Recaps

Xu Cheng used his Neural Prediction skill and ranged soul tools to defeat Feng Ying without being touched, impressing the audience and Jing Hongchen. Afterward, Xu Cheng spotted Tang Ya fighting a strikingly handsome swordsman whose strength concealed a strange flaw.

• Xu Cheng activated Neural Prediction and countered Feng Ying's Flash Strike with a Class 2 ranged soul cannon, sending him flying.
• Feng Ying repeatedly attacked but could not reach Xu Cheng, then conceded and vowed to catch up with him.
• Elder Cheng told Jing Hongchen that he had given Xu Cheng the Evil Eye Tyrant Skull, which had granted him Neural Prediction.
• Xu Cheng told Xiao Hongchen about the skull and its skill, and Nana pointed out assessment area eleven.
• Xu Cheng saw Tang Ya fighting a handsome young swordsman, noticed a strange flaw in him, and blurted out a name.

Xu Cheng watched Tang Ya defeat Ji Juechen, learned about Shi Xing’s ranking handbooks, and considered recruiting him for a future intelligence bureau. After seven days of assessments, Xu Cheng and Xiao Hongchen faced off for the Freshman Champion title, while Ji Juechen and the spectators wondered how the mysterious Xu Cheng would fight.

• Tang Ya defeated Ji Juechen with her dark Blue Silver Grass, and Xu Cheng recognized Ji Juechen’s potential despite his current lack of soul power.
• Xiao Hongchen showed Xu Cheng Shi Xing’s rankings of the students, placing Xu Cheng second among the boys, and Xu Cheng took an interest in Shi Xing’s intelligence-gathering skills.
• After seven days of assessments, Xu Cheng and Xiao Hongchen became the last two contestants, with the final match set to decide the Freshman Champion.
• Shi Xing gathered bets on the match, while Ji Juechen recalled Xu Cheng’s advice about balancing soul power and spiritual power and watched with renewed curiosity.
• Elder Cheng told Jing Hongchen that Xu Cheng and Xiao Hongchen would likely be evenly matched if Xiao Hongchen avoided close contact and did not fall into a trap.

Xu Cheng and Xiao Hongchen began their final assessment match by unleashing nearly a hundred Soul Tools each. Xu Cheng revealed that his Drones could operate with reduced spiritual-power demands through programmed core formations, then opened fire on Xiao Hongchen.

• Xiao Hongchen summoned nearly a hundred metal cannon barrels and used his Soul Skills to control and power them.
• Xiao Hongchen blanketed the arena with cannon fire, but Xu Cheng emerged from the smoke unharmed.
• Xu Cheng revealed nearly a hundred Drones carrying Level 3 High-Explosive Soul Cannons, astonishing the spectators and Jing Hongchen.
• Xu Cheng explained that he had programmed Soul Tool core formations to automate operations and reduce spiritual-power consumption.
• Xu Cheng pointed at Xiao Hongchen and fired, shaking the assessment grounds with thunderous blasts.

Xu Cheng defeated Xiao Hongchen in the arena, then shared the secret behind his technique and reconciled with him. Jing Hongchen awarded the assessment’s top students powerful soul tools, while Meng Hongchen’s kindness strengthened Tang Ya’s attachment to the Sun Moon Imperial Academy.

• Xu Cheng overwhelmed Xiao Hongchen, who used his Invincible Shield, and the two left the stage together as friends.
• Xu Cheng promised to explain his technique to Xiao Hongchen, who wondered whether learning it might let him surpass Xu Cheng.
• Jing Hongchen began presenting prizes to the top students, giving Ji Juechen the adaptive Level 7 Spirit Sword and Nana the adaptive Level 7 Nether Daggers.
• Meng Hongchen reassured Tang Ya by holding her hand, and Jing Hongchen awarded Tang Ya the Level 7 Invincible Golden Body Shield.

After the semester ended, Xu Cheng received Jing Hongchen’s Level 9 Red Dust Protection and a valuable Level 7 Core Array, then left Sun Moon Imperial Academy with Nana. As they traveled to visit Nana’s parents and head for the border in search of Ju Zi, Nana offered him a lap pillow.

• Jing Hongchen gave Xu Cheng Red Dust Protection and a Level 7 Core Array, while Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen received Level 8 Soul Tools.
• Meng Hongchen offered to ask Jing Hongchen for another reward, and Xu Cheng revealed that he had also received Red Dust Protection.
• After the semester ended, Xu Cheng and Nana left the academy in a soul-powered car with a black-robed driver.
• Xu Cheng explained that he had analyzed the Core Array and identified it as a core for mass-producible humanoid mechs.
• Nana offered Xu Cheng a lap pillow, and he rested his head on her thighs and fell asleep.

Nana visited her parents’ graves with Xu Cheng, while Tang Ya left for Shrek Academy to fulfill her father’s wish and revive the Tang Sect. Tang Ya reached the Tang Sect and found its gates sealed, leaving her hopes shattered.

• Nana paid her respects at her parents’ graves, and Xu Cheng comforted her as she grieved.
• Nana teased Xu Cheng on their ride back, then asked about Tang Ya, whom he had allowed to leave under Wu Yun’s protection.
• Tang Ya traveled toward the Star Dou Great Forest, resolving to go to Shrek Academy despite missing her friends in the Sun Moon Empire.
• Tang Ya entered the city and walked through the familiar streets toward the Tang Sect.
• Tang Ya arrived at the Tang Sect and saw sealing strips across its vermilion gates.

Tang Ya struggled to control her murderous urges as she traveled to Shrek City to enroll at Shrek Academy, while Wu Yun dealt with the aftermath of the City Defense Army massacre. At the academy entrance, a student accused Tang Ya of being an Evil Soul Master spy, pushing her close to losing control.

• Tang Ya suppressed her bloodlust and hurried away without anyone noticing.
• Wu Yun killed the City Defense Army soldiers in a teahouse, paid the owner one Gold Soul Coin for two bowls of tea, and left as a flock of crows.
• Tang Ya reached Shrek City and went to Shrek Academy to enroll, explaining that the Tang Sect's destruction had delayed her arrival.
• Bei Bei welcomed Tang Ya and felt eager to help her, but another student accused her of surviving the Tang Sect's destruction by joining the Evil Soul Masters.
• Tang Ya angrily denied the accusation and struggled to contain her violent urges.

Tang Ya fought Shrek Academy students after they accused her of being an Evil Soul Master, but Dean Yan Shaozhe stopped her and offered to forgive her only if she joined the academy. Tang Ya rejected his offer and condemned Shrek Academy as hypocrites who had ignored the Tang Sect’s destruction and supported the nobles’ oppression.

• Tang Ya used her dark blue silver grass to drain Wang Heng’s life force and trap a student with the White Bird martial soul.
• Bei Bei used his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon powers to break Tang Ya’s vines and rescue his teammates while Zhang Lei’s group stalled her.
• Dean Yan Shaozhe arrived and subdued Tang Ya, then privately offered to forgive her if she joined Shrek Academy.
• Tang Ya accused Shrek Academy of valuing her talent while ignoring the Tang Sect’s destruction, and called its members Evil Soul Masters.
• Tang Ya recalled Xu Cheng’s question about whether Shrek counted as an Evil Soul Master and challenged the academy’s role in sustaining noble oppression.

Yan Shaozhe tried to kill Tang Ya after she condemned Shrek Academy, but Zhang Peng and Crow intervened and revealed her as the Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess. Xu Cheng learned his plan had succeeded and told Nana they would go to the front lines once Tang Ya arrived and received a dose of strong medicine.

• Tang Ya accused Yan Shaozhe and Shrek Academy of hypocrisy, and Yan Shaozhe summoned a soul-power hand to kill her.
• Bei Bei stepped in to protect Tang Ya, but Yan Shaozhe ordered him to stay out of it.
• Zhang Peng shattered the attack and Crow spirited Tang Ya away, while Zhang Peng revealed she was the Holy Spirit Cult's Saintess.
• Yan Shaozhe ordered everyone to keep the incident secret and left to discuss the Holy Spirit Cult with Mu En.
• Xu Cheng received a message confirming the plan had worked, then told Nana they would head to the front lines after Tang Ya arrived and received strong medicine.

Mu En blamed Shrek Academy’s arrogance and inaction for Tang Ya’s turn toward the Holy Spirit Cult, while Tang Ya woke at one of the cult’s branches and accused Xu Cheng of engineering her conflict with Shrek. The chapter left Xu Cheng showing her the branch’s work educating commoners as Tang Ya dismissed it as a shabby display.

• Yan Shaozhe reported to Mu En that he had driven Tang Ya away, and Mu En said Shrek’s inaction and arrogance had pushed her toward the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Mu En suspected Tang Ya’s visit to Shrek had been an overt scheme and warned Yan Shaozhe that questioning the gate guards would change nothing.
• Tang Ya woke in a small house and recognized Nana, who invited her to follow.
• Tang Ya discovered she was in a Holy Spirit Cult branch where farmers worked the fields and children learned about martial souls and soul power.
• Tang Ya accused Xu Cheng of letting her provoke Shrek so she would sever ties with the academy and expose her identity.
• Xu Cheng described a former Sun Moon Imperial Academy student who taught commoners and awakened their martial souls for free, but Tang Ya mocked the branch as a shabby show.

Xu Cheng challenged Tang Ya’s view of the Holy Spirit Cult by comparing its work for commoners to Spirit Hall’s past, leaving her stunned and questioning her beliefs. He then reached a military camp with Nana and Wu Yun to seek Huo Qing, but learned she would return in about an hour.

• Xu Cheng told Tang Ya that the Holy Spirit Cult ran free martial-soul awakening classrooms and compared its efforts with Spirit Hall’s support for Tang San, leaving Tang Ya unable to defend her ancestor or her old beliefs.
• Xu Cheng invited Tang Ya to stay in the village until classes began and said she could choose whether to remain.
• Nana admitted she was jealous of Xu Cheng’s attention to Tang Ya, while Wu Yun complained during their journey on the giant crow.
• Xu Cheng, Nana, and Wu Yun reached a camp guarded by the all-female Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Corps, whose guards surrounded them.
• Xu Cheng introduced himself and asked to see Huo Qing; the leading woman said Huo Qing was on border patrol and would return in about an hour.

Xu Cheng reunited with Huo Qing, a battalion commander who had once served his mother, and reassured her that he had powerful support in the succession struggle. Huo Qing feared he was being manipulated into the fight for the throne.

• Xu Cheng waited while Crow transformed into crows and departed, and Huo Lei cautiously answered his questions about the conflict and the troops.
• Huo Qing arrived with around twenty armored soldiers, recognized Xu Cheng, and embraced him tearfully before taking him to her camp.
• Huo Qing and Xu Cheng spoke privately, and she lamented that her battalion command was too little to support his ambitions.
• Xu Cheng told Huo Qing that Elder Cheng and the Holy Spirit Cult backed him, leaving her concerned that someone was using him in the succession struggle.

Xu Cheng reassured Huo Qing that Cheng Baiqing and the Holy Spirit Cult supported him in his bid for the Sun Moon Empire’s throne. After Huo Qing welcomed Nana and entrusted her with a powerful soul tool, Xu Cheng judged that he held the advantage over Crown Prince Xu Tianran and the Fourth Prince.

• Xu Cheng told Huo Qing he was Cheng Baiqing’s final disciple and had received a sixty-thousand-year Evil Eye Tyrant head soul bone.
• Xu Cheng revealed that he was the Holy Spirit Cult’s Holy Son and explained that Zhongli Wu had discovered his blood-eyes martial soul after its awakening.
• Huo Qing accepted Xu Cheng’s position and promised to help him, then gave Nana the Class 6 Crimson Blood Sword and charged her with protecting Xu Cheng.
• Xu Cheng compared his faction’s strengths with those of the Fourth Prince and Crown Prince Xu Tianran, concluding that he had the advantage.

Xu Cheng planned to help Huo Qing overcome her stalled cultivation and become a Level 9 Soul Engineer, strengthening his influence in the Sun Moon Empire and his position in the Holy Spirit Cult’s succession struggle. He ended by promising to gather several Super Douluo to help her condense a soul core.

• Huo Qing told Xu Cheng that she had found no leads on Ju Zi, a girl with an orange martial soul.
• Xu Cheng learned that Huo Qing believed she would never reach Level 9 because her unstable soul power and limited potential made a breakthrough to Titled Douluo unlikely.
• Xu Cheng considered using outside experts to help Huo Qing condense a soul core, since she relied mainly on Soul Tools rather than her martial soul.
• Xu Cheng reflected that strengthening Huo Qing could expand his own forces, which were vulnerable to the Holy Spirit Cult’s internal factions and Ye Xishui’s schemes.
• Xu Cheng assured Huo Qing that he would invite several Super Douluo to help her break through.

Xu Cheng met Xu Tianran at Huo Qing’s camp and left after a brief exchange, while Huo Qing forced the Crown Prince to retreat from the restricted military zone. Elsewhere, Xu Cheng encountered a ragged girl who called herself Ju Zi.

• Huo Qing offered to introduce Xu Cheng to the Soul Engineer Corps Commander, but he declined to avoid entangling her in the Succession Struggle.
• Huo Lei reported that Xu Tianran had come to request an audience, and Xu Cheng went with Huo Qing to meet him.
• Xu Cheng exchanged veiled remarks with Xu Tianran, then left before his eldest brother could respond.
• Huo Qing ordered Huo Lei to escort Xu Cheng and warned Xu Tianran that the camp was a restricted military zone.
• Huo Qing’s soldiers surrounded Xu Tianran and his attendants, forcing them to leave without a fight.
• In a border town, Xu Cheng found a filthy, ragged girl who told him her name was Ju Zi.

Xu Cheng recruited the orphan Ju Zi into the Holy Spirit Cult by redirecting her desire for revenge toward opposing the ruling class and war. After revealing that he was the Sun Moon Empire’s Eleventh Prince and the cult’s Holy Son, he offered her two paths, and she chose to return to Mingdu, study at the Royal Academy, and serve as his secretary.

• Xu Cheng questioned Ju Zi about her parents’ deaths and argued that war and the noble ruling class, rather than Dai Hao alone, were responsible for her family’s suffering.
• Xu Cheng invited Ju Zi to join the Holy Spirit Cult, and she accepted after recognizing it as an organization that opposed noble rule and advocated equality.
• At a restaurant, Ju Zi thanked Nana and told Xu Cheng she wanted to follow him and pursue a peaceful world.
• Xu Cheng introduced himself as the Eleventh Prince of the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult, then told Ju Zi she could call him Brother Cheng.
• Xu Cheng offered Ju Zi the choice of joining the army or returning to Mingdu to attend the Sun Moon Empire Royal Academy and work as his secretary, and she chose the second option.

Xu Cheng received a first-generation artificial intelligence soul tool core design and began studying it in Elder Cheng’s laboratory. When the Imperial Family Inspection Team arrested him over Wang Shaojie’s death, Xu Cheng went along with them, planning to expose the Fourth Prince’s weakness.

• Xu Cheng received the first-generation artificial intelligence soul tool core formation design for taking in Ju Zi and analyzed it in Elder Cheng’s laboratory.
• Xu Cheng concluded that the design could be paired with advanced soul tools and decided to study it further with Elder Cheng.
• Xu Cheng encountered six Imperial Family Inspection Team members led by Xu Mochen, who accused him of harming Wang Shaojie and ordered him to come with them.
• Xu Cheng stopped An Ying from intervening and let Xu Mochen place him in Golden Handcuffs.
• Xu Cheng secretly asked Nana to notify Elder Cheng and the Holy Spirit Cult, then followed Xu Mochen to central Mingdu to draw out the Fourth Prince’s weakness.

After Xu Cheng was seized by the Imperial Family Inspection Team, the Holy Spirit Cult and the princes learned of his arrest and began reacting to the political danger. Xu Cheng was taken to the team’s torture chamber and bound to the Dragon-Peeling Pillar.

• Nana told Lin Jiayi that Xu Cheng had been taken by men claiming to represent the Imperial Family Inspection Team, and Lin Jiayi hurried to alert Elder Cheng and Hall Master Jing.
• Zhongli Wu learned that the Holy Son had been imprisoned, summoned five enshrined elders, and ordered them to accompany him to Mingdu.
• Xu Tianran heard that Xu Jiran’s men had taken Xu Cheng and decided to go to the Imperial Family Inspection Team, fearing Xu Cheng’s death would leave him vulnerable.
• Xu Mochen ordered Xu Cheng taken to the Interrogation Room to answer for attacking a member of the imperial family.
• A Soul Emperor ordered Xu Cheng bound to the Dragon-Peeling Pillar, and Xu Cheng realized they intended to torture him.

Xu Cheng remained calm while the Imperial Family Inspection Team interrogated him, protected by his Red Dust Protection. Afterward, Xu Mochen revealed that Xu Cheng was Cheng Baiqing’s sole final disciple and the Holy Spirit Cult’s Holy Son, leaving the team terrified of the consequences of targeting him.

• Xu Cheng used his Red Dust Protection to resist the torture device and challenged the interrogating Soul Emperor, who insulted him before being called away.
• Xu Mochen suggested that his team go further against Xu Cheng, but the interrogating Soul Emperor objected because they had only planned to intimidate him and gather evidence.
• Xu Mochen told the team that Xu Cheng might be connected to the Holy Spirit Cult and had recently become Cheng Baiqing’s sole final disciple.
• The team realized that Xu Cheng’s powerful backing could bring severe consequences for their actions.
• Xu Mochen revealed that Xu Cheng was the Holy Spirit Cult’s Holy Son, and the interrogating Soul Emperor shattered his teacup in shock.

Xu Mochen planned to protect himself and his men by forcing Xu Cheng to confess to colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult, while secretly reporting that the plan was proceeding smoothly. In the torture chamber, the Dragon-Peeling Pillar failed to pierce Xu Cheng, and he began to suspect someone was manipulating the Imperial Family Inspection Team.

• Xu Mochen convinced Second, Fifth, and the others to frame Xu Cheng as a conspirator against the Sun Moon Empire so the Fourth Prince would have to protect them.
• Xu Mochen sent a message through a Communication Soul Tool saying that the plan was proceeding smoothly.
• Second accused Xu Cheng of colluding with Evil Soul Masters, but Xu Cheng insisted that joining the Holy Spirit Cult had nothing to do with being an Evil Soul Master.
• Second ordered Fifth to activate the Dragon-Peeling Pillar, but a reddish-gold light around Xu Cheng stopped its spikes from reaching him.
• Second realized Xu Cheng's defensive Soul Tool could overpower the Dragon-Binding Lock, and Xu Cheng suspected the inspectors were tools of an unknown mastermind.

Xu Cheng turned the Imperial Family Inspection Team’s attempt to frame and torture him into a trap for Xu Jiran, while Elder Cheng and Jing Hongchen rushed to rescue him. The team’s members had confessed by the time Xu Tianran arrived, and Elder Cheng ordered the Crown Prince to leave.

• Xu Jiran tried to reach Xu Mochen and learned that Xu Cheng had taken control of the Imperial Family Inspection Team.
• Elder Cheng and Jing Hongchen broke into the team’s headquarters after hearing screams from the interrogation room.
• They found Xu Cheng directing An Ying as the team members were tortured, then Xu Cheng pretended to seek help from Elder Cheng despite having no real injuries.
• Jing Hongchen and Elder Cheng vowed to protect Xu Cheng and hold the team accountable.
• Xu Tianran arrived and Xu Cheng told him the team members had confessed, but Elder Cheng ordered him to get out.

At court, Xu Cheng demanded punishment for Xu Jiran and the Imperial Family Inspection Team, but Xu Jiran tried to discredit him by exposing his ties to the Holy Spirit Cult. Xu Cheng summoned Long Xiaoyao and other powerful figures, leaving Xu Jiran unable to press his accusation as the officials denied any connection between the cult and evil soul masters.

• Xu Cheng told the emperor that Xu Jiran had used the Imperial Family Inspection Team to frame and torture him, then demanded the team’s commander and members be killed.
• Xu Jiran objected that Xu Cheng had no right to kill the prince commanding the team, while Elder Cheng’s support for Xu Cheng drew notice from the court.
• Xu Jiran accused Xu Cheng of being the Holy Spirit Cult’s Holy Son and of colluding with evil soul masters.
• Xu Cheng called on Elder Long, and Long Xiaoyao entered the hall with five powerful black-robed figures.
• Xu Cheng asked whether the Holy Spirit Cult had any connection to evil soul masters, and the officials denied it while Xu Jiran trembled under the newcomers’ pressure.

Three years after the Holy Spirit Cult appeared, Xu Cheng had become a Soul King and Level 6 Soul Engineer while helping develop secret missile technology at Mingde Hall. He declined the academy tournament and planned to visit the Star Dou Great Forest, hoping to meet Tian Meng and other spirits.

• Xiao Hongchen asked Xu Cheng to enter the academy tournament, but Xu Cheng refused because he had work to finish for Cheng Baiqing.
• Xu Cheng explained that missile guidance was working, but his team still needed to conceal the Level 9 Soul Tool's fluctuations before the technology could be completed.
• Xiao Hongchen urged Xu Cheng to improve his cultivation, and Xu Cheng pointed out that he was already ahead of Xiao in both cultivation and soul engineering.
• Xu Cheng said he would be ready for the All-Continent Soul Master Tournament and thought about visiting the Star Dou Great Forest to seek Tian Meng, Electrolux, and Bingbing.
• Meng Hongchen asked Xu Cheng to enter the tournament, and he said he would visit the Star Dou Forest instead while stroking her hair.

Xu Cheng agreed to join the inter-academy tournament assessment after learning that Xu Tianzhen and Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy would participate. In Mystic Yin City, Jiang Nannan sought a cure for her mother and walked into a trap meant for Xu Sanshi, leaving him in an empty room.

• Xu Cheng accepted Elder Cheng's instruction to take the assessment, and Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Tang Ya also signed up.
• Nana told Xu Cheng that Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy would enter the tournament, and Xu Cheng realized Xu Tianzhen was coming.
• Xu Cheng reflected on his growing political influence and Ju Zi's work as his secretary before leading the group to prepare for the assessment.
• Jiang Nannan learned that the Mystic Yin Divine Pill could cure her mother but cost nearly a million Gold Soul Coins, and a Mystic Yin Sect steward offered help in exchange for a price.
• Jiang Nannan left home to meet the steward, while the steward led Xu Sanshi to a house and promised him a girl; Xu Sanshi found the room empty.

Jiang Nannan walked through the Mystic Yin Sect’s festive streets, believing she was being sold to secure her mother’s welfare, then overheard a commoner recounting a sympathetic version of the Spirit Hall’s history. The crowd grew angry at Tang San for opposing the Spirit Hall despite having received its help, while Jiang Nannan’s fate remained unresolved.

• Jiang Nannan walked silently through the crowded, lantern-lit streets as a steward measured her like a commodity.
• A commoner uncle told nearby townspeople that the Holy Spirit Cult was a sect for ordinary people and praised the Spirit Hall for once awakening commoners’ Martial Souls for free.
• The uncle argued that nobles charged common families heavily for Martial Soul awakenings and that a unified continent might have spared commoners conscription and war.
• The uncle claimed Tang San opposed the Spirit Hall because it had hunted his mother, a Blue Silver Grass Soul Beast, and described Tang San’s neglectful, drunken father.
• The uncle said the Spirit Hall had awakened Tang San’s Martial Soul and supported him with a monthly subsidy, prompting the crowd to condemn Tang San for turning against it.