Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan left Xiao Yi Xian with the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and traveled toward the Snake-people Territory with Qing Lin and their cloaked employer. As a group of Snake-people appeared, Yao Chen warned Xiao Yan not to assume they would be friendly or united.

• Xiao Yan told Xiao Yi Xian he was going to the Snake-people Territory, and she resolved to study the Poison Scripture so she could become strong enough to help him.
• Xiao Yan, Qing Lin, and the cloaked woman left after bidding farewell to Xiao Li and followed the map toward the Snake-people Territory.
• The cloaked woman asked why Xiao Yan and Qing Lin had not questioned her identity or purpose, and Xiao Yan said they would respect her privacy unless she posed a threat.
• After walking for hours, Qing Lin smelled Snake-people nearby and pointed out a group approaching across the desert.
• Xiao Yan thought the Snake-people would not trouble them because of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's past dealings, but Yao Chen warned him not to lower his guard.

Xiao Yan tried to enter Snake-people territory peacefully with Qing Lin and the cloak woman, but the Snake-people Captain rejected the Desert Iron Mercenary Group with open hostility. Unwilling to abandon Xiao Jing’s efforts or harm the squad, Xiao Yan warned that he would force his way through if they would not let him pass.

• Yao Chen recognized that the Snake-people were divided over peaceful coexistence with humans, and Xiao Yan stepped forward to meet the approaching squad.
• Xiao Yan identified the group as members of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and asked permission to enter Snake-people territory.
• The Snake-people Captain declared that he distrusted the group and accused humans of being faithless, refusing to report their arrival to his superiors.
• Xiao Yan offered to wait rather than advance, but the Captain’s hostility convinced him that further discussion would be pointless.
• Xiao Yan warned the Captain that he would force his way through and resolved to use force only as a last resort without losing sight of his own principles.

Xiao Yan instantly subdued a Snake-people squad without killing them, then tied them up and dragged them along. The cloaked woman recognized him as Nalan Yanran’s fiancé and reconsidered what she had heard about him.

• Xiao Yan sent Qing Lin and the cloaked woman back, then warned the Snake-people squad to be careful.
• Xiao Yan moved too quickly for the cloaked woman to follow and knocked out the Snake-people Captain and the rest of the squad.
• Xiao Yan and Qing Lin tied up the unconscious Snake-people, and Xiao Yan dragged them onward while the cloaked woman followed.
• The cloaked woman realized Xiao Yan was the Xiao Family’s younger brother and Nalan Yanran’s fiancé.
• The cloaked woman recalled the Three-Year Pact and wondered whether Nalan Yanran’s insistence on Xiao Yan was unrelated to his strength.

A cloaked woman reconsidered her suspicions of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group after seeing Xiao Yan protect snake-people, while Xiao Yan, Qing Lin, and the woman approached the Snake-people Territory. Yan Ci confronted them, then gave Xiao Yan a Token that would let them pass and revealed that Xiao Jing was with the Queen.

• The cloaked woman recalled her investigation into slave trading and remained uncertain whether the Xiao Family and Desert Iron Mercenary Group could be trusted.
• After Xiao Yan spared the snake-people who had attacked him and brought them along to protect them from Magical Beasts, the cloaked woman became less wary of him.
• At dusk, Xiao Yan stopped to rest near the Snake-people Territory, and Yan Ci appeared, identifying himself as the Flame Snake Tribe's leader and a Dou Wang.
• Yan Ci questioned Xiao Yan about the bound snake-people, and Xiao Yan explained that he had only knocked them unconscious and wanted to keep them safe.
• Yan Ci recognized Xiao Yan's convictions, gave him a Token to pass through the territory, and told him that Xiao Jing was with the Queen.

As Qing Lin detected humans traveling near their camp, Xiao Yan learned they were headed toward the Ink Snake Tribe, whose leader, Mo Bass, was violently hostile to humans. Suspecting the travelers were behind attacks on snake-people tribes, Xiao Yan set out to follow them, and the cloak woman decided he was trustworthy enough to reveal her identity later.

• The cloak woman questioned whether the Xiao Family was involved in the Misty Cloud Sect's schemes but decided she still could not trust Xiao Yan completely.
• Qing Lin sensed humans passing nearby and used Xiao Yan's map to identify the Ink Snake Tribe as their likely destination.
• The cloak woman warned Xiao Yan that Mo Bass hated humans and would kill any who entered his sight.
• Xiao Yan suspected the travelers might be responsible for attacks on snake-people tribes and led Qing Lin and the cloak woman after them.
• Seeing Xiao Yan's genuine concern for relations between humans and snake-people, the cloak woman decided to reveal her identity to him after the incident.

A Desert Iron Mercenary Group squad attacked Yaqiuchiu while claiming they had come to retrieve Xiao Jing, slaughtering the Ink Snake Tribe settlement. Xiao Yan arrived too late to stop the massacre and approached the squad’s leader, consumed by rage and self-reproach.

• Ink Snake Tribe members in Yaqiuchiu condemned Xiao Jing and planned for their chief to petition the queen to execute her.
• A white-robed Desert Iron Mercenary Group squad ambushed Yaqiuchiu and announced they had come to retrieve their leader, Xiao Jing.
• The squad slaughtered the settlement’s residents as the Ink Snake Tribe fought back, turning Yaqiuchiu into a living hell.
• The squad leader tried to withdraw after a few minutes, but a black greatsword struck him and shattered his sword arm.
• Xiao Yan arrived, saw the devastation, and approached the squad leader with scarlet eyes and killing intent.

Xiao Yan killed the white-robed leader and turned on the remaining attackers after they fled in terror. He continued pursuing them, determined that none of them would survive.

• A white-robed Six-star Great Dou Master tried to stab Xiao Yan from behind, but Xiao Yan killed him with one swing of the Black Xuan Heavy Ruler.
• Xiao Yan seized the leading man by the throat and burned him to death with Purple Flame.
• Xiao Yan turned toward the remaining white-robed people, who ran in panic.
• Xiao Yan watched the attackers flee and silently vowed to kill them all.

Xiao Yan arrived too late to prevent the Yaqiuchiu Tribe’s slaughter, but killed the white-robed attackers and apologized to the surviving Ink Snake Tribe members. Their anger remained, yet a little girl thanked him for saving them, leaving Xiao Yan in tears and offering a small moment of hope.

• Xiao Yan killed the last white-robed attackers, while the cloaked woman realized the scale of his strength and feared the Ink Snake Tribe’s leader, Mo Bass, would retaliate.
• The surviving Ink Snake Tribe members cursed Xiao Yan as a human, and he accepted their hatred without defending himself.
• Xiao Yan drove his Black Xuan Heavy Ruler into the ground, knelt, and sincerely apologized for arriving too late to prevent the massacre.
• The cloaked woman reconsidered her beliefs and became certain Xiao Yan would never join the Misty Cloud Sect’s secret dealings.
• The Ink Snake Tribe members rejected Xiao Yan’s apology and vowed never to forgive humans, but a little girl thanked him for saving them, bringing him to tears.

Xiao Yan regretted killing all the white-robed attackers, but the cloaked woman said she knew which force they served and began to reveal her identity. Mo Bass, the Ink Snake Tribe leader, arrived, blamed Xiao Yan for the massacre, and attacked him, while the little girl tried to defend him.

• The Ink Snake Tribe members fell silent as the little girl thanked Xiao Yan for saving them, recognizing that he had prevented their deaths.
• Xiao Yan regretted leaving none of the white-robed attackers alive, but the cloaked woman told him that a survivor would not have cleared his name with the tribe.
• The cloaked woman said she knew the force behind the attackers and began to tell Xiao Yan her true identity.
• Mo Bass arrived and found his tribe members' corpses, then attacked Xiao Yan and sent him crashing across the sand.
• The little girl stepped between Mo Bass and Xiao Yan, insisting that Xiao Yan had saved them, but Mo Bass declared that humans deserved to die.

Xiao Yan faced Mo Bass, who attacked him solely because he was human, and sent the cloak woman and Qing Lin away rather than risk exposing Yan Ci’s Token. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan cutting a deep abyss through the desert to block Mo Bass’s pursuit.

• Mo Bass approached Xiao Yan with his halberd despite an Ink Snake Tribe little girl clinging to him and begging him to stop.
• The cloak woman urged Xiao Yan to show Mo Bass Yan Ci’s Token, but Xiao Yan warned that Mo Bass might accuse Yan Ci of treason and provoke a war between the tribes.
• Xiao Yan gave the Token to the cloak woman and ordered her to take Qing Lin away and find Xiao Jing.
• The cloak woman fled with Qing Lin as Xiao Yan stood against Mo Bass, who threw the little girl aside and tried to pursue them.
• Xiao Yan unleashed Flame-Splitting! Wave-Eating Ruler, carving a massive abyss across Mo Bass’s path, and declared that the path was blocked.

Xiao Yan distracted Mo Bass to let the cloaked woman and Qing Lin escape, but the Dou Wang overwhelmed him and forced him to flee. At the last moment, Xiao Yan called on Yao Chen, who took over his body and prepared to fight Mo Bass.

• Mo Bass attacked Xiao Yan with his halberd, and Xiao Yan barely dodged before being struck and sent flying.
• Xiao Yan fled in the opposite direction from the cloaked woman and Qing Lin, but Mo Bass intercepted him.
• Xiao Yan called for Elder Yao, and Yao Chen took control of his body, raising his strength to the Dou Ling level and catching Mo Bass's halberd barehanded.
• Xiao Yan apologized to Yao Chen before his consciousness fell asleep, and Yao Chen reassured him that she would handle the fight.
• Yao Chen took the Black Xuan Heavy Ruler from Xiao Yan's Storage Ring and taunted Mo Bass as she prepared to fight.

Yao Chen used Xiao Yan’s body to overpower Mo Bass and spared the Ink Snake Tribe leader rather than undermine Xiao Yan’s goals. She left Mo Bass staring at the enormous chasm her attack had carved into the ground.

• Yao Chen’s casual blow sent Mo Bass flying, astonishing the Ink Snake Tribe members and revealing Xiao Yan’s extraordinary physique.
• Yao Chen taunted Mo Bass, then struck him with Flame-Splitting Wave-Eating Ruler, leaving him trembling and unable to resist.
• Yao Chen told Mo Bass he was not good enough and explained that she spared him to avoid causing trouble for Xiao Yan.
• Mo Bass watched Yao Chen depart and saw the hundreds-of-meters-long chasm her attack had carved into the sand.

Yao Chen tried to leave after sparing Mo Bass, but his hatred of humans made him attack again. The chapter ended as Mo Bass boosted his strength and launched his Ink Snake Bite at her.

• Yao Chen carried the Black Xuan Heavy Ruler away, hoping Mo Bass would accept that she had spared him.
• Mo Bass refused to let Yao Chen leave, despite knowing he could not defeat her.
• Yao Chen understood that she had to avoid killing Mo Bass to protect Xiao Yan and his ideals, so she tried to walk away.
• Mo Bass summoned an illusory black snake, but Yao Chen burned it with pale white flame.
• Mo Bass used Frenzy to reach peak Dou Wang strength and attacked Yao Chen with Ink Snake Bite.

Yao Chen fought Mo Bass after he used the Snake Tribe’s Berserk Technique, but he chose to self-destruct rather than surrender. The other seven Snake-people Tribal Leaders stopped him, then turned their attention to Yao Chen, leaving her facing an even greater threat.

• Yao Chen dodged Mo Bass’s attacks and used the Black Xuan Heavy Ruler to exploit his increased size and sluggish speed.
• Mo Bass moved the Ink Snake Tribe members away, then amplified his Dou Qi and prepared to self-destruct.
• Yao Chen fled the blast radius while Ling Ying hesitated to abandon Xiao Yan, who remained within it.
• Seven Snake-people Tribal Leaders subdued Mo Bass and knocked him unconscious before his self-destruction could erupt.
• Yan Ci and the other Tribal Leaders questioned Yao Chen about what had happened, and she realized she now faced seven Dou Wangs.

Yao Chen, controlling Xiao Yan’s body, avoided fighting the seven Snake-people Tribal Leaders when they recognized him as Xiao Jing’s younger brother. After Xiao Yan awoke and took control, he explained that he had been forced to act, but Yin Shi warned that a human’s unannounced entry into Snake-people Territory could not be easily overlooked.

• Yao Chen considered attacking or fleeing from the seven Snake-people Tribal Leaders, then realized they had become less hostile after Yan Ci identified her as Xiao Jing’s younger brother.
• Yao Chen woke Xiao Yan and returned control of his body to him, leaving the Snake-people leaders surprised by the sudden change in his appearance and strength.
• Xiao Yan saw Mo Bass lying nearby, learned from Yao Chen that he was alive, and told Yan Ci he had been forced by circumstances to act.
• Yin Shi said that Xiao Yan’s unannounced entry into Snake-people Territory could not be easily overlooked.

The Eight Great Leaders voted on whether Xiao Yan should be killed because they feared his future strength could threaten the snake-people race. Kui Xing cast the deciding vote in favor, leaving Yue Mei unable to prevent the decision.

• Yin Shi suspected Xiao Yan was a danger to the snake-people race and gathered support to kill him.
• Yue Mei, Yan Ci, and Hei Du opposed Yin Shi, citing Xiao Jing’s ties to Xiao Yan and their hope for peaceful coexistence with humans.
• Nan She and Hua She Wang supported Yin Shi, leaving the vote tied until Kui Xing sided with him.
• Kui Xing explained that Xiao Yan’s potential strength could destroy the balance between humans and the snake-people race.
• Yue Mei tried to delay the result by asking to wait for the unconscious Mo Bass, then realized her argument was futile.

Yue Mei defied the leaders’ vote and fled with Xiao Yan to keep him from being killed. Yan Ci and Hei Du stayed behind to investigate the Yaqiuchiu Tribe massacre, learning that Xiao Yan had saved the surviving Ink Snake Tribe members.

• Yue Mei realized Mo Bass would support Yin Shi and decided Xiao Yan could not die because his death would destroy the hope of reconciliation between humans and snake-people.
• Yue Mei trapped the six opposing leaders with Myriad Snake Prison, grabbed Xiao Yan, and fled, declaring she would protect Xiao Jing’s younger brother.
• Yin Shi and three other leaders broke free and pursued Yue Mei, while Yan Ci and Hei Du remained behind and released themselves from their superficial restraints.
• Yan Ci and Hei Du questioned the surviving Ink Snake Tribe members, who said humans in white robes had massacred the Yaqiuchiu Tribe.
• An Ink Snake Tribe girl told Yan Ci that Xiao Yan had saved them.

Yan Ci and Hei Du learned that Xiao Yan had saved the Ink Snake Tribe members by killing the white-robed attackers, who claimed to belong to the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. As Yin Shi and the other leaders continued pursuing Xiao Yan and Yue Mei, Yan Ci privately feared Xiao Yan would not survive.

• An Ink Snake Tribe man told Yan Ci that Xiao Yan had killed the white-robed attackers and saved the tribe members.
• The man said the attackers claimed to be from the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and had demanded the release of their commander.
• Yan Ci and Hei Du suspected the attackers had falsely claimed their identities and discussed how powerful interests might be protecting the slave trade.
• Yan Ci sent Hei Du back with Mo Bass while he stayed to escort the Ink Snake Tribe members.
• A little girl asked whether Xiao Yan would be safe, and Yan Ci reassured her despite fearing Yin Shi and the other leaders would catch him and Yue Mei.

Yue Mei defied the snake-people leaders to protect Xiao Yan, believing her friend Xiao Jing would trust him. She sent Xiao Yan ahead and stayed behind to face the pursuing leaders alone.

• Yin Shi and the other leaders pursued Yue Mei and Xiao Yan across the Tagor Desert, determined to kill Xiao Yan.
• Kui Xing rejected Yue Mei's warning that killing Xiao Yan could doom the snake-people race's chance to leave the Barren Land.
• Yue Mei declared she would accept being branded a sinner if Xiao Yan ever threatened the snake-people race, but insisted on saving him now.
• Yue Mei threw Xiao Yan forward, struck Kui Xing to stop him, and ordered Xiao Yan to flee.
• Yue Mei confronted Yin Shi and the others, prepared to risk her life rather than let them reach Xiao Yan.

Yue Mei fought Yin Shi and the other three Dou Wangs so Xiao Yan could escape, refusing to let them pursue him. As Yin Shi’s attack closed in and Yue Mei ran out of strength, she thought of Xiao Jing and accepted that she might die protecting her friend’s younger brother.

• Yao Chen urged Xiao Yan to flee, and he reluctantly spread his Purple Cloud Wings and escaped.
• Yin Shi ordered Hua She Wang, Nan She, and Kui Xing to capture Yue Mei, then told Kui Xing to kill Xiao Yan.
• Yue Mei summoned Water Spirit to block Kui Xing and insisted that the four leaders would have to kill her before chasing Xiao Yan.
• Kui Xing, Hua She Wang, and Nan She attacked Yue Mei, while she countered with Water Spirit and Myriad Water Snake Dance.
• Yin Shi and the other three unleashed Spirit Snake Devour, and Yue Mei blocked three attacks but could not stop Yin Shi’s purple snake.
• As Yin Shi’s attack neared, Yue Mei thought of Xiao Jing and felt she had done everything she could to protect Xiao Yan.