Chapter Summaries

Jiang Lin reached Dou Qi Stage One and pursued weapon refining instead of alchemy, believing it could protect people in a dangerous world. He began a new forging experiment at Myriad Medicine Hall, aiming to create a Yellow-grade low-tier weapon.

• Jiang Lin celebrated reaching Dou Qi Stage One, while Xiao Yi Xian teased him for being excited about such modest progress.
• Mr. Yao recalled finding Jiang Lin in the valley after his mother had left and bringing him to Myriad Medicine Hall for safety and training.
• Jiang Lin told Mr. Yao he had studied his mother's alchemy books and asked him to burn them so he could break with the past.
• Jiang Lin explained that alchemy could not protect his mother from those who preyed on the weak, and declared that weapon refining could save the world.
• Xiao Yi Xian went downstairs to treat patients as Jiang Lin entered his forging room and began working on a Yellow-grade low-tier weapon.

Jiang Lin forged a Water Pattern Gold Dagger, using his materials-science knowledge and Fire-Gold Dou Qi to create a battle weapon. He demonstrated its sharpness to Xiao Yi Xian after she found him working in his forging room.

• Jiang Lin smelted Azure Gold Ore and pondered how artifact forging could help him grow stronger without attracting attention.
• He repeatedly folded and hammered the metal, shaping it into a dagger and polishing its cyan-blue blade with flowing golden patterns.
• Xiao Yi Xian entered the forging room to call Jiang Lin to dinner and found him bare-chested beside the furnace.
• Jiang Lin named the finished weapon a Yellow-grade low-tier Water Pattern Gold Dagger and used it to cut an arm-thick wooden stick in two.

Jiang Lin showed Xiao Yi Xian a dagger he had forged with a gold-element Magic Core, then presented it to Mr. Yao, who confirmed it was a Yellow-grade low-tier Dou Qi Weapon. Mr. Yao explained Artifact Forgers’ status and the dagger’s value before asking Jiang Lin what he wanted to do with it.

• Jiang Lin demonstrated the Water Pattern Gold Dagger’s sharpness to Xiao Yi Xian, who huffed and walked away when he teased her with it.
• Jiang Lin joined Xiao Yi Xian and Mr. Yao for lunch and showed Mr. Yao the dagger he had forged.
• Mr. Yao examined the dagger and praised Jiang Lin for learning Artifact Forging without a teacher.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Mr. Yao that she had treated seventeen patients, and he praised her work too.
• Mr. Yao explained how Dou Qi Weapons were ranked and said the dagger could sell for around five thousand Gold Coins, then asked Jiang Lin what he wanted to do with it.

Jiang Lin and Mr. Yao discussed the value and sale of Jiang Lin’s Water Pattern Gold Dagger, deciding to sell weapons mainly in Wutan City while keeping a small Weapon Refining Pavilion in Qingshan Town. After lunch and an exhausting morning of forging, Jiang Lin took a nap, while Mr. Yao reflected on his fate; Jiang Lin later woke at night to a bun thrown onto his face.

• Mr. Yao valued Jiang Lin’s Water Pattern Gold Dagger at five thousand Gold Coins and estimated Jiang Lin’s material costs at just over a thousand.
• Mr. Yao proposed selling Jiang Lin’s weapons through his Mercenary Group connections, and Jiang Lin warned that people in Qingshan Town already knew he liked blacksmithing.
• Mr. Yao suggested selling stockpiled weapons to the Mittel Family’s auction house in Wutan City while establishing a small Weapon Refining Pavilion in Qingshan Town.
• Jiang Lin agreed to Mr. Yao’s plan, and lunch ended with Xiao Yi Xian rolling her eyes at Jiang Lin’s teasing praise.
• Jiang Lin returned to his room for an afternoon nap, while Mr. Yao stared at the dagger and sighed that everyone had their own fate.
• Jiang Lin woke at night when someone smacked a bun onto his face and asked whether he wanted to eat.

Jiang Lin practiced the Forging Fire Art and reached Dou Qi Stage Two after half a year of cultivation. He then considered whether Dou Technique release could be mechanized, setting his sights on researching Dou Qi technology.

• Xiao Yi Xian brought Jiang Lin buns after he had slept through the afternoon, and he ate before beginning cultivation.
• Jiang Lin circulated the Forging Fire Art, tempering his body and meridians with fire-element Dou Qi.
• His mother’s jade ring glowed as he cultivated, and he felt a chill before breaking through to Dou Qi Stage Two.
• Jiang Lin recalled that he had reached Dou Qi Stage One months earlier and had tested ores for their ability to conduct Dou Qi.
• He reasoned that Magic Cores could power Dou Qi weapons and began considering how to mechanize Dou Technique release.

After Jiang Lin gained Dou Qi, Mr. Yao gave him three techniques suited to his fighting style, and Jiang Lin began testing them in his courtyard. His first attempt at Explosive Step backfired when an iron sheet under his shoe heated up and left his foot numb.

• Mr. Yao visited Jiang Lin and gave him the Explosive Step, Flame Fist, and Diamond Fall manuals.
• Jiang Lin recognized that the three techniques complemented his Forging Fire Art and suited his weapon-refining and body-cultivation strengths.
• Jiang Lin suspected Mr. Yao had obtained the manuals from mercenary groups and resolved to repay him with a surprise.
• Jiang Lin tried to cultivate Explosive Step and placed an iron sheet beneath his shoe to test the blast.
• The technique produced a dull boom, toppled Jiang Lin, and burned and numbed his foot.

Jiang Lin trained Explosive Step until his body was battered, then used a medicinal bath prepared by Xiao Yi Xian to recover and reflected on his progress in Dou Techniques. Meanwhile, Mr. Yao read a report about a powerful weapon and considered the danger of letting Dou Qi weapons spread in Qingshan Town.

• Jiang Lin’s iron-plated shoes blocked his Dou Qi during Explosive Step practice, scorching and numbing his feet.
• Jiang Lin continued practicing Explosive Step in Myriad Medicine Pavilion’s rear courtyard until late at night.
• Xiao Yi Xian prepared a medicinal bath for Jiang Lin at Mr. Yao’s request, teased him, and punched him before leaving.
• Jiang Lin soaked in the medicinal bath, circulated the Forging Fire Art, and estimated that he could master Explosive Step within half a month.
• Mr. Yao read that a Yellow-grade low-tier Water Pattern Gold Dagger could pierce an Earth Armor Pig’s defenses and worried that Dou Qi weapons could not be spread carelessly in Qingshan Town.

Jiang Lin spent a month cultivating and mastered the combination of Flame Fist and Explosive Step, while his physical strength grew despite little increase in Dou Qi. After Mr. Yao supplied rare ores and a Magic Core, Jiang Lin began forging again and wondered how metal patterns might relate to the circulation of Dou Techniques.

• Jiang Lin trained for a month, using medicinal baths and the Forging Fire Art to build his strength.
• Jiang Lin combined Flame Fist and Explosive Step to shatter a training post, impressing Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian.
• Mr. Yao praised Jiang Lin's aptitude and gave him the ores and Fire Swallowing Sparrow Magic Core he had requested.
• Mr. Yao asked Jiang Lin to forge weapons for sale in Wutan City and Qingshan Town to help recover the pavilion's costs and avoid suspicion.
• Jiang Lin began processing the ores and considered how an Artifact Forger's metal patterns might connect to the circulation of Dou Techniques.

Jiang Lin spent two months experimenting with metals and Dou Qi patterns while forging, reaching the Third Stage of Dou Qi and realizing that material properties depended on three-dimensional structures. Xiao Yi Xian burst into his smoke-filled forging room and found him behaving wildly as he celebrated his discovery.

• Jiang Lin used his exceptional soul perception to study how metals responded to forging and searched for patterns in the flow of Dou Qi.
• Jiang Lin spent two months testing materials and recording their properties while forging, and his Dou Qi advanced to the Third Stage.
• Jiang Lin drew a paper figure, marked its acupoints, and twisted its limbs as he investigated the relationship between meridians and materials.
• Xiao Yi Xian kicked open the forging-room door and mistook Jiang Lin's strange, smoke-shrouded experiment for something sinister.
• Jiang Lin realized that material structures were three-dimensional and excitedly announced his discovery, while Xiao Yi Xian grew furious at his ghostly shouting.

Jiang Lin and Xiao Yi Xian argued after she mistook his forge-room outburst for demonic possession and attacked him with needles. After they made up, Jiang Lin returned to the forge and resumed hammering the Purple Flame Stone.

• Jiang Lin tackled Xiao Yi Xian to the ground while shielding her head, then quickly got up and aired out the forge room.
• Xiao Yi Xian removed the needles from Jiang Lin's face as they argued over why she had attacked him.
• Jiang Lin tried to appease Xiao Yi Xian with a joking promise to serve her and later give her a beautiful Dou Artifact.
• Xiao Yi Xian left the forge room after noticing the dust on her dress, and Jiang Lin returned to the Purple Flame Stone and threw it into the furnace.

Jiang Lin applied his ideas about molecular structures to Dou Techniques and tested the Explosive Step pattern with a Magic Core, causing a major blast in Myriad Medicine Zhai’s rear courtyard. He escaped unharmed, but the experiment’s success and danger left Mr. Yao concerned about what Jiang Lin might try next.

• Jiang Lin spent a week studying Dou Technique patterns and experimenting with the Explosive Step pattern in the forging room.
• A blast shook Myriad Medicine Zhai, and Mu Li mocked Jiang Lin while Xiao Yi Xian defended the pharmacy and its people.
• Uncle Fu told Xiao Yi Xian that Jiang Lin was unharmed, and Mu Li left after warning her to watch over him.
• Mr. Yao found the courtyard wrecked and discovered that Jiang Lin had caused the explosion by placing a first-tier fire-attributed Magic Core in a casing.
• Jiang Lin explained that he had tried to make a dummy use Explosive Step but lost control of the Magic Core’s Dou Qi, lamenting his singed eyebrows.

Jiang Lin tested his Dou Technique model with a Magic Core, causing a dangerous Dou Qi short circuit and explosion that burned off his eyebrows. After reassuring Mr. Yao and studying the wreckage, he returned to the forging room ready to turn his theory into results.

• Jiang Lin's dummy model successfully simulated Explosive Step, but powering it with a Magic Core caused a Dou Qi short circuit and backflow that exploded the core.
• Mr. Yao warned Jiang Lin to put safety first, and Jiang Lin assured him that he would not take such reckless risks again.
• Jiang Lin cleaned up the debris and recorded how the explosion had changed the materials.
• Jiang Lin drew temporary eyebrows on his face with a charred dummy finger, then washed them off and returned to work.
• Jiang Lin entered the forging room with first-tier, second-tier, and some third-tier materials, ready to begin forging.

Jiang Lin completed the Thunderfire Feather, a prototype Magic Core firearm, and tested its ability to pierce wood with a steel needle. He decided it could serve as a self-defense weapon for Xiao Yi Xian, but concluded that his greater goal was forging artifacts that carried the Dao rather than developing firearms.

• Jiang Lin used Flowing Sound Graphite, Silver-patterned Fire Rhinoceros Horn powder, and Fire Swallowing Sparrow Magic Core fragments to create a fast-conducting liquid metal.
• Jiang Lin assembled the Detonation Core, fitted it into the Thunderfire Feather, and finished the weapon with a removable fire-element Magic Core and replaceable Qi Breaking Needles.
• Jiang Lin fired the Thunderfire Feather into a log, piercing it and driving its steel needle into the wall.
• Jiang Lin considered making more powerful firearms, then rejected the idea because they would threaten low-level fighters but have little effect on high-level experts.
• Jiang Lin resolved to focus on Magic Core Flow and artifacts that could carry the Dao rather than relying on conventional firearm damage.

Jiang Lin finished forging a massive heavy sword and presented Xiao Yi Xian with a self-defense weapon he had spent two months making. He demonstrated the sword’s explosive power, revealing it as a yellow-grade high-tier battle weapon.

• Jiang Lin set aside the Thunderfire Feather and spent nearly two months forging a larger Dou Artifact from refined materials.
• Xiao Yi Xian complained to Mr. Yao that Jiang Lin had barely rested or spoken with her while forging.
• Jiang Lin finished the sword, then gave Xiao Yi Xian a wooden box containing a self-defense weapon made for her.
• Jiang Lin teased Xiao Yi Xian about his shirtlessness and the time he spent on her weapon before she stomped at his foot and he dodged.
• Jiang Lin swung the bandage-wrapped heavy sword three times, unveiling the yellow-grade high-tier Three-Core Flame Burst Armor-Slaying Sword.

Jiang Lin revealed the Flame Burst Armor-Slaying Sword, a mechanical Dou Artifact capable of three explosive attacks, and demonstrated its armor-shattering mechanism to Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian. Mr. Yao urged him to keep the weapon secret, while Jiang Lin planned to forge more artifacts and noticed that his cultivation was progressing quickly.

• Jiang Lin revealed the Flame Burst Armor-Slaying Sword and explained how its three Magic Cores powered different attack effects.
• Mr. Yao and Xiao Yi Xian reacted with astonishment, and Xiao Yi Xian questioned the cost of the Magic Cores Jiang Lin had used.
• Jiang Lin installed another Magic Core and demonstrated Armor Shatter by splitting a hard chunk of ore with the sword.
• Mr. Yao praised the weapon's combat potential and warned Jiang Lin not to reveal it yet.
• Jiang Lin said he could now forge Yellow-grade low-tier Dou Artifacts for resources and realized he was nearing the fourth stage of Dou Qi.

A year after forging his first Dao-Proving artifact, Jiang Lin ran a thriving weapon shop beside Myriad Medicine Zhai while continuing to cultivate in secret. Mu Li’s harassment of Xiao Yi Xian resurfaced at the shop, and Jiang Lin and Xiao Yi Xian discussed his motives before revealing that they would soon travel to Wutan City.

• A year after Jiang Lin forged the Flame Burst Armor-Slaying Sword, he opened a weapon shop beside Myriad Medicine Zhai that became known for its stylish equipment and a Qilin emblem people called a tsundere puppy.
• Mu Li confronted Jiang Lin and Xiao Yi Xian at the shop, but several stronger mercenaries chased him away after he harassed Xiao Yi Xian.
• Jiang Lin complained that Xiao Yi Xian had turned his Young Qilin emblem into a tsundere puppy mark, and she teased him for refusing to accept what everyone else saw.
• Xiao Yi Xian explained that Mu Li had become openly hostile because Jiang Lin’s arrival made him jealous, and offered to teach Mu Li a lesson.
• Jiang Lin declined, noting that he was secretly at the sixth stage of Dou Qi and did not want to reveal his strength; he planned to forge a full set of Dou Qi equipment after reaching the Dou Zhe realm.
• Jiang Lin told Xiao Yi Xian that they would leave for Wutan City the day after tomorrow to purchase supplies.

Mr. Yao and Jiang Lin arrived in Wutan City after traveling with the Lionheart Mercenary Group, then heard rumors about Xiao Yan’s breakthrough to Dou Zhe at age eleven. Mr. Yao decided to visit the Xiao Family with Jiang Lin the next morning to make connections, while Jiang Lin wondered whether Xiao Yan would be the arrogant sort.

• Mr. Yao thanked Lin Shi for escorting his carriage to Wutan City, and Lin Shi left after seeing them to an inn.
• Mr. Yao took Jiang Lin through the night market, where they heard that Xiao Yan had become a Dou Zhe at eleven after four years of cultivation.
• Mr. Yao asked Jiang Lin if he wanted to meet Xiao Yan, but Jiang Lin worried that the young prodigy might be arrogant.
• Mr. Yao agreed with Jiang Lin’s concern and decided to bring a small gift to the Xiao Family Mansion the next morning to make their acquaintance.
• Mr. Yao suggested that Lin Shi had probably come to Wutan City to make connections as well.

Jiang Lin and Mr. Yao visited the Xiao Family, where Xiao Xun'er had already learned Jiang Lin’s identity and decided he posed no threat. They arrived at the family residence and were welcomed by Clan Leader Xiao Zhan.

• Jiang Lin briefly locked eyes with Xiao Xun'er on the street as she walked with Xiao Yan, then continued on his way.
• Ling Ying reported that Jiang Lin was an eleven-year-old Yellow-grade low-tier Artifact Forger and the adopted son of Mr. Yao.
• Xiao Xun'er told Ling Ying there was no need to concern themselves with Jiang Lin unless he threatened the Xiao Family, though she remained puzzled by his gaze.
• Mr. Yao and Jiang Lin visited the Xiao Family the next morning and were escorted to the reception hall.
• Xiao Zhan welcomed Mr. Yao and expressed his long-standing wish to meet him.

Mr. Yao and Jiang Lin visited the Xiao Family, where they presented Xiao Yan with gifts and met Xiao Xun'er. After leaving, Mr. Yao warned Jiang Lin that Xun'er's beauty and bearing suggested great power, then began explaining how he knew.

• Mr. Yao gave Xiao Zhan a Hundred-year Yellow Ginseng for Xiao Yan, and Jiang Lin presented Xiao Zhan with the Yellow-grade low-tier Flowing Light Handguard.
• Mr. Yao declined Xiao Zhan's invitation to lunch and left with Jiang Lin after Lin Shi arrived to visit.
• Jiang Lin and Mr. Yao passed Xiao Xun'er in a corridor, and she glanced at Jiang Lin before walking on without speaking.
• Mr. Yao teased Jiang Lin about his reaction to Xiao Xun'er, then warned him that her beauty and bearing suggested power and trouble.
• Jiang Lin questioned Mr. Yao's insight, and Mr. Yao said he was a physician and that Xiao Xun'er reminded him of an old acquaintance.

Jiang Lin and Mr. Yao headed to the Miter Auction House, while Xiao Zhan entrusted Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to Lin Shi as they prepared to leave home. After Xiao Yan gave his brothers Jiang Lin’s rare armguards, Xiao Xun'er suspected Jiang Lin might have ties to the Central Continent but remained unsure of his origins.

• Mr. Yao recognized Xiao Xun'er as someone extraordinary, and Jiang Lin suspected that Mr. Yao knew his real name and his mother’s identity.
• Mr. Yao took Jiang Lin to the Miter Auction House to deliver their auction items and buy supplies.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li decided to join Lin Shi’s Mercenary Group and pursue opportunities away from home.
• Xiao Yan gave his brothers the Flowing Light Armguard, a rare defensive Dou Artifact made by Jiang Lin.
• Xiao Xun'er dismissed Ling Ying from watching Jiang Lin and Mr. Yao, then privately wondered whether Jiang Lin came from a powerful Central Continent clan.