Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan struggled with his defeat and Xiao Yu’s taunts until Yao Lao challenged him to look beyond the Gamma Empire and find a greater ambition. The chapter left Xiao Yan wondering whether young Dou Emperors truly existed.

• Xiao Yan and Xun Er talked on the roof about the Nalan Residence and the Xiao Family residence.
• Xiao Yu taunted Xiao Yan over his loss, and he climbed down as if to fight before retreating into his room.
• Xun Er returned to her room, while Xiao Yu hurried Xiao Meier to prepare for a meeting with her future parents-in-law.
• Xiao Yan brooded over Xiao Yu’s words until Yao Lao appeared and reassured him that he could defeat Nalan Yanran with more time.
• Yao Lao described the wonders and powerful figures of the Dou Qi Continent, prompting Xiao Yan to ask whether young people really reached the Dou Emperor realm.

Yao Lao urged Xiao Yan to pursue the wider world and explained why he had kept his past and his revenge from burdening his disciple. He warned Xiao Yan not to let his love for Xun Er distract him from cultivation, then hinted that something was more interesting than love or family.

• Yao Lao recalled the Stone Clan genius Shi Haoran and told Xiao Yan to see the wider world for himself, inspiring Xiao Yan to vow that he would.
• Xiao Yan asked whether Yao Lao would have left him if he lacked ambition, and Yao Lao said he would have sought another disciple.
• Xiao Yan vowed to avenge Yao Lao, but Yao Lao said he had kept his past secret so Xiao Yan would not be driven by his hatred.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that he should enjoy beautiful things in life and keep revenge as a minor matter rather than his purpose.
• Yao Lao warned Xiao Yan that his time with Xun Er after losing to Nalan Girl had distracted him from training, and Xiao Yan struggled to accept the warning.
• Yao Lao pointed out that Xiao Yan's father, Xiao Ding, and Xiao Li mattered to him as much as Xun Er, then teased that something surpassed love and family affection.

After losing to Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan learned that Yao Lao had the Azure Lotus Core Flame and agreed to leave Gama City for a trial in the Distant Domain. He departed at night, while Xun Er watched him go with his letter in hand.

• Yao Lao revealed the Azure Lotus Core Flame to Xiao Yan and claimed that three Dou Huang had seized it for him.
• Xiao Yan urged Yao Lao to help him gather the materials to refine the flame, but Yao Lao insisted he leave Xun Er and Gama City to grow through a trial.
• Xiao Yan accepted Yao Lao's plan, wrote a letter for Xun Er, and set out that night.
• Xiao Yan left Gama City by crossing its wall and headed toward the unknown Distant Domain.
• Xun Er watched Xiao Yan leave and held his letter, reproaching him for breaking his promise to go to Canaan Academy together.

Nalan Ye planned to divert the Snake-People Tribe’s threatened attack away from the Gamma Empire by persuading them to ally with Gamma and invade the Chuyun Empire. After spending the night refining the proposal with Medusa, he woke to Xiao Yu’s news that Xiao Yan had apparently run away.

• Nalan Ye asked Medusa whether Yue Mei might ally with the Chuyun Empire, and Medusa explained Yue Mei’s position as the Snake-People Queen.
• Nalan Ye proposed that the Snake-People Tribe and the Gamma Empire attack the Chuyun Empire together and divide its territory along the Red River.
• Medusa agreed to persuade Yue Mei, while Nalan Ye worried about how to win approval from the powerful figures in the Gamma Empire.
• Nalan Ye and Medusa spent the night discussing the plan’s details and concessions to the Snake-People Tribe.
• Xiao Yu told Nalan Ye that Xiao Yan seemed to have run away.

After Xiao Yan disappeared to gain experience, Nalan Ye learned that he planned to defeat Nalan Yanran before seeking Xiao Xun'er at Canaan Academy. Nalan Ye then presented Clan Leader Nalan Su with a plan to ally with the Snake-People Tribe and volunteered to lead the mission.

• Xiao Yu told Nalan Ye that Xiao Yan had left a letter saying he had gone to gain experience, and that Xiao Xun'er said he would return to defeat Nalan Yanran before going to Canaan Academy.
• Xiao Yu joined Nalan Ye's family for breakfast, where Nalan Ye told Xiao Meier that Xiao Yan had disappeared.
• Nalan Ye told his father he had a plan to form an alliance with the Snake-People Tribe, and his father agreed to take him to Clan Leader Nalan Su.
• Nalan Ye explained the alliance plan to Nalan Su, who approved it and asked who should be sent to persuade the Snake-People Tribe.
• Nalan Ye declared that he was the right person to lead the mission.

Nalan Ye proposed going to the Snake-People Tribe to seek an alliance, but his father opposed sending him into danger. Nalan Su supported the plan in principle and delayed a decision until he could consult the Old Clan Leader.

• Nalan Su praised Nalan Ye and learned that he intended to carry out the mission to the Snake-People Tribe himself.
• Nalan Tu angrily warned that the snake people hated Nalan Ye and argued that an alliance with the Gamma Empire offered them no greater benefit than one with the Chuyun Empire.
• Nalan Ye argued that the Snake-People Tribe could attack the Chuyun Empire instead, since it too was an old enemy.
• Nalan Su said the plan had potential, but Nalan Tu objected that Nalan Ye was too young and had been appointed Heir Apparent by the Old Clan Leader.
• Nalan Su postponed the decision until he could report the plan to the Old Clan Leader and ordered Nalan Ye and Nalan Tu to keep it secret.
• After leaving the hall, Nalan Ye told his father that he had to bear the responsibility of protecting the family as its Heir Apparent.

Ye Ye said farewell to Xiao Yu, Xiao Meier, and Xiao Xun'er as they departed for Canaan Academy, then learned that Old Man had approved his plan. Nalan Su invited Ye Ye to present the plan to the emperor.

• Xiao Yu, Xiao Meier, and Xiao Xun'er told Ye Ye they were leaving for Canaan Academy, and Ye Ye wished them well.
• Ye Ye comforted Xiao Meier, promised to return safely from the war, and accepted the sachet she had prepared for him.
• Ye Ye told Xiao Xun'er he would urge Xiao Yan to reach Canaan Academy, while Xiao Yu received her golden armor.
• Ye Ye saw the three women off as they left for Great Ridge City, then returned to the residence.
• Nalan Su told Ye Ye that Old Man had approved his plan and asked him to present it to the emperor.

Nalan Ye presented his plan to Emperor Mo Lin and volunteered to carry it out in the Tagor Desert, prompting Mo Lin to seek Jia Xingtian’s approval. At Jia Xingtian’s secluded courtyard, Nalan Ye found the leaders of the empire’s remaining great powers gathered, along with Nalan Yanran.

• Nalan Su brought Nalan Ye before Mo Lin, and Nalan Ye explained his plan to the emperor and assembled ministers.
• Nalan Su presented Nalan Jie's letter of approval, and he urged Mo Lin to accept the plan because the empire risked nothing if it failed.
• Mo Lin worried that Nalan Ye would die in the Tagor Desert, but Nalan Ye declared he willingly accepted the mission, even if he never returned.
• Mo Lin led Nalan Su and the ministers to consult Jia Xingtian about the plan.
• Nalan Ye saw Jia Xingtian with Yun Leng, Tengshan Mitre, and Nalan Yanran in the courtyard.

Nalan Ye won approval from Jia Xingtian and the elders to begin his strategy, including transferring Chu Sha She to the Western Region, and proceeded to his crowning ceremony. At the Ancestral Temple, Nalan Su challenged him to explain how an ordinary youth had suddenly devised the plan for the Azure Lotus Core Flame.

• Mo Lin introduced Nalan Ye's strategy and presented Nalan Jie’s letter to Jia Xingtian, Yun Leng, and Teng Shan.
• Nalan Ye explained that Chu Sha She should be transferred from the Northern Region to the Western Region if the empire allied with the Snake-People Tribe.
• Jia Xingtian and the elders approved the strategy, ordered Chu Sha She’s transfer, and placed the Northern Region under Lion Heart Marshal’s command.
• Two days later, Nalan Ye arrived at the Nalan Residence’s Ancestral Temple for his crowning ceremony, with Nalan Su leading the rites.
• At the temple entrance, Nalan Su questioned how Nalan Ye had devised the plan for the Azure Lotus Core Flame despite having seemed entirely ordinary.

Nalan Ye explained his sudden change in temperament as the result of a vivid dream, then completed his three-stage coming-of-age coronation before gathered guests. The ceremony ended with Nalan Su declaring him an adult.

• Nalan Ye told Nalan Su that a dream of an advanced world had transformed his temperament, and Nalan Su accepted the explanation without further questioning.
• Nalan Ye entered the Ancestral Temple and completed the worship that began the formal coronation ceremony.
• The Mitre Family head served as Principal Guest and, with a Mu Family elder assisting, crowned Nalan Ye with the Zibu Crown, PiBian, and JueBian in succession.
• Nalan Ye displayed the garments for each crowning as the guests praised him and the ceremony concluded.
• Nalan Su appeared before Nalan Ye and told him that he was an adult from that day onward.

After taking command of a new army, the narrator left Gama City under Mo Wang’s care and secretly set out with Ling Ying for the Snake-People Tribe to form an alliance. They flew north into the night, leaving the convoy to continue without him.

• The narrator reflected on why he kept rushing from one duty to another and decided he could not stand by while the Snake-People Tribe and Chuyun Empire threatened the things he cherished.
• The Emperor appointed the narrator Commandant, and he departed Gama City with 697 people supplied by the Nalan Family, while Mo Wang served as his Sima.
• The narrator gave Mo Wang the Commandant’s tiger tally and ordered him to conceal the narrator’s absence and manage the convoy.
• After the convoy camped near a small town, the narrator slipped away and met Ling Ying, telling him they were going to the Snake-People Tribe to form an alliance.
• Ling Ying carried the narrator north through the night toward the Snake-People Tribe.

The Heavenly Snake Mansion’s patriarch Ping Yuan learned that a girl with the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils had appeared in the Gamma Empire and decided to bring her into the sect. With his death approaching and no successor to protect the mansion, he sent Qing Yue to retrieve the girl in secret.

• Long Xi confirmed that a girl with the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils lived in the Gamma Empire’s imperial capital and had controlled a fourth-tier Fire Spirit Snake.
• Ping Yuan told the Heavenly Snake Mansion’s Dou Zongs that he intended to recruit the girl because the mansion would be vulnerable after his death.
• Long Xi proposed using the Snake-People Tribe to destroy the Gamma Empire, but Ping Yuan rebuked him and ordered him to reflect at Ten Thousand Snake Valley for ten years.
• Ping Yuan ordered Qing Yue to secretly bring the girl with the Jade Eye Three Flower Pupils to the Heavenly Snake Mansion.

Nalan Ye traveled from Anbei City into the Tagor Desert and reached the Snake-People Holy City, where he sent Medusa to lure Yue Mei into a meeting. Ling Ying warned him against getting involved with the Snake-People Tribe, prompting Nalan Ye to wonder whether their ancient calamity was still ongoing.

• Nalan Jie saw Nalan Ye off from Anbei City and met Ling Ying, whom Nalan Ye introduced as his teacher.
• Nalan Ye and Ling Ying crossed the Tagor Desert and arrived near the Snake-People Holy City.
• Nalan Ye summoned Medusa and told her to return to the God Hall, find Yue Mei, and lure her out for a talk.
• Ling Ying questioned Nalan Ye about Medusa and warned him that the Snake-People Tribe could bring him trouble.
• Nalan Ye asked whether the calamity that had befallen the Snake-People Tribe a thousand years earlier had yet to end.

Cai Lin secretly visited the Snake-People Holy City and reunited with Yue Mei, explaining her remnant-soul condition and the powerful figure controlling her. She persuaded Yue Mei to pursue an alliance with the Chuyun Empire before betraying it to seize territory, then set out to meet Nalan Ye and warned that Saint Pupils had appeared in the Gamma Empire.

• Cai Lin slipped into the Snake-People Holy City and traveled to the God Hall, reflecting on the ordinary life she wanted to protect.
• Yue Mei sensed Cai Lin in her chamber, recognized her, and offered to return the crown and throne to her.
• Cai Lin explained her circumstances to Yue Mei, including her belief that Nalan Ye had once been an immensely powerful expert.
• Yue Mei proposed gathering the army to free Cai Lin, but Cai Lin warned that Nalan Ye was accompanied by a Dou Emperor and rejected a direct confrontation.
• Cai Lin outlined a plan to ally with the Chuyun Empire, then break the alliance and seize half its territory; Yue Mei agreed despite the damage to their reputation.
• Cai Lin went with Yue Mei to meet Nalan Ye and revealed that Saint Pupils had appeared in the Gamma Empire.

Nalan Ye asked Ling Ying about the Snake-People Tribe’s past, then met Cai Lin and Yue Mei to arrange a staged ambush at Fox Pass that would let him die and return to the tribe. Yue Mei agreed, and Cai Lin chose to remain at Nalan Ye’s side.

• Ling Ying told Nalan Ye that the Snake-People Tribe’s powerful enemy still endured, though internal divisions had allowed the tribe to survive.
• Cai Lin arrived with Yue Mei, whose appearance had changed to resemble Cai Lin’s.
• Yue Mei pledged obedience to Nalan Ye, who ordered her to send a thousand snake-people to provoke his forces at Fox Pass next month.
• Nalan Ye instructed Yue Mei to ambush and kill the two thousand men he would lead out of the city, including himself.
• Yue Mei offered to host Nalan Ye at the God Hall, but he declined and admired Tagor’s night sky instead.
• Cai Lin said she would remain with Nalan Ye and serve at his side.

Nalan Ye returned to his army and learned that Wulan City had withheld troops and supplies, apparently because Nalan Xu felt slighted that Nalan Ye had not visited him personally. After ordering a message and preparing to meet Nalan Xu, Nalan Ye relaxed with Ling Ying in camp.

• Nalan Ye and Ling Ying returned to the Gamma Empire and secretly entered the military camp, where Nalan Ye resumed his identity as the army's commandant.
• Nalan Fugui told Nalan Ye that Wulan City's Nalan Xu had refused to provide five hundred soldiers and the required supplies despite Sima Mo Wang's repeated visits.
• Nalan Ye considered several ways to punish Nalan Xu, then learned that Nalan Xu only wanted Nalan Ye to visit him personally.
• Nalan Ye ordered someone to tell Nalan Xu that he would enter the city shortly and asked for hot water to bathe.
• Nalan Ye joked with Ling Ying about finding young women to bathe him, and Ling Ying scolded him.

Ye led an army of over ten thousand toward Fox Pass, where he reunited with Xiao Ding and Xiao Li. After introducing them to Nalan Xu, Ye asked Xiao Ding to become his Short Blade Captain.

• Ye's army advanced through the northern frontier toward Fox Pass, with Nalan Xu serving as a captain under his command.
• Ye assigned Nalan Xu to handle the military inspection and entry procedures at Fox Pass.
• At Fox Pass, Ye reunited with Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, who had come to see him before Xiao Li left to take up his appointment as Suspended Spring City Lord.
• Ye introduced Nalan Xu to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, and Nalan Xu challenged Xiao Ding over being chosen as Ye's Short Blade Captain.
• Ye awkwardly asked Xiao Ding whether he would become his Short Blade Captain.

Nalan Xu settled into command at Fox Pass amid tension with the frontier officers, then watched Xiao Li depart for Suspended Spring City. He learned that Xue Lan now led the Desert Iron Mercenary Group and assigned Luo Bu the post of banner holder instead of a place among his guards.

• Nalan Xu hosted a strained banquet with the Fox Pass officers, who resented taking orders from a local army and the young heir.
• Xiao Li said farewell to Xiao Ding and left for Suspended Spring City with mercenaries from the Desert Iron Mercenary Group.
• Xiao Ding told Nalan Xu that the Desert Iron Mercenary Group still existed under Xue Lan, while its members had split between Fox Pass, the southern City Defense Army, and mercenary work.
• Luo Bu told Nalan Xu that he had brought 180 former Sand Mercenary Group members to Fox Pass and asked for an official post.
• Nalan Xu rejected Luo Bu's request to become a Short Blade Five Hundred Captain and made him responsible for carrying the great banner.

The narrator led a force out from Fox Pass to confront a snake people army, overruling Lin Yi’s warnings that the apparent attack might be a trap. The two armies advanced toward battle, which the narrator described as fated for defeat and destruction since Gama City.

• When the snake people attacked Fox Pass, the narrator went to the northern wall despite Lin Yi’s warning to stay in the Commandery Office.
• After seeing just over a thousand snake people, the narrator ordered two thousand troops to leave the city, but Lin Yi warned the force might be bait.
• The narrator invoked his victory over the Medusa Queen and insisted on personally commanding the battle, threatening to execute Lin Yi if he resisted.
• The narrator ordered Nalan Fugui and Mo Wang to remain in the city, while Lin Yi joined the force and Nalan Xu was denied permission to fight.
• Lin Yi opened the North City Gate, and the narrator led over two thousand soldiers out in formation as the snake people prepared to meet them.

Lin Yi tried to stop Nalan Ye from pursuing the retreating Snake-People, but an enemy force pinned down Fox Pass and prevented reinforcements from reaching him. The Snake-People returned with Nalan's banner, and Fox Pass prepared for battle as Nalan Ye's death left Lin Yi unable to retaliate.

• Lin Yi ordered Mo Wang to recall Nalan Ye, but the pursuing army continued north beyond the horizon.
• Lin Yi assembled the Fox Pass defenders as a second Snake-People force appeared northeast of the pass and blocked the route to Nalan Ye.
• Lin Yi sent more than a hundred light cavalrymen to scout, but Snake-People warriors killed all 101 riders without letting them reach the enemy army's rear.
• Nalan Xu demanded that Lin Yi send troops to rescue Nalan Ye, but Lin Yi refused because the Snake-People force threatened Fox Pass.
• Several Snake-People returned carrying Nalan's battle banner, and Nalan Xu wept as he concluded that Nalan Ye was dead.
• Lin Yi ordered the drums beaten and prepared Fox Pass for battle, but the Snake-People withdrew into Tagor.