Chapter Summaries

Qian Chaoguang completed Spirit Refining at thirteen, becoming a Rank 5 Forging Grandmaster and bonding his Forging Hammers to his body. He planned to spread the Spirit Forging Method before leaving as an exchange student, intending to use its adoption to advance a larger plan.

• Qian Chaoguang fused his Spirit Refined Forging Hammers with his body after completing Spirit Refining.
• Qian Duoduo, Xian Lin'er, Fan Yu, Huo Yutong, and He Caitou examined the Spirit Refined Spirit Awakening Hammer and discussed how Spirit Forging could transform soul tools.
• Qian Chaoguang said he would spend the next three months reforging the Bright Light Blade and remaking his Soul Tool Armor before leaving for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy.
• Qian Chaoguang asked Qian Duoduo, Xian Lin'er, and Fan Yu to spread the Spirit Forging Method, while Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo warned him against giving away its value.
• Qian Chaoguang explained that the academy would preserve his name in its history and privately intended to test whether spreading Spirit Forging could help him harvest Faith Power.

Qian Chaoguang agreed to let Shrek launch forging education and prepared for the exchange with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy. As the delegation made final preparations, he revealed that He Caitou had Twin Martial Souls and was a prince of the Sun Moon Empire.

• Huo Yutong persuaded Qian Duoduo and Xian Lin'er that Qian Chaoguang would not make a losing deal, and they agreed to discuss launching forging education at a Sea God Pavilion Meeting.
• Three months later, Mu En briefed Qian Duoduo, Qian Chaoguang, Huo Yutong, and He Caitou on the exchange, which would begin in three days with Qian Duoduo leading the delegation.
• He Caitou pledged to serve as a shield for Qian Chaoguang and Huo Yutong during the exchange.
• While crossing Sea God Lake, Qian Chaoguang warned He Caitou to be cautious about revealing his identity and told Huo Yutong that He Caitou had Twin Martial Souls.
• Huo Yutong asked He Caitou about his second martial soul after recalling that he was a prince of the Sun Moon Empire.

Qian Chaoguang explained that Mu En had known He Caitou’s Sun Martial Soul and Sun Moon Imperial Family identity, but had tested and accepted his loyalty to Shrek. The group discussed their different loyalties before gathering friends for dinner, where Qian Chaoguang eventually remembered to invite Zhang Bowen.

• He Caitou revealed that he had hidden his inherited Sun Martial Soul because he feared Shrek would reject his Sun Moon Empire identity.
• Qian Chaoguang told He Caitou that Mu En had known the truth and had tested his loyalty before allowing him to join the exchange program.
• Huo Yutong and Qian Chaoguang reassured He Caitou that Mu En trusted him and that he could eventually rise to a senior post in Shrek’s Soul Tool Department.
• Qian Chaoguang said that he, Huo Yutong, and He Caitou should not share a private meal with Bei Bei and the others because their loyalties and positions differed.
• Qian Chaoguang forgot Zhang Bowen while planning dinner, then invited him after Dai Loli reminded him; the group’s younger members’ cultivation and academy standing were described.

Wang Dong envied her classmates’ growing strength and their ability to use Soul Tools, while an unexplained will in her Sea of Consciousness prevented her from touching them. After three days of rest and sightseeing with Huo Yutong, Qian Chaoguang joined the group departing for the Sun Moon Empire, leaving Shrek with friends to see them off.

• Wang Dong reflected on how Huo Yutong’s Soul King cultivation and Soul Tools had widened the gap between them, while the will in her Sea of Consciousness continued to keep her from using Soul Tools.
• Qian Chaoguang and Huo Yutong spent three days relaxing and exploring Shrek City instead of following their usual nightly cultivation routine.
• Qian Chaoguang secretly gave Huo Yutong a Storage Ring full of things he had bought for her, and she scolded him for wasting money.
• Mu En caught Qian Chaoguang outside Huo Yutong’s dormitory and made him write a three-thousand-word self-criticism before returning to sleep.
• Qian Chaoguang, Huo Yutong, and the other nine members of the exchange group gathered at the academy gates as their friends came to see them off for the Sun Moon Empire.

Qian Chaoguang and the Shrek exchange group traveled to Maple Leaf City on their way to Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy. After settling in, they met Ye Xiaosheng, the group's sole Rank 6 Soul Tool Master, who greeted Qian Chaoguang, Huo Yutong, and He Caitou.

• Ma Xiaotao joined the exchange group, prompting Qian Chaoguang to worry that her rivalry with Huo Yutong would flare up.
• Qian Chaoguang and the others flew away from Shrek Academy as he anticipated testing the Soul Tool research he had developed with Electrolux, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, and the Ice Empress.
• Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo led the eleven students to Maple Leaf City and checked them into a hotel before the handover the next day.
• Ye Xiaosheng approached Qian Chaoguang, Huo Yutong, and He Caitou after Yan Shaozhe dismissed the group and introduced himself.

The Shrek exchange students formally transferred to Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy, where Qian Chaoguang deliberately provoked Xiao Hongchen and began studying Jing Hongchen’s flying soul tool. The group departed for the academy under Jing Hongchen’s welcome, while Qian Chaoguang and Qian Duoduo examined the technology they hoped to learn from.

• Ye Xiaosheng tested Qian Chaoguang, He Caitou, and Huo Yutong’s intentions, then left reassured that they would not challenge his leadership.
• Yan Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo led the Shrek students to Maple Leaf Square, where they met Jing Hongchen and the Sun Moon delegation.
• Qian Chaoguang wore a Rank 1 Soul Tool Master Badge, Huo Yutong wore a Rank 4 badge, and the Hongchen siblings noticed their unexpected choices.
• Qian Chaoguang taunted Xiao Hongchen about still being weak, prompting Xiao Hongchen to lose his composure before a teacher restrained him.
• Yan Shaozhe departed by flying, and Jing Hongchen welcomed the Shrek students before carrying them toward the academy with his flying soul tool.
• Qian Chaoguang and Qian Duoduo followed Jing Hongchen, observing the soul tool’s design as they flew.

Jing Hongchen demonstrated Illustrious Virtue Hall’s Flying Soul Tool to Shrek’s group as they flew toward Mingdu, while Qian Chaoguang judged that Sun Moon’s soul-tool research had overlooked simpler mechanical approaches. Seeing Mingdu’s dazzling skyline stirred memories of Blue Star, leaving him longing to return to his homeland.

• Jing Hongchen unfolded the Flying Soul Tool and enclosed the travelers in a Light Membrane, impressing Qian Duoduo with its design.
• Jing Hongchen explained that Illustrious Virtue Hall hoped to develop a long-distance, multi-person Flying Soul Tool made from ordinary metals.
• Qian Chaoguang assessed the Sun Moon researchers’ approach and privately concluded they relied too heavily on Soul Power and Core Arrays.
• Jing Hongchen slowed the flight over Mingdu and showed Shrek’s group the city’s illuminated skyscrapers and sprawling streets.
• Qian Chaoguang gazed at Mingdu and remembered Blue Star, wondering whether he would ever see his homeland again.

Qian Chaoguang and the Shrek Academy students arrived at Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy for their two-and-a-half-year exchange, where they began an entrance assessment. The students’ extraordinary physical test results shocked the academy staff, and attention turned to Qian Chaoguang as he stepped up to be examined.

• Qian Chaoguang admitted to Huo Yutong that he felt homesick, and she suggested they visit their family after the exchange.
• Jing Hongchen brought the Shrek students to Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy and left with Qian Duoduo while glancing at Qian Chaoguang.
• Lin Jiayi explained the academy’s study and promotion system, gave the students their materials, and led them to the physical examination room.
• Ye Xiaosheng and the other students underwent physical tests, and He Caitou and Huo Yutong’s results stunned the academy’s teachers.
• Lin Jiayi focused on Qian Chaoguang as he entered the testing instrument, eager to learn more about the mysterious youth.

Qian Chaoguang underwent a physical evaluation at Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy, but his extraordinary measurements confused the testing staff and eventually burned out the Soul Conduction Body Tester. Lin Jiayi suspected Qian Chaoguang was deceiving them again, leaving the academy unable to trust even his genuine results.

• Qian Chaoguang entered the Soul Conduction Body Tester and let it scan him without hiding his condition.
• The tester reported Qian Chaoguang's body strength at level seventy-nine, flexibility at level ninety-one, and soul power at level forty-four, leaving the testing teacher and Lin Jiayi stunned.
• The tester produced implausible readings for Qian Chaoguang's weight, bone age, and soul bones, then froze and filled its display with garbled text.
• The Soul Conduction Body Tester beeped, overloaded, and burned out, while Qian Chaoguang asked Lin Jiayi whether he would have to pay for it.
• Lin Jiayi decided the machine had been deceived and recalled how Qian Chaoguang had fooled the academy and spectators during the tournament.

Lin Jiayi continued the tests at Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy, where Qian Chaoguang’s full-strength punch destroyed the strength tester. The punch revealed that his evolved Blood Qi Wolf Smoke could send a hidden force through targets and break them from within.

• Lin Jiayi calmed himself and began the test of maximum striking force, allowing Soul Power and Martial Souls but forbidding Soul Tools.
• He Caitou reached a strength rating of seventy, while Huo Yutong and the other Soul Tool Department students scored lower.
• Qian Chaoguang covered his arm with Light of the Mind and Blood Qi Wolf Smoke, then punched through the tester and shattered its Core Array.
• Qian Chaoguang apologized to Lin Jiayi, and the teachers stared in shock as he explained that Blood Qi Wolf Smoke had attacked the machine from within.
• Ye Xiaosheng looked at his swollen fist and felt grateful that he had not taken Qian Chaoguang’s full-strength punch.

Qian Chaoguang dominated the reaction-speed test at Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy after earlier tests had damaged or confused the testing equipment. He settled into his dormitory, while Lin Jiayi reported the contradictory results to Jing Hongchen, who asked whether the tests had detected any soul bones.

• Lin Jiayi moved the testing session to the reaction-speed test, where He Caitou and Huo Yutong scored well before being eliminated.
• Qian Chaoguang cleared the reaction test by using his Divine Sense and hand speed, exposing flaws in the device's design.
• Lin Jiayi ended the tests and arranged single dormitory rooms for the students.
• Qian Chaoguang checked his dormitory for surveillance, showered, and began meditating.
• Lin Jiayi told Jing Hongchen that the Soul Conduction Body Tester and strength-testing machine had broken down, while the reported measurements for Qian Chaoguang seemed contradictory.
• Jing Hongchen asked Lin Jiayi whether the tests had detected any soul bones.

Jing Hongchen learned that Qian Chaoguang’s physical tests had destroyed two Soul Conduction Body Testers, but dismissed him as a threat in Soul Tools and planned to monitor him while pursuing the Sun Moon Empire’s long-term ambitions. The next morning, Qian Chaoguang recovered from his journey and quietly met Qian Duoduo at breakfast, with both pretending not to know each other because they sensed surveillance.

• Lin Jiayi reported that Qian Chaoguang’s tests had overloaded one Soul Conduction Body Tester and shattered another, leaving Jing Hongchen furious and without usable measurements.
• Jing Hongchen decided to investigate Qian Chaoguang through Qian Duoduo and assigned someone to monitor him, while judging Huo Yutong and He Caitou to be stronger Soul Tool prospects.
• Jing Hongchen ordered the exchange students’ instruction to proceed normally and expressed confidence that the Sun Moon Empire would eventually outlast Shrek and claim the continent.
• Qian Chaoguang finished cultivating in his dormitory and noted that the academy’s food and cultivation environment fell short of what he had enjoyed at Shrek.
• Qian Chaoguang and Qian Duoduo met Huo Yutong at breakfast and deliberately acted as though they were not familiar with each other because they noticed surveillance nearby.

Qian Chaoguang and the other Shrek students began their studies at Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy, where teachers were assigned by lot. Qian Chaoguang was paired with an imposing instructor and discovered the instructor’s unusual laboratory.

• Lin Jiayi explained the Shrek students’ study arrangements, including access to the Sixth Grade Experimental Zone and an assessment for entry to Illustrious Virtue Hall.
• The teachers drew slips to choose students, and a square-faced instructor called Qian Chaoguang’s name.
• Qian Chaoguang heard Xuan Ziwen call Huo Yutong’s name and felt relieved she would study with a teacher whose research approach matched hers.
• The square-faced instructor led Qian Chaoguang to the First Laboratory, which was filled with metals, components, a large Smelting Furnace, and forging equipment.
• Qian Chaoguang praised the multifunctional Smelting Furnace, and the instructor proudly revealed it was one of his own works.

Qian Chaoguang demonstrated his forging skill to Liu Tiezhu, turning raw iron ore into top-grade Hundred Refinements Iron Mother in under a minute. Liu Tiezhu introduced himself as Qian’s teacher and explained his unusual research focus on close-combat soul tools and Soul Tool Armor.

• Liu Tiezhu asked Qian Chaoguang to show what he could do, and Qian said he could forge iron.
• Qian Chaoguang used his Spirit Refined Spirit Awakening Hammers to forge raw iron ore into a one-cubic-foot block of Hundred Refinements Iron Mother with exactly thirty strikes.
• Liu Tiezhu praised the result, introduced himself as Qian Chaoguang’s teacher, and admitted Lin Jiayi had told him to fob Qian off for two years.
• Liu Tiezhu explained that he researched Close-Combat Soul Tools and Soul Tool Armor rather than conventional soul tools.
• Liu Tiezhu said high-level soul engineers rarely used Close-Combat Soul Tools and identified Liao Mengkai’s Devil God Blade as a notable exception.

Qian Chaoguang discovered that Liu Tiezhu was a Rank 8 Top Soul Tool Master and a gifted close-combat soul tool researcher who wanted to learn his forging techniques. Liu refused to give up, but Qian rejected his offers because he did not trust the Sun Moon Empire’s leadership or Jing Hongchen.

• Liu Tiezhu explained that Lin Jiayi had assigned Qian Chaoguang to him expecting him to make little progress, and revealed that he was a Rank 8 Top Soul Tool Master.
• Liu Tiezhu recognized Qian Chaoguang’s forging talent and offered to teach him Illustrious Virtue Hall’s secrets in exchange for learning his techniques.
• Qian Chaoguang asked about the Judgment Sword, and Liu Tiezhu revealed that he had made it and offered to craft more.
• Liu Tiezhu offered Qian Chaoguang his full-body Soul Tool Armor technology and close-combat soul tool research, and even invited him to become his apprentice.
• Qian Chaoguang refused, saying he trusted Liu Tiezhu but not the Sun Moon Empire’s imperial family or Jing Hongchen.

Qian Chaoguang began his first Soul Tool lesson with Liu Tiezhu and discovered that the teacher’s unconventional research aimed to strengthen soul masters by enhancing their martial souls. Their ideas proved remarkably compatible, and Liu Tiezhu realized he had found a kindred spirit.

• Liu Tiezhu postponed teaching advanced forging techniques and began assessing Qian Chaoguang’s Soul Tool knowledge.
• Liu Tiezhu explained his research into specialized Soul Tools that could enhance soul masters and address the weakness of Useless Martial Souls.
• Qian Chaoguang recognized that Lin Jiayi had likely arranged the lessons to sabotage his progress, but his own knowledge and abilities let him understand Liu Tiezhu’s theories.
• Qian Chaoguang asked penetrating questions and shared insights about Close-Combat Soul Tools, surprising Liu Tiezhu.
• Liu Tiezhu grew delighted as he realized Qian Chaoguang understood his ideas and could build on them.

Qian Chaoguang spent three days learning about Close-Combat Soul Tools from Liu Tiezhu, while Huo Yutong prepared to deal with hostility at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy. Huo Yutong recorded her exchange with the students in Laboratory Three and challenged Wang Shaojie’s claim to imperial status.

• Liu Tiezhu and Qian Chaoguang bonded over Close-Combat Soul Tools, and Liu proposed becoming sworn brothers, but Qian refused.
• Qian Chaoguang and Liu Tiezhu spent three days discussing soul tools, greatly expanding Qian’s knowledge.
• Huo Yutong waited in Laboratory Three with an Image Recording Soul Tool prepared by Qian Chaoguang.
• Ke Ke rebuked Huo Yutong for addressing the students as senior apprentices, but Huo turned the question back on her by invoking Xuan Ziwen’s authority.
• Wang Shaojie claimed Huo Yutong needed their permission to study in the laboratory, and Huo questioned how he could be imperial family with the surname Wang.

Huo Yutong provoked Wang Shaojie and Ke Ke into threatening her, then used recordings of the confrontation to demand compensation from Lin Jiayi. Qian Duoduo escalated the dispute by threatening war unless the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy gave Shrek an acceptable explanation, and Lin Jiayi went to find Jing Hongchen.

• Huo Yutong angered Wang Shaojie by alluding to his status as an illegitimate son, and Ke Ke challenged her to a duel.
• Huo Yutong followed Ke Ke to the laboratory, found that her access card did not work, and headed to Qian Duoduo after ending her recordings.
• Huo Yutong played a recording for Lin Jiayi and demanded an explanation and compensation for the threats against her.
• Qian Duoduo burst into Lin Jiayi's office, damaged the walls, and threatened war if the academy failed to satisfy Shrek.
• Lin Jiayi promised to find Jing Hongchen and rushed away to get him.

After Huo Yutong was threatened and mistreated by students at Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Master Academy, Lin Jiayi rushed to Jing Hongchen for help. Jing Hongchen feared Shrek’s retaliation and hurried to seek the Emperor’s intervention, knowing the incident could ruin the exchange and push Shrek against the Sun Moon Empire.

• Lin Jiayi rushed to Illustrious Virtue Hall after learning that Huo Yutong had received death threats from students, including Wang Shaojie, an imperial relative.
• Jing Hongchen was startled when Lin Jiayi burst in and reported that Qian Duoduo had nearly attacked him over Huo Yutong’s treatment.
• Lin Jiayi explained that Wang Shaojie and Ke Ke had bullied Huo Yutong, threatened her, and locked her out of the laboratory by changing its access controls.
• Jing Hongchen ordered Lin Jiayi to take his token to the Imperial Palace and report the incident to the Emperor.
• Jing Hongchen hurried out, fearing that failing to protect Huo Yutong would provoke Shrek and endanger Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.

Qian Chaoguang and Qian Duoduo waited for Jing Hongchen to address the bullying of Huo Yutong, with evidence ready to support their demands. Qian Chaoguang introduced himself as Huo Yutong’s older brother and began the confrontation.

• Qian Chaoguang realized Huo Yutong had been caught up in the hazing incident and went to the Dean of Instruction's office with Liu Tiezhu.
• Qian Chaoguang and Huo Yutong reviewed the recorded evidence and waited with Qian Duoduo for Jing Hongchen to arrive.
• Jing Hongchen asked Liu Tiezhu and Xuan Ziwen to leave, and Qian Duoduo sealed the damaged office doorway with Soul Power.
• Qian Chaoguang told Jing Hongchen that his status and seniority at the academy were theoretically equal to Qian Duoduo's.
• Qian Chaoguang introduced himself as a Sea God Pavilion Member and successor, then emphasized that he was Huo Yutong's older brother.