Chapter Summaries

Xu Cheng discussed Shrek Academy’s recall letter and the Sun Moon Empire’s future with Jing Hongchen, who learned that Xue Ling’er retained half her strength in human form. At Shrek Academy, Ji Juechen kept winning duels, and Xiao Hongchen and Lin Xi went to watch his latest challenge.

• Meng Hongchen kissed Xu Cheng in Lin Jiayi’s laboratory until Jing Hongchen arrived with a confidential letter from Shrek Academy recalling Zhang Lexuan because Mu En was critically ill.
• Xu Cheng told Jing Hongchen that Zhang Lexuan was imperial blood, then discussed Mingde Hall’s future, Ning Tian, and how students could develop loyalty to the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Cheng told Jing Hongchen that Xue Ling’er would join the assessment and had retained at least fifty percent of her strength, shocking him.
• At Shrek Academy, Xiao Hongchen studied martial souls under Wang Yan while Ji Juechen continued defeating challengers in the Dueling Arena.
• After Ji Juechen’s latest challenge sounded over the loudspeakers, Xiao Hongchen and Lin Xi decided to go watch.

Ji Juechen faced Ling Luochен in the Dueling Arena while Zhang Lexuan received a suspicious summons to return to Shrek. At Shrek, Yan Shaozhe persuaded the Sea God Pavilion to support He Caitou’s claim to the Sun Moon throne, but He Caitou discovered a letter urging him to challenge Xu Cheng and feared it was a trap.

• Ji Juechen introduced himself before Ling Luochен, who unleashed her ice skills, and he called his sword to meet her challenge.
• Zhang Lexuan suspected that Shrek had used Mu En’s supposed illness to summon her back and prepared to leave Mingdu after one last night with Xu Cheng.
• Yan Shaozhe told the Sea God Pavilion that He Caitou was Xu He, the former Sun Moon Crown Prince’s surviving child, and proposed backing him against the empire.
• The Pavilion Elders approved Yan Shaozhe’s plan after he promised access to Sun Moon Empire soul-tool designs and personnel.
• Fan Yu decided to take Zhang Lexuan back to Shrek immediately, while He Caitou found a letter addressed to him as Your Highness.
• He Caitou read the letter’s demand that he fight Xu Cheng and realized someone was trying to get him killed.

Xu Cheng agreed to a lucrative partnership with the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and gave Ning Tian a Level 9 defensive soul tool as a welcoming gift. After Ning Tian left, Xu Cheng prepared to take Zhang Lexuan to their candlelit dinner, while Fan Yu hurried away after being caught outside the classroom.

• Zhang Lexuan invited Xu Cheng to a candlelit dinner and promised to make their evening special.
• Ning Tian asked Xu Cheng to sell Mingde Hall mecha and Level 7 and Level 8 soul tools to the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
• Xu Cheng offered the sect twenty first-generation mecha and a large order of soul tools at half the market price.
• Xu Cheng gave Ning Tian the Level 9 defensive soul tool [Cheng Xin], personally made by Elder Cheng, as a token of friendship.
• Ning Tian left to contact Elder Jing, and Zhang Lexuan wondered how badly the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had declined.
• Xu Cheng set off with Zhang Lexuan for dinner and caught Fan Yu lurking outside the classroom; Fan Yu denied needing anything and hurried away.

He Caitou conspired with a black-clad elder and Shrek Academy to overthrow the Sun Moon Empire, but Xu Cheng’s forces arrested them after exposing the plot. Xu Cheng then ordered Zhang Lexuan arrested as a Shrek representative, leaving her afraid he would misunderstand her.

• He Caitou agreed to work with Shrek Academy to seize power, accepting its demands despite their cost to the Sun Moon Empire.
• Crimson Armor soldiers raided He Caitou’s dormitory, shackled him and the black-clad elder, and took them to prison.
• Xu Cheng discussed Xuan Ziwen’s technical talent and lack of political skill with Zhang Lexuan over dinner at the Mingdu Grand Hotel.
• Xu Cheng’s soldiers surrounded the dinner and announced that Shrek’s students had been arrested for conspiring with the Former Dynasty Remnants.
• Zhang Lexuan pleaded with Xu Cheng to believe she had not betrayed him, but he ordered the soldiers to take her away.

Xu Cheng planned to keep Zhang Lexuan in the Sun Moon Empire and use force to deter Shrek Academy, while the empire’s leaders approved a swift strike against the Star Luo Empire backed by newly completed Linked Defense. He rejected using missiles against civilians and resolved to exploit the fact that Shrek believed his restraint made him harmless.

• Xu Cheng ordered the Fire Phoenix Corps Captain to control the Shrek students, target Fan Yu for interrogation, and ensure Zhang Lexuan was not mistreated.
• Yan Shaozhe and Shrek’s Pavilion Elders argued over the Sun Moon Empire’s detention of their people and resolved to use their own hostages and force to demand their release.
• Xu Cheng told Xu Zhen, Kong Deming, Jing Hongchen, and the other council members that he wanted to keep Zhang Lexuan and draw out the former dynasty’s remnants in Military Headquarters.
• Xu Cheng proposed a three-day counterattack into the Star Luo Empire, explaining that Linked Defense could let large soul engineer forces withstand even Limit Douluo attacks; the council approved his plan.
• Xu Cheng considered using missiles but rejected striking civilian targets, then concluded that Shrek had mistaken his restraint for weakness and reminded himself that he was still an Evil Soul Master.

Huo Yuhao returned to Mingde Hall after breaking through to Soul Ancestor, having undergone his second Martial Soul Awakening with the Body Sect. Xu Cheng directed him toward Soul Tool research and away from the coming war, while Huo Yuhao affirmed his commitment to Xu Cheng’s future.

• Huo Yuhao surprised Xu Cheng by returning as a thirteen-year-old Soul Ancestor after benefiting from an immortal herb and the Body Sect’s training.
• Huo Yuhao demonstrated his Three Annihilation techniques, prompting laughter from Meng Hongchen and embarrassment from Xu Cheng and Nana.
• Xu Cheng told Huo Yuhao to study under Xuan Ziwen and asked whether he could accept that the Body Sect might become an enemy; Huo Yuhao said their paths had diverged.
• Huo Yuhao revealed that he recorded Xu Cheng’s words in a notebook and pledged to help build a future that improved life for ordinary people.
• Huo Yuhao asked to join the coming war, but Xu Cheng refused because he was too weak and told him to focus on research.
• Xu Cheng and Meng Hongchen turned to preparations for the coming battle, which Xu Cheng said they had to win quickly.

Xu Cheng ordered the Sun Moon Empire’s forces to launch a rapid invasion of the Star Luo Empire while confronting He Caitou over his ties to the former faction. Xu Cheng revealed that his campaign against He Caitou was driven by the discovery that one of the remnants had killed his mother, and he left He Caitou facing the truth about Xu Cheng’s revenge.

• Xu Cheng refused to mobilize provincial troops and ordered Wang Yiheng’s forces to push through the Mingdou Mountain Range toward the Star Luo Empire’s capital within two days.
• Xu Jiangnian received Xu Cheng’s orders and prepared the assembled commanders and troops to begin the campaign when Wang Yiheng arrived.
• Xu Cheng visited Fan Yu, He Caitou, and Mo Xuan in the interrogation room, where he ordered the questioning to continue despite their protests.
• He Caitou accused Xu Cheng of arranging the evidence and manipulating events, and Xu Cheng admitted that he had been tracking He Caitou’s most loyal followers.
• Xu Cheng isolated He Caitou in a crimson illusion and revealed that his mother had been killed by one of the remnants he had targeted all along.

Xu Jiawei watched the Sun Moon Empire rout the Body Sect and Dai Hao’s forces, then reach the Star Luo Empire’s capital before withdrawing after leaving a mocking message. Shrek Academy responded to the show of force by declaring it would cooperate with the Sun Moon Empire’s investigation into forged communications.

• Xu Jiawei celebrated when he learned the Sun Moon Empire and the Body Sect had clashed, expecting both sides to weaken each other.
• Xu Jiawei received reports that the Sun Moon Empire had crushed the Body Sect and Dai Hao’s army with linked shields, then advanced rapidly toward the capital.
• Xu Jiawei and the ministers prepared to defend the capital as the Sun Moon Empire army reached its walls, but the invaders withdrew and left the message, “We were here.”
• Yan Shaozhe told the Sea God Pavilion that the Sun Moon Empire had demonstrated its strength without occupying Star Luo territory, and Elder Lin concluded the strike had been aimed at Shrek.
• Shrek declared it would cooperate with the Sun Moon Empire’s investigation and accused Fan Yu, He Caitou, and the others of forging communications.

Xu Cheng explained why he had been angry with Zhang Lexuan and showed her the truth behind her family’s massacre. The vision revealed that Mu En had arranged the slaughter and spared her as a child to make her a controllable future protector for Shrek, leaving Zhang Lexuan devastated.

• Xu Cheng decided to visit Zhang Lexuan and release the other Shrek students, allowing them to attend classes as long as they stayed in the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Cheng comforted Zhang Lexuan and explained that he had been angry because she planned to leave without telling him, not because he suspected her of betrayal.
• Xu Cheng showed Zhang Lexuan a reconstructed memory of the massacre of her family and revealed that the attackers had deliberately overlooked her hiding beneath a bed.
• Xu Cheng explained that Mu En had targeted Zhang Lexuan as a potential Limit Douluo who could shore up Shrek and had spared her because she was easier to control than other candidates.
• Zhang Lexuan asked why Mu En had not simply let her join Shrek, and Xu Cheng said Mu En had wanted to avoid unpredictable factors because he was nearing the end of his life.

Zhang Lexuan learned that Mu En had orchestrated the Zhang Family's murder and asked Xu Cheng to take over Shrek and unite the continent, sparing ordinary students. As Fan Yu tried to persuade her to flee back to Shrek, she remained in Mingdu, while Huo Yuhao began his studies at Mingde Hall.

• Xu Cheng comforted Zhang Lexuan after revealing Mu En's role in the Zhang Family's murder, and she asked him to destroy Shrek's leadership and unite the continent.
• Xu Cheng freed Zhang Lexuan and the other Shrek students from confinement but restricted them to the Sun Moon Empire for three years.
• Xu Jiawei heard officials blame the Sun Moon Empire for the army's losses and the missing treasury wealth, but he suspected the nobility and chose not to confront them.
• Fan Yu gave Zhang Lexuan a map and urged her to flee Mingdu for Shrek, but she concealed her intentions and let him leave with Mo Xuan.
• Xuan Ziwen introduced Huo Yuhao to Zi Mu and Keke at Mingde Hall, where Huo Yuhao said he would study soul tools despite being from the Star Luo Empire.

Xu Cheng and Jing Hongchen planned stronger defenses for Mingde Hall against underground attacks. Dai Hao learned that the Sun Moon Empire had left the Star Luo capital untouched and led his followers west to become pirates, while Dai Yueheng stopped Dai Huabin from rushing to the capital and prepared to leave Shrek Academy.

• Xu Cheng urged Jing Hongchen to add underground detection soul tools, nearby troops, and rotating Imperial Family Consecrations to protect Mingde Hall.
• Dai Hao learned that the Sun Moon Empire had withdrawn without attacking the Star Luo Empire Imperial Capital, and his men celebrated the chance to reclaim it.
• Dai Hao ruled out returning to his former territory and led his surviving followers west toward the sea to become pirates.
• Dai Huabin tried to leave Shrek Academy after learning that his mother and the White Tiger Duke's household faced execution, but Dai Yueheng knocked him unconscious and entrusted Zhu Lu with a storage ring and a message.
• Dai Yueheng decided to leave Shrek Academy, and Gongyang Mo gave him a storage ring containing four million gold soul coins.

The Original Three Kingdoms and Shrek agreed to tunnel into Mingdu and disrupt the Sun Moon Empire during an upcoming Academy Tournament, while Xu Cheng anticipated their plan and strengthened the capital’s defenses. The chapter ended with Xu Cheng and his companions visiting Huo Yuhao’s crowded grilled-fish stall outside the Sun Moon Imperial Academy.

• Du Busi revealed that Xu Cheng had grievously wounded him and warned that the Sun Moon Empire’s Soul Tools made victory against it unlikely.
• The emperors, Du Busi, and Yan Shaozhe agreed to infiltrate Mingdu through underground tunnels and exploit the Academy Tournament, with Yan Shaozhe planning to warn Fan Yu.
• Xu Cheng told Xu Zhen that he expected the Original Three Kingdoms to tunnel underground and explained that Mingdu’s detection system had been upgraded to cover the surrounding area and underground approaches.
• Xu Cheng urged Xu Zhen to relocate the imperial arsenals, and Xu Zhen praised Xuan Ziwen’s abilities and advised Xu Cheng to treat Lexuan sincerely.
• Xu Cheng, Tang Ya, Meng Hongchen, and Jiang Nannan visited Huo Yuhao’s grilled-fish stall, where Xu Cheng praised Huo Yuhao’s cooking as a crowd gathered to buy fish.

Xu Cheng rejected the God of Emotion’s offer of a Divine Seat, then spent time with his companions and Zhang Lexuan. The chapter ended with a mysterious Middle-aged Beauty holding a girl with a rare angel martial soul captive in Mingdu.

• Xu Sanshi tried to cut in line at Huo Yuhao’s grilled-fish stall, argued with Tang Ya, and left after challenging her to settle things at the Academy Tournament.
• Xu Sanshi found Bei Bei brooding over Tang Ya, and the two went to a tavern together.
• The God of Emotion offered Xu Cheng his inheritance, but Xu Cheng turned him down because a God King had already approached him.
• Xu Cheng took over grilling fish for Huo Yuhao, then left with his friends after the stall sold out.
• Zhang Lexuan flirted with Xu Cheng in their dormitory and prepared two outfits for him.
• A Middle-aged Beauty approached a captive girl in Mingdu and revealed that she possessed a rare angel martial soul.

As Shrek Academy’s influence weakened amid the Sun Moon Empire’s advance, Ye Yulin protected Xiao Hongchen from Yan Shaozhe and prepared the Sun Moon Divine Needle. Beneath the Golden Tree, Ah Yin revived Mu En and restored his strength, but warned that he would die in two years.

• Lin Xi and Xiao Hongchen discussed the backlash against Tang San and the Shrek Seven Devils, then revealed that Xu Cheng had arrested He Caitou and restricted the Shrek students after their plot against the Sun Moon Empire was exposed.
• Yan Shaozhe tried to take Xiao Hongchen away, but Ye Yulin intervened and warned that Shrek Academy might lose its power and become neither an academy nor a nation.
• Ye Yulin explained Xu Cheng’s calculations to Xiao Hongchen, who accepted his role as a dangerous hostage and asked about the Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells.
• Ye Yulin inspected the Sun Moon Divine Needle, a weapon designed to gather the essences of both sun and moon, and resolved to protect the younger generation.
• Mu En reflected on Shrek Academy’s failing foundations, then caught a golden leaf from the Golden Tree that merged into his body and restored his vitality.
• Ah Yin revealed herself as the Golden Tree and told Mu En that the revival had extended his life by only two years, after which he would still die.

Xu Cheng showed Zhang Lexuan and Meng Hongchen his playful and technical sides while discussing new Soul Tool designs. At the Holy Spirit Cult, Ye Xishui persuaded Zhongli Wu that Xu Cheng was secretly plotting mass destruction, and ordered him to recruit new talent from Shrek Academy.

• Zhang Lexuan woke beside Xu Cheng with a handcuff still fastened to the headboard, and Xu Cheng teased her before pulling her back into bed.
• Xu Cheng watched Jiang Nannan demonstrate her adaptive Soul-Guided External Skeleton and discussed how Sun Moon’s Soul Tool specialists could develop more varied designs.
• Meng Hongchen asked Xu Cheng to make an ice-element Soul Tool for her, and Zhang Lexuan asked for a unique Soul Tool connected to the moon.
• Zhongli Wu lamented Yan Feng’s death and Xu Cheng’s growing influence until Ye Xishui argued that Xu Cheng was a hypocrite planning destruction on a vast scale.
• Ye Xishui told Zhongli Wu to cooperate with Xu Cheng and gather new recruits from Shrek Academy.
• Xu Cheng sneezed at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy and wondered who was talking about him.

Mu En returned to the Sea God Pavilion and overturned Yan Shaozhe’s effort to sideline the Soul Tool Department, citing the awakening of their ancestor Ah Yin as grounds for confidence. Meanwhile, Xu Jiawei ordered the White Tiger Duke’s Wife to be publicly degraded and enslaved, and she was dragged before the crowd as his command was announced.

• Yan Shaozhe argued that Shrek should cut most funding to the Soul Tool Department and focus on the Martial Soul Department, provoking Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo.
• Mu En appeared in the Sea God Pavilion, voided Yan Shaozhe’s recent measures, and declared that Shrek would fully develop soul tools because Ah Yin had awakened.
• Lin Xi and Xiao Hongchen listened to news about Shrek’s shifting policies, then learned that Old Ji was shopping in Shrek City with a Sun Moon Empire girl surnamed Jing.
• Xu Jiujiu warned Xu Jiawei that mistreating the White Tiger Duke’s Wife could cost him the loyalty of his subjects, but he ordered her punishment to proceed.
• An attendant sealed the White Tiger Duke’s Wife’s soul power and dragged her into the square, where Xu Jiawei’s decree declared the household’s possessions confiscated and the woman reduced to slavery.

Xu Cheng learned of the Star Luo Empire’s devastating losses after Dai Yueheng fired three Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells, then agreed to make Wang Qiu'er custom armor and a soul tool in exchange for a massage. Elsewhere, Ye Guyi fought Shangguan Wei'er’s subordinate and was kept under the Ordinary Alliance’s watch as Shangguan Wei'er considered seeking Xu Cheng’s backing.

• Nana reported that Dai Yueheng’s attack on Star Luo Plaza had gravely wounded Xu Jiawei and four Titled Douluos, killed tens of thousands of civilians, and destroyed much of the Royal Family Guard.
• Xu Cheng and Nana discussed where Dai Yueheng had obtained the shells and investigated possible Holy Spirit Cult cooperation with the Evil Demon Forest and the Evil Eye Tyrant.
• Wang Qiu'er asked Xu Cheng for a unique soul tool, armor, and battle boots, and he agreed in exchange for a half-hour massage.
• Wang Qiu'er stepped onto Xu Cheng’s back and used Dragon’s Power, causing a violent crash in his office.
• Ye Guyi defeated a green-clad girl with her Holy Sword, but Shangguan Wei'er threatened her and then allowed her resources and freedom within the Ordinary Alliance.
• Shangguan Wei'er learned that strict controls on metals were hurting the Ordinary Alliance and considered seeking Xu Cheng’s support.

Shangguan Wei'er sought the old prince’s help against the Xishui Alliance and proposed gaining Xu Cheng’s backing. The old prince advised her to find the person Xu Cheng was searching for, and Shangguan Wei'er realized she might already know who that was.

• Shangguan Wei'er explained that the Xishui Alliance planned to challenge the Ordinary Alliance and the Aodu Chamber of Commerce for control of Mingdu’s underground trade.
• Shangguan Wei'er told her subordinate that the factions would compete in four years using three talented youths each, and she hoped to secure stronger backing.
• Shangguan Wei'er visited the old prince and asked for help obtaining Xu Cheng’s support against the Xishui Alliance.
• The old prince advised Shangguan Wei'er to find someone with a pure Angel Martial Soul, whom Xu Cheng had been urgently seeking.
• Shangguan Wei'er concealed her reaction to the clue, while the old prince warned his son not to pursue her.

Xu Cheng considered how to extend his influence over Mingdu’s underworld as the Ordinary Alliance’s leader came to meet him. Meanwhile, Ye Xishui and Zhongli Wu led the Holy Spirit Cult in a raid on Shrek Academy to abduct eleven students, leaving Shrek City under threat.

• Xu Cheng reviewed the migration of secluded clans into the Sun Moon Empire and his plans to gain control of Mingdu through the auction house and its underworld powers.
• Xu Cheng ruled out the Xishui Alliance and Aodu Chamber of Commerce as partners, then invited Shangguan Wei'er, leader of the Ordinary Alliance, into his office.
• Ye Xishui, Zhongli Wu, and Long Xiaoyao set out with Holy Spirit Cult experts to seize eleven students from Shrek Academy.
• Ye Xishui ordered the raiders to find their targets and withdraw within seven and a half minutes, while she held Xuan Zi back.
• The Holy Spirit Cult descended on Shrek City, and Ye Xishui vowed to ruin Shrek Academy and make Mu En watch.

Shangguan Wei'er offered Xu Cheng control of the Ordinary Alliance and revealed that its newest recruit, Ye Guyi, possessed a rare angel martial soul. Xu Cheng accepted Shangguan Wei'er as a bound subordinate, ordered her to bring Ye Guyi the next day, and prepared to place a forbidden curse on her.

• Shangguan Wei'er offered Xu Cheng the Ordinary Alliance as a force he could command, stressing that she controlled it independently of the prince backing her.
• Shangguan Wei'er revealed that Ye Guyi, a fourteen-year-old recruit with an angel martial soul, was in her organization, and Xu Cheng ordered her to bring the girl tomorrow.
• Shangguan Wei'er asked to become Xu Cheng's true blade, and he warned that he would bind her with an irreversible forbidden curse.
• Shangguan Wei'er accepted the curse, and Xu Cheng warned her not to force respectable women into prostitution or prey on locals.
• Xu Cheng told Shangguan Wei'er to expose her stomach so he could place the binding mark there.