Chapter Summaries

After Xiao Yan received his Inner Academy rewards and a place in the pavilion with his companions, Su Qian teased him about Miss Ruoruo and warned him that staying out overnight was forbidden. Xiao Yan met Hu Jia, received an upgraded Fire Crystal Card, and then hurried away when his suppressed injuries suddenly worsened.

• Su Qian transferred Bai Shan's reward to Xiao Yan, added five hundred days of Fire Energy, and assigned the pavilion to Xiao Yan and the other top Selection Tournament students.
• Su Qian told Xiao Yan that Ruoruo had gone to collect her reward and teased him about staying out overnight before leaving.
• Xiao Yan met Hu Jia and the others, learned the Fire Crystal Card color rankings, and received a cyan upgraded card.
• Xiao Yan's suppressed injuries erupted as he tried to help clean the pavilion, so he concealed the cracks on his body and rushed away.

Xiao Yan sought Hun Ruoruo’s help after his injuries worsened, but arrived to find her bathing and inviting him to use her leftover bathwater. The chapter left him flustered and determined to confront her about her unguarded behavior.

• Xiao Yan called on Old Man Yao for help, but Old Man Yao warned that his injuries were critical and said intervening might attract the Inner Academy elders’ attention.
• Xiao Yan went to the secluded residence Su Qian had assigned to Hun Ruoruo and entered after she told him he could come inside.
• Xiao Yan heard Hun Ruoruo bathing and struggled with guilt over her trust and her vague understanding of emotional boundaries.
• Hun Ruoruo came out in a white robe and offered Xiao Yan her leftover bathwater, leaving him flustered and angry at her teasing.

Hun Ruoruo cleaned Xiao Yan and prepared a treatment for his injuries, explaining that her Pure Water Dou Qi was safer than medicinal pills. After Xiao Yan discovered she had obtained a thousand days of Fire Energy by robbing Elder Huo, she told him to lie down and remove his clothes so she could treat him.

• Hun Ruoruo teased Xiao Yan for wanting to use her bathroom, then washed the blood and grime from him with a ball of water.
• Hun Ruoruo gathered medicinal ingredients and explained that Xiao Yan's condition made medicinal pills too risky, so she would heal him with Pure Water Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan noticed Hun Ruoruo's Fire Crystal Card held one thousand days of Fire Energy, and she admitted she had robbed Elder Huo and taken medicinal ingredients from him.
• Xiao Yan asked whether treating him was too much trouble, and Hun Ruoruo sat beside the bed and urged him to take off his clothes and lie down.

Hun Ruoruo healed Xiao Yan’s severe injuries while he lay on her bed, and he told her he wanted to use the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame to help restore her depleted blood and vitality. After Xiao Yan fled when she teased him about sharing the bed, Hun Ruoruo locked the courtyard and fell asleep on her pillow, which smelled like him.

• Xiao Yan nervously lay on Hun Ruoruo’s bed so she could treat his injuries, and she teased him before beginning the healing.
• Hun Ruoruo used water Dou Qi and medicinal herbs to mend Xiao Yan’s wounds while he endured the pain and the sensation of her touch.
• Xiao Yan explained that the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame and a Magic Core could restore his blood and vitality, and said he wanted to help with Hun Ruoruo’s slow recovery and concealed appearance.
• Hun Ruoruo finished healing Xiao Yan and warned him not to risk his body again before he recovered.
• Hun Ruoruo suggested Xiao Yan stay and share her bed, but he panicked and ran out after joking that no Fire Energy would be deducted if the elders did not find out.
• Hun Ruoruo locked the courtyard, returned to bed, and noticed her pillow smelled like Xiao Yan before deciding she should change the sheets.

After sneaking back from Hun Ruoruo’s residence, Xiao Yan discovered Xun'er hiding in his pavilion. The next morning, he quelled Senior Students’ abuse of the Freshmen and agreed to establish a faction, while Xun'er summoned Elder Ling.

• Xiao Yan hurried back to his pavilion to avoid being caught out overnight and found Xun'er hiding behind a bucket.
• Hu Jia and Wu Hao brought Xiao Yan to stop Senior Students from collecting tribute fees from the Freshmen, and Xiao Yan defeated the troublemakers and returned the Fire Energy.
• Xue Beng asked Xiao Yan to lead the Freshmen by establishing a faction, and Xiao Yan agreed that forming one was necessary.
• Xue Beng revealed that he and the Freshmen had fought to defend Fairy Ruoruo’s reputation, and Xiao Yan corrected the rumor that their relationship was settled before secretly giving him more pills.
• Xun'er watched Xiao Yan with Xue Beng, then summoned Elder Ling.

Xun'er learned that An Ruoruo had used her Pure Water Dou Qi to heal Xiao Yan and tried to calm her jealousy. Afterward, Hun Ruoruo noticed that transferring her Dou Qi to Xiao Yan seemed to have accelerated her cultivation.

• Xun'er summoned Ling Ying and learned that Xiao Yan had stayed in An Ruoruo's room until midnight.
• Ling Ying explained that An Ruoruo's Pure Water Dou Qi could heal Xiao Yan's severe injuries, and that Xiao Yan had left her room recovered enough to run.
• Ling Ying told Xun'er that An Ruoruo seemed friendly toward her and had no romantic interest in Xiao Yan, while warning that Xun'er's fixation might lead to trouble.
• Xun'er dismissed Ling Ying and admitted that she envied An Ruoruo's Pure Water Dou Qi.
• Hun Ruoruo woke after healing Xiao Yan and noticed that her Dou Qi seemed to be recovering faster than before.

Xiao Yan strengthened the Freshman Alliance while Hun Ruoruo questioned why her cultivation was advancing so quickly. Her conversation with Old Man Yao ended with her firmly rejecting marriage and children, while admitting that Xiao Yan was different from everyone else.

• Xiao Yan gathered the freshmen and several allies into the Freshman Alliance, which fought off groups of Senior Students seeking to bully them.
• Hun Ruoruo told Old Man Yao that she had neared the six-star Dou Huang bottleneck less than two months after reaching five-star Dou Huang.
• Old Man Yao warned Hun Ruoruo against refining another soul, and she assured him she would wait until she mastered the Spirit Ascension Technique.
• Hun Ruoruo wondered whether Xiao Yan's plan to nourish her blood and vital energy had accelerated her cultivation, but Old Man Yao said he had not begun the treatment.
• Old Man Yao boasted that his pill recipe could help restore a frail body and enable a woman to bear children, prompting Hun Ruoruo to insist she would never marry or have children.
• Hun Ruoruo said Xiao Yan was different, and Old Man Yao accepted her choice while privately thinking Xiao Yan still had a long road ahead.

Xiao Yan trained with Hun Ruoruo to use the Soul Token to investigate the formations beneath the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, then headed there to cultivate. He met Elder Huo, who offered to help him enter the tower, and recognized him as the elder Ruoruo had robbed.

• Hun Ruoruo made Xiao Yan use the Soul Token to observe and record the tower's formations, but he managed less than forty breaths before collapsing.
• Hun Ruoruo teased Xiao Yan and told him she would need him to visit different training rooms to map more of the tower.
• Xiao Yan reflected on Hun Ruoruo's condition, vowed to get stronger, and broke a nearby tree with a punch.
• Elder Huo approached Xiao Yan, praised his punch, and offered to clear the way for him to enter the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower.
• Xiao Yan recognized Elder Huo as the unlucky elder Hun Ruoruo had robbed.

Elder Huo tried to recruit Xiao Yan into the Alchemy Department by offering him a generous monthly Fire Energy allowance, but Xiao Yan refused because he had founded the Demon Hall. As Elder Huo took him to the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, he schemed to let trouble from rival factions pressure Xiao Yan into changing his mind, while Xiao Yan remained focused on obtaining the Falling Heart Flame.

• Elder Huo asked Xiao Yan whether he was truly a fifth-grade Alchemist, and Xiao Yan explained that he had once refined a Spirit Revival Purple Pill.
• Elder Huo offered Xiao Yan one hundred and fifty days of Fire Energy each month and additional medicinal ingredients if he joined the Alchemy Department.
• Xiao Yan declined, explaining that he had gathered the Freshmen into a faction called the Demon Hall.
• Elder Huo accepted Xiao Yan's refusal outwardly but privately expected rival factions to cause trouble and weaken the Demon Hall.
• Elder Huo introduced Elder Liu and offered Xiao Yan temporary use of his name to enter the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower.
• Xiao Yan looked toward the Black Tower with a crafty smile, determined to obtain the Falling Heart Flame.

Elder Huo brought Xiao Yan to the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower, where Elder Liu opened the entrance and warned him about its dangers. Inside, Xiao Yan used the Void Spirit Devouring Flame to devour the tower’s Falling Heart Flame and emerged unharmed, shocking the gathered students.

• Elder Huo asked Elder Liu to waive the entry procedures so Xiao Yan could enter the tower, and Elder Liu used a command token to open it.
• Elder Liu warned Xiao Yan not to touch the tower’s spatial barrier, while Xiao Yan recognized it as a Space Lock and inferred that Jia Nan Academy’s dean was a Dou Zun.
• Senior Students mocked Xiao Yan for entering ahead of them, but Elder Huo encouraged him to proceed as the crowd watched.
• Xiao Yan entered the tower and realized Elder Huo had been testing his endurance against the Falling Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan released the Void Spirit Devouring Flame, which transformed into a lion and devoured the python-shaped Falling Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan returned to normal with crimson firelight surrounding him and asked whether he could enter the tower, leaving the crowd stunned.

Xiao Yan entered the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower and chose a Sixth Floor cultivation room with help from Elder Liu and Elder Huo. He contacted Hun Ruoruo through the Soul Token, and she appeared as a tiny projection before reminding him to bring her while he investigated the sealing patterns.

• Xiao Yan selected the Sixth Floor, and Elder Liu explained the floors and cultivation rooms while Elder Huo offered to advance him Fire Energy in exchange for seeing his alchemy skills.
• Xiao Yan showed Elder Liu a Crimson Fire Crystal Card holding 1,900 days of Fire Energy, and Elder Huo recognized it as one taken by a girl.
• Xiao Yan entered a central cultivation room on the east side, inserted the card, and used the Void Spirit Devouring Flame to keep the Falling Heart Flame from harming him.
• Hun Ruoruo answered Xiao Yan through the Soul Token and projected a tiny figure, teasing him as he examined her.
• Hun Ruoruo warned Xiao Yan that he had limited time to communicate with her, then jumped into his palm so he could take her along to inspect the sealing patterns.

Xiao Yan learned that Soul Force could affect Soul Bodies and accidentally flustered Hun Ruoruo before she left to study a seal. After she resumed their conversation through the Soul Token, he shyly asked her to say “see you tomorrow,” and she agreed.

• Hun Ruoruo explained how Spirit Realm Soul Bodies could interact with reality and why strong body cultivation could eventually threaten them.
• Xiao Yan used Soul Force to touch Hun Ruoruo, making her collapse in embarrassment as she warned him not to touch other Soul Bodies that way.
• Hun Ruoruo said she had memorized the barrier and vanished from the Soul Token, leaving Xiao Yan worried that he had upset her.
• Hun Ruoruo reconnected through voice transmission, explained how Xiao Yan could use the Falling Heart Flame to temper his Dou Qi, and told him to cultivate.
• Xiao Yan asked Hun Ruoruo to tell him “see you tomorrow,” and she softly agreed before ending the connection and returning to sketching the seal.

Xiao Yan focused on cultivating in the Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower while Hun Ruoruo prepared to leave the Inner Academy to collect auction treasures from the Soul Hall. She escaped through a tiny opening in the Space Lock and waited outside, leaving Xiao Yan to catch up with Old Man Yao.

• Xiao Yan devoted himself to cultivation, while Xun'er helped manage the Demon Hall and trouble from other students decreased.
• Hun Ruoruo told Xiao Yan that the Soul Hall had retrieved the auction treasures and that she planned to collect them outside the academy.
• Hun Ruoruo explained that she and Old Man Yao had found a way to pass through the Space Lock, and she told Xiao Yan to bring her master to meet her.
• Hun Ruoruo concealed herself, opened a narrow passage through the Space Lock, and crawled through it using one of Xiao Yan's garments beneath her.
• Hun Ruoruo emerged outside the barrier and privately hoped Xiao Yan would get stuck in the opening when he followed.

Hun Ruoruo returned to the Black Corner Region and collected Soul Hall intelligence from Emissary Li, but found little information about Han Feng. When Emissary Li revealed that the Heavenly Snake Mansion had won the auction’s final item, Xiao Yan asked him to describe its people, remembering that they had taken Qing Lin.

• Hun Ruoruo met Emissary Li, who gave her a Storage Ring containing the information she had requested.
• Hun Ruoruo questioned Emissary Li about the gaps in his intelligence on Han Feng, and he explained that Han Feng only had a transactional relationship with Protector Tie.
• Hun Ruoruo confirmed that the Storage Ring contained the Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill and asked how Emissary Li had obtained it.
• Emissary Li said that five Soul Envoys had sealed off escape routes during the battle and revealed that someone from the Heavenly Snake Mansion had won the auction’s final item.
• Xiao Yan arrived disguised as the Flame Soul Emissary and demanded details about the Heavenly Snake Mansion, recalling that its people had taken Qing Lin.

Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo posed as Soul Hall emissaries while learning that Heavenly Snake Mansion's Elder Qing had been killed by the Blood Sect. After Emissary Li left, Hun Ruoruo offered Xiao Yan a Seventh-grade Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill, and he worried he could not repay her.

• Emissary Li told Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo that Elder Qing from Heavenly Snake Mansion had been killed, then described her as a beautiful woman around thirty, easing Xiao Yan's fears about Qing Lin.
• Emissary Li explained that Blood Sect Master Fan Lao had secretly attacked Heavenly Snake Mansion's group and that Soul Hall had used evidence of his Dou Techniques to pressure him.
• Emissary Li departed, pleased to have received two Dou Emperor-level Soul Bodies as rewards for his work.
• Hun Ruoruo removed her Soul Hall disguise and revealed that she had begun unlocking Yun Shan's Soul Token, which contained the Soul Bodies.
• Hun Ruoruo showed Xiao Yan the Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill, and Xiao Yan admitted he needed it but asked how he could repay her.

Xiao Yan asked Hun Ruoruo how he could repay her, while she teased him and fed him a Seventh-grade Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill. She revealed that the pill was insurance for his life and declared that his life belonged to her.

• Hun Ruoruo teased Xiao Yan by offering to explain what she expected in return if he ate the pill.
• Xiao Yan reluctantly opened his mouth, and Hun Ruoruo fed him the pill, whose medicinal power vanished into his dantian.
• Hun Ruoruo sat beside Xiao Yan and challenged his repeated attempts to repay her, while he admitted he felt guilty about their unequal relationship.
• Hun Ruoruo explained that she wanted Xiao Yan to owe her more, not to sever their connection.
• Hun Ruoruo said the Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill was a life-saving talisman to prevent Xiao Yan from nearly dying again and declared that his life belonged to her.

Xiao Yan asked Hun Ruoruo why she had hidden her motives behind schemes and transactions, and she admitted she had used him from the beginning while struggling to understand friendship under the effects of soul erosion. She said she might attempt the Spirit Ascension Technique within three months, leaving Xiao Yan shaken by the thought that she would soon learn his Heart's Desire.

• Xiao Yan asked Hun Ruoruo whether her soul erosion explained why she had always framed her help as schemes and transactions.
• Hun Ruoruo admitted she had used Xiao Yan from the beginning and explained that she had kept her distance because friendship with impure motives felt revolting to her.
• Hun Ruoruo recalled that Xiao Yan had patiently taught her about friendship, then wondered whether she could have only one friend.
• Hun Ruoruo teased Xiao Yan, told him she liked him most, and asked him to keep their conversation secret from Master.
• Hun Ruoruo said she planned to use the Spirit Ascension Technique after reaching the Late Spirit Realm and refining Yun Shan's soul, which she expected to complete within three months.

Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo returned to the Inner Academy through a hole in the Space Lock, but Hun Ruoruo got stuck crawling through it and they nearly got caught by Elder Huo. After hiding together, Hun Ruoruo left angrily to prepare for a breakthrough, while Xiao Yan returned to his residence unaware of a scarlet tongue in his pocket.

• Xiao Yan refined the Dragon Qi from the Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill into his dantian, then followed Hun Ruoruo back into the Inner Academy.
• When Hun Ruoruo took too long to crawl through the Space Lock, Xiao Yan went back to check on her and spotted an approaching elder.
• Hun Ruoruo pulled Xiao Yan down and covered him with clothing so Elder Huo would not discover them.
• After Elder Huo left, Hun Ruoruo accused Xiao Yan of taking advantage of her and told him to contact her less while she prepared for a breakthrough.
• Xiao Yan returned to his residence, unaware that a scarlet snake tongue had slipped out from a pocket.

Xiao Yan tried to fuse the Yin Yang Profound Dragon Pill’s Dragon Qi with the Lion Soul, hoping to strengthen his body, but his repeated attempts failed. When he discovered his last bottle of Companion Purple Crystal Source was empty, Queen Medusa appeared and teased him.

• Xiao Yan reflected on Ruoruo’s approaching soul-repair treatment and his confusing feelings about her.
• Xiao Yan examined the Three Thousand Lightning Movement technique and decided to cultivate it after integrating the Dragon Qi.
• Xiao Yan drank Companion Purple Crystal Source and repeatedly tried to merge the Dragon Qi with the Lion Soul, but their roars remained separate.
• Xiao Yan reached for his last bottle of Companion Purple Crystal Source, found it empty, and tried to lick the remaining drops.
• Queen Medusa appeared beside Xiao Yan and warned him that Ruoruo might become jealous.

Xiao Yan confronted Queen Medusa after she emerged from the Little Snake and criticized him for neglecting her and denying his feelings for Hun Ruoruo. He admitted that he liked Ruoruo, only for Medusa to decide that he would help her collect on Ruoruo’s promise to resolve the danger of two souls inhabiting one body.

• Queen Medusa emerged from the Little Snake, scolded Xiao Yan for neglecting Xiao Cai, and accused him of spending his time with Hun Ruoruo.
• Medusa challenged Xiao Yan’s claim that he and Ruoruo had only been close because of an urgent situation, and he struggled to deny her accusations.
• Medusa warned Xiao Yan that Ruoruo’s powerful faction could crush him, but he declared that he liked Ruoruo and would make himself strong enough to face them.
• Medusa said she was relieved by Xiao Yan’s firm feelings for Ruoruo, then told him to collect the debt for her because Ruoruo had promised to resolve her two-souls-in-one-body danger.