Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Huo Yuhao says he has been completing about four quests a day and expects to earn a purple medal in two years, then leaves the Adventurer’s Hall with Red Moon Bro and the others.
• The group visits the old courtyard where Main Body Old Rogue was raised. It is immaculate, though no one is there. They leave without disturbing it, while reflecting on their debt to Qian Duoduo and the others—and plotting to cause trouble for Shrek instructor Zhou Yi.
• Zhang Lexuan later arrives at the courtyard, sits in the familiar rocking chair, and reflects on her past and Mu En’s orders: to remain at Shrek, serve as acting Sea God Pavilion master, and marry his great-grandson.
• At the freshman dormitory, Huo Yuhao respectfully greets Mu En and collects keys for the group. They settle into their rooms, though the shabby facilities prompt complaints. Bro Xingchen clears dust from one room with his Soul Power and goes to sleep.
• That night, a crash wakes the group. Wang Dong has knocked Huo Yuhao onto a landing and stands over him. Mu En watches, anticipating a fight. The brothers recognize this as the beginning of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s story; Red Moon Bro stops Wooden Door Bro from intervening so they can first see Huo Yuhao use his first Soul Skill.

Character developments and interactions

• Red Moon Bro and the group combine nostalgia for Main Body Old Rogue’s childhood with mischievous plans to challenge Shrek and Zhou Yi. Their concern about not taking resources from Shrek’s intended trainees shows some restraint beneath their scheming.
• Huo Yuhao remains respectful and practical, handling the group’s admission documents and dorm keys.
• Zhang Lexuan appears quietly resigned to the life Shrek has imposed on her, finding comfort in the courtyard and its memories.
• Mu En recognizes the newcomers’ formidable presence but interprets their Soul Power as a blessing for Shrek. He later watches Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao’s confrontation rather than stepping in.
• Bro Xingchen uses his wings to clean the dorm and jokes about being too exhausted for more tasks; Red Moon Bro playfully smacks him.
• Wang Dong starts the chapter’s final conflict by overpowering Huo Yuhao, while the brothers debate whether to intervene.

Significant themes

• Nostalgia and obligation: The courtyard connects the group to the people who raised Main Body Old Rogue, underscoring a debt they still feel.
• Fate and repetition: The brothers recognize the confrontation as a pivotal, familiar meeting in Huo Yuhao’s story and consider changing its course.
• Belonging and control: Zhang Lexuan’s imposed duties contrast with the newcomers’ determination to pursue their own agenda at Shrek.
• Power, rivalry, and restraint: The group is eager to stir trouble, but pauses to observe the fight and weighs the consequences of interfering.

Key plot points and events

• After Wang Dong throws Huo Yuhao downstairs for touching his shoulder, he lays down strict dorm rules: Huo Yuhao must clean, may not use the washroom, and must keep his shirt on.
• Wang Dong backs his demands with threats and a show of strength. Huo Yuhao’s anger grows as the rules recall the cruelty he and his mother endured at the White Tiger Duke’s Mansion.
• When Wang Dong attacks, Huo Yuhao catches his fist and refuses to submit. He throws Wang Dong over his shoulder, and the two fight.
• Wang Dong uses his Light Goddess Butterfly and attacks with Wingblade. Huo Yuhao’s Spirit Eyes let him reproduce the same Soul Skill, striking Wang Dong and knocking him into a pool.
• Huo Yuhao pins Wang Dong’s wrist under his foot and challenges him for trying to command and enslave him.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao shifts from trying to avoid trouble to firmly resisting abuse. His painful past fuels his refusal to accept Wang Dong’s rules, and his new Spirit Eyes ability proves powerful in combat.
• Wang Dong is introduced as proud, controlling, and quick to threaten violence. His confidence falters when Huo Yuhao counters his attack and copies his Soul Skill.
• Red Moon Bro and the others watch the confrontation with interest, while Mu En remains apparently uninvolved.

Significant themes

• Resistance to oppression: Wang Dong’s claim that the stronger person gets to dictate terms echoes the abuse Huo Yuhao suffered before.
• Trauma and memory: Huo Yuhao’s past treatment—and his mother’s sacrifices—shape his response to present injustice.
• Observation and imitation: Huo Yuhao’s Spirit Eyes can reproduce what he sees, making perception itself a source of power.
• Power and respect: The fight tests whether strength should be used to dominate others or defend one’s dignity.

Character interactions

• Wang Dong’s attempt to impose authority turns the room assignment into a direct confrontation.
• Huo Yuhao initially apologizes for touching Wang Dong’s shoulder, but refuses to accept the subsequent demands.
• Their exchange escalates from threats to combat, with Huo Yuhao’s successful counterattack reversing their apparent power balance.

Plot points and events

• Huo Yuhao proves his new strength by knocking Wang Dong back into the pool. Wang Dong retaliates, briefly summoning his Clear Sky Hammer.
• Red Moon Bro intervenes before the hammer can draw Mu En’s attention. He uses his Martial Soul to put Wang Dong to sleep, and Zhou Zige’s Playing Card power moves him back to his bed.
• Zhou Zige explains that his cards let him turn people into “chess pieces” and reposition them. He reflects on the unusual powers emerging among the younger generation and wonders whether winning more card games might grant him new abilities.
• The next morning, Red Moon Bro and his companions attend class, intending to provoke their teacher, Zhou Yi. She asks students who have fought since school began to stand. Huo Yuhao rises first; Wang Dong then admits he and Huo Yuhao scuffled over instant noodles.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao is beginning to recognize and feel the extent of his newfound power, though Zhou Yi still dismisses his low Soul Power level.
• Wang Dong shifts from angry confrontation to openly acknowledging the earlier fight, suggesting he is willing to own up rather than hide it.
• Zhou Zige displays confidence in his card abilities but remains curious about what further powers he might gain.
• Red Moon Bro remains defiant toward Zhou Yi and privately indulges in an exaggerated, lovesick fantasy about the Main Body Old Rogue.

Character interactions

• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s rough teasing escalates into a brief fight, which Red Moon Bro ends.
• Zhou Zige helps settle Wang Dong back in bed using his card-based powers and reassures Huo Yuhao that he will adapt to his abilities.
• Zhou Yi singles out Red Moon Bro’s group with her gaze, while he challenges her silently by refusing to stand.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong sit together comfortably in class; both ultimately acknowledge involvement in the earlier dormitory scuffle.

Significant themes

• Power and adaptation: Huo Yuhao is only beginning to grasp his strength, while Zhou Zige notes that abilities once remarkable may soon become commonplace.
• Defiance and authority: Red Moon Bro resists Zhou Yi’s attempts to intimidate or control the class.
• Humor and contrast: The chapter mixes displays of powerful abilities with petty school disputes—especially a fight over a bowl of instant noodles.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Yi calls students who have fought to stand, then orders everyone else to run a hundred laps. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong comply with her demand to admit their fight, while several other boys stand too, believing they have avoided punishment.
• Zhou Yi also orders the back-row students to run, despite their having remained seated. They ignore her: Bro Xingchen dozes, and Zhou Zige and the others play cards.
• Irritated by the disorder, Zhou Yi uses her power to transport the class to the academy plaza. She prepares to impose her authority, but Red Moon Bro challenges her with Shrek’s regulations, pointing out that she has no right to expel students at will or replace training with arbitrary punishment.
• Zhou Yi dismisses the challenge, confident that students cannot act against a teacher. Mantis Bro attacks her with a powerful slash. As she tries to use her defensive Soul Skill, Red Moon Bro activates King Playing Cards, Second Soul Skill: Seizure, apparently to take control of or remove her defense.

Character developments

• Wang Dong initially looks down on Huo Yuhao, but grudgingly respects his willingness to admit to fighting and remembers the strength of his Soul Skill.
• Huo Yuhao remains quiet and does not back down when called out.
• Zhou Yi appears strict and intimidating, but her authority is exposed as partly abusive: she has used arbitrary punishments and expulsions to drive out students she considers weak.
• Red Moon Bro shows that he is both well-versed in the academy’s rules and willing to confront a teacher openly.
• Mantis Bro moves from joking and playing cards to taking direct action against Zhou Yi.

Significant themes

• Authority versus accountability: Zhou Yi expects obedience, while Red Moon Bro argues that even teachers must follow institutional rules.
• Strength and defiance: The chapter contrasts Shrek’s motto of embracing trouble with Zhou Yi’s attempt to control students through punishment.
• Knowledge as power: Red Moon Bro’s command of the regulations gives the students grounds to challenge an authority they would otherwise feel powerless against.
• Comic disorder: The card game, absurdly strong hands, and Bro Xingchen’s laziness undercut the classroom’s supposed discipline.

Character interactions

• Zhou Yi provokes the students with conflicting demands, while Wang Dong reacts angrily and Huo Yuhao stays composed.
• The back-row group jokes and plays cards rather than obeying, prompting Zhou Yi to transport them all to the plaza.
• Red Moon Bro directly challenges Zhou Yi’s conduct; she brushes him off, and Mantis Bro responds with an attack.
• Red Moon Bro then intervenes as Zhou Yi tries to defend herself, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Yi confronts a group of students, confident that her powerful Fifth Soul Skill will defeat them. Her attack is neutralized by Red Moon Bro’s Second Soul Skill, Goddess’s Skirt, which grants immunity to non-melee attacks.
• The group counters as a coordinated team: Wooden Door Bro provides portals, Blind Bro deflects attacks, Xingchen shelters allies and strengthens them with his star-based skills, and Red Moon Bro directs the fight.
• Xingchen’s Star God’s Gaze overwhelms Zhou Yi with mental effects, leaving her vulnerable. Wooden Door Bro and the White-Eyed Azure Dragon then strike, ending the fight with Divine Dragon Alternate Dimension. Zhou Yi is hurled to the ground, unable to maintain her Martial Soul Possession.
• Xiao Xiao watches the battle. The group feels familiar to her, though she cannot identify them; she is at Shrek searching for Jiang Hao.
• From above, Mu En and Xuan Zi witness the fight. Mu En appears to judge the incident less harshly than expected, and Xuan Zi goes to decide what to do.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Yi shifts from confidence to disbelief and defeat as her strongest attacks fail and Xingchen’s mental assault leaves her exposed.
• The attackers show strong teamwork: Red Moon Bro protects and commands, Xingchen supplies defense, power, and disruption, while Wooden Door Bro and the dragon deliver the finishing attack.
• Xiao Xiao is revealed to miss the former Thirty-Person Group and to hope she can reconnect with Jiang Hao at Shrek.
• Mu En and Xuan Zi discuss the students’ punishment. Their conversation suggests Mu En may be willing to overlook the teacher’s defeat, while Xuan Zi takes responsibility for handling the matter.

Significant themes

• Teamwork over individual strength: The group’s coordinated skills defeat Zhou Yi despite her higher-ranked attack.
• Power and vulnerability: Zhou Yi’s confidence in her Soul Skills proves misplaced when her opponents can bypass, resist, and disrupt them.
• Memory and belonging: Xiao Xiao’s sense of familiarity and search for old companions highlight the group’s changed circumstances and her longing for connection.

Key plot points and events

• Red Moon Bro and the other troublemaking students rampage through Shrek Academy, deliberately breaking rules. Zhou Yi, a first-year teacher, is bound to a kite with a Soul Tool that suppresses her Soul Power and is dragged through the air.
• The group destroys a section of the academy wall, turning it into an opening to Shrek City. Meanwhile, they continue vandalizing school property: the academy’s running track is being torn up, and a money tree belonging to Wang Yan has been thrown into Sea God Lake.
• Zhou Yi becomes terrified while being flown over the lake, loses control, and falls into the water. Wooden Door Bro rescues her before she drowns.
• Tang Ya and Bei Bei arrive through the new gap. Tang Ya is delighted by the group’s audacity and immediately tries to recruit them into the Tang Sect, even offering Bei Bei’s senior-disciple position.
• Wang Yan finally reaches the scene, furious about his missing money tree and the academy’s many violations. He is dismayed to find the damage, Zhou Yi’s plight, and Tang Ya and Bei Bei present—but the excerpt ends before he can take action.

Character developments

• Red Moon Bro and the group embrace their role as rule-breaking pranksters, escalating from ordinary mischief to demolishing part of the academy wall.
• Zhou Yi is reduced from an authority figure to a helpless, frightened captive. Her fear of open water becomes clear when she is flown over the lake.
• Tang Ya reveals her enthusiasm for recruiting talented, unconventional people into the Tang Sect. Her bold, playful manner contrasts with Bei Bei’s caution.
• Bei Bei remains wary and tries to moderate Tang Ya, but his close bond with her—and his protected status—makes Wang Yan reluctant to discipline him.
• Wang Yan is overwhelmed by the scale of the disorder and caught between enforcing rules and accommodating influential students.

Significant themes

• Rebellion against authority: The students treat the school rulebook like a checklist of challenges.
• Comedy through chaos: The absurd kite ride, stolen tree, demolished wall, and casual recruitment pitch turn serious misconduct into farce.
• Unequal accountability: Wang Yan’s reluctance to confront Bei Bei and Tang Ya suggests that family connections and influence shape how rules are enforced.
• Belonging and recruitment: Tang Ya sees the group’s independence and capability as qualities that could strengthen the Tang Sect.

Character interactions

• The group’s pranks target both school property and Zhou Yi, who is left tied up and humiliated.
• Tang Ya enthusiastically approaches the pranksters, while Bei Bei questions the situation and tries to rein her in.
• Wang Yan’s confrontation is complicated by his recognition of Bei Bei and Tang Ya; his frustration instead centers on the missing tree and the broader chaos.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Yi, bound and humiliated after students use her as a target, begs Wang Yan to punish them. Wang Yan—who has repeatedly had to rescue her from similar incidents—blames her for continually provoking students and warns he will no longer protect her.
• Wang Yan orders the students to write ten-thousand-word self-criticisms, then searches for his treasured Money Tree. He discovers it has been destroyed in Sea God Lake and breaks down in grief.
• Zhou Yi urges Wang Yan to attack the students. As he begins to gather Soul Power, Dean Xuan Zi arrives and intervenes.
• Though Xuan Zi witnessed the students’ misbehavior, he portrays them as helpless victims and blames Zhou Yi and Wang Yan. He throws Zhou Yi back into the lake and reprimands Wang Yan for overreacting about the tree.
• Once Xuan Zi turns away, the students resume their swagger. He chooses to ignore their behavior, believing their ability to defeat a teacher proves their potential. He resolves to invest academy resources in them and imagines this will earn him his senior brother Mu En’s favor.

Character developments

• Zhou Yi is overwhelmed by years of being mocked and targeted, but remains hostile toward the students and expects Wang Yan to punish them. Her usual blame-the-students attitude is turned back on her by Wang Yan.
• Wang Yan shifts from exasperation with Zhou Yi to grief over his beloved tree, then nearly retaliates against the students before Xuan Zi stops him.
• Xuan Zi presents himself as a fair authority figure, but his private thoughts reveal favoritism and self-interest. He excuses the students’ conduct, plans to dismiss Zhou Yi, and sees the incident as a chance to secure his own future.
• The students appear frightened while Xuan Zi watches, then immediately return to provoking others, exposing the gap between their performance and their actual behavior.

Character interactions

• Wang Yan and Zhou Yi clash over her repeated conflicts with students; he applies her own logic about mutual responsibility to her.
• Wang Yan confronts the group and demands written apologies, while Zhou Yi tries to push him toward violence.
• Xuan Zi sides with the students, humiliates Zhou Yi by tossing her into the lake, and scolds Wang Yan over the tree.
• The students exploit Xuan Zi’s favoritism by acting innocent in front of him and arrogant as soon as his attention shifts.

Significant themes

• Hypocrisy and double standards: Xuan Zi condemns teachers while overlooking the students’ obvious misconduct.
• Abuse of authority and favoritism: His decisions serve his ambitions rather than justice.
• Reversal and humiliation: Zhou Yi’s familiar accusations are turned against her, while Wang Yan’s grief over the tree is dismissed.
• Comic absurdity: The exaggerated punishments, ruined Money Tree, misplaced speaker, and Xuan Zi’s foul smell heighten the chapter’s farcical tone.

Plot and events

• Banner Bro spars with Ma Xiaotao, using his Undead Magic, Light Undead powers, and Sword of Light to defeat her. He has reached level 70 and become a Soul Saint, while the Myriad Souls Banner has evolved to combine death, Undead, and sacred light.
• Ice Bro frees the others from Ma Xiaotao’s Extreme Ice Prison. Yan Shaozhe praises the team’s strength and predicts they will win the upcoming tournament.
• Ma Xiaotao drags Jiang Hao into a new practice match. Yan Shaozhe makes him captain of one team, with Ma Xiaotao captaining the other.
• With Wu too exhausted to fight, Xu Jiujiu joins, bringing the teams to sixteen people. Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao take turns choosing teammates.

Character developments and interactions

• Banner Bro’s rapid rise to Soul Saint and mastery of combined Undead and light powers establish him as an increasingly formidable fighter.
• Yan Shaozhe praises Jiang Hao’s astonishing progress—nearly eight cultivation levels in a year—and teases him for slacking off. Ma Xiaotao challenges him directly, showing their close, playful rapport.
• Jiang Hao picks Xu Jiujiu first, valuing her powerful Star Crown support abilities. Her improved cultivation reflects the benefits of new training methods and potions.
• Ma Xiaotao picks Ice Bro because his Ultimate Ice can counter her Ultimate Fire, then selects Ning Tian. Ning Tian is disappointed she wasn’t chosen by Jiang Hao and resentful that he may no longer need her support.
• Jiang Hao recruits Sand Bro for his troublesome control abilities and invites Tang Lan (Blue Bro), a level-55 Soul King with a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and a support/control role. Ma Xiaotao teases Tang Lan by scorching at him, prompting him to dodge.

Significant themes

• Growth through training and innovation: Characters’ rapid advancement is linked to hard practice, research, and new cultivation methods.
• Complementary strengths and teamwork: Team selection revolves around balancing support, control, and elemental counters.
• Rivalry and camaraderie: Sparring and teasing drive the action while revealing friendships, tensions, and romantic feelings.

Key plot points and events

• Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Hao take turns choosing fighters for their teams. Ma Xiaotao prioritizes Qianxia, whose twin poisonous Martial Souls offer valuable control, while Jiang Hao chooses Coffee Bro and the wheelchair-bound Red-Haired Bro.
• Their picks continue: Ma Xiaotao takes the eight-armed Mad Demon Bro and Soul Engineer Four Wood Bro; Jiang Hao takes Soul Engineer Bird Bro and the catgirl Xiren Baidou. Wu Feng joins Ma Xiaotao after Ning Tian silently appeals on her behalf.
• As the teams prepare to fight, the spectators grow impatient. The Soul Fighting Platform rises, and Yan Shaozhe calls for the match to begin.
• Both teams take a two-two-one-three formation. Jiang Hao tells Banner Bro not to hold back, activates his first Soul Skill, Cell Activation, and follows with Star’s Protection. The excerpt ends as the battle begins.

Character developments

• Ma Xiaotao weighs the value of raw offense against control and endurance, choosing Qianxia because her team could struggle in a prolonged fight.
• Jiang Hao recalls Qianxia’s tragic childhood: she was found near death in the snow, her Martial Soul damaged, and rescued and treated by his master. She later became the first child at the House of the Hearth to encounter Artificial Martial Souls and was sent to the academy to help her grow socially.
• Wu Feng worries about being picked last and about having to fight Ning Tian if they end up on opposing teams. Ning Tian’s appeal ensures she joins Ma Xiaotao’s side.
• Four Wood Bro, who has struggled to make the most of his wolf-spider Martial Soul, hopes that defeating the Main Body Sect’s elder will bring him and his companions recognition.

Character interactions

• Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Hao tease each other over their selections, with Jiang Hao jokingly offering to “give her a break” before choosing Coffee Bro.
• Qianxia is shy and frightened by Ma Xiaotao’s black flames, while Ma Xiaotao warmly invites her onto the team.
• Wu Feng’s loyalty to Ning Tian shapes her anxiety about the team split; Ning Tian quietly advocates for her.
• Yan Shaozhe’s impatience contrasts with the fighters’ drawn-out selection process.

Significant themes

• Team balance and strategy: The captains consider how control, support, endurance, and offense will affect their chances.
• Belonging and care: Qianxia’s rescue and training, along with Wu Feng’s loyalty to Ning Tian, highlight the importance of protection and connection.
• Recognition and ambition: Four Wood Bro’s hope of proving himself reflects the contestants’ desire to overcome limitations and gain status.

Plot and key events

• Both teams prepare for battle with layered support abilities. Xu Jiujiu activates Star’s Protection, while Ning Tian boosts Ma Xiaotao’s strength, speed, and Soul Power. Jiang Hao counters with a team-wide vitality enhancement, and Coffee Bro supplies pain reduction, mental protection, and further boosts.
• Ma Xiaotao attacks Jiang Hao directly, while Bird Bro uses Soul Tool explosives and deploys a Level 4 combat mech, suppressing the opposing team’s rear line with Gatling fire.
• Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao clash head-on. Blue Silver Bro heals Jiang Hao, then attacks with spear formations and rapidly growing Blue Silver Grass. Mad Demon Bro cuts through the grass to rescue Four Wood Bro and Wu Feng.
• Ma Xiaotao unleashes Phoenix Meteor Shower. Xu Jiujiu’s Star’s Protection absorbs much of it but drains her Soul Power.
• Sand Bro exploits the distraction to pull Ning Tian out of the arena, then raises a dust storm that blinds and disrupts the remaining fighters. Ice Bro protects several allies inside an Ice Prison.
• Banner Bro urges Qianxia to use her plant-based Martial Soul to cover the field and suppress the dust. Her yellow poppies spread a subtle influence that breaks Coffee Bro’s mental-immunity effect.
• Just as Qianxia celebrates, a lightning-charged projectile flies toward her.

Character developments and interactions

• Ma Xiaotao takes the frontline role, confronting Jiang Hao while coordinating with Ning Tian and pushing her attacks despite the team’s defensive challenges.
• Ning Tian demonstrates how much stronger she has become: her level-48 support substantially enhances Ma Xiaotao, though Sand Bro removes her from the arena.
• Jiang Hao shows effective team leadership, combining his enhancement ability with Sand Bro’s tactical displacement and his teammates’ healing and attacks.
• Bird Bro proves that Soul Tools make him a major battlefield threat, using a full mech setup to pin down opponents from a distance.
• Coffee Bro supports his team with powerful boosts, but discovers that his mental immunity can be triggered—and neutralized—by Qianxia’s subtle poppy effect.
• Qianxia takes an active control role by spreading her plants across the battlefield; her success immediately puts her in danger.

Significant themes

• Coordination and counterplay: Both teams combine support, control, and attack abilities, and each attempt to gain an advantage is met by a response.
• Versatility over raw strength: Soul Tools, healing, elemental abilities, and subtle control effects all shape the fight.
• Escalating tactical danger: The battle repeatedly shifts as fighters are isolated, protected, or forced to adapt to changing conditions.

Plot points and events

• Red-Haired Bro uses Soul Tools to blast Ice Bro and Qianxia out of the arena, while Yan Shaozhe shields them from the shots.
• Sand Bro completes his power-up and invokes a massive sand attack, drawing on the desert’s ambient Soul Power. Ma Xiaotao activates her Martial Soul Avatar to face him.
• Banner Bro counters by summoning rain. The water turns Sand Bro into a heap of mud and sand, neutralizing his attack and revealing his vulnerability.
• Baidou exploits the distraction to eliminate Four Wood Bro and then Wu Feng. She later surrenders voluntarily, leaving the arena rather than risk being attacked.
• Ma Xiaotao realizes she failed to protect her team’s rear and that her aggressive focus let the ambush succeed.
• With only Ma Xiaotao and Banner Bro left on her side, she and Jiang Hao’s remaining fighters resume the battle. Mad Demon Bro powers up and charges Red-Haired Bro, shrugging off his Soul Tool shots.
• Xu Jiujiu supports her team with several Soul Skills, greatly strengthening Jiang Hao. He blocks Ma Xiaotao’s next attack, and the chapter ends with the two sides still clashing.

Character developments

• Ma Xiaotao recognizes her weakness as a tactician after her team suffers several losses, but regains confidence when Mad Demon Bro withstands Red-Haired Bro’s shots.
• Banner Bro proves resourceful, using his knowledge of Sand Bro’s weakness and carefully timed rain to overturn the fight.
• Baidou demonstrates that she is a fast, dangerous agility fighter, then uses the rules to withdraw safely by surrendering.
• Sand Bro is revealed to be powerful when drawing on the environment, but vulnerable to water.
• Jiang Hao appears increasingly formidable after Xu Jiujiu’s enhancements, successfully blocking Ma Xiaotao’s attack.

Character interactions

• Yan Shaozhe protects Ice Bro and Qianxia from Red-Haired Bro’s Soul Tool fire.
• Banner Bro’s intervention saves Ma Xiaotao from Sand Bro’s overwhelming attack, and she reacts by kicking Sand Bro’s collapsed remains.
• Baidou’s surprise attacks take out Four Wood Bro and Wu Feng; her surrender frustrates Mad Demon Bro.
• Ma Xiaotao and Jiang Hao meet head-on in the final exchange, while Xu Jiujiu’s support strengthens Jiang Hao and Banner Bro’s magic is checked by her defense.

Significant themes

• Strategy versus brute force: Sand Bro’s overwhelming attack is defeated by a timely counter, while Ma Xiaotao’s lack of rear protection costs her team.
• Using weaknesses and the environment: Rain turns Sand Bro’s strength into a liability, showing how knowledge and terrain can decide a fight.
• Teamwork and changing momentum: Support abilities, ambushes, and individual matchups repeatedly shift the balance.
• Rules as protection: Baidou’s surrender shows that tactical retreat can be as useful as fighting.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao defeats Ma Xiaotao in the Soul Fighting match by using her own momentum to fling her out of the arena. Yan Shaozhe stops her from retaliating, reminding her that the loss is final.
• Meanwhile, the Fatui fighters overwhelm their opponents: Blue Silver Grass restrains Eight-Armed Bro and strips away his axes, while Coffee Bro taunts him from beyond reach.
• Banner Bro turns the match around by opening three enormous Gates of the Undead. Faced with the threat of an undead army, Jiang Hao calls for surrender, and the match ends.
• Later, Xu Jiujiu gives Jiang Hao intelligence on the Xuanming Sect. It confirms that the powerful sect has at least two Titled Douluo and controls a vast share of the Dou Ling Empire’s commercial network. Much of the report matches information already gathered by the Fatui and Adventurers’ Guild.
• Jiang Hao concludes that the Xuanming Sect’s wealth, supply depots, and transport routes are now well mapped and vulnerable. He proposes blockading its entrances while the Fatui create an alibi, then secretly eliminating its forces.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao proves tactically resourceful against Ma Xiaotao, then shifts into a confident strategic role as he studies the Xuanming Sect’s vulnerabilities.
• Ma Xiaotao is frustrated by her loss and tries to re-enter the arena, but Yan Shaozhe restrains her and urges her to accept the result.
• Banner Bro displays overwhelming power with the Undead Gates, forcing the opposing team to surrender.
• Xu Jiujiu emerges as a capable and committed intelligence gatherer. Her work reflects her concern for the Star Luo Empire’s security and commercial interests, and she sees weakening the Dou Ling Empire as a strategic opportunity.
• The group’s post-match camaraderie contrasts with the seriousness of the intelligence briefing. Xu Jiujiu and Jiang Hao collaborate closely, while the others consider the implications of a major operation.

Significant themes

• Turning an opponent’s strength against them: Jiang Hao wins through timing and leverage rather than brute force.
• Power and restraint: Banner Bro’s display is so dangerous that surrender becomes the only sensible choice.
• Information as a weapon: Detailed intelligence on commerce, supply lines, and strongholds makes a decisive strike possible.
• War, logistics, and ambition: Xu Jiujiu’s concern for soldiers’ supplies coexists with her desire to exploit regional conflict for Star Luo’s advantage.

Key plot points and events

• In Dottore’s laboratory, Owl Bro visits to keep him company and discusses the operation against the Xuanming Sect. Owl Bro argues that openly revealing the Main Body’s abilities may draw less suspicion than hiding them. Dottore scolds him for smoking, given his severe lung and organ damage.
• Jiang Hao’s forces arrive near Tianxuan City. Their broader plan is to raid the Xuanming Sect’s trading houses and weaken its economy, while Jiang Hao’s group blocks the sect’s gate. Shrek’s Yan Shaozhe and a support force accompany them; Eight-Armed Bro stays behind to conceal the Body Sect’s involvement.
• Ma Xiaotao announces her challenge, destroys the sect’s signboard, and tears the stone gate from its foundations. When two outer-sect disciples attack her with Black Tortoise powers, her Demon Phoenix Evil Fire burns away their baleful aura, and she kills them with one punch.
• Ma Xiaotao reaches the sect square, smashes the gate through several buildings, and faces seven Soul Douluo. The Xuanming Sect’s grand elder, a level-89 Soul Douluo, introduces himself and taunts Yan Shaozhe and Ma Xiaotao. Yan recognizes the elder’s aura as evidence that many women have been killed, and clenches his fists.

Character developments and interactions

• Owl Bro appears resigned but sharp-minded, offering strategic advice despite his fragile health. Dottore shows concern for him through his anger about the smoking, even as he keeps his attention on his work.
• Ma Xiaotao displays confidence and forceful independence. Her Demon Phoenix Evil Fire has made her resistant to the sect’s corrupting aura, and she openly condemns its exploitation of women.
• Yan Shaozhe watches Ma Xiaotao with pride at her growth and boldness, but his anger rises when he sees the grand elder’s aura.
• The Xuanming Sect’s elders restrain an eager subordinate, then confront the intruders with mocking politeness that contrasts with the sect’s apparent brutality.

Significant themes

• Concealment versus openness: Owl Bro argues that hiding a powerful asset can attract more suspicion than displaying it.
• Corruption and complicity: The sect’s use of women’s lives and souls is exposed, while Ma Xiaotao questions Shrek’s past failure to destroy it.
• Growth and self-assertion: Ma Xiaotao’s dramatic challenge reflects her confidence and willingness to act on her convictions.
• Strategic retaliation: The operation targets both the sect’s finances and its public authority, while keeping some allies’ identities hidden.

Key plot points and events

• The Xuanming Sect’s Sect Master, Xu Wuwei, confronts Yan Shaozhe’s group at the sect gates. He suggests a contest between the two sides, with participants’ Soul Power suppressed to make the match fair.
• Ma Xiaotao volunteers to fight the sect’s elders, arguing that she can handle them. Yan Shaozhe backs her confidence but recognizes that the Xuanming Turtle Martial Soul could counter her Evil Fire Phoenix, especially if its users can unleash their Martial Soul Avatars.
• The leering Fourth Elder, Xu Fugui, challenges Xiaotao and proposes a crude wager: if she loses, she must accompany him on a moonlit outing; if he loses, she may do whatever she wants to him. Xiaotao accepts on her own terms.
• Xu Wuwei formalizes the duel: both fighters must suppress their Soul Power to level sixty, may use their first six Soul Rings, and cannot use Soul Tools or pills. Xiaotao must defeat Xu Fugui before a rapidly burning stick of incense runs out—or she loses.
• Yan Shaozhe agrees that Xiaotao may decide what happens after the match. Ice Bro objects to the added restrictions and urges Xiaotao to beat Xu Fugui.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Wuwei reveals ambitions to raise the Xuanming Sect into the ranks of the continent’s strongest powers. He is calculating: he accepts the challenge but sets terms that protect his sect and its elders.
• Ma Xiaotao shows confidence and tactical judgment. She understands how the Xuanming Turtle might counter her and chooses conditions that limit the elders’ strongest advantage. Xu Fugui’s harassment turns her anger cold, but she still accepts the wager.
• Yan Shaozhe supports his disciple and trusts her ability to win, while allowing her to decide for herself.
• Xu Fugui behaves provocatively and lecherously, underestimating Xiaotao. Xu Wuwei warns him to secure Yan Shaozhe’s agreement, prioritizing sect unity despite disapproving of the elder’s conduct.
• Ice Bro reacts angrily to the seemingly unfair rules and encourages Xiaotao.

Significant themes

• Ambition and power: Xu Wuwei sees the contest as part of a larger effort to elevate his sect’s status.
• Strategy and matchup advantage: Soul Power restrictions and the Xuanming Turtle’s countering abilities make the terms of the fight as important as raw strength.
• Confidence versus arrogance: Xiaotao’s confidence is grounded in knowledge of her abilities, while Xu Fugui’s boasts leave him vulnerable to underestimating her.
• Honor, consent, and power dynamics: The wager follows Xu Fugui’s inappropriate proposition; Xiaotao responds by setting her own terms, while Yan Shaozhe recognizes her right to choose.

Key plot points and events

• Ma Xiaotao accepts the Xuanming Fourth Elder’s offer to give her three moves, then immediately unleashes her Evil Fire and her Fifth Soul Skill, World-Destroying Black Flame, which multiplies her fire’s power.
• She breaks through his defenses with a combination of Phoenix attacks and close-range strikes, repeatedly knocking him into the air and preventing him from regaining his footing.
• When the Fourth Elder finally raises his defenses and uses his domain and water-prison techniques, Ma Xiaotao activates her thirty-thousand-year Soul Bone skill, Breaking Army, which guarantees her next attack penetrates any defense short of Absolute Defense.
• Her Phoenix strike kills him in one blow. The stunned Xuanming disciples recoil in terror, while the sect’s elders demand revenge.
• Shrek’s Yan Shaozhe stops the elders from entering the arena, warning that the match’s rules allow for injuries and deaths. Ma Xiaotao reminds them that the Fourth Elder had explicitly given her the choice to kill him. The Xuanming Sect then calls for its Second Elder to fight her next.

Character developments

• Ma Xiaotao demonstrates how much stronger and more dangerous she has become since mastering her Evil Fire. She combines powerful Soul Skills, an improvised aerial fighting style, and her Soul Bone ability with ruthless precision.
• The Xuanming Fourth Elder begins overconfident in his defensive strength and initially holds back, but Xu Wuwei’s threat forces him to fight seriously. Even then, he cannot withstand Ma Xiaotao’s breakthrough attack.
• Xu Wuwei reveals the Xuanming Sect’s brutal approach to loyalty: failure may mean being killed and used as cultivation material.
• Yan Shaozhe protects Ma Xiaotao and enforces the arena’s rules when the Xuanming elders try to retaliate.

Significant themes

• Power and overconfidence: The Fourth Elder’s faith in his defenses proves misplaced against Ma Xiaotao’s new abilities.
• The cost of failure: Xu Wuwei’s threat shows how the sect treats its members as expendable resources.
• Rules, revenge, and responsibility: Ma Xiaotao acts within the terms the Fourth Elder set, but the sect responds as though his death warrants immediate retaliation.
• Emerging strength: Ma Xiaotao’s victory marks a dramatic leap in her combat ability and establishes her as a formidable force.

Character interactions

• The Fourth Elder taunts Ma Xiaotao and offers her three moves; she answers with an overwhelming assault.
• Xu Wuwei pressures the Fourth Elder to stop holding back, threatening him with death if he fails.
• After Ma Xiaotao kills him, the Xuanming elders accuse her and prepare to attack, but Yan Shaozhe restrains them.
• Ma Xiaotao defends her actions by quoting the Fourth Elder’s own challenge, prompting the Xuanming Sect to send its Second Elder forward.

Plot points and events

• Ma Xiaotao defeats the Xuanming Sect’s Second Elder in three moves. As a crowd gathers, Jiang Hao launches a coordinated assault on the sect’s holdings across the Dou Ling Empire.
• Banner Bro and other Fatui forces loot Xuanming treasuries while Soul Tool bombardments devastate the sect’s headquarters. Three elders are killed in the initial attack; other elders are dead or incapacitated.
• Yan Shaozhe and his companions leave rather than help the sect. Sect Master Xu Wuwei begs for aid, then vows to strike back and lead his disciples against the attackers.
• Du Busi arrives and kills Xu Wuwei by landing on him, then joins the assault. The Body Sect’s forces and the turrets wipe out the sect’s remaining defenders.
• Jiang Hao worries that two absent Titled Douluos might later retaliate against the Fatui or Cassell College. The group searches the site to ensure there are no survivors.
• News arrives that Evil Soul Masters have attacked the Dou Ling imperial city, leaving the imperial family distracted. Jiang Hao sees an opportunity to take the Xuanming Sect’s place.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao proves cautious and strategic: he times the attack for maximum impact, then considers future retaliation and the safety of Fatui recruits.
• Xu Wuwei shifts from seeking Yan Shaozhe’s protection to demanding revenge, but is killed before he can act.
• Yan Shaozhe protects his group from the bombardment but refuses Xu’s plea for help, prioritizing his own party’s departure.
• Du Busi displays his brutal, irreverent style while demonstrating his loyalty and pride in Jiang Hao, whom he regards as the Body Sect’s future leader.
• Ma Xiaotao’s overwhelming strength helps establish the attackers’ advantage, while the Fatui’s coordination and Soul Tools make the assault devastating.

Significant themes

• Power and opportunism: The attackers exploit overwhelming force and the empire’s distraction to seize territory and wealth.
• Pragmatism over loyalty: Xu quickly dismisses the death of an elder when he thinks Yan Shaozhe might save the sect; Yan, in turn, declines to help.
• The cost of war and insecurity: Even after victory, Jiang Hao fears revenge against vulnerable allies, showing that eliminating an enemy does not automatically end the threat.
• Expansion through crisis: The chaos surrounding the imperial city creates an opening for the Fatui to replace the Xuanming Sect.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Hao enlists Tree Bro, whose Soul Skill can perfectly alter faces and appearances—even deceiving a Limit Douluo—to help the group take over the Xuanming Sect.
• Du Busi tests the disguise, transforming into the sect master, Xu Wuwei. The group agrees to use the ability to impersonate Xuanming Sect members and exploit the sect’s influence and commercial network.
• Tree Bro disguises the Body Sect’s senior fighters as Xuanming elders and the other members and Fatui Clones as disciples and stewards. With the sect under their control, they begin making repairs to the headquarters, which Bird Bro regrets having damaged.
• After the fighting in the Dou Ling Imperial City ends, the imperial family sends an envoy to request Xuanming Sect aid against the escaped Evil Soul Masters. The envoy is identified as Xue Caikun, the empire’s eighth prince.
• On Jiang Hao’s advice, Du Busi refuses the request, claiming the sect’s Titled Douluo are unavailable and that the Evil Soul Masters devastated the headquarters.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Hao sees Tree Bro’s disguising ability as a tool for infiltration, impersonation, and political leverage, and directs Du Busi’s response to the prince.
• Tree Bro demonstrates the extraordinary scope of his Soul Skill, changing not only Du Busi’s face but also his physique and clothing.
• Du Busi quickly embraces the scheme, joking about using disguises to create false identities and proposing to impersonate Xuan Zi to cause trouble in the Dou Ling Empire.
• Su Mu realizes that Tree Bro’s ability could have been used earlier to damage Shrek’s reputation.
• Xue Caikun, a young and capable prince, makes a formal appeal for military assistance; Du Busi turns him away while concealing the sect’s true condition and new leadership.

Significant themes

• Deception and identity: Perfect disguises let the group assume the Xuanming Sect’s identity and evade responsibility for future actions.
• Power used for opportunism: The takeover is framed not only as protection from rival factions but also as a chance to gain wealth, influence, and control of trade.
• Political manipulation: By posing as the sect and inventing a story of their own victimization, the group can shape how the imperial family understands events.

Plot points and events

• One of Jiang Hao’s Clones, Banner Bro, leaves the Dou Ling Empire by train while the remaining Clones—disguised as members of the Xuanming Sect—consolidate their takeover.
• At the sect, Du Busi, posing as Xu Wuwei, pressures Prince Xue Caikun to explain the attack. Caikun identifies the attackers as the Holy Spirit Cult. Du Busi accuses the imperial family of drawing the sect into the conflict and demands an explanation, threatening a visit the following night and the sect’s arrival in seven days.
• Caikun leaves without securing the Xuanming Sect’s support. Outside, he tells his officers that the sect was badly damaged and will not intervene.
• His generals urge him to rebel, arguing that Caikun is the strongest and most capable prince. Caikun instead decides to seek help from Yan Shaozhe and Cassell College, then prepares to return to his troops.
• Back at the hotel, Jiang Hao’s group returns through Wooden Door Bro’s spatial ability. Du Busi proposes infiltrating the Imperial Palace for amusement and asks Tree Bro to make him a Xuan Zi disguise.

Character developments

• Xue Caikun grows more openly resentful of his father’s succession plans and his privileged, ineffective brothers. Though tempted by his officers’ call for rebellion, he chooses a practical alternative: finding outside support.
• Du Busi uses his Xu Wuwei disguise and overwhelming strength to intimidate Caikun and advance the group’s plans. He remains playful and mischievous, treating palace infiltration as entertainment.
• Jiang Hao and the Clones continue their covert operation, maintaining their disguises and controlling the Xuanming Sect.

Significant themes

• Power and legitimacy: Caikun believes strength and public support should determine succession, but royal inheritance favors his elder brother.
• Self-interest and betrayal: The sect refuses to help the empire, while Caikun’s own family appears unwilling to recognize his service.
• Deception and performance: The Clones’ disguises and Du Busi’s impersonation let them manipulate powerful factions from within.
• Institutional decline: Caikun criticizes Shrek Academy’s falling standards and diminishing Soul Tool quality.

Character interactions

• Du Busi confronts and intimidates Caikun, then delivers an ultimatum to the imperial family through him.
• Caikun’s officers show loyalty and admiration, openly proposing rebellion; Caikun rejects the immediate call but accepts their help in approaching Yan Shaozhe.
• Jiang Hao’s group reunites at the hotel, where Du Busi recruits Tree Bro to create another disguise for his planned palace visit.

Key plot points and events

• Tree Bro worries that Du Busi impersonating Xuan Zi could draw Shrek Academy’s attention, but Jiang Hao approves the plan.
• Using a photograph, Tree Bro creates a remarkably convincing disguise of Xuan Zi—including his clothes, build, and distinctive odor. Du Busi concludes that he will pass as Xuan Zi as long as he avoids using his own Soul Power abilities.
• A server summons Yan Shaozhe’s group to meet someone in a private room. Du Busi stays behind, then slips out to explore the capital.
• The visitor is Prince Xue Caikun, whom the group encountered at the Xuanming Sect. He questions Yan Shaozhe about the reported defeat of two elders there.
• Yan Shaozhe answers cautiously, avoiding revealing that he already knows the prince’s identity. Xue Caikun introduces himself as the empire’s eighth prince and appears reassured that the group was not involved in the earlier Evil Soul Master battle.

Character developments and interactions

• Du Busi shows both confidence in his disguise and political awareness: he recognizes that he would be an unnecessary presence at the meeting, and chooses to leave.
• Tree Bro carries out Jiang Hao’s plan, reproducing Xuan Zi so convincingly that even Du Busi is impressed.
• Yan Shaozhe handles Xue Caikun’s probing with diplomatic restraint, recognizing and sidestepping a possible verbal trap.
• Xue Caikun approaches the group cautiously, testing their account of the Xuanming Sect incident while trying to assess whether they were involved in the Evil Soul Master attack.

Significant themes

• Deception and identity: Du Busi’s near-perfect transformation lets him assume Xuan Zi’s appearance, though his abilities could expose him.
• Political caution: Both Yan Shaozhe and Xue Caikun carefully manage what they reveal as they gauge one another’s intentions.
• Information and appearances: The staged reports about the Xuanming Sect and Yan Shaozhe’s refusal to show what he knows shape the prince’s conclusions.

Plot points and events

• Eighth Prince Xue Caikun visits Cassell College Dean Yan Shaozhe, ostensibly to seek help against Evil Soul Masters whose attacks have recently thrown the Dou Ling Empire into turmoil.
• Xue privately hopes to gain Yan’s—and potentially the Fatui’s—support for his own bid for the throne. He already commands considerable military influence but expects resistance from senior officials and the Xuanming Sect, which favors rulers with pure Swan blood.
• Yan reflects on how differently the empires handle Evil Soul Master attacks. He believes the Fatui’s presence in the Star Luo Empire helps protect ordinary people there, while the Dou Ling and Heaven Dou Empires have suffered far greater harm.
• Impressed that Xue appears to be taking practical action rather than merely issuing orders, Yan agrees to help indirectly. He recommends posting a high-paying extermination commission through the Adventurers’ Guild, which is run by the Fatui.
• Yan offers to triple the Guild’s experience reward for killing Evil Soul Masters, hoping to draw capable adventurers and Soul Masters into the Dou Ling Empire.

Character developments

• Xue Caikun is revealed as an ambitious but cautious political operator. He is pursuing the throne, yet conceals that goal while testing Yan’s loyalties. He also presents himself as sincerely concerned about protecting the public.
• Yan Shaozhe is initially guarded and evaluates Xue’s motives and character. Though he sees him as weak and timid, Yan chooses to assist him because he believes Xue is genuinely trying to combat the threat.

Significant themes

• The cost of neglectful rule: Ordinary people suffer most when rulers and institutions fail to protect them.
• Power and political legitimacy: Military strength alone cannot secure a throne; alliances, public opinion, and powerful organizations matter.
• Action versus appearances: Yan values Xue’s apparent efforts to address the crisis more than empty declarations of concern.
• Incentives and organized cooperation: The Adventurers’ Guild offers a way to mobilize capable fighters through rewards rather than relying only on state forces.

Character interactions

• Xue flatters Yan and invokes his reputation and Bright Phoenix Martial Soul to appeal to his opposition to evil.
• Yan listens, considers both Xue’s request and the wider political context, then offers a practical solution that uses the Fatui-linked Guild without directly committing to Xue’s political ambitions.