Chapter Summaries

Yang Shan and Little Yao Xi raced in the second round of the finals, Crazy Kart Racing, after Yang Shan won the first round. Yang Shan surged toward the finish, but Xiao Aotian helped Little Yao Xi catch up, and she fired a rocket at Yang Shan just before the finish line.

• Yang Shan celebrated his first-round victory with Little Yao Xi, then the Players began the kart race after a ten-minute break.
• Hao Yunqi secretly arranged for Players to ram Yang Shan at the start, dropping his rank, while Xiao Aotian refused to join the plan.
• Yang Shan recovered with expert driving and items, climbing back through the ranks as Little Yao Xi used a daring tilted-kart maneuver to take first place.
• Hao Yunqi, Zhuang Youqian, and Xiao Aotian traded items near the front, but Little Yao Xi passed them and built a lead.
• Yang Shan used saved Nitrogen Acceleration items to overtake the frontrunners and Little Yao Xi, while Xiao Aotian pushed her kart forward to challenge him.
• Just before the finish, Little Yao Xi opened her kart's rear compartment, aimed a cannon at Yang Shan, and launched a rocket.

Little Yao Xi beat Yang Shan in the second race, but Yang Shan dominated the final Fruit Cutting round and finished the Alchemist Convention finals with a first-second-first record. The chapter ended with his exceptional blade control reasserting his reputation among the spectators.

• Little Yao Xi used an Explosive Rocket to knock Yang Shan’s kart into the air, then narrowly beat him across the finish line.
• Yang Shan congratulated Little Yao Xi, and she remembered their bet: if she failed to win the championship, she would call him Handsome Uncle.
• Before the final round, Yang Shan explained how future alchemy would rely on clearing increasingly difficult minigames, then chose a desert arena and two blades for Fruit Cutting.
• Yang Shan cut 230 of 233 fruits, while Little Yao Xi hit 172 and Xiao Aotian hit four.
• The results confirmed Yang Shan’s first-second-first finish, as spectators marveled at his blade skill.

Yang Shan won the Alchemist Convention after refining a perfect Spirit Marrow Pill, while Little Yao Xi took second place with a perfect Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill. After receiving the championship’s Ascension Spirit Pill formula, Yang Shan hurried toward White Mist Mountain to confront the looming Azure Cloud Association ambush.

• Little Yao Xi refined three perfect Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pills, while Yang Shan’s cauldron produced energy ripples that revealed his pill was a Spirit Marrow Pill.
• Fa Ma declared Yang Shan the convention champion after the crowd learned the value of Little Yao Xi’s pill and Yang Shan’s perfect Spirit Marrow Pills.
• Fa Ma awarded Xiao Aotian and Little Yao Xi pill formulas, then gave Yang Shan the fifth-tier Ascension Spirit Pill formula, which reduced the danger of a Dou Ling’s breakthrough to Dou Wang.
• Yang Shan announced the Ascension Spirit Pill’s effects to the players and left the convention before the Dou Wang experts could detain him for his Spirit Marrow Pills.
• Yang Shan used Thunder Spirit Flash to hurry toward White Mist Mountain, where he planned to find the White Mist Branch guarded by Tu Hong before the Azure Cloud Association’s ambush began.

Yang Shan traveled to the White Mist Branch seeking the Soul Accumulation Pearl and tried to draw powerful allies into a plan against the Azure Cloud Association. He arrived disguised as Cheng E, only to discover Protector Wu was there, and Protector Wu ordered him to work for the Association to atone for killing a Dou Wang.

• Yang Shan discussed Xiao Aotian's proposal to cooperate on Body Tempering Pills and agreed to avoid competing against each other.
• Yang Shan sent letters offering a Perfect Spirit Marrow Pill to persuade Yun Yun and Mitier Tengshan to visit White Mist City, and told Su Yitang and Chao Bafang to prepare.
• Yang Shan added Xiao Aotian as a friend and agreed to limit their Body Tempering Pill sales while they held the market between them.
• Yang Shan disguised himself as Cheng E, reached the White Mist Branch, and was escorted to Tu Hong by its guards.
• Yang Shan found Protector Wu in the reception room and learned that he knew about his actions against the Azure Cloud Association.
• Protector Wu accepted Yang Shan's explanation but ordered him to work for the Azure Cloud Association and redeem his crime through merit.

Yang Shan infiltrated the White Mist Branch, learned that Protector Wu was exploiting its soul-harvesting operation for his own benefit, and joined Tu Hong’s campaign against alchemists in White Mist City. After two days of ambushing Players and filling a Soul Gathering Pearl with 9,527 souls, Yang Shan heard that Yun Yun had left the Misty Cloud Sect.

• Protector Wu tasked Yang Shan with collecting souls and granted him special privileges, while Tu Hong warned him that Soul Palace members had to keep their activities discreet.
• Tu Hong revealed that Protector Wu controlled the White Mist Branch’s collected souls and planned to lead a raid on alchemists in White Mist City; Yang Shan discovered the Soul Refining Formation’s location and coordinated with Su Yitang and Chao Bafang.
• Tu Hong led most of the White Mist Branch’s personnel toward White Mist City, and Yang Shan accompanied him to White Mist Mountain while waiting for reinforcements prompted by the letters Su Yitang delivered.
• Yang Shan ambushed Players in the forests for two days, gathering souls while Tu Hong’s operation proceeded smoothly.
• Yang Shan returned to the branch with a Soul Gathering Pearl showing 9,527 souls, astonishing Protector Wu and Bei Guo; Su Yitang then told him that Yun Yun had left the Misty Cloud Sect.

Yang Shan lured Yun Yun and Protector Wu away from the White Mist Branch by setting the Misty Cloud Sect against Tu Hong’s Azure Cloud Association. With the branch unguarded, he broke through the defenses around its Soul Refining Grand Formation and stole the Soul Accumulation Pearl, leaving before Protector Wu could return.

• Yang Shan left the White Mist Branch, killed Azure Cloud Association attackers, and found Yun Yun in White Mist City.
• Yang Shan told Yun Yun about Tu Hong and persuaded her to wait for the Misty Cloud Sect’s forces before attacking the Azure Cloud Association.
• The Misty Cloud Sect attacked the Azure Cloud Association, and Yun Yun confronted Tu Hong while Yang Shan and his allies staged a fight to send Bei Guo back to the branch for help.
• Protector Wu rushed to White Mist City after Bei Guo reported that Yun Yun was attacking Tu Hong, leaving the White Mist Branch undefended.
• Yang Shan entered the branch, endured its defensive formation, and took the Soul Accumulation Pearl containing 352,550 units of pure soul energy.

Yun Yun confronted Protector Wu in White Mist City but was forced to retreat after learning he was a Dou Zong. Protector Wu discovered the Soul Accumulation Pearl had been stolen, while Yang Shan’s staged injuries convinced him that “Cheng E” was not the traitor.

• Yun Yun defeated Tu Hong but withdrew with the Yunlan Sect disciples after Protector Wu wounded her and revealed his overwhelming strength.
• Protector Wu ordered Tu Hong to keep gathering souls, then returned to find the Soul Accumulation Pearl missing from the intact Soul Refining Grand Formation.
• Protector Wu beat Bei Guo and questioned him about recent events, then investigated faint scorch marks and suspected a fire-attributed Alchemist had stolen the pearl.
• Protector Wu gathered the White Mist Branch and learned that Cheng E had been carried back severely injured after supposedly fighting three Dou Ling experts.
• Protector Wu heard that Cheng E used lightning-attributed techniques and accepted his story, while Yang Shan’s staged injuries concealed his role in the theft and protected his Cheng E identity.

Yang Shan gained Protector Wu’s favor, absorbed the Soul Accumulation Pearl’s Pure Soul Energy, and reached Spirit Realm Early Stage Soul Strength. As Yang Shan headed toward Wutan City, Xiao Aotian and Li Batian were ambushed by Azure Cloud Association fighters led by Guan Zhenggen, and an unseen ally offered help.

• Protector Wu rewarded Cheng E with a Sixth Grade healing pill, then ordered him to travel to the Azure Cloud Association’s Main Branch and collect souls for himself.
• Protector Wu forced Yun Shan to leave seclusion, impersonate him with a black-mist Dou Technique, and compensate the Main Branch for the stolen Soul Accumulation Pearl.
• Yang Shan recovered the Soul Accumulation Pearl from Su Yitang and absorbed its Pure Soul Energy, raising his Soul Strength to Spirit Realm Early Stage.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang set out for Wutan City, while Xiao Aotian accepted Xiao Mei’s quest to kill a fourth-tier King of Beasts and brought Li Batian along.
• Guan Zhenggen and seven high-star Dou Lings ambushed Xiao Aotian and Li Batian on the road, and an unseen voice offered Boss Xiao help.

Yang Shan, Su Yitang, Xiao Aotian, and Li Batian killed Guan Zhenggen after Xiao Aotian used Eight Extremities Collapse to shatter his armor and finish him off. After dividing the loot, Yang Shan revealed that the Azure Cloud Association's Main Branch was likely near Wutan City, prompting Xiao Aotian to return and warn the Xiao Family while Yang Shan and Su Yitang headed toward the city.

• Yang Shan and Su Yitang joined Xiao Aotian and Li Batian against Guan Zhenggen, while Su Yitang killed his seven Dou Ling subordinates.
• Li Batian and Xiao Aotian joined Yang Shan's assault, and Xiao Aotian's Eight Extremities Collapse shattered Guan Zhenggen's Dou Qi Armor.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang restrained Guan Zhenggen, allowing Xiao Aotian to land another Eight Extremities Collapse and kill him.
• Xiao Aotian shared the loot with Yang Shan and Su Yitang, then learned that the Azure Cloud Association's Main Branch was likely near Wutan City.
• Xiao Aotian left to warn Xiao Mei, while Yang Shan and Su Yitang set off toward Wutan City.

Yang Shan joined the Xiao Family’s preparations against the Azure Cloud Association, then infiltrated its Main Branch under the identity Cheng E. After gaining a special Faction War ability to earn rewards by killing Players, he told First Leader Lian Qiao that he had come to help.

• The Jia Ma Empire’s major forces sent an army of more than twenty thousand to support the Xiao Family, while Players accepted missions to fight the Azure Cloud Association.
• Mitier Renlian and the Mittel Family’s troops publicly saluted Yang Shan, drawing the attention of the other Players and angering Wang Tianhao.
• Xiao Mei organized the support forces and issued a mission offering one hundred thousand contribution points for locating the Azure Cloud Association’s Main Branch.
• Yang Shan entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range alone, reached the Main Branch, and identified himself as Cheng E, sent by Protector Wu.
• Lian Qiao welcomed Yang Shan and hosted him at the Main Branch, where the system granted him NPC traits that let him earn experience and soul rewards by killing Players.
• Yang Shan refused the maidservants’ attention and told Lian Qiao that he had come to help the Azure Cloud Association fight its attackers.

Yang Shan, disguised as the Azure Cloud Association envoy Cheng E, attacked a huge gathering of players to gain experience and help the association’s forces escape. After killing Tang Baizhan and clearing a path for the surviving Azure Cloud Association fighters, he summoned his employees to intercept the fleeing Dou Ling experts.

• Yang Shan asked Jin Shankao and Xiao Aotian for player locations, then rushed to a quest site where nearly ten thousand players had surrounded an Azure Cloud Association force.
• Tang Baizhan led War Soul Hall players against Yang Shan, mistaking him for a valuable high-ranking NPC, but Yang Shan slaughtered their fighters and defeated Tang Baizhan.
• War Soul Hall players coordinated a barrage of Mystic Rank Dou Skills, but Yang Shan used Thunder Spirit Flash to evade it and killed Tang Baizhan in close combat.
• Yang Shan reached the battered Azure Cloud Association force, identified himself as the First Leader's envoy Mister E, and bought time for its survivors to withdraw.
• Yang Shan messaged his employees the coordinates of seven fleeing Azure Cloud Association Dou Ling and told them to collect the leftovers.

Yang Shan escaped a player mob and returned to the Azure Cloud Association Main Branch, where he learned that Yun Shan planned to lure the Xiao Family into a fabricated secret realm. After Xiao Mei killed Director Lin and broke through to Dou Wang, Yun Shan ordered Yang Shan and the directors to help kill her.

• Yang Shan used Thunder Spirit Flash and concealment pills to escape the players, then returned to the Main Branch after Su Yitang reported that their group had let several NPCs flee.
• Yang Shan entered a meeting with Lian Qiao, Yun Shan, and three directors, where Yun Shan explained that he needed a pretext to gather the Xiao Family and its allies in one place.
• Lian Qiao proposed fabricating a secret realm and spreading word that it contained an Earth Rank Technique, giving Yun Shan a reason to attack anyone who came to claim it.
• A steward reported that Xiao Mei had broken through to Dou Wang during a battle and killed Director Lin alongside thousands of people.
• Yun Shan ordered Lian Qiao to bring the directors and Yang Shan to destroy Xiao Mei, while Yang Shan wondered how she had become so powerful.

Yang Shan informed Xiao Aotian that the Azure Cloud Association planned to kill Xiao Mei, then exploited the chaos caused by a newly emerged exotic treasure to harvest experience and undermine the Association’s defenses. The battle raged on as Yang Shan ordered northern troops away and secretly marked two Dou Lings for assassination.

• Yang Shan told Xiao Aotian that the Azure Cloud Association intended to surround and kill Xiao Mei, and Xiao Aotian promised to help her and offered Yang Shan a favor worth up to three stars.
• Yang Shan discovered that the Main Branch’s Soul Accumulation Pearl was full and had been taken by Yun Shan, then learned that crimson clouds near Wutan City signaled an exotic treasure and drew Players toward the area.
• Xiao Mei chose to pursue the treasure despite Xiao Aotian’s warning, while Yang Shan directed her to break through from the north and stationed himself there.
• Yang Shan fought among the Players while using Azure Cloud Association NPCs as cover to gain experience, and he told Su Yitang and his other employees to support Xiao Mei and collect kills.
• After Xiao Aotian reported that Xiao Mei was ready to break through, Yang Shan returned to the northern line and ordered three thousand defenders transferred to the west and south.
• Yang Shan secretly sent his employees screenshots of two Seven-Star Dou Lings and ordered them killed, intending to blame them if the northern line collapsed.

Xiao Mei led a massive force against the Azure Cloud Association, overwhelmed Lian Qiao with the players, and stole the strange treasure from Yun Shan. Yun Shan and Lian Qiao cornered Xiao Mei and Xiao Aotian, but a mysterious figure emerged through a spatial rift and challenged them.

• Xiao Mei arrived at the northern line with reinforcements, while Su Yitang, Chao Bafang, and Zhu Tianpeng killed the two Seven-Star Dou Lings who had been leading the attack.
• Yang Shan watched from hiding as Xiao Mei rallied a hundred thousand players to overwhelm Lian Qiao and bypass him with a flying Dou Technique.
• Xiao Mei deceived Yun Shan with an illusionary substitute, took the strange treasure, and fled, but Yun Shan and Lian Qiao caught up with her and Xiao Aotian in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang staged a fight to infiltrate the confrontation, but Lian Qiao knocked Xiao Aotian aside and Yun Shan prepared to capture the others.
• A spatial rift opened above the battlefield, and a majestic voice accused Yun Shan of being a Soul Hall insect and claimed Xiao Mei belonged to the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Li rescued Xiao Mei and revealed that her family descended from the powerful Xiao Clan, one of the Ancient Eight Clans, whose bloodline she had awakened. After Xiao Li protected the Xiao Family from Yun Shan and Lian Qiao, Yang Shan realized the game’s story had diverged dramatically from the original and began considering how to approach the Central Plains and its clans.

• Xiao Li emerged from a spatial rift, defeated Yun Shan and Lian Qiao, and gave Xiao Mei a medicinal pill while identifying himself as her cousin from the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Aotian recognized Xiao Li’s name from stories about Xiao Yan, but Xiao Li said he did not know Xiao Yan and explained that his branch had only two brothers.
• Xiao Li told Xiao Mei that the Xiao Clan was one of the Ancient Eight Clans and that her family were descendants sent to the Jia Ma Empire, while Xiao Mei had awakened her Dou Di Bloodline.
• Xiao Mei refused to abandon the Xiao Family, so Xiao Li promised the clan protection and ordered Yun Shan and Lian Qiao to let the Xiao Family compete for territory and resources on equal terms.
• Xiao Li struck Yun Shan back into the ground, then Yun Shan and Lian Qiao fled; Yang Shan left after telling Su Yitang to record Xiao Li’s revelations.
• Yang Shan concluded that the game’s story had changed substantially and considered seeking a connection to Xiao Xun'er at Jia Nan Academy.

Yang Shan rushed to the Black-Corner Region and hunted Dou Wangs with Su Yitang to fill his experience bar before Version 1.2 ended. He began the Dou Wang Heart Demon Trial with an Ascension Spirit Pill’s help and found himself facing Yue Mei, whom he immediately overpowered.

• Su Yitang told Yang Shan that Xiao Mei had returned to the Xiao Family and that Xiao Aotian wanted their encounter kept secret, while Yao Xi reported meeting Venerable Yao and successfully refining an Ascension Spirit Pill.
• Yang Shan used a Three-Pattern Azure Spirit Pill for 100,000 experience and took Su Yitang to the Black-Corner Region to hunt Dou Wangs.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang killed ten Dou Wangs over seven days, filling Yang Shan’s experience bar and raising Su Yitang to Eight Star Dou Ling.
• Yang Shan used the Ascension Spirit Pill and started the Heart Demon Trial, where he faced Yue Mei as a One Star Dou Wang.
• Yang Shan seized Yue Mei, slammed her into the sand, and battered her Dou Qi Armor before she lashed at him and he prepared a lightning-and-fire attack.

Yang Shan defeated Yue Mei in the Heart Demon Trial, broke through to One Star Dou Wang, and flew to help Su Yitang capture Yan Xinquan. After Yang Shan and Su Yitang killed Yan Xinquan, the system announced that Version 1.2’s final major storyline had concluded and the server would shut down for an update.

• Yang Shan bound Yue Mei with lightning chains, shattered her Dou Qi Armor, and killed her with Tyrant Blade—Seven Kills, completing the Heart Demon Trial.
• Yang Shan became the server’s first Dou Wang, received the Number One Dou Wang title, and shared his status panel with Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Su Yitang.
• Yang Shan unlocked lightning Dou Qi Transformation Wings and flew to the coordinates Su Yitang sent after she reported that Yan Xinquan had left the city.
• Su Yitang lured Yan Xinquan into waiting for her boss, and Yang Shan arrived to break Yan Xinquan’s Dou Qi Armor and hold him down.
• Su Yitang killed Yan Xinquan with Fourth Order Beast Wind while Yang Shan prevented him from escaping and collected the drops.
• Yang Shan and Su Yitang received the announcement that Version 1.2’s final major storyline had concluded and the server would shut down for an update in one hour.

Yang Shan reunited with Su Yitang, Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Little Yao Xi in a virtual party hall to watch the global premiere of Battle Through the Heavens version 1.3. The reveal previewed major events across the Jia Ma Empire and Jia Nan Academy, ending with a giant fire serpent emerging from the Heavenly Flame Training Tower's magma.

• Yang Shan joined the virtual gathering and admired Su Yitang in her chosen outfit while Chao Bafang and Zhu Tianpeng greeted her and joked with Little Yao Xi.
• Yang Shan and his friends watched Tian Yao Company's premiere, where Xiao Yan announced the Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya's Friendship System before Ma Ru Long interrupted him and introduced the expansion preview.
• The preview showed Xiao Yi Xian arriving at the Poison Sect and Hai Bodong celebrating his escape from a seal.
• The preview showed Yun Yun confronting a Lion-Race Magical Beast, followed by Medusa Queen entering green flames as she worried about the Serpent-People tribe's future.
• The preview showed Yun Shan proclaiming the Misty Cloud Sect's supremacy and Su Qian opening Jia Nan Academy's Inner Courtyard Strong Ranking competition.
• A thirty-zhang fire serpent rose from the magma beneath the Heavenly Flame Training Tower and stared toward the screen.

Yang Shan celebrated the end of Version 1.2 with his coworkers, discussed players’ speculation about his relationships with NPCs, and urged everyone to pursue opportunities independently in the next version. After the gathering, he prepared to return to Jia Nan Academy when the new version opened.

• Yang Shan and his coworkers read forum comments speculating about his Favorability with Ya Fei, Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun, and Xiao Xun'er, and Yang Shan revealed their Favorability scores.
• Yang Shan explained that Tian Yao Company made many NPCs friendlier toward players and advised Chao Bafang, Zhu Tianpeng, and Su Yitang to develop solo to find more opportunities.
• Zhu Tianpeng anticipated following Hai Bodong in the next version, while Chao Bafang discovered that Little Yao Xi also had no immediate opportunity because Yao Chen would stay with her.
• The group held a company gathering with food, karaoke, and billiards while Su Yitang took Little Yao Xi to try on clothes.
• Yang Shan planned to go to Jia Nan Academy and visit “Senior” as soon as the next version opened, then entered his Game Pod and launched Battle Through the Heavens.

Yang Shan returned to Jia Nan Academy and agreed to take Xiao Xun'er on a journey to the Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning. With the academy barring students from leaving, he arranged a challenge against Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing to earn permission to take her away.

• Yang Shan told Luo Xie he was going into seclusion, then reunited with Xiao Xun'er, Han Yue, and Hu Jia in the Inner Courtyard.
• Yang Shan gave Xiao Xun'er Secluded Dream Incense seeds, and she asked to travel with him using the joined halves of the Ghoul Lord Token.
• After learning that students were forbidden to leave Jia Nan Academy, Yang Shan borrowed Xiao Xun'er's Jade Pendant and sought permission from Great Elder Su Qian and Elder Xing.
• Great Elder Su Qian said Yang Shan could take someone away if he convinced the Inner Courtyard, and Yang Shan chose Xiao Xun'er.
• Yang Shan challenged Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing, offering a top-grade fifth-tier Ascension Spirit Pill for each match, and the Inner Courtyard grew excited.