Chapter Summaries

Jiang Donghua was named the first arena champion in Jia Nan Academy's Outer Court selection, and he defeated Bai Qing'er in a single move when she challenged him. As Mao Shan stepped forward to challenge him, the contest for first place was about to intensify.

• Lei Tian announced that Jiang Donghua would begin as the first arena champion and that students could challenge for the arena spots.
• Students rushed to claim other ranked arenas, while no one initially dared to challenge Jiang Donghua.
• Bai Qing'er challenged Jiang Donghua, but he knocked her out of the arena before her sword left its sheath.
• Jiang Donghua asked who else would challenge him, prompting Mao Shan to step forward and declare that he would take first place.
• Jiang Donghua accepted Mao Shan's challenge.

Jiang Donghua defeated Mao Shan with a single precise strike, then intimidated the other top Outer Court contenders into refusing to challenge him. When the competition ended without another challenger, he was declared champion of the Outer Court Selection Tournament.

• Mao Shan charged Jiang Donghua with his Mountain-Splitting axe, but Jiang deflected the blow and knocked him out of the arena with one strike.
• The students and elders reacted to Jiang Donghua's effortless victory, and he called for the next challenger.
• Zhao Ming, Lin Xiu, and the other Battle Spirit contenders judged Jiang Donghua too strong to face and stayed off the arena.
• An hour passed without anyone challenging Jiang Donghua, while contests continued on the other ranking arenas.
• Dean Lei Tian announced Jiang Donghua as the champion of the Outer Court Selection Tournament.

After winning the Grand Competition, Jiang Donghua ignored the crowd’s adoration and returned to his alchemy room. The next day, his teacher Mo Xuan broke through to Dou Huang, bringing the Alchemy Department greater prestige and drawing even more attention to Jiang Donghua.

• Dean Lei Tian announced Jiang Donghua, Zhao Ming, Wang Han, Lin Xiu, and Bai Ling as the Grand Competition’s top five and ordered them to gather at the Scripture Depository in three days.
• Jiang Donghua walked away from the arena through a crowd of admiring students without stopping or responding to their offers.
• The next day, a powerful aura erupted from the Alchemy Department, and Jiang Donghua recognized it as the sign of a Dou Huang breakthrough.
• Jiang Donghua realized the breakthrough belonged to his teacher, Elder Mo Xuan, who had been stuck at Peak Dou Wang for more than half a year.
• Dean Lei Tian confirmed that Mo Xuan had reached Dou Huang, and students began treating Jiang Donghua with even greater reverence and envy.

After Elder Mo Xuan broke through to the Dou Huang realm, he gave Jiang Donghua a jade slip that would reveal nearby Earth-grade cultivation techniques in the Scripture Depository. Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua he planned to leave for the Central Plains soon, and Jiang Donghua renewed his resolve to choose a suitable technique the next day.

• Jiang Donghua visited Elder Mo Xuan and congratulated him on his breakthrough and restored youth.
• Elder Mo Xuan gave Jiang Donghua a jade slip that would react when he approached an Earth-grade cultivation technique in the Scripture Depository.
• Elder Mo Xuan warned Jiang Donghua that the jade slip would reveal only a technique's grade, leaving him to judge whether it suited him.
• Elder Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua he planned to leave for the Central Plains in a few days and encouraged him to continue forging his own path.
• Jiang Donghua set aside his sadness and promised Elder Mo Xuan he would not disappoint him when choosing a technique the next day.

Jiang Donghua and four other top Outer Court students entered the Scripture Depository to seek cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques. Inside its strange spatial realm, they learned that they could inspect the drifting light orbs and return unwanted items, while Jiang Donghua's jade slip began to warm.

• Dean Lei Tian opened the Scripture Depository and warned the five students to take only one item, avoid greed and fighting, and leave the spatial walls alone.
• Jiang Donghua, Wang Han, Zhao Ming, Lin Xiu, and Bai Ling entered the Depository and found themselves in a realm filled with colorful light orbs containing unknown items.
• Zhao Ming and Lin Xiu observed that they could sense the orbs' attributes but could not discern their contents or grades.
• Bai Ling grabbed items from a golden orb and a blue orb, rejected them as a low-grade incomplete Dou Technique and another unworthy item, and watched them return to the spatial barrier.
• Jiang Donghua understood how the orbs could be inspected and returned, then infused Dou Qi into his Storage Ring as the jade slip inside began to warm.

Jiang Donghua used the jade slip Teacher had given him to search the Scripture Depository, but his first catches were unsuitable treasures. After proposing that the five share what they were seeking and help each other, he revealed that he needed a Fire attribute cultivation technique.

• Zhao Ming, Wang Han, Lin Xiu, and Bai Ling caught and rejected several techniques and combat skills that did not suit them.
• Jiang Donghua followed the jade slip’s pull and caught a Sixth-order Demonic Beast core instead of a technique, then returned it to the spatial barrier.
• Jiang Donghua used the jade slip to find two more Fire attribute items, but rejected them as unsuitable for his goal.
• Jiang Donghua proposed that the five state what they needed and seize useful items for one another to exchange later.
• Jiang Donghua broke the group’s hesitation by revealing that he needed a Fire attribute cultivation technique.

Jiang Donghua helped Wang Han seize a powerful Earth-attribute fist technique that suited him perfectly, strengthening the fragile cooperation among the five. The group continued searching for their desired treasures, with Jiang Donghua still seeking a Fire-attribute cultivation method.

• Wang Han, Lin Xiu, Zhao Ming, and Bai Ling described the skills and cultivation methods they hoped to find, and the five agreed to watch for one another’s targets.
• Wang Han grabbed a dense earthy-yellow light cluster, but he and Lin Xiu struggled to keep it from dragging Wang Han toward the spatial barrier.
• Jiang Donghua pierced the light cluster with concentrated blue flames and pulled out an ancient beast-hide scroll.
• The scroll contained the Mysterious Tier High-grade Mountain Collapse Tremor Fist, which could rival an Earth-tier Low Grade Combat Skill at Great Accomplishment.
• Jiang Donghua gave the scroll to Wang Han, who thanked him earnestly, and the incident eased the tension within the group.

Jiang Donghua captured the rare Bewitching Heart Demon Eye but gave it to Bai Ling because he was still searching for an Earth-grade cultivation technique. With time running short, Zhao Ming and Lin Xiu intensified their search for treasures Jiang Donghua might value.

• Zhao Ming, Lin Xiu, and Bai Ling found several Fire attribute techniques, but Jiang Donghua returned them because they were not what he sought.
• Jiang Donghua's jade slip pointed him toward a milky-white light cluster, which he captured and found to contain the Profound-tier High Grade Bewitching Heart Demon Eye.
• Jiang Donghua offered the pupil technique to Bai Ling, who eagerly accepted it.
• Zhao Ming and Lin Xiu realized they could trade useful treasures with Jiang Donghua and urgently searched for Fire attribute or Soul Force items.
• Jiang Donghua remained in place as his jade slip continued to give off faint warmth.

Jiang Donghua and the others struggled to capture a highly spiritual red-purple-black sphere until Bai Ling used the Bewitching Heart Demon Eye to daze it and retrieve its treasure. Her rapid mastery of the eye technique astonished Jiang Donghua, but she was left severely exhausted.

• Jiang Donghua found a uniquely colored sphere, but it evaded his attacks and resisted his Soul Force.
• Wang Han, Lin Xiu, and Zhao Ming each tried and failed to catch the sphere.
• Bai Ling used the Bewitching Heart Demon Eye to briefly bewilder the sphere and take the treasure inside.
• The sphere faded away, and Jiang Donghua recognized the treasure's ancient, tyrannical aura.
• Jiang Donghua realized Bai Ling had activated a Profound-tier High Grade eye technique after only minutes of practice, while Bai Ling turned pale and weak from the effort.
• Bai Ling handed the heavy treasure to Jiang Donghua as she swayed with exhaustion.

Jiang Donghua helped Bai Ling recover after she exhausted herself using an eye technique, then identified the treasure they had obtained as the Earth-tier Mid Grade Burning Heaven Furnace Art. The group reacted with shock and envy as Jiang Donghua realized the fire-based cultivation art was exceptionally suited to him.

• Wang Han recognized Bai Ling as a member of the Bai Family of Hundred Arts, and Jiang Donghua supported her when she nearly collapsed.
• Jiang Donghua gave Bai Ling a Spirit Condensing Pill, a Blood Vitality Pill, and a Fourth-grade Origin Nurturing Spirit Pill to restore her condition.
• After Bai Ling recovered enough to thank him, Jiang Donghua examined the dark red token he had obtained.
• Jiang Donghua discovered that the token contained the Earth-tier Mid Grade Burning Heaven Furnace Art, a cultivation art that forged a furnace in the dantian and enhanced fire-based Battle Qi.
• Zhao Ming, Wang Han, Lin Xiu, and Bai Ling were astonished by the art's grade and envied Jiang Donghua's good fortune.

Jiang Donghua thanked Bai Ling for helping him obtain the Burning Heaven Furnace Art, then used his Soul Force to help Lin Xiu and Zhao Ming find treasures suited to them. After all five left the Scripture Depository with valuable gains, Dean Lei Tian gave them three days to prepare before leading them to the Inner Academy.

• Jiang Donghua promised Bai Ling that he would help her whenever she encountered trouble in Jia Nan Academy.
• Jiang Donghua searched for treasures with his Soul Force, helping Lin Xiu obtain the Leaf Shadow Following Wind Steps movement technique and Zhao Ming claim a lightning spear.
• The five students left the Scripture Depository with treasures, and Dean Lei Tian told them to gather at dawn in three days for the journey to the Inner Academy.
• Zhao Ming, Lin Xiu, Wang Han, and Bai Ling thanked Jiang Donghua and asked him to look after them in the Inner Academy before they went their separate ways.

Jiang Donghua told Elder Mo Xuan that he had obtained the Earth-tier Mid Grade Burning Heaven Furnace Art, easing his teacher’s worries. Mo Xuan gave him his treasured Storage Ring and prepared to leave for the Central Plains to settle old matters, while withholding the full reason.

• Jiang Donghua returned to Elder Mo Xuan and told him the jade slip had helped him obtain the Burning Heaven Furnace Art.
• Elder Mo Xuan was shocked and delighted when Jiang Donghua confirmed the art was Earth-tier Mid Grade.
• Mo Xuan said the cultivation art let him leave without worry and gave Jiang Donghua his Storage Ring containing pill formulas, alchemy notes, and medicinal herbs.
• Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua that he was going to the Central Plains to settle old matters, and said there were things his disciple would not benefit from knowing.

Elder Mo Xuan revealed that he was heading to the Central Plains to seek revenge on the powerful Netherworld Sect, and entrusted Jiang Donghua with his treasured Storage Ring and lifelong alchemy resources. After Elder Mo Xuan departed, Jiang Donghua vowed to remember the blood debt and join the fight when he became strong enough.

• Elder Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua that he planned to settle a blood debt with the Netherworld Sect, whose ancestor was a Peak Dou Zong.
• Elder Mo Xuan explained that his new Dou Huang strength and Sixth-grade Alchemist status gave him ways to pursue revenge despite the sect's power.
• Jiang Donghua wished his teacher safety but held back from asking to accompany him after seeing the pain and resolve in Elder Mo Xuan's eyes.
• Elder Mo Xuan unfurled his Battle Qi Wings and flew away, leaving Jiang Donghua to consider seeking information from Dean Lei Tian.
• Jiang Donghua inspected the Storage Ring and found it packed with rare alchemy materials, equipment, and pill formulas, including formulas of at least the sixth grade.
• Jiang Donghua put on the Storage Ring and vowed to remember Elder Mo Xuan's vengeance and join him once he grew stronger.

Jiang Donghua studied the Burning Heaven Furnace Art and discovered that it greatly increased his AFK System gains, bringing him close to breaking through to Dou Wang. Seeking to learn about his teacher Mo Xuan’s past and enemies, he found that the other Alchemy Department elders knew little and was directed to dean Lei Tian.

• Jiang Donghua examined the Burning Heaven Furnace Art and learned its cultivation route could refine his Battle Qi and help him reach Dou Wang.
• Jiang Donghua checked his AFK System and saw that the new Earth-tier method raised his total gain to 25 points per hour.
• Jiang Donghua decided to let the system cultivate while he investigated Mo Xuan’s past and the Netherworld Sect.
• Jiang Donghua asked Elder Bing Hong about Mo Xuan, but she knew little and suggested asking dean Lei Tian.
• Jiang Donghua questioned Elder Huang Dashan, who said Mo Xuan came from the Central Plains but kept his background secret.

Jiang Donghua asked Dean Lei Tian about Mo Xuan’s past and learned why his teacher had gone alone to the Central Plains. Lei Tian revealed that Mo Xuan’s childhood sweetheart, Ning Ling, had been abducted and killed by a core figure of the Netherworld Sect, leaving Mo Xuan driven by decades of grief and vengeance.

• Jiang Donghua visited Dean Lei Tian and asked about Mo Xuan’s past and the Netherworld Sect.
• Lei Tian initially refused to speak, saying Mo Xuan had chosen to bear his burden alone, but agreed after Jiang Donghua promised not to act rashly.
• Lei Tian explained that Mo Xuan and Ning Ling had been talented Inner Academy students and childhood sweethearts who traveled together after graduation.
• A core figure from the Netherworld Sect abducted Ning Ling for her special physique and used her as a Cultivation Cauldron.
• Mo Xuan found Ning Ling dead after enduring countless hardships, then returned to Jia Nan Academy and devoted himself to cultivation and alchemy until he became a Dou Huang and Sixth-grade Alchemist.

Jiang Donghua searched Mo Xuan’s Storage Ring and discovered three seventh-grade pill recipes and a vast collection of other alchemical treasures. After finding an Emperor Pill recipe among the sixth-grade recipes, he realized the ring held an inheritance powerful enough to transform the fortunes of major factions.

• Jiang Donghua returned to his pill-refining room, troubled by Mo Xuan’s tragic past and the Netherworld Sect.
• Jiang Donghua inspected Mo Xuan’s Storage Ring and discovered several sealed seventh-grade pill recipes.
• A soul imprint of Mo Xuan appeared, praised Jiang Donghua’s progress, and told him to study the recipes when he was ready.
• Jiang Donghua’s Soul Force could not withstand the seventh-grade recipes’ information, so he turned to the sixth-grade collection.
• Jiang Donghua found the Emperor Pill recipe and recalled that it could raise a Dou Huang’s strength by one star and temper the body.

Jiang Donghua tried to read the Sixth-grade Top-tier Emperor Pill recipe despite lacking the skill to comprehend it, and the effort left him unconscious for two days and one night. After waking, he found the recipe on his idle panel, where it had begun to gain mastery slowly.

• Jiang Donghua realized his Fourth-grade Alchemist abilities were insufficient to refine the Emperor Pill and decided to use idling to learn its recipe.
• Jiang Donghua forced his Soul Force into the recipe, endured overwhelming pain, and memorized only its basic framework before collapsing unconscious.
• Two days and one night later, Jiang Donghua woke with a splitting headache and found he could barely remember the recipe's details.
• Jiang Donghua checked his idle panel and found Emperor Pill listed at 90/2000, gaining 0.5 points per hour.

The top fifty Outer Court students began the journey to Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy, where their final trial would test whether they could reach it safely. The Inner Academy elders noticed Jiang Donghua’s peak Dou Ling cultivation and left the students in the dangerous forest with Fire Energy Cards to protect.

• Lei Tian gathered the fifty Outer Court elites and led them through the academy’s barrier toward the forest route to the Inner Academy.
• The Inner Academy elders were shocked to discover that Jiang Donghua had reached peak Dou Ling and teased Lei Tian for hiding such a powerful student.
• An Inner Academy elder explained that the students’ Fire Energy Cards were their entry tokens and essential storage items, and told them to protect the cards as they made their way to the Inner Academy.
• The Inner Academy elders vanished, leaving the fifty students alone in the forest to face their final trial.

Jiang Donghua led a large alliance of freshmen into the forest for the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. Inner Academy hunters decided to gather reinforcements to ambush the group, unaware that Jiang Donghua was far stronger than they believed.

• Freshmen gathered around Jiang Donghua and asked him to lead them safely through the forest, and he agreed to command the alliance.
• Jiang Donghua led the large group into the forest as five concealed Inner Academy hunters watched them go.
• Fan Shuihua and the other hunters judged the alliance too strong to attack alone and decided to recruit nearby teams.
• The hunters spread the claim that Jiang Donghua was a weak leader and began weaving a larger ambush around the freshman alliance.

Jiang Donghua led the freshmen through the forest as bait, then detected an ambush by twenty Inner Academy seniors and prepared his allies to face them. The alliance learned of the danger and braced for the coming fight, with Jiang Donghua promising to handle any opponents his companions could not defeat.

• Bai Ling told Jiang Donghua that five Inner Academy seniors had watched the group before withdrawing, and he said he hoped more would attack.
• Four teams of Inner Academy seniors assembled an ambush, confident they could overwhelm the freshmen.
• Jiang Donghua sensed the twenty Battle Spirit seniors ahead and quietly warned Zhao Ming, Bai Ling, Wang Han, and Lin Xiu.
• Lin Xiu worried that the five Battle Spirit experts could not handle twenty opponents, but Jiang Donghua told them to fight whoever they could and leave the rest to him.
• Bai Ling, Zhao Ming, and the others warned the freshmen, who fell silent and prepared themselves for the ambush.