Chapter Summaries

Flowing Cloud revealed Lin Hai’s overwhelming strength to Mittel Tengshan and delivered him a Dou Ling Pill. He learned the royal family would attend his coming-of-age ceremony and realized they were seeking favor after Hai Bodong’s return.

• Flowing Cloud told Mittel Tengshan that Lin Hai could defeat Hai Bodong in a single move, convincing him that Lin Hai was at least a Dou Zong expert.
• Flowing Cloud gave Mittel Tengshan a Dou Ling Pill and prepared to leave.
• Mittel Tengshan reminded Flowing Cloud that his coming-of-age ceremony was in one week and that the royal family had been invited.
• Flowing Cloud recalled how the royal family and other factions had pressured the Mittel Family while Hai Bodong was missing, then concluded the royal family was now trying to curry favor.
• Flowing Cloud dismissed the royal family’s motives as long as they did not interfere with his Auction House.

Flowing Cloud took Qing Lin to the auction house and promised to help improve her cultivation, then encountered Mittel Yunfei, who challenged him over his position as Young Master and the auction house's authority. Flowing Cloud left the residence without backing down, telling Mittel Yunfei to wait and see what happened at the coming-of-age ceremony.

• Flowing Cloud asked Qing Lin about her cultivation, and she said she had reached the second stage of Dou Qi.
• Flowing Cloud reassured Qing Lin about her talent and promised to refine Foundation Building Liquid for her that night.
• Flowing Cloud met Mittel Yunfei at the residence gates, where Mittel Yunfei taunted him about the coming-of-age challenge and demanded he give up control of the auction house.
• Mittel Yunfei declared that he would personally challenge Flowing Cloud at the coming-of-age ceremony, but Flowing Cloud dismissed him and left with Qing Lin.

Flowing Cloud went to the Mittel Auction House with Qing Lin and Lin Hai, where he found Mu Zhan harassing Ya Fei and claimed her as his woman. After Mu Zhan attacked him, Flowing Cloud defeated him and lifted him by the throat, asking whether he thought he was worthy of Ya Fei.

• Flowing Cloud entered the Mittel Auction House with Qing Lin and Lin Hai.
• Mu Zhan pressured Ya Fei to have dinner with him and threatened anyone she liked.
• Flowing Cloud confronted Mu Zhan, embraced Ya Fei, and told her he would protect her.
• Mu Zhan attacked Flowing Cloud, but Flowing Cloud overwhelmed him in a direct clash.
• Flowing Cloud grabbed Mu Zhan by the throat and taunted him for coveting Ya Fei.

Flowing Cloud crippled Mu Zhan after he harassed Ya Fei, then warned the auction house guests against causing trouble. He left for the VIP room with Qing Lin and Lin Hai, where Ya Fei joined them after calming the hall.

• Flowing Cloud broke Mu Zhan's arm and both legs while Mu Zhan glared at him in hatred.
• Flowing Cloud threatened Mu Zhan to keep away from Ya Fei, then kicked him toward the hall entrance.
• Flowing Cloud ordered the guards to throw Mu Zhan out and bar him from the auction house without permission.
• Flowing Cloud reassured the guests that sincere traders were welcome and warned that the Mittel Family would not tolerate trouble.
• Flowing Cloud went to the VIP room with Qing Lin and Lin Hai, and Ya Fei joined them after settling the guests.

Flowing Cloud gathered medicinal herbs from the Mittel Auction House and prepared Marrow Cleansing True Liquid with Ten Thousand Year Earth Core Body Tempering Milk. He began using it to temper his body, but the overwhelming energy caused excruciating pain as Lin Hai watched anxiously.

• Ya Fei reproached Flowing Cloud for confronting Mu Zhan, but he asserted the Mittel Family's strength and told her not to fear offending anyone.
• Flowing Cloud gave Ya Fei a list of medicinal herbs for the spiritual liquid, and she returned with everything he needed.
• Flowing Cloud told Ya Fei to proceed with preparations for the Heaven-tier Auction and promised to support her, then returned to his courtyard with Qing Lin and Lin Hai.
• Flowing Cloud combined ten drops of Ten Thousand Year Earth Core Body Tempering Milk with dozens of refined herbs to prepare the Marrow Cleansing True Liquid.
• Flowing Cloud entered the wooden tub and began cultivating as the liquid's energy flooded his body, scorching his bones, meridians, and other tissues.
• Lin Hai watched Flowing Cloud suffer through the violent body-tempering process and worried that his master might not endure it.

Flowing Cloud endured the pain of Marrow Cleansing and Bone Refining while his body transformed. At the Mu Estate, Mu Chen learned that Flowing Cloud had crippled Mu Zhan, but called off retaliation after the Grand Princess revealed that the Ice Emperor had returned to the Mittel Family.

• Flowing Cloud endured the burning pain as his bones, meridians, cells, and muscles gradually grew stronger.
• Mu Zhan told Mu Chen that Flowing Cloud had crippled his legs, and Mu Yun recounted the events at the auction house.
• Mu Chen ordered Mu Yun to gather the Black Scale Army and demand that Mittel Tengshan hand over Flowing Cloud.
• The Grand Princess arrived and warned Mu Chen not to pursue the matter because the Ice Emperor had returned to the Mittel Family.
• Mu Chen learned that the Ice Emperor had visited the imperial family and agreed to follow the Grand Princess's advice.

Flowing Cloud absorbed energy from the medicinal bath and Earth Core Body Tempering Milk to force a breakthrough beyond Nine-star Great Dou Shi. He succeeded in reaching Dou Ling, leaving the room wrecked as Lin Hai contained the eruption of his power.

• After three days of pain, Flowing Cloud’s body completed its transformation and began drawing vast energy into his meridians.
• Flowing Cloud advanced to Nine-star Great Dou Shi, then used his cultivation technique to absorb energy from the medicinal liquid and the surrounding world.
• When the energy supply dwindled, Lin Hai added drops of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk to sustain Flowing Cloud’s attempt to break through to Dou Ling.
• Flowing Cloud’s Dou Crystal transformed into a nine-spiked Sea Urchin Dou Crystal as its heartbeat synchronized with his own.
• Flowing Cloud broke through to Dou Ling and unleashed a powerful energy ripple that shattered the wooden tub and damaged the room, while Lin Hai raised a barrier to contain it.

After testing the strength he gained by advancing to Dou Ling, Flowing Cloud refined a Fifth-grade Blood Lotus Pill with Lin Hai concealing the pill’s unusual fragrance. The pill successfully formed and Flowing Cloud stored it in a jade bottle.

• Flowing Cloud tested his new strength by using Sky Covering Palm to shatter a bluestone and felt the effects of his breakthrough and Marrow Cleansing and Bone Refining.
• Lin Hai praised Flowing Cloud’s progress, and Flowing Cloud said he believed he could face an ordinary Dou Wang with his techniques and treasures.
• Flowing Cloud asked Lin Hai to conceal any unusual phenomena while he refined a Blood Lotus Pill.
• Flowing Cloud used Purple Flame to refine the medicinal ingredients in a Medicine Cauldron for half a day.
• Lin Hai raised a barrier to keep the pill’s colored fragrance from escaping as Flowing Cloud completed the pill and placed it in a jade bottle.

Flowing Cloud prepared to refine the Taiyin Divine Flame and traveled with Lin Hai to a secluded underground ice chamber in Mo City. He gathered the Blood Lotus Pill, Ice Spirit Cold Spring, and Spirit Absorption, then began his final preparations for seclusion.

• Flowing Cloud summoned the Void Burrowing Beast and used the Void Passage to travel with Lin Hai to Mo City.
• Flowing Cloud brought Lin Hai to the underground ice chamber beneath Hai Bodong's shop and asked him to stand guard while he entered seclusion.
• Flowing Cloud sat on an ice platform and took out the Blood Lotus Pill, Ice Spirit Cold Spring, and Spirit Absorption.
• Flowing Cloud inspected the three treasures and sank his consciousness into the System Space.

Flowing Cloud began refining the Taiyin Divine Flame by using a Blood Lotus Pill to shield himself from its heat. After searching inside the flames as Lin Hai protected the underground chamber, Flowing Cloud found and extracted the flame seed.

• Flowing Cloud summoned the Taiyin Divine Flame, and Lin Hai recognized it as a Heavenly Flame and worried that his master intended to refine it.
• Flowing Cloud swallowed the Blood Lotus Pill, whose medicinal power formed a protective crimson keratin armor around his body.
• Flowing Cloud drew the Taiyin Divine Flame toward himself while Lin Hai used battle qi to shield the underground chamber from its heat.
• Flowing Cloud plunged his armored arm into the flames and searched for the flame seed as the heat damaged his armor and ravaged the chamber.
• Flowing Cloud found the Taiyin Divine Flame's flame seed and pulled a wisp of blue magma-like liquid from the flames.

Flowing Cloud swallowed the Taiyin Divine Flame and endured its violent assault as he guided it through his meridians with the help of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and his Purple Fire Dou Qi. After completing the final Meridian route, the flame grew docile, and Flowing Cloud began the next stage of refinement inside a blue flame barrier.

• Flowing Cloud swallowed the Taiyin Divine Flame’s source fire seed despite his fear of its destructive power.
• Flowing Cloud used the Ice Spirit Cold Spring to protect his meridians and repeatedly tried to control the scattered blue flames.
• Flowing Cloud gathered the flames into blue magma and guided it through his meridians while the heat badly damaged his body.
• Lin Hai watched Flowing Cloud’s injuries worsen but held back from interfering.
• Flowing Cloud spent nearly all his Purple Fire Dou Qi and most of his liquid energy to guide the flame through the final Meridian route.
• Flowing Cloud inserted the Spirit Absorption, and a blue flame barrier formed around him as Lin Hai watched.

While Flowing Cloud lay half-conscious, the Taiyin Divine Flame repaired and strengthened his body, then filled his Dou Crystal with blue liquid energy. When Flowing Cloud awoke, he struck the flame and sent it into the Spirit Absorption, completing its refinement as a source flame.

• The Taiyin Divine Flame flowed through Flowing Cloud’s meridians, repairing his damaged body and strengthening his bones, muscles, and skin.
• The flame entered Flowing Cloud’s nearly empty Dou Crystal, burned away its remaining Purple Liquid energy, and filled it with about a hundred drops of blue liquid energy.
• The Taiyin Divine Flame approached the gray point of light formed by the Spirit Absorption but hesitated to touch it.
• Flowing Cloud’s soul awakened, and he struck the retreating Taiyin Divine Flame with his mind.
• The blow sent the Taiyin Divine Flame’s tail into the Spirit Absorption, whose suction pulled the flame inside and completed the refinement.

Flowing Cloud emerged from refining the Taiyin Divine Flame with his injuries healed and his cultivation raised to Five-star Dou Ling. After testing the flame’s power, he left the ruined basement with Lin Hai and settled in a cold cave to prepare for cultivating the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Art.

• The blue flame barrier shattered, and Flowing Cloud emerged unharmed after refining the Taiyin Divine Flame.
• Lin Hai sensed that Flowing Cloud had reached Five-star Dou Ling, and Flowing Cloud described how refining the flame had boosted his strength.
• Flowing Cloud summoned the Taiyin Divine Flame and tested it by punching through the basement wall, while noting its heavy Dou Qi consumption.
• Lin Hai reminded Flowing Cloud that a Heavenly Tier Cultivation Technique could help sustain the flame, and Flowing Cloud decided to cultivate the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Art after resting.
• Flowing Cloud and Lin Hai left the ruined basement, traveled from Black Rock City to a cold mountain cave, and began preparing for his next cultivation.

Flowing Cloud waited for a stormy midnight to absorb the Taiyin Divine Flame, sealing himself inside a cave while Lin Hai guarded it. After surviving a destructive transformation and unleashing a devastating blast, Flowing Cloud emerged alive but drained of battle qi.

• Flowing Cloud waited for the storm and midnight chill before telling Lin Hai to seal the cave entrance with a boulder.
• Lin Hai guarded the cave through the night and waited anxiously as Flowing Cloud remained inside through the following morning.
• Flowing Cloud's energy bursts cracked and collapsed the cave, and blue flames melted the rubble as a giant blue fireball rose into the sky.
• Flowing Cloud unleashed a blue beam that destroyed a distant mountain peak and sent fire waves across the surrounding region, nearly overwhelming Lin Hai's defenses.
• Flowing Cloud revealed himself as the blue sun faded, landed with his Wind Thunder Twin Wings, and told Lin Hai he was fine despite being severely weakened.

After refining the Taiyin Divine Flame, Flowing Cloud reached Five-star Dou Ling and mastered the first level of the Nine Yang Burning Heaven Art. As he prepared to return to the Imperial Capital, he learned that Jia Xing Tian was chasing the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and ordered Lin Hai to intervene without killing Jia Xing Tian.

• Flowing Cloud reflected on his new strength and his plan to auction the Green Lotus Core Flame in the Black Corner Region rather than expose it in the Jia Ma Empire.
• Lin Hai sensed two approaching Dou Huang auras and identified the fleeing Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and its pursuer, a peak Nine-star Dou Huang.
• Flowing Cloud concluded that the pursuer was Jia Xing Tian and suspected the imperial family had sent him because of Nameless's earlier intervention.
• Flowing Cloud told Lin Hai to conceal his aura, follow the pair, and let the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King suffer before helping it.
• Lin Hai offered to kill Jia Xing Tian, but Flowing Cloud ordered him to give the elder only a slight warning and preserve the empire's stability.

Jia Xing Tian pursued the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King after discovering it had been hiding in Black Rock City, demanding to know its connection to the Li Family. The beast refused to explain, and their battle began with Jia Xing Tian blocking its Purple Flame with the Shattering Void Seal.

• Jia Xing Tian caught up with the fleeing Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and demanded to know why it had hidden in Black Rock City and what tied it to the Li Family.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King refused to reveal anything, remembering Flowing Cloud’s warning not to expose his identity.
• Jia Xing Tian offered to spare the beast if it submitted and explained itself, but the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King rejected him.
• Jia Xing Tian attacked with a massive palm print, and the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King countered with a Fire Pillar that dissipated after their forces clashed.
• Jia Xing Tian struck the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King from behind with a black blade, but its powerful hide left only marks that quickly faded.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King fired a Purple Fire Pillar at Jia Xing Tian, who summoned the Shattering Void Seal to block it.

Jia Xing Tian fought the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and wounded it with his Sky-Breaking Slash, but an overwhelmingly powerful stranger intervened and abducted the beast. Jia Xing Tian realized the stranger was a Dou Zong expert, possibly far stronger than an ordinary one, and was warned not to threaten the Li Family again.

• Jia Xing Tian and the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King fought in the sky for an hour, with the beast matching Jia Xing Tian through its immense physical strength.
• Jia Xing Tian demanded that the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King submit, but it refused and unleashed the Purple Crystal Seal against his Sky-Breaking Slash.
• Jia Xing Tian's black blade destroyed the Purple Crystal Seal and cut off part of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King's horn.
• Jia Xing Tian prepared a second black blade to kill the injured beast, but a giant palm emerged from twisted space and crushed the attack.
• The giant palm seized the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and vanished with it, while an unseen voice warned Jia Xing Tian not to offend the Li Family again.
• Jia Xing Tian recognized that the stranger was a Dou Zong expert and suspected the expert was far beyond ordinary.

Flowing Cloud returned to the Imperial Capital after rescuing the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King and ensuring he would remain in Black Rock City for the rest of his one-year agreement. There, he learned from Qing Lin that his coming-of-age ceremony would take place in two days.

• Flowing Cloud rescued the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King from Jia Xing Tian and mocked him for wanting to quit his service.
• Lin Hai pressured the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, and Flowing Cloud promised that Jia Xing Tian would not come after him again.
• The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King agreed to stay in Black Rock City until his one-year agreement ended.
• Flowing Cloud and Lin Hai returned to the Imperial Capital through Black Rock City's Void Passage.
• Flowing Cloud learned that Qing Lin had reached the fourth stage of Dou Qi and that the clan leader expected him to prepare for his coming-of-age ceremony in two days.

The Mittel Family held its coming-of-age ceremony, drawing major Imperial Capital factions and visitors including Nalan Yanran and Misty Cloud Sect deacon Ge Ye. Flowing Cloud recognized Nalan Yanran and suggested that the Misty Cloud Sect had come to court the Mittel Family now that its Supreme Elder had returned.

• Flowing Cloud and Ya Fei watched the crowded ceremony venue from a pavilion, and Ya Fei looked forward to seeing his strength.
• Nalan Yanran arrived with Ge Ye, whose presence showed that the Misty Cloud Sect was represented alongside the Nalan family.
• Flowing Cloud recognized Nalan Yanran as his childhood acquaintance and Xiao Yan’s former fiancée, while Ya Fei teased him for staring.
• Flowing Cloud told Ya Fei that the Misty Cloud Sect wanted to win over the Mittel Family after its Supreme Elder returned.

At the Mite’er coming-of-age ceremony, Flowing Cloud recognized Princess Yue, the Jia Ma Imperial Family’s Little Princess, and recalled their hostile history. Their exchange of insults nearly turned into a fight before Ya Fei noticed the Eldest Princess arriving.

• Flowing Cloud considered the rivalry between the Jia Ma Imperial Family and the Misty Cloud Sect and the Mittel Family’s importance as a potential ally.
• Princess Yue arrived as the imperial family’s representative, and Flowing Cloud remembered that she had once beaten him after catching him bullying a commoner girl.
• Princess Yue approached Flowing Cloud and called him a scum, while he dismissed her and held Ya Fei’s hand.
• Flowing Cloud noticed Princess Yue’s Second-grade Alchemist badge, then insulted her height, angering her.
• Princess Yue raised her fist but stopped when she remembered that Flowing Cloud had crippled Mu Zhan, and Ya Fei announced the Eldest Princess’s arrival.