Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yao trained his flame control under Elder Huo’s guidance using a specialized Fire Stone, then practiced on his own until he met the required standard. Elder Huo approved his progress and prepared him to begin refining medicine.

• Xiao Yao used the Fire Stone in a medicinal cauldron while Elder Huo taught him flame control and explained the academy’s step-by-step alchemy training.
• Xiao Yao practiced changing the Fire Stone’s colors as his flame temperature shifted, and Elder Huo demonstrated precise control over all 108 squares.
• Xiao Yao asked to borrow the Fire Stone and received it, an ordinary medicinal cauldron, and a large batch of books from Elder Huo.
• Xiao Yao practiced for several days and then passed Elder Huo’s assessment by producing randomly requested colors within a single breath.
• Elder Huo praised Xiao Yao’s flame-control talent and told him it was time to try refining medicine.

Xiao Yao learned to refine Hemostatic Powder under Elder Huo’s guidance and succeeded on his first attempt. His panel recorded the mastery, allowing him to refine ten batches without failure, and Elder Huo assigned him more medicines to learn before attempting formed pills.

• Elder Huo gave Xiao Yao the Hemostatic Powder formula and guided him as he selected and prepared the ingredients.
• Xiao Yao followed Elder Huo’s instructions on flame temperatures and fused the ingredients into Hemostatic Powder on his first try.
• Xiao Yao’s panel recorded that he had mastered the refining method, ensuring he would not lose that mastery.
• Xiao Yao refined nine more batches successfully while Elder Huo watched in surprise.
• Elder Huo told Xiao Yao to learn to refine other medicines before trying to make formed pills, the requirement for becoming a first-rank alchemist.

Xiao Yao mastered four unranked formulas under Elder Huo’s guidance, then refined the first-rank Fire-Clearing Pill. The pill formed with a Pill Pattern, marking Xiao Yao’s success as a First-Rank Alchemist.

• Elder Huo guided Xiao Yao through Clearwind Paste, Beast-Repelling Powder, and Detoxifying Liquid, and Xiao Yao mastered each formula after ten successful refinements.
• Elder Huo gave Xiao Yao the first-rank Fire-Clearing Pill formula while Xiao Yao recovered his Soul Power.
• Xiao Yao asked Elder Huo to guide him through the Fire-Clearing Pill’s refinement, and Elder Huo explained how to extract the Ice-Pattern Bluegrass and fuse the ingredients.
• Xiao Yao formed the pill in the medicinal cauldron and nurtured it in the flames for half an hour.
• Elder Huo examined the finished pill and exclaimed that it had a Pill Pattern, confirming Xiao Yao had successfully refined a first-rank pill.

Xiao Yao impressed Elder Huo by refining several excellent pills, including one with a distinct Pill Pattern, then focused on cultivation and advanced to Five-Star Da Dou Shi. He planned to return to the Alchemy Department after resting and strengthening himself.

• Elder Huo praised Xiao Yao's first successful tier-one pill and said his talent could make him a grandmaster by regional standards.
• Xiao Yao refined several more pills without failure, and his final Fire-Clearing Pill had a distinct Pill Pattern.
• Elder Huo dismissed Xiao Yao to rest, while Xiao Yao decided to wait a few days before returning to study alchemy.
• Xiao Yao absorbed solar energy by day and tempered his Dou Qi in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower at night.
• Xiao Yao broke through to Five-Star Da Dou Shi and celebrated his advancement alongside becoming a tier-one alchemist.

Xiao Yao advanced his alchemy under Elder Huo’s guidance and received a fourth-rank Qi Gathering Powder formula. When he returned to his residence, Han Yue invited him to explore some ruins with her.

• Xiao Yao refined a high-quality Purple Sun Pill, and Elder Huo praised his near-perfect success rate.
• Elder Huo gave Xiao Yao the formula for fourth-rank Qi Gathering Powder and kept his rapid progress secret from the other elders.
• Xiao Yao left Elder Huo and found Han Yue waiting outside his residence.
• Han Yue invited Xiao Yao to explore some ruins with her.

Xiao Yao agreed to help Han Yue explore ruins guarded by a peak fourth-tier Purple-Striped Wind-Chasing Leopard in exchange for half the treasures. After reaching the beast’s territory, Xiao Yao proposed using its keen sense of smell to lure it away from its den and attack by surprise.

• Han Yue told Xiao Yao that a Purple-Striped Wind-Chasing Leopard guarded the ruins and offered to split the treasures equally if he helped her.
• Xiao Yao accepted the offer, and he and Han Yue set off into the primeval forest to find the ruins.
• Han Yue consulted her map, but Xiao Yao climbed a tree to correct their route after she lost her bearings.
• The pair heard a roar and spotted the Purple-Striped Wind-Chasing Leopard leaving its den.
• Han Yue explained that the beast could detect intruders from far away, and Xiao Yao proposed entering the den after it left and striking it by surprise.

Xiao Yao used a Serrated Mouse carrying a Fourth-Order Sun Magic Core to lure the Purple-Striped Wind-Chasing Leopard into an explosion. The blast killed the beast and left Han Yue shaken by the scale of Xiao Yao’s trump card.

• Xiao Yao learned from Han Yue how the Wind-Chasing Leopard used its scent zone to detect intruders.
• Xiao Yao planted a Sun Magic Core in an unconscious Serrated Mouse and tossed it into the valley as bait.
• Xiao Yao and Han Yue watched from a giant tree as the Wind-Chasing Leopard arrived and attacked the mouse.
• Xiao Yao detonated the Sun Magic Core, and the resulting blast engulfed the Wind-Chasing Leopard.
• Han Yue warned Xiao Yao not to use such a powerful trump card near crowds, and Xiao Yao confirmed that the explosion had killed the leopard.

Xiao Yao and Han Yue searched a magical beast's lair for ruins and discovered a dying message and the Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art. Xiao Yao learned that the art could temporarily boost strength at the cost of blood Qi and Dou Qi, and considered it suitable for himself.

• Xiao Yao collected the Wind-Chasing Leopard's Magic Core and usable materials after defeating it with the Sun Magic Core's explosion.
• Xiao Yao and Han Yue cleared rubble from the leopard's collapsed lair and searched its passages for the ruins.
• Han Yue found man-made marks on a rock wall, and Xiao Yao broke through its crude mechanism with a powerful punch.
• Xiao Yao and Han Yue entered a stone chamber and found desiccated remains and a message written on the floor.
• Xiao Yao retrieved a scroll titled Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art from the remains' Storage Ring and learned it temporarily increased strength by consuming blood Qi and Dou Qi.

Xiao Yao obtained the Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art and discussed its dangerous power with Han Yue. They honored their original agreement to split the ruins’ treasures evenly, leaving with the secret art, rare items, medicinal herbs, and shared cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, including a Low Earth Tier technique.

• Xiao Yao examined the Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art and concluded it could raise strength by more than a major realm at the cost of severe bodily damage.
• Han Yue warned Xiao Yao not to abuse the secret art, and Xiao Yao gave her the Storage Ring to count their gains.
• Han Yue offered to take thirty percent, but Xiao Yao insisted they keep their prior fifty-fifty agreement.
• Xiao Yao selected the secret art, medicinal herbs, and rare treasures, while he and Han Yue shared the cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, including a Low Earth Tier technique.

Xiao Yao and Han Yue escaped the valley after obtaining the Earth Tier Dou Technique Brilliant Meteor, which Xiao Yao began cultivating back at the Inner Academy. When a group confronted him and demanded he stay away from Han Yue, Xiao Yao defeated their leader and followers with a single attack.

• Xiao Yao and Han Yue examined the Brilliant Meteor scroll, learned how demanding it was to cultivate, and left the valley with their spoils.
• Xiao Yao returned to the Inner Academy, began practicing Brilliant Meteor, and continued his usual studies and training.
• A burly student and his group blocked Xiao Yao and warned him to stay away from Han Yue.
• Xiao Yao mocked the group, then struck the leader with a kick and sent him and his followers tumbling across the ground.

Xiao Yao used the Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art to overwhelm a Dou Ling opponent and discovered that his rapid recovery let him use the technique with few drawbacks. After driving off the troublemakers, he assessed how the secret art could raise his strength and help him fight stronger opponents.

• Xiao Yao burned his Dou Qi with the secret art and defeated the burly man, who had reached the Dou Ling realm, in one blow.
• Xiao Yao ordered the burly man's companions to leave, then regretted not challenging him in the arena to win Fire Energy.
• Xiao Yao found that his body and Dou Qi recovered quickly enough to make the secret art's costs manageable, and he considered how burning blood Qi or Dou Qi could boost different aspects of his strength.
• Xiao Yao estimated that he could reach the strength of a Two-Star Dou Ling for a sustained fight or a Five-Star Dou Ling for a brief burst, and judged that he could wear down most Dou Ling opponents in an open, mobile battle.

Xiao Yao’s reputation kept other students from seeking revenge, while he focused on cultivation and alchemy. With Elder Huo’s guidance, Xiao Yao successfully refined Qi Gathering Powder and became a Fourth-Tier Alchemist.

• Xiao Yao found that the students he had defeated avoided him, and no faction came to challenge him.
• The defeated student’s leader showed him the crater left by Xiao Yao’s Sun Magic Core, convincing him not to pursue revenge.
• Xiao Yao began his first attempt to refine the fourth-tier Qi Gathering Powder under Elder Huo’s guidance.
• Xiao Yao combined the medicinal essences, added energy from a Water Attribute Magic Core, and carefully nurtured the embryonic pill.
• Xiao Yao completed the pill, and Elder Huo congratulated him on becoming a Fourth-Tier Alchemist.

After becoming a Fourth-Tier Alchemist, Xiao Yao planned to study more fourth-grade formulas before attempting a fifth-grade pill. With his Fire Energy running low, he went to the arena to earn more and challenged the crowd to a fight for 200 days of Fire Energy.

• Elder Huo praised Xiao Yao's Qi Gathering Powder and gave him three fourth-grade formulas to study, offering to guide him as he refined them.
• Xiao Yao realized his Fire Energy was close to falling below 200 days and decided to earn more by fighting in the arena.
• At the arena, Xiao Yao watched Lin Xiuya defeat Liu Qing after their fierce spear-and-sword battle.
• Xiao Yao stepped onto the platform, displayed his Azure Fire Crystal Card, and offered 200 days of Fire Energy to whoever would fight him.
• The crowd reacted with surprise, and someone recognized Xiao Yao as the most monstrous talent among this year's new students.

Xiao Yao challenged the Inner Academy students for a wager of 200 days of Fire Energy, and Crazy Axe Mu Tong accepted. Xiao Yao defeated Mu Tong in moments, leaving the arena empty and Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing wary of his strength.

• Xiao Yao displayed his Seven-Star Great Dou Master rank and wagered 200 days of Fire Energy, but the students hesitated after learning he had defeated two Dou Ling during the Fire Energy Hunting Competition.
• Crazy Axe Mu Tong, a Three-Star Dou Ling, stepped onto the stage and offered his Blue Fire Crystal Card, which held more than 150 days of Fire Energy.
• Mu Tong attacked Xiao Yao with his huge axe, but Xiao Yao met the strike with his fiery red spear and knocked the weapon aside.
• Xiao Yao kicked Mu Tong through his armor and sent him crashing to the ground, winning the wager of 200 days of Fire Energy.
• The arena fell silent after Xiao Yao's victory, while Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing watched him warily and judged that few students could be certain of defeating him.