Chapter Summaries

Xiao Heng obtained a volatile Thunder Seed and fused a lightning cultivation method into his Ascension Art before learning that a Snake Valley near the Imperial Capital held the medicinal treasure he sought. He set off for the Mittel Auction House to find rare Thunderstruck Wood, while Bear Two went out to eat with the young man.

• Xiao Heng fed the little snake Companion Purple Crystal Source, then drew a Six-star Dou Huang Experience Card and a Thunder Whale Thunder Seed from the system.
• Xiao Heng accidentally triggered the Thunder Seed's lightning, wrecking his room and leaving himself with superficial injuries; after recovering, he read its refinement guide and asked the system for a lightning cultivation method.
• Xiao Heng exchanged for the Thunder Whale Art and fused it with the Ascension Art, spending his remaining Cultivation Art Points, Combat Skill Points, and Energy Points before completing the conversion two days later.
• The young man told Xiao Heng that Elder Nalan had been injured in a Snake Valley inhabited by venomous snakes and a fifth-tier Snake King, and gave him a detailed map in exchange for gold coins.
• Xiao Heng learned that the Mittel Auction House was the best place to find six pieces of Century Thunderstruck Wood, then went there while Bear Two went out to find food with the young man.

Xiao Heng bought Thunderstruck Wood and medicinal ingredients at the Mittel Auction House, paying for the costly supplies with pills he had refined. After practicing swordsmanship at home, he told Bear Two they would leave for Snake Valley the next day so he could cultivate and prepare to refine the Thunder Seed.

• Xiao Heng bought six pieces of Century Thunderstruck Wood at the Mittel Auction House and learned he had 223,500 gold coins left on his Purple Card.
• Xiao Heng purchased medicinal ingredients, then sold pills when his remaining funds could not cover their 368,000-gold-coin cost.
• Xiao Heng reflected that alchemy could earn him millions of gold coins and returned to find his lightning-damaged room repaired.
• Xiao Heng practiced swordsmanship with a heavy iron sword for an hour, then bathed and waited for Bear Two to return.
• Xiao Heng told Bear Two they would leave for Snake Valley the next day and seek a quiet place to cultivate, hoping to refine the Thunder Seed and reach Dou Ling within three months.

Xiao Heng and Bear Two fought the poisonous snakes of Snake Valley, where Xiao Heng tested a powerful new flame technique against the serpent beasts. After naming the move Flame Sword—Yama and killing the remaining Fourth-tier snake, Xiao Heng flew to help Bear Two, whose fight with the Brand Poison Python was still underway.

• Xiao Heng and Bear Two entered Snake Valley and fought through the venomous snakes until they reached the Brand Poison Python's cave.
• Bear Two transformed into a giant armored beast and fought the Brand Poison Python while Xiao Heng used Heavenly Flames and sword techniques against the other snakes.
• Bear Two wounded the Brand Poison Python, but it fled through the trees after finding its venom ineffective against his armor.
• Xiao Heng burned through most of the surrounding snakes, then unleashed a compressed flame-and-sword-qi attack that killed one Fourth-tier beast and left another barely alive.
• Xiao Heng named his new move Flame Sword—Yama, killed the surviving Fourth-tier snake, and flew to Bear Two's ongoing battle.

Xiao Heng and Bear Two killed the Brand Poison Python and found the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Birth in its cave. Xiao Heng then began refining the Thunder Seed, but the lightning overwhelmed his defenses and left him charred and unable to move.

• Xiao Heng wounded the Brand Poison Python with his sword, and Bear Two seized it and beat it to death.
• Xiao Heng collected the magic cores and found the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Birth in the snake's cave, then stored it in the System Space.
• Xiao Heng and Bear Two traveled to a remote valley, where Bear Two guarded the entrance while Xiao Heng prepared to refine the Thunder Seed.
• Xiao Heng released the Thunder Seed inside a six-pointed formation of Thunderstruck Wood, revealing a huge Thunder Whale.
• Xiao Heng charged into the Thunder Whale, but the lightning shattered his armor, charred his body, and left him unable to move.

Xiao Heng survived the Thunder Whale’s lightning, refined its Thunder Seed, and used the resulting energy and a Green Lotus Core Flame Lotus Seed to break through to two-star Dou Ling. He left the scarred valley with Bear Two after confirming his breakthrough.

• Xiao Heng used Sword Intent to cut through the Thunder Whale’s lightning and seized its Thunder Seed’s origin source, though the ordeal left him gravely injured.
• Xiao Heng circulated the origin source through his cultivation method and fused it with his Flame Seed using the System, allowing its vitality to heal his body over nearly three days.
• Xiao Heng woke as the healing energy entered his Dou Crystal and began a breakthrough, but used a Green Lotus Core Flame Lotus Seed when the energy ran short.
• Xiao Heng advanced from eight-star Da Dou Shi to Dou Ling and suppressed his unstable cultivation until it settled at early-stage two-star Dou Ling.
• Xiao Heng dressed, left the lightning-scarred valley, and thanked Bear Two for guarding him before agreeing to give him more gold coins.

Xiao Heng completed his breakthrough to the Dou Ling realm and fused his lightning and fire powers into a new lotus flame. He went to the Mittel Auction House to find Xiao Yan, and Ya Fei gave him the address where Xiao Yan was staying.

• After three days of cultivating, Xiao Heng broke through to the Dou Ling realm and named his fused lightning-fire lotus flame Thunder Gang Purple Lotus Fire.
• Xiao Heng went to the Mittel Auction House and asked the receptionist to see Ya Fei.
• Ya Fei questioned Xiao Heng about his connection to Xiao Yan, and he revealed that he knew Xiao Yan was the black-robed man.
• Ya Fei accepted that Xiao Heng was Xiao Yan's friend and told him where Xiao Yan was staying.

Xiao Heng reunited with Xiao Yan in the Jia Ma Empire’s capital, gave him a cultivation pill, and brought him to stay at his new house. He successfully refined a Flying Cloud Pill, but its escaping energy and fragrance exposed its grade to nearby people.

• Xiao Heng visited Xiao Yan, gave him an Amethyst Crystal Pill, and accepted two pills Xiao Yan had refined in return.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Heng he would skip the Alchemist Grand Meeting to focus on his battle with Nalan Yanran, and Hai Bodong arrived and greeted them.
• Xiao Heng invited Xiao Yan to stay at his house, where Xiao Yan met Bear Two and began cultivating in a nearby room.
• Xiao Heng attempted to refine a Flying Cloud Pill twice and failed before identifying the problem with his flames.
• Xiao Heng successfully refined the Flying Cloud Pill, but its fragrance and energy broke through his weakening barrier and alerted people nearby to the pill’s grade.

After refining a Fifth Grade Pill, Xiao Heng attracted the attention of factions across the Imperial Capital, who gathered to visit him the next morning. At the reception, Ya Fei and Yao Ye recognized Xiao Yan beside him, and the Imperial Family offered Xiao Heng a gift.

• Xiao Heng emerged after refining a Fifth Grade Pill, using Bear Two's fifth-tier magical beast aura to deter curious onlookers.
• Officials and families across the Imperial Capital prepared gifts and visits after learning that a Fifth-grade Alchemist had appeared.
• Ya Fei and representatives of the Imperial Family, major families, the Alchemist Guild, and the Misty Cloud Sect gathered outside Xiao Heng's courtyard the next morning.
• Xiao Heng received the visitors with Bear Two and the masked Xiao Yan, whom he introduced as his junior brother after Nalan Family representatives recognized him as Yan Xiao.
• Yao Ye offered Xiao Heng the Imperial Family's gift, presented on a jade tray with a Storage Ring.

Xiao Heng refused gifts from the Imperial Family and other factions, then spent several quiet days cultivating while Xiao Yan treated the Nalan Family patriarch and prepared to enter the Alchemist Grand Meeting. The little fellow transformed into Queen Medusa, who demanded the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe; Xiao Heng threatened the Snake People Tribe, and Medusa struck him despite her struggle with the Sky Swallowing Python’s soul.

• Xiao Heng refused Yao Ye’s Storage Ring and told the other factions to take back their gifts, then arranged for a young man to help receive visitors and gave Bear Two spending money.
• News spread that Xiao Heng was an unaffiliated Fifth-grade Alchemist, while Xiao Yan continued treating the Nalan Family patriarch and decided to compete in the Alchemist Grand Meeting for the Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill and Spirit Fusion Pill recipe.
• Xiao Heng read Xiao Yan’s pill recipes, recovered on the Cold Jade Bed, and fed the little fellow Companion Purple Crystal Source.
• The little fellow transformed into Queen Medusa, who demanded the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe and threatened Xiao Heng when he refused to submit.
• Xiao Heng threatened to offer pills as bounties for Snake People, and Medusa sent him flying into the Energy Shield with a blast of seven-colored Dou Qi.

Xiao Heng negotiated a temporary truce with Queen Medusa, then joined Xiao Yan at the Alchemist Guild’s internal test. Xiao Yan scored nine points, impressing the guild officials and emerging as a dark horse for the Alchemist Grand Meeting.

• Queen Medusa yielded to Xiao Heng and agreed to help him later, then the Sky Swallowing Python reappeared and Xiao Heng fed it Purple Crystal Source before healing his injuries.
• Three days later, Xiao Yan invited Xiao Heng to watch the Alchemist Guild’s internal test on President Frank’s behalf, and Xiao Heng agreed.
• Xiao Heng and Xiao Yan arrived at the guild, where Frank welcomed them and Xiao Heng introduced himself to Vice President Che Mi'er as Carefree.
• Xiao Yan entered the test and later scored nine points, surprising the crowd and earning praise from Che Mi'er and Frank.

After the Alchemist Grand Meeting’s preliminaries, Xiao Yan and Xiao Heng discussed the coming contest before a clash between Hai Bodong and Elder Jia drew them and the capital’s factions into the night sky. Elder Jia revealed his interest in recruiting both alchemists, but neither accepted, and the group returned to Xiao Heng’s courtyard.

• Frank invited Xiao Heng to attend the next day’s Alchemist Grand Meeting, and Xiao Yan said he expected to do well if the other competitors were like those they had seen.
• The Little Princess invited Xiao Yan to a gathering, but he declined, and Xiao Yan later left to remove the Nalan Family elder’s poison while Xiao Heng returned to cultivate.
• Xiao Heng sensed two powerful Dou Qi currents overhead and flew out with Bear Two to watch Hai Bodong fight Elder Jia.
• Mittel Tengshan and Nalan Jie joined the spectators, and Mittel Tengshan explained that Xiao Heng and Xiao Yan had helped the Mittel Family and Hai Bodong.
• Hai Bodong conceded the sparring match, and Elder Jia invited Xiao Heng and Xiao Yan to join the Imperial Family, but both declined.
• Elder Jia took the Little Princess away, and Xiao Heng, Bear Two, Hai Bodong, and Xiao Yan flew back to Xiao Heng’s courtyard.

Xiao Yan worried about the Misty Cloud Sect and his chances in the Alchemist Grand Meeting, but Xiao Heng encouraged him to prepare and promised to stand by him. The group arrived at the Royal Grand Plaza, where Xiao Heng met Guild Leader Fama before the competition began.

• Hai Bodong assured Xiao Yan that Elder Jia would not interfere, and Xiao Heng urged Xiao Yan to focus on winning against Nalan Yanran.
• Xiao Heng showed Xiao Yan the Misty Cloud Sect's invitation and insisted on accompanying him, while Xiao Yan returned to cultivating.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Heng set out for the Alchemist Grand Meeting without Bear Two and joined Frank and Master Otto on the way.
• Otto explained the grand meeting's rounds and competitors as the group traveled to the Royal Grand Plaza.
• At the VIP section, Xiao Heng met Guild Leader Fama, who invited him to sit nearby and exchange insights as fellow Fifth-grade Alchemists.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Heng attended the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Grand Meeting, where Fama, Hai Bodong, Elder Jia, and the empire’s prominent families gathered. After the competitors and guests assembled, the Purple-robed Elder officially opened the meeting.

• Fama greeted Xiao Heng, Xiao Yan, Otto, and Frank, praising the young alchemists’ abilities.
• Hai Bodong arrived and reunited with Fama, while Otto identified him as the Ice Emperor.
• Elder Jia arrived with Yao Ye and the Little Princess, and introduced Yao Ye as the commander responsible for security at the meeting.
• Mittel Tengshan arrived with Ya Fei, who greeted Xiao Heng and then sat beside Xiao Yan; Nalan Yanran also greeted the elders before sitting beside Xiao Yan.
• The Mu Clan Leader apologized to Xiao Heng for Mu Zhan’s earlier conflict with Xiao Yan, then warned Mu Zhan to behave.
• The Purple-robed Elder declared the Seventh Alchemist Grand Meeting officially open.

The Alchemist Grand Meeting began, and Xiao Heng drew attention when Fa Ma implied he was a remarkably young fifth-grade alchemist. The first round started with contestants attempting to refine a pill from an incomplete formula, while Xiao Heng confidently predicted his junior brother would win.

• Fa Ma directed Liu Ling, the Little Princess, and Xiao Yan to take their special positions, and all three descended dramatically from the VIP Platform.
• Hai Bodong pushed Xiao Yan off the platform, and Xiao Yan used Dou Qi to land safely before the crowd.
• Fa Ma suggested Xiao Heng was under thirty, prompting the assembled factions to recognize his potential and consider recruiting him.
• Contestants read the incomplete medicinal formula, then began the first round with two attempts and a limited time to refine the pill.
• When Che Mi'er asked who would win, Xiao Heng declared that his junior brother would claim the championship.

Xiao Yan barely completed the first round of the Alchemist Grand Meeting, while a mysterious Gray-robed Man displayed astonishing Soul Power and drew the attention of Fa Ma and the others. Suspecting the youth was an Izumo Empire alchemist in disguise, Hai Bodong began preparing to freeze away his concealed head covering.

• Xiao Yan used an orange Earth Scorpion King Beast flame, then deliberately failed his first attempt while attempting to fuse six medicinal ingredients at once.
• Che Mi'er announced that the contestants had to refine a Bone-Regenerating Pill from an incomplete recipe.
• Liu Ling and the Little Princess finished before Xiao Yan, who formed his pill at the final moment and passed the first round.
• Fa Ma ordered the contestants to test their pills, and Xiao Yan, Liu Ling, and the Little Princess produced especially bright green lights.
• Fa Ma learned that the Gray-robed Man was a seventeen-year-old Fourth-grade Alchemist from the Izumo Empire and suspected his identity was concealed.
• Hai Bodong began sending cold air toward the Gray-robed Man to freeze his head covering into powder.

Xiao Yan completed the second assessment by refining a pill with his Heavenly Flame, while Xiao Heng declined the offer to join the contest. That night, Xiao Heng joined Hai Bodong, Fa Ma, and Elder Jia in investigating the Gray-robed Alchemist, whose real identity was Yan Li.

• Xiao Heng spotted an extra Thick Earth Mushroom in the pill recipe and advised Fa Ma to remove it.
• Xiao Yan used his Heavenly Flame and an unusual final-step method to finish his pill, drawing cheers from the spectators.
• Xiao Heng refused to enter the competition, and the second round ended with Xiao Yan, Liu Ling, and the Little Princess completing their pills.
• After Xiao Yan sensed a shadow near their courtyard, Hai Bodong invited him and Xiao Heng to investigate the Gray-robed Alchemist.
• Hai Bodong used Ice Mirrors to watch the alchemist return and reveal himself as a middle-aged man after swallowing a Face-Restoring Pill.
• Fa Ma identified the man as Yan Li, and the group confronted him, learned more about him, and left without killing him.

As the Alchemist Grand Meeting’s final round began, Xiao Yan revealed his Heavenly Flame and drew attention from the arena. Nalan Jie urged Nalan Yanran to apologize to Xiao Yan before their Three-Year Pact, but she refused and resolved to prove the gap between them.

• Fa Ma explained that contestants had to refine their best pill using their own recipes and ingredients, and the third round began.
• The Little Princess and Liu Ling brought out fifth-tier cauldrons, while Xiao Yan used his battered cauldron despite Xiao Heng’s explanation that he had refused a better one.
• The Little Princess revealed the Azure Water Flame, then Xiao Yan summoned a Heavenly Flame that made the other contestants’ flames bow and stunned the spectators.
• Nalan Jie told Nalan Yanran that Xiao Yan’s cultivation talent had returned and asked her to apologize for how she had ended their engagement.
• Nalan Yanran insisted she had done nothing wrong, said she and Xiao Yan would never be together, and prepared to prove how much stronger she was.

Xiao Yan recovered from a failed attempt and resumed refining while Yan Li produced a Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill that seemed to secure the championship. Xiao Yan revealed a third flame, and despite his cauldron exploding, he emerged with a pill before time ran out, leaving Fama to declare him the champion.

• Xiao Heng reassured Nalan Jie and insisted that Xiao Yan had to win the competition to be worthy of seeing his teacher.
• Xiao Yan’s first pill was destroyed when he changed flames, while Liu Ling and the Little Princess completed fourth-grade pills and Yan Li produced a purple-fragrant pill.
• Xiao Yan told Fama he had recovered, taunted Yan Li, and began refining another pill with renewed focus.
• Yan Li revealed a Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill, but Xiao Heng urged everyone to keep watching.
• Xiao Yan used a third, icy white flame, which caused his Medicine Cauldron to crack and explode.
• Xiao Yan emerged from the dispersing mist before time expired, and Fama announced Yan Xiao as the champion.

After the Alchemist Grand Meeting, Xiao Heng prepared for the dangerous trip to the Misty Cloud Sect while improving his control over lightning. Hai Bodong warned that Yun Yun might return and that the Soul Hall could be involved in a mysterious appearance at the sect; Xiao Heng and Xiao Yan set out to go the next day.

• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Heng the Spirit Fusion Pill recipe before leaving to detoxify Nalan Jie, and Xiao Heng resumed cultivating his Earth Grade Combat Skill.
• Xiao Heng sensed Venerable Yao's powerful Soul Power and realized Ling Ying was nearby, then spent the night refining his control over purple lightning.
• Xiao Yan broke through to Da Dou Shi, and Hai Bodong showed Xiao Heng an invitation from the Misty Cloud Sect; Xiao Heng revealed he had received one too.
• Hai Bodong said Yun Yun was away investigating a powerful expert in the Misty Cloud Sect's forbidden grounds, and Xiao Heng suspected the expert belonged to the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Heng warned Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong to avoid the mysterious threat and said Hai Bodong should take Xiao Yan away if a battle went badly; they prepared to leave for the Misty Cloud Sect the next day.

Xiao Yan arrived at Misty Cloud Sect to fulfill the Three-Year Pact with Nalan Yanran, while Xiao Heng and Hai Bodong watched from the VIP platform. As the duel began, Xiao Yan accused Nalan Yanran of nearly killing him three years earlier and demanded they settle their grudges.

• Xiao Heng, Hai Bodong, and Bear Two flew to Misty Cloud Sect, where the hosts welcomed them and showed Bear Two to the assembled elders and families.
• Xiao Yan climbed the mountain steps and arrived at the square, drawing the attention of Nalan Yanran and the gathered spectators.
• Yun Leng introduced himself and said he would preside over the Three-Year Pact, but Xiao Yan declared that life and death would be left to fate, and Nalan Yanran accepted.
• Xiao Yan confronted Nalan Yanran over the broken engagement and the humiliation brought upon his family, while she defended her choice and insisted she would defeat him.
• Xiao Yan accused Nalan Yanran of nearly killing him three years earlier and told her to begin the match.