Chapter Summaries

Zhongli Wu reported Huo Yuhao’s progress to Ye Xishui, who learned that the Holy Spirit Cult had used staged experiences and emotional manipulation to make him accept its beliefs. After witnessing the oppression that turned Lan Ling into an Evil Soul Master, Huo Yuhao embraced the cult’s cause and vowed to remake the world, becoming its new Holy Son.

• Zhongli Wu told Ye Xishui that Huo Yuhao had accepted his identity as an Evil Soul Master and begun cultivating as one.
• The Holy Spirit Cult brought Huo Yuhao to witness Lan Ling’s persecution by a noble family and the death of her mother, which drove her to become an Evil Soul Master.
• Lan Ling killed the boy who had targeted her, and the Holy Spirit Cult rescued her from his family’s retaliation.
• Huo Yuhao connected Lan Ling’s experience to his own past and concluded that oppression by the powerful created Evil Soul Masters.
• Huo Yuhao vowed to rule the world and destroy its hierarchy so everyone could be equal, while the observing elder recognized that the cult’s manipulation had succeeded.

Zhongli Wu told Ye Xishui that Huo Yuhao’s Evil Qi had not fully awakened until he was forced to kill a prisoner, and that the rampage revealed his ties to two captives. Zhongli Wu decided Ling Luochen might threaten Huo Yuhao’s loyalty and planned to have her killed, preferably by Huo Yuhao himself.

• Zhongli Wu explained that Huo Yuhao’s Holy Spirit Ritual had failed to fully awaken his Evil Qi because he had never killed anyone, so Zhongli Wu took him to the dungeon to kill a prisoner.
• Huo Yuhao went on a rampage in the dungeon, killing many captives and severely hurting Yu Mengdi, whose Angel Martial Soul had transformed into a Fallen Angel Martial Soul and who had become like his servant.
• Zhongli Wu concluded that Huo Yuhao’s transformation made him a valuable candidate for the Holy Emperor, the founder of the Holy Spirit Cult, and resolved to protect his loyalty.
• Zhongli Wu discovered that Huo Yuhao had spared Ling Luochen, a captured Shrek Inner Court student, and suspected she might persuade him to leave the cult.
• Zhongli Wu planned to extract Ling Luochen’s information and then kill her, preferably making Huo Yuhao do it to prove his allegiance.

Zhongli Wu planned to kill Ling Luochen and frame Shrek Academy, but learned that the imprisoned Shrek students had escaped. Though he doubted Huo Yuhao was responsible, he ordered him watched more closely and sent people after the fugitives.

• Ye Xishui supported Zhongli Wu's plan to keep Huo Yuhao in the Holy Spirit Cult and eliminate Ling Luochen without turning Huo Yuhao against the cult.
• Zhongli Wu intended to blame Ling Luochen for defecting and have the imprisoned Shrek students kill her during a riot.
• A Holy Spirit Cult elder reported that all the imprisoned Shrek students had escaped.
• Zhongli Wu questioned whether Huo Yuhao had helped them, but the elder said Huo Yuhao had stayed in his room under guard.
• Zhongli Wu ordered Huo Yuhao placed under closer watch and sent people to bring back the escaped Shrek students.

After waking from his rampage, Huo Yuhao realized he had killed many people and found Yu Mengdi asleep beside him, then fainted after hearing a strange voice. In a mental space, the Evil Eye Holy King revealed himself and offered Huo Yuhao a chance to inherit his power, leaving Huo Yuhao to decide whether to accept.

• Huo Yuhao woke beside Yu Mengdi and remembered killing people during his rampage, then panicked over what else he might have done.
• A disdainful voice spoke in Huo Yuhao’s mind, causing him to faint and awaken in a star-lit mental space.
• The Evil Eye Holy King appeared as a colossal winged White Tiger and challenged Huo Yuhao’s fear and resolve.
• The Evil Eye Holy King explained that Huo Yuhao’s Dai bloodline and talent made him eligible for the inheritance, regardless of his Martial Soul or hostility toward the Dai Family.
• The Evil Eye Holy King offered Huo Yuhao the chance to inherit his power and asked him to choose.

Huo Yuhao accepted the Evil Eye Holy King's inheritance and began the Holy King Nine Trials, which forced him to revisit painful memories. After seeing his mother's death and Ling Luochen's hurtful words during his rampage, he was told to make a choice.

• Huo Yuhao agreed to inherit the Evil Eye Holy King's power, and the Holy King began the first trial.
• Huo Yuhao relived the day Huo Yun'er was beaten while protecting him and later died, then urged his younger self to become strong enough to control his fate.
• Huo Yuhao revisited the tournament match where the Rakshasa Helmet caused him to attack indiscriminately and Shrek Academy lost to Zhengtian Academy.
• Huo Yuhao recalled how Ling Luochen had supported and defended him, then saw her condemn him as he rampaged through the Holy Spirit Cult's dungeon.
• The Holy King announced that Huo Yuhao had found the second person and told him to make his choice.

Huo Yuhao began the Evil Eye Holy King's trial and chose to erase his memories of Ling Luochen, leaving his future uncertain. Meanwhile, the real Ling Luochen escaped the Holy Spirit Cult with several Shrek students and vowed to return for Huo Yuhao.

• The Evil Eye Holy King told Huo Yuhao that he had to forget either Huo Yun'er or Ling Luochen to pass the first trial.
• Huo Yuhao chose Ling Luochen, cut down the illusion of her, and said goodbye as his memories of her vanished.
• Huo Yuhao passed the First Trial of the Holy King Trials.
• Ling Luochen recalled how Huo Yuhao had become an Evil Soul Master and how she had freed the prisoners during the dungeon chaos.
• Ling Luochen led several Shrek students away from the Holy Spirit Cult's pursuers and vowed to return for Huo Yuhao.

Xu Xingyu traveled toward Dragon City with his companions, reflecting on the rivalry between the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earth Dragon Sect and the Spirit Contract Pagoda’s growing influence. Since the Earth Dragon Sect had joined the pagoda, he expected he might have to get involved in its conflict with the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

• Xu Xingyu read about Dragon City, where the Spirit Contract Pagoda had grown into a new power alongside the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earth Dragon Sect.
• He learned that the Earth Dragon Sect had joined the Spirit Contract Pagoda, while the Heavenly Dragon Sect opposed its presence and traced its heritage to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
• Xu Xingyu traveled to Dragon City aboard the pagoda’s newest transportation Soul Tool with Xu Yanxue, Gu Qiuxi, Ma Xiaotao, Xu Sanshi, Dugu Yanran, and Bai Xiuxiu.
• Ma Xiaotao teased Xu Xingyu about missing a princess, and he blushed before redirecting the conversation to Dragon City.
• Xu Xingyu anticipated intervening in the sects’ dispute and resolved to regard it as payment for emptying the Earth Dragon Sect’s Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave.

Xu Xingyu arrived at the Spirit Contract Pagoda's Dragon City branch and met its master, Lan Mo, Earth Dragon Sect leader Nan Shuishui, and her willful daughter, Nan Qiuqiu. He arranged to acquire the Earth Dragon Sect's Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave, then turned to the branch's more troublesome request concerning Dragon Valley.

• Lan Mo and Nan Shuishui welcomed Xu Xingyu and his companions to the Dragon City branch, where Nan Qiuqiu sarcastically challenged him before her mother stopped her.
• Xu Xingyu learned that Nan Qiuqiu resented his reputation and believed their abilities should be comparable, though he had already reached rank sixty-two Soul Emperor.
• Xu Xingyu asked Lan Mo to arrange accommodations, then met with Lan Mo and Nan Qiuqiu in the branch master's office.
• Xu Xingyu secured the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Cave from the Earth Dragon Sect by offering Nan Shuishui and Nan Qiuqiu two suitable Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Spirits.
• Xu Xingyu began discussing the Dragon City branch's request concerning Dragon Valley's appearance on the continent and the Spirit Contract Pagoda's occupation of it.

Xu Xingyu planned a best-of-three contest with the Anti-Spirit Alliance to settle Dragon Valley’s ownership without risking an all-out war. He sent the challenge to the alliance, determined to protect the Dragon Souls and reveal the Spirit Contract Pagoda’s strength.

• Factions abandoned their claims to Dragon Valley after Gu Yuena’s arrival, while others formed the Anti-Spirit Alliance under Yu Tianyu.
• Xu Xingyu weighed the costs of crushing the alliance and rejected both sharing Dragon Valley and using Gu Yuena’s God Level strength.
• Xu Xingyu proposed a best-of-three contest featuring battles between peak experts, elders, and juniors, with Dragon Valley going to the winner.
• Xu Xingyu chose Lan Mo for the elders’ battle and himself for the juniors’ battle, confident they could secure victory.
• Xu Xingyu had the Spirit Contract Pagoda issue its challenge to the Anti-Spirit Alliance and warn its members to prepare for the fight.

Yu Tianyu and the Anti-Spirit Alliance considered how to challenge the Spirit Contract Pagoda while Silver Dragon Douluo was occupied with Dragon Valley. After learning that young pagoda master Xu Xingyu was in charge and receiving the Pagoda’s contest challenge, the Alliance accepted.

• Yu Tianyu gathered the Anti-Spirit Alliance’s leaders and asked whether Silver Dragon Douluo would be unable to intervene in their dispute.
• The informant confirmed that Silver Dragon Douluo was stabilizing Dragon Valley, leaving the Spirit Contract Pagoda without its strongest defender.
• Yu Tianyu learned that Xu Xingyu, who was only thirteen or fourteen, was temporarily managing the Spirit Contract Pagoda and that its members supported him.
• The informant reported that the Spirit Contract Pagoda had challenged the Anti-Spirit Alliance to a contest, with control of Dragon Valley at stake and all-out war as the alternative.
• The Anti-Spirit Alliance’s leaders took offense at the contest terms and accepted the challenge.

Xu Xingyu explained why he provoked the Anti-Spirit Alliance into accepting his challenge and discussed the Spirit Contract Pagoda’s plans to focus on developing its existing strength. He revealed that Battle Armor had been prepared for Ma Xiaotao and other women, and planned to test his and Ma Xiaotao’s completed sets in the coming battle.

• Xu Xingyu received the Anti-Spirit Alliance’s acceptance of his challenge, and Ma Xiaotao criticized the provocative letter he had sent.
• Xu Xingyu told Gu Qiuxi that he wanted to slow the Spirit Contract Pagoda’s expansion and develop its current strength rather than bring the Anti-Spirit Alliance under its control.
• Xu Xingyu explained that his letter was meant to make the Anti-Spirit Alliance see him as an arrogant, impulsive greenhorn and accept the challenge.
• Xu Xingyu confirmed that Xiao Xue and Little Xiuxiu had gone to the Earth Dragon Sect secret realm for cultivation materials and Battle Armor materials.
• Xu Xingyu revealed that he had designed Battle Armor for Ma Xiaotao, Xue'er, Dong'er, Qiu'er, Nannan, and Jiujiu, and that Ma Xiaotao’s set was complete.
• Xu Xingyu said he and Ma Xiaotao would use the coming battle with the Anti-Spirit Alliance to test their Battle Armor.

Xu Xingyu and Ma Xiaotao received their Two-Word Battle Armor at the Spirit Contract Pagoda's Dragon City branch and tested how the armor bonded with its wearer. Ma Xiaotao overcame the armor’s initial rejection and successfully refined it.

• Xu Xingyu invited Ma Xiaotao to the Spirit Contract Pagoda testing grounds after their Battle Armor arrived, and Gu Qiuxi, Xu Sanshi, and Dugu Yanran joined them.
• Xu Xingyu showed everyone the gold-and-silver dragon armor and the gold-and-red Vermilion Bird armor made for Ma Xiaotao.
• Xu Xingyu touched his armor, which merged with him, and explained that Spirit-Forged Metal could bond with a wearer after recognizing its master.
• Ma Xiaotao touched her armor, but it initially rejected her, so Xu Xingyu instructed her to use her Soul Power and spiritual power to communicate with it.
• After about an hour, Ma Xiaotao successfully refined her Battle Armor, sending a burst of fire into the sky.

Ma Xiaotao tested her newly fitted Two-Word Battle Armor and discovered that it boosted her strength by two ranks. After she struggled to control its power, Xu Xingyu challenged her to spar, and she eagerly accepted.

• Ma Xiaotao appeared in her Battle Armor, which fitted her perfectly and formed a protective bodysuit beneath its outer layer.
• Xu Xingyu explained that the Spirit-Forged Metal could adjust to her body, and Ma Xiaotao activated the armor to confirm its two-rank boost.
• Ma Xiaotao’s released Soul Power pressured the onlookers, so Xu Xingyu shielded Gu Qiuxi and the others until Ma Xiaotao reined it in.
• Xu Xingyu challenged Ma Xiaotao to spar, and she accepted, confident in her newly enhanced strength.
• Gu Qiuxi watched them and resolved to grow stronger through the opportunity in Dragon Valley so she would not fall behind.

Xu Xingyu and Ma Xiaotao tested their Battle Armor in a duel, with Xu Xingyu agreeing to limit his powers. After Xu Xingyu turned Ma Xiaotao’s fire attack against her and trapped her in a ring of dragons, she unleashed her Million-Year Soul Ring and revealed her Vermilion Bird Martial Soul Avatar.

• Lan Mo refereed as Xu Xingyu and Ma Xiaotao summoned their Martial Souls and Battle Armors for the duel.
• Xu Xingyu and Ma Xiaotao tested their armor in close combat, but Xu Xingyu’s strength kept Ma Xiaotao on the defensive.
• Ma Xiaotao used Vermilion Bird Meteor Shower, but Xu Xingyu seized control of her flames and shaped them into nine dragons with Nine Transformations Divine Dragon.
• Xu Xingyu’s nine fire dragons surrounded Ma Xiaotao, and he asked her to admit defeat.
• Ma Xiaotao refused and activated her Million-Year Soul Ring, revealing her Vermilion Bird Martial Soul Avatar for the first time.

Xu Xingyu defeated Ma Xiaotao after both fighters fused their Battle Armor with their Martial Soul Avatars, but his armor cracked under the strain of his strength. He planned to nurture his Battle Armor to study higher forging techniques and overcome his forging bottleneck.

• Ma Xiaotao fused her Vermilion Bird Avatar with her Radiant Sparrow Battle Armor, while Xu Xingyu used his Battle Armor to release a Pseudo Martial Soul Avatar.
• Xu Xingyu drained the surrounding fire elements and bound Ma Xiaotao with Ultimate Ice chains until her Soul Power ran out and her Avatar dissipated.
• Ma Xiaotao was pleased with how the Battle Armor improved her close-combat ability, while Xu Xingyu found that his armor barely enhanced his already God Level attributes.
• Xu Xingyu discovered that his Hazy Moon Battle Armor had cracked from the strain of his own strength and concluded that he needed armor as tough as Four-Word Battle Armor.
• Xu Xingyu planned to nurture his Spirit Forged Battle Armor with Soul Power so he could study the transformation to Soul Forging and eventually learn higher forging techniques.

The Spirit Contract Pagoda and the Anti-Spirit Alliance began their young geniuses’ battle, matching Xu Xingyu against Yu Tianlong. After Xu Xingyu effortlessly knocked Yu Tianlong back, Yu Tianlong used the Snow Jade Crown to awaken his Thunder Sacred Dragon power and charged a devastating lightning attack, while Xu Xingyu remained calm.

• The Spirit Contract Pagoda chose Xu Xingyu, while the Anti-Spirit Alliance sent Yu Tianlong, a level-sixty-one Soul Emperor.
• Xu Xingyu and Yu Tianlong introduced themselves and revealed their Soul Rings, with Xu Xingyu’s rings displaying extraordinary power.
• Yu Tianlong enhanced himself with his Soul Skills and Dragon Transformation, but Xu Xingyu caught his Thunder Dragon Claw and punched him dozens of meters away.
• Yu Tianlong summoned the Snow Jade Crown, transforming his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon into a Thunder Sacred Dragon.
• Yu Tianlong sent his lightning dragon into the storm clouds and strengthened it with lightning and Thunder Hell, but Xu Xingyu remained unruffled.

Xu Xingyu effortlessly survived Yu Tianlong’s lightning attack and defeated him with a purple-gold lightning spear. Yu Tianlong was left unconscious but alive, while Old Tianlong recognized how dangerous Xu Xingyu was.

• Yu Tianlong launched his thunder dragon attack after exhausting most of his Soul Power, and the Anti-Spirit Alliance expected him to win.
• Xu Xingyu emerged unharmed and absorbed the remaining lightning through the dragon horn on his head.
• Xu Xingyu formed a purple-gold lightning spear and pierced Yu Tianlong’s Thunder Dragon Battle Armor, knocking him unconscious and winning the match.
• Old Tianlong checked Yu Tianlong’s nonfatal injury and realized Xu Xingyu’s attack could threaten even Titled Douluo.

Ma Xiaotao faced Qiangu Tianzhang in the elders' battle and revealed armor that raised her presence to the level of a Titled Douluo. She trapped him in a furnace of Yin-Yang Twin Fires, where his Soul Power began to burn.

• The Anti-Spirit Alliance sent Qiangu Tianzhang, a rank ninety-four Titled Douluo, to fight for the elders.
• The Spirit Contract Pagoda sent Ma Xiaotao, an honorary elder whose cultivation was only at the Soul Saint level.
• Qiangu Tianzhang assumed Ma Xiaotao was unfit for the match and charged at her after the referee started the battle.
• Ma Xiaotao summoned her Blazing Star Battle Armor and released her Vermilion Bird Martial Soul and Nirvana Holy Flame Domain.
• Ma Xiaotao formed a prison of Yin-Yang Twin Fires around Qiangu Tianzhang and turned it into an alchemy furnace that began burning his Soul Power.

Ma Xiaotao and Qiangu Tianzhang fought a fierce duel after he shattered her alchemy furnace with the Unyielding Staff Technique. Their final attacks were about to decide whether the armored Vermilion Bird or the veteran Titled Douluo would win.

• Qiangu Tianzhang used the first form of the Unyielding Staff Technique to break Ma Xiaotao’s furnace and escape.
• Xu Xingyu explained the Unyielding Staff Technique’s power and its six mastered forms to Gu Qiuxi.
• Ma Xiaotao’s ranged attacks failed to wear Qiangu Tianzhang down, so she transformed into a Vermilion Bird and charged into close combat.
• Qiangu Tianzhang summoned the Break Evil Dragon’s soul through his Coiling Dragon Avatar, and it fought Ma Xiaotao to a stalemate.
• Ma Xiaotao and Qiangu Tianzhang neared the limits of their Soul Power, leaving one final attack each to determine the winner.

Ma Xiaotao and Qiangu Tianzhang unleashed their decisive attacks, which merged into a dangerously unstable energy ball. After Xu Xingyu, Di Tian, and Yu Tianyu sent it into a spatial rift, the two fighters remained standing, leaving the match undecided.

• Ma Xiaotao used Phoenix Divine Punishment, a golden fire Soul Skill from her Million-Year Soul Ring, against Qiangu Tianzhang.
• Qiangu Tianzhang answered with the sixth form of the Unyielding Staff Technique, Breaking Heaven and Splitting Earth, and his attack collided with Ma Xiaotao's firebird.
• The two attacks merged into an unstable energy ball that threatened to explode with the force of a ninth-rank fixed soul missile.
• Xu Xingyu, Di Tian, and Yu Tianyu transferred the energy ball into a spatial rift, where it exploded in the void.
• Ma Xiaotao and Qiangu Tianzhang stood on the arena unharmed, and the match remained undecided.