Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Wang Dong admires the fair’s extravagant purple-jade identity tokens, then pulls Huo Yuhao back to look at a spectacular golden-red Soul Bone displayed in a large crystal case.
• Nearby, Xu Sanshi begs Bei Bei to help him join the Tang Sect so he can get closer to Jiang Nannan. Bei Bei rejects the idea, and Jiang Nannan angrily kicks Xu Sanshi away and threatens to leave Shrek if he keeps following her.
• Jiang Nannan offers Xu Sanshi one chance: defeat the Outer Court’s top freshman, Huo Yuhao, and she will consider giving him a chance to change. Xu Sanshi confidently accepts, unaware that Huo Yuhao is standing nearby.
• To avoid being dragged into their relationship dispute, Huo Yuhao pretends to be a freshman named Huang Chutian and says that Huo Yuhao would refuse the challenge. He then criticizes Xu Sanshi for selfishly involving an uninvolved student.
• Xu Sanshi responds that strength makes the rules in the soul-master world. Ning Tian arrives and recognizes Huo Yuhao, prompting him to admit his disguise. Xu Sanshi realizes who he is, but Huo Yuhao attacks before he can finish speaking, pinning him to the ground.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao is reluctant to be used as a pawn in Xu Sanshi and Jiang Nannan’s conflict. He uses humor and a false identity to avoid the challenge, but confronts Xu Sanshi directly when the senior threatens him.
• Wang Dong shifts quickly from complaining about the fair’s treatment to eagerly inspecting the Soul Bone, pulling Huo Yuhao along.
• Xu Sanshi remains persistent and shameless in pursuing Jiang Nannan, but becomes eager and overconfident when offered a chance to win her favor.
• Jiang Nannan sets a firm boundary with Xu Sanshi and makes her conditional offer, though it draws Huo Yuhao into the dispute.
• Bei Bei refuses to let Xu Sanshi use the Tang Sect as a way to pursue Jiang Nannan and resorts to kicking him away.
• Ning Tian recognizes Huo Yuhao and exposes his assumed identity, helping bring the confrontation into the open.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts personal boundaries and selfishness: Huo Yuhao objects to being pulled into a private romantic dispute without his consent.
• It also raises the question of power and justice through Xu Sanshi’s claim that strength determines the rules, which Huo Yuhao challenges through his actions.
• Romantic persistence versus respect is central to Xu Sanshi’s pursuit of Jiang Nannan, who insists that he prove himself and stop harassing her.

Plot points and events

• At the Treasure Appraisal Fair, Huo Yuhao overwhelms Xu Sanshi before Xu can use his signature skill. He pins him down and threatens him, rejecting an unseen authority’s plea to keep the conflict peaceful.
• Xu offers three Mystic Water Pills and 300,000 Gold Soul Coins to save himself. Huo Yuhao takes the payment but also breaks three of Xu’s ribs, warning that a mere fine would not deter other wealthy students.
• Huo Yuhao stops Jiang Nannan as she tries to leave. She apologizes for having encouraged the confrontation, but he punches her in the face and says that apologies after the fact are meaningless.
• Huoyuhao loudly threatens to kill anyone else who provokes him. The fair’s unseen overseer withdraws its pressure, and Ning Tian remarks that Huo is both ruthless and soft-hearted.
• The group returns to the Soul Bone Wang Dong had been considering. Its price—9.5 million Gold Soul Coins—shocks her; she and Huo Yuhao discuss how enormous a sum that is.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao reveals a cold, battle-hardened side, shaped by his childhood military experience. He uses violence to deter future harassment, though Ning Tian sees a gentler nature beneath his harsh methods.
• Xu Sanshi is reduced from a confident senior to a terrified supplicant; Bei Bei carries him away after the beating.
• Jiang Nannan acknowledges her role in the provocation and apologizes, but Huo Yuhao refuses to accept regret as a substitute for accountability.
• Bei Bei is shocked by Huo’s brutality but complies when asked to take Xu away.
• Ning Tian calmly observes Huo’s character and warns that his attack on Jiang Nannan may cause further trouble.
• Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao are stunned by Huo’s actions; Wang Dong’s attention shifts back to the costly Soul Bone.

Significant themes

• Consequences versus apologies: Huo Yuhao insists that apologizing after harm is done does not erase responsibility.
• Power, intimidation, and deterrence: He believes force is necessary to stop privileged students from treating him as a target.
• Contradictory character: Huo’s methods are brutal, yet others perceive compassion beneath his anger.
• Wealth and inequality: The Soul Bone’s price and Huo’s military-cost calculations highlight the gulf between personal luxury and the resources needed to support an army.

Key plot points and events

• At the treasure exhibition, Huo Yuhao refuses Wang Dong’s attempt to borrow one of his two purchase exchanges, explaining that he has specific items in mind.
• Wang Dong is reluctant to leave the Golden Earth Dragon King Soul Bone behind, but uses her own high-tier bank card to buy it.
• Huo Yuhao identifies a cheap plant mislabeled as spirit-calming grass as rare spirit phoenix grass. Xiao Xiao buys it, trusting his advice.
• Huo Yuhao also buys whale rubber at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm’s urging, a compact piece of high-purity fire cloud crystal identified by Electrolux, and an inexpensive dark stone with strong affinity for the undead attribute.
• He adds three thousand-year spirit fruits—crimson flame, ice scale, and dragon scale—to his purchases.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao shows extensive knowledge of rare treasures and makes strategic use of his limited exchanges. He helps Xiao Xiao for her benefit rather than asking anything from her.
• Wang Dong tries to persuade Huo Yuhao to spend an exchange for her, but ultimately acts independently and purchases the Soul Bone with her own resources.
• Xiao Xiao demonstrates trust in Huo Yuhao as a comrade and follows his recommendation. The spirit phoenix grass may greatly enhance her Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute martial soul, especially since she has not yet given it Soul Rings.
• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux guide Huo Yuhao toward valuable purchases, while Huo Yuhao’s Qiongqi martial soul helps him recognize the phoenix aura in the mislabeled grass.

Significant themes

• Trust and comradeship: Huo Yuhao asks whether Xiao Xiao trusts him, and she willingly does; he responds by helping her improve her martial soul.
• Knowledge and discernment: The exhibition’s true value lies not only in wealth but in recognizing what others overlook.
• Planning for future growth: Huo Yuhao chooses items for later weapon-making, necromancy, and cultivation, while Xiao Xiao’s purchase may shape her long-term potential.
• Independent choices: Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao each pursue their own priorities, even when their interests briefly overlap.

Plot points and events

• At the Treasure Appraisal Fair, Huo Yuhao buys the ice spirit fruit and crimson flame fruit, uses a free-purchase opportunity for the pricier dragon scale fruit, and claims a fire cloud crystal with his other free choice.
• The fair arranges to deliver the items to the buyers’ dormitories. Xiao Xiao accompanies Huo Yuhao back toward Shrek Academy and jokes that Wang Dong has hurried home to absorb a Soul Bone.
• On the path out of Shrek City, Huo Yuhao senses an ambush and secretly warns Xiao Xiao through Spiritual Sharing Detection. Three attackers close in, and he activates the Mist Arena to evade their first lethal strike.
• Huo Yuhao believes the assassins are targeting him and urges Xiao Xiao to escape while he holds them off. Xiao Xiao refuses to abandon her companion. He argues that the attackers may be Soul Emperors and that retreating together is the best way to survive; the chapter ends as he warns that further dangers may lie ahead.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao remains composed and strategic under threat. He assesses the attackers, prioritizes survival, and tries to keep his more powerful abilities hidden.
• Xiao Xiao shifts from playful teasing to immediate resolve once she learns of the ambush. Though stung by Huo Yuhao’s assessment of her combat ability, she insists on standing by him.
• Wang Dong is absent, but her eagerness to return and absorb the Soul Bone is treated as understandable excitement rather than a grievance.

Significant themes

• Prudence versus pride: Huo Yuhao frames retreat as a strategy for securing survival, not an act of cowardice.
• Loyalty and companionship: Xiao Xiao refuses to leave Huo Yuhao alone, even when the danger appears overwhelming.
• Secrecy and self-preservation: Huo Yuhao weighs the need to protect Xiao Xiao against the risk of exposing his hidden abilities.
• The limits of institutional protection: Huo Yuhao doubts that Shrek’s people would respond quickly to a distress signal from Outer Court disciples.

Character interactions

• Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao share lighthearted banter on the way back, which briefly leads Xiao Xiao to misunderstand why he stops and takes her wrist.
• Huo Yuhao then uses their apparent change of direction to conceal his warning about the ambush.
• Once danger is clear, the pair disagree over whether Xiao Xiao should flee. Huo Yuhao tries to persuade her with practical arguments, while she emphasizes loyalty and their chance of reaching help.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Xiao agrees to fetch help. Huo Yuhao throws her clear of the Mist Arena, drawing the three attackers’ attention to himself.
• He discovers the group consists of a Soul Saint and two Soul Emperors—stronger than he expected. The attackers try to dispel the mist, but Huo Yuhao’s skill costs little power to maintain.
• Using the concealment, Huo Yuhao ambushes and kills one Soul Emperor with his Dark Gold Dreadclaw soul bone. Ma Xiaotao arrives, drives back the Soul Saint, and Huo Yuhao incapacitates the remaining Soul Emperor.
• Huo Yuhao takes the surviving attacker toward Shrek Academy, disarms him of hidden poison capsules, and learns the ambush was not over. An Eight-Ring Soul Douluo appears and kills the captive to silence him.
• The Soul Douluo reveals that Huo Yuhao was targeted because his talent and membership in Shrek could make him a future threat. Huo Yuhao prepares to fight, activating the Mist Arena again. Xuan Zi, who had been nearby, is too drunk to help.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao shows tactical composure: he protects Xiao Xiao, exploits the mist and his soul bone, recognizes the poison trick, and tries to summon Xuan Zi by shouting. Despite facing a far stronger opponent, he stands his ground.
• Xiao Xiao trusts Huo Yuhao’s plan and goes to seek help.
• Ma Xiaotao intervenes decisively, engaging the Soul Saint herself. Huo Yuhao warns her about the opponent’s strength and Martial Soul Avatar.
• Xuan Zi watches from nearby but is incapacitated by drunkenness, leaving Huo Yuhao without the backup he hoped for.
• The attackers’ coordination escalates from a three-person ambush to the revelation of a Soul Douluo, while the captive’s taunt exposes the assassin’s true target: Shrek’s promising students.

Significant themes

• Courage and responsibility: Huo Yuhao risks himself to protect Xiao Xiao and confronts a deadly threat rather than retreat.
• Strategy against superior strength: Concealment, timing, and specialized abilities let Huo Yuhao defeat stronger opponents—though the Soul Douluo’s arrival sharply raises the stakes.
• The cost of belonging and talent: Huo Yuhao is hunted not for a personal grievance, but because his future potential at Shrek threatens the enemy.
• Unreliable protection: Help is close at hand, yet Xuan Zi’s drunkenness leaves Huo Yuhao to face the crisis alone.

Key events

• A Soul Douluo ambushes Huo Yuhao just as he begins forming the Mist Arena. Huo Yuhao counters with the Snow Empress’s Emperor’s Palm, then uses Snow Dance Shining Sun to blanket the area in snow and restrict the attacker.
• Xiao Xiao returns despite Huo Yuhao’s order to flee. She explains that the Soul Douluo’s sword energy wounded her, but insists she came back because she does not want Huo Yuhao to die.
• The two clasp hands and unexpectedly achieve a complete Martial Soul connection. Their Qiongqi and Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute fuse into a powerful skill, “Ferocious Beast’s Awakening, Golden Age’s Downfall.”
• The fusion attack frightens the Soul Douluo into fleeing and severs one of his hands. Its true power is limited: it can break through a Soul Saint’s full defenses, but would not defeat a Soul Douluo who defended himself seriously.
• Xiao Xiao collapses from the strain, and Huo Yuhao gives her a recovery pill. Yan Shaozhe arrives afterward and promises the academy will provide an explanation. The next morning, Shrek announces a crackdown on the Evil Soul Master Organization.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao demonstrates resourcefulness and formidable control over his Soul Skills, but his sarcasm toward Yan Shaozhe reveals anger at the delayed support. He also shows concern for Xiao Xiao, even as he reproaches her for risking her life.
• Xiao Xiao proves fiercely loyal and willing to face danger for Huo Yuhao. Her willingness to act together with him also triggers their first successful Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
• Their relationship is marked by trust and affection: Xiao Xiao openly expresses her feelings, while Huo Yuhao protects and cares for her.
• Yan Shaozhe acknowledges Huo Yuhao’s displeasure and promises accountability, but arrives only after the fight is over.

Significant themes

• Loyalty and sacrifice: Xiao Xiao returns to help despite her injury and the danger.
• Power and its limits: The fusion skill is dramatic enough to terrify the attacker, yet its real effectiveness depends on the enemy’s defenses.
• Institutional responsibility: Huo Yuhao’s resentment and the academy’s subsequent public crackdown highlight questions about Shrek’s response to the threat.
• A new partnership: The unexpected fusion marks a major step in Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao’s cooperation and shared potential.

Key plot points and events

• The morning after the Evil Soul Master incident, classes are canceled. Wang Dong checks on Huo Yuhao and apologizes for not accompanying him the previous night.
• Huo Yuhao reassures her, then reveals that he and Xiao Xiao unexpectedly unlocked a Martial Soul Fusion Skill during the crisis. He hints that they may develop another one.
• Xiao Xiao tells Huo Yuhao that after consuming spirit phoenix grass, her Martial Soul changed. The grass turned into liquid and entered her body through her palm.
• The Snow Empress explains that Huo Yuhao’s first Martial Soul left an aura on Xiao Xiao during their fusion, helping the grass’s energy enter and bind to her Martial Soul. As a result, the energy cannot be detected or extracted.
• Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao visit Teacher Wang Yan to ask about the mutation. Wang Yan reasons that Xiao Xiao’s Martial Soul changed through its resonance with Huo Yuhao’s unusually powerful, distinctive Martial Soul.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao remains composed about the danger he faced and practical about the new fusion ability. He trusts his own judgment and privately resolves to become strong enough to confront Xuan Zi himself, rather than rely on the Academy to punish him.
• Wang Dong shows concern and guilt, then reacts with surprise—and apparent jealousy—when she learns Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao have formed a fusion skill.
• Xiao Xiao is bewildered by her rapid absorption of the spirit phoenix grass and seeks Huo Yuhao’s help understanding her changed Martial Soul.
• Wang Yan responds enthusiastically and offers a professional explanation, though Huo Yuhao recognizes that the explanation is based on incomplete information.
• The Snow Empress provides the key explanation from within Huo Yuhao’s mind; the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm reacts awkwardly when she mentions his past capture.

Significant themes

• Crisis and breakthrough: The danger of the previous night pushed Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao past a threshold in their teamwork, creating a new fusion skill.
• Transformation and hidden power: Xiao Xiao’s Martial Soul mutation results from both the spiritual grass and its interaction with Huo Yuhao’s aura.
• Self-reliance and accountability: Huo Yuhao distrusts the Academy’s handling of Xuan Zi and prefers to gain the strength to deal with him directly.
• Appearance versus truth: Wang Yan’s confident theory sounds convincing despite being based on a mistaken understanding of what caused Xiao Xiao’s change.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Xiao reveals that her Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute has changed: she can still summon the flute, but it now controls a tangible jade-green phoenix with a will of its own.
• The phoenix can move and sense danger despite Xiao Xiao not yet having absorbed a soul ring, but she can only direct it to perform simple actions and cannot use its own soul skills.
• Wang Yan examines the unusual manifestation and names it a “semi-detached martial soul”: it has traits of both a tool martial soul (the flute) and a separate, physical beast-like entity (the phoenix).
• Huo Yuhao, guided privately by Electrolux, suspects the flute and phoenix are actually distinct energies connected by a rule—like a person controlling a kite—rather than simply one semi-detached martial soul.
• After leaving Wang Yan’s office, Huo Yuhao suggests Xiao Xiao test whether the two forms can be recombined. She agrees, and they set off to find a private training room.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Xiao is adjusting to a startling new ability and learns that her phoenix can perceive danger, including sensing Huo Yuhao as more threatening than Wang Yan. She is curious and willing to experiment.
• Wang Yan takes pride in explaining the phenomenon and confidently classifies it, though the phoenix pecks him when he tries to pluck one of its feathers. His embarrassment over being judged weaker than Huo Yuhao is eased when Huo Yuhao tactfully offers an explanation.
• Huo Yuhao remains observant and diplomatic: he helps smooth over Wang Yan’s discomfort, while privately weighing Electrolux’s insight and proposing further tests.
• Electrolux contributes the key alternative interpretation, using the kite analogy to explain how two separate entities might remain linked.

Significant themes

• Uncertainty and discovery: Xiao Xiao’s transformed martial soul challenges established categories, and its true nature remains unresolved.
• Limits of classification: Wang Yan’s “semi-detached” label may not fully explain the relationship between the flute and phoenix.
• Mentorship and expertise: The chapter humorously contrasts Wang Yan’s professorial confidence with Electrolux’s deeper insight, while Huo Yuhao privately resents being lectured by everyone.

Key plot points

• Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao book a sealed training room to investigate their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. They learn that someone recently died there, but the academy staff dismisses the risk, citing its signed waiver and harsh “survival” philosophy.
• The room still smells of blood. Xiao Xiao is uneasy, so Huo Yuhao uses the chill of his Qiongqi soul power to reduce the odor and encourages her to become accustomed to the realities of a soul master’s life.
• Xiao Xiao discovers that Huo Yuhao’s snow martial soul carries a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. He asks her to keep it secret, and she agrees.
• They begin to fuse their martial souls, but stop before completing the skill to conserve their limited uses for the coming class advancement assessment. Huo Yuhao senses that this fusion would be a large-area attack, unlike the single-target skill he and Xiao Xiao previously created.
• They then test the phoenix martial soul manifested by Xiao Xiao’s Nine Phoenix Ceremonial Flute without using soul skills; its strength is about equal to that of a thousand-year soul beast.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Xiao is initially unsettled by the room’s bloody smell but accepts Huo Yuhao’s advice. She also acknowledges that his warnings about staying alert to those around her are valid.
• Huo Yuhao takes a protective, instructive role, advising Xiao Xiao to watch for betrayal and trusting her with his secret.
• Their closeness and easy cooperation reflect their growing rapport. Xiao Xiao blushes when their Martial Soul Fusion Skill is mentioned, recalling Wang Dong’s teasing that such partners are like siblings or spouses; Huo Yuhao does not notice.
• The chapter briefly notes that Zhu Lu and Dai Huabin seem to be falling out, as Zhu Lu is absent and their recent conflict is mentioned.

Significant themes

• Self-reliance and risk: The academy’s facilities—and its casual response to a death—show how its harsh training culture places responsibility on students.
• Trust and vigilance: Huo Yuhao urges Xiao Xiao to remain alert, while his request to safeguard his secret demonstrates his trust in her.
• Partnership and restraint: Their fusion depends on rapport, but they deliberately interrupt it to conserve a scarce resource for a future assessment.

Key plot points and events

• After the individual advancement assessments, Huo Yuhao enjoys a quiet stretch before the battle royale selection tournament. Zhu Lu transfers to Class Two, while Dai Huabin stays in Class One.
• Wang Yan summons all Core Disciples to the Soul Fighting Zone. The group includes students from the second through fifth years, with Ning Tian and Zhu Lu joining from other classes.
• They meet the fifth-year Core Disciples Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and Jiang Nannan. Jiang Nannan still bears the visible injury Huo Yuhao inflicted on her.
• Xuan Zi arrives, visibly drunk and unsteady, and leads the students into the cleared Soul Fighting Zone. The chapter ends as he prepares to address them; the tournament’s rules and purpose have not yet been explained.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao has settled into a relaxed routine, but remains wary and contemptuous of Xuan Zi, whom he blames for dangerous past failures.
• Zhu Lu appears resentful toward Class One after transferring; Ning Tian, by contrast, shows Huo Yuhao open admiration and approaches him comfortably.
• Xu Sanshi reacts nervously to Huo Yuhao, while Jiang Nannan’s bandaged face recalls their violent confrontation.
• Dai Huabin, confident in his rank-37 soul power, sees the tournament as a chance to prove himself and assumes Huo Yuhao’s group will occupy only a few places. He privately mocks Xuan Zi, unaware Huo Yuhao can hear.
• Wang Yan treats Xuan Zi with deference and organizes the Core Disciples’ gathering.

Significant themes

• Pressure and ambition: Shrek’s demanding selection system makes students acutely aware that failure could end their prospects, whether they come from poverty or noble families.
• Competition and hierarchy: The mix of students from different years highlights rivalries, confidence, and intimidation ahead of the tournament.
• Uneasy authority: Xuan Zi’s drunken, unreliable presence contrasts with the respect he receives, reinforcing Huo Yuhao’s distrust of the academy’s leadership.

Plot points and events

• Professor Xuan announces a no-rules, twenty-seven-person free-for-all: anyone who surrenders or needs rescuing is eliminated, and the last seven standing pass. He immediately starts the assessment and leaves the students to fight.
• Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao quickly regroup at the arena’s edge. Huo plans to protect Dai Huabin and Ning Tian and bring them onto his side, assigning Wang Dong to help Dai and Xiao Xiao to rescue Ning.
• Ning Tian and Wu Feng are being targeted by third-year students because Ning Tian’s Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda makes her a valuable support fighter. Xiao Xiao intervenes with her cauldron, shielding Wu Feng and driving off an attacker.
• Huo Yuhao charges into the fifth-years. He knocks several aside, breaks through Xu Sanshi’s defensive shell, and sends him flying. Huo explains that Xu is not among the seven he has chosen to advance. By the end of the passage, only Jiang Nannan and Bei Bei remain among the fifth-years.

Character developments

• Huo Yuhao takes command, showing strategic confidence and a willingness to make hard choices about who advances. He has a particular, undisclosed reason for protecting Dai Huabin.
• Wang Dong questions Huo’s plan, especially his decision to help Dai, but ultimately trusts him and follows his instructions.
• Xiao Xiao acts decisively to protect Ning Tian and Wu Feng, demonstrating her effectiveness in the chaotic fight.
• Xu Sanshi tries to defuse the confrontation by apologizing for a previous remark, but Huo Yuhao remains focused on the assessment’s outcome.

Character interactions

• Huo directs Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao, explains why Ning Tian would benefit their team, and keeps his motive for helping Dai Huabin secret.
• Wang Dong challenges Huo’s judgment but agrees to help Dai; Xiao Xiao takes on the rescue of Ning Tian.
• Xiao Xiao confronts the third-year attackers to protect Wu Feng, while Huo Yuhao directly clashes with Xu Sanshi and tells him that he has no place among the seven.

Significant themes

• The assessment rewards survival and strategy over rules or cooperation, forcing students to form alliances and eliminate rivals.
• Support abilities can make someone a target as well as an asset: Ning Tian’s value draws immediate attacks, yet Huo sees her skills as crucial to a team.
• Trust and hidden motives shape alliances, particularly Wang Dong’s decision to follow Huo despite not understanding his plans.

Plot points and events

• After eliminating Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao tells Bei Bei he will spare him because he does not want trouble with the powerful connections behind him. Bei Bei withdraws to the sidelines.
• Jiang Nannan attacks Huo Yuhao but cannot move him. He throws her from the arena, and she leaves the assessment, disappointed because she had entered mainly to earn money for her struggling family.
• Huo Yuhao confronts He Caitou, the Soul Tool Department’s heavily armed Core Disciple. After He Caitou objects to his insult of the department and aims his cannons, Huo Yuhao disables part of his equipment and knocks him out, arguing that respect must be earned through strength.
• Huo Yuhao then overwhelms the remaining contestants without using a Soul Skill. Seven people remain: Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Bei Bei, and Dai Huabin.
• Xuan Zi confirms that these seven will form the selected team. The eliminated students, many of whom feel they never had a fair chance to show their abilities, stay to challenge the decision; Xuan Zi tells them to prove their grievances through strength.

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao’s confidence and dominance become unmistakable: he decides whom to spare, defeats opponents effortlessly, and openly admits to Xuan Zi that he had already chosen the team in his mind.
• Jiang Nannan’s practical motivation is revealed: financial hardship, rather than glory, drove her to compete. She regrets allowing Xu Sanshi to provoke Huo Yuhao.
• He Caitou’s loyalty to the Soul Tool Department is evident in his fierce reaction to Huo Yuhao’s criticism, while Huo Yuhao dismisses his defense as empty without strength to back it up.
• Dai Huabin approaches Ning Tian rather than Zhu Lu; Zhu Lu has already been eliminated, and Dai appears to have fallen out with her.
• Xuan Zi endorses Huo Yuhao’s choices by accepting the survivors as the team, despite the other students’ dissatisfaction.

Significant themes

• Strength and authority: Huo Yuhao and Xuan Zi treat strength as the basis for respect and legitimacy.
• Fairness versus results: The selection produces a clear winning group, but many contestants feel the battle royale denied them a meaningful chance to compete.
• Practical motives and hardship: Jiang Nannan’s participation reflects the pressure of supporting a struggling family.
• Loyalty and conflict: He Caitou defends his department, while Dai Huabin’s apparent break with Zhu Lu hints at shifting alliances.

Xuan Zi defended the selection’s unfairness by citing Huo Yuhao’s recent life-or-death battle and explained the history of the Shrek Seven Devils. He punished Dai Huabin, then assigned the seven selected students to weekly training and the tournament reserve team.

• Xuan Zi told the Outer Court Core Disciples that strength, not complaints about fairness, would help them survive unfair fights, and used Huo Yuhao’s battle against stronger opponents as an example.
• Huo Yuhao corrected Xuan Zi’s account, saying he had been terrified and that Xuan Zi had been less than two hundred meters away while playing dead; Xuan Zi drove the Outer Court disciples away with Soul Power pressure.
• Xuan Zi explained that the first Shrek Seven Devils were seven exceptional students who led Shrek Academy to fame by defeating Spirit Hall in the tournament final under Tang San.
• Xuan Zi ordered Dai Huabin to run seventy laps and sealed his Soul Power after catching him smiling.
• Xuan Zi dismissed the reserve team and said the seven would attend his training every week and compete as the reserve team in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

Wang Yan and Xuan Zi discussed Huo Yuhao’s defiant attitude and the academy’s lack of suitable replacements. When He Caitou was added to the reserve team despite losing the selection tournament, Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao used their fusion skill to stop him from challenging the other members, leaving He Caitou isolated.

• Xuan Zi complained to Wang Yan about Huo Yuhao’s disrespect, while Wang Yan said the academy had no comparable replacement for him.
• Xuan Zi and Wang Yan discussed the shortage of talented Soul Masters and Huo Yuhao’s potentially complicated background.
• Xuan Zi announced that He Caitou had been added to the reserve team despite his poor performance in the selection tournament.
• Huo Yuhao mocked the academy’s decision, and He Caitou challenged Wu Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong’s qualifications.
• Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao unleashed Golden Age's Downfall at He Caitou, but Xuan Zi intervened before it struck him.
• Xuan Zi told He Caitou to adapt, and the reserve team members gathered beside Huo Yuhao while leaving He Caitou apart.

Huo Yuhao and He Caitou’s training match became a two-on-six fight after Xuan Zi assigned Bei Bei to the smaller team and restricted Huo Yuhao’s abilities. Huo Yuhao’s side quickly eliminated Bei Bei and then disabled He Caitou’s overheated soul tools.

• Huo Yuhao proposed a two-on-six match, and He Caitou volunteered for the smaller team.
• Dai Huabin volunteered too, but Xuan Zi ordered Bei Bei to join He Caitou and sent Dai Huabin to Huo Yuhao’s side.
• Xuan Zi restricted Huo Yuhao’s fourth soul skill and higher and banned martial soul fusion skills before starting the match.
• Huo Yuhao charged while Xiao Xiao guarded him, then used mist to conceal He Caitou as Bei Bei faced the other six alone.
• Xiao Xiao trapped Bei Bei with her cauldrons, Wang Dong struck him, and Dai Huabin and Wu Feng seized his arms until Xuan Zi eliminated him.
• Huo Yuhao dispelled the mist to reveal He Caitou sprawled on the ground with overheated red soul tools, then kicked him.

Xiao Xiao broke through to rank thirty, so the Reserve Team traveled to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt a soul ring under Xuan Zi’s supervision. After entering the forest and making camp, Huo Yuhao considered what soul beast would suit Xiao Xiao, while Xuan Zi disappeared the next morning.

• Xiao Xiao reached rank thirty and became a Soul Elder, prompting the Reserve Team to begin a soul-hunting test.
• Xuan Zi warned the Reserve Team about the dangers of the Star Dou Great Forest and had them travel there on foot.
• Huo Yuhao led Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong, and the others into the forest while Dai Huabin and his companions competed with him for the lead.
• Huo Yuhao roasted rabbits at camp, argued with Xuan Zi, and considered which soul beast would best suit Xiao Xiao’s Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron.
• Xuan Zi vanished from the campsite the next morning after keeping watch overnight, and the Snow Empress began speaking inside Huo Yuhao’s mind.

Huo Yuhao located a Soul Beast in a lake that might suit Xiao Xiao and had He Caitou blast the water to draw it out. The cannon shot startled Xuan Zi, whose voice came from behind the group.

• The Snow Empress advised Huo Yuhao to seek a Soul Beast whose rhythm harmonized with Xiao Xiao's Martial Soul.
• Huo Yuhao found a Soul Beast with a unique rhythm in a lake and led the group there, while Xuan Zi remained drunk and unavailable.
• Dai Huabin questioned Huo Yuhao's detour, and Huo Yuhao dismissed him before asking He Caitou to fire into the lake.
• Huo Yuhao explained that the blast would draw out the Soul Beast and warn away others, then launched He Caitou into the air.
• He Caitou fired his chest cannon into the lake, and Xuan Zi shouted at the group from behind them.

Xiao Xiao absorbed a Soul Ring from the Golden Giant Crab, which Huo Yuhao identified as suitable for her Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. After the absorption, a golden light from the crab’s left pincer entered Xiao Xiao’s left hand, and she later told Huo Yuhao the name and effects of her new Soul Skill.

• Xuan Zi scolded Huo Yuhao for making a commotion in the Star Dou Great Forest, but Huo Yuhao said he had been luring out a Soul Beast suitable for Xiao Xiao.
• The Golden Giant Crab emerged from the lake, and Xuan Zi knocked it unconscious with a single slap.
• Huo Yuhao explained why the crab’s golden pure qi resonated with Xiao Xiao’s Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, and Xiao Xiao killed it with the White Tiger Dagger.
• Xiao Xiao began absorbing the crab’s purple Soul Ring, and a beam of golden light from its left pincer entered her left hand.
• After two hours, Xiao Xiao finished absorbing the Soul Ring, ate Huo Yuhao’s roast beef, and whispered her Soul Skill’s name and effects to him.

Huo Yuhao rebuked Xuan Zi for criticizing the Reserve Team’s secrecy about Xiao Xiao’s Soul Skill, and Xuan Zi later reported his concerns about the team’s factions to Mu En. Mu En remained more worried about Ma Xiaotao and the main team, leaving Xuan Zi asking what had changed.

• Xuan Zi criticized Xiao Xiao for concealing her third Soul Skill, but Huo Yuhao used Shrek Academy’s standards to defend her and the team’s ability to adapt.
• Xuan Zi ended the meal and led the Reserve Team back toward Shrek, watching their interactions from the shadows.
• At Sea God Pavilion, Mu En worried about whether Ma Xiaotao could control her evil fire well enough to lead the main team.
• Xuan Zi recounted the Soul Hunting trip and warned Mu En that Huo Yuhao’s behavior was dividing the Reserve Team into factions.
• Mu En explained that the eight-member team made cliques more likely, then said he was more concerned about the main team; Xuan Zi asked what had gone wrong.

Mu En proposed moving Huo Yuhao onto the main team as Ma Xiaotao’s vice-captain, and Xuan Zi agreed to arrange it. Meanwhile, Dai Yueheng and the Reserve Team waited all night to ambush Huo Yuhao, but he never returned, so they planned to try again that night.

• Mu En told Xuan Zi that Ma Xiaotao’s latest flare-up made him uneasy about putting her on the main team.
• Mu En suggested making Huo Yuhao Ma Xiaotao’s vice-captain, and Xuan Zi agreed to handle the arrangements.
• Mu En hoped Huo Yuhao might be able to suppress Ma Xiaotao’s Evil Fire Phoenix symptoms.
• Dai Yueheng and Gongyang Mo waited near the Outer Court dormitories with the Reserve Team, intending to ambush Huo Yuhao under Elder Xuan’s instructions.
• Huo Yuhao failed to return before dawn, and Dai Yueheng dismissed the group to rest before they tried again that night.