Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• After Jiang Nannan reprimands Xu Sanshi, Gu Ming backs her up and taunts Xu for lacking self-awareness. Enraged, Xu challenges Gu Ming to a fight.
• Gu Ming accepts but postpones the match until after the freshman Grand Tournament, claiming Xu is too weak to be worth fighting now. Xu agrees, confident he can easily defeat him later.
• Three months pass. Gu Ming trains intensely, fights in the Beast Arena, and uses pills won from Dai Huabin to raise his soul power to level 36.
• Mu Jin explains the Grand Tournament: teams of three, ten matches per team, with a soul bone as the prize. Gu Ming is more interested in proving himself than in the reward.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu join Gu Ming’s team. Dai, humbled by months of losses, now treats Gu Ming as his superior. Gu Ming agrees to team up but says he will only intervene when he feels like it.
• The tournament begins amid rivalry between Freshman Classes Five and One. Their teachers, Mu Jin and Zhou Yi, trade insults. The first match is announced: Gu Ming, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu versus Class Ten’s Zhou Sichen, Long Xiangyue, and Cao Jinxuan.

Character developments and interactions

• Xu Sanshi is possessive of Jiang Nannan and furious at Gu Ming, but his confidence leads him to underestimate the coming fight.
• Jiang Nannan rejects Xu’s behavior and appreciates Gu Ming’s support, though Gu Ming’s wink leaves her flustered.
• Gu Ming grows stronger and more self-assured. Beneath his interest in dominating the tournament, he remains committed to the Holy Spirit Cult’s mission.
• Dai Huabin shifts from rival to subordinate after repeated defeats, while Zhu Lu accepts Gu Ming’s terms.
• Mu Jin and Zhou Yi continue their antagonistic rivalry, which spills into the competition’s preparations.

Significant themes

• Power and hierarchy: Gu Ming’s strength reshapes his relationships, especially Dai Huabin’s.
• Pride and rivalry: Xu’s challenge and the teachers’ exchanges set up the tournament as a contest of status as well as skill.
• Possessiveness versus respect: Xu treats Jiang Nannan as his own, while Gu Ming presents himself as attentive to her wishes.
• Ambition and hidden allegiance: Gu Ming treats the tournament as a step toward his larger mission, not simply a chance to win a prize.

Key plot points and events

• Gu Ming’s team faces Freshman Class Ten in the opening assessment match. Though Gu Ming stays out of the fight, Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu defeat Zhou Sichen, Long Xiangyue, and Cao Jinxuan through coordinated attacks. Dai Huabin is especially pleased to win, having spent months losing to Gu Ming in training.
• Gu Ming praises Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu for applying their training, though calling them “little tiger” and “little kitty” tempers Dai Huabin’s satisfaction.
• Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao later win their own match after a difficult fight. Watching Gu Ming dominate subsequent rounds—even without using his Martial Soul—leaves them anxious about eventually facing him.
• The trio regain some hope by recalling that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong can use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road.
• Several days later, Gu Ming’s team reaches the semifinals, where it faces Freshman Class Two, led by three-ring Soul Elder Xie Huanyue.

Character developments

• Dai Huabin gains confidence after defeating a team without Gu Ming’s help, but Gu Ming’s teasing praise reminds him that he still sees himself as subordinate to his boss.
• Zhu Lu demonstrates how much her teamwork with Dai Huabin has improved through Gu Ming’s training.
• Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao struggle with doubt when confronted with Gu Ming’s overwhelming strength, but their trust in their combined abilities restores their determination.
• Gu Ming is established as an exceptionally powerful, intimidating competitor who can win without even activating his Martial Soul.

Significant themes

• Training and teamwork: Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu’s coordinated victory shows the practical payoff of sustained preparation.
• Confidence and perseverance: Huo Yuhao’s team moves from uncertainty toward hope by focusing on its own potential.
• Power and hierarchy: Gu Ming’s dominance—and his casual, teasing treatment of his teammates—sets the standard the other freshmen must confront.

Character interactions

• Zhou Sichen jokingly asks Gu Ming to go easy on his team; Gu Ming instead delegates the fight to Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.
• Gu Ming praises the pair after their victory, while his familiar nicknames leave Dai Huabin’s triumph somewhat deflated.
• Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao encourage Huo Yuhao, and the trio discuss using their Fusion Skill as a possible answer to Gu Ming’s strength.
• Mu Jin congratulates Gu Ming’s team, while Wang Yan and the other freshmen recognize Gu Ming as a frighteningly formidable opponent.

Plot points and events

• Gu Ming shields Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu before taking on Xie Huanyue and the Luo brothers.
• He transforms into his Divine Weapon form, wielding the Justice Tianjing Sword, and quickly defeats the Luo brothers with a single sword strike.
• Xie Huanyue tries to defend himself with his Soul Skills, but Gu Ming breaks through his rubber-like body and restraints with ease. Xie surrenders, badly frightened but not seriously injured.
• Gu Ming’s overwhelming performance leaves the teachers—and much of the audience—focused on him. Huo Yuhao’s team also advances, though its later showing is overshadowed.
• Ning Tian invites Gu Ming to eat; he accepts and jokingly asks her, as the richer one, to pay. Wu Feng joins them, insisting she lost to Dai Huabin rather than Gu Ming.
• After several rounds, Gu Ming’s team reaches the freshman assessment finals undefeated. In an unexpected result, Huo Yuhao’s team also qualifies, setting up a final between the two teams.
• Zhou Yi worries that her wager with Gu Ming may be lost, but prepares to accept the outcome. Senior Shrek officials attend the final to judge Gu Ming’s rumored potential.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Ming displays confidence, showmanship, and exceptional strength, while carefully controlling his attacks so Xie Huanyue is hurt but not seriously injured. His performance confirms the teachers’ impression of him as a remarkable talent.
• Xie Huanyue is intimidated from the start and ultimately surrenders after Gu Ming overwhelms him.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu recognize that Gu Ming wants the chance to demonstrate his power; Dai jokingly accuses him of stealing the spotlight.
• Ning Tian is impressed by Gu Ming’s appearance and strength, and eagerly invites him to lunch. Wu Feng follows while maintaining her pride.
• Zhou Yi remains conflicted: she recognizes Gu Ming’s ability but resents his opposition, and accepts that her teaching will be judged by the final result.
• Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao earn an unexpected place in the final. Wang Dong still considers Huo Yuhao more impressive than Gu Ming, despite Gu Ming’s effect on the crowd.

Significant themes

• Power and reputation: Gu Ming’s decisive victory instantly makes him the tournament’s defining figure.
• Underdog potential: Huo Yuhao’s unlikely progress challenges the assumption that a one-ring Soul Scholar cannot compete at this level.
• Pride, rivalry, and judgment: The final will test not only the teams’ abilities but also Zhou Yi’s confidence in her teaching and the expectations surrounding Gu Ming.

Key plot points and events

• Dean Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi dismiss Huo Yuhao as a poor prospect because his single-ring body martial soul seems unsuitable for Shrek’s training. Du Weilun objects, noting Huo Yuhao’s contribution to his team’s success.
• The freshman final begins between Gu Ming’s team and Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao.
• Huo Yuhao’s team works effectively together: Xiao Xiao slows the opponents and restrains Zhu Lu, Wang Dong attacks from the air, and Huo Yuhao disrupts Dai Huabin with Mental Confusion. Their coordination drives Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu back.
• Gu Ming takes over, dismissing his teammates as outmatched. He transforms the Tianjing Beast into the Tianjing Sword and easily knocks aside Xiao Xiao’s cauldron, overwhelming the team’s earlier tactics.
• Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong join hands and begin a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. The spectators are surprised by the revelation. Gu Ming welcomes the challenge and launches a huge blue dragon toward the skill’s golden vertical pupil, calling out, “Ice Soul!”

Character developments and interactions

• Huo Yuhao proves that his value lies not only in his apparent martial-soul rank but also in his tactical awareness and ability to support his teammates. He responds immediately when Wang Dong signals their fusion.
• Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao show strong teamwork with Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong leads the offensive, while Xiao Xiao uses control and restraint to create openings.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu are forced to recognize that Huo Yuhao’s team can beat them through coordination, despite Dai Huabin’s confidence and greater force.
• Gu Ming remains assured and dominant, steps in when his teammates falter, and treats the fusion skill as a test rather than a threat.
• Du Weilun stands up for Huo Yuhao, while Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi underestimate him—until the unexpected fusion skill draws their attention.

Significant themes

• The limits of judging by appearances: Huo Yuhao is dismissed for his supposedly weak martial soul, yet his contribution and the team’s performance challenge that assessment.
• Teamwork versus individual power: Huo Yuhao’s trio defeats Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu through coordinated tactics, but Gu Ming’s strength proves a far greater obstacle.
• Hidden potential and revelation: The fusion skill changes how the observers view Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, while the chapter ends on the unresolved clash between their power and Gu Ming’s “Ice Soul.”

Plot and events

• Gu Ming’s Ice Dragon attack overwhelms Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Golden Road. Shrek’s Du Weilun stops the Ice Dragon before it can devour them, but is surprised when the attack burns his hand.
• Du Weilun declares Gu Ming, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu the Freshman Assessment champions. Class Five celebrates, while Huo Yuhao takes the defeat hard and tells Wang Dong he may leave the academy.
• Gu Ming confronts Zhou Yi about her earlier threat. Admitting both his strength and flaws in her teaching, she acknowledges Class Five suits him better and leaves. Her apology surprises Class One students, who are relieved to hear her concede that her methods have caused problems.
• The next day, the academy awards rewards and announces core-student placements. Huo Yuhao receives only provisional status in the Martial Soul Department, while the other listed students become full core students. Gu Ming receives the championship reward: a Voidlight Demon Leopard Left Leg Bone.
• Dai Huabin asks Gu Ming for the Soul Bone, explaining that the championship honor would support his reputation and his family’s standing. Gu Ming agrees to trade it for a comparable one, though he has his own use for it.

Character developments and interactions

• Gu Ming confirms his overwhelming superiority, needles Zhou Yi after the match, and teases Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu with nicknames even after they object. He also agrees to Dai Huabin’s request on his own terms.
• Huo Yuhao is devastated by another defeat and feels he cannot achieve his goal of revenge against Dai Huabin; he considers leaving the academy. Wang Dong is upset at the prospect.
• Zhou Yi finally acknowledges Gu Ming’s talent and admits shortcomings in her teaching, marking a rare reversal of her usual arrogance.
• Dai Huabin recognizes Gu Ming as the decisive force behind the victory but wants the reward as proof of his achievement. Zhu Lu joins him in rejecting Gu Ming’s teasing nickname.
• Du Weilun praises Gu Ming’s potential, while the academy’s core-student decision leaves Huo Yuhao disappointed.

Significant themes

• Talent, effort, and institutional judgment: Gu Ming’s extraordinary power contrasts with Huo Yuhao’s limited recognition, despite his participation in the tournament.
• Humility and accountability: Zhou Yi’s admission that her teaching has problems offers a rare moment of self-correction.
• Honor and reputation: Dai Huabin values the Soul Bone as a public symbol of victory and family prestige, not merely as a powerful artifact.
• Victory and discouragement: Gu Ming’s triumph brings celebration, but Huo Yuhao experiences it as another personal failure.