Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City and discovered that people now treated him as the famous Xiao Family genius young master. He reached Xiao Manor and settled into his old home, while Xun'er hurried over to see him and discuss Jia Nan Academy Special Enrollment Student matters.

• A Marketplace owner mistook Xiao Yan for a visitor hoping to meet the Xiao Family genius, and Xiao Yan left without buying supplies after realizing Wutan City was his home.
• Xiao Yan entered Wutan City and Xiao Family members recognized him, spreading news of his return.
• Xiao Yan put away the Mysterious Black Ruler, went to Xiao Manor, and relaxed in his familiar room.
• Ling Ying told Xun'er that Xiao Yan had returned, and she hurried to Xiao Manor.
• Xiao Zhan met Xun'er on her way and asked her to tell Xiao Yan about the Jia Nan Academy Special Enrollment Student matter.

Xiao Yan returned to Wutan City, reunited with Xun'er, and learned that his rapid breakthrough had earned the Xiao Family a Special Enrollment Student slot at Jia Nan Academy. He resumed alchemy in Hun Ruoruo’s forest cabin and demonstrated his ability to separate the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame, while Hun Ruoruo remained missing.

• Xun'er greeted Xiao Yan after he returned and told him Jia Nan Academy had granted him Wutan City's first Special Enrollment Student slot.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er went out together after discussing the opportunity and his breakthrough.
• Hun Ruoruo did not appear during the month after Xiao Yan returned, so he focused on alchemy in her forest cabin.
• Xiao Yan refined medicine with the Black-gold Flame, and Old Man Yao praised his flame control.
• Xiao Yan used the Fierce Heaven Art to separate the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame from the Black-gold Flame, and Old Man Yao warned him to conceal it from Xun'er.

Xiao Yan visited the Mittel Auction House in disguise to appraise and consign his Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid. After Guni confirmed the liquid’s effect, he ordered the dismissive appraiser to arrange its auction immediately.

• Xiao Yan entered the Mittel Auction House in a black robe and brought out a bottle of Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid for appraisal.
• The appraiser summoned Guni after Xiao Yan explained that the liquid increased Dou Qi cultivation speed for those below the sixth stage without side effects.
• Guni confirmed the liquid worked but classified it as an excellent Tier 1 item, causing the appraiser to lose interest and propose a delayed auction.
• Xiao Yan challenged the appraiser’s delay and asked Guni what he thought.
• Guni glared at the appraiser and ordered him to arrange the auction immediately or lose his position.

Xiao Yan’s Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid was accepted for auction after Guni recognized its unusual origins. At the auction, Jia Lie Nu bought it for five thousand Gold Coins, leaving Xiao Yan amused by the Jia Lie Family’s eagerness to pay him.

• Guni reprimanded the appraiser for disrespecting Xiao Yan and ordered Ya Fei to receive him after the auction.
• Xiao Yan entered the ongoing auction and watched Ya Fei introduce his Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid as a first-grade pill made from a self-created Pill Recipe.
• Ya Fei explained that the liquid accelerated cultivation for those at Mid-tier Dou Qi and below, prompting the crowd to bid eagerly.
• Jia Lie Nu offered five thousand Gold Coins, believing the purchase might win the favor of the distinguished Alchemist who had refined it.
• Ya Fei sold the liquid to Jia Lie Nu, and Xiao Yan nearly laughed at the Jia Lie Family for paying him again.

Xiao Yan collected the proceeds from his auction and discussed saving money for Hun Ruoruo with Old Man Yao. Meanwhile, Hun Ruoruo prepared to infiltrate the Soul Hall, leaving her plans and next move unresolved.

• Xiao Yan met Ya Fei, who apologized for the appraiser's disrespect and waived the auction tax before transferring forty-five thousand Gold Coins and giving him a VIP card.
• Xiao Yan left the auction house in disguise and told Old Man Yao that he was saving money to repay Hun Ruoruo's kindness.
• Xiao Yan asked Old Man Yao about Water Attribute cultivators absorbing Heavenly Flames and joked about becoming a Child of Destiny by absorbing the Void Child Flame.
• Hun Ruoruo returned to her cabin and decided to join the Soul Hall to improve her strength and scheming.
• Hun Ruoruo completed a Soul Hall Emissary application form, confident that the Soul Hall's method of controlling recruits would not work on her.

Xiao Yan deposited Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid at the Mittel Auction House, then discussed Jia Nan Academy and the Falling Heart Flame with Hun Ruoruo. He brought her to the Xiao Family to meet Clan Chief Xiao, where Xiao Ning’s attempt to stop them ended after Hun Ruoruo revealed her face and used a Soul Mark to discourage anyone from staring.

• Xiao Yan deposited the remaining Foundation Building Spiritual Liquid with Ya Fei and asked her to auction it twice a week.
• Xiao Yan met Hun Ruoruo outside Wutan City, and Old Man Yao explained that Jia Nan Academy’s Heaven Burning Qi Refining Tower was connected to the Falling Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan suggested Hun Ruoruo join Jia Nan Academy as a Special Enrollment Student, and she asked him to explain the idea.
• Xiao Ning stopped Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo at the Xiao Family gates and asked Hun Ruoruo to remove her bamboo hat.
• Hun Ruoruo revealed her face and explained that she had come with Xiao Yan to discuss matters with Clan Chief Xiao, so Xiao Ning let them pass.
• Hun Ruoruo told Xiao Yan she had placed a Soul Mark on herself to give persistent onlookers painful dreams, and Xiao Yan quickly averted his gaze.

Xiao Yan brought Hun Ruoruo to meet Xiao Zhan and revealed that he had reached Six-star Dou Practitioner after several months of training. Hun Ruoruo obtained Xiao Yan’s Jia Nan Academy Special Enrollment Student slot, and the two left the Xiao Family residence together, with Xiao Yan beginning alchemy practice in the forest.

• Xiao Yan introduced Hun Ruoruo to Xiao Zhan, who welcomed her and thanked her for helping the Xiao Family.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan that he had reached Six-star Dou Practitioner, astonishing his father.
• Xiao Yan asked to transfer his Jia Nan Academy Special Enrollment Student slot to Hun Ruoruo, who explained that it would be useful to her.
• Hun Ruoruo offered Xiao Zhan pills and a cultivation technique in exchange, but he refused them and happily agreed to the transfer.
• Hun Ruoruo declined Xiao Zhan’s offer to stay at the Xiao Family residence, and Xiao Yan left with her to cultivate.
• Hun Ruoruo warned Xiao Yan to handle the academy’s questions about his absences and the transferred slot; they reached the forest, where Xiao Yan began alchemy training.

Xiao Yu learned that Xiao Yan had become a Dou Zhe and returned to find him, but instead discovered Xiao Ning in a ghostly, exhausted state after he claimed a beautiful girl had left him sleepless and bleeding-eyed. Xiao Yu confronted Xiao Yan about his absence and warned him about the Jia Nan Academy assessment, while Xiao Ning dismissed rumors that Xiao Yan was possessed despite recalling the pain in his head.

• Xiao Yu waited outside Xiao Yan's courtyard, then encountered Xiao Ning looking exhausted and screamed in fright.
• Xiao Ning told Xiao Yu that staring at a beautiful girl following Xiao Yan had left him with bleeding eyes and nightmares.
• Xiao Yu dragged Xiao Ning toward Xiao Manor and ran into Xiao Yan and Hun Ruoruo on the way.
• Xiao Yu asked Xiao Yan where he had been and warned that her mentor, a Five Star Great Dou Master, would assess him as a Special Enrollment Student.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Yu to worry about Xiao Ning and walked away, while Xiao Ning laughed off the clan's rumors that Xiao Yan was possessed.

Xiao Yan advanced to Eight-star Dou Practitioner before Jia Nan Academy’s enrollment day and went to the testing grounds with the Xiao Family. When soldiers tried to intimidate him and separate him from the others, he answered with overwhelming killing intent and passed through their ranks.

• Xiao Yan broke through two bottlenecks to reach Eight-star Dou Practitioner, and Old Man Yao offered to lend him Soul Force if needed.
• Xiao Yan left Xiao Manor and joined Xun'er and the Xiao Family group on their way to Jia Nan Academy’s testing grounds.
• Xiao Yu led the group through a narrow passage, where a middle-aged officer ordered Xiao Yan to go alone and sent the others away with soldiers.
• Xiao Yan walked through the soldiers’ mocking gauntlet and unleashed killing intent that made them tremble.
• The middle-aged officer acknowledged Xiao Yan’s skill and accepted that he had passed.

Xiao Yan and the Xiao Family group arrived at Jia Nan Academy’s enrollment tent, where Xun’er and Xiao Yan impressed the applicants with their cultivation. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan asking Instructor Ruolin to transfer his special enrollment slot and grant him leave, leaving Xun’er stunned.

• Xun’er asked Xiao Yan about the killing intent that had frightened the soldiers, and he explained that he had wiped out a group of bandits with Ruoruo’s help.
• At the tent, Xun’er drove away girls who crowded around Xiao Yan, while he met Instructor Ruolin and assessed her Water attribute Dou Qi.
• Xun’er earned a rating beyond S-class as a Six-star Dou Practitioner, then returned to Xiao Yan’s side.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he was a sixteen-year-old Eight-star Dou Practitioner, shocking Instructor Ruolin and the gathered applicants.
• Xiao Yan asked Instructor Ruolin to transfer his special enrollment slot to someone else and give him leave, and Xun’er’s smile froze.

Xiao Yan asked Instructor Ruolin to let him take leave from Jia Nan Academy and transfer his Special Enrollment Student slot to Hun Ruoruo, but she doubted his explanation. He challenged her to a one-move fight and unleashed the Flame-Splitting Devouring Wave Ruler, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Xun'er learned that Xiao Yan planned to miss Jia Nan Academy and give his enrollment slot to another person, and she resented Hun Ruoruo.
• Xiao Yan told Instructor Ruolin that the person receiving his slot was more talented than he was, and Xun'er reluctantly backed up his claim.
• Xiao Yan refused to withdraw his request and challenged Instructor Ruolin to settle the matter through strength.
• Instructor Ruolin summoned a wall of water and prepared to fight as a Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yan gathered crimson flames into his Mysterious Black Ruler and struck with the Flame-Splitting Devouring Wave Ruler.

Xiao Yan defeated Teacher Ruolin’s water defense with an Earth-tier Dou Technique and secured his place at Jia Nan Academy, though the battle left him incapacitated for three days. After Hun Ruoruo healed him, Xiao Yan discussed his training plans with Old Man Yao and said he would follow Ruoruo’s advice.

• Xiao Yan’s fire attack weakened Teacher Ruolin’s water defense, and she admitted his strike could have injured her.
• Teacher Ruolin accepted Xiao Yan’s request, and news of his strength spread through Wutan City and nearby towns.
• After three days recovering at Xiao Manor, Xiao Yan woke to find Hun Ruoruo healing him and warning him about using Nihility Devouring Flame.
• Hun Ruoruo left after speaking with Old Man Yao, and Xiao Yan wondered why she had become so mysterious and distant.
• Xiao Yan and Old Man Yao discussed the Three-Year Pact and where Xiao Yan would train; Xiao Yan said he would listen to Ruoruo.

Hun Ruoruo prepared to leave Wutan City and join the Soul Hall, planning to investigate the Misty Cloud Sect while helping Xiao Yan grow stronger. After restoring the soul force she had taken from him, she left him with a suggestion for future training, and Xiao Yan felt an unexpected emptiness at her departure.

• Hun Ruoruo studied her Soul Hall receipt and planned to travel to the Misty Cloud Sect as a high-level Soul Envoy, where she could hunt souls and investigate the sect's infiltration.
• Hun Ruoruo returned to Xiao Yan and used a water-like mass of stored soul force to strengthen his soul, more than doubling its size.
• Xiao Yan asked where he should go for training after stabilizing his first-grade Alchemist foundation, and Hun Ruoruo suggested Qingshan Town.
• Hun Ruoruo left Xiao Yan at sunset, and he ran after her only to find she had disappeared.
• Old Man Yao observed Xiao Yan's reaction and worried that he might fall in love with Hun Ruoruo, who had no romantic feelings for him.

Hun Ruoruo left Wutan City to pursue her plan to strengthen herself, while Nalan Yanran trained under Yun Yun at the Misty Cloud Sect and faced pressure over the Three-Year Pact. The chapter ended with Yun Yun suddenly leaving after sensing that something had come up.

• Hun Ruoruo packed the wooden house, left Wutan City, and decided not to interfere with Xiao Yan's visit to Qingshan Town.
• Hun Ruoruo put on a black robe and flew toward the Imperial Capital, eager to pursue prey and grow stronger.
• Yun Yun found Nalan Yanran cultivating in the Misty Cloud Sect's back mountain and urged her to rest and eat properly.
• Nalan Yanran denied worrying about Xiao Yan, but Yun Yun pointed out that she had secretly investigated his cultivation.
• Yun Yun told Nalan Yanran that Gu He would soon refine medicine to help her improve, and Nalan Yanran vowed she would not lose the Three-Year Pact.
• Yun Yun sensed something had come up, said goodbye to Nalan Yanran, and left.

Yun Yun questioned Yun Leng about appointing a Guest Elder, while Yun Leng secretly left the Misty Cloud Sect to recruit Hun Ruoruo into Soul Hall. Hun Ruoruo passed Soul Hall’s initiation test with ease, and Yun Leng welcomed her as the Frost Soul Emissary.

• Yun Yun confronted Yun Leng about the Guest Elder appointment, but he claimed Old Sect Master Yun Shan had ordered it and that the other elders agreed.
• Yun Yun left to verify the matter with her teacher, and Yun Leng disguised himself and hurried out of the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Hun Ruoruo followed the Black Parchment’s Soul Mark to a hidden alley in the Imperial Capital and met Yun Leng in a concealed room.
• Yun Leng tested Hun Ruoruo with a Soul Hall Disc, and she absorbed its Soul Seal without hesitation.
• Yun Leng declared that Hun Ruoruo had passed and welcomed her as the Frost Soul Emissary.

Hun Ruoruo joined Soul Hall as a Frost Soul Emissary and accepted a mission to hunt a Dou Wang-level soul within three months while posing as a Misty Cloud Sect Guest Elder. Nalan Yanran came to meet the new elder, but froze at the sight of Hun Ruoruo, who asked if she was afraid of ghosts.

• Hun Ruoruo recognized Yun Leng as Misty Cloud Sect's First Elder and learned that Soul Hall required her to capture a Dou Wang-level soul within three months.
• Yun Leng gave Hun Ruoruo a Soul Hall token for storing captured souls and assigned her the position of Guest Elder.
• Nalan Yanran heard that the new Guest Elder had rare Water Attribute Dou Qi and wondered whether she could help treat her grandfather.
• Nalan Yanran found Yun Yun still in seclusion and headed to the View Pavilion to cultivate.
• Nalan Yanran saw Hun Ruoruo in the pavilion, trembled, and heard Hun Ruoruo ask whether she was afraid of ghosts.

Hun Ruoruo offered to help Nalan Yanran grow stronger, but Nalan instead asked her to ease the Scorching Poison afflicting her grandfather. Hun Ruoruo accepted, leaving Nalan unsettled as she followed her down the mountain.

• Hun Ruoruo soothed Nalan Yanran’s fear and revealed that she was the Misty Cloud Sect’s new Guest Elder, Elder Frost.
• Hun Ruoruo pointed out that Nalan Yanran’s cultivation progress had slowed and offered to help her become stronger as part of a Sect Mission.
• Nalan Yanran questioned Hun Ruoruo’s motives and proposed that she treat her grandfather’s Scorching Poison instead.
• Hun Ruoruo agreed, then used her strange aura to immobilize Nalan Yanran and teased that visiting her home was a reasonable duty for a sect elder.
• Nalan Yanran regained her movement and followed Hun Ruoruo down the mountain despite her unease.

Nalan Yanran returned to the Nalan Mansion with Hun Ruoruo to seek help for her ailing grandfather, Nalan Jie. After clashing with her father, Nalan Su, over the broken engagement, she introduced Hun Ruoruo as a Water attribute elder, and Nalan Jie invited her to try treating him.

• Nalan Yanran found the Nalan Mansion after returning to the Imperial Capital for the first time in two years.
• Nalan Yanran told the steward she would visit Nalan Jie before seeing her father, Nalan Su.
• Nalan Su stopped Nalan Yanran outside Nalan Jie's room and argued with her about her broken engagement to Xiao Yan.
• Nalan Yanran introduced Hun Ruoruo as a Misty Cloud Sect Guest Elder with Water attribute Dou Qi.
• Hun Ruoruo warned that drawing out Nalan Jie's Scorching Poison could spread it and kill him, but Nalan Jie called for her to come in and try.

Hun Ruoruo cured Nalan Jie’s Scorching Poison with her Soul Water Dou Qi and returned to the Misty Cloud Sect with Nalan Yanran. She told Yanran that she could not defeat Xiao Yan, then teased her about being afraid of ghosts.

• Hun Ruoruo drew Nalan Jie's Scorching Poison into Soul Water and explained that her treatment avoided Heavenly Flames but required more time.
• Hun Ruoruo warned Nalan Su that Nalan Jie could die if he used Dou Qi during the detoxification process, then left Nalan Mansion with Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Yanran thanked Hun Ruoruo for saving her grandfather, and Hun Ruoruo teased her about the Three-Year Pact and her marriage annulment.
• Nalan Yanran asked whether she could defeat Xiao Yan, and Hun Ruoruo said she could not because she was afraid of ghosts.
• Hun Ruoruo revealed that she was the fiercest Fierce Ghost by Xiao Yan's side and made a ghost face to frighten Nalan Yanran.

Hun Ruoruo revealed that she had Soul Searched Xiao Yan’s errand boy and helped Xiao Yan, while Nalan Yanran learned she had missed her chance to receive help. Hun Ruoruo planned to target the Misty Cloud Sect’s Soul Hall guardian and decided she would make Xiao Yan a Soul Envoy so he could assist her.

• Hun Ruoruo told Nalan Yanran that she had Soul Searched Xiao Yan’s errand boy and explained that Xiao Yan had also worked hard to achieve his success.
• Nalan Yanran realized Hun Ruoruo stood on Xiao Yan’s side and regretted missing her chance for help, but she remained resolved to save her grandfather.
• Hun Ruoruo left Nalan Yanran a water droplet bearing the words “Misty Cloud Sect, Elder Frost, time of instruction: early afternoon.”
• Hun Ruoruo considered ambushing Yun Shan and the Soul Hall guardian to absorb their souls and advance her Soul Force.
• Hun Ruoruo complained that Xiao Yan was enjoying himself while she handled the planning, and resolved to use the guardian’s token to appoint him a Soul Envoy and assistant.