Chapter Summaries

Chen Ping used daring aerial maneuvers with his Flying Soul Tool to overtake and defeat Ma Yingjun without hurting him, astonishing the spectators. Elder Ma recognized the threat posed by Shrek’s growing Soul Tool technology and worried that it could undermine the Sun Moon Empire’s preparations for war.

• Chen Ping stopped Ma Yingjun by performing a sudden aerial rise and reversal, then tapped him on the head to signal his defeat.
• Ma Yingjun thanked Chen Ping for sparing him, declared himself a fan, and left the arena.
• Spectators marveled at Chen Ping’s Cobra and Pendulum maneuvers and the strength of his Thousand Refinement Flying Soul Tool.
• Elder Ma worried that Shrek’s advances in Soul Tool design could surpass the Sun Moon Empire and weaken its prospects in a future continental war.

Chen Ping’s display intimidated Yunluo Academy into forfeiting six matches in exchange for autographs, allowing Shrek to keep its bluff intact. Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm, a sea-blue-robed young man noticed Huo Yuhao’s unexpected presence and a new Martial Soul resonance, but his attempt to investigate the mortal world was interrupted.

• Chen Ping defeated Yunluo Academy’s Ma Yingjun, and the referee declared Shrek Academy the winner of the first individual knockout match.
• Yunluo Academy’s captain offered to forfeit its next six matches if Chen Ping signed the team’s uniforms, and Wang Yan accepted while maintaining Shrek’s composed front.
• Chen Ping signed the uniforms, and Wang Yan privately hoped to delay further difficult matches until Yao Haoxuan and other injured teammates could return.
• In the Divine Realm, a sea-blue-robed young man noticed that Huo Yuhao was still at Shrek Academy and that his Martial Soul was resonating with a fire-attribute Soul Master’s.
• The young man opened a water mirror to investigate, but it shattered before he could see more, and he cursed the force that had disrupted it.

After their first match, Chen Ping and the others suspected Wang Yan was hiding how strong their upcoming opponents were. From the hotel rooftop, they observed the other teams and learned that many tournament contestants had used drugs to reach higher ranks early.

• Wang Yan told the team to rest instead of watching other academies, while saying Chen Ping's victory had kept their strength hidden.
• Chen Ping, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng concluded Wang Yan was trying to shield them from discouraging news about formidable opponents.
• Chen Ping led Ning Tian and Wu Feng to the rooftop, where Bei Bei and He Caitou were observing matches through telescopes.
• Chen Ping reported seeing several teams fielding Soul Kings and Soul Ancestors, including one team with four Soul Kings.
• Chen Ping explained that many lower-potential Soul Masters used drugs to overdraw their potential for tournament success, while top talents generally reached Soul King through cultivation.

Chen Ping explained how he used an elaborate doping regimen to overcome his low innate soul power, and revealed that rare treasures had helped restore and improve his aptitude. His teammates reconsidered their judgment of tournament competitors who used drugs to gain strength early, while Chen Ping remained confident they could still win.

• Xu Sanshi asked Chen Ping why he knew so much about doping, and Chen Ping explained that he used eighteen different drugs in a carefully timed injection cycle.
• Chen Ping revealed that he had started with innate level two soul power and had reached level thirty-three by age thirteen.
• Chen Ping said Mystic Water Pills and a Golden Apple had improved his cultivation aptitude and reduced the harm caused by his injections.
• The others realized Chen Ping had taken risks to earn resources and fell silent as they reconsidered the Soul Masters who doped to support their families.
• Chen Ping told the group that their opponents could not overdraw their martial soul quality or soul skills, and said they still had a chance to win.

After revealing that Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi could awaken their martial-soul bloodlines, Chen Ping learned Bei Bei wanted help finding a safer drug regimen for Tang Ya. Chen Ping agreed to prepare one when they returned to the academy, while recognizing that Tang Ya was secretly trying to grow strong enough to avenge her parents and reclaim the Tang Sect grounds.

• Chen Ping identified Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's hidden trump card as awakening their martial-soul bloodlines and warned that using it would leave them unable to fight for about a week.
• Bei Bei visited Chen Ping privately and asked whether his method of combining drugs could reduce the side effects of drawing out potential.
• Bei Bei explained that Tang Ya felt pressure as a core disciple and had considered using Tang Sect methods to stimulate her potential.
• Chen Ping realized Tang Ya likely wanted to become strong enough to kill the Iron Blood Sect members who murdered her parents and reclaim the Tang Sect grounds.
• Chen Ping agreed to devise a drug regimen tailored to Tang Ya when they returned to the academy and promised to minimize its side effects.

Wang Yan took Shrek’s Reserve Team to an auction house and proposed equipping them with soul tools to strengthen them for the tournament. The team agreed, and Wang Yan promised the academy would reimburse their purchases.

• Wang Yan led the seven Reserve Team members through Star Luo City to an auction house, hoping to help them relax and introduce them to soul tools.
• Wang Yan explained that academies increasingly combined Soul Masters with soul tools and urged the team to try using them.
• Wu Feng said she and Ning Tian supported soul tools because the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect already used them extensively.
• Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei said the Inspection Corps mission had shown them how defensive soul tools could save lives, so they no longer resisted using them.
• Jiang Nannan admitted she could not afford soul tools, and Xu Sanshi offered to buy them for her before she angrily rejected him.
• Wang Yan promised the academy would reimburse reasonable soul tool purchases, and the team cheered.

Chen Ping and Wang Yan attended the Starlight Auction House, where Wang Yan bought Soul Tools for the Reserve Team and spent over a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. The auction’s final lot was wheeled out under a red cloth, leaving Chen Ping curious about what it might be.

• Wang Yan led Chen Ping and the others into the underground Starlight Auction House after securing admission through the academy.
• Qing Ya opened the auction, and Wang Yan bought numerous Soul Tools, distributing them among the group.
• Wang Yan bid twenty-five thousand Gold Soul Coins for a Level Four Milk Bottle, despite Chen Ping and Ning Tian already having plenty.
• Qing Ya announced a mysterious final lot, and Chen Ping wondered whether it might be a powerful Fixed Soul Cannon Shell.
• Three men wheeled a red-cloth-covered cart onto the stage, and Chen Ping watched closely as the lot remained concealed.

At the Starlight Auction House, Qing Ya introduced the final lot as a rare treasure that could remove medicinal impurities and might evolve a Martial Soul, despite her reluctance to auction another unsellable “family heirloom.” The lot was revealed to be a caged Dragon Girl, and the chapter ended with the audience recognizing her as a half-human, half-Soul Beast being.

• Qing Ya announced a starting bid of eight hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for the final auction item.
• Qing Ya recalled how selling the Spirit Devouring Fierce Blade had earned her a commission but also led her jealous colleagues and superior to saddle her with another difficult lot.
• Qing Ya explained that the mysterious item could clear medicinal residue from Soul Engineers’ bodies and might offer a chance at Martial Soul Evolution.
• Qing Ya removed the covering and revealed a young, scale-covered girl lying inside an iron cage.
• Wang Yan recognized the girl as a Dragon Girl, and Qing Ya confirmed that the auction’s final item was a legendary half-human, half-Soul Beast being.

Chen Ping saw a chance to obtain dragon blood from the Dragon Girl put up for auction, while Qing Ya explained why the lot was dangerously cursed. The bidders backed away after learning that the intelligent Dragon Girl still held enough Cursing Power to kill anyone who tried to use her.

• Chen Ping realized the Dragon Girl’s blood could be used to make a Dragon Blood Potion and hoped to obtain enough for one.
• Qing Ya explained that Dragon Girls could transform a human’s constitution and Martial Soul, but capturing one brought a deadly curse.
• The audience grew excited at the Dragon Girl’s low opening bid until Qing Ya revealed that this one still possessed powerful Cursing Power.
• The bidders lost interest after learning the Dragon Girl could curse someone to death and was intelligent enough to thwart attempts to use her as a cultivation vessel.

Chen Ping bid eight hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for the cursed dragon girl, surprising the Shrek group and upsetting Ning Tian and Wu Feng. He explained that he wanted to study her blood and curse and employ her at his massage shop, while the two girls blushed after he mistook their concern for fear that he would be cursed.

• Qing Ya opened bidding on the dragon girl at eight hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, but the auction hall initially stayed silent.
• Chen Ping bid the starting price, startling the Shrek group and prompting Ning Tian and Wu Feng to react with disappointment and anger.
• Ning Tian and Wu Feng questioned Chen Ping about buying the dragon girl, and Wu Feng asked whether he was lusting after her.
• Chen Ping explained that he wanted to study the dragon girl's blood and curse power and have her help prepare medicines at his massage shop.
• Ning Tian and Wu Feng claimed they had only been worried about the curse, while Chen Ping thanked them and left them embarrassed by his misunderstanding.

Chen Ping bid eight hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins for the Dragon Girl after learning his system could exchange her curse, along with other fortune-related blessings and curses, for Academic Genius Points. The Dragon Girl was sold to him, leaving her frightened and uncertain about what would happen next.

• Chen Ping won the Dragon Girl's auction with an eight-hundred-thousand-Gold-Soul-Coin bid, and the guests assumed Shrek Academy could handle her curse.
• Chen Ping's system told him it could exchange the Dragon Girl's ill-fortune curse and several other blessings and curses for Academic Genius Points.
• Chen Ping learned that the Auspicious Beast could release its fortune as a curse that threatened both its target and those connected to them by fate.
• Chen Ping reflected that a curse might have made Xuan Zi suffer, but doubted bad luck alone would kill him without endangering others.
• After Qing Ya received no further bids, she sold the Dragon Girl to Chen Ping, and the Dragon Girl trembled in fear inside her cage.

Chen Ping collected the Dragon Girl Cauldron and arranged for her delivery to Dean Qian Duoduo at Shrek Academy. The next day, Shrek faced Qianling Academy in a team battle, and the teams took the platform as Jiang Nannan carried an unusual load of ammunition and equipment.

• Chen Ping inspected the Dragon Girl Cauldron, confirmed she was unharmed, and arranged for the auction house to deliver her to Dean Qian Duoduo at Shrek Academy.
• Wang Yan and the Shrek team headed to Star Luo Plaza for their second round-robin match, where their opponents were Qianling Advanced Soul Master Academy.
• Bei Bei drew the match format, and the referee announced that Shrek Academy and Qianling Academy would fight a team battle.
• Shrek Academy took the platform with Chen Ping at the rear, while Jiang Nannan carried ammunition belts and other equipment.

Shrek Academy faced Qianling Academy’s heavily fortified shield-and-spear lineup, while Chen Ping remained at the arena’s edge and the others advanced under He Caitou’s and Ning Tian’s buffs. As Shen Ce prepared his fully fire-enhanced spear against the approaching Shrek team, an unexpected change occurred.

• Qianling Academy fielded four Spirit Rhinoceros Shield defenders, Shen Ce with his Thousand Strike Spear, and the ice-and-fire fighters An Lengye and Fei Yuyan.
• Shrek Academy released its Martial Souls, and He Caitou supplied cigars while Ning Tian used her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to buff Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.
• Shen Ce threw his spear toward Ning Tian, but she dodged it while continuing to support her teammates.
• Shrek advanced as Qianling’s defenders formed a Shield Wall, which An Lengye strengthened with Frost Shield while Fei Yuyan began enhancing Shen Ce with fire.
• Shen Ce recalled his spear and let Fei Yuyan empower it as Shrek drew closer, but an unexpected change interrupted the standoff.

Jiang Nannan teleported into Qianling Academy’s tightly packed formation and detonated her Soul Cannon shells, using Invincible Golden Body to remain unharmed while wrecking their strategy. Shrek quickly eliminated most of the opposing team, ending Qianling Academy’s tournament run.

• Jiang Nannan teleported behind Shen Ce, seized his wrist, and triggered the Soul Cannon shells she carried.
• Shen Ce called for the referee, who shielded him as the shells exploded around them.
• The blast scattered Qianling Academy’s formation, throwing An Lengye and Fei Yuyan away and injuring the Spirit Rhinoceros Shield quartet.
• Bei Bei, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Wu Feng, and Xu Sanshi attacked the scattered opponents and eliminated several team members.
• Qianling Academy was routed within seconds, and Shen Ce was left unable to continue after the referee rescued him from the arena.

Shrek Academy defeated Qianling Academy with little effort, revealing few of its abilities. Wang Yan warned the team that their next opponents were exceptionally strong, and Chen Ping realized he might soon have to fight openly and risk exposing his cover.

• He Caitou used bundled soul cannon shells to overwhelm Qianling Academy, and the remaining opponents surrendered or were knocked out by Wu Feng and Xu Sanshi.
• The referee declared Shrek Academy the winner, and the team returned to the hotel without watching the following matches.
• The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team also left after observing Shrek's match and returned to the Star Emperor Hotel.
• Wang Yan told the Shrek Seven Devils that their next opponents had three Five-Ring Soul Kings and had reached the previous tournament's top eight.
• Chen Ping considered the team's remaining trump cards and concluded that he probably could not keep his cover intact much longer.

Wang Yan and Chen Ping assessed Shrek’s difficult match against Zhengtian Academy, and Bei Bei rallied the team to fight regardless of the format. Chen Ping outlined their chances and tactics, leaving them to await the next day’s draw.

• Wang Yan finished analyzing Zhengtian Academy and explained that Shrek’s best chance was a team battle, while one-on-one would leave them nearly doomed.
• Bei Bei declared that Shrek would fight to the end in any format, and Xu Sanshi asked how they would approach the battle.
• Chen Ping said he would face Ye Wuqing in a one-on-one match and assigned Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi to the other Soul Kings if that format came up.
• Chen Ping estimated Shrek had a forty percent chance in the two-two-three format and began planning responses to Zhengtian Academy’s possible lineups.
• Chen Ping explained Tang Yaolei’s Purple Splendor Bow and continued outlining tactics for the other opponents as the team awaited the draw.

Mu En refused to send reinforcements for Shrek Academy’s reserve team, trusting them to reach their potential against Zhengtian Academy. As the teams prepared to face each other, Shrek’s opponents and the emperor misread the absence of regular members as evidence that Chen Ping was secretly a Soul Sage, and the draw set the match format to two-two-three.

• Cai Mei'er asked Mu En whether Shrek should send support, and he insisted the reserve team could handle the challenge without it.
• Wang Yan urged the seven reserve members to prioritize their safety before they entered Star Luo Plaza to face Zhengtian Academy.
• Ma Rulong watched Shrek’s lineup and speculated that Chen Ping might be a young Soul Sage powerful enough to carry the team alone.
• Xu Jiawei saw Shrek’s reserve lineup and wondered how they could defeat Zhengtian Academy’s three Soul Kings and four Soul Ancestors.
• Bei Bei drew the two-two-three match format, while Ye Wuqing watched him for signs of fear.

Chen Ping arranged Shrek's doubles lineup to counter Zhengtian Academy's powerful archer, Tang Xiaolei, and Xu Sanshi and Wu Feng began the opening match. After Xu Sanshi withstood Tang Xiaolei's devastating arrow, he challenged the Soul King to a one-minute fight.

• Chen Ping separated Jiang Nannan and Xu Sanshi into different groups and explained how Shrek could secure points against Tang Xiaolei.
• Xu Sanshi and Wu Feng took the stage for Shrek while Tang Xiaolei and Yang Yifan represented Zhengtian Academy.
• Tang Xiaolei fired a powerful arrow that slammed into Xu Sanshi's shield, drove him back, and tore open his hand.
• Xu Sanshi unleashed his third Soul Ring and taunted Tang Xiaolei, betting that he and Wu Feng could defeat him within a minute.

Wu Feng fought Yang Yifan while Tang Yaolei targeted her with a powerful explosive arrow. Her Defensive Soul Tool absorbed the blast, but left her with little Soul Power as both she and Yang Yifan were thrown away.

• Yang Yifan attacked Xu Sanshi from behind, but Wu Feng intercepted him with Dragon's Fire.
• Wu Feng caught Yang Yifan's dagger, activated Dragon's Wrath, and struck him in the face.
• Tang Yaolei fired his Second Soul Skill, Piercing Arrow · Spiral Arrow, at Wu Feng despite Yang Yifan standing beside her.
• Wu Feng's Defensive Soul Tool formed a barrier that endured the arrow's explosion before collapsing, sending Wu Feng and Yang Yifan flying.

Xu Sanshi used Chen Ping’s tactics and Xuanming Displacement to turn Tang Yaolei’s powerful arrow against him, winning the first round for Shrek Academy. With two match points secured, Shrek moved closer to victory over Zhengtian Academy.

• Xu Sanshi closed the distance to Tang Yaolei by running toward the arena’s edge, then leaped off the platform.
• Tang Yaolei fired a powerful arrow at Xu Sanshi as he fell.
• Xu Sanshi used Xuanming Displacement to swap places with Tang Yaolei, sending Tang Yaolei falling while the arrow flew back toward him.
• The referee declared Shrek Academy the winner and crushed Tang Yaolei’s arrow before it could hit him.
• Xu Sanshi and Wu Feng returned to Shrek’s team, where Xu Sanshi explained how he had used Chen Ping’s second tactic.
• Shrek held two match points, forcing Zhengtian Academy to field at least one Soul King in the next round.