shape characters’ judgments and ambitions.
• Information and strategy: Jiang Hao uses Clones, research, and public sentiment as tools in a broader plan.

Plot and key events

• Zhang Lexuan tells Jiang Hao that Yan Shaozhe is taking the group back to the Star Dou Great Forest to retrieve Xuan Zi and hunt Soul Rings for Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao. Jiang Hao suspects something is wrong and quietly packs spare combat uniforms, but leaves his valuables behind.
• On the way out, Jiang Hao accidentally calls Zhang Lexuan “senior sister,” then makes matters worse with a clumsy remark about her being his senior. She takes it as lewd teasing and puts him in a chokehold before they set off.
• The group reaches the site of Zhang Lexuan’s earlier battle with the Wolf King. Xian Ling’er finds hundreds of children’s footprints, prompting Zhang to hope they can be found and helped. The group sees no sign of Xuan Zi and decides to hunt Soul Rings first.
• Xian Ling’er demonstrates tiny winged reconnaissance Soul Tools inspired by Jiang Hao’s ideas. The others praise his ingenuity, and Ma Xiaotao’s playful energy has returned now that her Evil Fire is suppressed.
• That evening, the group camps. While they eat Jiang Hao’s grilled meat, Yan Shaozhe and Xian Ling’er sense approaching creatures and climb into the trees. They leave Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan to handle five roughly hundred-year-old wolves, while Jiang Hao is told to defend himself.
• Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan engage the pack. Jiang Hao decides to help instead of staying back, ambushes one wolf with a powerful “Serious Punch,” and beats it into submission. He discovers that his complete Body Martial Soul gives him remarkably fast recovery. He then charges toward Ma Xiaotao’s opponent, declaring a “Fist of Justice.”

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao remains wary that the academy may suspect his disguise, but he also shows growing confidence and willingness to fight alongside the others. His combat ability and natural healing prove stronger than he expected.
• Zhang Lexuan is protective and observant: she notices Jiang Hao’s resemblance to someone else and wants to help the exceptionally talented children whose tracks they find. Her teasing, physical response to his awkward compliment adds a comic note to their relationship.
• Xian Ling’er combines technical skill with compassion. She has turned Jiang Hao’s reconnaissance concept into working Soul Tools and is eager to help abandoned children, even if academy rules might stand in the way.
• Ma Xiaotao appears more lively and stable after her Evil Fire is suppressed. She jokes with Jiang Hao, enjoys his cooking, and takes the lead against the wolves.
• Yan Shaozhe quietly watches Jiang Hao for suspicious behavior, then relaxes when he sees nothing unusual. His banter with Xian Ling’er hints at a complicated shared past.

Significant themes

• Compassion and responsibility: Zhang Lexuan and Xian Ling’er see the children in the forest as vulnerable young people with potential, not merely as a mystery to investigate.
• Growth through action: Jiang Hao’s decision to join the fight marks a move from caution toward courage, while the battle reveals new aspects of his abilities.
• Trust and suspicion: Jiang Hao fears being exposed, and Yan Shaozhe watches him closely, even as the group shares food, humor, and teamwork.
• Technology and ingenuity: Jiang Hao’s ideas help produce practical Soul Tools, highlighting creativity as another form of strength alongside combat power.

Key plot points and events

• After Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao work together to defeat Soul Beasts, Yan Shaozhe praises their coordination and Jiang’s growing skill with his Body Martial Soul. He recommends a roughly 400-year-old Moon Wolf Soul Ring, but Jiang declines.
• Jiang explains that he wants early Soul Rings to strengthen his body rather than grant attack skills, since greater endurance and strength would support his future use of Soul Tools. Xian Ling’er enthusiastically agrees, while Yan accepts Jiang’s choice.
• Jiang buries the beasts’ remains and spreads repellent around camp. He then shares a tent with Ma Xiaotao and Zhang Lexuan; their teasing leaves him embarrassed but curious.
• In the morning, Xian Ling’er captures a Lava Scorpion—the intended target for Ma Xiaotao’s fourth Soul Ring. Ma absorbs its purple ring in hopes of gaining the powerful Phoenix Sky-Shattering Strike. Xian stays to guard her while Yan takes Jiang hunting.
• At a lake, Yan pulls a rare, roughly 500-year-old Gem Lanternfish from the water alongside a White Python. The fish stores extra power in the gem on its forehead and can unleash it in a burst. Yan judges it suitable for Jiang and tells him how to kill it.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao shows independence by rejecting an obvious offensive Soul Ring in favor of long-term physical enhancement. He also banters with Yan and remains flustered by Ma and Zhang’s teasing.
• Yan Shaozhe praises Jiang’s talent but continues trying to bring him and Ma Xiaotao together. He ultimately supports Jiang’s choice and personally searches for a suitable beast.
• Xian Ling’er backs Jiang’s Soul Tool-focused reasoning and helps secure Ma’s desired Soul Beast.
• Ma Xiaotao accepts the Lava Scorpion Soul Ring, while her playful, provocative teasing contrasts with her serious pursuit of greater power.
• Zhang Lexuan joins in the camp teasing and follows Ma’s lead.

Significant themes

• Planning and specialization: Soul Rings should support a Soul Master’s broader goals, not simply provide immediate attack power.
• Soul Tools and the future: Jiang and Xian argue that physical enhancement may be more valuable than spending a ring slot on an attack.
• Mentorship and ambition: Yan and Xian guide both young Soul Masters toward carefully chosen abilities, while Yan’s personal matchmaking adds a comic undercurrent.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao absorbs a five-hundred-year Gem Lanternfish Soul Ring as his first Soul Ring—well above the usual limit—under Yan Shaozhe’s supervision. At first, the process appears unusually smooth.
• The Lanternfish’s gem suddenly releases a spiritual attack, causing Jiang Hao to cough blood, lose control of his Soul Power, and bleed from his skin. Yan Shaozhe nearly intervenes but waits when Jiang Hao remains short of the critical limit.
• Inside Jiang Hao’s Spiritual Sea, the Lanternfish is overwhelmed by the thousands of beings and clones that share the space. They bind it with a spiritual chain, turning the attack into a one-sided defeat.
• Shadow Bro reports that Xuan Zi has arrived in Shrek City and killed two Steam Bird News managers. Jiang Hao decides not to escalate matters, reasoning that the public killings will be difficult for Shrek Academy to cover up. He tells the others to wait for his return before dividing the spoils.
• Jiang Hao completes the absorption and gains the soul skill Cell Activation, which uses Soul Power to stimulate cells and increase physical strength, with doubled effect when used on himself. After waking, he discovers grime and dried blood covering his body, then feels a powerful new heartbeat as he tests his Martial Soul.

Character developments

• Jiang Hao demonstrates exceptional bodily resilience, absorbing a high-age Soul Ring and recovering control after an unexpected spiritual assault.
• His Spiritual Sea and its many inhabitants prove to be a major defense, transforming what could have been a fatal attack into an opportunity to subdue the attacker.
• Yan Shaozhe’s confidence in Jiang Hao grows, though the spiritual attack briefly frightens him. He even speculates that Jiang Hao might have handled a Soul Ring around seven hundred years old.
• Shadow Bro establishes himself as a useful intelligence-gatherer, using his new ability to hide and travel through shadows.

Character interactions

• Yan Shaozhe supervises the absorption, restrains the Soul Beast, and checks Jiang Hao’s condition afterward.
• Jiang Hao’s Spiritual Sea inhabitants mock and collectively beat the Lanternfish, with Hoe Bro and Baozi Bro rallying the others.
• Shadow Bro informs Jiang Hao of Xuan Zi’s actions; Jiang Hao responds strategically, choosing restraint and emphasizing that Xuan Zi has already created serious trouble for himself.

Significant themes

• Breaking established limits: Jiang Hao’s successful absorption challenges conventional expectations about Soul Ring age.
• Collective strength and protection: The shared Spiritual Sea turns many individual presences into a powerful defense.
• Power balanced by strategy: Jiang Hao can retaliate, but chooses to let Xuan Zi’s public violence carry its own consequences.
• Transformation and physical growth: The Soul Ring’s absorption leaves Jiang Hao changed, culminating in the discovery of a new skill and a stronger physical sensation.

Plot points and events

• After killing a Soul Beast, Jiang Hao discovers a red-patterned External Soul Bone near his heart. It appears to circulate Soul Power through his blood and help restore his strength.
• Yan Shaozhe and Xian Ling’er search the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest for three days but find no sign of Xuan Zi. The group considers that he may already have left.
• An explosion from a Shrek-made Guardian Shield draws them to a clearing. A group of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples is trapped inside, facing a twenty-thousand-year-old Dark Tiger.
• The group’s strongest fighter, Qu, is injured, and the shield is close to breaking. Yan Shaozhe intervenes, overwhelming the Dark Tiger with his radiant phoenix power and driving it away.
• The blue-haired young woman, Ning Tian, thanks Yan Shaozhe and identifies him as the Singing Phoenix Douluo.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao quietly studies his new Soul Bone and enjoys the search excursion, relieved that Xuan Zi is out of the way. His clone admires Yan’s dramatic power but jokes that its own future “Hoe Douluo” will be more impressive.
• Yan Shaozhe takes charge of the search and later acts decisively to protect the stranded disciples, displaying both confidence and formidable strength.
• Xian Ling’er recognizes the Guardian Shield as a Shrek product and identifies the group as members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
• Ning Tian shows composure and concern for her injured protector, treating him with medicine and helping him recover before formally thanking Yan.
• Qu, despite his injury, remains determined to defend Ning Tian and the others until help arrives.

Significant themes

• Luck and unexpected gains: Jiang Hao’s Soul Bone is an extraordinary reward from an ordinary kill.
• Power and protection: Yan’s superior strength turns a desperate situation into a rescue.
• Cooperation and mutual obligation: Shrek and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have longstanding ties, reinforced by trade and their shared history.
• Appearances and heroism: Yan’s radiant, theatrical intervention impresses Jiang Hao and underscores the story’s admiration for conspicuous displays of strength.

Key plot points and events

• The group encounters Ning Tian, daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s Sect Master, and her companions in the Star Dou Great Forest. Wu Feng bristles when Jiang Hao looks at Ning Tian, but Ma Xiaotao steps in to defend him, bluntly claiming him as hers.
• Ning Tian introduces herself and carefully assesses the Shrek party, recognizing Dean Yan Shaozhe and the group’s importance. Jiang Hao introduces himself as a level-fifteen Body Soul Master, then explains he mistook Ning Tian for a boy and thought her stare was a challenge.
• Impressed by Jiang Hao’s cultivation and eager to build ties with Shrek, Ning Tian asks to travel with them to Shrek City. Yan Shaozhe agrees, but leaves Zhang Lexuan to escort the young people while he and Xian Ling’er return to Shrek to address the urgent search for Xuan Zi.
• Before leaving, Xian Ling’er gives Jiang Hao a powerful greatsword Soul Tool she had made for him. Its Gravity Shift ability makes it extremely heavy, and it absorbs Soul Power so aggressively that Jiang Hao struggles to hold it. It is too high-grade for his fourth-tier Storage Soul Tool, leaving him stuck carrying a valuable, unwieldy weapon.

Character developments and interactions

• Ning Tian shows composure, political judgment, and ambition: she treats the meeting as a chance to strengthen relations between her sect and Shrek Academy.
• Jiang Hao is resourceful in an awkward moment, but his innocent explanation only makes his cultivation stand out more. He later discovers that Xian Ling’er’s gift is far more troublesome than useful.
• Ma Xiaotao is fiercely protective and possessive of Jiang Hao, while Wu Feng is protective of Ning Tian. Their rivalry nearly sparks a confrontation.
• Zhang Lexuan reluctantly accepts responsibility for leading the group back, wary of the dangers they may encounter.
• Yan Shaozhe balances safety, urgency, and diplomacy by pairing the young travelers together; Xian Ling’er teases him and shows her affection for Jiang Hao through her extravagant gift.

Significant themes

• Alliance-building and social judgment: Ning Tian’s encounter illustrates the sect’s emphasis on recognizing talent and cultivating relationships.
• Power and risk: Shrek’s strength offers protection, but the forest remains dangerous, and traveling openly—or without adequate protection—has consequences.
• Humor amid danger: Jealousy, teasing, and Jiang Hao’s disastrous new sword lighten the chapter while setting up practical complications for the journey.

Plot points and events

• Zhang Lexuan’s group spends two days walking along the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. Jiang Hao struggles at the rear, burdened by an oversized sword that has rubbed blisters into his shoulders. Ma Xiaotao teases him about falling behind.
• Near the forest’s outskirts, they meet the masked carriage driver they encountered before. Zhang Lexuan remembers his fare, and the group rides with him to Shrek City.
• In the forest, Jiang Hao’s clones consider establishing a small outpost to serve travelers and soul hunters. With the Main Body’s approval, thirty clones stay behind and begin building the first cabin.
• At Shrek City, the driver parts ways with the group. Ning Tian invites Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao to visit the Seven Treasure Pavilion and attend an auction. Zhang Lexuan declines, saying she has other business, and leaves.
• Jiang Hao accepts Ning Tian’s invitation. Ma Xiaotao joins them, ostensibly to keep the two from being alone together. Wu Feng then quietly asks whether they have heard about a recent incident, prompting Ning Tian to fear that something scandalous is coming.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao endures the physical challenge of carrying his new sword, but also takes initiative in planning a practical source of income and activity for his clones.
• Ma Xiaotao continues to needle Jiang Hao, then accompanies him and Ning Tian with a mix of protectiveness and possible jealousy.
• Ning Tian is sociable and welcoming, offering to guide the others to the auction; her reaction to Wu Feng’s question suggests she expects gossip or trouble.
• Zhang Lexuan remains composed and independent, declining the invitation to pursue her own affairs.
• Wu Feng, unusually quiet during the journey, finally speaks and raises the prospect of a revealing incident.
• Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao exchange teasing remarks, while Ning Tian tries to make the group’s interactions more informal by asking Jiang Hao to call her by her given name.

Significant themes

• Endurance and training: Jiang Hao’s heavy sword makes physical hardship—and the value of perseverance—concrete.
• Resourcefulness and ambition: Jiang Hao turns his clones into a potential business venture, pairing practical needs with opportunities for growth.
• Community-building: The planned forest outpost could support travelers and soul masters while giving the clones useful work.
• Camaraderie and social tension: The invitation, teasing, and Ma Xiaotao’s watchfulness create a light, potentially awkward dynamic that Wu Feng’s question threatens to complicate.

Plot points and events

• At an auction, Ma Xiaotao and Wu Feng gossip about Xuan Zi killing someone, while Jiang Hao finds the lots of Soul Tools and rare metals uninteresting.
• Ning Tian offers to buy Jiang Hao something. He instead asks for Awakening Stones and Guidance Stones so his numerous Clones can gain Martial Souls.
• Ning Tian presents him with a set of the stones in a valuable storage bracer called Angel’s Blessing, which also has a Soul Power shield. The gift doubles as an attempt to connect Jiang Hao with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—and perhaps encourage him to study the foreign Soul Tool. Jiang Hao accepts and declares them friends.
• Short on money, Jiang Hao considers sending “Bro Tower” to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to gain experience.
• Back at the academy, Jiang Hao enters his Sea of Consciousness. The Clones welcome him and immediately demand the hundred-thousand-year Moon Wolf King Soul Bone he has been holding.
• Before deciding who gets it, Jiang Hao proposes moving away from Shrek’s scrutiny and forming a small faction to run Soul-Hunting expeditions and supply operations near the Star Dou Great Forest. The Clones approve the move unanimously.
• Hoe Bro volunteers for the faction, boasting about his strength. The others mock him and compare him unfavorably with Banner Bro, who is stranded in a cave near the forest, hungry and cold, accompanied by undead creatures.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao shows practical ambition: he wants to equip his Clones, get them out from under Mu En’s watch, and build an income-generating operation. He also readily accepts Ning Tian’s expensive gift.
• Ning Tian uses her wealth and influence to cultivate a relationship with Jiang Hao and Shrek’s Soul Tool Department.
• The Clones act like a rowdy collective but generally share Jiang Hao’s aims. Their banter reveals competition over status and the Soul Bone.
• Hoe Bro volunteers confidently, only to be ridiculed by the others.
• Banner Bro feels abandoned and resentful after being sent off alone because his Demonic Qi might endanger the group. His isolation sets up a comic contrast with the Clones’ internal politicking.

Significant themes

• Ambition and independence: Jiang Hao plans to leave Shrek’s oversight and establish a faction of his own.
• Resourcefulness and material limits: Useful training tools, Soul Tools, and the Soul Bone are valuable, while Jiang Hao’s limited funds constrain his choices.
• Collective identity and rivalry: The Clones share a consciousness and broad goals, yet squabble over rewards, recognition, and assignments.
• Power and responsibility: Jiang Hao’s decisions affect the Clones’ opportunities and safety, while Banner Bro’s exile illustrates the costs of protecting the group.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Hao organizes his Clones’ assignments: Hoe Bro and Flame Bro will establish farmland near the Star Dou Great Forest, while Owl Bro will handle logistics and use his weakness-detecting skill to assess business opportunities. Training Bro will join them to tame beasts and Soul Beasts; together they will oversee a Thirty-Person Group.
• Pagoda Bro and Ice Sword Bro are sent to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to study and secure funding. Jiang Hao promises Ice Sword Bro a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone as a reward, but withholds it until the task is safely completed.
• Back in his own body, Jiang Hao cultivates through the night. His heart External Soul Bone greatly accelerates his progress, and he expects to reach Soul Power level sixteen within a month.
• The next morning, he heads toward the Soul Tool Department to tell Qian Duoduo and Xian Ling’er he plans to move out. Shrek Academy is busy welcoming new students.
• Zhou Yi mistakes Jiang Hao for a student because of his small stature and lack of uniform. She berates him, demands a ten-thousand-word self-criticism, and declares him expelled. When he ignores her and walks away, she attacks him with her Soul Emperor pressure—but his defensive Soul Tools neutralize it.
• Onlookers recognize Jiang Hao as Qian Duoduo’s adopted son and realize Zhou Yi has challenged someone with exceptionally powerful backing.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao shows himself to be a practical, strategic leader, assigning his Clones roles suited to their abilities and planning both economic growth and access to resources.
• The Clones display distinct personalities: Hoe Bro resents being treated as a farmer; Flame Bro is quick-tempered and protective; Owl Bro is gentle and eager to contribute through logistics; Ice Sword Bro is bold, theatrical, and impatient to escape poverty.
• Jiang Hao remains composed when Zhou Yi confronts him, questioning her identity and then refusing to be intimidated. Zhou Yi, by contrast, is rigid and quick to judge, escalating from scolding to attempted coercion without checking who he is.
• The students’ whispered commentary frames the clash as an embarrassing miscalculation by Zhou Yi and highlights Jiang Hao’s connections.

Significant themes

• Building through specialization: Jiang Hao turns individual strengths into a coordinated organization, linking farming, security, logistics, and funding.
• Power and resources: Cultivation, Soul Tools, wealth, and institutional connections all shape who can act with authority.
• Judgment and arrogance: Zhou Yi enforces rules harshly while failing to identify Jiang Hao, setting up a conflict between rigid authority and informed self-confidence.
• Independence and growth: Jiang Hao’s plan to move out and his accelerated cultivation signal a new stage of self-reliance.

Plot points and events

• Zhou Yi attacks Jiang Hao at Shrek Academy, triggering his expensive disposable Absolute Defense. Enraged, Jiang Hao challenges her to a Soul Fighting match to defend his dignity and test his strength.
• Zhou Yi accepts, threatening his family and their chances of entering Shrek. The challenge draws a huge crowd before academy leaders can intervene.
• Qian Duoduo places a bet on Zhou Yi, while Fan Yu confronts Zhou Yi about attacking the adopted son of two powerful deans. Zhou Yi refuses to back down, prioritizes her authority and reputation, and breaks up with Fan Yu when he criticizes her.
• On the arena platform, Zhou Yi offers Jiang Hao a chance to apologize, assuming he is frightened. He refuses and charges.
• Jiang Hao’s enhanced physique lets him break Zhou Yi’s binding skill. His greatsword shatters her defensive shield, and a Lion King’s Guard Soul Tool blocks her punch, forcing her back and making her realize she must fight seriously.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao shifts from outrage to determined confidence. Rather than rely on his family’s status, he takes the fight himself and reveals unexpectedly powerful physical strength and multiple Soul Tools.
• Zhou Yi is shown as arrogant, punitive, and deeply concerned with authority and face. Though she becomes wary once she learns Jiang Hao’s background, she still assumes he is a spoiled coward. His strength quickly challenges that assumption.
• Fan Yu tries to stop Zhou Yi and warns her of the consequences, but she rejects his concern and ends their relationship. His career ambitions and personal ties leave him caught in the fallout.
• Qian Duoduo responds with apparent confidence in Jiang Hao, betting against him in the match.

Significant themes

• Abuse of authority and accountability: Zhou Yi uses her position to threaten a student, then worries more about preserving her authority than admitting fault.
• Dignity and self-reliance: Jiang Hao chooses to stand up for himself rather than depend on his influential family.
• Appearances versus reality: The crowd expects an easy defeat, and Zhou Yi underestimates Jiang Hao; his strength and equipment overturn those assumptions.
• Power and restraint: Zhou Yi hesitates to use her strongest attacks because injuring Jiang Hao could have severe consequences, while Jiang Hao presses the fight to discover his own limits.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao continues his fight with Zhou Yi, who uses her Soul Emperor pressure to stop his charge. Recognizing his weakness at close range, he throws his greatsword, catches up with it, then channels Soul Power into the blade to increase its weight dramatically.
• The attack leaves both fighters badly injured: Zhou Yi’s right arm is broken and her chest and ribs are crushed, while Jiang Hao suffers internal injuries and coughs up blood. The crowd celebrates Jiang Hao’s victory. Yan Shaozhe criticizes Zhou Yi for underestimating a child and questions her fitness to teach.
• After the fight, Jiang Hao tells his foster parents, Qian Duoduo and Xian Ling’er, that he plans to leave Shrek Academy and live in Shrek City to become more self-reliant. Qian gives him an old Soul Tool Ring belonging to his parents.
• Xian Ling’er and Qian Duoduo are furious about Zhou Yi’s treatment of Jiang Hao and suspect the academy’s elders may be involved in his difficulties. They vow to investigate Zhou Yi and make her answer for her actions.
• Jiang Hao rents a courtyard in Shrek City for three years. He leaves his owl, Beans, to watch the property, disguises himself, and slips out of the city. He plans to intercept the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s group near the west gate and stage an encounter.

Character developments

• Jiang Hao learns that his strength and endurance cannot fully compensate for his lack of ranged attacks or speed. Rather than remaining dependent on his foster parents and the academy, he chooses to live independently and train through experience.
• Zhou Yi is badly injured after her arrogance and underestimation of Jiang Hao leave her vulnerable. Her conduct also puts her teaching position and standing at Shrek in jeopardy.
• Qian Duoduo and Xian Ling’er shift from concern to anger and suspicion, showing how deeply protective they are of Jiang Hao and how seriously they take his mistreatment.

Significant themes

• Growth through adversity: Jiang Hao treats the fight’s danger as a lesson about his limitations and a reason to become stronger.
• Power and responsibility: Zhou Yi’s misuse of her authority and strength contrasts with Jiang Hao’s determination to improve.
• Independence and family: Jiang Hao seeks to stand on his own while remaining connected to his foster parents, who support and protect him.
• Hidden agendas: The suspicion that others at Shrek may be contributing to Jiang Hao’s troubles foreshadows a broader conflict.

Character interactions

• Jiang Hao and Zhou Yi’s confrontation turns a one-sided display of authority into a costly duel, ending with both seriously hurt.
• Yan Shaozhe condemns Zhou Yi’s behavior to Wang Yan, while students and teachers cheer Jiang Hao’s victory.
• Qian Duoduo and Xian Ling’er discuss Zhou Yi’s likely punishment and the academy’s past treatment of Jiang Hao; Qian also gives Jiang Hao his parents’ ring.
• Jiang Hao directs Beans to guard his new home, then secretly leaves to prepare for his planned encounter with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.