Chapter Summaries

Bing Hong and Lei Tian arranged a secret investigation of Jiang Donghua, suspecting he was Blood Fiend Son, while Mo Xuan struggled between defending his disciple and fearing the suspicion was true. The next morning, Jiang Donghua followed Mo Xuan to the Alchemy Pavilion, unaware that powerful elders were waiting to test him.

• Bing Hong told Mo Xuan she would recruit Lei Tian and elders skilled in soul detection to investigate Jiang Donghua, and Mo Xuan demanded an apology if his disciple proved innocent.
• Mo Xuan reflected on the suspicions surrounding Jiang Donghua and resolved either to defend him or personally kill him if he was a Blood Demon Sect spy.
• Bing Hong and Lei Tian agreed to secretly watch Jiang Donghua and prepare to suppress him before he could use his Secret Method.
• Jiang Donghua arrived at the Alchemy Department expecting the promised Mysterious-grade Combat Skill and noticed others acting strangely around him.
• Mo Xuan gave Jiang Donghua an ancient scroll and led him to the Alchemy Pavilion, where Lei Tian, Bing Hong, and three elders skilled in soul detection were secretly waiting.

Jiang Donghua passed the Soul-Suppressing Jade’s test, clearing him of suspicion, while Mo Xuan extorted compensation from the Academy’s elders for investigating his disciple. The Blood Demon Sect spy remained hidden, and Jiang Donghua chose to focus his system’s idle gains on cultivation as he prepared for the Academy Tournament.

• Three Dou Wang Elders investigated Jiang Donghua’s soul and cultivation, then reported to Lei Tian that he appeared to be a genuine youth; Bing Hong insisted he touch the Soul-Suppressing Jade.
• Jiang Donghua touched the jade without triggering it, and Mo Xuan gave him the Heavenly Gang Overlord Fist before asking about his rapid progress; Jiang Donghua attributed it to cultivating quickly.
• Mo Xuan confronted Bing Hong and the elders who had investigated Jiang Donghua, demanding compensation and receiving pill materials, armor, a secret technique, and the Bloodfang Blade for his disciple.
• Tie Xing cleared Jiang Donghua but mobilized the Disciplinary Hall to hunt for the Blood Demon Sect spy using a Soul Devouring Crystal; a hidden sect member dismissed the crystal as ineffective.
• Jiang Donghua weighed improving his combat skills against advancing his realm, then prioritized cultivation so he could reach Da Dou Shi and improve his chances in the Academy Tournament.

Jiang Donghua tried to improve his Third-grade pill refining, but a failed attempt and Senior Brother Lin’s warning about the Disciplinary Hall heightened his unease. After sensing someone watching him, he stayed overnight in the Alchemy Department, while Blood Fiend Son watched from afar and considered recruiting him as a shield.

• Jiang Donghua studied Third-grade pill patterns, then ruined a Mystic Spirit Pill when his Soul Force faltered during refinement.
• Senior Brother Lin teased Jiang Donghua about the failed furnace and warned him to be careful because the academy was tense and the Disciplinary Hall had been watching him.
• Jiang Donghua sensed a watcher outside the Alchemy Department, rushed back inside, and spent the night in a private alchemy room.
• The next morning, Jiang Donghua received admiring greetings from the Alchemy Department students, sensed the watcher again, and decided to lure them out.
• Blood Fiend Son and Black Robe watched Jiang Donghua from hiding, and Blood Fiend Son considered recruiting him into the Blood Demon Sect as a shield, threatening to kill him if he interfered or learned the truth.

Jiang Donghua told Mo Xuan that he felt watched, and Mo Xuan warned him that someone might be using him as a scapegoat. Mo Xuan and Bing Hong uncovered signs of a wider Blood Demon Sect infiltration and suspected the real Blood Fiend Son had entered Jia Nan Academy’s upper ranks.

• Jiang Donghua told Mo Xuan that he felt watched and described Lin Yue’s questions about the Disciplinary Hall.
• Mo Xuan gave Jiang Donghua a Soul Protection Jade and told him to avoid acting alone or revealing information to Lin Yue.
• Blood Fiend Son ordered Lin Yue to proceed with the plan to use Jiang Donghua as a smokescreen and kill Mo Xuan if he interfered.
• Mo Xuan confronted Bing Hong about Lin Yue, and she showed him records of Lin Yue’s suspicious behavior and other abnormal disciples.
• Bing Hong revealed that the Blood Demon Sect’s infiltration was extensive and suspected the real Blood Fiend Son had infiltrated Jia Nan Academy’s upper ranks.

Mo Xuan and Bing Hong suspected Blood Fiend Son had infiltrated the academy by devouring an elder and stealing their memories, so they planned to use Jiang Donghua as bait. Mo Xuan gave Jiang Donghua the Bloodfang Blade and then privately discussed the investigation with him, but Jiang Donghua guessed that Mo Xuan’s suspicions had advanced.

• Bing Hong warned Mo Xuan that Blood Fiend Son could impersonate an elder using the Blood Demon Sect’s Soul Devouring Spirit Stealing art.
• Mo Xuan and Bing Hong agreed to investigate the elders carefully and use Jiang Donghua as bait to draw Blood Fiend Son out.
• Mo Xuan decided Jiang Donghua needed protection and brought him the Bloodfang Blade, forged from a Tier 5 Demonic Beast.
• Jiang Donghua eagerly accepted the blade and teased Mo Xuan about giving him such a valuable gift.
• Mo Xuan took Jiang Donghua to a soundproof room, where Jiang Donghua guessed the academy had rewarded Mo Xuan for his suspicions.
• Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua that suspicion without conclusive evidence was not enough to earn a reward.

Jiang Donghua learned that Mo Xuan had helped secure his acceptance and gave him the Bloodfang Blade, then received a Profound-tier High Grade body-tempering technique in exchange for spying on Lin Yue. He suspected Lin Yue had hidden knowledge and baited him into arranging a meeting, leaving Jiang Donghua prepared to investigate him.

• Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua that academy experts had secretly examined him and warned him to keep a low profile while carrying the Bloodfang Blade.
• Mo Xuan gave Jiang Donghua the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique and asked him to gather information if Lin Yue approached him again.
• Jiang Donghua suspected Lin Yue after realizing he had known about the Law Enforcement Department's investigation, and he worried about the Blood Demon Sect's infiltration.
• Jiang Donghua demonstrated his alchemy skills to apprentices, hoping to make himself seem valuable enough to attract Lin Yue.
• Lin Yue invited Jiang Donghua to discuss an Ancient Pill Recipe at his residence, and Jiang Donghua agreed to meet him that night in the eastern district's small bamboo grove courtyard.

Jiang Donghua met Lin Yue in the bamboo grove, where Lin Yue exposed himself as a Blood Demon Sect agent and attacked him. Mo Xuan intervened after the fight destroyed the grove, and Lin Yue died in a self-detonation; Mo Xuan kept some Blood Fiend Qi to pursue the sect, while Jiang Donghua was ordered to return to cultivation.

• Jiang Donghua went to meet Lin Yue, protected by Mo Xuan’s Mystic Turtle Spirit Armor and carrying a Soul Jade Token.
• Lin Yue tried to ensnare Jiang Donghua with a pill recipe and Blood Fiend Incense, then accused him of being connected to the Blood Demon Sect and attacked.
• Jiang Donghua resisted Lin Yue’s techniques, but Lin Yue transformed and raised his strength to Dou Ling Peak, wrecking the dormitory and bamboo grove.
• Mo Xuan arrived, shattered Lin Yue’s attack, and struck him down.
• Lin Yue detonated himself, but Mo Xuan shielded Jiang Donghua and collected the remaining Blood Fiend Qi for the investigation.
• Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua to return to the Alchemy Department and master the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique.

After killing Lin Yue, Jiang Donghua returned to the Alchemy Department while Jia Nan Academy’s leaders reacted to the Blood Demon Sect’s presence. Mo Xuan, Lei Tian, and Tie Xing traced evidence toward a hidden enemy location, and the Outer Court erupted as the academy’s experts mobilized.

• Jiang Donghua looted Lin Yue’s Storage Rings, burned his corpse, and hurried back to the Alchemy Department after sensing he might be watched.
• Jiang Donghua warned the Alchemy Department disciples to be careful, then took refuge in Mo Xuan’s alchemy chamber and examined the rings.
• Tie Xing ordered the academy sealed while Lei Tian rushed toward the battle site after sensing a Dou Wang fluctuation.
• Lei Tian and Tie Xing tracked Mo Xuan’s aura and confronted him, where Mo Xuan showed them a Blood Demon Sect Soul Imprint and evidence left by the attacker who had targeted his disciple.
• Tie Xing used the bloodstained cloth to trace a blood-red thread toward a location within the academy, and Lei Tian led the group to investigate despite Tie Xing’s warning that it might be a trap.
• The Outer Court panicked as Lei Tian and Tie Xing flew into action, and Dou Wang Enforcement Elders followed them into the sky.

Lei Tian and Tie Xing attacked Blood Fiend Son’s hideout in Jia Nan Academy, killed his Black Robe subordinates, and pursued him when he fled. They stopped his desperate counterattack, and Lei Tian killed him, leaving the academy’s threat from Blood Demon Sect without an interrogation.

• Lei Tian killed one Black Robe and Tie Xing tortured another for information, but the survivors knew little about Blood Fiend Son’s plans.
• Blood Fiend Son used the Blood Escape Great Method to flee his secret room after realizing his subordinates had been defeated.
• Lei Tian pursued Blood Fiend Son while Tie Xing trapped him with the Shadow Heavenly Net, and Blood Fiend Son sacrificed blood essence to escape the chains.
• Lei Tian vaporized much of Blood Fiend Son’s blood-mist form with Thunder God’s Spear, leaving him badly weakened.
• Blood Fiend Son launched a destructive blood wave, but Tie Xing restrained it with the Shadow Seal Demon Imprint.
• Lei Tian punched through Blood Fiend Son’s chest and reduced him to ashes.

After killing Blood Fiend Son, Tie Xing warned Lei Tian that the Blood Demon Sect could still be infiltrating Jia Nan Academy. While sorting the spoils, Jiang Donghua discovered that Yan Feng had been replaced by a Blood Puppet months earlier, then faced a returning Elder Mo Xuan he could not be sure was real.

• Tie Xing cautioned Lei Tian that the Blood Demon Sect might retaliate or already have agents inside Jia Nan Academy, but Lei Tian dismissed the threat.
• Jiang Donghua searched Blood Fiend Son's Storage Rings, kept suspicious pills and sect tokens aside, and took the ordinary pills, medicinal herbs, and formulas.
• Jiang Donghua read that Yan Feng had been replaced by a Blood Puppet seven months earlier and recognized the battle techniques and cultivation art Yan Feng had given him.
• Elder Mo Xuan entered the alchemy room and called for Jiang Donghua, who suspected the visitor might be a Blood Puppet and cautiously questioned him.

Jiang Donghua found a list identifying hundreds of Blood Demon Sect Blood Puppets in Jia Nan Academy, and Elder Mo Xuan organized a covert investigation with Lei Tian and Tie Xing. Their arrests exposed a self-destruction safeguard among the infiltrators, and the academy ordered all students to undergo identity checks after dawn.

• Jiang Donghua showed Elder Mo Xuan a book listing two or three hundred people replaced by the Blood Demon Sect, and Mo Xuan sealed the chamber and began coordinating a response.
• Elder Mo Xuan gave Tie Xing and Lei Tian the list, and they agreed to investigate suspects secretly rather than risk harming innocents.
• Lei Tian and Tie Xing captured Blood Puppets in the dormitories and had their Battle Qi crippled, but captured infiltrators began self-destructing through hidden restrictions.
• The fighting continued through the night as students feared the spies among them, and an Enforcement Team member ordered everyone to gather at the plaza after dawn for an identity investigation.

At Old Yan's funeral, Jia Nan Academy mourned those exposed as Blood Demon Sect Blood Puppets, and Lei Tian restrained the students from seeking reckless revenge. Jiang Donghua vowed to avenge Yan Feng, then reunited with Liu Mingyu and Liu Yuting before they parted to pursue their own cultivation.

• Jiang Donghua mourned Yan Feng at the Heroes' Mausoleum and remembered how his mentor had protected him on the journey to Jia Nan Academy.
• Students gathered in the academy plaza to grieve for mentors and friends revealed as Blood Demon Sect Blood Puppets, and many demanded revenge.
• Lei Tian warned the students that the Blood Demon Sect had a Peak Dou Zong powerhouse and urged them to grow stronger before seeking revenge.
• Jiang Donghua vowed to avenge Yan Feng by killing a Blood Demon Sect elder when he became strong enough.
• Jiang Donghua reunited with Liu Mingyu and Liu Yuting, who thanked him for helping them gain respect and resources but said they wanted to rely on themselves.
• Jiang Donghua offered the siblings help if they faced trouble, and the three parted ways.

Jiang Donghua received access to Lei Tian’s Earth-tier Intermediate Movement Dou Technique, Lightning Shadow Step, as a reward for finding the Blood Puppet list. After the technique’s lightning seal injured him during his first attempt to study it, he entered it into the AFK System and focused on advancing his cultivation first.

• Elder Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua that the academy would keep his discovery of the Blood Puppet list secret to protect him, though it would still reward him.
• Lei Tian offered Jiang Donghua a reward, and Jiang Donghua requested the Earth-tier Movement Technique Lei Tian had used.
• Lei Tian tested Jiang Donghua’s reflexes with a lightning bolt, then agreed to lend him Lightning Shadow Step for three days under strict conditions.
• Elder Mo Xuan admitted that he had personally pressured academy elders to obtain the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique for Jiang Donghua.
• Jiang Donghua opened the Lightning Shadow Step scroll and learned its three realms and Thunder Body Tempering effect, but the technique’s lightning backlash made him bleed.
• Jiang Donghua entered Lightning Shadow Step into the AFK System and decided to advance to Da Dou Shi before cultivating it.

Jiang Donghua told Lei Tian he had only begun to comprehend Lightning Shadow Step, and Lei Tian reclaimed the technique scroll. In Blood Demon City, Protector Liu persuaded Old Ghost Blood Demon to join a plot to unleash Jia Nan Academy’s Heavenly Flame, and they agreed to proceed.

• Jiang Donghua told Lei Tian that he had barely grasped the first level of Lightning Shadow Step, and Lei Tian took back the scroll.
• Old Ghost Blood Demon killed two of his subordinates for failing to find the Heavenly Flame and grew furious that Blood Fiend Son had returned empty-handed.
• Protector Liu offered Old Ghost Blood Demon a jade slip to suppress his blood qi and promised that the Heavenly Flame could help him reach the Dou Zun realm.
• Protector Liu showed Old Ghost Blood Demon the sealed Heavenly Flame beneath Jia Nan Academy and proposed detonating it to attack the academy.
• Protector Liu revealed that two five-star Dou Zun Soul Hall Heavenly Venerables would assist, and Old Ghost Blood Demon agreed to the plan.

Old Ghost Blood Demon agreed to Soul Hall’s plan to attack Jia Nan Academy in three days, hoping to seize its Heavenly Flames and escape the fatal flaws of his cultivation. Meanwhile, Jiang Donghua discovered that records did not mention Yao Chen, then offered to demonstrate pill refining to the Alchemy Department disciples.

• Protector Liu assured Old Ghost Blood Demon that Mang Tianchi had been absent from Jia Nan Academy for ten years, and Old Ghost Blood Demon ordered the Blood Demon Sect to gather for an attack in three days.
• Old Ghost Blood Demon killed an elder who objected and revealed that he needed Heavenly Flames or a Dou Zun magical beast’s Life Fire to refine his bloodline and survive.
• Jiang Donghua found no mention of Yao Chen in the Pill Tower Competition Records, and Elder Mo Xuan insisted that no Venerable Yao had ever been famous in the Central Plains.
• Jiang Donghua wondered whether Yao Chen was not as old as he had assumed, then dismissed the discrepancy and left to finish his Mystic Spirit Pills.
• Jiang Donghua advised an alchemy apprentice and invited the disciples to observe him refining three Mystic Spirit Pills, bringing out his Earth Spirit Cauldron.

Jiang Donghua demonstrated his pill-refining skill, then delivered three high-quality Mystic Spirit Pills to the Mission Hall and declined additional work for now. Steward Chen promised to let him choose future pill-refining missions first.

• Jiang Donghua refined three Mystic Spirit Pills in four attempts, impressing the disciples and inspiring several to gain insights into alchemy.
• Jiang Donghua checked his AFK System panel and saw that his Mystic Spirit Pill proficiency had increased.
• Jiang Donghua submitted the three pills at the Mission Hall, and Steward Chen confirmed the mission and credited his Contribution Points.
• Steward Chen offered Jiang Donghua first choice of other pill-refining missions, but Jiang Donghua declined because he was short on time.
• Steward Chen agreed to let Jiang Donghua choose first whenever he was on duty at the Mission Hall.

Jiang Donghua broke through to Five-star Battle Master in his alchemy room, then felt an unexplained sense of danger during secluded cultivation. Meanwhile, Old Ghost Blood Demon ordered the Blood Demon Sect to mobilize against Jia Nan Academy, sending a vast army toward it.

• Jiang Donghua reached Five-star Battle Master and expected to challenge the Six-star realm in about seventeen or eighteen days.
• Jiang Donghua spent two days cultivating before an intense, recurring sense of dread interrupted him.
• Old Ghost Blood Demon announced that the Blood Demon Sect would destroy Jia Nan Academy that night and ordered the sect to attack.
• A Blood Demon Sect elder promised rewards for killing academy students and offered a Sixth-grade Treasure Blade for capturing or killing an elder-level figure.
• The Blood Demon Sect's forces advanced toward Jia Nan Academy, alarming the Black Corner Region's powers.
• A Dou Wang city lord ordered his people not to interfere with the Blood Demon Sect's march.

The Blood Demon Sect and Soul Hall launched an assault on Jia Nan Academy, prompting Great Elder Ye Tianxing to mobilize the Inner Academy’s defenses. A hidden observer watched the crisis unfold and held back, waiting to see whether the attackers would cross a line.

• Old Ghost Blood Demon led the Blood Demon Sect and Soul Hall Protectors toward Jia Nan Academy while Black Corner Region factions chose not to interfere.
• Lei Tian learned that the Blood Demon Sect had mobilized with at least three Dou Zong-level Soul Hall Protectors and ordered the Outer Court to retreat behind the barrier.
• Lei Tian sent the highest-level distress signal to the Inner Academy.
• Ye Tianxing assembled the elders, ordered the disciples into combat readiness, and activated the Heavenly Dipper Great Array.
• A concealed observer condemned the Soul Hall and the Gu Clan but decided to wait, warning that he would intervene if the Soul Hall crossed the line.

Ye Tianxing summoned Elder Qian and Elder Wu to defend Jia Nan Academy against the Blood Demon Sect and the Soul Hall, while Mang Tianchi suspected a stronger enemy was waiting in hiding. The academy activated its Tiangang Guardian Array as Old Ghost Blood Demon’s forces arrived and began attacking.

• Ye Tianxing awakened Elder Qian and Elder Wu from seclusion and told them the Blood Demon Sect and Soul Hall had reached the academy gates.
• Elder Qian and Elder Wu agreed to join the defense and followed Ye Tianxing out of the forbidden grounds.
• Mang Tianchi watched Ye Tianxing organize the academy’s forces and suspected a Soul Hall Venerable was hiding nearby.
• Jia Nan Academy activated the Tiangang Guardian Array, and mentors and students hurried to safety or to help maintain its nodes.
• Old Ghost Blood Demon led the Blood Demon Sect’s army to the array and ordered its disciples to attack while the Soul Hall Protectors waited in the black mist.

The Soul Hall Protectors and Old Ghost Blood Demon attacked Jia Nan Academy, overwhelming its defenses and forcing its elders into battle. As the Protectors moved to seize Ye Tianxing’s soul, Mang Tianchi arrived to confront them.

• The three Soul Hall Protectors tore open Jia Nan Academy’s Guardian Array, allowing Old Ghost Blood Demon to enter and suppress the academy with his Peak Dou Zong aura.
• Old Ghost Blood Demon wounded Lei Tian with a glance, then fought Elder Qian and Elder Wu as they tried to stop him.
• The Soul Hall Protectors appeared while the elders were occupied and attacked Ye Tianxing, who resisted their Soul Power barrier and prepared to fight back.
• The Protectors unleashed Myriad Souls Devour Heart at Ye Tianxing, but Mang Tianchi arrived and destroyed the ghostly hands with a bolt of lightning.