Chapter Summaries

Huo Yuhao learned that the Body Sect disapproved of his soul-tool research, then began studying a combat skill that combined spiritual power with physical attacks. The chapter left him wondering whether he could apply the same technique to soul-tool attacks.

• Long Aotian questioned Huo Yuhao's soul-tool research and urged him to abandon it, but Huo Yuhao defended the value of soul tools.
• At the Drill Ground, Huo Yuhao learned that Vina had delayed her trip to the Far North while she handled government affairs and prepared for its harsh conditions.
• Lang Ya arrived and announced that Huo Yuhao was ready to learn the Body Sect's secret techniques and combat skills.
• Lang Ya explained that Huo Yuhao should infuse spiritual power into his physical attacks, eventually learning to add physical attacks to spiritual ones.
• Huo Yuhao considered whether he could infuse spiritual power into soul-tool attacks as well.

Huo Yuhao learned how to fuse spiritual power and soul power, then heard the Body Sect planned to steal a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo from the Illustrious Virtue Hall for Long Aotian. The Ice Empress grew uneasy and asked Huo Yuhao to return to the Far North so she could confirm something.

• Lang Ya explained a combat skill that fused spiritual power and soul power, and Long Aotian demonstrated it for Huo Yuhao.
• Lang Ya told Vina that the Body Sect could take her and Mu Xue to the Far North to hunt for soul rings, and revealed that the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Embryo was in the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
• Du Busi explained that the Body Sect intended to seize the embryo from the Sun Moon Empire and hoped Long Aotian would absorb it to gain an ice-attribute martial soul.
• Huo Yuhao questioned the plan, while Du Busi said the Sun Moon Empire's young soul engineers would need years before they could absorb the embryo.
• After hearing more about the embryo, the Ice Empress told Huo Yuhao to return to the Far North so she could confirm a few things.

The Ice Empress discovered that the Snow Empress was likely the Snow Maiden trapped in an embryo at the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and insisted on rescuing her. Huo Yuhao agreed to help by infiltrating the hall, using the attempt as a chance to leave the Body Sect.

• Huo Yuhao accompanied Vina and Mu Xue to the Far North, where he secretly let the Ice Empress leave his Sea of Consciousness to search for the Snow Maiden Clan.
• The Ice Empress learned that no Snow Maiden had recently gone missing and concluded that the embryo was the Snow Empress, who had attempted to transform to escape an approaching tribulation.
• The Ice Empress vowed to save the Snow Empress, and Huo Yuhao warned that the Illustrious Virtue Hall was too powerful to attack directly.
• The Ice Empress offered the support of the Far North in return for rescuing the Snow Empress, and Huo Yuhao proposed infiltrating the Illustrious Virtue Hall to steal the embryo.
• Huo Yuhao said he wanted to leave the Body Sect and asked the Ice Empress to justify stealing the Snow Empress; after hearing her answer, he agreed to help.

Huo Yuhao planned to use the Body Sect’s inside man to help steal the Snow Empress Embryo and proposed going undercover at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. After Long Aotian challenged him to a spar, Du Busi offered to approve the plan if Huo Yuhao won, and Huo Yuhao prepared to fight with his Soul Guidance Pistol.

• Huo Yuhao told the Ice Empress that the Body Sect had an inside man in the Illustrious Virtue Hall who could approach the Snow Empress Embryo, but only the sect elders could contact him.
• Huo Yuhao asked Vina to let him join the operation and proposed using his soul tool knowledge to go undercover at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Long Aotian challenged Huo Yuhao to a spar, offering to suppress his cultivation to the level he had with three soul rings.
• Du Busi praised Long Aotian’s disdain for soul tools and told him to teach Huo Yuhao a lesson.
• Du Busi offered to send Huo Yuhao undercover if he won the spar, and Huo Yuhao took out his Soul Guidance Pistol and faced Long Aotian.

Huo Yuhao defeated Long Aotian in a contest using soul tools, though Long Aotian still refused to acknowledge them. After arranging a way to infiltrate the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Huo Yuhao questioned his loyalties to the Body Sect and decided he would answer only to himself and his companions.

• Huo Yuhao used soul skills and soul tools against Long Aotian, eventually firing his powerful fixed-shell soul tool at him.
• Long Aotian admitted defeat after using his body's second awakening and exhausting his soul power to avoid injury, but he still rejected soul tools.
• Du Busi honored his promise to Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao proposed using the Star Luo Royal Academy's exchange student program to infiltrate the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• On the road from Heaven Dou City toward the Star Luo Empire, Huo Yuhao told Tian Meng and the Ice Empress that he felt conflicted about leaving the Body Sect.
• Huo Yuhao concluded that he did not need to belong to an organization and only needed to be responsible to Tian Meng, the Ice Empress, and Elder Yi.

Huo Yuhao arranged to enter the Sun Moon Empire as an exchange student so he could study soul tools and infiltrate the Illustrious Virtue Hall in search of the Snow Empress Embryo. After six months of cultivation and preparation, he departed with the Star Luo convoy, while Jing Hongchen ordered Huo Yuhao to be watched closely.

• Huo Yuhao asked Xu Jiujiu to arrange an exchange-student place at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, and she brought in Director Xu and Lin Shen to explain the program.
• Lin Shen described how Sun Moon students and staff had mistreated exchange students and restricted their access to advanced soul tools; Huo Yuhao learned that he needed to become a Level 5 Soul Engineer to enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall.
• Huo Yuhao revealed that he was thirteen and had built a Level 4 Soul Tool, then spent six months studying soul tools and cultivating until his soul power reached level thirty-eight.
• Huo Yuhao left with the Star Luo convoy for the Mingdou Mountains, and Xu Jiujiu saw him off as he worried that the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy might be linked to the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Jing Hongchen initially dismissed the Star Luo exchange students, but after seeing Huo Yuhao's name on their list, he ordered Lin Jiayi to have someone watch him closely.

Huo Yuhao and the other Star Luo exchange students arrived in Mingdu and were welcomed to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Their excitement was dampened when Dean Lin Jiayi subjected them to a humiliating search of their Storage Soul Tools, and he ended by questioning Huo Yuhao about his enormous supply of Grilled Fish Jerky.

• Huo Yuhao and the nine other Star Luo students marveled at Mingdu as their Flying Soul Tool carried them to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Dean Lin Jiayi welcomed the exchange students and explained that they could study at the academy for a year, with a chance to extend their stay by becoming Level 5 Soul Engineers.
• Lin Jiayi led the students to the physical testing room and demanded that they surrender their Storage Soul Tools for inspection and registration.
• The Star Luo students objected but, with their exchange at risk, handed over their Storage Soul Tools and belongings for the teachers to register.
• Lin Jiayi emptied Huo Yuhao's belt-shaped Storage Soul Tool, found a huge pile of Grilled Fish Jerky, and asked why he had so much.

Huo Yuhao completed the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy’s entrance tests, revealing extraordinary physical ability and attracting Lin Jiayi’s attention. As he settled into his monitored dormitory, he planned to present himself as a student who wanted to remain in the Sun Moon Empire to improve his chances of entering the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

• Lin Jiayi searched the Star Luo Empire students’ belongings and found Huo Yuhao carrying Soul Tools, supplies, and a large quantity of grilled fish.
• Huo Yuhao’s physical examination showed Level 60 strength, Level 38 Soul Power, and a bone age of thirteen, astonishing Lin Jiayi and the other students.
• Huo Yuhao excelled in strength and reaction-speed tests, while Lin Jiayi announced that the exchange students would have to retake Soul Engineer placement assessments.
• Huo Yuhao noticed a surveillance Soul Tool in his dormitory and chose not to destroy it.
• Huo Yuhao told the Ice Empress and Tian Meng that drawing attention and appearing willing to stay in the Sun Moon Empire could help him enter the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

Jing Hongchen learned that Huo Yuhao was a powerful young genius and ordered Lin Jiayi to monitor him, while considering a future assassination. The Star Luo students began their soul engineer assessments, and Huo Yuhao started building a soul tool for his evaluation.

• Lin Jiayi confirmed that Huo Yuhao was the tournament competitor from Shrek Academy and reported his exceptional abilities and Level 4 Soul Engineer rank to Jing Hongchen.
• Jing Hongchen ordered Lin Jiayi to observe Huo Yuhao's assessment and said he might eliminate him if he proved too outstanding.
• Lin Jiayi briefed the Star Luo students on academy rules and sent them to separate laboratories for their rank assessments.
• Lin Jiayi personally guided Huo Yuhao to an assessment laboratory and told him to build the highest-ranked soul tool he could make.
• Huo Yuhao selected materials and began crafting a soul tool using a carving knife from his belt.

Huo Yuhao demonstrated his independently designed Soul Tool Machine to Lin Jiayi, impressing him enough to pass the Level 4 Soul Engineer assessment. Huo Yuhao then asked whether the Sun Moon Empire would support his other inventions before he shared the machine's blueprints.

• Huo Yuhao engraved a core array and assembled a platform-like soul tool while Lin Jiayi watched.
• Huo Yuhao powered the Soul Tool Machine with a Milk Bottle and used it to engrave a piece of rare metal.
• Lin Jiayi recognized the machine's function, praised its design, and certified Huo Yuhao as a Level 4 Soul Engineer.
• Lin Jiayi asked Huo Yuhao for the blueprints, but Huo Yuhao asked whether the Sun Moon Empire would support his other ideas.

Huo Yuhao gave Lin Jiayi soul tool machine tool designs and asked to remain in Mingdu to study, then resolved to stay in the Sun Moon Empire after judging its growing power and the threat it posed to the Star Luo Empire. Jing Hongchen reviewed the designs and ordered that Huo Yuhao be brought to see him.

• Huo Yuhao presented Lin Jiayi with machine tool designs and asked to stay at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to study soul tools.
• Lin Jiayi accepted the drawings, recognized Huo Yuhao as a Level 4 Soul Engineer, and said he would consider the request.
• Huo Yuhao encouraged the Star Luo Empire students who had received lower-than-expected rankings, then explored the academy with Spiritual Detection.
• Huo Yuhao told the Ice Empress he had decided to stay in Mingdu, believing the Sun Moon Empire's growing strength could overwhelm the Star Luo Empire in a war.
• Jing Hongchen examined the machine tool and its drawings, confirmed Lin Jiayi's account, and ordered him to bring Huo Yuhao in as soon as possible.

Huo Yuhao entered the Illustrious Virtue Hall and met its master, Jing Hongchen, who questioned his reasons for leaving Shrek Academy and coming to the Sun Moon Empire. After Huo Yuhao explained the potential of Soul Tool Machines, Jing Hongchen invited him to share his other ideas.

• Lin Jiayi took Huo Yuhao into the Illustrious Virtue Hall to meet its master, warning him that Jing Hongchen would decide whether he could stay at the academy.
• Huo Yuhao secretly used Spiritual Detection to examine the underground hall, but blocked areas prevented him from locating the Snow Empress Embryo.
• Jing Hongchen recognized Huo Yuhao as the Shrek representative who had defeated his grandchildren Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen in the tournament.
• Huo Yuhao explained that he had left Shrek because it did not suit him and that he wanted to study at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Huo Yuhao described how Soul Tool Machines could standardize and automate soul tool production, prompting Jing Hongchen to ask about his other ideas.

Huo Yuhao shared his ideas about Soul Tool development with Jing Hongchen, including a weapon that could strike from above the continent. Their discussion revealed that the Sun Moon Empire had already considered satellites, and Jing Hongchen was struck by Huo Yuhao’s belief that ordinary people would one day use Soul Tools.

• Huo Yuhao proposed using Soul Tools to strengthen the body like Soul Bones and described ideas involving mechanical transport and Milk Bottle-powered automation.
• Jing Hongchen asked Huo Yuhao to design the most powerful Soul Tool for war, and Huo Yuhao described a fast, unexpected weapon with continent-wide reach that attacked from the sky.
• Huo Yuhao explained that the continent was spherical and suggested a Soul Tool could remain in flight above it with little propulsion.
• Jing Hongchen revealed that the Sun Moon Empire had inferred the world was spherical from high-altitude reconnaissance and had considered soul-guided satellites.
• Jing Hongchen pointed out limitations in Milk Bottles and Huo Yuhao’s automation ideas, but Huo Yuhao predicted that future advances would let ordinary people use Soul Tools, leaving Jing Hongchen visibly intent on his claim.

Huo Yuhao convinced Jing Hongchen to let him continue studying at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, despite refusing to build weapons against the Star Luo Empire. As Huo Yuhao left, he reflected on the conflicting factions he was navigating and his plans to infiltrate the Illustrious Virtue Hall while repaying those who helped him.

• Huo Yuhao refused Jing Hongchen's demand that he develop weapons for a future war against the Star Luo Empire, but offered to conduct theoretical research instead.
• Jing Hongchen accepted Huo Yuhao's sincerity after Lin Jiayi argued that his unconditional gift of the soul tool machine blueprints proved he could be trusted.
• Jing Hongchen ordered Lin Jiayi to arrange a sixth-year teacher and an early assessment for Huo Yuhao, assign him to Xuan Ziwen, and have them research the Advanced Soul Tool Machine.
• Jing Hongchen called Xiao to his office after Lin Jiayi left.
• Huo Yuhao privately admitted to Tian Meng and the Ice Empress that he had deliberately performed for Jing Hongchen and felt uneasy about balancing the Body Sect, the Star Luo Empire, the Sun Moon Academy, and his own interests.
• Huo Yuhao said he would try not to offend any faction and leave research results for the Sun Moon Empire, since he and his companions intended to steal a priceless treasure.

Huo Yuhao began studying under Xuan Ziwen, a Level 8 Soul Engineer whose research aimed to make Soul Tools usable by ordinary people. After examining the Soul Tool Machine, Xuan Ziwen identified major obstacles to adapting it for complex Core Arrays, leaving Huo Yuhao to consider how to address them.

• Lin Jiayi brought Huo Yuhao to the sixth-year teaching building and introduced him to Xuan Ziwen as his new teacher.
• Xuan Ziwen initially resisted taking Huo Yuhao as a student, but changed his mind after discussing Huo Yuhao’s design and their shared hopes for making Soul Tools more accessible.
• Xuan Ziwen recharged the Soul Tool Machine’s Milk Bottle and demonstrated that the machine could engrave metal again.
• Xuan Ziwen explained that engraving higher-level Core Arrays would require many more densely arranged arrays, making the machine’s design difficult to expand.
• Huo Yuhao sank into thought after hearing Xuan Ziwen’s assessment of the machine’s limitations.

Huo Yuhao proposed using many simple soul tool machines to mass-produce complex core arrays, impressing Xuan Ziwen and earning a place as his fifth student. After Xuan Ziwen tutored him, Huo Yuhao considered how to balance aiding the Sun Moon Empire with his wish to protect the Star Luo Empire.

• Huo Yuhao proposed breaking complex core arrays into basic shapes and engraving them with separate low-level machines.
• Xuan Ziwen connected the plan to his sealed Milk Bottle research, then worried about the cost of the machines and Milk Bottles.
• Huo Yuhao explained that mass production would spread the fixed costs across thousands of soul tools, and Xuan Ziwen was impressed by the possibility of producing level 8 soul tools in bulk.
• Xuan Ziwen made Huo Yuhao his fifth student, gave him an identification badge, and answered his questions about soul tools.
• Xuan Ziwen speculated about the Sun Moon Empire's future military strength and revealed that he had immigrated there from the Heaven Dou Empire.
• Huo Yuhao worried about the Sun Moon Empire threatening the Star Luo Empire, then believed he had found a way to reconcile his conflicting aims.

Xiao Hongchen learned that Huo Yuhao had designed the Soul Tool Machine and went to seek him out, driven by a desire to compete. Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao continued his Soul Tool studies and planned to use Tian Meng’s Spiritual Power to help with blueprint research, until Xiao arrived at the laboratory.

• Xiao Hongchen completed and improved a copy of Huo Yuhao’s Soul Tool Machine, recognizing its potential to make low-level Soul Tools widely available.
• Jing Hongchen told Xiao Hongchen that Huo Yuhao, a Level 4 Soul Engineer who had defeated him before, had designed the machine and was nearing Level 5.
• Motivated by Huo Yuhao’s progress, Xiao Hongchen learned from Jing Hongchen that he was studying in the Third Laboratory and went to find him.
• Huo Yuhao continued practicing a Level 5 Soul Tool core array after Xuan Ziwen left, and told the Ice Empress and Tian Meng that he planned to search for the Snow Empress in Illustrious Virtue Hall.
• Huo Yuhao proposed that Tian Meng help research Soul Tools by drawing blueprints, and Xiao Hongchen entered the laboratory and mistook Huo Yuhao for Xuan Ziwen.

Huo Yuhao met his senior sister Ju Zi in the laboratory and shared his Grilled Fish with her, prompting her to reveal the loss of her family in the war. The chapter ended when three students entered and one male student rushed at Huo Yuhao, accusing him of bullying Ju Zi.

• Ju Zi introduced herself to Huo Yuhao and focused on engraving a Core Array while he finished a Level 5 Soul Tool Core Array.
• Huo Yuhao played his Soul Guidance Game Console and ate a Grilled Fish instead of going to the cafeteria.
• Ju Zi asked Huo Yuhao for some Grilled Fish and traded him an orange for it.
• Ju Zi ate the fish, began crying, and told Huo Yuhao that it reminded her of her father, a chef who died in the war against the Star Luo Empire.
• Three students entered the laboratory, and one male student rushed at Huo Yuhao, accusing him of bullying Ju Zi.

Huo Yuhao joined Xuan Ziwen's laboratory, where he faced hostility from Wang Shaojie but proved his physical strength and skill. Xuan Ziwen approved his Level 5 qualification and promised limited access to the Illustrious Virtue Hall, where Huo Yuhao planned to search for the Snow Empress Embryo.

• Zi Mu attacked Huo Yuhao after seeing Ju Zi cry, but Huo Yuhao caught his fist and Ju Zi explained that Huo Yuhao had not bullied her.
• Ju Zi introduced Huo Yuhao to Ke Ke, Zi Mu, and Wang Shaojie, who questioned whether Huo Yuhao deserved to study under Xuan Ziwen.
• Wang Shaojie tried to shove Huo Yuhao, but Huo Yuhao held his ground until Xuan Ziwen returned and stopped the confrontation.
• Huo Yuhao showed Xuan Ziwen a Level 5 soul tool core array, and Xuan Ziwen confirmed that he qualified for the Illustrious Virtue Hall and could enter in a few days.
• Ju Zi apologized for the misunderstanding and warned Huo Yuhao that Wang Shaojie was petty and a member of the Royal Family.
• Huo Yuhao considered searching for the Snow Empress Embryo near Jing Hongchen's office and wondered about Wang Shaojie's family name and status.

Huo Yuhao bonded with Ju Zi over his grilled fish and questioned her belief that the Star Luo Empire alone was responsible for her father’s death. After Wang Shaojie and his allies lured him out to set up a paralysis ray, Huo Yuhao detected their plot and invited Xiao Hongchen into the laboratory instead, preparing to use him in a scheme against Wang Shaojie.

• Ju Zi traded oranges for Huo Yuhao’s grilled fish and told him her father had died in the war against the Star Luo Empire.
• Huo Yuhao asked Ju Zi to consider who had sent her father to war and who had started it, leaving her silent and gloomy.
• Xuan Ziwen took Ju Zi away, and Wang Shaojie persuaded Ke Ke and Zi Mu to help set up a soul paralysis ray for Huo Yuhao.
• Ke Ke sent Huo Yuhao into the corridor, where he used Spiritual Detection to discover Wang Shaojie’s plan and refused to let the insult go unanswered.
• Xiao Hongchen arrived, and Huo Yuhao invited him into the laboratory, intending to use him in his Drive the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf Scheme.