Chapter Summaries

Lin Luo found Qian Renxue’s stockings in his room and cleared up the misunderstanding by learning that Xue Lian had taken them there. During dance practice, Qian Renxue told Lin Luo she felt distant from him, and he hugged her back.

• Lin Luo found Qian Renxue’s stockings in his room and brought them to her, explaining that he suspected Xue Lian had left them there.
• Qian Renxue followed Lin Luo to Xue Lian’s room, where Xue Lian eventually remembered taking the stockings to play with them on Lin Luo’s bed.
• Lin Luo and Qian Renxue relaxed after Xue Lian confirmed what had happened, then agreed to continue their dance practice that night.
• After their dance, Qian Renxue hugged Lin Luo and told him she worried he had grown distant and no longer hugged her back.
• Lin Luo comforted Qian Renxue by embracing her, but when she began listing her complaints about him, he tried to pull away until she pinched his waist.

Lin Luo and Qian Renxue held a heart-to-heart, admitted how their behavior had hurt each other, and promised to grow closer. The conversation ended with Lin Luo criticizing Qian Renxue’s revealing clothes and Qian Renxue scolding him for swearing.

• Qian Renxue listed Lin Luo’s faults, including disrespecting her, losing his temper, keeping secrets, and pushing her away when she tried to hug him.
• Lin Luo explained that he had spent two late nights searching for his missing close friend and later found a note saying the friend had gone far away.
• Lin Luo realized Qian Renxue had mistaken his distance for rejection and promised to be more thoughtful and stop pushing her away.
• Lin Luo told Qian Renxue that he had felt neglected while she focused on Xue Lian, and Qian Renxue promised to take better care of him before kissing his cheek.
• Lin Luo complained that Ye Lingling had encouraged Qian Renxue to wear revealing clothes, and Qian Renxue tugged his ear for swearing.

Lin Luo and Qian Renxue reconciled and prepared to attend Heaven Dou Imperial Academy’s masquerade ball together. They arrived in disguise, hand in hand, and slipped into the academy through the crowd.

• Lin Luo and Qian Renxue made up, and Lin Luo embraced her before Ye Lingling and Xue Lian caught them together.
• The next day, Lin Luo and Qian Renxue dressed for the masquerade, and Ye Lingling teased them during the carriage ride.
• She Long brought Lin Luo, Qian Renxue, and Ye Lingling to the academy while Pufferfish stayed behind with Xue Lian.
• Lin Luo helped Qian Renxue out of the carriage, and the masked pair hurried hand in hand through the crowd into the academy.

At the masked ball, Lin Luo and Qian Renxue encountered Hong Chen, who seemed to recognize Lin Luo despite denying it. As the ballroom opened, Qian Renxue discovered that her dress had split at the chest, leaving them unsure how to proceed.

• Lin Luo and Qian Renxue searched the masked crowd for familiar classmates and spotted Xiong Chumo eating a chicken leg alone.
• Hong Chen returned Qian Renxue’s hairpin, introduced herself to Lin Luo, and held his hand before hurriedly leaving.
• Lin Luo recognized Xue Qian, Xue Fu, and Yu Luoyi approaching, then pulled Qian Renxue into a corner to avoid being noticed.
• When the ballroom doors opened, Lin Luo noticed that Qian Renxue’s dress had burst at the chest, and she explained that she had chosen it because it matched his.

At the academy ball, Lin Luo and Qian Renxue mingled with their classmates while Hong Chen repaired Qian Renxue’s gown and kept an eye on Lin Luo. As the ball began, Qian Renxue challenged Lin Luo to consider what he would do if his friends opposed their pursuit of power.

• Hong Chen overheard Lin Luo and Qian Renxue, then used her needle and thread to mend Qian Renxue’s torn gown.
• Lin Luo led Qian Renxue into the ballroom, where Hong Chen followed them.
• Xue Qian and Yu Luoyi tried to restrain Xiong Chumo from rushing the buffet, but he tore his outfit and reached the food; the guests soon joined him.
• Xue Fu searched the ballroom for Lin Luo, while Lin Luo noticed Hong Chen watching him from the crowd.
• Qian Renxue told Lin Luo that people had different stances and asked what he would do if his friends tried to stop their pursuit of power; Lin Luo said that was her concern.
• Music started, and the ball began.

At the first-year dance, Hong Chen drew everyone’s attention by dancing alone before Yu Luoyi joined her. Lin Luo and Qian Renxue took to the floor together, and Hong Chen happily held up Qian Renxue’s trailing dress while Lin Luo promised to teach her to dance.

• Hong Chen spun and danced alone in the center of the floor, surprising the students and catching Yu Luoyi’s attention.
• Yu Luoyi rushed over to dance with Hong Chen, but Xue Qian arrived with Xue Fu and showed them graceful steps.
• Lin Luo took Qian Renxue’s hand, and they joined the other dancers in court dancing.
• Hong Chen watched Lin Luo and Qian Renxue dance, then held up Qian Renxue’s trailing dress to keep it from catching on her heels.
• Lin Luo thanked Hong Chen and promised to teach her court dancing, making her excited to learn.

Lin Luo, Qian Renxue, and Hong Chen danced together before fleeing the academy when Yu Luoyi recognized Lin Luo. The next day, Lin Luo learned Hong Chen had chased his carriage, and she appeared at the classroom door.

• Qian Renxue and Lin Luo finished their court dance, then invited Hong Chen to join them in an improvised trio dance.
• Yu Luoyi recognized Lin Luo dancing with Qian Renxue and Hong Chen, and he and the others chased after them.
• Lin Luo carried Qian Renxue out of the academy and escaped in a carriage after her mask blew off.
• Qian Renxue questioned Lin Luo about Hong Chen, then playfully asked whether she had been heavy when he carried her.
• The next day, Lin Luo told Yu Luoyi, Xue Qian, and Xue Fu that Qian Renxue was a friend with a special identity.
• Yu Luoyi revealed that Hong Chen had chased Lin Luo’s carriage barefoot, and Hong Chen appeared in the classroom doorway.

Lin Luo returned a mask to Hong Chen and helped her write her name during the entrance test. When he called her “Xiao Hong,” she answered, leaving him and the other students stunned by her instinctive response to a thrown branch.

• Hong Chen returned Qian Renxue’s mask to Lin Luo, and he offered to buy her lunch.
• Yu Luoyi became too flustered to speak to Hong Chen and instead asked Lin Luo to treat him to a meal.
• Qin Hanyu gathered the first-year students for the entrance test, and Hong Chen asked Lin Luo to teach her to write her name.
• Lin Luo noticed Hong Chen instinctively pounce after a branch and return it to him like a little fox.
• Lin Luo called Hong Chen “Xiao Hong,” and she answered, “I’m here.”

Lin Luo grew more suspicious that Hong Chen was his former fox, Xiao Hong, as she excelled in the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy entrance tests. After Hong Chen revealed her Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul and level 29 Soul Power, Xue Qian invited her to join the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team, and she identified herself as a Power Attack System Soul Master.

• Hong Chen explained that her family called her Xiao Hong, practiced writing her name with Lin Luo, and went to take the entrance test.
• Hong Chen punched the strength-testing apparatus for a result of 1,683 jin, astonishing the observers.
• Yu Luoyi tried tossing a branch to Hong Chen, but she did not react to it as she had to Lin Luo's branch.
• Hong Chen revealed a Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul with two yellow Soul Rings and level 29 Soul Power, then achieved the best results in the remaining tests.
• Xue Qian invited Hong Chen to join the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team, and she accepted the question about her role by saying she was a Power Attack System Soul Master.

Hong Chen joined the Heaven Dou Royal Second Team because of Lin Luo, and Lin Luo grew more convinced that she was Xiao Hong. Yu Luoyi tried to test whether Hong Chen liked him by throwing her a stick, but she ignored it and kept practicing writing Lin Luo’s name.

• Xue Qian brought Hong Chen to eat with the team, where she ate several trays of food and explained that she simply liked the cafeteria’s cooking.
• Hong Chen told Ye Lingling that she had joined because of Lin Luo, strengthening Lin Luo’s suspicion that she was Xiao Hong.
• Lin Luo asked Ye Lingling to reassure his father that he was fine at the academy, then reflected on his past and wondered about romance.
• Yu Luoyi asked Lin Luo how to make a girl like him, and Lin Luo warned him that Hong Chen had ignored the stick he threw.
• The next day, Yu Luoyi threw a stick onto Hong Chen’s desk, but she swept it away and failed to remember biting a stick Lin Luo had thrown.
• Hong Chen continued practicing her writing, smiling as she wrote Lin Luo’s name more easily than her own, while the narration revealed that her real name was Hong Ji.

The Heaven Dou Royal Second Team learned the Soul Master Tournament would begin in ten days, and Lin Luo warned that Shrek Academy’s Tang San might already be a Soul Emperor. Lin Luo left the teams wondering what had changed about Tang San and how dangerous he would be in the tournament.

• Xue Qian announced that the tournament dates had been released, and Lin Luo and the others gathered with the education committee.
• The Heaven Dou Royal First and Second Teams met formally for the first time in four years, with Yu Tianheng arriving alongside Dugu Yan.
• Meng Shenji announced that the tournament began in ten days, explained the seeded teams, and named the second team’s strongest preliminary opponents.
• Dugu Yan questioned why the academy had chosen young Soul Masters for the second team, while Xue Qian defended them and Lin Luo declined to promise victory.
• Lin Luo warned everyone to watch out for Tang San and suggested that he might be a Soul Emperor before leaving.
• Lin Luo recalled discovering two years earlier that Tang San’s appearance had changed and suspected he had awakened again and might possess divine power.

Lin Luo's team entered its first combat exercise, facing seven veteran Soul Ancestors in the Great Soul Arena. The battle began with Xiong Chumo meeting the opposing captain head-on, while Lin Luo watched Hong Chen closely to learn how she fought.

• Lin Luo told his teammates to give everything if they encountered Shrek Academy, then confused Hong Chen when she thought he meant they should act cute.
• Four days later, Xue Qian arranged a combat exercise against the Great Soul Arena's reigning team of seven Soul Ancestors.
• Lin Luo's team took its positions on the stage as their opponents dismissed them as children and revealed four Soul Rings each.
• Lin Luo identified the opponents' formation and watched as Yu Luoyi, Xiong Chumo, Hong Chen, and Xue Fu advanced against them.
• Xiong Chumo matched the opposing captain's strength, then used his first Soul Skill as the captain countered with Wind Wolf Slash.

Lin Luo’s team defeated their opponents after Hong Chen revealed her fox-tail Soul Skill and Lin Luo immobilized all six attackers with golden chains. After the match, Lin Luo invited Hong Chen to visit the palace, leaving Ye Lingling suspicious of their closeness.

• Xiong Chumo, Yu Luoyi, Xue Fu, and Hong Chen held off the opposing team’s first attacks while Lin Luo waited for Hong Chen to use her Soul Skill.
• Hong Chen used her first Soul Skill, “Big Tail,” to knock back two Agility Attack System Soul Masters who were closing in on Lin Luo.
• Lin Luo bound all six opposing Soul Masters with golden chains, and his teammates defeated them while their Control System Soul Master surrendered.
• Xue Qian noticed Lin Luo’s black Soul Ring and wondered about the power of his control skill.
• Lin Luo invited Hong Chen to visit the palace with him, and Ye Lingling questioned their situation.

Lin Luo brought Hong Chen to the palace because he suspected she was Xiao Hong, while Hong Chen’s excitement faded as she recalled the palace and worried Lin Luo might send her away. After Hong Chen explored the residence, Lin Luo told Qian Renxue his suspicion and began explaining why he believed it.

• Lin Luo invited Hong Chen to the palace, and Ye Lingling reassured her as she set off with him.
• Hong Chen first eagerly admired the palace, then grew subdued and asked Lin Luo if he would drive her away; he promised he would not.
• Lin Luo let Hong Chen explore the residence while he went to see Qian Renxue.
• Lin Luo told Qian Renxue he suspected Hong Chen was Xiao Hong and said she likely had a reason for hiding her identity.
• Qian Renxue questioned how Lin Luo could have discovered the truth, and he answered that Hong Chen was still as silly as before.

Lin Luo and Qian Renxue suspected Hong Chen was Xiao Hong and tried to learn why she had come to the academy. When Hong Chen grew anxious under questioning, Lin Luo claimed he had kissed her to protect her, then admitted he wanted to become her boyfriend.

• Lin Luo and Qian Renxue concluded that the silver-haired woman might be behind Xiao Hong’s predicament and wondered what she had sent Xiao Hong to do at the academy.
• Lin Luo and Qian Renxue found Hong Chen balancing a book on her head, and Qian Renxue welcomed her to dinner.
• Qian Renxue asked Hong Chen where she was from, but Hong Chen gave a vague answer and became nervous when Ye Lingling asked why she had warned Lin Luo not to question her.
• Lin Luo claimed he had bullied Hong Chen by kissing her, prompting Qian Renxue to pull him outside and demand an explanation.
• Lin Luo told Qian Renxue he had lied to keep Hong Chen from fleeing and admitted he wanted to use the opportunity to become her boyfriend, so Qian Renxue kicked him.

Lin Luo used a story about a loyal little fox to make Hong Chen reveal that she remembered serving as his childhood cushion, then asked her to be his girlfriend. Hong Chen accepted, leaving Lin Luo embracing her in the garden.

• Qian Renxue reluctantly agreed to Lin Luo’s plan to pursue Hong Chen but warned him not to go too far.
• At dinner, Hong Chen eagerly ate while Lin Luo, Qian Renxue, and Ye Lingling watched her.
• Lin Luo took Hong Chen to the garden, pretended to faint, and discovered that she had cushioned his fall with her body.
• Lin Luo told Hong Chen a story about a little fox that protected its master, prompting her to admit she would obey an order to lick his cheek.
• Lin Luo hugged Hong Chen and asked her to be his girlfriend, and she happily accepted.

Lin Luo confirmed that Hong Chen was Xiao Hong and invited her to stay with him, while warning her to tell him if she faced trouble. Qian Renxue joined them for the night, leaving Lin Luo squeezed between the two women in his small bed.

• Lin Luo explained what he meant by being Hong Chen's boyfriend and told her she could rely on him if she ran into trouble.
• Hong Chen asked to sleep beside Lin Luo, and he invited her to share his bed rather than sleep on the floor.
• Qian Renxue interrupted them, and Lin Luo quietly told her he had confirmed Hong Chen was Xiao Hong.
• Qian Renxue decided they would all sleep together and led Lin Luo and Hong Chen to his room.
• Qian Renxue and Hong Chen bathed and changed, then crowded into Lin Luo's bed, where he lay curled up with his back to them.