Chapter Summaries

Tang San asked Yu Xiaogang to explain Black Bamboo’s powerful mutated Lone Bamboo and the impossible Soul Ring configuration reported by Meng Yiran; Yu Xiaogang dismissed both as flaws and illusions. The next afternoon, Xiao Xuan prepared for two more arena matches as the crowd and betting frenzy around Black Bamboo grew.

• On the way back from the arena, Tang San and the Shrek group wondered how Black Bamboo’s Lone Bamboo could strike with such force, and Tang San decided to consult Yu Xiaogang.
• Tang San told Yu Xiaogang about Black Bamboo’s victories, and Yu Xiaogang claimed the Lone Bamboo’s strength came from a beneficial mutation that would eventually cause hidden problems.
• Tang San asked about a Soul Ancestor with two Thousand-Year Soul Rings and two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, then recounted Meng Yiran’s story; Yu Xiaogang insisted the rings and bamboo spear were illusions caused by mental manipulation.
• Yu Xiaogang agreed to accompany Tang San to the arena the next afternoon to inspect Black Bamboo’s mutated Martial Soul.
• Xiao Xuan arrived at the crowded Soto Great Soul Arena and learned he would face Mountain-Breaking Mad Hammer and then Mountain-Shaking Wild Bull.
• Xiao Xuan watched gamblers wager heavily on Black Bamboo and planned to use his winning streak to draw them into betting before the arena matches began.

Xiao Xuan faced level forty-seven Soul Ancestor Tie Lie in the Soul Fighting Arena and defeated him without revealing a Soul Ring. Yu Xiaogang’s prediction that Tie Lie would break Xiao Xuan’s bamboo spear proved wrong, while Flender’s bet on Black Bamboo paid off.

• The host introduced Xiao Xuan as Black Bamboo and announced Tie Lie as his opponent in the arena’s featured match.
• Yu Xiaogang told the Shrek members that Tie Lie’s heavy hammer would break Xiao Xuan’s plant Martial Soul, while Flender revealed he had bet one hundred Gold Soul Coins on Black Bamboo.
• Tie Lie struck Xiao Xuan’s Five-Star Lone Bamboo with his Third Soul Skill, but the spear remained intact and the rebound injured Tie Lie’s hands.
• Tie Lie used his Fourth Soul Skill, Giant Hammer Topples the Heavens, but Xiao Xuan countered with his Demon-Breaking Heaven-Splitting Spear Art and shattered the attack.
• Xiao Xuan’s spear sent Tie Lie crashing through a stone wall, and the crowd cheered as Yu Xiaogang stared in shock.

Xiao Xuan returned to the arena as Black Bamboo to face Man Ben, a level forty-seven Soul Ancestor who targeted the shaft of his spear instead of its tip. Man Ben trapped the spear between his armored arms and began crushing it, while Yu Xiaogang predicted that it would break and Flender worried about his bet.

• Yu Xiaogang blamed Tie Lie's defeat on his poor tactics, while Tang San and Dai Mubai backed his analysis and Flender went to collect his winnings.
• Xiao Xuan entered the arena for his second featured match of the day against Man Ben, the Mountain-Shaking Wild Bull.
• Man Ben avoided Xiao Xuan's spearhead, trapped its shaft between his armored arms, and pressed it against his side.
• Yu Xiaogang praised Man Ben's strategy and told Tang San to learn from it, while Flender feared losing the five hundred Gold Soul Coins he had bet on Black Bamboo.

Xiao Xuan defeated Man Ben without damaging his five-star Blue Jade Bamboo spear, earning his sixth straight victory and exposing Yu Xiaogang’s mistaken prediction. Flender persuaded Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun to bet on Xiao Xuan’s next matches, and after Xiao Xuan won again twice, the academy’s bettors celebrated his eight consecutive victories.

• Man Ben used his Soul Skills to crush Xiao Xuan’s spear, but twice cracked his own hoof armor instead.
• Xiao Xuan used the Entanglement Formula to break Man Ben’s armor, struck him off the stage, and won his sixth consecutive match.
• Flender proposed pooling money for bets on Xiao Xuan, and Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun contributed while the others declined.
• Xiao Xuan defeated a Control System Soul Ancestor and an endurance-focused beast Soul Ancestor, reaching eight consecutive victories.
• Flender and Ma Hongjun celebrated their winnings, while Xiao Wu began calculating how much she might have earned.

Flender, the Shrek teachers, and students bet heavily on Black Bamboo to win his tenth consecutive Soul Fighting match, convinced his earlier victories proved his strength. Xiao Xuan had secretly bet on his opponent instead, and the tenth match began with him deliberately holding back.

• Xiao Wu, Zhao Wuji, Ma Hongjun, and Dai Mubai gave Flender money to bet on Black Bamboo after his earlier victories.
• After weighing Black Bamboo’s nine wins, Tang San bet on him, and Yu Xiaogang followed Tang San’s judgment with a wager of his own.
• Xiao Xuan checked the betting slips his errand runner had placed on his opponent at multiple windows and stored them in his Soul Tool.
• Flender wagered everyone’s money and his own savings on Black Bamboo, promising to repair the academy and improve the cafeteria if they won.
• Xiao Xuan began his tenth match without revealing his Soul Rings and deliberately slowed his attacks and held back his strength.

Xiao Xuan ended his nine-win streak by admitting defeat just before his opponent’s finishing attack landed. Tang San and Yu Xiaogang lost their savings on the match, while Flender revealed that he had also bet the academy’s living expenses for the next few years.

• Xiao Xuan’s opponent realized he was weakening, overwhelmed him with Soul Skills, and prepared to strike with his Fourth Soul Skill.
• Xiao Xuan admitted defeat before the attack landed, ending his nine-win streak and provoking an uproar among the spectators.
• Tang San and Yu Xiaogang discovered that they had lost their savings on the match.
• Zhao Wuji questioned Flender, who admitted he had bet all his savings as well as the academy’s living expenses for the next few years.

Xiao Xuan collected his winnings from the Soul Fighting Arena and bought a Soul Bone at auction, but Flender and Tang San recognized him as Black Bamboo and confronted him outside Suotuo City. They blocked his path and accused him of deliberately surrendering in the final match to win their bets.

• Xiao Xuan counted the 500,000 Gold Soul Coins he had won and waited ten days for the auction.
• Xiao Xuan spent more than 300,000 Gold Soul Coins to buy the Soul Bone.
• Flender and Tang San watched the auction house and identified the departing buyer as Black Bamboo.
• Flender and Tang San followed Xiao Xuan out of Suotuo City, then blocked him on the road.
• Flender and Tang San accused Xiao Xuan of being Black Bamboo and using the final Soul Fighting Arena match to take their money.
• Xiao Xuan smiled and stopped pretending not to understand their accusations.

Xiao Xuan refused to give Flender the money and Soul Bone Flender demanded after losing his bets, then fought him off without using his Soul Rings. Flender tried to recruit him into Shrek Academy, but Xiao Xuan mocked the school and its claims; as Flender revealed all seven rings to challenge him, Xiao Xuan began revealing his own Soul Rings, starting with a purple one.

• Flender demanded Xiao Xuan hand over his Soul Bone and Soul Fighting Arena winnings, but Xiao Xuan refused and accused him of trying to rob him.
• Flender attacked Xiao Xuan, who held his own with bamboo spear techniques and physical strength without revealing any Soul Rings.
• Flender stopped fighting and offered to recruit Xiao Xuan into Shrek Academy in exchange for keeping the Soul Bone and returning his winnings.
• Xiao Xuan mocked Shrek Academy for claiming to train an elder of Spirit Hall without having a Titled Douluo among its staff, enraging Flender.
• Flender released all seven Soul Rings and challenged Xiao Xuan, who revealed a purple first Soul Ring and began summoning a second.

Xiao Xuan revealed his purple, purple, black, black Soul Ring configuration and severely injured Flender before disappearing after Zhao Wuji intervened to protect Tang San. Back at Shrek Academy, Tang San questioned Yu Xiaogang’s Soul Ring limits, and Yu Xiaogang suggested Xiao Xuan’s displayed rings might have been an illusion.

• Xiao Xuan revealed two thousand-year Soul Rings and two ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, then challenged Flender’s claim that he could teach him.
• Xiao Xuan struck Flender with his bamboo spear, severely injuring him, and then attacked the fleeing Tang San.
• Zhao Wuji blocked most of Xiao Xuan’s attack, but Tang San was still struck; Xiao Xuan vanished before Zhao Wuji could confront him.
• After waking at Shrek Academy, Tang San asked Yu Xiaogang how Xiao Xuan could have such powerful Soul Rings despite the limits Yu Xiaogang had taught him.
• Yu Xiaogang noted that Xiao Xuan had hidden his identity and suggested that his displayed Soul Rings might have been created by illusion techniques.

Tang San and Flender struggled to explain Xiao Xuan’s power and Soul Rings as an illusion or concealment, leaving Tang San with doubts. Meanwhile, Xiao Xuan fused two Lone Bamboos and the Thundering Hell Vine into his Five-Star Blue Jade Bamboo, which began transforming amid lightning and a fragment of the Law of Destruction.

• Yu Xiaogang proposed that Xiao Xuan had used an illusion to fake his Soul Ring Configuration, while Tang San questioned whether it could also explain Flender’s injury.
• Flender agreed Xiao Xuan had concealed his true cultivation, but could not confidently explain the Soul Rings; Tang San tried to dismiss his lingering doubts.
• Xiao Xuan found a second qualifying Lone Bamboo and prepared to raise his Five-Star Blue Jade Bamboo using both stalks and the Thundering Hell Vine’s main body.
• Xiao Xuan activated Three-in-One Fusion of All Things, and the Lone Bamboos dissolved into essence that flowed into his Martial Soul.
• The system extracted the Thundering Hell Vine’s lightning attribute and detected an Incomplete Fragment of the Law of Destruction within it.
• Lightning and destructive Qi entered the bamboo spear, turning it dark purple as its power surged and Xiao Xuan watched its transformation.

Xiao Xuan completed the upgrade of his Martial Soul, gaining lightning power and a Fragment of the Law of Destruction, then renamed it Purple Firmament Lightning Bamboo. He absorbed a Head Soul Bone that disguised his Soul Rings and set off for Heaven Dou City.

• Xiao Xuan received a Six-Star Lone Bamboo with a lightning attribute and a Fragment of the Law of Destruction, whose Brief Clearing effect suppressed energy in a small area at the cost of Soul Power.
• Xiao Xuan named his transformed Martial Soul Purple Firmament Lightning Bamboo.
• Xiao Xuan absorbed the Head Soul Bone, which increased his spiritual power and sharpened his perception.
• Xiao Xuan used the Soul Bone to disguise his purple, purple, black, black Soul Rings as yellow, yellow, purple, purple without affecting their power.
• Xiao Xuan put away his Martial Soul and headed out of the valley toward Heaven Dou City.

Xiao Xuan returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy and showed Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling how his Martial Soul had changed into a purple bamboo spear with lightning. Before he could take them to dinner, a messenger invited him to the Crown Prince's residence to meet Xue Qinghe.

• Xiao Xuan reunited with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who noticed that he seemed stronger after his trip.
• Xiao Xuan revealed his purple bamboo spear and demonstrated its lightning by striking a nearby rock.
• Ye Lingling asked whether Xiao Xuan's trip had been dangerous, and he reassured her before agreeing to treat her and Dugu Yan to dinner.
• A middle-aged messenger arrived and invited Xiao Xuan to the Crown Prince's residence on Xue Qinghe's behalf.
• Xiao Xuan accepted the invitation, postponed dinner with Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, and left with the messenger.

Xiao Xuan met Xue Qinghe at the Crown Prince's residence, where Xue Qinghe chose to build a genuine friendship with him rather than recruit him with benefits. Xue Qinghe warned that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan might target Xiao Xuan, and Xiao Xuan left after agreeing to be careful.

• Xue Qinghe welcomed Xiao Xuan back and noticed that he seemed more composed and difficult to read.
• Xue Qinghe asked Xiao Xuan to call him Qinghe in private, and Xiao Xuan agreed to address him as Brother Qinghe.
• Xue Qinghe warned Xiao Xuan that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been restless and that its actions might involve him.
• Xiao Xuan suspected Yu Tianheng was behind the threat and told Xue Qinghe he would be careful.
• Xiao Xuan thanked Xue Qinghe for the warning, then left the Crown Prince's residence.

After Xiao Xuan left, Qian Renxue discussed his unusual presence with She Long and Ci Xue, deciding to build a genuine friendship rather than recruit him with benefits. She ordered She Long to watch over Xiao Xuan discreetly in case the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan acted against him.

• Ci Xue asked why Qian Renxue had changed her mind about giving Xiao Xuan a task, and she explained that he seemed mysterious and unmoved by status or rewards.
• She Long said Xiao Xuan felt different from the last time he had seen him and agreed that befriending him was wiser than trying to win him over with benefits.
• Qian Renxue told She Long to monitor Xiao Xuan because his conflict with Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan might provoke the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
• Qian Renxue asked She Long to protect Xiao Xuan only if the clan attacked, hoping the help would build trust without making Xiao Xuan feel watched.
• She Long accepted Qian Renxue's orders and promised to handle the matter.

After two months of cultivation at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Xiao Xuan helped Dugu Yan temper her body using Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue. As she struggled with its intense medicinal power, he supported her and urged her to endure the treatment.

• Dugu Yan found Xiao Xuan in a bamboo grove and told him she had obtained Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, reminding him of his promise to help temper her body.
• Xiao Xuan warned Dugu Yan that the ten-thousand-year medicinal properties were much stronger, but agreed to help after she insisted.
• Dugu Yan led Xiao Xuan to her residence, where Yu Feng saw them arrive arm in arm and hurried off to tell Boss Tian Heng.
• Xiao Xuan examined the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue, divided it into portions, and prepared one portion for Dugu Yan.
• Dugu Yan began suffering from the powerful medicinal effects, so Xiao Xuan sent life energy into her body and slowed the treatment when she asked him to ease up.

Dugu Yan successfully refined the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue with Xiao Xuan’s help, then left with him looking sore and weak. Yu Tianheng saw them together, mistook their conversation about body tempering for evidence of intimacy, and ended the chapter vowing to let Xiao Xuan enjoy himself for a few more days.

• Dugu Yan finished refining the Whale Glue and celebrated the increase in her Bloodline Power, but Xiao Xuan steadied her when her weakened legs gave way.
• After resting, Dugu Yan thanked Xiao Xuan and said she would ask for his help again when she was ready to use the remaining Whale Glue.
• Yu Feng told Yu Tianheng that Dugu Yan had taken Xiao Xuan into her room, and Yu Tianheng rushed to see for himself.
• Yu Tianheng watched Dugu Yan leave with Xiao Xuan, heard them joke about her soreness and doing it again next time, and grew furious with jealousy.
• Yu Feng and Osler’s comments further angered Yu Tianheng, who finally calmed down and said he would let Xiao Xuan enjoy himself for a few more days.

Xiao Xuan and Dugu Yan visited a Heaven Dou City marketplace after learning that Dugu Yan’s Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue had been found there. Xiao Xuan discovered a special auxiliary material suitable for upgrading a Soul Ring and asked the stallholder its price.

• Dugu Yan told Xiao Xuan that she had obtained her Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue from a marketplace in Heaven Dou City.
• Xiao Xuan and Dugu Yan went to the marketplace to browse for rare items.
• Xiao Xuan searched the stalls but found mostly ordinary goods.
• Xiao Xuan picked up a gray-black ore and received a notification identifying it as a level-three auxiliary material with a special attribute.
• Xiao Xuan asked the stallholder how much the ore cost.

Xiao Xuan outbid Tai Long for a mysterious ore at a market stall, paying ten thousand Gold Soul Coins. After Tai Long left, Xiao Xuan stored the ore and continued shopping with Dugu Yan, who teased him about his wealth.

• Xiao Xuan examined an unusual piece of ore at a stall and prepared to buy it for three hundred Gold Soul Coins.
• Tai Long arrived and bid against Xiao Xuan, saying he needed the ore for the Strength Clan.
• Xiao Xuan raised his bid to ten thousand Gold Soul Coins, and Tai Long gave up and left.
• Xiao Xuan paid the stall owner and placed the ore in his Storage Soul Tool.
• Dugu Yan asked why Xiao Xuan had spent so much, and he said the ore might be useful someday.
• Dugu Yan joked about borrowing money from Xiao Xuan, and the two walked off together.

Tai Long told Tai Jian that Xiao Xuan had outbid him for the ore, and Tai Jian recognized Xiao Xuan as the target of his secret assassination commission. As Xiao Xuan and Dugu Yan left the market, Tai Jian disappeared to prepare to kill him and reclaim the ore.

• Tai Long told Tai Jian that a young man had bought the ore by driving its price up to ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.
• Tai Long pointed out Xiao Xuan, and Tai Jian recognized him as the target of a secret assassination commission connected to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
• Tai Jian told Tai Long to leave the matter to him, intending to kill Xiao Xuan and recover the ore.
• Xiao Xuan and Dugu Yan continued browsing the market but found nothing else worth buying.
• Xiao Xuan and Dugu Yan decided to leave the market as night fell, unaware that Tai Jian had set his sights on them.

Xiao Xuan parted ways with Dugu Yan after she arranged to collect a favor from him later, then encountered an ambush on the road back to Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Tai Jian of the Strength Clan revealed himself as a Soul King hired to kill Xiao Xuan, and the chapter ended with Xiao Xuan reacting strangely to Tai Jian’s name.

• Dugu Yan told Xiao Xuan she would visit her grandfather instead of returning to the academy with him.
• Dugu Yan asked Xiao Xuan to owe her a favor and reminded him to help her use the remaining Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue later.
• Xiao Xuan walked alone toward Heaven Dou Royal Academy after nightfall.
• Tai Jian blocked Xiao Xuan on a secluded road and said someone had paid him to kill Xiao Xuan.
• Tai Jian revealed his black gorilla Martial Soul and five Soul Rings, then identified himself as a member of the Strength Clan.
• Xiao Xuan heard Tai Jian’s name and privately found it amusing.