Chapter Summaries

Chen Ping used the Touch Dragon Staff and its varied toxins to keep Cui Yajie and Zhu Lu from landing attacks during their team fight. When his strikes nearly sent Zhu Lu falling into his arms, Dai Huabin flew into a rage, escalating his fight with Wu Feng.

• Chen Ping dodged Cui Yajie's Charm by turning away, then deflected Zhu Lu's Hell Stab with his staff.
• Chen Ping knocked aside Cui Yajie's Fox Tail Needle and struck her with a toxin that caused Frenzy, then followed with another strike that darkened her vision.
• Zhu Lu activated Netherworld Hundred Claws, but Chen Ping's staff technique struck her lower leg and made her stagger toward him.
• Dai Huabin saw Chen Ping nearly catch Zhu Lu and entered a red-temperature state, intensifying his Soul Fighting against Wu Feng.

Chen Ping explained why Tool Soul Masters usually lagged behind Beast Soul Masters, then used his staff and poison to exploit Cui Yajie’s Soul Skills during the match. Cui Yajie was eliminated after her poison bubble drained her Soul Power, while Dai Huabin rushed toward Zhu Lu and faced the bubble’s venom.

• Chen Ping reflected that Tool Soul Masters needed exceptional talent and secret Self-Created Soul Skills to overcome the advantages Beast Soul Masters gained from Martial Soul Possession.
• Chen Ping met Zhu Lu’s renewed attack with rapid staff strikes, forcing her to retreat and exposing Cui Yajie.
• Chen Ping’s strikes raised Cui Yajie’s toxin stacks from two to five, triggering a poison bubble that splashed Zhu Lu and left her dizzy and unsteady.
• The referee carried Cui Yajie from the arena and realized the poison bubble had consumed all her Soul Power while spreading the toxins’ effects.
• Dai Huabin broke free of Wu Feng and rushed to help Zhu Lu, but the poison bubble sent a large clump of venom toward him, and he trusted his White Tiger Protective Barrier to protect him.

Chen Ping used his staff technique to counter Dai Huabin’s close-range assault and sent him flying with a powerful cleaving strike. The teachers watched in shock as the Quasi-Soul Grandmaster defeated the three-ring Soul Elder.

• Wu Feng shattered Dai Huabin’s White Tiger Protective Barrier, and venom bubbles corroded his chest and left hand.
• Dai Huabin activated White Tiger Vajra Transformation and drove Wu Feng back before charging Chen Ping at close range.
• Chen Ping used the end of his Touch Dragon Staff to pierce Dai Huabin’s right palm, then struck his arms while Dai Huabin suffered the venom’s effects.
• Dai Huabin fired White Tiger Fierce Light Wave, but Chen Ping leaped and cleaved through the attack, sending Dai Huabin flying.
• The referee and teachers on the Viewing Platform stared in shock at Chen Ping’s staff technique.

Chen Ping defeated Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu after they used the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill, turning their shared poison effects against them. The fusion collapsed after Chen Ping struck Dai Huabin, leaving him to bear the damage.

• Chen Ping warned Dai Huabin to surrender, but Dai Huabin refused and erupted in anger after hearing a teacher compare him unfavorably with his older brother.
• Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu activated the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill, forming an enormous translucent tiger as Ning Tian noticed poison affecting its fur.
• Chen Ping evaded the Hell White Tiger's pounce, and Wang Yan realized that damage sharing had combined all five toxins afflicting Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu.
• A huge poison bubble formed and burst, weakening the Hell White Tiger further as Wu Feng fled from the blast.
• Chen Ping struck Dai Huabin from behind with his Thrusting Staff, causing the Hell White Tiger to disintegrate and Dai Huabin to scream in pain.

Chen Ping defeated Dai Huabin’s Hell White Tiger and led his team to win the Freshman Assessment’s Knockout Stage undefeated. As the academy announced the champions, Dai Huabin struggled with his defeat while Chen Ping celebrated with his teammates.

• Chen Ping’s poisoned staff brought down the Hell White Tiger, and Dai Huabin surrendered before Teacher Li treated him.
• Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie remained bewildered about how the Hell White Tiger had fallen apart while teachers praised Chen Ping to Mu Jin.
• Xuan Zi recalled Chen Ping’s promise that six months at Window Eight would secure Core Disciple status and watched him receive the teachers’ applause.
• Du Weilun announced the Chen Ping Team as the undefeated champions after sixteen consecutive victories and said awards and class assignments would follow at the Freshman Assembly.
• Ning Tian saw Dai Huabin react bitterly to the announcement as Teacher Li warned him not to move during treatment.
• Wu Feng leaped onto Chen Ping’s back and celebrated the team’s victory.

Chen Ping, Wu Feng, and Ning Tian celebrated winning the Shrek Freshman Competition. The next day, Sea God Pavilion elders argued over whether Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao should join the Soul Tool Department or the Martial Soul Department, and Qian Duoduo vowed to make Chen Ping a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

• Chen Ping stopped Wu Feng from clinging to him, then celebrated the championship with her and Ning Tian.
• Chen Ping praised Wu Feng's fighting and Ning Tian's support as crucial to their sixteen-match winning streak.
• Chen Ping promised to cook a celebratory meal for Wu Feng and Ning Tian.
• Mu En ate Chen Ping's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall while Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo argued over recruiting Chen Ping and Huo Yuhao.
• Xuan Zi claimed Chen Ping belonged to the Martial Soul Department because of his bet with Xuan Zi, and Wang Yan awkwardly confirmed the story.
• Qian Duoduo promised to cultivate Chen Ping into a Soul Douluo and declared that he could become a Level 9 Soul Engineer.

At a Sea God Pavilion meeting, the Martial Soul Department and Soul Tool Department competed for Chen Ping, but Mu En urged them to support his many talents rather than fight over him. The meeting ended with the Soul Tool Department keeping Huo Yuhao and Chen Ping free to develop in multiple directions.

• Yan Shaozhe and Xuan Zi weighed the cost of supporting Chen Ping and considered asking for Huo Yuhao back, while both departments refused to yield.
• Mu En asked the elders to remember Shrek Academy’s mission and urged them to give Chen Ping resources to develop in martial arts and Soul Tools.
• Mu En revealed that Chen Ping studied and trained throughout the day while keeping his Soul Power circulating, and said his freshman tournament victory had been inevitable.
• The elders realized they knew little about Chen Ping’s work, and the meeting ended without the Martial Soul Department securing him while the Soul Tool Department kept Huo Yuhao.
• After the meeting, Mu En reassured Xuan Zi that Chen Ping’s background was clean and told him to trust the boy rather than pry into his secrets.

Chen Ping's team won the freshman assessment and received its rewards as Du Weilun announced the upcoming core disciple selections. The chapter ended with the students waiting anxiously to hear which freshmen would be named Outer Court core disciples.

• Du Weilun announced Huang Chutian's team in third place and Dai Huabin's team in second place.
• Du Weilun named Chen Ping, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng as the undefeated champions of the freshman assessment.
• Du Weilun announced standard soul-ring rewards for the top three teams and a confidential special reward for Chen Ping's team.
• After a lengthy speech, Du Weilun began announcing which freshmen had been approved as Outer Court core disciples.

Chen Ping learned that he and his teammates had been named core disciples, then discussed using his reward to obtain a second Soul Ring. Du Weilun agreed to accompany him to hunt a thousand-year Demon-Eyed Tree, though he hesitated over the choice and began considering when to go.

• Du Weilun announced the new core disciples, including Chen Ping, Ning Tian, Wu Feng, and Huo Yuhao, and students were sorted into classes by their Soul Master roles.
• Ning Tian moved to Freshman Class Three, while Wang Yan appeared as the deputy homeroom teacher for Freshman Class One.
• Du Weilun summoned Chen Ping, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng to collect their rewards and told Chen Ping he could wait until the holidays to obtain his second Soul Ring.
• Chen Ping revealed that he had found a suitable plant-type Soul Beast six months earlier and wanted to use his reward for his second Soul Ring.
• Du Weilun agreed to accompany Chen Ping to hunt a thousand-year Demon-Eyed Tree, then checked the calendar and considered asking Dean Cai to help.

Du Weilun arranged to help Chen Ping hunt a thousand-year Demon-Eyed Tree and presented the championship team with an Earth-Splitting Savage Elephant Right Leg Bone. Ning Tian and Wu Feng gave the Soul Bone to Chen Ping, whose Martial Soul again craved the bone as he left with them.

• Du Weilun said he would take Chen Ping to hunt a Demon-Eyed Tree with Shi Xing when they were both on leave.
• Du Weilun revealed the team's championship reward: a two-thousand-three-hundred-year Earth-Splitting Savage Elephant Right Leg Bone that the three teammates would have to allocate among themselves.
• Chen Ping felt his Martial Soul craving the Soul Bone and suppressed it while Du Weilun explained its value and warned them to keep the reward secret.
• Outside the teaching building, Ning Tian and Wu Feng both offered the Soul Bone to Chen Ping.
• Wu Feng said Ning Tian would eventually absorb a Secret Art Soul Bone set and that her sect should reward her with a suitable Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, leaving Chen Ping embarrassed and resentful of their wealth.

Chen Ping helped Ning Tian settle into Class Three and eased her nerves by pointing out a familiar classmate, while she told him to meet her after school to collect a package. Back in Class One, Chen Ping and Wu Feng began steering the class monitor election toward Dai Huabin.

• Chen Ping and Wu Feng escorted Ning Tian to Class Three, where her homeroom teacher welcomed her.
• Chen Ping pointed out the little fatty from the tournament and told Ning Tian to ask him for help if she needed anything.
• Ning Tian asked Chen Ping and Wu Feng to meet her after school so they could take him to collect his package, which Chen Ping realized contained the Living Being Carving Knife.
• Chen Ping returned to Class One, where Wang Yan announced the election of a class monitor and deputy class monitor.
• Wu Feng and Chen Ping pretended to ask how to write Dai Huabin's name so the other students would be more likely to vote for him.

Dai Huabin became class monitor while Huo Yuhao was elected Control System class monitor, and Chen Ping returned to his dorm to absorb the Earth-Splitting Savage Elephant Soul Bone. After learning his Martial Soul could not devour a Soul Bone beyond his current physical limit, Chen Ping discovered he had also been made a Soul Tool Department Core Disciple and planned to collect its benefits.

• Dai Huabin won more than two-thirds of the class vote and became class monitor, while Huo Yuhao was elected Control System class monitor.
• Chen Ping hurried back to his single dorm room and tried to have his Touch Dragon Staff devour the Earth-Splitting Savage Elephant right leg bone.
• Chen Ping asked the system to analyze the problem and learned his Martial Soul could only devour Soul Bones younger than the Soul Rings his body could currently absorb.
• Chen Ping put the Soul Bone away and resolved to improve his physical constitution through training so he could use it later.
• Chen Ping opened the box Wang Yan had given him and found a Soul Tool Department Core Disciple badge and an invitation to collect its benefits.

Qian Duoduo explained that Chen Ping’s optimized adder circuit had earned him a place as a Soul Tool Department core disciple, alongside his Martial Soul Department status. Chen Ping accepted the offer, and Qian Duoduo prepared to recruit him as a personal disciple.

• After getting Mu Jin to approve his leave slip, Chen Ping headed to the Soul Tool Department, where Qian Duoduo was waiting for him.
• Qian Duoduo assured Chen Ping that Fan Yu had not arranged his core disciple status and explained that the department had selected him because of his optimized adder circuit.
• Qian Duoduo offered Chen Ping core disciple benefits in both departments in exchange for extra Soul Tool Department study after classes and on Saturdays.
• Chen Ping agreed and pinned the Soul Tool Department core disciple badge to his chest beside his Martial Soul Department badge.
• Qian Duoduo revealed that he wanted Chen Ping to become his disciple so Chen Ping would devote more attention to the Soul Tool Department.

Chen Ping politely refused Qian Duoduo’s invitation to become his disciple, but Qian Duoduo took him on a tour of the Soul Tool Department’s testing sections and introduced him to He Caitou. Chen Ping suspected that the academy had granted him Core Disciple status partly while assessing Huo Yuhao, and he began his studies in the Soul Tool Department by greeting He Caitou as his senior brother.

• Chen Ping turned down Qian Duoduo’s implied offer of mentorship, citing his supposed lack of talent and concern about distracting the dean.
• Qian Duoduo gave up pressing Chen Ping for an answer and took him to tour the Soul Tool Department’s testing sections.
• Qian Duoduo brought Chen Ping to Fan Yu’s testing section, where He Caitou demonstrated his Twin Dragon Rapid-Fire Cannon.
• He Caitou told Qian Duoduo that Huo Yuhao had helped him aim accurately, prompting Chen Ping to suspect the academy was assessing Huo Yuhao while also recruiting him.
• Chen Ping introduced himself to He Caitou and asked him for guidance as his senior brother.

Chen Ping toured Qian Duoduo’s Soul Tool Testing Area and learned that Qian could provide rare metals for practice. After worrying that apprenticeship might delay graduation, Chen Ping accepted Qian Duoduo as his master.

• Chen Ping introduced himself to He Caitou, who welcomed him as a junior brother and offered to help him.
• Qian Duoduo took Chen Ping to the quiet No. 20 Testing Area and explained that it was usually unused.
• Qian Duoduo told Chen Ping that advancing as a soul engineer required extensive practice and access to rare metals.
• Chen Ping asked whether studying under Qian Duoduo would delay his graduation, and Qian assured him he would have to leave if he failed to enter the Inner Court.
• Chen Ping performed three bows and asked Qian Duoduo to accept him as a disciple.

Chen Ping became Qian Duoduo’s disciple and gained a valuable golden crystal as his welcoming gift. He collected the Spirit Devouring Fierce Blade, but remained uncertain who could purify its dangerous aura.

• Qian Duoduo accepted Chen Ping as his disciple, and Chen Ping identified a golden crystal to claim it as his welcoming gift.
• Chen Ping promised to bring Qian Duoduo Buddha Jumps Over the Wall as a gift in return.
• Chen Ping, Wu Feng, and Ning Tian visited the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect’s shop, where a clerk delivered the Spirit Devouring Fierce Blade in a blazing sun iron box and explained that its aura had damaged a Storage Ring.
• Chen Ping inspected the blade and expelled the Yin Fiend Aura that seeped into his body.
• Chen Ping stored the blade and wondered whether Mu En could purify its vicious aura despite his frail condition.

Chen Ping explained why he had bought the cursed Spirit Devouring Fierce Blade and prepared to profit from its hidden value. He then set out from Shrek Academy with Du Weilun and Shi Xing to hunt for his second soul ring in Star Dou Forest.

• Ning Tian questioned Chen Ping's purchase of the ugly, dangerous Spirit Devouring Fierce Blade, and Chen Ping reflected on the knife's valuable life-gold core and the flaws in the carving-knife rankings.
• Chen Ping said the curse came from an evil soul master and could be removed, while Ning Tian marveled at his talent for making money and wondered how he found such valuable information.
• Du Weilun met Chen Ping outside the dormitory with Shi Xing, and Chen Ping confirmed he had packed for the soul-ring hunt.
• Shi Xing introduced himself to Chen Ping as Shrek City's deputy lord, and the three said goodbye to Mu En before heading toward Star Dou Forest's South Gate.
• Chen Ping traveled with Du Weilun and Shi Xing toward the forest's outer reaches, carrying Premium Thirteen-Spice to season any animal-type soul beasts they roasted.

Chen Ping, Du Weilun, and Shi Xing traveled through the Star Dou Great Forest, where Chen Ping prepared an elaborate feast from the soul beasts Du Weilun caught. The meal drew three sinister strangers, who planned to use the trio to distract a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

• Chen Ping entered the Star Dou Great Forest with Du Weilun and Shi Xing, and Du Weilun cleared a path through its dense growth.
• Du Weilun caught several kinds of soul beasts and told Chen Ping to prepare lunch with the ingredients he had brought.
• Chen Ping used his cooking tools, spices, and silver frost charcoal to make a variety of roasted, fried, and stewed dishes.
• Du Weilun and Shi Xing eagerly ate Chen Ping's seasoned pork belly skewers and waited for the rest of the feast.
• Three strangers followed the food's aroma and discussed using Chen Ping, Du Weilun, and Shi Xing to distract a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.

Chen Ping, Du Weilun, and Shi Xing were confronted by the Zhongli Evil Soul Master brothers, who planned to use them as bait for a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear. Du Weilun and Shi Xing killed Zhongli Ren and chased the other two brothers, leaving Chen Ping beside the corpse, where a withered hand suddenly seized him.

• The Zhongli brothers arrived at Chen Ping, Du Weilun, and Shi Xing’s camp and demanded the food, threatening to use them as bait for the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear.
• Du Weilun and Shi Xing revealed their Soul Douluo strength, causing Zhongli Tian and Zhongli Di to flee while Shi Xing immobilized Zhongli Ren.
• Du Weilun struck Zhongli Ren with Extreme of Astral Wind Gale, killing him and splashing blood and flesh onto Chen Ping.
• Du Weilun and Shi Xing left to pursue Zhongli Tian and Zhongli Di as Chen Ping recovered from the shock and examined Zhongli Ren’s corpse.
• A withered hand clamped around Chen Ping’s right hand as he touched the corpse.

Chen Ping was abducted by Zhongli Ren, who had survived his apparent death by using Life Refinement to create temporary organs from a Beast Soul. Du Weilun and Shi Xing pursued them using Shi Xing’s Time-Space Silver Disk, while a golden lion-like Soul Beast searched for their fading scent.

• Zhongli Ren revived after his abdomen was destroyed, seized Chen Ping, and demanded the ingredients and offal from his food.
• Zhongli Ren used Life Refinement to restore his temporary organs with a Beast Soul, then carried Chen Ping away.
• Chen Ping analyzed Zhongli Ren’s Soul Skills and realized that Life Refinement had let him survive his injuries.
• Du Weilun and Shi Xing returned, discovered Chen Ping was missing, and used the Time-Space Silver Disk to retrace Zhongli Ren’s escape route.
• A golden lion-like Soul Beast appeared after the pursuit began and called for the Scarlet King when it lost the scent.