Chapter Summaries

Ma Hongjun left for a brothel to vent his martial soul’s evil fire, while Dai Mubai’s confrontation with Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong exposed how badly the Shrek students’ relationships had deteriorated. After Dai Mubai’s outburst, Jiang Che decided not to accept Ning Rongrong’s offer to kill him, reasoning that he was not strong enough and Zhu Zhuqing still depended on Dai Mubai’s survival.

• Ma Hongjun left to meet the dean at a brothel, and Dai Mubai explained to Xiao Wu that Ma Hongjun needed to discharge his martial soul’s evil fire.
• Zhu Zhuqing rebuffed Dai Mubai, who recalled that she had seen him entering a hotel with twin sisters and had grown distant from him.
• Ning Rongrong insulted Dai Mubai, and he released his soul power, sending her and Oscar flying while Tang San shielded Xiao Wu.
• Dai Mubai walked away after warning Ning Rongrong, and she offered Tang San ten thousand Gold Soul Coins and a favor from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to kill him.
• Tang San refused Ning Rongrong’s offer and left with Xiao Wu, while Jiang Che decided that killing Dai Mubai would bring dangerous consequences and threaten Zhu Zhuqing’s future.

After Oscar rejected Ning Rongrong as part of a scheme with Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong sought help from Jiang Che, whom she recognized as Cola the Killing God. Jiang Che tried to leave without agreeing, but Ning Rongrong followed and offered increasingly valuable payment for his instruction, leaving him unimpressed by her poor stamina.

• Oscar told Ning Rongrong he would no longer pursue her, then reflected on his plan with Dai Mubai to isolate her and win her over.
• Ning Rongrong recognized Jiang Che as Cola the Killing God and asked him to kill Dai Mubai for five thousand Gold Soul Coins, but he refused.
• Ning Rongrong asked Jiang Che to teach her to become stronger, citing Zhu Zhuqing's training, while Jiang Che considered how changing her role might affect Tang San's future.
• Jiang Che hinted that he had little time and slowly walked away, hoping Ning Rongrong would offer better terms.
• Ning Rongrong grabbed Jiang Che and offered a Space Soul Tool, then followed him down the corridor and raised her offer to include ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Jiang Che remarked that Ning Rongrong had poor stamina, and she blushed as she admitted she had never exercised.

Ning Rongrong paid Jiang Che a valuable storage ring and a large sum of money to train her so she could surpass Oscar. After returning to Shrek Academy, she told Zhu Zhuqing about the deal and learned that Zhu Zhuqing had feelings for Jiang Che and that he had killed a thousand-year Soul Beast.

• Ning Rongrong asked Jiang Che to teach her so she could compete with Oscar, and offered him a storage ring and ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Jiang Che accepted Ning Rongrong's tuition and told her to meet him daily at the Great Soul Arena's 201 VIP Lounge, except on some weekends.
• Ning Rongrong returned to Shrek Academy, snapped at Oscar, and rushed to tell Zhu Zhuqing that she had met Jiang Che.
• Ning Rongrong teased Zhu Zhuqing until she admitted what had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest and how Jiang Che had helped her.
• Ning Rongrong was shocked to learn that Jiang Che had killed a thousand-year Soul Beast despite being only a Soul Grandmaster.

Jiang Che began experimenting with refining pills from medicinal herbs, but his first five batches all failed. Elsewhere, Zhao Wuji told Flender about Cola, a mysterious young fighter who had defeated Tang San and Xiao Wu.

• Ning Rongrong told Zhu Zhuqing that Dai Mubai had said nasty things to her, and Zhu Zhuqing vowed to defeat him and settle the score.
• Jiang Che studied the Record of Ten Thousand Herbs and bought large quantities of medicinal ingredients from several shops to avoid drawing attention.
• Jiang Che tried refining Solomon's seal and poria, but uneven heating and other mistakes left all five batches unusable.
• Zhao Wuji told Flender that Cola had recently beaten Tang San and Xiao Wu in a two-on-one fight and possessed rank twenty-eight Soul Power.

Flender refused to admit Cola to Shrek Academy until he reached rank thirty, while Tang Hao secretly watched Tang San recover from his defeat. The next morning, Jiang Che arrived to begin Ning Rongrong’s training and asked her about support-type Soul Masters.

• Flender rejected Zhao Wuji’s suggestion to recruit Cola, insisting that Shrek Academy’s entry rules required candidates under fifteen to have rank-thirty Soul Power.
• Tang Hao watched Tang San meditate after recovering from his defeat and decided that Cola’s victory was acceptable as long as Tang San’s meridians remained unharmed.
• Ning Rongrong waited with Zhu Zhuqing for Jiang Che to begin her training.
• Jiang Che admired Zhu Zhuqing’s Dark Night sword, then separated the two girls when their teasing turned into playful tussling.
• Jiang Che asked Ning Rongrong to explain her understanding of support-type Soul Masters, and she described how they strengthen teammates while managing Soul Power consumption.

Jiang Che taught Ning Rongrong how to judge a support-type Soul Master’s value and urged her to build her survivability so she could become a stronger combat support. In a two-on-two match, Zhu Zhuqing held back as instructed, while Ning Rongrong was targeted and quickly knocked off the arena.

• Jiang Che explained that a support-type Soul Master proved their value by helping a teammate outperform two comparable opponents, and challenged Ning Rongrong to become a support her enemies would fear.
• Ning Rongrong agreed to train toward becoming the strongest support, and Jiang Che told her to complete daily tasks while developing her survival skills and battlefield awareness.
• Jiang Che asked Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong to enter a two-on-two Soul Fighting match, and Ning Rongrong registered them as the Seven Treasure Spirit Cat Combination.
• Jiang Che quietly told Zhu Zhuqing to drag out the fight and keep one opponent occupied so Ning Rongrong could handle the other herself.
• Zhu Zhuqing fought cautiously while the opposing Agility Attack System Soul Master targeted Ning Rongrong, dodged her briefly, and then shoved her off the arena.

After Ning Rongrong’s defeat in a team battle, Jiang Che taught her that a support-type Soul Master had to survive to help her teammates. He then ordered her to enter one-on-one matches alone, leaving her frightened but ultimately agreeing to try.

• Ning Rongrong was quickly eliminated in a team battle, and Zhu Zhuqing defeated their two opponents afterward, though the fight was harder without Ning Rongrong’s support.
• Jiang Che explained that Ning Rongrong needed to stay alive to support her teammates, which lifted her spirits briefly.
• Jiang Che told Ning Rongrong to enter one-on-one Soul Fighting matches without Zhu Zhuqing, and claimed that he had once won a match as a support-type Soul Master.
• Ning Rongrong protested that she would have to face Battle Soul Masters alone, but Jiang Che told her to use her Soul Skills to support herself, run, and hold out as long as possible.
• Ning Rongrong reluctantly agreed to the training, while Zhu Zhuqing encouraged her to persevere.

Ning Rongrong struggled through her first Soul Fighting matches while Jiang Che coached her, then he pursued pill-making and learned two new formulas. The chapter ended with Jiang Che refining Soul Recovery Pills and preparing to meditate and continue training.

• Ning Rongrong lasted one minute in her first Soul Fighting match by using her Soul Power to boost her speed, but her lack of combat experience left her humiliated.
• Jiang Che and Zhu Zhuqing comforted Ning Rongrong, and Jiang Che sent her into several more matches before stopping when she became worn out.
• Jiang Che spent all his medicinal ingredients on pill research, then bought two Random Pill Formulas from Today's Shop.
• Jiang Che learned the formulas for a Soul Recovery Pill and the deadly Nine-Turn Soul-Scattering Powder, whose rare ingredients included Ice-Soul Snow Lotus from the Far North.
• Jiang Che bought ingredients in Suotuo City, refined ten Soul Recovery Pills, swallowed one, and prepared to meditate.

Jiang Che taught Ning Rongrong the Symbiosis Method and introduced her and Zhu Zhuqing to his Soul Power Limit Augmentation Method, which could help support-type Soul Masters fight more effectively. He explained how to train its first stage, leaving Ning Rongrong eager to learn despite the technique’s demanding principles.

• Jiang Che explained that support-type Soul Masters were disadvantaged in basic attributes and said his Soul Power Limit Augmentation Method could help Ning Rongrong hold her own in battle.
• Jiang Che gave Ning Rongrong a handwritten copy of the Symbiosis Method and explained its advantages and drawbacks; after learning Zhu Zhuqing had practiced it, Ning Rongrong agreed to try it.
• Jiang Che told Ning Rongrong to keep the Symbiosis Method secret, and she promised that only the three of them would know about it.
• Jiang Che explained that the Soul Power Limit Augmentation Method required knowing one’s own meridian pathways and that he could only teach Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing its first, At Will realm.
• Jiang Che said the At Will realm would let them adjust Soul Power output to suit battle, and compared its full efficiency with the roughly 130 percent efficiency of his perfected method.

Jiang Che explained how the Extreme Soul Power Attachment Method improved the efficiency of using Soul Power and how its principles could help Zhu Zhuqing refine her own cultivation method. He assigned Ning Rongrong to begin strenuous training under Zhu Zhuqing’s supervision.

• Jiang Che explained that the Extreme Soul Power Attachment Method saved Soul Power by making the body use it more efficiently and let Soul Masters control its flow.
• Jiang Che said the method and the Martial Soul Possession Adaptation Method probably could not be practiced together, but their shared principles could help Zhu Zhuqing improve her method.
• Jiang Che described training the body to its limit before attaching a small amount of Soul Power, forcing the body to use that power more efficiently over time.
• Zhu Zhuqing realized she could restrict the Soul Power supplied to Martial Soul Possession to make it improve its efficiency, and Jiang Che praised her insight.
• Jiang Che told Ning Rongrong to run at full speed without Soul Power, then attach ten percent of her Soul Power at her limit and continue until it was drained, with Zhu Zhuqing supervising her.

Jiang Che ordered Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to begin weighted training while he returned to the deathmatch arena. At Shrek Academy, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun planned a night out as Flender discovered that Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Oscar were absent from class.

• Jiang Che told Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to order training weights, then sent Ning Rongrong back to the Soul Fighting stage under Zhu Zhuqing's supervision while he went to the deathmatch arena.
• Dai Mubai grew frustrated over Zhu Zhuqing's coldness and asked Ma Hongjun to watch the dorm while he went out that night.
• Ma Hongjun asked to join Dai Mubai, who agreed to pay for his evening out.
• Tang San continued studying how to combine blue silver grass with the Clear Sky Hammer while Xiao Wu listened to Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's conversation with disgust.
• Flender entered class, found only Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun present, and demanded to know why Oscar was absent.

Oscar broke through to rank thirty after focusing on cultivation, while Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing missed classes to train and spend the day away from the academy. When they returned, Ning Rongrong challenged Yu Xiaogang’s reprimand with arguments she had learned from Jiang Che.

• Oscar told Flender that he had broken through to rank thirty, and the students congratulated him.
• Oscar reflected that he had stopped sulking over Ning Rongrong and committed himself to cultivation, which helped him overcome his bottleneck.
• Flender learned from Xiao Wu that Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing were missing, then took the five students to wait for them at the academy entrance.
• Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing returned in the evening, and Flender and Yu Xiaogang demanded to know why they had missed classes.
• Ning Rongrong said that she and Zhu Zhuqing had been cultivating, then refuted Yu Xiaogang’s theories with arguments Jiang Che had taught her.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing challenged Yu Xiaogang’s authority and refused to join Shrek Academy’s trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, choosing instead to stay in Suotuo City and train with Jiang Che. Flender let them stay, while Jiang Che continued researching pills, unaware of the dispute.

• Yu Xiaogang praised Oscar’s rank-thirty breakthrough and criticized Ning Rongrong, prompting Zhu Zhuqing to challenge his claims and ask why his theories had not made him a Soul Elder.
• Ning Rongrong revealed that Cola was her teacher, and Flender realized that the twelve-year-old who had defeated Tang San and Xiao Wu was the same Cola Zhao Wuji had once suggested recruiting.
• Yu Xiaogang ordered everyone to prepare for the trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, but Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing refused and threatened to leave Shrek Academy.
• Flender stopped Yu Xiaogang from expelling the girls and allowed them to stay in Suotuo City, while Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar prepared to depart.
• Jiang Che continued experimenting with pill formulas, unaware of what had happened at Shrek Academy.

Jiang Che refined pills and fought at the Suotuo City Great Soul Arena, where Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin watched his skill and considered his potential. After Jiang Che noticed their interest and Chen Xin’s anger over Ning Rongrong, the two waited for him and Ning Fengzhi praised his fighting under the nickname “Cola.”

• Jiang Che redeemed the Burst Soul Pill formula, decided it was unsuitable for absorbing a soul ring, and refined twenty Burst Soul Pills and ten Soul Recovery Pills.
• Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin watched Jiang Che win a series of brief fights and discussed his talent, his self-created soul skill, and whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could recruit him.
• Chen Xin resented Jiang Che for making Ning Rongrong fight and suffer, but Ning Fengzhi argued that she needed to learn to bear responsibility.
• Jiang Che sensed Chen Xin’s sword intent, recognized Ning Fengzhi beside him, and worried that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might have designs on him.
• Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin waited at the competitors’ exit, where Ning Fengzhi praised Jiang Che’s fighting and called him “Cola.”

Jiang Che dealt with Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin before returning to coaching Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing at the Soto Great Soul Arena. He taught them how to use positioning and teammates as terrain, then asked Zhu Zhuqing how she would quickly end a seven-on-seven match.

• Jiang Che removed his mask for Ning Fengzhi, who invited him to visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect before leaving with Chen Xin.
• Jiang Che learned that Ning Rongrong had been injured in her Soul Fighting match, and he later told her and Zhu Zhuqing that Chen Xin's pressure had left him pale.
• Over the following week, Jiang Che, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong continued to attract attention at the Soto Great Soul Arena, where Ning Rongrong's matches drew eager spectators.
• Ning Rongrong proudly told Jiang Che she had lasted three minutes in a one-on-one match, and he praised her improvement before teaching her about battlefield positioning and using Soul Masters as moving terrain.
• Jiang Che asked Zhu Zhuqing how she would end a seven-on-seven match quickly, and she said she would bypass the front line and target the opposing support-type Soul Master.

Jiang Che taught Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing tactics for team battles and their two-person matches, then left to focus on developing a cultivation technique. On his way home, he passed an alley where three thugs were beating someone and stealing his money.

• Jiang Che explained how Ning Rongrong could bait an opposing Agility Attack System Soul Master into a trap set by her teammates, and Ning Rongrong understood the tactic.
• Jiang Che told Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong to use Rongrong as bait to expose an opponent to Zhu Zhuqing’s speed and create a two-on-one advantage.
• Jiang Che asked the two girls to follow his training plan at Shrek while he organized his theories and worked on an original cultivation technique.
• Jiang Che bought herbs for the next few days, having spent ten thousand Gold Soul Coins on them over the past several days.
• Jiang Che passed an alley where three thugs beat a person and took several Copper Soul Coins from his clothes.

Jiang Che killed four thugs who had attacked Galian, a young boy whose parents were killed by a mysterious blood-red hammer at a Spirit Hall Branch. Realizing Tang Hao’s actions had likely caused the boy’s loss, Jiang Che gave Galian a cultivation technique, pills, money, and an invitation to find him if he reached Soul Power level ten before Jiang Che left Suotuo City.

• Jiang Che killed the thug who tried to grab him, then killed the other three after they begged him for mercy.
• Galian followed Jiang Che and asked him to teach him how to use a saber; he revealed that his parents had died protecting him from a blood-red hammer that destroyed a Spirit Hall Branch.
• Jiang Che suspected Tang Hao had killed Galian’s parents and realized his own actions may have set those events in motion.
• Jiang Che gave Galian the Symbiosis Method, three Soul-Enhancing Pills, and ten Gold Soul Coins, and explained that Soul Ring limits depended on a Soul Master’s abilities.
• Jiang Che told Galian to find him if he reached Soul Power level ten before Jiang Che left Suotuo City.

Yu Xiaogang questioned Tang San about absorbing a two-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring and explained his theory that compatibility and physical strength affected absorption limits. He identified Tang San’s Eight Spider Lances as a rare, potentially growing External Soul Bone, leaving Tang San to explore its abilities.

• Yu Xiaogang praised Tang San for reaching rank thirty, then worried over his risky Soul Ring choice and asked about his condition.
• Tang San showed how the Man Faced Demon Spider Soul Ring had changed his Blue Silver Grass, and Yu Xiaogang concluded that compatibility affected Soul Ring absorption.
• Tang San questioned whether poison was the right path because his vines could not reach Jiang Che, but Yu Xiaogang urged him to trust his poison affinity and remember his Twin Martial Souls.
• Tang San admitted that he had lost to Jiang Che even with the Clear Sky Hammer, and Yu Xiaogang encouraged him to recover from the defeat.
• Yu Xiaogang asked Tang San to show his spider legs and identified the Eight Spider Lances as a rare External Soul Bone that could grow stronger with him.

Yu Xiaogang put the Shrek students through one-on-one matches and criticized their tactics, but Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing dismissed his instruction as muddled. He ordered the students to run weighted laps to Suotuo City without using Soul Power, and Ning Rongrong objected that she and Zhu Zhuqing had to follow Jiang Che’s training rules.

• Yu Xiaogang held one-on-one matches among the Shrek students, with Dai Mubai losing to Tang San, Tang San losing to Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong drawing with Oscar.
• Yu Xiaogang reprimanded the students for holding back and criticized Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong for their fighting styles.
• Zhu Zhuqing privately concluded that her draw with Tang San was a good result without using Dark Night, and that Ning Rongrong had effectively beaten Oscar by outlasting him.
• Yu Xiaogang ordered all seven students to carry rocks and run ten round trips between the academy and Suotuo City without Soul Power before noon.
• Ning Rongrong told Yu Xiaogang that she and Zhu Zhuqing had to use Soul Power because Jiang Che had set that rule, and Yu Xiaogang angrily rejected her objection.

Jiang Che tested his newly refined pills on a death-row prisoner and confirmed they caused explosive diarrhea. As he planned to improve the pill into an undetectable powder, two faint streams of power entered his body after a bone-breaking sound rang in his mind.

• Yu Xiaogang questioned Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing about their training, but learned nothing about Jiang Che's method.
• Jiang Che celebrated after refining three pills and went to Suotuo City's dungeon to test one on a prisoner.
• Jiang Che selected Wang Dalei, a murderous rank-nineteen Evil Soul Master, and forced him to swallow a pill.
• Three minutes later, Wang Dalei suffered explosive diarrhea, confirming that Jiang Che's pill worked.
• Jiang Che planned to refine an undetectable powdered laxative, then heard a bone-breaking sound in his mind as two faint streams of power entered his body.