Chapter Summaries

Jiang Donghua joined Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi on the hunt for an Exotic Treasure after revealing that he was a Fourth-grade Alchemist. He broke through to Five-Star Great Fighter during a training fight, but when the treasure appeared at Lava Valley, Liu Qingsi left him behind for his safety.

• Jiang Donghua revealed that he was a Fourth-grade Alchemist, prompting Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi to treat him with greater respect and welcome his help on their expedition.
• Xiao Han, Liu Qingsi, and Lei Lie displayed their strength by easily defeating Tier 4 Demonic Beasts as the group traveled toward Lava Valley.
• At Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi's urging, Jiang Donghua fought a wounded Red Scale Python to practice controlling his dou qi and broke through to Five-Star Great Fighter.
• A crimson pillar of light erupted near Lava Valley, and Xiao Han recognized that the Exotic Treasure had appeared.
• Liu Qingsi carried Jiang Donghua toward the valley, then set him down and told him to wait behind because the contest for the treasure was too dangerous.

Jiang Donghua watched Inner Academy experts kill the Lava Poison Fire Scorpion and claim the Crimson Flame Lotus, then persuaded Liu Qingsi, Xiao Han, and Lei Lie to search the crater for other treasures. After their search came up empty, he suspected the Spirit Materials lay beneath the magma, leaving the group to weigh a perilous dive.

• Jiang Donghua secretly followed Liu Qingsi, Xiao Han, and Lei Lie to the crater, where they confronted the Lava Poison Fire Scorpion guarding the Crimson Flame Lotus.
• More than thirty Dou Lings and three Dou Wangs battled the scorpion until it died, and the three Dou Wangs took the lotus.
• Liu Qingsi discovered Jiang Donghua hiding in a tree, and he rejoined the group after the battle.
• Jiang Donghua proposed searching the crater for the scorpion's remains and Spirit Materials, so Liu Qingsi, Xiao Han, and Lei Lie went below while he waited at the edge.
• The three found only damaged remains, and Jiang Donghua argued that the Spirit Materials might be hidden beneath the magma.
• Xiao Han asked Jiang Donghua how confident he was about the dangerous possibility.

Jiang Donghua persuaded Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi to search the magma again for a strange piece of white jade that might be Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow. They pried it from the rock wall and brought it out, where its resistance to heat and force convinced them it was an extraordinary treasure.

• Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi searched the magma but found nothing and confronted Jiang Donghua when they returned.
• Jiang Donghua asked about unusual objects, and Xiao Han recalled seeing smooth white jade embedded in a crack deep in the magma.
• Jiang Donghua identified the jade as a possible shell containing Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow and persuaded the three to retrieve it.
• Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi combined their attacks to crack the jade's surface and free it from the rock wall.
• The three carried the jade out of the magma, and Xiao Han and Liu Qingsi noted its unusual durability and resistance to their powers.

Jiang Donghua extracted six bottles of Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow but had to wait for his master, Mo Xuan, to refine it safely. Meanwhile, Mo Xuan and Lei Tian found a Sixth-grade Mysterious Flame Cold Flood Dragon and charged into its valley to obtain its flame.

• Jiang Donghua cut open the Earth Core Fire Jade and collected six bottles of Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow, warning that it had to be refined before anyone could use it.
• Lei Lie, Liu Qingsi, and Xiao Han agreed to return to the Inner Academy and wait for Jiang Donghua to contact them when Mo Xuan returned.
• Jiang Donghua stored the jade shell, planning to turn it into a heart-protecting mirror.
• Mo Xuan and Lei Tian searched the mountain range for a suitable Sixth-order Demonic Beast so Mo Xuan could refine its flame for Jiang Donghua.
• Mo Xuan spotted a Sixth-grade Mysterious Flame Cold Flood Dragon, and he and Lei Tian charged into the valley to take it down.

Lei Tian and Mo Xuan obtained a Tier 6 beast fire for Jiang Donghua, then returned to find him back at the alchemy room with Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow. After hearing how Jiang Donghua had ventured into danger to acquire it, Mo Xuan scolded him but let him help refine pills for Lei Lie and the others, then prepared to fetch ingredients for the work.

• Lei Tian killed the Mysterious Flame Cold Flood Dragon, and Mo Xuan extracted its Tier 6 beast fire for Jiang Donghua.
• Mo Xuan found Jiang Donghua in his alchemy room with a jade shell made from Thousand Year Magma Essence and six bottles of Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow.
• Jiang Donghua explained how he had ventured into the deep wilderness and obtained the jade marrow, and Mo Xuan rebuked him for risking his life.
• Mo Xuan agreed to postpone Jiang Donghua's punishment and assigned him to assist with refining pills for Lei Lie and the other Inner Academy students.
• After lecturing Jiang Donghua about the dangers facing young talents, Mo Xuan decided to visit the medicinal repository for ingredients needed to harmonize the jade marrow.

Mo Xuan enlisted Li Changhai and Huang Dashan to harmonize Jiang Donghua’s Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow, then refined the resulting liquid over ten hours. He warned Jiang Donghua of its danger, set aside a bottle for Lei Lie and the others, and sent his disciple to deliver it.

• Mo Xuan asked Li Changhai and Huang Dashan how to harmonize the jade marrow, and agreed to give them ten percent in exchange for Water-element Demonic Cores and their help.
• Jiang Donghua told Mo Xuan he had kept a few small bottles of jade marrow for himself, and Mo Xuan arranged for him to assist with the work the next day.
• Li Changhai and Huang Dashan used Water-element Demonic Cores, Ice Spirit Spring, and Mysterious Yin Lingzhi to suppress the jade marrow’s fire nature and harmonize it into medicinal liquid.
• Mo Xuan refined the liquid for more than ten hours, then demonstrated that a drop could corrode through stone and warned Jiang Donghua not to consume it before reaching Dou Ling.
• Mo Xuan reserved one bottle for Lei Lie and the others, sealed the rest for Jiang Donghua’s future breakthrough, and sent him to deliver the bottle.

Jiang Donghua traveled from the Outer Court to the Inner Academy to find Lei Lie, Xiao Han, and Liu Qingsi, but could not reach them because they were difficult to locate and the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower barred his entry. He offered a Mystic Spirit Pill to anyone who would deliver his message, prompting several students to volunteer despite their fear of the Strong Ranking experts.

• Jiang Donghua rode a Griffin from the Outer Court to the Inner Academy and learned that Lei Lie had sparred at the arena while Xiao Han and Liu Qingsi had entered seclusion in the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower.
• Jiang Donghua searched for Lei Lie at the arena, but a student told him Lei Lie had not appeared that day.
• An instructor refused to let Jiang Donghua enter the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower, despite his Alchemy Department token, and students warned him that Xiao Han and Liu Qingsi hated being disturbed.
• Jiang Donghua offered a Mystic Spirit Pill to anyone who would notify Xiao Han or Liu Qingsi, and seven or eight students rushed toward the tower to claim it.

Jiang Donghua sought Liu Qingsi at the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower, but the sixth-floor restriction forced him to enlist Hong Ling, Liu Qingsi’s rival. Hong Ling brought Liu Qingsi to the tower entrance, where she confronted Jiang Donghua.

• Jiang Donghua and the students could not reach Liu Qingsi on the sixth floor, so Hong Ling offered to fetch her in exchange for three additional Mystic Spirit Pills if Liu Qingsi attacked him.
• Hong Ling entered the tower, passed the sixth-floor restriction, and interrupted Liu Qingsi’s meditation to tell her someone outside was looking for her with a Mystic Spirit Pill.
• Liu Qingsi suspected Hong Ling of plotting against her but agreed to follow her to the entrance.
• The students warned Jiang Donghua about Liu Qingsi’s Poisonous Arts, but he stayed where he was.
• Liu Qingsi emerged from the tower and approached Jiang Donghua.

Jiang Donghua reunited with Liu Qingsi and Xiao Han at the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower and gave them powerful medicinal liquid, astonishing the Inner Academy students with their warm treatment of him. He took Liu Qingsi, Xiao Han, and Lei Lie to Xiao Han’s residence, where he revealed that the liquid had been refined by three Outer Court Alchemy Department elders using three Fifth-grade Demonic Cores.

• Liu Qingsi greeted Jiang Donghua warmly, paid for his Mystic Spirit Pill, and went to fetch Xiao Han after he said he had come about their agreed matter.
• Hong Ling questioned Jiang Donghua about his ties to Liu Qingsi, and he claimed they were distant cousins with a family remedy for baldness.
• Xiao Han came out of the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower, hugged Jiang Donghua, and accepted the medicinal liquid he had prepared.
• Hong Ling returned the Mystic Spirit Pill to Jiang Donghua, while Xiao Han warned her not to meddle and led Jiang Donghua and Liu Qingsi away.
• At Xiao Han’s residence, Lei Lie joined them, and Jiang Donghua handed him his portion of the medicinal liquid.
• Jiang Donghua revealed that the liquid had been jointly refined by Li Changhai, Huang Dashan, and his master Mo Xuan using three Fifth-grade Water-element Demonic Cores.

Jiang Donghua warned Liu Qingsi, Lei Lie, and Xiao Han to save the Meridian-Burning Barrier-Breaking Pill for when they reached the Dou Wang barrier, promising it could greatly improve their chances of breaking through. After they agreed to keep the pills secret, the three escorted him out of the Inner Academy, where his reputation as Mo Xuan's disciple spread.

• Jiang Donghua told Liu Qingsi, Lei Lie, and Xiao Han to wait until they reached the Dou Wang barrier before consuming the medicinal liquid, which could help them break through if they endured its pain.
• Liu Qingsi, Lei Lie, and Xiao Han accepted the pills, promised to keep them secret, and pledged to deal with anyone who tried to seize them.
• The three Inner Academy experts escorted Jiang Donghua through the academy, startling students who had previously mocked him.
• Inner Academy students learned Jiang Donghua was Mo Xuan's disciple and a young alchemy talent capable of refining Fourth-grade Pills, and they regretted underestimating him.
• Jiang Donghua departed on the Griffin as rumors about him spread through Jia Nan Academy.

Xiao Han, Liu Qingsi, and Lei Lie entered seclusion after receiving pills from Jiang Donghua, while Hong Ling tried to make amends for targeting him and then set out to win his favor. Hong Ling’s repeated visits to the Alchemy Department distracted its students, and her pursuit of Jiang Donghua remained undeterred.

• Xiao Han, Liu Qingsi, and Lei Lie each left to cultivate, hoping to use the Meridian-Burning Barrier-Breaking Pill to reach Dou Wang.
• News of the three entering seclusion spread through the Inner Academy, and Hong Ling worried that Jiang Donghua would resent her earlier actions.
• Hong Ling gathered a Crimson Fire Jade and a Fifth-grade Demonic Core to offer Jiang Donghua as an apology, then decided she would try to win him over.
• Hong Ling met Jiang Donghua outside the Alchemy Department in a new outfit, but he pointed out that she had gotten wet.
• Hong Ling kept visiting the Outer Court's Alchemy Department, distracting the students until one of them blew up a furnace and spilled medicinal liquid.

Jiang Donghua tried to avoid Hong Ling by staying in seclusion, but she continued pursuing him even after he gave her a fourth-grade Fire Spirit Pill as a return gift. When he sought Mo Xuan’s advice about cultivating the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique, Mo Xuan arranged for Hong Ling to spar with him daily, and she went to find him for their first session.

• Jiang Donghua spent a month in seclusion refining pills and cultivating while Hong Ling repeatedly tried to see him.
• Jiang Donghua gave Hong Ling a fourth-grade Fire Spirit Pill as repayment for the valuable items she had given him, but she refused to take it as a reason to leave him alone.
• Jiang Donghua visited Mo Xuan to ask how to improve his comprehension of the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique, and Hong Ling offered to help him through sparring.
• Mo Xuan ordered Jiang Donghua to spar with Hong Ling for two hours each day, and Hong Ling accepted eagerly.
• The next day, Hong Ling entered the Alchemy Department hall and asked where Jiang Donghua was; the students told her he was upstairs.

Jiang Donghua sparred with Hong Ling in the Alchemy Department and was completely outmatched by her speed and lightning Battle Qi. After Hong Ling left him collapsed and numb, she returned with a pill to help him recover, while he vowed to grow strong enough to face her again.

• Disciples in the Alchemy Department watched Hong Ling flirt with Jiang Donghua before their spar and wondered whether he would survive it.
• Hong Ling repeatedly dodged Jiang Donghua's attacks and used her lightning force to numb and overpower him.
• Hong Ling declared Jiang Donghua defeated, pinched his cheek, and left after promising to return the next day.
• Jiang Donghua remained collapsed on the corridor floor, unable to move as the lightning force numbed his meridians.
• Hong Ling returned with a pill, fed it to Jiang Donghua, and teased him about lasting longer in their next spar.
• Jiang Donghua recovered some movement and vowed to become strong enough to face Hong Ling again.

Jiang Donghua discovered that Hong Ling’s lightning had advanced his Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique, then learned Mo Xuan had arranged their sparring to help him grow. He challenged Hong Ling at the Outer Court training ground, where he endured her lightning and managed to force her back.

• Jiang Donghua noticed his body had grown tougher and found that the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique had reached Beginner after Hong Ling’s lightning tempered him.
• Jiang Donghua confronted Mo Xuan about the pill Hong Ling had given him, and Mo Xuan admitted he had arranged the sparring to help Jiang Donghua train.
• Jiang Donghua challenged Hong Ling to spar at the training ground, and she accepted as Alchemy Department disciples hurried after them to watch.
• Hong Ling attacked Jiang Donghua with lightning, but he dodged her first strike and countered with Blazing Palm.
• Hong Ling struck Jiang Donghua with her Instant Thunder Technique, but he endured the lightning and hit her with Heavenly Gang Overlord Fist, forcing her back several steps.

Hong Ling defeated Jiang Donghua with hidden lightning, but he used the attack to cultivate the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique through their daily sparring. After achieving mastery, he resisted her lightning and struck back, leaving their next battle underway.

• Hong Ling revealed that she had secretly planted lightning in Jiang Donghua during their palm strike, paralyzing him and ending their spar.
• Jiang Donghua used the AFK System’s proficiency gains to guide Hong Ling’s lightning through his body and temper himself instead of suppressing it.
• Over the next month, Hong Ling sparred with Jiang Donghua daily and gave him pills to ease the backlash, while he steadily strengthened his body and she advanced to Eight-star Dou Ling.
• During another spar, Jiang Donghua’s mastered Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique canceled much of Hong Ling’s lightning, and he countered with a punch that forced her back.
• Hong Ling accepted Jiang Donghua’s challenge, and the two lunged at each other as their lightning clashed.

Jiang Donghua challenged Hong Ling after mastering the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique, but she overwhelmed him and knocked him unconscious. Mo Xuan confirmed Jiang Donghua had reached Great Accomplishment and hinted that a new step would follow.

• Jiang Donghua fought Hong Ling, who beat him with her speed, strength, and combat techniques despite his resistance to lightning.
• Jiang Donghua kept demanding to fight until Hong Ling accidentally shocked him unconscious.
• Hong Ling carried Jiang Donghua to the Alchemy Department while disciples joked about their repeated sparring matches.
• Mo Xuan examined Jiang Donghua and confirmed that the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique had reached Great Accomplishment.
• Mo Xuan gave Jiang Donghua a blue-violet pill and hinted that the next step would soon begin.

Jiang Donghua woke after Hong Ling helped Mo Xuan treat him, then learned that Mo Xuan planned to send him to the Black Corner Region for life-and-death combat training. He reluctantly agreed to go, and Mo Xuan ordered him to leave the next day.

• Hong Ling nervously sent Lightning-attribute Battle Qi into Jiang Donghua's acupoints, and Jiang Donghua woke to find her hand hovering over his abdomen.
• Jiang Donghua teased Hong Ling about touching him, so she fled the Pill Room in embarrassment.
• Jiang Donghua dressed and demonstrated the Heavenly Thunder Body Tempering Technique, while Mo Xuan judged him nearly invincible among Outer Court Da Dou Shi cultivators.
• Mo Xuan told Jiang Donghua to gain real combat experience by training in the Black Corner Region, and Jiang Donghua feared the powerful fighters there.
• Jiang Donghua reluctantly agreed to go, and Mo Xuan ordered him to pack and leave the next day.

Jiang Donghua was escorted by Hong Ling to Peace Town and entered the Black Corner Region, where a bandit ambush and a hunt for a rare herb quickly turned dangerous. They fled from a rampaging Tier 5 Earth Fiend Demonic Lizard, with their escape still underway.

• Hong Ling accompanied Jiang Donghua to Peace Town on Elder Mo Xuan's orders, and they reviewed her intelligence about the forces near the Black Corner Region.
• After leaving Peace Town, Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling were ambushed by the Blood Fang Gang, and Hong Ling killed the bandits when their leader swallowed a Berserk Blood Pill.
• Jiang Donghua collected the bandits' Berserk Blood Pills to study and spotted a three-hundred-year-old Crimson Blood Lingzhi growing on a nearby rock wall.
• Jiang Donghua began harvesting the lingzhi, but the ground collapsed and revealed a peak Tier 5 Earth Fiend Demonic Lizard whose nest the herb had grown above.
• Hong Ling and Jiang Donghua fled the enraged demonic lizard, and Hong Ling used medicinal powder to obscure their trail before leading him toward a valley.

Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling escaped the Earth Fiend Demonic Lizard with a three-hundred-year Crimson Blood Lingzhi, then discovered a Netherworld Palace fighter using a Soul Devouring Pill to slaughter three Dou Lings. The fighter found them and attacked, but Hong Ling revealed her Eight-star Dou Ling strength by blocking his strike.

• Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling hid in a cave until the Earth Fiend Demonic Lizard's roars faded, and Hong Ling gave Jiang Donghua the Crimson Blood Lingzhi.
• After leaving the cave, Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling went to investigate a distant battle and watched a black-robed man fight three Dou Lings.
• The black-robed man swallowed a Soul Devouring Pill, killed his three opponents, and absorbed one victim's Battle Qi.
• A snapped branch revealed Jiang Donghua and Hong Ling's hiding place, and the black-robed man attacked Jiang Donghua.
• Hong Ling stepped in and blocked the black-robed man's ghost-claw strike with her lightning, surprising him with her Eight-star Dou Ling strength.

Hong Ling killed Black Robe and led Jiang Donghua into Blood Raven City, where Third Master Bone plotted to capture them for his Blood Bone Armor. After his men ambushed them at their inn, Hong Ling launched into battle against the attackers.

• Hong Ling defeated Black Robe, looted his Storage Ring with Jiang Donghua, and teased him after mistaking his admiration for a liking for strong women.
• Hong Ling and Jiang Donghua entered Blood Raven City and headed for the Bone Sect's territory to find shelter and gather information.
• Black Tooth reported the pair to Third Master Bone, who ordered him to track them and planned to use their bones for his Blood Bone Armor.
• Black Tooth found Hong Ling and Jiang Donghua at a rundown inn, and Third Master Bone brought six Great Dou Masters to attack them.
• Hong Ling blasted a lurking attacker through the inn window, then escaped with Jiang Donghua as the attackers destroyed their room.
• Hong Ling charged into the enemy ranks and struck down a two-star Great Dou Master, prompting Third Master Bone to realize something was wrong with her.