Chapter Summaries

Over the year, Xia Mo advanced in cultivation and alchemy while training with Xiao Yan and recording the lively events around Wutan City. He published a collection of local anecdotes, then worried about what might happen if his targets discovered his stories.

• Xia Mo reached six-star Dou Shi and peak second-grade alchemist, while Xiao Yan advanced to the eighth stage of Dou Qi and Xiao Yi Xian became a Dou Zhe.
• Old Yao taught Xiao Yan Eight Level Collapse and trained him by whipping him, while Xia Mo practiced close-combat techniques and combined them with Ancient Dragon Fist.
• At an auction, Xia Mo saw Ya Fei, watched the three great families compete for a cultivation method, and arranged for Xiao Yan to sell inferior Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to Xiao Zhan, who bought it with Xiao Xun'er's money.
• Xia Mo repeatedly beat Jia Lie Ao in secret, then published a story about his disappearance; later, he also publicized Liu Xi's misconduct after the Jia Lie Family hired the alchemist.
• Xia Mo compiled and selectively published Anecdotes, Volume One, Secrets of Wutan City, then worried that people might discover what he had written.

Xia Mo and his friends shared a fish feast before Xiao Yan regained his standing at the Xiao Family assessment by reaching the eighth stage of Dou Qi. At the coming-of-age ceremony a month later, Xiao Yan defeated Xiao Ning again, while Xia Mo joked about sparring with him.

• Xia Mo went fishing with Xiao Lan and prepared a fish feast with Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Xun'er on the eve of the assessment.
• Xiao Xun'er revealed she had reached one-star Dou Zhe, and Xiao Yan shocked the Xiao family by testing at the eighth stage of Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan knocked down a challenger sent by Xiao Ning with a single move.
• At the coming-of-age ceremony a month later, Xiao Yu chased Xiao Yan with a sword after he teased her, and Xia Mo recorded the scene in Anecdotes.
• Xiao Yan defeated the Qi-Increasing Powder-enhanced Xiao Ning and then joked with Xia Mo, who offered to spar while giving up one hand and one leg.

Old Yao explained Heavenly Flames and their ranking to Xia Mo and Xiao Yan before beginning preparations to refine a Qi Gathering Powder for Xiao Yan. He told them to seek Flame Receptacles for the future, then turned to the refining process.

• Xiao Yan borrowed money from Xia Mo for the ingredients needed to make a Qi Gathering Powder and agreed to repay the loan with one pill.
• Xia Mo spent the day with Xiao Yi Xian, reassured her that they would leave for Jia Nan Academy to grow stronger, and promised she could make friends there.
• Xiao Yan returned from the auction house and told Xia Mo to come to his room that night to watch Old Yao refine medicine.
• Old Yao summoned his Bone Spirit Cold Flame and explained Heavenly Flames, their dangers, and the Heavenly Flame Ranking to Xia Mo and Xiao Yan.
• Old Yao told Xia Mo and Xiao Yan to look for Flame Receptacles before they traveled alone, then prepared to begin refining the Qi Gathering Powder.

After helping Xiao Yan advance to Dou Zhe and choose the Flame Mantra, Xia Mo ambushed a Jia Lie Family herb convoy and defeated Jia Lie Nu. After breaking through to Seven-Star Dou Shi, Xia Mo agreed to leave for Jia Nan Academy ahead of Xiao Yan, while Old Yao promised to refine a pill to help him reach Da Dou Shi.

• Old Yao refined Qi Gathering Powder for Xiao Yan, who advanced to Dou Zhe and chose the Flame Mantra over a fixed Earth-tier technique.
• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan helped the Xiao Clan suppress the Jia Lie Family, then ambushed its herb convoy when it traveled to buy medicinal herbs on credit.
• Xia Mo killed Jia Lie Nu with Eight Level Collapse and Ancient Dragon Fist, while Old Yao burned the guards and stored the valuable herbs.
• Xia Mo returned to the Xiao Clan, broke through to Seven-Star Dou Shi, and celebrated with Xiao Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xun Er.
• Old Yao told Xia Mo to go to Jia Nan Academy ahead of Xiao Yan and gather herbs for a Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill to help him reach Da Dou Shi.

Xiao Yi Xian’s Poison Body of Calamity awakened, and Xia Mo sought a way to control it. Old Yao revealed the Pill of Poison Method and gave Xia Mo its instructions, leaving him with a difficult search for the required materials.

• Xiao Yi Xian released poisonous gray gas and told Xia Mo that similar gas had preceded her parents’ deaths.
• Xia Mo read about the Poison Body of Calamity and promised Xiao Yi Xian he would help her find a cure as she fell unconscious.
• Xiao Lan guarded the sleeping Xiao Yi Xian through the night, and she awoke to find Xia Mo watching over her.
• Xia Mo asked Old Yao about controlling the Poison Body of Calamity, and Old Yao described its dangers and the Pill of Poison Method.
• Old Yao gave Xia Mo a scroll explaining the method, which required a seventh-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Demonic Core, Bodhi Body Transformation Saliva, and powerful Heavenly Flame energy.
• Xia Mo returned to Xiao Yi Xian, who had waited up for him, and resolved to gather strength and the method’s materials.

Xia Mo obtained herbs from Ya Fei and used them to refine a Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill. After absorbing its energy, he broke through to Da Dou Shi and emerged in Purple Gold Armor, leaving Xiao Yan impressed and startled.

• Xia Mo asked Ya Fei to gather the medicinal herbs for his Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill, and she said they would take three days to arrive.
• Old Yao refined the herbs into a Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill, and Xia Mo began preparing to absorb it.
• Xia Mo consumed the pill and used the Dragon Phoenix Flame to refine its energy, strengthen his meridians, and feed his Monster Core.
• Xiao Yan came to summon Xia Mo, learned from Old Yao that he was breaking through to Da Dou Shi, and waited outside while cultivating.
• Xia Mo broke through to Da Dou Shi and formed Purple Gold Armor before emerging to show Xiao Yan his power with a punch.
• Xia Mo asked Xiao Yi Xian to prepare braised fish, and Xiao Yan asked for sweet and sour ribs as the group gathered for dinner.

As Jia Nan Academy’s admissions team approached Wutan City, Xiao Yan prepared to leave the Xiao Clan while Xia Mo and Xiao Yi Xian looked ahead to attending the academy. Xiao Yan departed with a Flying Dou Technique from Xia Mo, and Xia Mo gave Xiao Yi Xian the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture as they promised to face her Poison Body of Calamity together.

• As the admissions team drew near, Xiao Yan and Xia Mo filled the Xiao Clan’s storehouses with healing medicine, and their training helped Xia Mo stabilize his Da Dou Shi strength and Xiao Yan reach Five-Star Dou Zhe.
• The night before the team arrived, Xiao Yan told Xia Mo to look after Xiao Xun'er at the academy, and Xia Mo gave him a Flying Dou Technique for his travels.
• Xiao Yan accepted the technique and promised to visit Xiao Xun'er at the academy in a year before leaving to gain experience.
• Back in the courtyard, Xia Mo gave Xiao Yi Xian the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture and urged her to avoid using poison to cultivate until they found a solution.
• Xiao Yi Xian worried that people at the academy would reject her for being a Poison Master, and Xia Mo reassured her that he would protect her.

Xia Mo, Xiao Yan, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Xun'er joined Xiao Yu to bypass the huge crowd at Jia Nan Academy's recruitment assessment. They entered the guarded testing area and met Xue Ni, who agreed to help Xiao Yu take them for testing.

• Xia Mo and Xiao Yan trained in the back mountain before finding Wutan City's recruitment square packed with applicants.
• Xiao Yu invited Xia Xun'er and her companions to follow her through the military cordon because her instructor was recruiting in Wutan City.
• The commander let Xiao Yu's group pass and remarked that Instructor Ruo Lin might gain several good students, especially noting Xia Mo.
• Xiao Yu introduced the group to Xue Ni, who teased Xiao Yan and agreed to help take them for their tests.
• Xia Mo noticed Xiao Yi Xian envying Xiao Yu and Xue Ni's friendship and took her hand as they followed the others into the tent.

Xia Mo watched Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan provoke Luo Bu during Jia Nan Academy’s preliminary tests, then intervened when Luo Bu threatened Xiao Yan. After Xiao Yan defeated an older student, Xia Mo beat Luo Bu and left him beneath the sun.

• Xue Ni told Xiao Yu that Luo Bu had reached four-star Dou Zhe as the group headed to the tents.
• Xiao Yu introduced the Xiao Clan group to academy students, then pretended to act affectionately with Xiao Yan in front of Luo Bu.
• Luo Bu tested the newcomers and demanded that one of them wait outside, prompting Xiao Yu to argue with him.
• Xiao Yan defeated Luo Bu’s lackey in one move, impressing the crowd and drawing attention from the girls.
• Luo Bu threatened Xiao Yan, so Xia Mo covered him with a sack, beat him, and threw him outside beneath the sun.

Instructor Ruo Lin recorded the new students’ ages and cultivation ranks, discovering several extraordinary talents from Wutan City. After Xiao Yan won permission to leave registration, Old Yao passed Xia Mo an alchemy inheritance and told him to keep studying at Jia Nan Academy.

• Instructor Ruo Lin arrived at the recruitment tent, treated the injured older students, and explained the academy’s potential rankings before beginning registration.
• Xiao Yan reported that he was a Five-Star Dou Master and claimed S-rank potential, surprising the gathered students and Instructor Ruo Lin.
• Xiao Xun'er revealed that Xiao Yan had regained his strength in only a little over a year, then reported herself as a Seven-Star Dou Master.
• Xiao Yi Xian also reported as a Seven-Star Dou Master, and Xia Mo said his potential was the same as theirs, leaving Ruo Lin astonished.
• Ruo Lin ended registration and announced that the academy’s flying carriage convoy would arrive in Wutan City in three days; Xiao Yan then negotiated leave and won a twenty-move wager with Old Yao’s help.
• Old Yao told Xia Mo to meet him that night and passed him the alchemy inheritance below the sixth tier, instructing him to continue practicing at the academy.

Xia Mo and the new students traveled with Instructor Ruo Lin toward Jia Nan Academy, learning about the academy and witnessing the dangers of the Black Corner Region. They arrived in Peace Town, where Ruo Lin told them to rest before a trial the next day.

• Xia Mo left without saying goodbye, while Xia Mo and Xiao Yi Xian left Xiao Lan behind in the Monster Mountain Range because it was too weak to travel safely.
• Instructor Ruo Lin led the Wutan City recruits by flying beast to the Imperial Capital, where the recruitment teams gathered before continuing toward Jia Nan Academy.
• Instructor Ruo Lin explained the Outer and Inner Academies, their classes, facilities, and ways to earn access to higher-tier cultivation methods and Dou Techniques.
• Xia Mo and the other students crossed the Black Corner Region, where Ruo Lin warned them not to show weakness or excessive compassion.
• The recruitment convoy landed near Jia Nan Academy, and the students entered Peace Town, where they saw the Death Spirit Tree bearing the corpses of a Dou Emperor and two Dou Wangs.
• Instructor Ruo Lin told the new students to rest because another trial awaited them the next day.

Xia Mo led the new students through the forest trial toward Jia Nan Academy, letting Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Xun'er, and the others handle the beasts they encountered. After the group survived a nighttime ambush by black-clothed attackers with help from the instructors, they abandoned the trial and continued to the Outer Academy under escort.

• Hu Gan warned the new students about the dangers of crossing the forest and sent them toward Jia Nan Academy with maps.
• Xia Mo chose the shortest route and told Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Xun'er to lead the fighting while he held back unless danger arose.
• Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Xun'er defeated the Silver Wolf pack's strongest members, and the group continued through the forest, growing more coordinated as they fought lesser beasts.
• Xia Mo awoke to black-clothed attackers approaching the camp and rallied the new students to resist until the instructors and guards arrived.
• Instructor Ruo Lin and the other instructors killed the attackers, and the students left for the Outer Academy under escort.

Xia Mo, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Xun'er arrived at Jia Nan Academy, chose their class and collected cultivation resources before settling into a dormitory with Hu Jia. The chapter ended with the four sharing dinner and beginning to get acquainted.

• Xia Mo and the others entered Jia Nan Academy, joined Instructor Ruo Lin's Yellow-tier Class Two, and received permission to select one Profound-tier cultivation method or Dou Skill.
• Xia Mo and Xiao Yi Xian obtained the Hundred Poisons Art for her, while Xia Mo chose Poison Palm for her and Xiao Xun'er selected a Dou Skill of her own.
• Instructor Ruo Lin assigned the trio a small building shared with Hu Jia, whom they met after choosing their rooms.
• Xia Mo, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Xun'er bought bedding and vegetables, then returned to cook dinner with Hu Jia.
• Hu Jia introduced herself as an Eight-Star Dou Master, and the four began chatting together over Xiao Yi Xian's meal.

After sleeping through the opening ceremony, Xia Mo asked to join Jia Nan Academy’s Alchemy Department and proved his talent by passing the First-grade Alchemist examination. He earned an academy-recognized badge, then exchanged for medicinal herbs and returned to his dormitory.

• Xia Mo endured the opening ceremony, fell asleep in class, and asked Instructor Ruo Lin how to join the Alchemy Department.
• Instructor Ruo Lin brought Xia Mo to the department, where Instructor Li Ming tested him and confirmed his alchemist talent.
• Xia Mo revealed that he was already a Dou Zhe and chose to take the First-grade Alchemist examination.
• Xia Mo refined a Rejuvenation Pill with a Pill Pattern, and Instructor Li Ming learned that Xia Mo already had a teacher.
• Instructor Li Ming awarded Xia Mo an Alchemist Badge after he passed the examination, and news of the young prodigy spread through Jia Nan Academy.
• Xia Mo ignored the attention, exchanged for medicinal herbs, and returned to his dormitory.

Xia Mo passed the academy’s Third-grade Alchemist assessment by refining an Explosive Fire Pill, despite Elder Huo secretly giving him a harder formula than the other candidates. He chose a heavenly treasure as his reward and found a Flame Receptacle in the academy warehouse.

• Xia Mo and three other students began the Third-grade Alchemist assessment, and the elders assigned them pill formulas.
• Xia Mo meditated over the difficult Explosive Fire Pill formula while Elder Huo revealed that he had switched Xia Mo’s formula to raise the challenge.
• Xia Mo refined the Explosive Fire Pill’s ingredients and carefully fused their volatile energies into a finished pill.
• Xia Mo and Liu Xing passed the assessment and received Third-grade Alchemist badges; Liu Xing chose an alchemical formula, while Xia Mo chose a chance to select a heavenly treasure.
• Xia Mo used his voucher to search the materials warehouse and found a Flame Receptacle inside a gray Spirit Stone.

After spending a month away from class, Xia Mo joined Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Xun'er, and Hu Jia for a leisurely day at Jia Nan Academy. He slept through class, then agreed to refine pills for Instructor Ruo Lin in exchange for her providing the ingredients.

• Xia Mo ate breakfast with Xiao Yi Xian, Xiao Xun'er, and Hu Jia, then decided to attend class with them.
• On the way to Yellow Class Two, Hu Jia scared off a student who called her a tomboy, while other students admired Xia Mo's appearance.
• Xia Mo entered class, attracted his classmates' attention, and slept through Instructor Ruo Lin's lesson.
• After class, Instructor Ruo Lin confirmed that Xia Mo was a Third-grade Alchemist and asked whether he would accept requests to refine pills.
• Xia Mo agreed to mainly refine third-grade pills, to accept second-grade pills for a high reward, and to refine pills for Ruo Lin for free if she supplied three sets of ingredients.

Xia Mo decided to join Jia Nan Academy's Enforcement Team so he could temper his strength through dangerous battles and earn contribution points. After refining Wu Hao's pills, he registered with the team and received his badge.

• Xia Mo met Wu Hao, a nine-star Dou Zhe known as Blood Sword, and asked him to take him to join the Enforcement Team.
• Wu Hao gave Xia Mo herbs and payment to refine Bone-Growing Pills and Body-Restoring Pills, then returned three days later to collect them.
• Xia Mo followed Wu Hao to the Enforcement Team's registration hall and told Sister Li he wanted to join.
• Sister Li registered Xia Mo as a member of the Enforcement Team and gave him a badge, saying a uniform in his size would be made later.

Xia Mo joined the Enforcement Team and began his first patrol in Peace Town alongside Wu Hao and Mu Yang. Their three-day assignment started calmly, but Xia Mo and Wu Hao were eager to confront anyone who caused trouble.

• Xia Mo accepted a patrol assignment from Sister Li, and Wu Hao took the final available spot.
• Xia Mo told Xiao Yi Xian and the others about his mission, reassured them, and reported to the Enforcement Team after lunch.
• Sun Hao assigned Xia Mo, Wu Hao, and Mu Yang to patrol Fourth Street in Peace Town for three days.
• Xia Mo and his teammates patrolled the crowded streets, where the Enforcement Team's presence kept most people wary and restrained.
• Mu Yang cautioned Xia Mo and Wu Hao not to lower their guard, while Xia Mo and Wu Hao expressed their readiness to kill anyone who caused trouble.

Xia Mo, Mu Yang, and Wu Hao stopped for lunch while patrolling Fourth Street, but a violent disturbance at the restaurant brought them face-to-face with Scarface. Xia Mo defeated and killed Scarface, leaving the Enforcement Team to deal with the aftermath.

• Mu Yang led Xia Mo and Wu Hao to a popular restaurant for lunch during their patrol.
• The restaurant owner confronted Scarface after he tried to take the waitress Xiao Cui as his concubine, and Scarface attacked the staff, killing a waiter and leaving the owner gravely injured.
• A waiter summoned the Enforcement Team, and Xia Mo, Mu Yang, and Wu Hao entered the room to find Scarface and the crying Xiao Cui.
• Wu Hao confirmed that the owner could still be saved but the waiter was dead, while Scarface mocked the young Enforcement Team members.
• Xia Mo fought Scarface, knocked him through a window, and killed him by throwing Scarface's broadsword into his back.

Xia Mo and the Enforcement Team dealt with Scarface’s gang, then continued patrolling Peace Town. Sun Hao was ambushed by two Da Dou Shi, and after losing two teammates, he pursued them as Xia Mo, Wu Hao, and Mu Yang rushed toward the distress signal.

• Xia Mo helped Wu Hao and the others defeat Scarface’s remaining men, then took Scarface’s Storage Ring.
• Mu Yang called in the Enforcement Team, and Sun Hao recorded the incident before the patrol teams resumed their routes.
• Sun Hao and three Enforcement Team members encountered a gorilla-like Da Dou Shi and a poison-wielding Da Dou Shi, who attacked them and killed two team members.
• Sun Hao fought off the two attackers long enough for his teammates to send a distress signal, then pursued the fleeing men after they withdrew toward Peace Town’s outskirts.
• Xia Mo, Wu Hao, and Mu Yang saw the distress signal, and Mu Yang led them toward its source.