Chapter Summaries

At the auction, Xiao Zhen baited Blood Dragon into bidding nine hundred thousand gold coins for a nearly worthless magical beast egg, then refused to raise his own bid. Jia Xingtian intervened before the furious Blood Dragon and Jade Phoenix could attack, and he recognized Xiao Zhen’s promise as a young cultivator.

• Xiao Zhen and Blood Dragon traded insults as they competed for the egg, with Blood Dragon raising his bid to eight hundred thousand gold coins.
• Xiao Zhen feigned anger and raised his bid to eight hundred and fifty thousand, prompting Blood Dragon to bid nine hundred thousand.
• Xiao Zhen stopped bidding and pointed out that the egg was worth only a little over one hundred thousand gold coins, leaving Blood Dragon and Jade Phoenix furious at being tricked.
• Blood Dragon and Jade Phoenix drew their weapons, while Xiao Zhen and his father readied their Dou Qi to face them.
• Jia Xingtian revealed himself as the imperial family’s guardian and ordered the visitors to observe the rules; Xiao Zhen saluted him, and Jia Xingtian praised his potential.

Jia Xingtian abandoned the idea of killing Xiao Zhen and considered how to strengthen ties with him. At the auction, the Heavenly Flame Furnace became the final item, and Xiao Zhen and Gu He both set their sights on it as Blood Dragon and Jade Phoenix watched the bidding climb.

• Jia Xingtian decided not to kill Xiao Zhen, fearing the consequences for the Alchemist Guild and the Xiao Clan, and found no suitable imperial-family marriage alliance.
• Xiao Zhen comforted Die by telling her another Colorful Spirit Bird egg was available, while Blood Dragon and Jade Phoenix grew resentful over losing the first egg to him.
• The auctioneer presented the Heavenly Flame Furnace, once owned by Seventh-grade Alchemist Wang Dan, and bidding quickly rose above three million gold coins.
• Blood Dragon and Jade Phoenix celebrated the furnace’s rising price, having brought it from the Mulan Empire to auction in Jia Ma Empire after learning its history through the Mittel Family.
• Xiao Zhen used the system to inspect the furnace and learned it could improve flame strength, pill quality, and success rates.
• Gu He fixed his attention on the furnace, while Yun Leng planned to use buying it and Yun Yun’s beauty to secure Gu He’s loyalty to the Misty Cloud Sect.

The Xiao Clan, Misty Cloud Sect, and Gu He competed for the Heavenly Flame Furnace, each with reasons to claim it. Xiao Zhen said he needed it more than Gu He did and asked Mitel Haoyu to display a pill he had prepared.

• Mu Chen raised the bid to 7.5 million gold coins, and Xiao Lin told him he was needlessly driving up the price.
• Yun Yun bid 8 million gold coins for the Misty Cloud Sect, prompting Xiao Zhen and Yun Yun to exchange barbs.
• Gu He greeted Xiao Zhen and explained that the Heavenly Flame Furnace could help him refine a true Fifth-grade Medicinal Pill.
• Xiao Zhen identified Gu He's Dragon Power Pill as an incomplete product, then said he needed the furnace even more than Gu He did.
• Xiao Zhen asked Mitel Haoyu to show the medicinal pill he had given him earlier.

After Xiao Zhen revealed that he had accidentally refined a fifth-grade healing pill, the imperial family, the Misty Cloud Sect, and the Xiao Clan drove the Heavenly Flame Furnace’s price far beyond the Xiao Clan’s means. Jia Xingtian planned to use the furnace to win Xiao Zhen over, and Yao Ye recognized his intention.

• Mitel Haoyu showed the auction guests a fifth-grade healing pill bestowed by Xiao Zhen, who said he had refined it himself while trying to make a pill and had ruined his furnace.
• Jia Xingtian restarted the bidding at nine million, and Yun Yun and Xiao Lin joined the contest for the Heavenly Flame Furnace.
• The bids climbed to nineteen million as the imperial family and Misty Cloud Sect outbid each other, while Xiao Lin could no longer afford to keep raising the Xiao Clan’s offer.
• Xiao Lin apologized to Xiao Zhen for being unable to secure the furnace, and Xiao Zhen accepted that the price was too high for the clan.
• Yao Ye asked Jia Xingtian whether he intended to use the furnace to win Xiao Zhen over, and Jia Xingtian confirmed that was his plan.

The auction for the Alchemy Furnace climbed to twenty-five million gold coins before Fa Ma outbid the Imperial Family and Misty Cloud Sect. After winning it, Fa Ma summoned his disciple Xiao Zhen, who suspected the furnace would become a gift to help him prepare for the alchemist competition.

• Yun Yun bid twenty million, and Jia Xingtian raised the Imperial Family's offer to twenty-one million after consulting Yao Ye.
• Xiao Lin told Xiao Zhen that the Xiao Clan could no longer afford the furnace, and Xiao Zhen considered selling his treasures to keep bidding.
• Fa Ma entered the auction with a bid of twenty-five million, and Yun Yun yielded rather than compete with the Alchemist Guild president.
• Fa Ma won the furnace and said he would find it a more suitable master, then sent Li Mei to summon Xiao Zhen.
• Li Mei told Xiao Zhen that Fa Ma wanted to see him, and Xiao Zhen wondered whether his teacher planned to give him the furnace.

Xiao Zhen received the Heavenly Flame Furnace from Fa Ma and shared alchemy methods from the Celestial Empire with his master. Fa Ma became absorbed in the new knowledge, while Xiao Zhen left the source of the books unexplained.

• Fa Ma gave Xiao Zhen the Heavenly Flame Furnace, a treasure worth more than twenty million gold coins, to support his future and the upcoming Alchemist Tournament.
• Xiao Zhen thanked Fa Ma and presented him with books containing alchemy methods from another world.
• Xiao Zhen told Fa Ma that the books came from the Celestial Empire, a place Fa Ma could not recall.
• Xiao Zhen explained the books’ contents to Fa Ma, who spent an hour studying the unfamiliar alchemy methods.
• When Fa Ma asked where Xiao Zhen had obtained the books, Xiao Zhen said he had picked them up in a cave.

After returning from the auction house, Xiao Zhen spent Points on three Level Five draws and examined his prizes. He left intrigued by the Red Thread of Fate and Zoffy summoning doll, but unwilling to test whether Super Golden Korla was edible.

• Xiao Zhen returned to the Xiao Clan with Die and Xiao Yan, then went to his courtyard with Die.
• Xiao Zhen checked his system panel and spent enough Points for three Level Five draws.
• Xiao Zhen obtained a Red Thread of Fate, a Zoffy Ultraman Temporary Summoning Doll, and 100 packs of Super Golden Korla.
• Xiao Zhen learned that the red thread could rapidly foster affection, while the doll could summon a peak Dou Zong-strength puppet for about three minutes.
• Xiao Zhen considered using the doll against the seventh-tier magical beast woman and decided not to risk eating the Golden Korla.

Xiao Zhen used Super Golden Korla to nourish a dying Calabash Vine, then practiced alchemy and refined pills while his family gathered outside. The chapter ended with Guan Xue planning to ask Xiao Zhen for medicine to help Xiao Zhan advance.

• Xiao Zhen planted the Calabash Vine and discovered that Golden Fertilizer revived its life, while the nearby grass grew rapidly.
• Xiao Zhen gave Die several bags of Golden Fertilizer, which delighted her and prompted questions about its unusual packaging.
• Xiao Zhen refined Azure Spirit Pills, producing two One-Pattern pills and three Two-Pattern pills, then began working on Fifth-grade Medicinal Pills.
• Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan, and Guan Xue gathered outside Xiao Zhen's room as the fragrance of a new pill drifted out.
• Guan Xue comforted Xiao Zhan and said she would ask Xiao Zhen for pills to help him advance from Nine-star Great Battle Master.

Xiao Zhen completed his first successful batches of Fifth-grade Medicinal Pills and shared the pills with his family. Xiao Yan asked to learn alchemy from Xiao Zhen, but Xiao Lin sent him to study with the clan’s alchemists instead.

• Xiao Zhen showed the clan elders his pills and announced that he had officially become a Fifth-grade Alchemist.
• Xiao Zhen gave Xiao Zhan a bottle of Azure Spirit Pills to help him break through to the Dou Ling realm.
• Xiao Zhen asked Xiao Lin and the elders to keep quiet during his next pill-refining session, and Xiao Lin ordered everyone away from the courtyard the next day.
• Xiao Yan asked Xiao Lin for permission to learn alchemy, and Xiao Lin agreed to send him to the Alchemy Room to study with the clan’s alchemists.
• Xiao Yan insisted that he wanted to learn from Xiao Zhen, but Xiao Lin told him that Xiao Zhen was too busy to teach him.

Xiao Zhen began teaching Xiao Yan alchemy, while Xiao Yan learned by watching him refine valuable pills and nearly dreamed of selling one for a fortune. Ten days before the Alchemist Grand Meeting, Xiao Zhen had become skilled at refining low-grade Fifth-grade pills, and the Xiao clan had gained two Dou Ling experts, though Xiao Zhan still could not advance.

• Xiao Yan arrived at Xiao Zhen's home before dawn with Xiao Zhan and Li Ya, eager for his promised alchemy lesson.
• Xiao Zhen learned Xiao Yan could barely read and began teaching him alchemy after breakfast while Die tended the plants.
• Xiao Zhen refined Beast Strength Pills and warned Xiao Yan not to steal any after the boy asked what they were worth.
• Xiao Yan watched Xiao Zhen refine pills for a day and picked up some knowledge, though he still needed practical experience.
• By the seventh day, Xiao Zhen could reliably refine low-grade Fifth-grade pills but failed when trying to make a top-grade pill.
• At an evening banquet, Xiao Lin praised Xiao Zhen as a Dou Wang and Fifth-grade Alchemist, while the clan welcomed two new Dou Ling experts and Xiao Zhan remained unable to advance despite taking two Azure Spirit Pills.

Xiao Zhen resisted his father’s attempt to arrange more pill refining and went out to dine with friends, while Queen Medusa visited Die and teased her about choosing between her sister and Xiao Zhen. The chapter left Xiao Zhen enjoying a lavish banquet as Xiao Yan watched the entertainment, unaware that Queen Medusa was privately angry over his reputation and Die’s lonely life.

• Xiao Zhen told Xiao Lin he needed a break from refining pills, then decided he would leave home before the family made him their pill-refining tool.
• Xiao Zhen went to Spring Breeze Pavilion with friends who had acquired a flying flood dragon for the feast, and Xiao Yan followed him.
• Die returned to the courtyard to tend the Calabash Vine, where Queen Medusa arrived and embraced her younger sister.
• Queen Medusa asked Die whether she would side with her or Xiao Zhen in a fight, and Die said she would help Xiao Zhen because he and Die could not defeat the Queen anyway.
• Queen Medusa worried that Die was lonely and that Xiao Zhen was an unfaithful scoundrel, while Xiao Zhen felt a chill at the banquet and continued eating and drinking as Xiao Yan watched the dancers.

Xiao Zhen returned home and discovered that the Die waiting for him was actually Queen Medusa in disguise. He used the Red Thread of Fate to influence her and led her into his room, while its effects began to influence him as well.

• Xiao Zhen returned to the Xiao Clan residence with Xiao Yan and warned him not to tell Die about their outing.
• Xiao Zhen sensed something was wrong when he entered his courtyard and used the system to identify the woman before him as Queen Medusa.
• Xiao Zhen tied the Red Thread of Fate around Medusa's wrist, causing her hostility toward him to fade and making him feel more attracted to her.
• Xiao Zhen took Medusa's hand and led her into the room, while she suppressed her anger and let him guide her.

Xiao Zhen discovered that Queen Medusa had secretly restrained Die and played along as Medusa tested his worth, but his teasing and kiss left both sisters unsettled. Die regained her movement and destroyed the room in anger, while Xiao Zhen saw a mysterious red thread tied to his arm and sensed a difficult night ahead.

• Xiao Zhen used Clairvoyance to find Die restrained beneath the bed after Queen Medusa sealed her cultivation and movement.
• Xiao Zhen embraced and teased Queen Medusa, who briefly acted like Die before stopping him from kissing her lips.
• Queen Medusa rejected Xiao Zhen's invitation to bathe together, but he kissed her cheek before leaving the courtyard.
• Queen Medusa freed Die and left, and Die soon regained movement and smashed the table and chairs in a jealous rage.
• Xiao Zhen watched Die through his abilities from the bath and noticed a mysterious red thread tied to his arm.

Xiao Zhen prepared for Jia Ma Holy City's Alchemist Grand Meeting, where he confidently entered the contest alongside Die. He met Gu He in the contestants' area and began the first elimination round, tasked with refining Yellowstone Root.

• Xiao Zhen sent Xiao Yan to the Xiao Clan's private academy and spent the following days enjoying himself and asking about the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Medusa kept thinking about Xiao Zhen despite doubting that she could have feelings for her brother-in-law.
• Xiao Zhen and Die set out for the Alchemist Grand Meeting with the Xiao Clan cheering him on, and Xiao Yan watched enviously.
• At the Imperial Plaza, Xiao Zhen greeted Gu He and met other alchemists before the first elimination round began.
• Contestants were given three chances to refine Yellowstone Root into medicinal powder essence, and Xiao Zhen expected many to fail.

Xiao Zhen advanced through the Alchemist Tournament’s qualifying rounds and reached the final seven, where Fa Ma announced the championship prize. As the finalists began the showdown, Xiao Zhen prepared to refine a Fifth-grade Dragon Power Pill while Gu He pursued victory to impress Yun Yun.

• Xiao Zhen quickly refined a Yellowstone Root and later produced a Pill-Marked Qi Restoration Pill, advancing through the first two qualifying rounds as most contestants were eliminated.
• At the banquet, the Xiao Clan recruited several alchemists, including a middle-aged third-grade alchemist, and Xiao Zhen was made to welcome them.
• Xiao Zhen refined a high-grade fourth-grade Vitality Pill, and only seven contestants remained after the third round.
• Fa Ma announced that the champion would receive the Earth-tier Seven Revolutions True Flame Art, a technique Xiao Zhen already owned, but Xiao Zhen still chose to compete for the prestige.
• Gu He resolved to win the tournament to impress Yun Yun, who avoided his gaze while Yun Leng pressed her to secure a high-grade alchemist for the Misty Cloud Sect.
• The final seven began refining pills, and Gu He summoned his Crimson Blood Fire Serpent flame as Xiao Zhen prepared to refine a Dragon Power Pill.

Xiao Zhen won the alchemy competition after refining a superior Fifth-grade Dragon Power Pill, defeating Gu He and the Chu Yun Empire alchemist. He received the promised cultivation technique, while Jia Xingtian began considering how to draw Xiao Zhen into the imperial family’s camp.

• Xiao Zhen finished refining a high-quality Dragon Power Pill before the other contestants, while Gu He struggled to produce a flawless pill.
• The Chu Yun Empire alchemist presented an excellent peak fourth-grade Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and believed it could win the championship.
• Gu He revealed his Fifth-grade Qi Cultivation Pill, but Xiao Zhen’s Dragon Power Pill proved superior, and Gu He conceded defeat.
• Fa Ma announced Xiao Zhen as the winner and gave him the cultivation technique prize, which Xiao Zhen stored in his Storage Ring.
• Jia Xingtian considered recruiting Xiao Zhen, while the Chu Yun Empire alchemist quietly left with the help of two Dou Huang experts.

Xiao Zhen and Die secretly left the clan for the Tagore Desert to seek a Heavenly Flame and improve their chances of obtaining a Form Transformation Pill. After they departed, seven tender shoots mysteriously sprouted from the Calabash Vine.

• Before dawn, Xiao Zhen and Die prepared to leave without saying goodbye to their family, and Xiao Zhen said he had left a letter.
• Xiao Zhen told Die that a Heavenly Flame awaited them in the Tagore Desert and promised to pursue a Form Transformation Pill so she could take human form.
• Xiao Zhen joked about their future children and asked whether Die would lay eggs, and Die explained that a Form Transformation Pill would let her bear children normally.
• Xiao Zhen showed Die Form Transformation Grass, but reassured her he was only joking and would not make her eat it.
• Before leaving, Die sprinkled Golden Fertilizer around the Calabash Vine and other plants.
• After Xiao Zhen and Die left, seven tiny shoots sprouted from the Calabash Vine.

Xiao Zhen and Die left the Imperial Capital and traveled to Wu Tan City, where Xiao Zhen’s concealed strength attracted trouble. After crippling several Jia Lie Clan members, he faced the clan’s former head, Jia Lie Feng, and realized that hiding his cultivation had invited people to target Die.

• Xiao Zhen and Die slipped out of the Xiao Clan, brushed off Xiao Yan’s questions, and flew beyond the Imperial Capital.
• Xiao Zhen brought Die to Wu Tan City, explaining that he had no acquaintances there and simply wanted to look around.
• While Xiao Zhen wandered the city with his aura suppressed, members of the Jia Lie Clan repeatedly harassed them and one dandy threatened to take Die.
• Xiao Zhen crippled the dandy with a palm strike, and Jia Lie Feng confronted him over injuring a Jia Lie Clan disciple.
• Xiao Zhen told Jia Lie Feng that his people had provoked him first, then admitted to himself that concealing his strength had encouraged others to covet Die.

Xiao Zhen defeated Jia Lie Feng in Wu Tan City and left with Die, stopping in a nearby town so she could eat. Over their meal, Die admitted she had secretly eaten extra food at the Xiao Clan, explaining the clan’s missing-kitchen-food legend.

• Jia Lie Feng attacked Xiao Zhen with the Great Storm Fist, but Xiao Zhen knocked him across the street with a single kick.
• Xiao Zhen and Die left Wu Tan City, and local factions turned their attention to the badly injured Jia Lie Feng.
• Die asked to stop for food, so Xiao Zhen found a nearby town and took her to its best inn.
• Die ate enthusiastically while Xiao Zhen watched, and she explained that Snake-people ate several times as much as ordinary humans.
• Xiao Zhen asked whether Die had been stealing food from the Xiao Clan’s backyard kitchen, and Die blushed at the question.

Xiao Zhen and Die met Purple Dragon Beast and learned that a Beast Overlord was gathering magical beasts for an attack on the Jia Ma Empire. Xiao Zhen worried that the empire and the Xiao Clan could not withstand the coming beast tide, and he considered whether his Zoffy Ultraman doll could help.

• Xiao Zhen and Die waited on a hidden plain, where Purple Dragon Beast arrived and greeted Xiao Zhen as his lord.
• Purple Dragon Beast told Xiao Zhen that magical beasts had been watching outside the city and that their marshals had ordered them to keep a lower profile.
• Purple Dragon Beast flew Xiao Zhen and Die toward Dragon Tiger City while they concealed their auras.
• Xiao Zhen noticed that magical beasts had gathered in unusually large numbers and learned that the Beast Overlord had ordered Dragon Tiger City to prepare for battle.
• Purple Dragon Beast confirmed that the gathered beasts were likely preparing to attack the Jia Ma Empire, and Xiao Zhen feared for the empire and the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Zhen took out a weakened Zoffy Ultraman doll and wondered whether it could stand against the shapeshifting magical beast.