Recaps

Chen Guan, a starving transmigrant living near the Xiao Family in Wutan City, struggled to find a way to begin cultivating. A will from his future self appeared in his mind, revealing the hard choices and missed opportunities that had shaped his life and urging him to seek Xiao Yan’s help.

• Chen Guan reflected on two months of hardship, during which he learned basic language and survived near the Xiao Family without food, money, or support.
• Chen Guan considered how to obtain a cultivation technique and someone to teach him to sense Dou Qi Energy, but could not find a viable plan.
• A will from Chen Guan’s dying future self appeared in his mind, describing his life as a mercenary and his encounter with a Tier 3 Magical Beast.
• Future Chen Guan recalled killing an injured mercenary to obtain the Fire Suppression Technique, discovering his Fire Attribute, and later realizing Jia Xingtian had once considered recruiting him.
• Future Chen Guan described his wasted potential, isolation, and regret, then advised the recipient to cling to Xiao Yan’s thigh and focus on becoming stronger.

Chen Guan trusted the information in his last testament, waited for Jia Xingtian to arrive, and was taken into the Jia Ma Imperial Family’s care. As he traveled to the imperial capital, he decided that obtaining the Tou She Ancient God’s inherited origin and the Flame Mantra was his best path to strength.

• Chen Guan waited for Xiao Xun'er to arrive in Wutan City, then listened for news of Jia Xingtian.
• Jia Xingtian appeared before Chen Guan, offered him a chance to eat his fill, and took him to the City Lord's Mansion.
• Chen Guan traveled with seven other children toward the imperial capital and considered his limited paths to becoming stronger.
• Chen Guan concluded that the Flame Mantra was essential and that he might later need to exchange for it rather than steal Xiao Yan's ring.
• After a month of travel and several handovers, Chen Guan and the other children arrived at the Imperial Palace of the Jia Ma Empire.

Chen Guan sensed Dou Qi Energy on his first attempt during the Imperial Palace’s cultivation training, then received a testament revealing that an assassin from the Chu Yun Empire would kill him if his talent drew too much attention. He decided to keep a lower profile and continued practicing with the others.

• An armored instructor told the children that they would train for six months and receive an assessment, then distributed the Yellow Tier High Grade Spirit Crossing Art.
• Chen Guan followed the instructor’s guidance and sensed crimson Fire Attribute Dou Qi Energy on his first attempt.
• Chen Guan considered revealing his success to gain better resources, but a new testament appeared in his mind.
• The testament described how Jia Xingtian planned to take Chen Guan as his disciple, before a Chu Yun Empire Guard Captain assassinated him two years later.
• Chen Guan recognized the danger of attracting attention and decided to stay cautious as the group resumed sensing Dou Qi Energy.

Chen Guan and Zhao Gang were the only children to sense Dou Qi Energy on the first day, earning private rooms and Yan Hongtao’s instruction. Chen Guan cultivated steadily for half a year, and the long-awaited assessment finally arrived.

• Zhao Gang sensed Dou Qi Energy first, and Chen Guan waited until night before claiming he had sensed it too.
• Yan Hongtao praised Chen Guan and Zhao Gang, gave them private instruction, and arranged private rooms for them.
• Zhao Gang bragged to Chen Guan about his talent, while Chen Guan ignored the rivalry and began cultivating with the Spirit Crossing Art’s basic guidance.
• Over the following month, more children sensed Dou Qi Energy, while Chen Guan reached One Segment of Dou Qi through persistent cultivation.
• Chen Guan improved his ability to communicate and kept cultivating as half a year passed.
• Yan Hongtao’s assessment, which he had mentioned earlier, finally arrived.

Chen Guan passed the imperial family’s cultivation test and secretly advanced to Three Segments of Dou Qi, pulling ahead of Zhao Gang. When he learned that Xiao Yan had also reached Three Segments, Chen Guan was pleased to have caught up despite starting later.

• Yan Hongtao announced that Zhao Gang and Chen Guan had both reached Two Segments of Dou Qi, while seventeen children failed to reach One Segment and were taken away.
• Yan Hongtao told the qualified children they could continue cultivating and reassured those who failed that the imperial family would train them for other professions.
• That night, Chen Guan quietly broke through to Three Segments of Dou Qi, while Zhao Gang continued competing with him.
• The imperial family distributed Clear Spirit Fruit, and Chen Guan received double resources alongside Zhao Gang and cultivated faster.
• Chen Guan learned that Xiao Yan of the Xiao Family in Wutan City had reached Three Segments of Dou Qi, and he celebrated catching up despite having started later.

Five years later, Chen Guan had reached Dou Qi Stage Nine and caught Jia Xingtian’s attention. Yaoye met Chen Guan, invited him to call her Sister, and prepared to give him a gift.

• Chen Guan defeated Zhao Gang in a spar, while Zhao Gang and their peers wondered about Chen Guan’s strength.
• Jia Xingtian learned from Yan Hongtao that Chen Guan had reached Dou Qi Stage Nine and summoned him to the city wall.
• Jia Xingtian told Yaoye that Chen Guan had surpassed Xiao Yan and advised her to befriend him and support his cultivation.
• Chen Guan greeted Yaoye, and she introduced herself and asked him to call her Sister.
• Chen Guan accepted Yaoye’s offer, and she said she would give him a meeting gift.

Chen Guan used Yaoye’s Qi Gathering Powder to advance to Dou Zhe, then met Yaoyue at the training ground and learned she was upset after failing to impress Fama at the Alchemist Guild. He began considering the lucrative alchemist profession as Yaoyue explained her troubles.

• Chen Guan swallowed the Qi Gathering Powder and successfully formed a Dou Qi Cyclone, advancing to Dou Zhe.
• Chen Guan tested the Spirit Crossing Art and reflected that he should also strengthen his body.
• Chen Guan wandered to the training ground entrance and found Yaoyue sitting alone in a bad mood.
• Yaoyue demanded that Chen Guan tell her a joke, and he asked what was troubling her so he could choose one.
• Yaoyue told Chen Guan that she had failed twice to recite medicinal principles at the Alchemist Guild and worried about explaining it to her sister and grandfather.
• Chen Guan realized that Yaoyue’s mention of alchemy had made him think about the profession’s lucrative prospects.

Chen Guan comforted Yaoyue after she failed an alchemy assessment, then visited Yaoye and revealed that he had advanced to Dou Zhe. Yaoye gave him access to the royal family's techniques, dou skills, and movement techniques, and he jokingly asked if he could call her Mother.

• Chen Guan decided to postpone pursuing alchemy and encouraged Yaoyue to retake her assessment after a poor performance.
• Yaoyue regained her confidence, left to make pills, and returned to ask what a starfruit was.
• Chen Guan visited Yaoye's palace and told her he had advanced to Dou Zhe at age nine.
• Yaoye praised Chen Guan's talent and offered him a choice of one royal technique, one dou skill, and one movement technique.
• Chen Guan thanked Yaoye and jokingly asked whether he could call her Mother.

Chen Guan studied the imperial family's three Mysterious Tier techniques, then switched to a stronger cultivation method and advanced to Four-Star Dou Practitioner over the next month. He left his room on the day of the five-year assessment and went to meet Yaoye while Zhao Gang challenged him to spar.

• Yaoye asked Jia Xingtian whether Chen Guan would live up to their expectations, and Jia Xingtian assured her that he would.
• Chen Guan examined the Supreme Saint Heavenly Heart Refining, Thousand Flame Sword Art, and Drifting Cloud Steps, then began cultivating with the new method and a Qi Boosting Pill.
• After a month of training, Chen Guan reached Four-Star Dou Practitioner and went out to watch the five-year assessment.
• Zhao Gang told Chen Guan he had reached Dou Qi Stage Seven and challenged him to spar, but Chen Guan declined and headed toward Yaoye.

After a month of cultivation, Chen Guan reached Four-Star Dou Practitioner and discussed the royal family's Autumn Hunt with Yaoye. He refused her plan to use the event to draw Yun Yun's attention, but boldly promised to steal Yun Yun away and bring the Misty Cloud Sect as her dowry.

• Chen Guan told Yaoye he had reached Four-Star Dou Practitioner, and she hid her shock while encouraging him to keep cultivating.
• Yaoye invited Chen Guan to compete in the Autumn Hunt so Yun Yun might notice him and the royal family could counter the Nalan Family's ties to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Chen Guan considered becoming Yun Yun's disciple but refused, wary of undercover schemes and the complications of choosing between her and the royal family.
• Chen Guan promised he would steal Yun Yun away and take the Misty Cloud Sect as her dowry, and Yaoye challenged him with a crude wager.

After a year of training, Chen Guan became a Three-Star Dou Master and decided to leave the Imperial Palace to gain real combat experience near the Magical Beast Mountain Range. As he traveled through the Imperial Capital, he saw Nalan Jie flying past with a blackened face and suspected the old man had been afflicted with Scorching Poison.

• Chen Guan watched seven Swift Wind Wolves fail to touch him before he killed them, impressing Yaoye with his strength.
• Yaoye told Chen Guan that Xiao Yan’s cultivation had fallen from Dou Zhe to Dou Qi Stage Eight, and Chen Guan told her he wanted to train outside the Imperial Palace.
• Yaoye agreed to let Chen Guan leave after making him promise to accept distant guards, write every half month, and return before her Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
• Chen Guan packed his belongings, failed to find Yaoyue, and set off through the Imperial Capital toward the city gate.
• Chen Guan saw Nalan Jie fly past with a black face and suspected that he had contracted Scorching Poison.

Chen Guan returned to Wutan City and crippled more than twenty men tied to old grudges, prompting the clans to investigate. Xiao Yan questioned him without recognizing him as the culprit, while Yao Chen noticed Chen Guan’s extraordinary talent and drained Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi even further.

• Chen Guan crippled Wang Ermazi and more than twenty others in Wutan City, leaving the clans alarmed and searching for the culprit.
• Xiao Yan visited Chen Guan’s inn room with Xiao Family Guards to ask about suspicious people, but he dismissed Chen Guan as too weak to be involved.
• Chen Guan noticed the dark ring around Xiao Yan’s neck and realized Yao Chen had likely awakened.
• Yao Chen sensed that Chen Guan was a young Three-Star Dou Master nearing Four-Star, considered leaving Xiao Yan for him, then decided against it.
• Yao Chen drained Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi from Stage Six to Stage Four, and Xiao Yan cursed in rage.

Chen Guan reached Qingshan Town, met Xiao Yi Xian at Ten Thousand Medicine Hall, and arranged to buy Yellow Lotus Essence. After settling at an inn, he decided to cultivate before pursuing the treasures he had come to find.

• Chen Guan used his imperial token to leave Wutan City and arrived in Qingshan Town two days later.
• Chen Guan visited Ten Thousand Medicine Hall and saw Xiao Yi Xian treating an injured mercenary.
• Chen Guan recalled the dangers and potential of Xiao Yi Xian's Poison Body of Misfortune.
• Chen Guan offered Steward Chang Jinfu above-market prices for Yellow Lotus Essence, left a deposit, and arranged delivery to the City Lord's Mansion in Jieji City.
• Chen Guan settled into an inn and chose to cultivate rather than hurry after Xiao Yi Xian or the treasures.

Chen Guan hunted Tier 2 Magical Beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, then fled when he provoked a powerful Crimson Ice Snake King. A Fire Fox interrupted his escape, but Chen Guan used the Snake King's collision to get away, leaving the Snake King to turn its anger on the Fox.

• Chen Guan entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone and spent the morning searching for Xiao Yi Xian's cave while killing Tier 1 Magical Beasts.
• Chen Guan fought and killed fourteen Tier 2 Magical Beasts, collecting four magical cores.
• Chen Guan attacked a swarm of Crimson Ice Snakes with sixty sword auras, then discovered their Tier 3 Crimson Ice Snake King and fled.
• A Tier 2 Fire Fox wounded Chen Guan and stopped his escape long enough for the Crimson Ice Snake King to catch up.
• Chen Guan blocked the Snake King's collision with Boundless Ocean and used the force to escape into the forest, while the Snake King turned toward the Fire Fox.

After being injured by a Crimson Ice Snake King and a Fire Fox in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Chen Guan visited Ten Thousand Medicine Hall, where Xiao Yi Xian treated him. He returned to the mountains the next day to hunt the Fire Fox, while two hesitant men appeared at the mountain’s foot.

• Chen Guan escaped the Magical Beast Mountain Range and went to Ten Thousand Medicine Hall to have Xiao Yi Xian treat his wounds.
• While Xiao Yi Xian bandaged him, Chen Guan chatted about hunting the Fire Fox and gave her two notebooks as payment.
• Chen Guan left Xiao Yi Xian, who became absorbed in the notebooks and wondered about his unusual background.
• The next day, Chen Guan bought seasonings and cooking utensils before setting off to hunt the Fire Fox in the mountains.
• A tall man and a short man appeared at the foot of the mountain and hesitated over whether to enter.

Chen Guan fought the Crimson Ice Snake King every day to hone his skills and grew close to Xiao Yi Xian by bringing her roasted Fire Fox dishes. After more than ten days, he reached Four-Star Dou Master.

• Chen Guan killed two Fire Foxes, then fought the Crimson Ice Snake King for nearly two hours before retreating as night approached.
• Steward Chang stopped mercenaries from confronting Chen Guan at the Ten Thousand Medicine Hall, recognizing his importance to the hall.
• Xiao Yi Xian treated Chen Guan’s minor wounds, and he gave her a roasted Fire Fox that she secretly tasted after he left.
• Chen Guan and Xiao Yi Xian repeated their visits for over ten days, sharing different Fire Fox dishes as their friendship grew.
• Chen Guan mastered the Crimson Ice Snake King’s methods and, after maintaining his routine, advanced to Four-Star Dou Master.

After breaking through to Four-Star Dou Master, Chen Guan pursued the Crimson Ice Snake King and tried to make it submit, but it fled into a lake and disappeared. Chen Guan discovered a hidden stone gate beneath the lake and entered it, following the Snake King into an unknown mystery.

• After nearly half a month of fighting, Chen Guan broke through to Four-Star Dou Master and went to hunt the Crimson Ice Snake King.
• Chen Guan defeated the Crimson Ice Snake King, offered it a chance to submit, and watched it flee when it refused.
• Chen Guan chased the Snake King into the region where Tier 3 Magical Beasts roamed, until it reached a lake near the Tier 4 Area and dived in.
• Chen Guan waited, searched the lake, and found a hidden stone gate beneath a slope on the lakebed.
• Chen Guan pushed open the stone gate and slipped inside, believing the Crimson Ice Snake King had entered it.

Wang Yan and Wang Dalang searched the Magical Beast Mountain Range after Chen Guan failed to return, discovering he had ventured into the territory of stronger beasts. As Wang Yan went deeper to look for him and Wang Dalang left to alert Yaoye, Xiao Yi Xian waited anxiously for her friend in Qingshan Town.

• Wang Yan recalled how Chen Guan had grown strong enough to fight a Tier 3 Magical Beast, leading him and Wang Dalang to stop shadowing the boy constantly.
• Wang Yan and Wang Dalang realized Chen Guan had not returned by nightfall and hurried into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to search for him.
• Wang Yan and Wang Dalang followed Chen Guan's trail to a small lake, where it vanished, and searched the Tier 3 Magical Beast territory without finding him.
• Wang Yan sent Wang Dalang to report Chen Guan's disappearance to the First Princess while he went deeper into the range to search.
• Xiao Yi Xian waited late at Ten Thousand Medicine Hall, worried that Chen Guan had not come to visit, and hoped he would return safely.

After Chen Guan went missing, Yaoye led an Imperial Family search into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, drawing powerful figures and rumors to Qingshan Town. Xiao Yi Xian suspected the commotion concerned Chen Guan, while he remained hidden in a chamber beneath a lake.

• Yaoye received news of Chen Guan's disappearance, left her post, and discussed the matter with Jia Xingtian before leading a heavily armed search party toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Nalan Jie stopped Nalan Su from investigating, Teng Shan sent an elder to look into the matter, and Yun Yun ordered the Misty Cloud Sect to investigate without interfering rashly.
• Yaoye took over Jieji City's City Lord's Mansion and began searching the range, while rumors of valuable treasures attracted Teng Shan, Yun Sheng, and Yan Shi to Qingshan Town.
• Yaoye avoided harshly blaming the Wang Brothers, and the presence of powerful visitors left Qingshan Town's mercenaries and shops unusually subdued.
• Xiao Yi Xian suspected that the search was connected to the young man who brought her Fire Fox meat, while Chen Guan sweated in a hidden chamber beneath a lake.

Chen Guan fought through seven days of increasingly powerful puppets in an underground chamber after its stone gate sealed behind him. When the final puppet failed to appear, an old man emerged from a ring, restored Chen Guan’s Spiritual Power, and introduced himself as Shu Tianhe of the Heaven Puppet Sect.

• Chen Guan entered the underground chamber, collected a jar of strange venomous liquid, and was trapped when the stone gate sealed behind him.
• A voice told Chen Guan he could leave only after dismantling all the test puppets, so he fought and destroyed a series of increasingly strong puppets over seven days.
• Chen Guan used his last Tier 3 Qi Recovery Pill while worrying that Spiritual Power exhaustion would leave him vulnerable to the next puppet.
• The inner chamber lit up and an old man called Chen Guan inside instead of sending out another puppet.
• Shu Tianhe emerged from a ring, replenished Chen Guan’s Spiritual Power, and introduced himself as a former member of the Heaven Puppet Sect.

Chen Guan accepted Shu Tianhe’s inheritance and became his disciple, receiving the Heaven Puppet Sect’s Puppet Mastery techniques and Spirit Nourishing Dust. Shu Tianhe revealed that Chen Guan had to become a Fourth Tier Puppeteer to escape the Stone Chamber, and began preparing to teach him before his soul disappeared.

• Shu Tianhe praised Chen Guan’s talent and explained the history and abilities of Puppeteers and the Heaven Puppet Sect.
• Shu Tianhe offered to pass on his Puppet Mastery inheritance, and Chen Guan bowed to become his disciple.
• Shu Tianhe transferred his inheritance and gave Chen Guan his storage ring, which contained Spirit Nourishing Dust.
• Shu Tianhe explained that his fragile soul could not be saved, then told Chen Guan to learn Puppet Mastery while he could still guide him.
• Shu Tianhe revealed that his old test sealed the Stone Chamber until Chen Guan reached Fourth Tier Puppeteer, and said the chamber could not be broken by force.

After spending a year in the mountains, Chen Guan returned to the Jia Ma Empire and hurried toward Yaoye’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony. He arrived outside the imperial capital with his powerful Tier 6 Puppet, Iron Egg, while Yaoye still wondered whether he was alive.

• Yaoye worried that Chen Guan had died and felt no joy about her approaching Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
• Chen Guan left the lake after completing his Tier 3 Crimson Ice Snake Puppet and set it to guard the Stone Chamber.
• Chen Guan headed for the Ten Thousand Medicine Hall, learned its business with the imperial family had prospered, and left Xiao Yi Xian two Fire Foxes and a cookbook.
• Xiao Yi Xian returned to find the strangely posed Fire Foxes and stayed awake all night wondering what Chen Guan meant.
• Chen Guan traveled day and night on his Tier 6 Puppet and reached the outskirts of the imperial capital, naming the puppet Iron Egg.

At Yaoye’s coming-of-age ceremony, the Ninth Prince of the Chu Yun Empire proposed marriage with an insulting gift, prompting Yaoye to challenge him to a fight against a sixteen-year-old opponent. The Ninth Prince accepted, unaware that the young man waiting to face him had Yaoye’s confidence.

• Yaoye completed her coming-of-age ceremony before the Jia Ma Imperial Family, Misty Cloud Sect representatives, and guests from the Chu Yun Empire.
• The Ninth Prince asked the Jia Ma Emperor for Yaoye’s hand in marriage and offered one million gold coins and ten Fifth-Grade Pills, humiliating the Imperial Family.
• Yaoye stopped the Emperor from retaliating and challenged the Ninth Prince to defeat a sixteen-year-old opponent before she would agree to marry him.
• The Ninth Prince demanded permission to use pills and proposed a fight to the death; Yaoye agreed after the young man nodded.
• Seeing the young man, the Ninth Prince grew confident that he would win.

Chen Guan returned to the Imperial Palace and defeated the Ninth Prince in a public duel, crippling him before killing him when he ignored a warning. He reunited with Yaoye, who welcomed him but still demanded an explanation for his year-long absence.

• Yaoye told Chen Guan to spare a life before he faced the Ninth Prince in the cleared square.
• The Ninth Prince attacked Chen Guan, but Chen Guan revealed that he was a Da Dou Shi and defeated him in one move.
• The Ninth Prince swallowed two pills and launched his Mysterious Heaven Ice Wheel, which Chen Guan shattered with his sword technique.
• Chen Guan caught the Ninth Prince despite his boosted speed and destroyed his foundation, then killed him when he kept advancing after a warning.
• A black shadow stopped the Ninth Prince's guard from intervening, and Chen Guan returned to Yaoye, who refused to let him avoid explaining his absence.

After publicly revealing his strength and killing the Ninth Prince, Chen Guan reunited with Yaoye and explained his year away, including his gains as a puppet master. He left Yaoye ready to manage the empire’s growing military advantage and promised gifts for Yaoyue and Yaoye.

• Yaoye led Chen Guan to a storeroom full of Yellow Lotus Essence and questioned him about buying it in bulk.
• Chen Guan explained that he had been searching for rare Blood Lotus Essence, and Yaoye agreed to have the stock checked and the rest sent to the treasury or auction house.
• Chen Guan recounted his year away and described the puppets, cultivation resources, and puppet-refining knowledge he had gained.
• Yaoye recognized the military potential of Chen Guan’s puppets and told him to focus on cultivation while she handled relations with the other empires.
• Yaoye told Chen Guan that Yaoyue was angry about his year of silence, and Chen Guan said he had prepared gifts for both sisters.