Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan apologized to Su Qingyun for helping Xiao Yu restrain him, and Su Qingyun forgave him while warning him not to do it again. Su Qingyun then sent Xiao Yan to help Jia Nan Academy handle the aftermath and gave him medicinal herbs to refine for Xiao Yu.

• Xiao Yan knelt outside Su Qingyun's door and admitted he had been wrong to help Xiao Yu hold Su Qingyun down.
• Su Qingyun forgave Xiao Yan but warned him that he would have to leave if he did it again.
• Su Qingyun told Xiao Yan to help Jia Nan Academy's teachers handle the aftermath and then leave.
• Su Qingyun gave Xiao Yan rare medicinal herbs to refine into nourishing pills for Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yan happily accepted them.

Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yu pills and warned her that they were leaving because the Hall of Souls remained a threat. Xiao Yu hoped she was pregnant with Su Qingyun’s child and planned to search for the Xiao Clan, while Xiao Yan left her with the news that Su Qingyun had arranged the pills for her.

• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yu thirty each of four kinds of pills and advised her to take them sparingly.
• Xiao Yu asked whether Xiao Yan was leaving and questioned why he had prepared a fetus-stabilizing pill for her.
• Xiao Yan explained that their business was finished and said Su Qingyun had a high chance of conceiving a child; Xiao Yu became hopeful that she was pregnant.
• Xiao Yu warned Xiao Yan to keep Su Qingyun safe and said she would seek the Xiao Clan members and contact him.
• Xiao Yan called Xiao Yu his future sister-in-law, then revealed that Su Qingyun had provided the materials and asked him to make the pills for her.

After leaving the declining Jia Nan Academy, Su Qingyun and Old Ya headed back to the Central Plains to seek the Three Thousand Burning Flame at the Pill Tower. They accepted that taking the Heavenly Flame would draw attention, but saw the risk as necessary to grow strong enough to face the Hall of Souls.

• Xiao Yu returned to the Jia Ma Empire with the ashes of her classmates, while the remaining members of Jia Nan Academy prepared to evacuate.
• Su Qingyun and Old Ya departed Jia Nan Academy after Su Qingyun warned the elders to leave before the Hall of Souls arrived.
• Su Qingyun said they would return to the Central Plains and seek the Three Thousand Burning Flame at the Pill Tower.
• Old Ya worried that the Pill Tower’s powerful neighbors and his old acquaintances could bring trouble, but Su Qingyun said they would conceal their identities.
• Su Qingyun accepted that seeking the Heavenly Flame would make it difficult to stay low-profile, arguing they needed the opportunity to grow stronger before Soul Heavenly Emperor advanced.

Xiao Yan, Su Qingyun, and Old Ya arrived in the Pill Region and learned how its Pill Coin currency worked. Xiao Yan bought an Alchemy Encyclopedia from a shopkeeper, leaving the group with a guide to study for the Alchemist Grand Meeting.

• Xiao Yan and Su Qingyun saw the many alchemists and rare ingredients available in the Pill Region.
• Old Ya explained that the Pill Tower issued Pill Coins for use in the region and that people earned them through pill refining, contributions, or exchanging treasures.
• A shopkeeper offered the group books about the Alchemist Grand Meeting and past competitions.
• Xiao Yan bought an Alchemy Encyclopedia with gold coins and began reading it.

Xiao Yan discovered that the expensive Alchemy Encyclopedia he bought was full of low-tier pills and dubious formulas, while Old Ya teased him for being fooled. On the road to the Pill Tower, they met Xuan Yi, who invited them to come with her and asked about their names and origins.

• Xiao Yan complained that the Alchemy Encyclopedia he had purchased for five million gold coins contained impractical pills and flawed formulas, but he picked it back up and kept it.
• Old Ya told Xiao Yan that the book was an obvious scam and explained that genuine pill formulas were too valuable to circulate so freely.
• A woman in dark-red Pill Tower robes explained that Thirty Years of Simulation, Fifty Years of Champion recorded past competition pills and champions but offered little help to geniuses.
• The woman introduced herself as Xuan Yi and asked whether Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan had come to enter the Alchemy Competition.
• Xuan Yi invited them to go with her, asked their names and origins, and mistook Old Ya for their son, angering him.

Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan arrived at the Pill Tower to assess as Seventh Grade Alchemists, with Xuan Yi personally escorting them. They learned that Cao Ying and Dan Chen were also assessing for seventh grade and began choosing a pill to refine.

• Xuan Yi brought Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan to the assessment hall and ordered the supervisor to provide cauldrons and assess their alchemist grades.
• Su Qingyun said they would assess for seventh grade, surprising the supervisor and other alchemists.
• The supervisor explained that Cao Ying and Dan Chen were also assessing for seventh grade and were popular candidates to win the Alchemy Competition.
• The supervisor led Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan to pill cauldrons and told them to select a seventh-grade pill and prepare its ingredients.
• Su Qingyun showed the supervisor their ingredients and pointed to a pill in the catalog that they believed gave them a better chance of success.

Xiao Yan and Su Qingyun completed their alchemist assessments by refining Seventh-Grade Pills, with Su Qingyun producing an astonishing Ten Thunder Perfect Pill. Their results left Xuan Yi, Old Ya, and the gathered alchemists stunned.

• Cao Ying and Dan Chen sensed powerful Soul Power and Pill Thunder in the assessment hall and wondered who was refining a pill.
• Xuan Yi questioned Old Ya about Su Qingyun and noticed the extraordinary pills the young girl with them had been eating.
• Xiao Yan emerged after receiving seven full bolts of Pill Thunder for his Seventh-Grade Pill.
• The alchemists watched Su Qingyun receive ten full bolts of Pill Thunder, marking his pill as a Seventh-Grade perfect, flawless-quality pill.
• Su Qingyun modestly called his result passable, while Xuan Yi was shocked and Old Ya praised his alchemy ability.

Xuan Yi appraised the pills refined by Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan and praised their exceptional quality, then invited them to discuss pill refining. Cao Ying challenged them to visit her residence for a match, while Zi Yan guarded Su Qingyun from the women around him.

• An elder presented Xuan Yi with Xiao Yan’s six-Lightning-Mark pill and Su Qingyun’s perfectly rounded Peak Grade 7 pill.
• Xuan Yi praised the two young alchemists and said Su Qingyun could win the competition if he reached Eighth Grade.
• Su Qingyun declined to enter the competition and said only Xiao Yan would participate.
• Cao Ying and Dan Chen arrived, admired the pills, and Cao Ying invited Su Qingyun and the others to a match at her residence.
• Zi Yan stepped in front of Su Qingyun to keep Cao Ying and the other women away from him.

Su Qingyun sold two high-quality Seventh-Grade Pills to Xuan Yi for Pill Coins and agreed to join the Pill Tower to earn more. After he and his companions left, Cao Ying planned to test their skill by hiring them to refine a difficult pill.

• Xuan Yi offered Su Qingyun fifty thousand Pill Coins for each Seventh-Grade Pill, praising their exceptional quality.
• Su Qingyun accepted one hundred thousand Pill Coins and agreed to refine pills for the Pill Tower to earn more.
• Xiao Yan cursed the merchant who had sold him a book for ten thousand Pill Coins after hearing the price of a Seventh Tier magic core.
• Cao Ying decided she and Dan Chen would become Su Qingyun's first clients and request the most difficult Seventh-Grade Pill to test his abilities.
• Cao Ying planned to make Su Qingyun pay the full cost if he failed to refine the pill.

Xin Lan returned to the Pill Tower and reunited with Cao Ying and Dan Chen after rejecting Cao Dan’s advances. Cao Ying revealed that she and Dan Chen had posted a high-priced commission for the difficult Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill to test two young alchemists, just as one of them emerged from the Pill Refining Room with a medicine box.

• Cao Dan pursued Xin Lan through the Pill Tower corridor, but she refused to go with him and he left after threatening to visit her clan.
• Cao Ying and Dan Chen welcomed Xin Lan, who concealed her connection to Jia Nan Academy because she feared the Hall of Souls might target her clan.
• Xin Lan learned that Cao Ying and Dan Chen had both passed the Seventh Grade Alchemist assessment.
• Cao Ying showed Xin Lan the commission for a Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill and explained that it was meant to test two young alchemists who had recently refined Seventh Grade Perfect Pills.
• A young man walked out of the Pill Refining Room carrying a medicine box.

The Pill Tower giants recognized that a young alchemist had refined the rare Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill and questioned why he was not competing in the Grand Meeting. Xuan Yi became convinced that Old Ya resembled someone she knew and confronted him, demanding to know whether Yao Chen was his father.

• Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, and Tian Leizi discussed the young alchemist's successful refinement of the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill and his exceptional talent.
• The giants wondered why the alchemist planned to let his younger brother, Yun Yan, compete instead of entering the Grand Meeting himself.
• Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi noticed that Old Ya's appearance seemed familiar, so Xuan Yi ordered a guard to bring him upstairs.
• A guard carried Old Ya into the Observation Room, where Xuan Yi grabbed his braid and demanded to know whether his father was Yao Chen.

After refining two perfect Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pills, Su Qingyun learned that the Pill Tower had taken Old Ya to meet Xuan Yi and rushed to intervene. He rescued Old Ya from Xuan Yi's attempt to suppress his soul, but Xuan Kongzi sealed the room and demanded to know who they were and how the child was connected to Yao Chen.

• Su Qingyun gave Cao Ying and Dan Chen their Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pills, and they were astonished by his alchemy skill.
• Zi Yan told Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan that Pill Tower guards had taken Old Ya away, and a guard explained that Xuan Yi had invited him.
• Su Qingyun unleashed his aura and demanded that the guard take him to Old Ya.
• Su Qingyun burst into Xuan Yi's room and used his Soul Power to force her away from Old Ya.
• Xuan Kongzi sealed the room and asked who Su Qingyun and his companions were, especially what Old Ya had to do with Yao Chen.

Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, and Tian Leizi confronted Su Qingyun and his companions over their identities, prompting Old Ya to reveal that he was Yao Chen. The Pill Tower Giants recognized him, and their talk turned to the Alchemy Competition and the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

• Xuan Kongzi suspected Zi Yan was from the Beast Race and questioned Su Qingyun and his companions about their origins.
• Old Ya intervened to protect Su Qingyun, and the Pill Tower Giants recognized his voice as Yao Chen's.
• Yao Chen admitted his identity and asked Xuan Yi, Xuan Kongzi, and Tian Leizi to keep his return and his disciples' identities secret.
• Tian Leizi guessed Yao Chen had come to seek the Three Thousand Burning Flame, while Yao Chen said Yun Qing did not want to compete.
• Xuan Yi teased Yao Chen and suggested that Yun Qing might be a better choice for her, making Yao Chen spit out his tea.

Su Qingyun, Xiao Yan, and their companions settled into a routine of earning Pill Coins in the Pill Tower, while Xin Lan began to suspect they were the benefactors from Jia Nan Academy. Cao Ying and Dan Chen teased Xin Lan about her interest in them, and Cao Dan arrived demanding to know which man had caught her attention.

• Su Qingyun, Xiao Yan, and Old Ya earned many Pill Coins by taking pill-refining orders, and other alchemists nicknamed them the Three Pill-Refining Maniac Brothers.
• Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and Xin Lan watched Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan refine pills and wondered at their exceptional abilities.
• Xin Lan recognized Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan as the likely benefactors of Jia Nan Academy after seeing Old Ya and Zi Yan in the Pill Tower.
• Cao Ying and Dan Chen teased Xin Lan about falling for Su Qingyun or Xiao Yan, but Xin Lan denied it.
• Cao Dan declared that Xin Lan was his fiancée and demanded to know who she liked, prompting the women to point out Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan.

Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan bought the remaining materials needed for Su Qingyun’s pill, while Xin Lan stopped Cao Dan from provoking them. As the two men left, Su Qingyun thanked Xin Lan by voice transmission, and she realized he was the powerful benefactor she had met at Jia Nan Academy.

• Su Qingyun bought an Eighth Tier magical core, two Seventh Tier magical cores, and three Seventh Tier medicinal herbs with Xiao Yan.
• Cao Dan set out to confront Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan, but Xin Lan blocked him and asked Cao Ying to intervene.
• Cao Ying pulled Cao Dan and Guard Yu out of the hall, then warned Cao Dan not to endanger himself or the Cao Clan by provoking people with powerful backgrounds.
• Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan left with the materials needed for the Complete Grade Pill of the Breaking Zun Realm, and Su Qingyun planned to refine it during the Alchemy Competition.
• Su Qingyun thanked Xin Lan through a voice transmission, and she recognized him as the young expert who had saved her at Jia Nan Academy.

Xiao Yan prepared to compete in the Pill Gathering, aiming to win entry to the Pill Tower Star Region and obtain the Three Thousand Burning Flame. As he entered the square, Xuan Yi grew suspicious of Old Ya and began watching Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan for clues.

• Su Qingyun asked Zi Yan to give Xiao Yan a drop of blood, and Zi Yan agreed after bargaining for a promise from Su Qingyun.
• Xiao Yan reviewed his goal with Su Qingyun: win steadily, enter the Pill Tower Star Region, and obtain the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Xiao Yan bid farewell to Su Qingyun and entered the square where the alchemist geniuses had gathered for the Pill Gathering.
• Old Ya praised his disciple Yun Qing while drinking with Tian Leizi, Xuan Kongzi, and Xuan Yi, then hurriedly claimed he had misspoken when Xuan Yi questioned him.
• Xuan Yi suspected that Old Ya was hiding something about Su Qingyun and Xiao Yan, so she began watching them for clues.

Xiao Yan advanced to the Pill Gathering Competition finals after eliminating Old Man Mugu, while Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and Xin Lan were eliminated earlier. Elsewhere, Su Qingyun began an audacious pill refinement with the Black Demon Cauldron and a mass of conflicting ingredients.

• The Pill Tower Ancestor watched the competition and noticed that powerful old acquaintances had also come to observe.
• Xiao Yan progressed steadily from the selection rounds to the semifinals, where Cao Ying and Dan Chen were eliminated and Xin Lan had already fallen before the Top 36.
• Xiao Yan refined a high-quality eighth-grade pill in the semifinals, edging out Old Man Mugu, while an unknown young man advanced to the finals.
• As the finalists began refining amid pill clouds and thunder, Su Qingyun set up Old Ya's Black Demon Cauldron elsewhere in the Pill Tower.
• Su Qingyun added dozens upon hundreds of seventh- and eighth-grade ingredients and Magic Cores of conflicting attributes to the cauldron, then began refining steadily.

Yun Yan and Zhi Xuhun competed in the Pill Gathering finals by refining peak eighth-grade pills, while Xuan Yi sensed that something was wrong with Zhi Xuhun. Elsewhere, an unnamed young man refined pills from rare ingredients and magic cores behind Su Qingyun’s protective formation.

• An unnamed young man added rare medicinal ingredients and magic cores of many attributes to his cauldron, and Immortal Qi Accumulation made their medicinal energy submit to his control.
• Su Qingyun’s formation concealed the young man’s pill refinement and contained the heavenly lightning produced by his pills.
• Yun Yan and Zhi Xuhun began refining peak eighth-grade pills on separate platforms, using their flames and alchemy skills to control the cauldrons.
• Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and the Pill Tower leaders praised Yun Yan’s talent and wondered why Yun Qing had not come to support him.
• Xuan Yi noticed that the finalists’ pill lightning had grown multicolored and begun forming black lightning, then warned that something was wrong with Zhi Xuhun.

Hun Xuzi, disguised as Zhi Xuhun, revealed himself at the Pill Refining Platform and attempted to refine a Pseudo Ninth Grade treasure pill, enraging the Pill Tower’s Three Giants. Seeing the challenge, Xiao Yan decided to refine a pill of the same grade using rare materials, risking failure to win the competition.

• Tian Leizi and Xuan Kongzi recognized Zhi Xuhun as Hun Xuzi, the Soul Clan traitor who had killed the former Tower Master of the Small Pill Tower, and ordered the Small Pill Tower elders to stop him.
• Hun Xuzi continued refining a treasure pill with a subsidiary flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame and Ninth Grade materials, aiming for a Pseudo Ninth Grade pill.
• Xiao Yan, disguised as Yun Yan, resolved not to lose the chance to win the competition and enter the Star Region for the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
• Xiao Yan took out Spirit Water and a Ninth Grade Initial spirit lotus root and began refining his own Pseudo Ninth Grade treasure pill, shocking the spectators.

Xiao Yan refined a Pseudo Ninth Grade Treasure Pill with Seven Silver Markings and won the Pill Gathering, exposing his identity to Hun Xuzi. As Xiao Yan entered the starry sky to claim his prize, Hun Xuzi summoned the Soul Clan forces and pursued him.

• Hun Xuzi produced a Pseudo Ninth Grade Treasure Pill with Three Silver Markings, while Xiao Yan struggled to control his pill as black demonic lightning appeared.
• Xiao Yan's pill emerged from the smoke with Seven Silver Markings, surpassing Hun Xuzi's pill.
• The Pill Tower declared Yun Yan the champion and sent Xiao Yan into the starry sky through a Starlight Tunnel.
• The Pill Tower elders exposed Hun Xuzi's disguise and moved to arrest him, but Hun Xuzi revealed that he had recognized Xiao Yan.
• Hun Xuzi summoned black shadows from across the Pill Region and chased Xiao Yan into the starry sky, demanding his Heavenly Flames, Ancient Jade, and Su Qingyun's whereabouts.