Recaps

Chen Guan led Nie Xian, Jiang Shu, and Yuan Zhenshan to a narrow ravine to ambush older students and take their Fire Energy. When a five-man squad arrived, Chen Guan charged into battle, and the older students realized Lu Bin had underestimated his strength.

• Elder Su, Elder Qing, and the older students set out from the far end of the forest as the new students entered.
• Chen Guan agreed to lead Nie Xian, Jiang Shu, and Yuan Zhenshan through the forest, and they decided to rob older students instead of new students.
• Chen Guan chose a narrow mountain ravine as a chokepoint and waited there with his companions.
• While waiting, Chen Guan harvested Green Wutong Bamboo from a nearby cliff and polished a piece into a Dongxiao Flute.
• A five-man squad of older students arrived, and Yuan Zhenshan told them the group wanted to borrow their Fire Energy.
• The older students attacked, and Chen Guan charged at them; they soon realized he was stronger than Lu Bin had claimed.

Chen Guan and his three companions robbed every old-student team they encountered during the Fire Energy Hunt, earning an enormous amount of Fire Energy. After they defeated the Black and White Fiend Squads and divided their gains, the elders declared the hunt over, with the other new students having benefited from the chaos.

• Chen Guan's group defeated Niu Man's team and took all but their basic allowance from their Fire Crystal Cards.
• Lu Bin's team attacked Chen Guan's group after Niu Man warned them, but Yuan Zhenshan and the others beat them and took their Fire Energy.
• Chen Guan's team robbed the old-student groups that arrived through the night, raising their total to nine hundred and eleven Fire Energy.
• The new students realized that no old-student teams were appearing along their routes, hurried toward the forest's edge, and shortened the hunt.
• Chen Guan's group defeated the Black and White Fiend Squads, raising their total to one thousand two hundred and sixty Fire Energy.
• Chen Guan gave Nie Xian, Jiang Shu, and Yuan Zhenshan one hundred and fifty Fire Energy each, kept eight hundred and ten, and Elder Su and Elder Qing ended the hunt.

Chen Guan and the other new students entered the Inner Academy after his team won the Fire Energy Hunt and earned rewards. Elder Su showed them their shared residence and suggested that Jiang Shu consider joining Moon Spirit, leaving the five to decide how to settle in.

• Elder Su announced that the new students had won the Fire Energy Hunt and awarded Chen Guan an Azure Fire Crystal Card and fifty days of Fire Energy, with rewards for his teammates as well.
• Chen Guan transferred his Fire Energy into the Azure Fire Crystal Card, revealing a balance of 810 and prompting envy from the old students.
• Li Chang'an thanked Chen Guan, declined Nie Xian's invitation to join their group, and hurried ahead.
• Elder Su led the new students into the vast basin of the Inner Academy, where they marveled at its buildings and forests.
• Elder Su brought Chen Guan, Nie Xian, Yuan Zhenshan, Jiang Shu, and himself to their shared pavilion, and Jiang Shu objected to living with four men.
• Elder Su explained that Jiang Shu could move out by joining a faction and suggested she consider Moon Spirit.

Elder Su explained the Inner Academy’s factions and Fire Energy system, while Chen Guan weighed whether to create a faction of his own. After encountering older students collecting tribute from freshmen, Chen Guan returned to his room to temper his body and used Spiritual Power to investigate groans coming from Li Chang'an’s room.

• Elder Su described the Inner Academy’s major factions, including Ink Sect, Wolf Fang, Mountain Splitters, and Moon Spirit.
• Chen Guan rejected joining another faction and considered whether forming one would distract him from cultivation, deciding to revisit the idea when Gang Zi arrived next year.
• Chen Guan and his companions explored the Inner Academy and learned how students used and earned Fire Energy.
• Older students demanded tribute from freshmen, but one recognized Chen Guan and stopped his group from targeting him and his companions.
• Nie Xian planned to visit Wolf Fang and Mountain Splitters, while Jiang Shu felt conflicted about Moon Spirit; Chen Guan offered them advice.
• Chen Guan tempered his body with Jade Bone Powder, heard muffled groans from next door, and used Spiritual Power to look into Li Chang'an’s room.

Chen Guan entered the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda, where the Heart Flame purified his Dou Qi and revealed the pagoda’s value as a rare material. He adapted to the Heart Flame’s effects, while older students watched and an elder was summoned.

• Chen Guan saw Li Chang'an enduring an intense, potentially harmful medicinal bath but chose not to pry into his reasons.
• Jiang Shu, Nie Xian, and Yuan Zhenshan headed to factions, while Chen Guan went alone to the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda.
• Chen Guan recognized the pagoda as being made from Absolute Star Secret Copper and imagined using the material to forge a Tier 8 Puppet.
• Chen Guan entered the tower and was caught off guard by the Heart Flame, which made his body burn and drew jeers from older students.
• Chen Guan guided his Dou Qi through the Heart Flame, which condensed and purified it, and his complexion gradually returned to normal.

Chen Guan entered the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda and began cultivating on its Third Level, where he learned to refine his Dou Qi with the Fallen Heart Flame. After finding the Heart Flame’s effects too slow, he left his chamber and headed for the Fourth Level.

• Elder Liu helped Ma Dong draw out the Heart Flame, then praised Chen Guan for learning to use it and advised him to start cultivating on the Third Level.
• Chen Guan explored the Third Level, found every cultivation chamber occupied, and entered one after an old student vacated it.
• Chen Guan tested the chamber’s Black Stone Platform and found it was not made entirely of Absolute Star Secret Copper.
• Chen Guan cultivated in the chamber, guiding his Dou Qi through more than ten Heart Flame clusters over nearly two hours.
• Chen Guan found that the Heart Flame had refined less than one-tenth of his Dou Qi, so he left the chamber and headed for the Fourth Level.

Chen Guan advanced to Six-Star Dou Spirit after consuming the Sky Jade Fruit, then encountered Han Yue while watching a large fight between Wolf Fang and the Ink Sect. The chapter ended with Chen Guan and Han Yue recognizing each other at the battlefield.

• Chen Guan and his friends shared a farewell drink before Yuan Zhenshan, Nie Xian, and Jiang Shu moved out to join their factions.
• Chen Guan heard Li Chang'an break through to Seven-Star Da Dou Shi and continued tempering his body with Jade Bone Powder.
• Chen Guan consumed the Sky Jade Fruit in the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda and advanced from near Four-Star Dou Ling to Six-Star Dou Spirit.
• Chen Guan watched a large battle between Wolf Fang and the Ink Sect, where an agile young man drew opponents after him by bluffing about an Earth-rank Dou Skill.
• Han Yue joined Chen Guan on a tree branch and explained the ongoing conflicts between the Inner Academy factions.

Chen Guan refused Han Yue’s offer to join Moon Spirit but proposed cooperating by refining Heart Calming Pills for fire energy. A White-robed Little Girl revealed herself as an Ancient Void Dragon and persuaded him to refine pills for her, leaving them with an agreement to work together.

• Chen Guan declined Han Yue’s invitation to join Moon Spirit and suggested a future cooperation, while Wolf Fang’s battle with the Ink Sect ended with both factions wounded.
• Chen Guan began refining cheap Heart Calming Pills to earn fire energy for an upgraded Fire Crystal Card and deeper access to the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda.
• A White-robed Little Girl appeared behind Chen Guan, took his pills, and moved with spatial speed that revealed her identity as an Ancient Void Dragon.
• The girl asked Chen Guan to refine pills, offering to protect him as her little brother after complaining that other alchemists took her ingredients or refused to help.
• Chen Guan agreed to refine pills if she supplied the ingredients.

Chen Guan refined medicinal ingredients into sweet pills for Zi Yan, then received a letter saying the Jiama Imperial Family had sent people to find him. He asked Su Qian for leave to return home, leaving Zi Yan worried about losing her supply of pills.

• Chen Guan refined Blood Spirit Ginseng and Azure Underworld Fruit into pills for Zi Yan, adding saccharin to make the second batch sweet.
• Over five days, Chen Guan fought in the arena, refined Heart Calming Pills for Moon Spirit, and continued making pills for Zi Yan.
• Chen Guan received a letter from Zhao Gang saying the Jiama Imperial Family had sent people to find him.
• Chen Guan went to Su Qian's office and asked for leave to return home, and Su Qian told him to come back as soon as possible.
• Zi Yan overheard that Chen Guan would be leaving and worried she would have to return to eating bitter medicinal herbs.

Chen Guan agreed to take Zi Yan with him, collected Black Cold Iron from the Inner Academy, and traveled to Peace Town to meet a messenger from Jia Ma. The messenger reported that Jia Xingtian could return at his leisure, prompting Chen Guan to set out for Jia Ma.

• Zi Yan asked to join Chen Guan, and Su Qian agreed after warning her to behave.
• Su Qian gave Chen Guan the Inner Academy’s discarded Black Stone Platforms, which contained Absolute Star Secret Copper.
• Chen Guan left the Inner Academy with Zi Yan, rented a griffin beast, and traveled toward the Outer Academy.
• In Peace Town, Chen Guan greeted Instructor Feng and then met the messenger waiting at an inn.
• The messenger told Chen Guan that Jia Xingtian had emerged from seclusion and could return at his leisure.
• Chen Guan decided to return to Jia Ma to fulfill his agreement with Medusa.

Chen Guan returned to the Jia Ma Empire with Zi Yan and encountered Yun Yun in the Tagor Desert as she pursued a mysterious figure from Yun Shan’s secluded chamber. Yun Yun revealed her worries about strange activity within the Misty Cloud Sect, while Chen Guan tried to ease her concerns; the mysterious figure remained unidentified.

• Chen Guan, Zi Yan, and the Messenger flew through the Tagor Desert, and Queen Medusa’s mark on Chen Guan’s hand began to glow.
• Chen Guan stopped at an oasis, then spotted a familiar woman moving across the sunset and hurried after her.
• Chen Guan intercepted Yun Yun, who asked whether he had seen any experts on his way back from Jia Nan Academy.
• Yun Yun recalled finding injuries on Yun Shan and learning that Yun Leng had secretly sent disciples to search across the empire.
• Yun Yun explained that she had followed a black figure from Yun Shan’s secluded chamber into the desert before losing its trail.
• Chen Guan offered Yun Yun Elder Jia’s advice about focusing on cultivation instead of worrying, then teased her about Nalan Yanran.

Chen Guan reunited with Yun Yun in the desert, then continued his journey after Zi Yan returned with medicinal herbs from Queen Medusa. On the way back to the Imperial Capital, he spotted Nalan Yanran traveling toward Wutan City and learned that the engagement-breaking visit was about to begin.

• Chen Guan and Yun Yun chatted as peers until sunset, teasing each other about his broken promises and the puppet.
• Chen Guan discovered that Zi Yan had disappeared and waited anxiously before she returned with herbs Queen Medusa had given her.
• Zi Yan told Chen Guan that Medusa had reminded him twenty-three days remained until their one-year deadline, and Chen Guan prepared to continue their journey.
• Chen Guan and his companions traveled toward the Imperial Capital on the Griffin Beast, passing through the Jia Ma Empire's border cities with their royal tokens.
• Chen Guan spotted a Misty Cloud Sect carriage and recognized Nalan Yanran inside, realizing she was heading toward Wutan City for the engagement-breaking visit.

Chen Guan returned to the imperial palace and told Jia Xingtian, Fama, and Hai Bodong that he needed Jia Xingtian to help him kill someone. Meanwhile, Nalan Yanran’s attempt to annul her engagement with Xiao Yan led to a heated confrontation and a Three-Year Agreement.

• Yaoye met Zi Yan at the temporary palace while Chen Guan went to visit an elder, warning Zi Yan not to steal medicinal ingredients.
• Chen Guan found Jia Xingtian, Fama, Hai Bodong, and the healed Abyssal Sea Flood Dragon gathered at the Back Mountain, and congratulated Jia Xingtian on reaching Dou Zong.
• Jia Xingtian credited Chen Guan’s Breakthrough Pill for his breakthrough and asked why Chen Guan had wanted to meet him.
• Chen Guan revealed that he needed Jia Xingtian’s help to kill someone, with Hai Bodong present for the discussion.
• At the Xiao Family, Ge Ye requested that Nalan Yanran’s engagement to Xiao Yan be annulled, provoking Xiao Zhan and the clan members.
• Xiao Yan confronted Nalan Yanran, invoked a Three-Year Agreement, and warned her not to bully a poor young man.

Chen Guan spent a leisurely day with Yaoye, Yaoyue, and Zi Yan before leaving the Imperial Palace with Jia Xingtian to meet Medusa. He secured Medusa’s help in targeting a dangerous Sixth Grade Alchemist in the Black Corner Region, and the group set out to capture him.

• Chen Guan and Yaoye appeased Yaoyue, then spent the afternoon flying kites with her and Zi Yan at the royal family’s Autumn Hunt grounds.
• Chen Guan brought Zi Yan to meet Jia Xingtian, and they left the Imperial Palace for the Tagor Desert.
• Chen Guan and Jia Xingtian met Medusa at the desert’s edge, where she sensed Jia Xingtian’s Dou Zong strength and grew more determined to evolve.
• Chen Guan told Medusa that he needed her help to deal with a Dou Emperor in the Black Corner Region, a Sixth Grade Alchemist with a Heavenly Flame and links to the Soul Hall.
• Medusa agreed to help, and Jia Xingtian led the group toward their target while carrying Chen Guan through the air.

Chen Guan and his companions prepared to attack Han Feng in Maple City while he finished forging weapons from Absolute Star Secret Copper. The chapter ended with Medusa and Zi Yan taking two of the weapons, while Jia Xingtian watched from the counter.

• Chen Guan reported finding no Soul Hall members or other major threats in Maple City and planned a false rumor to draw any nearby Soul Hall forces away.
• Chen Guan assigned Zi Yan to find Maple City's treasure vault during their planned attack on Han Feng and briefed the group on the operation.
• Chen Guan refined the last Black Stone Platforms and forged a saber named Red Leaf, a sword named Peach Blossom, and a dagger for Zi Yan.
• Medusa initially rejected Peach Blossom, but Zi Yan persuaded her to accept it, and Chen Guan named Zi Yan's dagger Crimson Radish.
• Jia Xingtian coughed from behind the counter to remind the others that he was there.

Han Feng sensed the Green Lotus Core Flame and went to seize it, but Medusa and Jia Xingtian ambushed him. As they attacked, an unseen soul-striking vine whip stopped him from self-destructing, and their combined techniques engulfed him.

• Han Feng dismissed rumors of a Dou Emperor battle and continued studying the Yin Yang Dragon Profound Pill prescription.
• Han Feng sensed a Heavenly Flame and left Maple City to investigate a young man fighting a black-robed opponent with the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Han Feng decided to seize the young man's flame, but Medusa and Jia Xingtian ambushed him and trapped him between them.
• Han Feng tried to use the Sea Heart Flame to self-destruct, but an invisible vine whip struck his soul and halted him.
• Medusa's and Jia Xingtian's Dou Techniques engulfed Han Feng.

Chen Guan defeated Han Feng, captured his soul, and reunited with Zi Yan before returning to the Tagor Desert. There, he studied the incomplete Flame Mantra and decided not to replace his current cultivation method with it.

• Chen Guan found Han Feng's hidden soul, trapped it in a Soul Fire Net, and sealed it inside a jade bottle.
• Chen Guan, Medusa, and Jia Xingtian escaped the Black Corner Region and met Zi Yan, who claimed Han Feng's treasure vault held nothing worthwhile.
• A month later, Chen Guan studied the Six Rens Sacred Refining and the incomplete Flame Mantra at the Snake People Race.
• Chen Guan decided that the incomplete Flame Mantra was not worth switching to cultivate.

Chen Guan reviewed the valuable pills and ingredients he had taken from Han Feng before Medusa summoned him to Lake Island. There, she asked for his judgment on using Ice Spirit Cold Spring to suppress a Heavenly Flame, and he warned that it was useful but dangerous.

• Chen Guan counted the Sixth Grade pills and rare ingredients in Han Feng's storage ring and hoped Gu He's spoils would also be substantial.
• Hua She'er escorted Chen Guan to Lake Island after Medusa requested his presence.
• Medusa and Zi Yan waited beside a large pool of Ice Spirit Cold Spring beneath the moonlight.
• Medusa asked Chen Guan whether Ice Spirit Cold Spring could suppress a Heavenly Flame, and he said it could help but remained dangerous.

Medusa considered whether to trust Chen Guan and use the Green Lotus Core Flame for her evolution, then chose it and agreed to proceed in half a month. Meanwhile, Gu He grew frustrated over Fama’s rise as a rival Sixth Grade Alchemist and met privately with Liu Ling, who had an urgent matter to discuss.

• Chen Guan explained the risks of using the Green Lotus Core Flame and offered Medusa the alternative of waiting for the Sea Heart Flame, while Medusa weighed whether to trust him with her life.
• Medusa reflected on the hardships of ruling the Snake People Race and declared that she was their queen, and Chen Guan told her he believed she would succeed.
• Medusa chose the Green Lotus Core Flame as the more suitable option and told Chen Guan to fulfill his promise in half a month.
• At the Misty Cloud Sect, Gu He focused on alchemy, troubled by Fama’s advancement to Sixth Grade and by Chen Guan possessing the Heavenly Flame he had coveted.
• Liu Ling waited for Gu He to finish refining a pill, then followed him into the sealed Pill Chamber to discuss an urgent matter.

Liu Ling told Gu He that Chen Guan possessed a Heavenly Flame and planned to help Queen Medusa evolve, and Gu He decided to pursue it despite suspecting the imperial family was using him. Ten days later, Gu He and his companions approached the Snake People Race's Holy City, where Chen Guan explained the risks and compensation involved if Medusa chose to confront him.

• Liu Ling reported that Yaoyue had revealed Chen Guan possessed a Heavenly Flame and was helping Queen Medusa evolve, and Gu He dismissed him after hearing the news.
• Gu He concluded that the imperial family had deliberately leaked the information to exploit his desire for a Heavenly Flame, but he decided to cooperate and went to ask Yun Yun for help.
• Ten days later, Chen Guan, Zi Yan, and Medusa watched the desert from the Holy City walls as Gu He and his group approached.
• Chen Guan told Medusa that Gu He had come for the Heavenly Flame and explained that killing or capturing him could create trouble with the Misty Cloud Sect and powerful clans.
• Chen Guan offered Medusa help obtaining a Soul Melting Pill formula and promised the Jia Ma Empire would not attack the Snake People Race if her evolution left her vulnerable; Medusa said she would consider acting.

Medusa used an Energy Body to confront Gu He’s group, who had come seeking the Snake People Race’s Heavenly Flames. After Sect Master Yun exposed the clone and suspected Medusa was undergoing evolution, Gu He led an assault on the Holy City to seize the Flames.

• Medusa sent an Energy Body to warn Gu He and his companions away from the Snake People Race’s Holy City.
• Gu He asked Medusa to trade the Heavenly Flames for pills, but she refused and ordered the group to leave.
• Sect Master Yun identified the Heavenly Flames as necessary for Medusa’s evolution and deduced that the figure confronting them was only an Energy Clone.
• Sect Master Yun struck the clone, prompting Hua She’er and the Snake People soldiers to attack the intruders.
• Gu He ordered Yan Shi, Feng Li, and the others to hold off the defenders while he and Sect Master Yun entered the city to search for the Heavenly Flames.
• As Gu He and Sect Master Yun crossed the city wall, they and the others abruptly froze.

Queen Medusa and her allies ambushed Gu He’s group in the Holy City after he offered a Dou Spirit Pill as an apology. Yun Yun stayed behind to let the others escape, but Chen Guan’s powerful puppet trapped her in a prolonged fight, and she recognized him.

• Gu He gave Queen Medusa a Dou Spirit Pill and asked to leave, but she accepted the gift and ordered Hua She'er to capture the intruders.
• Yun Yun raised a Four-Directional Wind Wall to cover the others’ retreat, but Chen Guan’s puppet smashed through it.
• Queen Medusa and Zi Yan pursued the fleeing group while Chen Guan’s puppet attacked Yun Yun.
• Yun Yun recognized the attacker as a puppet and fought it for more than ten minutes without escaping or defeating it.
• Chen Guan watched as Yun Yun used Wind Push Force to repel the puppet, and she called out to him to stop.

Chen Guan explained to Yun Yun why he was targeting Gu He and proposed letting a coin toss decide whether she would interfere. After the toss, Chen Guan gave Yun Yun the coin as a keepsake and left, while she flew away from the Snake People Race's Holy City.

• Chen Guan and Yun Yun revealed their identities, and Yun Yun asked why he was helping Queen Medusa against her.
• Chen Guan said he believed Yun Yun had not known Gu He wanted his Heavenly Flame and promised that only Gu He would be harmed.
• Chen Guan told Yun Yun that Mo Cheng had attacked him with a Blood Burning Pill and implied Gu He had backed the attack.
• Chen Guan offered to spare Gu He if a coin landed tails, while heads meant Yun Yun would stop interfering; Yun Yun tossed the coin and it landed heads.
• Chen Guan gave Yun Yun the coin and suggested she use it to make decisions when she felt burdened by her duties and ties.
• Yun Yun stored the coin in a wooden box and flew away from the Snake People Race's Holy City.

Chen Guan returned to the Snake People Holy City after dealing with the pursuers and arranged for Jia Xingtian to take the unconscious Gu He back to the Jia Ma Empire as a captive alchemist. Medusa reminded Chen Guan that he had five days to fulfill their agreement, while Zi Yan and Chen Guan ended the chapter playfully fighting.

• Chen Guan returned to the temple, where Medusa, Zi Yan, Hua She'er, the eight Snake People leaders, and the unconscious Gu He were waiting.
• Medusa dismissed most of the leaders and sent Hua She'er and Yuemei out, leaving Mobas's hostility toward Chen Guan unaddressed.
• Chen Guan summoned Jia Xingtian and asked him to take Gu He back to the Jia Ma Empire, conceal him from the Misty Cloud Sect, and put him to work refining pills under supervision.
• Jia Xingtian took Gu He away, and Medusa remarked that he had quickly grown accustomed to his Dou Zong status.
• Medusa reminded Chen Guan that their agreement was due in five days, and Zi Yan volunteered to keep him on task.
• Zi Yan spilled her pills, gathered them by hand, then pounced on Chen Guan when he laughed at her; the two playfully tussled as Medusa watched.

Chen Guan used the Green Lotus Core Flame to help Queen Medusa undergo her dangerous evolution while Zi Yan and the Snake People waited anxiously. After nearly an hour, Medusa’s enormous snake form lay charred and motionless, and Chen Guan could not tell whether she had survived; then the energy between heaven and earth began to riot.

• Queen Medusa prepared to evolve with Chen Guan’s help, while Zi Yan watched from the edge of Lake Island.
• Chen Guan engulfed Medusa in Azure Flame and maintained its temperature as she transformed into a giant snake and endured the burning.
• Zi Yan, the Snake People Race’s Great Elders, Hua She'er, Yuemei, Yan Ci, and the other experts waited and prayed while Medusa struggled in the flames.
• After nearly an hour, the Violet Netherflame Snake shrank into a charred, motionless body, and Chen Guan withdrew the flames, exhausted.
• Zi Yan asked whether Medusa had failed, but Chen Guan could not tell; then the energy between heaven and earth suddenly began to riot.