Chapter Summaries

After Ya Li asked Xiao Chen, Gu Yue, and Na'er to fight the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy for Shrek, all three refused the request and its rewards. They left Shrek Academy, and Gu Yue invited Xiao Chen to visit her home.

• Gu Yue and Xiao Chen guessed that Ya Li had summoned them because Shrek wanted them to avenge its defeat in Mingdu, and Na'er protested that she wanted to enjoy her vacation.
• Ya Li explained that Shrek wanted the three to represent the academy in another match against the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
• Xiao Chen, Gu Yue, and Na'er refused, rejecting Ya Li's offers of access to the Golden Ancient Tree and a treasury treasure.
• Ya Li gave up persuading them and told Yun Ming that she had done her best as the three left Shrek Academy.
• As they walked outside the academy, Gu Yue asked Xiao Chen if he wanted to visit her home.

Xiao Chen agreed to visit Gu Yue’s home in the Star Dou Great Forest after his next breakthrough, trusting his Command Block to let him escape if needed. Gu Yue revealed that her family was interested in him, leaving Xiao Chen to anticipate meeting Di Tian and the other ferocious beasts.

• Gu Yue invited Xiao Chen to visit her home again, and he questioned her motives while remaining wary of her intentions.
• Gu Yue said she wanted to repay Xiao Chen for the Dragon Core and insisted that her family had prepared a return gift he needed to accept in person.
• Xiao Chen agreed to go after his next breakthrough, and Gu Yue was shocked to learn he was close to advancing from Soul Emperor to Soul Saint.
• Gu Yue told Xiao Chen that her family was very interested in him, and he suspected Di Tian while deciding he could face the ferocious beasts with his Command Block.

Xiao Chen, Gu Yue, and Na'er returned to the Spirit Pagoda, where Leng Yaoyu learned of Xiao Chen’s extraordinary cultivation and asked him to take on her faction’s responsibilities. Gu Yue and Na'er clashed over Gu Yue’s plans to take Xiao Chen home, while Na'er resolved to work harder to keep up with her.

• Na'er enthusiastically greeted Leng Yaoyu, and Gu Yue asked her permission to take Xiao Chen to visit her home.
• Leng Yaoyu agreed to Gu Yue’s request, then sent Gu Yue and Na'er away so she could speak with Xiao Chen alone.
• Xiao Chen told Leng Yaoyu that he had spent the semester cultivating independently at Shrek, then revealed that he was a rank sixty-nine Soul Emperor and a One-Word Battle Armor Master.
• Leng Yaoyu praised Xiao Chen and asked him to shoulder the burden of her Spirit Pagoda faction, but Xiao Chen refused.
• Gu Yue told Na'er that she was only taking Xiao Chen home for a visit, and Na'er warned her not to try anything with her brother.
• Na'er worried that Gu Yue had more family resources and resolved to work harder so Gu Yue would not outshine her.

After breaking through to level seventy, Xiao Chen left for Heaven Dou City with Gu Yue to meet her family and receive their promised return gift. Meanwhile, Di Tian was ordered to go to Heaven Dou City and help Gu Yue recruit the Child of Destiny to the soul beasts’ side.

• Xiao Chen finished cultivating, broke through to level seventy, and agreed to leave for Heaven Dou City with Gu Yue the next morning.
• On the Soul Guidance Train, Gu Yue told Xiao Chen that her family was curious about him because she had called him her boyfriend.
• At the Lake of Life, Di Tian failed to learn anything from the captured Pillager, who only grunted at his questions.
• Di Tian reinforced the Pillager’s seal and left for Heaven Dou City to follow the Silver Dragon King’s orders and help win the Child of Destiny over to the soul beasts.

Xiao Chen sensed an Evil Soul Master aboard the train and killed him instantly before he could attack the passengers. After Xiao Chen and Gu Yue went to clean the blood from his hand, conductor Zhang Dai arrived at the carriage and saw the corpse.

• Xiao Chen and Gu Yue detected an Evil Soul Master aboard the train, and Xiao Chen headed toward the ordinary passenger carriage to confront him.
• The Soul Saint Evil Soul Master recognized Xiao Chen as his target, but Xiao Chen struck first and killed him with a Wither Head.
• The passengers praised Xiao Chen for saving them, and he briefly summoned a Wither Rose before leaving with Gu Yue to clean the blood from his hand.
• Conductor Zhang Dai and security personnel arrived at the carriage and found the Evil Soul Master's mangled corpse.

Xiao Chen killed a Holy Spirit Cult Soul Sage aboard the train and declined public recognition, accepting only the usual rewards. After reaching Heaven Dou City, he followed Gu Yue to her ostentatious secluded-clan residence, where she brought him inside to meet her parents.

• Zhang Dai scanned the dead evil soul master and identified him as Qian Yan, a rank seventy-three Soul Sage from the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Xiao Chen confirmed he had killed Qian Yan, and Zhang Dai recognized him as the hero who had defeated an evil soul master years earlier.
• Xiao Chen refused a press conference and public commendation, asking Zhang Dai to arrange only the usual rewards.
• The train reached Heaven Dou City, and Xiao Chen followed Gu Yue from the city center to a large compound built against an artificial hill.
• Gu Yue took Xiao Chen inside to meet her parents and claimed her father could advise him about his darkness-attribute martial soul.

Gu Yue left Xiao Chen in her room while she arranged for Di Tian to pose as her father and test him, but Xiao Chen saw through the act and traded blunt insults with him. Their standoff threatened to derail Gu Yue’s plan, so she hurried to intervene while Zi Ji stayed behind to watch the surveillance feed and prepare her entrance.

• Gu Yue brought Xiao Chen to her room and left to fetch her father, but after waiting, Xiao Chen went to leave and encountered Di Tian at the door.
• Di Tian pretended to be Gu Yue’s father and questioned Xiao Chen about other girls, but Xiao Chen refused to play along and challenged his meddling.
• Di Tian feigned anger and called Xiao Chen ill-mannered, while Xiao Chen called him an old fossil; neither backed down, and they ended up staring each other down in the corridor.
• Gu Yue watched the confrontation on the surveillance feed and realized their argument had gone far beyond the mild test she planned.
• Gu Yue hurried to intervene and told Zi Ji to keep watching the feed and time her entrance; Zi Ji agreed and continued observing Xiao Chen and Di Tian.

Gu Yue smoothed over the tense standoff between Xiao Chen and Di Tian, then brought Xiao Chen to the family treasury and offered him the Gold of Life as a return gift. Xiao Chen accepted after Gu Yue told him he was the only person she had ever sincerely let into her heart, leaving him to reconsider how he viewed her.

• Gu Yue arrived and scolded Di Tian for confronting Xiao Chen, then persuaded Xiao Chen to come with her for his return gift.
• Di Tian led Gu Yue and Xiao Chen to an ordinary-looking warehouse that Gu Yue claimed was the family treasury.
• Di Tian opened the treasury and revealed the Gold of Life, explaining its healing and cultivation benefits before presenting it to Xiao Chen.
• Gu Yue offered the Gold of Life in return for the Dragon Core, but Xiao Chen initially refused because he felt it was too valuable and would leave him owing her a favor.
• Gu Yue clasped Xiao Chen's hand and told him he was the only person she had ever sincerely let into her heart, prompting Xiao Chen to accept the gift and reconsider her as an enemy.

Xiao Chen accepted the Life Metal from Gu Yue and stayed at her mansion, where he endured a tense dinner with her Ferocious Beast “elders.” Later, he extracted the truth from an evil soul master’s remnant soul and learned Qiangu Dongfeng had hired the Holy Spirit Cult to assassinate him, leaving Xiao Chen determined to settle the score.

• Xiao Chen accepted Gu Yue’s Life Metal and promised to repay her favor, then agreed to stay at her mansion in a separate room.
• Gu Yue arranged a lavish dinner with Di Tian, Zi Ji, and the other Ferocious Beasts posing as her elders, making Xiao Chen uneasy.
• After the banquet, Xiao Chen released Qian Yan’s remnant soul from the Wither Rose and prepared to dispose of him.
• Qian Yan begged Xiao Chen to kill him and revealed that the Holy Spirit Cult had sent him to assassinate Xiao Chen on Qiangu Dongfeng’s orders.
• Xiao Chen realized Qiangu Dongfeng had targeted him as a threat to the Qiangu Clan and vowed to settle the debt in the future.

After destroying Qian Yan’s remnant soul, Xiao Chen woke to find Gu Yue waiting to take him to meet her father. Di Tian tried to lure Xiao Chen into a sparring match, but Xiao Chen refused, leaving Di Tian to lament his bitter lot.

• Xiao Chen crushed the Wither Rose and annihilated Qian Yan’s remnant soul, then went to sleep.
• The next morning, Gu Yue waited outside Xiao Chen’s room and said her father wanted to see him.
• Gu Yue led Xiao Chen to the training ground, where Xiao Chen realized they expected him to spar with Di Tian and refused.
• Di Tian appeared and urged Xiao Chen onto the field, but Xiao Chen told him to get lost and repeated that he would not fight.
• Di Tian realized Gu Yue would not help him and bitterly regretted agreeing to take part in her plan.

Xiao Chen accepted Di Tian’s challenge to last two minutes and used his invulnerability and ranged attacks to withstand and wear down the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. He emerged unharmed from Di Tian’s dragon flame, declared victory, and ended Di Tian’s attempts to pester him.

• Di Tian offered to stop bothering Xiao Chen if Xiao Chen survived two minutes, and Xiao Chen agreed.
• Gu Yue started the match and warned both fighters not to seriously injure each other.
• Di Tian attacked Xiao Chen, but Xiao Chen’s Resurrection skill made him invulnerable, and Xiao Chen’s Charged Explosion left Di Tian disheveled.
• Xiao Chen bombarded Di Tian with Wither Heads, stacking weakening effects while keeping his distance.
• Di Tian unleashed Ten Thousand Dragon Flame, but Xiao Chen used Resurrection and stood unharmed after the flames cleared.
• Xiao Chen announced that the two minutes were up and that he had won.

After defeating Di Tian without a scratch, Xiao Chen began condensing his first Soul Core and hurried away to focus on the breakthrough. Gu Yue rebuked Di Tian for nearly ruining her plan to win Xiao Chen over, then decided she would pursue him herself.

• Xiao Chen’s battle with Di Tian triggered the formation of a Soul Core, and he rushed off to cultivate.
• Gu Yue confronted Di Tian over his defeat and his failure to hold back against Xiao Chen.
• Gu Yue revealed that she had planned to use Di Tian’s victory to draw Xiao Chen to her side, but his unexpected strength had upended her plan.
• Gu Yue dismissed Di Tian and ordered him to return to the Star Dou Great Forest with the other fierce beasts.
• Gu Yue decided that Xiao Chen’s strength made him more challenging and resolved to make him willingly submit to her.

Xiao Chen condensed a mutated purple-black Spiritual Soul Core, broke through to Soul Sage, and gained a self-condensed seventh soul ring. The mutation transformed his Sea of Consciousness into the Wither Storm’s interior, leaving him wondering whether his martial souls would change as well.

• Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Soul Core began collapsing during condensation, then reassembled as a stable purple-black core infused with Wither Power and strange assimilative properties.
• Xiao Chen broke through to rank seventy-one and discovered that a purple-gold seventh soul ring had condensed from his own soul power.
• Xiao Chen entered his Sea of Consciousness and found it transformed into the Wither Storm’s interior, with his Command Block resting on the central Obsidian Altar among black tentacles.
• Xiao Chen confirmed that his mutated core remained a Spiritual Soul Core, but carried infectious, assimilative, and erosive powers alongside Wither Power.
• Xiao Chen worried that his Command Block and Wither martial souls might mutate or fuse, then felt the pain and dizziness between his brows return.

After recovering from the pain caused by condensing his spiritual soul core, Xiao Chen explored Heaven Dou City with Gu Yue and went to the Blacksmith Association to attempt the Level 7 Blacksmith assessment. There he found his teacher Zhen Hua speaking with the Body Sect's sect master, Mu Ye.

• Xiao Chen collapsed from severe pain after condensing his spiritual soul core and woke the next morning beside Gu Yue, who had carried him to bed.
• Gu Yue explained that she had found Xiao Chen unconscious and made him breakfast, then helped steady him when his headache returned.
• After resting, Xiao Chen went sightseeing in Heaven Dou City with Gu Yue, but decided to return when they found little to interest them.
• Xiao Chen spotted the Blacksmith Association headquarters and decided to attempt the Level 7 Blacksmith assessment, with Gu Yue accompanying him inside.
• Xiao Chen saw Zhen Hua speaking with a powerful middle-aged man and recognized him as Mu Ye, the Body Sect's sect master.

Xiao Chen visited the Blacksmith Association with Gu Yue and told his teacher Zhen Hua that he intended to attempt Soul Forging. Zhen Hua agreed to oversee the assessment himself and led them to the Soul Forging room, while Mu Ye waited outside.

• Xiao Chen greeted Zhen Hua and introduced Gu Yue, whom Zhen Hua recognized as Heavenly Phoenix's disciple.
• Xiao Chen announced that he had decided to attempt Soul Forging, shocking Zhen Hua and Mu Ye.
• Zhen Hua urged Xiao Chen to reconsider, but Xiao Chen insisted he was ready to attempt the assessment that day.
• Mu Ye criticized Xiao Chen's confidence, then changed his opinion after Zhen Hua revealed Xiao Chen was already the Federation's youngest sixth-level blacksmith.
• Xiao Chen prepared to register for the assessment, but Zhen Hua dismissed Mu Ye's business and offered to oversee the attempt personally.
• Zhen Hua led Xiao Chen and Gu Yue toward the Soul Forging room, while Mu Ye left to wait outside with Little Red.

Xiao Chen passed the Soul Forging assessment with one hammer blow and became the Sun Moon Federation’s youngest Level 7 Saint Craftsman. Zhen Hua celebrated his achievement and invited Xiao Chen and Gu Yue to stay for lunch, while learning that Xiao Chen had recently been suffering from headaches.

• Zhen Hua explained the demands of Soul Forging to Xiao Chen as they headed to the assessment room, where Gu Yue waited outside.
• Xiao Chen completed Soul Forging with a single hammer blow, leaving Zhen Hua stunned by the flawless result.
• Zhen Hua confirmed Xiao Chen had become a Level 7 Saint Craftsman and gave him a badge he had prepared in advance.
• Gu Yue worried about Xiao Chen’s health, and Xiao Chen told Zhen Hua that he had recently developed headaches.
• Zhen Hua invited Xiao Chen and Gu Yue to stay for lunch, planning to have Mu Ye cook for them.

Zhen Hua called Mu Ye back by promising to begin preparing Three-Word Battle Armor for his disciple, and Mu Ye returned to cook for Xiao Chen and Gu Yue. Gu Yue wrestled with how little she understood Xiao Chen and the conflict between them, while the chapter ended with Mu Ye offering Xiao Chen a rare plate of Red Jade Shrimp and apologizing for underestimating him.

• Zhen Hua persuaded Mu Ye to return by linking his cooking to the preparation of his disciple's Three-Word Battle Armor.
• Gu Yue asked Xiao Chen whether he had hidden things from her, and Xiao Chen told her that they were friends and did not need to overthink their relationship.
• Xiao Chen and Gu Yue joined Zhen Hua for a meal, where they praised Mu Ye's cooking.
• Mu Ye arrived with Red Jade Shrimp, placed the plate before Xiao Chen, and apologized for speaking harshly and underestimating him.

Mu Ye tried to recruit Xiao Chen and Gu Yue into the Body Sect but learned that Xiao Chen’s martial soul was unsuitable and Gu Yue already had a master. On the train back to Shrek City, Xiao Chen suffered pain from his Spiritual Soul Core, while Gu Yue resolved to pursue revenge against humanity and keep him from becoming her enemy.

• Mu Ye served Xiao Chen and Gu Yue Red Jade Shrimp, and both absorbed the nutrients far faster than expected.
• Mu Ye asked Zhen Hua about taking Xiao Chen and Gu Yue as disciples, but Zhen Hua explained that Xiao Chen’s martial soul did not suit the Body Sect and Gu Yue had already taken Heavenly Phoenix as her master.
• Mu Ye left after reminding Zhen Hua to make Three-Word Battle Armor for his disciple, and Xiao Chen and Gu Yue departed for Shrek City.
• On the Soul Guidance Train, Xiao Chen saw that Shrek Academy had lost to Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy again, then suffered a sudden attack of pain caused by his soul core.
• Gu Yue supported Xiao Chen as he rested against her shoulder, then resolved to take revenge on humanity while keeping Xiao Chen by her side so he would never become her enemy.

Xiao Chen and Gu Yue failed to find a way to stop the headaches caused by his spiritual soul core, so he learned to avoid overthinking and endured them. After the new semester began, Gu Yue and Na'er argued over moving into Xiao Chen's room, and he settled the dispute before telling them about their new practical mecha course.

• Leng Yaoyu and Han Tianyi tried to examine Xiao Chen's sea of consciousness but could not enter it or cure his headaches.
• Xiao Chen discovered that avoiding mental strain usually kept the headaches from flaring up, and he gave up trying to relocate his spiritual soul core.
• Xiao Chen, Gu Yue, and Na'er returned to Shrek's Inner Court for the new semester, and Xiao Chen went to register them with Ya Li.
• While Xiao Chen was away, Gu Yue began moving her belongings into his room, and Na'er insisted that she would move in too.
• Xiao Chen returned, ordered both girls out of his room, and explained that he could manage his health without them watching over him.
• Xiao Chen told Gu Yue and Na'er that practical mecha classes were compulsory, and he said he planned to attend because he was interested in mechas.

Xiao Chen, Gu Yue, and Na'er learned about mechas and Mecha Pilots before beginning practical training at Shrek's Inner Court. Xiao Chen mastered the controls quickly and defeated Gu Yue and Na'er repeatedly, leaving them to quit sparring.

• Ya Li explained mecha ranks, Mecha Pilot assessments, and the semester's practical training to Xiao Chen, Gu Yue, and Na'er.
• At the Inner Court Mecha Training Base, the mecha teacher gave the trio operating manuals and told them to practice with Yellow-rank Mechas.
• Xiao Chen quickly learned the controls while Gu Yue and Na'er studied their manuals carefully.
• Xiao Chen repeatedly defeated Gu Yue and Na'er in mecha sparring, maintaining an undefeated streak.
• Gu Yue and Na'er stopped sparring, and Xiao Chen exited his mecha calmly.