Chapter Summaries

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena discussed the mysterious third divine presence within Huo Yuhao and then went to the Spirit Contract Pagoda’s Mingdu branch to investigate a suspected traitor. They found the Sun Moon branch’s pagoda master speaking with Xu Tianran, the empire’s crown prince and regent.

• Gu Yuena forced Xu Xingyu to share her hotel room, leaving Wang Dong'er alone in hers.
• Xu Xingyu asked Gu Yuena to analyze the chaotic divine Qi on Huo Yuhao, and she identified traces of the Rakshasa God, the God of Evil, and an unknown third presence.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena concluded that the third divine presence resembled the White Tiger God but could not have come from its vassal god position.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena set aside their speculation and went to the Mingdu branch to look for evidence of a traitor in the Sun Moon branch.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena entered the branch pagoda master's office and found him speaking with Xu Tianran.

Lan Mo, the Mingdu branch’s secret informant, panicked when Xu Tianran arrived just before Gu Yuena and Xu Xingyu. After the two pagoda leaders joined them, Xu Tianran asked Xu Xingyu whether the Spirit Contract Pagoda would become the Sun Moon Empire’s state religion.

• Lan Mo worried that Gu Yuena and Xu Xingyu might inspect the Mingdu branch and discover evidence of his spying for the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Tianran visited Lan Mo’s office, leaving Lan Mo anxious and unable to make him leave.
• Gu Yuena and Xu Xingyu entered the office, and Lan Mo explained that he was temporarily replacing Yang Tianrong as pagoda master.
• Xu Tianran greeted Gu Yuena and asked to discuss important matters with her, but she directed him to Xu Xingyu instead.
• Xu Tianran asked Xu Xingyu if the Spirit Contract Pagoda would become the Sun Moon Empire’s state religion.

Xu Tianran tried to persuade Xu Xingyu to make the Spirit Contract Pagoda the Sun Moon Empire’s state religion, but Xu Xingyu rejected the proposal because the empire allied with the Holy Spirit Cult. The discussion ended with Xu Xingyu questioning whether the Sun Moon Empire truly lacked the means to defeat the Evil Soul Masters within its borders.

• Xu Tianran asked Xu Xingyu to make the Spirit Contract Pagoda the Sun Moon Empire’s state religion, and Xu Xingyu objected that the Pagoda had to remain neutral.
• Xu Xingyu accused the Sun Moon Empire of cooperating with the Holy Spirit Cult, and Xu Tianran claimed the empire had accepted the Evil Soul Masters to protect its people from their demands.
• Xu Xingyu admitted he had considered supporting the Star Luo Empire but said its foundation was too weak to withstand the consequences and that the Spirit Contract Pagoda came first.
• Xu Tianran argued that the Sun Moon Empire was strong enough to become the Pagoda’s ally, and Xu Xingyu agreed it was the most suitable candidate but said the Pagoda could not trust a country allied with Evil Soul Masters.
• Xu Tianran blamed the presence of Evil Soul Masters in the Sun Moon Empire on Shrek Academy’s monitoring efforts and the dangers of using destructive Soul Tools, but Xu Xingyu challenged his explanation and cited the empire’s Soul Guidance Technology and experts.

Xu Tianran left the Spirit Contract Pagoda after Xu Xingyu revealed sensitive Sun Moon Empire secrets, then discussed the encounter and his plans with Ju Zi. As he became fixated on Gu Yuena and felt that only he or Xu Xingyu could survive, Ju Zi resolved to move up her plan during the tournament.

• Xu Tianran left Gu Yuena’s office with Ju Zi after promising to give the Spirit Contract Pagoda a reason to trust the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Tianran told Ju Zi he had tried to portray the Spirit Contract Pagoda as already aligned with the Star Luo Empire, but Xu Xingyu had turned his argument against him.
• Xu Tianran suspected a traitor among his brothers and planned a purge after the tournament, while Ju Zi questioned his focus on the Spirit Contract Pagoda.
• Xu Tianran privately recognized that his real fixation was Gu Yuena and admitted he felt an inexplicable rivalry with Xu Xingyu.
• Ju Zi watched Xu Tianran and decided to bring her plan forward and fulfill his trust in her during the tournament.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena exposed Lan Mo’s betrayal of the Spirit Contract Pagoda and his dealings with the Sun Moon Empire. After they stopped his escape and stripped away his Rakshasa power, Lan Mo killed himself with poison, warning that a plan had already been set in motion to plunge the continent into despair.

• Xu Xingyu confronted Lan Mo with mismatches in the Mingdu branch’s accounts and evidence of his secret transactions.
• Gu Yuena accused Lan Mo of selling the pagoda’s secrets and rare herbs while colluding with the Sun Moon Empire.
• Lan Mo crushed a talisman and unleashed Rakshasa power, but Xu Xingyu bound him and Gu Yuena removed the power.
• When Xu Xingyu demanded a confession, Lan Mo swallowed a poison pill and declared that a piece had already been placed and the continent would fall into despair.
• Lan Mo disintegrated into black liquid, leaving no Blue Poison Scorpions alive on the Douluo Continent.

After Lan Mo’s death, Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena investigated the Holy Spirit Cult’s infiltration of the Spirit Contract Pagoda while an unknown power and a Holy Spirit Cult figure prepared to advance their plan. In a hidden void, Tang Hao and Ah Yin watched the scheme unfold, intent on destroying the evil son of the Dragon God despite the lives it would cost.

• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena concluded that someone powerful had ordered Lan Mo, then decided to secure the Spirit Contract Pagoda and investigate the Holy Spirit Cult’s hidden traitors.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena sorted Lan Mo’s evidence, appointed a new pagoda master in Mingdu, and returned to discuss the situation with Tang Ya.
• In the Evil Demon Forest, a sinister figure told a resentful Holy Spirit Cult figure that Lan Mo’s death would not stop their plan and urged her to persuade the Demon Empress.
• The Holy Spirit Cult figure vowed revenge on the Demon Empress and discussed using her godson against her.
• In an unknown void, Tang Hao and Ah Yin watched the plot and planned to eliminate the evil son of the Dragon God, though Ah Yin worried about the many people who would suffer.

Xu Xingyu questioned whether his self-interested motives made him a hypocrite, but Gu Yuena reassured him that his actions still came from a desire to help the people whose fates he cared about. Her support steadied his resolve, and the two spent a long night together.

• Xu Xingyu told Gu Yuena that his conversation with Xu Tianran had made him doubt his motives and fear he had become like Tang San.
• Gu Yuena explained that Xu Xingyu's actions helped others despite his personal interests, and that he had acted to protect people and change their fates.
• Xu Xingyu thanked Gu Yuena, felt his doubts fade, and reaffirmed his commitment to the path he had chosen.
• Gu Yuena wanted a late-night snack with Xu Xingyu, and they shared a fruit platter through the night.

Xu Xingyu led the Spirit Contract Pagoda team to the tournament in Mingdu, where the Sun Moon Empire’s regent officially opened the competition. The tournament began with the Pagoda scheduled to face the Heavenly Star Sect, while two mysterious observers departed to start their own operation.

• Xu Xingyu arrived with the Spirit Contract Pagoda team, drawing attention as he chatted with his wives, while Ye Guyi and Tang Ya discussed their love lives.
• Xu Tianran welcomed the contestants and declared the Soul Master Tournament open at the new venue in Mingdu.
• The tournament rules were announced: teams would compete in individual elimination matches and seven-on-seven battles, with the top eight advancing.
• Xu Xingyu arranged for two reserves to fight first against the Heavenly Star Sect, then planned to send Ye Guyi and, if needed, Gu Qiuxi into the individual match.
• Two dark figures watched the tournament, then left after one of them studied the black-robed man beside Xu Tianran and said it was time to begin their operation.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena headed to a Xishui Alliance hotel to investigate Blue Poison’s unexplained dealings and search for clues about the Holy Spirit Cult. Xu Xingyu planned to infiltrate the hotel during the day, when the tournament venue would be lightly guarded.

• The chapter explained that the underground Soul Engineer Elite Tournament was organized by the Ordinary Alliance, the Aodu Chamber of Commerce, and the Xishui Alliance after Xu Tianran banned betting on the Soul Master Tournament.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena approached a hotel that might be the Xishui Alliance’s headquarters or an important base, and Xu Xingyu reassured Na'er that his Star Soul Clone could sustain itself.
• Xu Xingyu’s Star Soul Clone was competing in the Soul Master Tournament while the original searched for clues among Blue Poison’s records.
• Xu Xingyu identified Blue Poison’s numerous dealings with the Xishui Alliance, including unexplained joint-project records, as a reason to suspect the alliance was connected to the Holy Spirit Cult.
• Xu Xingyu chose to infiltrate the hotel during the day, when tournament staff and guards would likely be occupied or away.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena infiltrated the Sunset Hotel and discovered that the Holy Spirit Cult had prepared an amplifying potion and planned to place it in Soul Tools across Mingdu. They learned the devices were to be detonated when the Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament's final round began, leaving the cult's planned attack looming.

• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena teleported into the Sunset Hotel's storage room, knocked out two employees, and disguised themselves in hotel uniforms.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena changed their appearances, questioned hotel staff, and erased their memories before finding the office of the man who had dealt with Blue Poison.
• Xu Xingyu found records of medicinal ingredients that suggested a potion designed to amplify and spread the effects of another substance.
• Gu Yuena shared a memory showing a black-robed figure ordering a subordinate to load potions into Holy Son-made Soul Tools and place them at marked locations in Mingdu.
• The black-robed figure said the Soul Tools would be detonated when the tournament's final round began, so the Holy Spirit Cult could proclaim its legitimacy.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena uncovered signs that the Holy Spirit Cult was hiding an important drug and might be setting traps during the tournament. Xu Xingyu sent clones to investigate the marked locations and decided to investigate the Evil Emperor, whose possible involvement left Gu Yuena wondering what power he could be relying on.

• Xu Xingyu suspected the Holy Spirit Cult's drug was part of a plot against the Spirit Contract Pagoda or Shrek Academy.
• Gu Yuena revealed that the drug-related memory had been deliberately hidden while other relevant memories had been extracted.
• Xu Xingyu sent three Star Soul Clones to investigate the map's marked locations, which he suspected were traps.
• Xu Xingyu said his clone with the Spirit Contract Team would investigate the Holy Spirit Team while he and Gu Yuena investigated someone more important.
• Xu Xingyu identified the Evil Emperor as suspicious because he had recommended Blue Poison, and Gu Yuena wondered whether he had a way to threaten God Level opponents.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena searched the abandoned Holy Spirit Cult headquarters for the missing Evil Emperor and captured a young Evil Eye Tyrant. When Gu Yuena demanded to know where the Evil Emperor had gone, the captive revealed that he was looking for his father too.

• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena searched the Evil Demon Forest for the Evil Emperor, found him absent, and followed his lingering presence to the ruined Holy Spirit Cult headquarters.
• Xu Xingyu detected a hidden Evil Eye Tyrant, and Gu Yuena seized him with a dragon claw and threatened him with an elemental sword.
• The Evil Eye Tyrant recognized Gu Yuena as the Silver Dragon King and begged her to spare him.
• Gu Yuena asked where the Evil Emperor had gone, and the Evil Eye Tyrant replied that they were looking for his father.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena interrogated the Evil Eye Tyrant and learned that the Evil Emperor was dealing with the Sun Moon Imperial Family over an object tied to a powerful Law of Space. The Evil Eye Tyrant gave Xu Xingyu an emerald stone matching the Stone of Space, but after they left, a three-eyed figure killed him for his Soul Ring and Soul Bone.

• Gu Yuena threatened the Evil Eye Tyrant until he revealed that his father, the Evil Emperor, was dealing with the Sun Moon Imperial Family and had blocked their spiritual connection.
• The Evil Eye Tyrant explained that only members of the Sun Moon Imperial Family could retrieve the object the Evil Emperor wanted.
• The Evil Eye Tyrant gave Xu Xingyu an emerald gemstone containing the Law of Space, and Xu Xingyu recognized it as matching the Stone of Space and linked it to the missing Space Dragon King.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena released the Evil Eye Tyrant and returned toward their hotel to discuss their next move.
• A three-eyed figure ambushed and killed the Evil Eye Tyrant after its Master ordered it to take his Soul Ring and Soul Bone and erase the Evil Emperor’s spiritual imprint.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena debated whether the Space Dragon King's remains in the Sun Moon Imperial Palace were a trap, and Xu Xingyu decided to investigate them while also pursuing the Evil Emperor and Holy Spirit Cult's plans. He revealed that his three Star Soul Clones had already completed their searches and returned carrying storage tools packed full of items.

• Gu Yuena suggested they sneak into the Sun Moon Imperial Palace to investigate the Space Dragon King's remains, but Xu Xingyu felt the conveniently discovered information was suspicious.
• Xu Xingyu reasoned that the Evil Emperor was likely using the true information as a diversion while waiting to obtain something more valuable, though he also considered a scheme to make them clash with the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Xingyu told Gu Yuena he would investigate both the Space Dragon King's remains and the Evil Emperor and Holy Spirit Cult's concealed plot.
• Gu Yuena worried that maintaining more Star Soul Clones would consume too much Soul Power, but Xu Xingyu reassured her that his three earlier clones had finished investigating.
• Xu Xingyu explained that each clone had carried a strand of Divine Sense, then summoned them into the room, where they appeared with storage tools packed full of items.

Xu Xingyu explained how his clones infiltrated and looted a Sun Moon Empire warehouse, using the Star Soul Pearl to store the remaining supplies. He then revealed that an item found at another location was a biological weapon, leaving Gu Yuena alarmed.

• Xu Xingyu told Gu Yuena that his clones had taken the most valuable rare metals and Soul Tools from Xu Tianran's warehouse and planned to move the rest later.
• Xu Xingyu showed Gu Yuena the Star Soul Pearl and explained that his clones could access one of its empty small worlds remotely to store the loot.
• Xu Xingyu described how his clones used an illusion, destroyed surveillance Soul Tools, and disguised themselves to evade detection at the warehouse.
• Xu Xingyu admitted he had planned the theft to hinder the Sun Moon Empire and support the Star Luo Empire.
• Xu Xingyu showed Gu Yuena a Fixed Soul Bomb recovered from another location and revealed that it was a biological weapon designed to infect.

Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena discovered that the Holy Spirit Cult might be preparing biochemical weapons to release across Mingdu, and they arranged a search while discussing the strain he was under. Their quiet moment together was interrupted when someone rushed in and embraced Xu Xingyu.

• Gu Yuena recognized the Fixed Soul Cannon Shell as a possible biochemical weapon, and Xu Xingyu explained that it could turn a stored liquid into gas.
• Xu Xingyu suspected the Holy Spirit Cult had perfected the devices and hidden them around Mingdu, so he arranged for the Spirit Contract Pagoda and his clones to search for them.
• Xu Xingyu explained that he would also inspect shielded locations and the warehouse, since those places could conceal the weapons.
• Gu Yuena worried that Xu Xingyu was overworking, and she reassured him that she and the others would share his burdens.
• Xu Xingyu and Gu Yuena embraced, but a knock interrupted them; when Xu Xingyu opened the door, someone rushed in and hugged him, shouting his name.

Xu Xingyu reunited with Wang Dong'er and briefed the group on the Holy Spirit Cult's plan to unleash biochemical weapons in Mingdu. He arranged for Xu Jiujiu to bring representatives from the other empires into talks, leaving her with temporary authority from the Spirit Contract Pagoda and identifying the Snow Demon Sect as the Body Sect in disguise.

• Wang Dong'er welcomed Xu Xingyu back and bragged that Shrek had won its individual matches and team battle before the others discussed the Holy Spirit Cult's scheme.
• Xu Jiujiu and Ma Xiaotao explained that they had come to Mingdu with reinforcements from the Spirit Contract Pagoda's headquarters.
• Wang Dong'er, Jiang Nannan, Gu Yuena, and Xu Jiujiu reacted to the Holy Spirit Cult's plan and questioned why it would risk destroying its alliance with the Sun Moon Empire.
• Xu Xingyu asked Wang Dong'er to arrange a discussion with Shrek Academy and tasked Xu Jiujiu with contacting Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Dou Ling representatives.
• Gu Yuena gave Xu Jiujiu a Spirit Contract token, and Xu Xingyu appointed her acting pagoda master in Mingdu for the tournament.
• Xu Xingyu revealed that the Snow Demon Sect competing in the tournament was actually the Body Sect, which served as the Heavenly Soul Empire's state religion.

Xu Xingyu assigned roles for the search for Mingdu’s biochemical weapons and the infiltration of the Sun Moon Imperial Palace, then set the plan in motion after a chaotic night with his companions. At the tournament, he decided to test He Caitou’s character by revealing part of the threat facing Mingdu.

• Xu Xingyu assigned the tournament team to watch the Holy Spirit Cult, Ma Xiaotao and Xu Jiujiu to arrange negotiations, and his clones and allies to search Mingdu for biochemical weapons while he and Gu Yuena investigated the palace.
• Xu Jiujiu, Ma Xiaotao, Wang Dong'er, Xu Yanxue, Jiang Nannan, and Gu Qiuxi insisted on staying with Xu Xingyu for the night, while Gu Yuena teased him.
• The next morning, Xu Xingyu used his light element and Buer’s help to restore everyone’s strength, and the group began carrying out the plan.
• Wang Dong'er and the others took Xu Xingyu’s Star Soul Clone to watch Shrek Academy defeat the Purple Star Sect with mostly reserve players.
• After noticing He Caitou at the tournament, Xu Xingyu decided to ask about the Sun Moon Imperial Family’s secrets and reveal part of Mingdu’s crisis to test whether He Caitou would protect civilians or aid the Holy Spirit Cult.

After the Holy Spirit Cult brutally defeated the Heavenly Sword Sect, Xu Xingyu and Wang Dong'er arranged negotiations with Shrek and the three empires while investigating a possible biological-weapon threat. Xu Xingyu learned that the Stone of Space came from a secret realm beneath the Sun Moon Imperial Palace, and decided he and Na'er might explore it.

• The Holy Spirit Cult seriously injured two Heavenly Sword Sect contestants and killed a third, prompting the Heavenly Sword Sect to forfeit the rest of its match.
• Wang Dong'er told Xu Xingyu that Sister Jiujiu had arranged negotiations with Shrek and the three empires for an hour later, and He Caitou offered to search for biological weapons using his father's remaining connections.
• Xu Xingyu asked about a secret realm connected to the Space Dragon King, and Wang Dong'er said He Caitou had instead identified one linked to the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon.
• Wang Dong'er explained that the Stone of Space had come from the secret realm beneath the Sun Moon Imperial Palace, where imperial family members with the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon Martial Soul went at Soul Saint level.
• Xu Xingyu decided that he and Na'er might investigate the secret realm, then returned from his Star Soul Clone to his original body at the Mingdu Grand Hotel.

Xu Jiujiu and Ma Xiaotao prepared to meet Shrek Academy representatives in a secluded Mingdu tavern, where Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan assessed the Spirit Contract Pagoda’s strength. The gathering began with the Pagoda’s two formidable black-clad bodyguards present, while someone Zhang Lexuan hoped to see was absent.

• Xu Jiujiu told Ma Xiaotao to stay alert and follow their plan as the representatives gathered at Drunken Immortal Abode.
• Bei Bei and Zhang Lexuan arrived for Shrek Academy, and Xu Jiujiu presented a Spirit Contract token while explaining she no longer considered herself a princess.
• Bei Bei reflected on Xu Jiujiu and Ma Xiaotao’s strength and worried that the Spirit Contract Pagoda could end Shrek Academy’s tournament legacy.
• Zhang Lexuan sensed that the two black-clad bodyguards beside Xu Jiujiu and Ma Xiaotao were far stronger than she was.
• Zhang Lexuan was disappointed that the light-attribute mage she hoped to meet had not come with the Spirit Contract Pagoda.