Chapter Summaries

Gu Qingnian defeated the Death Messenger by breaking his control over the Corpse Slaves, who killed him before dissolving. After Xuan Zi assessed the survivors and arranged treatment, he put Gu Qingnian in command of the team heading to Star Luo City, and Ma Xiaotao stepped down as captain.

• Gu Qingnian used the Chaos Divine Mill to destroy the Death Messenger's will, causing the Corpse Slaves to turn on their master and kill him.
• Xuan Zi arrived, found Gu Qingnian unharmed, and returned with him to the cave where the students were gathered.
• Wang Yan reported that Yao Haoxuan had died, Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng were gravely injured, and most of the other students had survived with lighter injuries.
• Xuan Zi ordered Wang Yan to take the team to Star Luo City for the tournament and placed the remaining Main Selection and reserve team members under Gu Qingnian's command.
• Xuan Zi carried Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng back to the academy for treatment and asked Gu Qingnian to lead the students.
• Ma Xiaotao stepped down as captain and declared that she and the other Inner Court members would obey Gu Qingnian's commands.

After the attack left Shrek’s team weakened, Wang Yan prepared them to compete in the tournament with Gu Qingnian filling in. At Shrek Academy, Xuan Zi resigned over his responsibility for the disaster, while Mu En ordered the Inner Court to equip its disciples with Soul Tools.

• Wang Yan told the injured team to rest before heading to Star Luo City, and said Gu Qingnian would join the main fighters while Huo Yuhao’s group handled the opening matches.
• Xuan Zi learned that the survivors’ conditions had stabilized, though Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng would need prosthetics, and that the White Tiger Duke had not replied.
• Xuan Zi told the Sea God Pavilion Meeting that he would resign as deputy commander of the Shrek Inspection Corps and withdraw from Sea God's Pavilion.
• Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er urged Xuan Zi to stay, but he remained resolved to leave, blaming himself for the losses.
• Mu En ordered every Inner Court disciple to obtain a custom Flying Soul Tool and Defensive Soul Tool, and required the Martial Soul Department to pay the Soul Tool Department for its purchases.

Mu En decided Shrek Academy would not send reinforcements to the tournament, while Tang Ya struggled with her slow progress and the Tang Sect’s decline. In Star Luo City, Gu Qingnian told the team that they would have to compete without reinforcements, then offered them some good news.

• Mu En rejected calls to send reinforcements, arguing that Shrek needed to confront its complacency and that Gu Qingnian had hidden strength.
• Tang Ya worried that her weak cultivation made her unfit to lead the Tang Sect, but resolved to keep fighting for its revival.
• Wang Yan gathered the eleven contestants in Star Luo City for a pre-tournament briefing as registration closed without the promised reinforcements.
• Gu Qingnian told the team that Shrek Academy would send no reinforcements and that every member might have to take turns fighting.
• Gu Qingnian offered to share some good news with the team.

Gu Qingnian tried to reassure Shrek Academy’s team before the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament, while Wang Yan privately worried about the injured Gongyang Mo’s recovery. At the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the elders and students discussed Shrek’s unusual lineup and prepared for the opening round.

• Gu Qingnian joked that his presence was the good news, easing the Shrek team’s tension before Wang Yan explained the tournament rules and announced that Shrek would compete first as defending champions.
• Wang Yan dismissed the need for tactics and sent the reserve team to rest, then asked Gu Qingnian, Ma Xiaotao, and the others to stay behind.
• Gongyang Mo estimated that he would need about twenty days before he could compete, prompting Wang Yan to worry about the team’s prospects.
• Gu Qingnian told Wang Yan to leave the coming challenges to him, insisting that worrying about the team insulted their strength.
• The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy’s elders discussed Shrek’s young and incomplete-looking lineup, and Elder Ma warned Ma Rulong that he would have to leave Mingde Hall if he lost to them.
• Xiao Hongchen suggested Shrek might have suffered an accident, traded barbs with Ma Rulong, and then listened as the elders began arranging their first-round lineup.

The Star Luo Empire opened the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament, and Shrek Academy drew Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy for its first match. As Shrek’s reserve team prepared to compete, Wang Dong pointed out that Qingnian was still missing.

• The Star Luo Emperor approved the tournament arrangements and ordered spectators admitted to Star Luo Plaza.
• Huo Yuhao and the other Shrek Academy competitors took their places, drawing attention because most of them looked very young and four wore face-concealing cloaks.
• The Star Luo Emperor welcomed the delegations and officially opened the tournament before hundreds of thousands of spectators.
• The announcer named Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy and Shrek Academy as the first-round opponents, and Ma Xiaotao encouraged Shrek’s nervous reserve team.
• Wang Dong announced that Qingnian still had not arrived, startling the others.

Shrek Academy took the stage for its first elimination match at the tournament, but only six team members appeared at first. Gu Qingnian arrived at the last moment and led Shrek into an unusual formation as the match was about to begin.

• Wang Dong told Ma Xiaotao and the others that Gu Qingnian had disappeared after they entered the venue, while Wang Yan urged the team to stay calm and follow his lead.
• Jiang Nannan and five other Shrek students walked onto the platform, drawing questions from the crowd because they were one member short and appeared to be the Reserve Team.
• Gu Qingnian suddenly appeared before Jiang Nannan and Bei Bei, then joined Shrek onstage and told his teammates to play along with his dramatic entrance.
• The referee explained the elimination match rules, and both teams took their positions as Star Luo Empire soul masters raised the protective barrier.
• Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy formed a standard formation, while Gu Qingnian stood alone at the front of Shrek's side with the other six behind him.

Gu Qingnian’s team faced Tianling Advanced Soul Master Academy in their first match, but Gu Qingnian revealed overwhelming power before either side could properly fight. Tianling surrendered as he prepared to unleash his Palm Art.

• The referee began the match after Gu Qingnian questioned whether he needed to participate, and his teammates played along by insisting the academy had to be cautious.
• Gu Qingnian vanished and reappeared at the center of the battlefield, startling the teams and powerful spectators who could not follow his movement.
• Gu Qingnian revealed five blood-red soul rings and a sixth azure-blue ring, shocking the crowd and the Star Luo Emperor.
• Gu Qingnian gave Tianling Soul Master Academy five seconds to surrender, then rose into the air and summoned a gigantic golden phantom as he began his Palm Art.
• All seven Tianling students collapsed under the phantom’s terrifying pressure, and their team’s teacher shouted that Tianling surrendered.

Gu Qingnian ended Shrek Academy’s match against Tianling Soul Master Academy with an overwhelming display, then announced Shrek and the Tang Sect before departing in style. His performance left the arena stunned and deepened the other teams’ fear of Shrek, especially the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.

• Tianling Soul Master Academy surrendered, and Gu Qingnian stopped his golden palm just before it reached their competitors.
• Gu Qingnian and the other five Shrek members declared that they came from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect, revealing their powerful soul rings to the crowd.
• Wang Yan chided Gu Qingnian for being too ruthless, and Gu Qingnian replied that he had not even used his martial soul.
• Gu Qingnian stared down the teams, noticed a trembling member of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and left with the others on their Ice Souls.
• The Star Luo Emperor envied Shrek’s talent, while the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy members looked grim and Xiao Hongchen stood sweating in the back.

After Shrek Academy’s reserve team won its opening match, Gu Qingnian explained how his Soul Skill had overwhelmed his teammates and opponents. He then revealed that his Martial Soul was changing and that he planned to enter seclusion, reassuring the others that the Duke’s Mansion could support him.

• At the Star Emperor Hotel, the exhausted team asked Gu Qingnian how they had won, and he explained that his Eye of God had overloaded his teammates’ minds while terrifying their opponents.
• Wang Yan and the other Shrek members thanked Gu Qingnian and the team for preserving the academy’s reputation, and Gu Qingnian asked for help while he entered seclusion.
• Gu Qingnian told everyone his Martial Soul was developing in a good direction and that he expected to be away for no more than a week.
• When Wang Yan and the others offered to contact the academy for help, Gu Qingnian reminded them that the Star Luo Empire’s Duke’s Mansion could support him.

Gu Qingnian began fusing Double Pupils with his Six Eyes in a sealed room, enduring severe pain as the fusion destabilized his Sea of Consciousness and changed his powers. Meanwhile, Wang Yan organized Shrek Academy’s team for the next tournament match, with Gu Qingnian still in seclusion and Gongyang Mo recovering from his injuries.

• Gu Qingnian made preparations for his seclusion, left his aura on the others, and told Wang Yan to surrender if the team faced trouble.
• Gu Qingnian selected Double Pupils for fusion with Six Eyes and sealed himself inside his room to begin the mutation.
• The fusion caused Gu Qingnian intense pain, shook his Sea of Consciousness, and began altering the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm’s sealed power and former soul skills.
• During the tournament’s next two days, Shrek Academy waited for reinforcements while Wang Yan handled the team’s arrangements.
• Wang Yan gathered the team on the third evening, learned that Gongyang Mo still needed time to recover, and praised the reserve team’s performance in the first match.

Wang Yan prepared Shrek Academy for the round-robin stage and asked the team to explain their abilities. He Caitou revealed that his Food-type Martial Soul was a cigar that boosted spiritual power, leaving Wang Yan eager to learn more.

• Wang Yan told the team that Xuan Zi would arrive within two days and reminded them that the round-robin stage began the next day.
• Wang Yan asked the four less familiar team members to explain their Soul Skills, and Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan described theirs.
• He Caitou reluctantly revealed his Martial Soul by declaring that he had a thick cigar, making the meeting room burst into laughter.
• He Caitou lit the cigar in Bei Bei's mouth, and Bei Bei found that smoking it refreshed his mind.
• He Caitou explained that his Spirit-Boosting Thick Cigar increased spiritual power by 10%, prompting Wang Yan to urgently ask about its duration, quantity, and other Soul Skills.

Gu Qingnian’s seclusion culminated in a transformation that shook his Sea of Consciousness and enveloped him in a cocoon of azure and chaotic mist. He emerged before the Shrek team with a terrifying aura and mysterious Double Pupils, leaving Wang Yan and the others stunned by the change to his Martial Soul.

• Within Gu Qingnian’s Sea of Consciousness, mysterious Double Pupils appeared, subdued the Divine Mill, and tore through the Azure Sea before drawing it into the chaos.
• The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, the Ice Empress, and Electrolux trembled as Gu Qingnian’s Sea of Consciousness and body began to change, surrounding him in a cocoon of azure and chaotic mist.
• After nearly five days of Gu Qingnian’s seclusion, Wang Yan brought Shrek’s six Reserve Team members to check on him, but they turned to leave when he did not emerge.
• Gu Qingnian’s door burst open, and he emerged from the misty sphere with five Soul Rings and an aura that forced Wang Yan and the others to defend themselves.
• Gu Qingnian floated before the group and asked why they had come; when Wang Yan saw his eyes, he recoiled in shock and asked what had happened to his Martial Soul.

After his martial soul mutated into Double Pupils, Gu Qingnian rejoined the Reserve Team and urged them to accept soul tools as the times changed. The team began to agree, though Jiang Nannan worried about their cost.

• Gu Qingnian discovered that his martial soul had fused Six Eyes with Double Pupils and renamed it Double Pupils.
• Wang Yan took Gu Qingnian and the others out to relax and explained that the next round-robin match would take place the following day.
• Wang Yan revealed that he planned to take the team to a soul tool auction, but the members initially resisted the idea.
• Gu Qingnian argued that soul tools were essential for keeping pace with the times and could have prevented severe injuries among the Main Selection members.
• Bei Bei, Huo Yuhao, He Caitou, and Xiao Xiao agreed to try using soul tools, while Jiang Nannan worried that they would be expensive.

Wang Dong rejected the academy’s plan to adopt Soul Tools, while Gu Qingnian quietly tried to ease her distress. Wang Yan then led the group to the Starlight Auction House, where Gu Qingnian received a golden mask that surprised everyone.

• Wang Dong objected to using Soul Tools and said she was going back, while Gu Qingnian recognized Tang San’s influence behind her resistance.
• Gu Qingnian stopped Wang Dong, comforted her, and secretly placed a subtle aura around the space between her brows before she returned to her room.
• Wang Yan led the remaining group to the underground Starlight Auction House and explained its strict admission process and the day’s grade 4 Soul Tool auction.
• The group entered Auction Hall Twelve and received masks, but the hostess gave Gu Qingnian a golden mask, leaving Wang Yan and the others stunned.

Gu Qingnian attended the Starlight Auction House with his companions and discovered that he had been made a top-tier VIP, drawing the attention of the bidders and auctioneer. Qing Xue opened the Soul Tool auction, and the first lot—a Level 3 Soul Guidance Paralysis Ray—went up for bidding.

• Wang Yan explained the auction’s mask rankings, and Gu Qingnian revealed his gold top-tier VIP mask, startling his companions and the bidders.
• Qing Xue noticed Gu Qingnian’s unexpected VIP status, recovered her composure, and respectfully greeted him before introducing herself as a Purple-Level Auctioneer.
• Qing Xue announced that the auction featured Soul Tools below Level 6 and promised a special mystery lot at the end.
• The staff brought out a Level 3 Soul Guidance Paralysis Ray, and Qing Xue opened bidding at one thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• A bidder called out an opening bid of one thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Gu Qingnian spent freely at the auction, winning a Soul Guidance Paralysis Ray and bidding on nearly every subsequent Soul Tool. As the final mysterious gift was revealed, Gu Qingnian and Huo Yuhao sensed a dangerous sharpness in the ordinary-looking object beneath the red cloth.

• Gu Qingnian bid three thousand Gold Soul Coins for the Soul Guidance Paralysis Ray and won it, then told Wang Yan that the mask’s giver had supplied his bidding paddle.
• Gu Qingnian continued bidding on almost every Soul Tool until Wang Yan reminded him that the academy could pay for purchases.
• Qing Xue introduced the auction’s final mysterious grand gift, and a trolley carrying a red-covered object was brought onto the stage.
• Gu Qingnian stopped Huo Yuhao from probing the object and used his own spiritual power to examine it, intercepting a sharp force that threatened Huo Yuhao’s mind.
• Qing Xue lifted the cloth to reveal an ordinary object familiar and indispensable to every Soul Engineer.

At the Starlight Auction House, Qing Xue introduced the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, a cursed Ranked Carving Knife whose previous owners had all met gruesome ends. Gu Qingnian bought it for its opening price, leaving his companions wary of the ominous blade.

• Qing Xue revealed that the carving knife ranked ninety-ninth among the Ranked Carving Knives and warned bidders about its curse.
• He Caitou identified it as the Spirit Devouring Fierce Blade and warned the Shrek Academy group not to touch it.
• Qing Xue opened bidding at one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but the audience hesitated because of the blade's deadly reputation.
• Gu Qingnian raised paddle number five and bid one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Qing Xue quickly accepted Gu Qingnian's bid, and the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife passed into his hands.

Gu Qingnian obtained the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife, drawing Electrolux’s interest, and received a time-limited item that made others instinctively trust and obey his heartfelt words. After Wang Dong described her unexplained aversion to Soul Tools, Gu Qingnian offered to examine her Sea of Consciousness and began probing it with his spiritual power.

• Gu Qingnian assured the group that he could handle the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife and said his senior brother had asked him to secure it.
• Gu Qingnian told the group that the Soul Tools he had bought were gifts from his senior brother, and the group accepted the explanation.
• Gu Qingnian received the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife and a seven-star reward: the time-limited Attitude Heart Words item.
• Gu Qingnian chose not to use Attitude Heart Words immediately and went to speak with Wang Dong.
• Wang Dong told Gu Qingnian that she felt an inexplicable rejection of Soul Tools, and he offered to examine her Sea of Consciousness.
• Gu Qingnian drew Wang Dong close and began probing her Sea of Consciousness with his spiritual power.

Gu Qingnian tried to connect with Wang Dong’s Sea of Consciousness, but a powerful seal nearly destroyed him before he escaped. Electrolux identified the presence as divine sense sealed within Wang Dong and warned Gu Qingnian not to try again.

• Gu Qingnian entered Wang Dong’s Sea of Consciousness and waited as an ethereal presence approached his spiritual power.
• A terrifying presence surged from Wang Dong’s mind, and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Ice Empress warned Gu Qingnian to flee.
• Gu Qingnian used the Divine Mill’s aura and a trace of chaotic aura to escape the presence, leaving a thread of power behind as he withdrew.
• Gu Qingnian returned to his body injured while Wang Dong’s aura gradually recovered.
• Electrolux explained that a powerful seal protected Wang Dong’s Sea of Consciousness and that she likely carried a trace of divine sense as a blessing.

Gu Qingnian explained the Divine Sense in Wang Dong’s Sea of Consciousness and recovered from his attempt to isolate it. As Shrek Academy prepared for its second tournament match, Gu Qingnian reflected on his plan to shield Wang Dong from Tang San’s influence, while her family sensed that something had happened and decided not to intervene.

• Gu Qingnian told Wang Dong that the Divine Sense in her Sea of Consciousness would benefit her and advised him not to probe it again.
• Wang Dong woke and found Gu Qingnian pale and unable to speak, so she stayed beside him as he recovered.
• At Clear Sky Castle, Wang Dong’s two relatives sensed trouble; the short-haired man wanted to go to Shrek Academy, but the long-haired man stopped him and said he had arrangements of his own.
• The next morning, Wang Yan led Shrek Academy’s team to Star Luo Plaza for its match against Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Master Academy.
• Gu Qingnian recalled how he had used the Divine Mill’s malevolent aura and his Double Pupils in an attempt to build a barrier that would limit Tang San’s influence on Wang Dong.