Chapter Summaries

Xu Zhengyang defeated the White-Eyed Devil Tiger with the Thunder Flame Enemy-Binding Net, fire, and his Flame Spear, then carried it to a concealed lair. After hiding himself and the dying tiger, he prepared to absorb its Soul Ring.

• Xu Zhengyang trapped the White-Eyed Devil Tiger in the Thunder Flame Enemy-Binding Net and set the pit ablaze, then attacked it with his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear.
• The White-Eyed Devil Tiger unleashed steel-like hairs and a beam of white light, but Xu Zhengyang's Purple Brilliant Heaven-Destroying Dragon swallowed the beam.
• Xu Zhengyang used the Class 5 Flame Spear to pierce the White-Eyed Devil Tiger's chest and bring it down.
• Xu Zhengyang bound the defeated tiger, carried it away from the battlefield, and entered an abandoned lair several kilometers away.
• Xu Zhengyang spread medicinal powders around the lair and activated a Camouflage Mirror to conceal himself and the dying White-Eyed Devil Tiger.

Xu Zhengyang endured the dangerous absorption of an eleven-hundred-year second Soul Ring from the White-Eyed Devil Tiger and succeeded. He discovered that the process had also awakened a strange vertical eye, which he suspected was the tiger’s External Soul Bone.

• Xu Zhengyang absorbed the White-Eyed Devil Tiger’s thousand-year Soul Ring despite its intense pain and pressure.
• Xu Zhengyang held on through repeated bouts of near-collapse by recalling his family and ambitions.
• After the absorption, Xu Zhengyang’s Soul Power surged out of control and gathered in his eyes and between his brows.
• Xu Zhengyang experienced a new vision that let him see his surroundings and the fluctuations of Soul Power despite keeping his eyes closed.
• Xu Zhengyang used his Soul Power to open a small vertical eye between his brows and suspected it was the White-Eyed Devil Tiger External Soul Bone.

After absorbing a thousand-year White-Eyed Devil Tiger Soul Ring, Xu Zhengyang gained the rare spiritual External Soul Bone Devil Tiger's Eye and reached Soul Power rank twenty-three. He continued training in Sunset Forest, where its dangers sharpened his combat abilities and nearly killed him several times.

• Xu Zhengyang discovered that the White-Eyed Devil Tiger had given him the eye-type External Soul Bone Devil Tiger's Eye, which improved his vision and spiritual power and granted him the Devil Tiger Illusion Breaking skill.
• Xu Zhengyang gained the Devil Tiger Destruction Kill Soul Skill, reached Soul Power rank twenty-three, and saw his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear grow heavier and more powerful.
• Xu Zhengyang examined how the Devil Tiger's Eye connected to and nourished his spiritual sea alongside his two Martial Souls.
• Xu Zhengyang trained and fought in Sunset Forest, using his enhanced vision and danger sense while developing his combat awareness and spearmanship.
• Xu Zhengyang narrowly survived a Pink Empress's poisonous ambush and escaped hundreds of thousand-year Sunset Bees by hiding in a swamp for five days.

Xu Zhengyang discovered the poisonous miasma surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and spent six months using it to temper his body and cultivate. At eleven, he reached rank twenty-six and could venture several kilometers into the miasma, but the core remained beyond his reach.

• Xu Zhengyang escaped a five-thousand-year Lightning Leopard and realized he had entered a vast, dangerous expanse of poisonous miasma.
• Xu Zhengyang recognized the miasma as the barrier around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and began training in it, finding that it stimulated his body and Soul Power.
• Xu Zhengyang spent the next six months alternating between recovering outside the miasma and cultivating within it, gradually increasing how long and how far he could endure it.
• Xu Zhengyang explored up to four kilometers into the miasma but could not go farther because his body reached its limit.
• Xu Zhengyang reached rank twenty-six and developed strong resistance to toxins, while discovering that Soul Tools melted and Soul Power drained rapidly deeper inside the miasma.

Xu Zhengyang arrived in Shrek City to investigate the continent and learn about Shrek Academy. As he gathered information, he was impressed and wary of the academy’s influence, powerful students, and deadly admissions trials.

• Xu Zhengyang traveled to Shrek City after leaving Sunset Forest, comparing the combat experience and soul tools of Douluo Continent soul masters with those of the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Zhengyang reached Shrek City and learned how Shrek Academy had built and governed the city, as well as the academy’s history and influence.
• Xu Zhengyang entered through the north gate and was astonished by the strength and combat experience of the soul masters gathered there.
• Xu Zhengyang settled into a hotel and spent his days gathering information about Shrek Academy and its students’ celebrated achievements.
• Xu Zhengyang learned that admission required a city lord’s recommendation and rigorous practical testing, while students and their factions accepted the possibility of injury or death during academy trials.

Xu Zhengyang learned that Shrek Academy was dangerous and realized he could not safely enroll, while his investigations suggested he lived in the era of the Peerless Tang Sect. A chance encounter in a Shrek City restaurant confirmed the era when he recognized Tang Ya, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, and Bei Bei, leaving him watching their confrontation.

• Xu Zhengyang concluded that Shrek Academy prized combat ability and that joining it would risk exposing his origins and violating his agreement to return home before turning twelve.
• Xu Zhengyang identified Yan Shaozhe as Shrek Academy's dean and inferred that he lived in the era of the Peerless Tang Sect.
• At a crowded restaurant, Tang Ya took the seats Jiang Nannan and her companions had been about to use, and Jiang Nannan challenged her.
• Tang Ya insulted Jiang Nannan, prompting Xu Sanshi to threaten Tang Ya and warn that he would not spare Bei Bei.
• Bei Bei appeared to intervene, and Xu Zhengyang recognized Jiang Nannan, Tang Ya, Xu Sanshi, and Bei Bei from the original novel.

Xu Zhengyang met Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan at a crowded restaurant in Shrek City, realizing they were Shrek Academy students and that he was two years older than Huo Yuhao. After sharing his table with them, he left the city, having learned where he stood in the timeline and gained a rough sense of Shrek Academy.

• Xu Zhengyang recognized Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Tang Ya, and Jiang Nannan as prominent Shrek Academy students and worked out their ages relative to his own and Huo Yuhao's.
• Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei argued over the last available seats, and the restaurant manager asked Xu Zhengyang to share his table with them.
• Xu Zhengyang reluctantly agreed to share the table, warning the manager not to let the others interfere with his meal.
• Bei Bei apologized for Tang Ya's rude comment, while Xu Zhengyang continued eating and drinking before leaving the restaurant.
• Xu Zhengyang decided that his visit had served its purpose and left Shrek City with a clearer understanding of the timeline and Shrek Academy.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya recognized Xu Zhengyang as a powerful, experienced blacksmith and followed him out of Shrek City to recruit him to the Tang Sect. Xu Zhengyang refused their offers, revealed his opposition to Shrek Academy’s system, and left them with Tang Ya’s vow to restore the Tang Sect.

• Bei Bei told Tang Ya that Xu Zhengyang’s savage Soul Power, killing aura, and weighted steps marked him as a formidable fighter and likely a skilled blacksmith.
• Bei Bei proposed recruiting Xu Zhengyang to help revitalize the Tang Sect, and Tang Ya eagerly agreed.
• Xu Zhengyang left Shrek City and vowed to return to bring Shrek Academy down from its undefeated pedestal.
• Bei Bei and Tang Ya caught up with Xu Zhengyang outside the city and offered friendship and a way into Shrek Academy, but he refused.
• Xu Zhengyang explained that his position kept him from joining Shrek Academy and criticized its survival-and-elimination system.
• Xu Zhengyang described the Tang Sect as a fallen power, and Tang Ya vowed to lead it back to glory.

Bei Bei challenged Xu Zhengyang after deciding the mysterious visitor was hostile to Shrek, but Xu Zhengyang matched him in close combat without using a Martial Soul. Xu Zhengyang shattered Bei Bei’s Thunder Dragon Claw with his spear-inspired technique, leaving Bei Bei astonished and the two fighters still standing.

• Bei Bei questioned Xu Zhengyang’s reason for visiting Shrek City and challenged him after concluding he would not join the Tang Sect.
• Xu Zhengyang won their initial clash of fists, pushing Bei Bei back three steps.
• Bei Bei summoned his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul, but Xu Zhengyang traded dozens of claw and palm strikes with him without falling behind.
• Bei Bei used his first Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw, against Xu Zhengyang.
• Xu Zhengyang pierced through Thunder Dragon Claw with Tyrant's Furious Collapse, tearing Bei Bei’s sleeve and leaving a red mark on his arm.

Xu Zhengyang defeated Bei Bei in a sparring match without using a Soul Skill, overcoming Bei Bei’s Tang Sect techniques and Thunderbolt Fury. When Bei Bei asked his name, Xu Zhengyang introduced himself as Long Aotian and left him expecting another defeat if they met again.

• Bei Bei used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Mysterious Jade Hand against Xu Zhengyang, but Xu Zhengyang’s strength and speed let him counter the techniques.
• Xu Zhengyang’s Tiger Roars in the Mountains and Forests tore through Bei Bei’s Thunderbolt Fury and left his fingers pressed against Bei Bei’s shoulder.
• Bei Bei conceded defeat and told Tang Ya that Xu Zhengyang had outmatched him in physique, strength, and combat techniques.
• Tang Ya urged Bei Bei to use Tang Sect hidden weapons, but Bei Bei refused, saying it would ruin the spar and likely injure them both.
• Bei Bei asked Xu Zhengyang his name, and Xu Zhengyang introduced himself as Long Aotian before saying Bei Bei would still not match him next time.

Xu Zhengyang traveled from Shrek City to Star Luo City, where he planned to obtain the Soul Devouring Carving Knife and its Gold of Life. He left himself determined to acquire it and use it to transform the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear.

• After Xu Zhengyang left, Bei Bei told Tang Ya he suspected Long Aotian belonged to the Body Sect and warned that provoking the sect could be dangerous.
• Xu Zhengyang chose to travel under another name, then followed the roads around the Star Dou Great Forest toward Star Luo City while carrying three hundred jin of weights.
• After roughly three days, Xu Zhengyang reached Star Luo City, rested overnight, and went to the auction house.
• Xu Zhengyang recalled that he could not temper the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear further without a higher-grade metal, and identified the Gold of Life in the Soul Devouring Carving Knife as the material he wanted.
• After meditating through the night, Xu Zhengyang considered his future plans and resolved to obtain the Soul Devouring Carving Knife.

Xu Zhengyang attended the Starlight Auction House under the name Long Aotian, hoping to find the Soul Devouring Carving Knife, but it never appeared. After several nights of fruitless auctions, he saw a Mysterious Water Pill and began missing home.

• Xu Zhengyang entered the Starlight Auction House, passed its screening, and took a masked seat in the auction hall.
• Xu Zhengyang watched Class 4 soul tools and other items sell for prices that astonished him.
• Xu Zhengyang waited through the auction but did not see the Soul Devouring Carving Knife, and he wondered whether he had arrived too early.
• Xu Zhengyang returned to the auction house over the next few days while cultivating at his hotel, but most of the offerings did not interest him.
• Xu Zhengyang saw a Mysterious Water Pill go up for auction and thought about his father and returning home sooner.

Xu Zhengyang won a Mysterious Water Pill at the Starlight Auction House and learned that the Soul Devouring Carving Knife would be auctioned at next week’s VIP session. Short of the money needed to buy it, he arranged to auction his Polar Ice Fox Head Soul Bone.

• Xu Zhengyang outbid the other bidders and bought the Mysterious Water Pill for thirty-two thousand gold soul coins.
• Xu Zhengyang learned from the transaction clerk that a Soul Devouring Carving Knife would be auctioned on the first of next month for more than two hundred thousand gold soul coins.
• Xu Zhengyang realized his remaining one hundred and twenty thousand gold soul coins were not enough to buy the carving knife.
• Xu Zhengyang showed the clerk his nearly thousand-year-old Polar Ice Fox Head Soul Bone, which the auction house estimated was worth at least one hundred thousand gold soul coins.
• Xu Zhengyang asked the clerk to auction the Soul Bone before the first of next month and transfer the proceeds to his account.

Xu Zhengyang improved his cultivation after taking a Mysterious Water Pill, then returned to the Starlight Auction House and bid on the cursed Soul Devouring Carving Knife. The chapter ended with the knife sold to him for two hundred thousand gold soul coins.

• Xu Zhengyang took a Mysterious Water Pill and raised his Soul Power rank from twenty-six to twenty-seven.
• Xu Zhengyang spent three days cultivating before returning to the Starlight Auction House and finding that his Soul Bone had sold for a hundred and twenty thousand gold soul coins.
• Xu Zhengyang attended the VIP auction, where the auctioneer revealed that the Soul Devouring Carving Knife ranked ninety-ninth and had brought about the deaths of all thirty-seven of its former owners.
• Xu Zhengyang bid two hundred thousand gold soul coins on the Soul Devouring Carving Knife, and the auctioneer sold it to him.

Xu Zhengyang examined the cursed Soul Devouring Carving Knife and sought a way to extract its gold of life without being corrupted by its evil energy. He traveled to Gengxin City, bought a smithy, and registered as Long Aotian to find skilled blacksmiths and better forging facilities.

• Xu Zhengyang inspected the Soul Devouring Carving Knife and sensed that its evil energy could corrupt him if he touched it.
• Xu Zhengyang concluded that Dongyang City's facilities could not safely destroy the carving knife or extract its gold of life.
• Xu Zhengyang traveled from Star Luo City to Gengxin City, the continent's famed blacksmithing center.
• Xu Zhengyang explored Gengxin City and bought a poorly run smithy with five blacksmiths and a top-notch blast furnace.
• Xu Zhengyang registered in Gengxin City as Long Aotian so he could seek superior casting techniques and communicate with skilled blacksmiths.

Xu Zhengyang settled in Gengxin City and used his new blacksmith shop to forge his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, discovering that the technique could gradually change both the spear and his own body. After an exhausting day of forging and cultivation, he resolved to improve his skills and temper his Martial Soul in the city.

• Xu Zhengyang opened the Zhengyang Blacksmith Shop and rehired its five workers at double their previous wages.
• Xu Zhengyang used the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique to strike his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear eighty-one times, slightly compacting its shaft and defining its spearhead.
• Xu Zhengyang felt the forging impacts tempering his body and clearing his meridians as he pushed himself to exhaustion.
• After the workers left, Xu Zhengyang took a medicinal bath and meditated, cultivating at least twenty percent faster than usual.
• Xu Zhengyang decided to develop his forging skills in Gengxin City and continue shaping his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear.

Xu Zhengyang attended a Blacksmith Association gathering in Gengxin City, where he learned from veteran smiths and asked President Lou Li about forging his Martial Soul. Lou Li warned that hammering a Martial Soul could severely injure or cripple its owner, leaving Xu Zhengyang’s plan in doubt.

• Xu Zhengyang continued hammering the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, practicing his spear techniques, and refining his self-created moves.
• Xu Zhengyang went to the Blacksmith Association’s monthly gathering and exchanged forging knowledge with its members.
• Xu Zhengyang observed President Lou Li and learned from the veteran blacksmiths’ techniques and attention to detail.
• After the gathering, Xu Zhengyang introduced himself as Long Aotian and asked Lou Li how to forge Yang flame iron and extraterrestrial meteoric copper.
• Xu Zhengyang explained that those metals composed his Martial Soul and that he wanted to forge it into a sharper, more powerful weapon.
• Lou Li warned that forging a Martial Soul could burn Xu Zhengyang, sever his meridians, or destroy his Martial Soul.

Lou Li examined Xu Zhengyang’s Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear and explained why he could not yet forge its impure, unusually powerful materials. Xu Zhengyang left with a long-term plan to refine his Martial Soul and new ideas about using magma or lightning to destroy the Soul Devouring Carving Knife and extract the Gold of Life.

• Xu Zhengyang showed Lou Li his Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, and Lou Li detected sealed power in its spearhead.
• Lou Li found that the spear contained many impurities and had been crudely forged, making it too difficult for Xu Zhengyang to refine with his current strength and cultivation.
• Lou Li advised Xu Zhengyang to persist with repeated hammering and refining rather than expect to succeed quickly.
• Lou Li told Xu Zhengyang that magma had once been used to forge Extraterrestrial Meteoric Copper and that lightning could also refine metals, though both methods were dangerous.
• Xu Zhengyang realized that magma or lightning might help destroy the Soul Devouring Carving Knife and remove its curse to obtain the Gold of Life.

Xu Zhengyang spent a year in Gengxin City refining his spear, tempering the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear, and improving his forging skills. He reached the peak of rank twenty-nine at age twelve, but sensed that his limited innate talent would make future breakthroughs increasingly difficult.

• Xu Zhengyang used his stronger spiritual power to understand the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear through forging and felt their bond grow closer.
• Xu Zhengyang followed a demanding daily routine of spear practice, forging with a heavy black-gold hammer, medicinal baths, and meditation.
• Xu Zhengyang improved his forging and spear techniques until he could deliver more than a thousand hammer blows and nearly forge a Class 6 Soul Tool model.
• After a year in Gengxin City, Xu Zhengyang had grown taller and stronger, and reached the peak of rank twenty-nine at age twelve.
• Xu Zhengyang sensed a bottleneck caused by his limited innate talent and worried that future Soul Power breakthroughs would become harder.

Xu Zhengyang and Lou Li worked to forge the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear’s unyielding spearhead, and Xu Zhengyang finally shaped it through hours of hammering. The spearhead took the form of a black-and-gold tiger’s head and began merging with Xu Zhengyang’s blood, though its edge remained unsharpened.

• Xu Zhengyang heated the spearhead and struck it repeatedly with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique, gradually changing the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Copper.
• After five hours, Xu Zhengyang had flattened and shaped the spearhead as far as he could, but he could not finish it with his black-gold hammer alone.
• Lou Li gave Xu Zhengyang his Vajra Chisel and helped stoke the furnace, allowing Xu Zhengyang to forge with both hands.
• Xu Zhengyang continued hammering for another hour, exhausted himself, and spat blood onto the spearhead, which began to merge with it.
• Lou Li examined the transformed spear and praised its quality, noting that its edge had not yet been sharpened.