Recaps

Jiang Donghua’s silver fist was overwhelmed by the White Fiend Team’s combined Ice Water Flood Dragon, but he revealed his Pale Cold Fire and began vaporizing their attack. The veteran students’ apparent victory collapsed as Jiang Donghua prepared to teach Chen Ming a lesson about underestimating an alchemist.

• Jiang Donghua’s Heavenly Gang Overlord Fist clashed with the White Fiend Team’s Ice Water Flood Dragon, but the five students’ combined power pushed it back.
• Chen Ming urged his teammates to pour more battle qi into the formation and taunted Jiang Donghua as the flood dragon advanced.
• Bai Ling, Wang Han, and the other freshmen prepared to intervene as Jiang Donghua calmly revealed that he was a Fourth-grade Alchemist.
• Jiang Donghua released the Pale Cold Fire, which rapidly melted and vaporized the Ice Water Flood Dragon and severed the White Fiend Team’s energy connection.
• Chen Ming and the veteran students reacted with shock as Jiang Donghua declared that his lesson was not to judge an alchemist’s trump card by common sense.

Jiang Donghua overwhelmed the White Fiend Team with Pale Cold Fire and repeated Heavenly Gang Overlord Fists, revealing strength that Chen Ming recognized as the result of an Earth-grade cultivation technique. Chen Ming surrendered and yielded the Fire Crystal Cards, leaving Jiang Donghua victorious in the trial.

• Jiang Donghua's Pale Cold Fire vaporized the White Fiend Team's combined Flood Dragon attack, stunning the arena and earning Ye Tianxing's admiration.
• Chen Ming rallied his teammates to form a defensive formation, believing Jiang Donghua could not sustain the flame's cost.
• Jiang Donghua struck the formation with two Heavenly Gang Overlord Fists, cracking its ice walls and water curtains.
• Jiang Donghua immediately gathered power for another attack, and Chen Ming concluded that he possessed an Earth-grade cultivation technique.
• Chen Ming and the White Fiend Team gave up the fight and surrendered their Fire Crystal Cards to Jiang Donghua.

After Jiang Donghua defeated the White Fiend Team and broke through Black and White Pass, Great Elder Ye Tianxing awarded all new students extra Fire Energy and upgraded Jiang Donghua’s card to purple. The old students realized he had used only two moves and began to see him as a possible challenger to the Inner Academy’s strongest figures.

• The new students celebrated Jiang Donghua’s victory, and Ye Tianxing praised their performance and awarded them one hundred Fire Energy points each.
• Ye Tianxing upgraded Jiang Donghua’s Fire Crystal Card to purple, and Jiang Donghua respectfully thanked him.
• After the elders departed, the old students realized Jiang Donghua had defeated the White Fiend Team using only two moves.
• The old students speculated that Jiang Donghua could rank among the top ten or even challenge the top three on the Strong Ranking.
• Jiang Donghua accepted his Purple Fire Crystal Card calmly as his name spread across the Inner Academy.

Jiang Donghua accepted Ye Tianxing's Purple Fire Crystal Card and learned that the Great Elder recognized his imminent breakthrough to Dou Wang, while advising him to form a faction to protect the freshmen. After Ye Tianxing departed, Jiang Donghua and his companions began discussing their new faction, leaving its name undecided.

• Ye Tianxing praised Jiang Donghua's peak Dou Ling strength and advised him to form a faction for the freshmen.
• Jiang Donghua told Ye Tianxing that he and his companions had already discussed forming a faction, and Ye Tianxing praised his foresight and revealed that Mo Xuan was his teacher.
• Ye Tianxing and the other elders departed, leaving Jiang Donghua and the freshmen at the Inner Academy entrance.
• Lin Xiu, Bai Ling, Wang Han, and Zhao Ming discussed the need for a unified faction and suggested qualities for its name.
• Jiang Donghua considered what to name the faction as the freshmen waited for his decision.

Jiang Donghua founded Donghua Pavilion with the new students, who rallied behind him after his victories. News of his strength and status as a Fourth-grade Alchemy Master spread through the Inner Academy, prompting rival factions to warn their members not to provoke him.

• Jiang Donghua named the new faction Donghua Pavilion, and the new students enthusiastically accepted the name.
• Older students recognized that nearly the entire new batch had joined Jiang Donghua and hurried to warn their factions about his influence and strength.
• A faction leader heard how Jiang Donghua had defeated the White Fiend Team’s combined technique and forced Chen Ming to surrender, and his members abandoned their contempt for him.
• A messenger revealed that Jiang Donghua was also a Fourth-grade Alchemy Master, prompting the leader to order his faction not to provoke Donghua Pavilion.
• Factions across the Inner Academy cautioned their members to avoid Jiang Donghua, and the founding of Donghua Pavilion quietly shifted the balance of power.

The new students renovated Donghua Pavilion when senior student Lei Lie arrived to meet Jiang Donghua, his old acquaintance, and brought him rare medicinal herbs. Jiang Donghua examined one of the herbs, leaving its value unclear.

• The new students used Earth and Wood Element battle qi to repair and renovate Donghua Pavilion.
• Niu Er reported that a powerful older student had come asking for Jiang Donghua, prompting the new students to prepare for trouble.
• Jiang Donghua recognized Lei Lie by his familiar scent and welcomed him as an old acquaintance.
• Lei Lie gave Jiang Donghua several rare herbs he had taken from guardian magical beasts in the mountains.
• Jiang Donghua examined an herb marked by intertwined ice and fire and asked Lei Lie about it.

Lei Lie brought Jiang Donghua three rare medicinal herbs he had seized from powerful Demonic Beasts, and Jiang repaid him with two Fourth-grade Fire Spirit Pills. Lei Lie described his and Liu Qingsi’s training and their envy of Xiao Han’s breakthrough to Dou Wang, while Jiang encouraged him to cultivate patiently.

• Lei Lie told Jiang Donghua that he had taken three unusual herbs from a three- or four-star Tier 5 Demonic Beast and other dangerous locations.
• Jiang Donghua identified the herbs as rare ingredients for Fourth-grade and Fifth-grade Pills, then gave Lei Lie two Fire Spirit Pills in return.
• Lei Lie accepted the pills and offered to fight or search for treasures whenever Jiang Donghua needed help.
• Jiang Donghua asked why Liu Qingsi had not come, and Lei Lie explained that she was focused on training in the Heavenly Incineration Qi Tower while he preferred fighting and exploring.
• Lei Lie said he and Liu Qingsi had only recently reached Nine-Star Battle Spirit, while Xiao Han had used Earth Core Fire Jade Marrow to break through to Dou Wang and return to the Central Plains.
• Jiang Donghua told Lei Lie that a Nine-Star Battle Spirit was already first-rate in the Inner Academy and that cultivation could not be rushed.

Jiang Donghua learned about the Inner Academy's Strong Ranking and its top-ranked fighter, Qin Xiao, whose lightning-fire Dou Qi and record of killing a Tier 5 Demonic Beast excited him. Seeking resources and a place at the top, he ordered Donghua Pavilion to challenge nearly every top-ranked student, leaving the Inner Academy facing a major bout in three days.

• Lei Lie told Jiang Donghua that he ranked fourth on the Strong Ranking and Liu Qingsi ranked second.
• Lei Lie described the first-ranked Qin Xiao's fused lightning-fire Dou Qi and his fearsome combat strength, while freshmen recalled Qin Xiao had killed a Tier 5 Demonic Beast.
• Jiang Donghua welcomed the prospect of fighting Qin Xiao and explained that climbing the Strong Ranking would help him earn Fire Energy and obtain Earth-tier Dou Techniques.
• Jiang Donghua ordered Lin Xiu, Bai Ling, Wang Han, and Zhao Ming to deliver challenge letters to the top twenty-four ranked students, excluding Lei Lie and Liu Qingsi.
• Jiang Donghua scheduled the challenges for three days later at the arena and said he would fight the opponents one by one or all at once.

Jiang Donghua challenged twenty-two of the Strong Ranking’s top twenty-four students, shocking the Inner Academy and prompting most to refuse or avoid the fight. Three days later, only a handful accepted, including third-ranked Xie Ying and eighth-ranked Han Jue, who waited in the arena for Jiang Donghua to arrive.

• Jiang Donghua ordered Lin Xiu and the others to deliver challenge letters to twenty-two Strong Ranking experts, excluding Lei Lie and Liu Qingsi.
• The challenged students reacted with anger and suspicion, but most sent excuses and declined to fight.
• The Inner Academy gathered at the arena three days later, where only a handful of challengers appeared.
• Xie Ying and Han Jue arrived to accept Jiang Donghua’s challenge and declared their intent to test and teach him a lesson.
• The crowd waited for Jiang Donghua to enter the arena.

Jiang Donghua appeared at the arena to face twenty-two Strong Ranking experts, and his strangely subdued aura led Chen Ming and the elders to realize he had advanced to Dou Wang. The elders recognized that his new realm, cultivation technique, and flame made his challenge credible.

• Chen Ming and his teammates sensed that Jiang Donghua's aura had changed dramatically since their fight three days earlier and wondered whether he had reached Dou Wang.
• Chen Ming's teammates dismissed the possibility, believing he had merely concealed his strength with a technique or treasure.
• Grand Elder Ye Tianxing examined Jiang Donghua and confirmed to the nearby elders that he had broken through to Dou Wang.
• Ye Tianxing concluded that Jiang Donghua's new cultivation, technique, and flame gave him the confidence to challenge so many opponents.
• The duty elders were shaken by Jiang Donghua's achievement and began regarding him as a powerhouse on their level.

Jiang Donghua, who had secretly broken through to the Dou Wang realm, challenged Xie Ying, Han Jue, and Sun Mang to attack him together. Sun Mang instead took him on alone and launched his signature combat skill, leaving Jiang Donghua standing still as the attack rushed toward him.

• Jiang Donghua revealed that only Xie Ying, Han Jue, and Sun Mang had accepted his challenge and invited all three to attack him at once.
• Xie Ying, Han Jue, Sun Mang, and the spectators reacted with disbelief and anger as Jiang Donghua insisted they had no chance unless they fought together.
• Sun Mang rejected the invitation for a group attack, entered the arena, and formally challenged Jiang Donghua.
• After the referee began the match, Sun Mang unleashed his wind-attribute Dou Qi and used Sky-Rending Spiral Kill to send two wind drills at Jiang Donghua.
• Jiang Donghua stood motionless before Sun Mang's attack and slowly raised his eyelids.

Jiang Donghua shattered Sun Mang’s strongest attack with one punch and defeated him, stunning the arena and forcing Xie Ying and Han Jue to abandon their plan to challenge him separately. The two Strong Ranking experts accepted Jiang Donghua’s invitation to fight him together and took positions on either side of him.

• Sun Mang unleashed his Sky-Rending Spiral Kill at Jiang Donghua, who casually blocked it with the Heavenly Gang Overlord Fist.
• Jiang Donghua’s punch shattered Sun Mang’s attack, broke his arms, and sent him flying until the duty elder caught and set him down.
• The crowd erupted in cheers for Jiang Donghua as Xie Ying and Han Jue watched in shock and reconsidered fighting him alone.
• Jiang Donghua invited Xie Ying and Han Jue to challenge him together, and they immediately accepted.
• Xie Ying and Han Jue appeared on the arena, taking positions to Jiang Donghua’s left and right.

Jiang Donghua faced a coordinated attack from top-ten Strong Ranking experts Xie Ying and Han Jue, who unleashed their strongest combat skills. As their attacks closed in, Jiang Donghua finally moved, leaving the outcome uncertain.

• Han Jue and Xie Ying unleashed their Dark Corrosion and Geng Metal Battle Qi, alarming the arena audience and the elder on duty.
• Jiang Donghua stood calmly without taking a defensive stance, further angering Xie Ying and Han Jue.
• The elder announced the start, and Han Jue launched Dark Corrosion Ghost Hand while Xie Ying used Geng Metal Mountain Splitting Slash to trap Jiang Donghua from both sides.
• Chen Ming watched the combined attack and recalled how much stronger Jiang Donghua's Heavenly Gang Overlord Fist had become since three days earlier.
• As the attacks were about to hit, Jiang Donghua finally moved.

Jiang Donghua revealed that he was a Dou Wang by manifesting Battle Qi Wings and effortlessly dodging Xie Ying and Han Jue's combined attack. His revelation stunned the arena and led Ye Tianxing and the elders to recognize his extraordinary talent and potential.

• Jiang Donghua formed Battle Qi Wings and rose into the air, evading Xie Ying and Han Jue's attacks.
• Xie Ying and Han Jue realized Jiang Donghua was a Dou Wang, and the spectators erupted in shock at the freshman's strength.
• Ye Tianxing and the elders discussed Jiang Donghua's exceptional potential and his possible future as a major powerhouse.
• Ye Tianxing said Jiang Donghua's emergence could give Jia Nan Academy a formidable future foundation.

Jiang Donghua revealed the overwhelming power of a Dou Wang as he fought Xie Ying and Han Jue for the third-place Strong Ranking position. After barely enduring his attack, the two surrendered, and Donghua Pavilion celebrated their leader.

• Jiang Donghua unleashed his Heavenly Gang Overlord Fist at Xie Ying and Han Jue.
• Xie Ying raised his Gold Guardian Wall while Han Jue formed a Corrosive Devouring Vortex, but both were injured and exhausted by the strike.
• Jiang Donghua prepared to attack again, so Xie Ying and Han Jue surrendered and leaped off the stage.
• Xie Ying complained that Jiang Donghua could have claimed his third-place ranking without a fight if he had revealed he was a Dou Wang.
• Donghua Pavilion's members cheered as Jiang Donghua returned to the stage, celebrating their leader's strength.

After Jiang Donghua rose to third place on the Strong Ranking by revealing his Dou Wang strength, Lei Lie congratulated him and invited him to celebrate. Jiang Donghua declared his interest in challenging top-ranked Qin Xiao, leaving the Inner Academy buzzing over their possible showdown.

• Lei Lie rushed onto the arena, celebrated Jiang Donghua's breakthrough, and admitted he had come prepared to support him.
• Jiang Donghua thanked Lei Lie, then said he was interested in taking the Strong Ranking's number one spot from Qin Xiao.
• The students debated whether Jiang Donghua's Dou Wang realm or Qin Xiao's powerful thunder-and-fire attacks would prevail in a future fight.
• Jiang Donghua's rise to third place and strength made Donghua Pavilion and its new students safe from other factions.
• Lei Lie escorted Jiang Donghua away from the arena and invited him to celebrate with roasted meat and strong liquor.

Lei Lie brought Jiang Donghua to the Medicine Spirit Pavilion, where Jiang learned that its chef, Mu Chen, was a former top-five Strong Ranking fighter who served medicinal dishes and spirit wines. Mu Chen welcomed Jiang after hearing he had taken third place on the Strong Ranking and offered to treat him to a meal.

• Lei Lie brought Jiang Donghua to the Medicine Spirit Pavilion, where the guard let them enter after Mu Chen arranged a table in Bamboo Rhyme Pavilion.
• Jiang Donghua sensed the pavilion's rich medicinal fragrance and detected the fresh blood scent of a high-level magical beast.
• Lei Lie told Jiang Donghua that Mu Chen had once been a top-five Strong Ranking fighter and had developed cultivation-enhancing medicinal dishes and spirit wines.
• Jiang Donghua examined the pavilion's medicinal plants while Lei Lie waited with him in Bamboo Rhyme Pavilion.
• Mu Chen entered, recognized Lei Lie, and learned from him that Jiang Donghua had reached third place on the Strong Ranking.
• Mu Chen respectfully welcomed Jiang Donghua and offered to pay for their meal.

Jiang Donghua learned that Mu Chen suffered from a mysterious hidden injury that had resisted treatment by renowned alchemists and steadily eroded his cultivation. Intrigued by the rare ailment, Jiang Donghua began considering its possible causes.

• After Mu Chen left to arrange the meal, Jiang Donghua asked Lei Lie about the weakness he had sensed in Mu Chen.
• Lei Lie said Mu Chen had a deep hidden injury and that numerous Inner Academy elders and high-grade alchemists had failed to cure it.
• Lei Lie explained that Mu Chen had once been a formidable talent, but returned from a mission or training mishap with declining cultivation and withdrew from the Strong Ranking.
• Lei Lie said Mu Chen’s strength now hovered around Six-star Dou Ling after once falling nearly one star every half year.
• Jiang Donghua considered possible causes, including poison, a forbidden technique, a harmful substance, or a parasitic energy entity, and became eager to investigate.

Mu Chen served Jiang Donghua and Lei Lie his medicinal dish, Blazing Flame Stewed Mountain Delicacy, impressing them with its flavor and ability to temper Fire-attribute Battle Qi. Jiang Donghua praised Mu Chen’s skill but noted that his Wood-attribute Battle Qi prevented him from meeting the requirements to become an alchemist.

• Mu Chen entered the private room with Blazing Flame Stewed Mountain Delicacy and explained its ingredients and preparation.
• Jiang Donghua tasted the dish and found that its gentle energy could slightly temper and purify Fire-attribute Battle Qi.
• Lei Lie devoured his entire plate and enthusiastically praised Mu Chen’s cooking.
• Jiang Donghua admired Mu Chen’s medicinal-cuisine technique and said his Wood-attribute Battle Qi kept him from becoming an alchemist.

Jiang Donghua learned that Mu Chen was suffering from a curse rooted in his bloodline and soul, and offered to try to help in exchange for free meals at the Medicine Spirit Pavilion. Mu Chen led him to a secret room to explain the matter further, leaving Jiang Donghua facing the mystery of the curse.

• Lei Lie revealed that Jiang Donghua was a Fourth-grade Alchemy Master, prompting Mu Chen to examine him with sudden hope.
• Jiang Donghua offered to investigate Mu Chen’s condition in exchange for meals without Fire Energy, and Mu Chen accepted.
• Mu Chen stopped Lei Lie from leaving and invited Jiang Donghua to speak privately in his secret room.
• Mu Chen explained that Ye Tianxing had identified the affliction as Curse Power entangled with his bloodline and soul.
• Mu Chen said he had endured the curse for five years, relying on medicinal herbs and meals to suppress it as his cultivation and life force declined.
• Mu Chen opened the secret room and invited Jiang Donghua inside.

Mu Chen showed Jiang Donghua the curse consuming his vitality and recounted how a Spiritual Realm Soul had afflicted him five years earlier. Jiang Donghua recognized the curse’s terrifying origin but was left facing a problem beyond ordinary pills and alchemy.

• Mu Chen revealed a dark, living mark on his chest that devoured the secret room’s medicinal energy and vitality.
• Mu Chen explained that he had acquired the mark while investigating ancient ruins near the Black Corner Region five years earlier.
• Mu Chen recounted how a violent soul body killed dozens of Dou Wang experts and grievously wounded a Dou Huang before the gathered experts destroyed it.
• Mu Chen said the soul body’s final shriek sent cursed fragments into nearby people, and one struck him.
• Jiang Donghua concluded that the soul body had possessed a Spiritual Realm Soul and that its curse attacked the soul’s origin, making Mu Chen’s condition far worse than he had expected.

Jiang Donghua analyzed the black Curse Mark inside Mu Chen and warned that it might be a soul-devouring curse or a parasitic soul seed. After Mu Chen revealed that other Alchemy Masters had only made guesses rather than examine the curse directly, Jiang Donghua appeared eager to investigate its core himself.

• Jiang Donghua considered several possible purposes for the soul fragments implanted in Mu Chen and concluded that the curse was unlike any case he knew.
• Jiang Donghua told Mu Chen the mark might drain his life and soul as revenge, incubate a soul fragment, or be a hybrid curse tied to the ruin.
• Mu Chen said other Fifth-grade and Sixth-grade Alchemy Masters had been unable to remove the mark and feared that investigating it would expose them to its Curse Power.
• Mu Chen realized Jiang Donghua seemed intent on sending his own Soul Force into the curse to investigate its core.

Jiang Donghua used a protected strand of Soul Power to investigate the black mark on Mu Chen's chest, hoping to uncover the curse's nature and weakness. The mark swallowed the strand, but Jiang Donghua discovered what seemed to be fragments of an ancient, ruined memory.

• Jiang Donghua noticed a strange resonance in Mu Chen's black mark and decided to investigate it despite Mu Chen's warnings.
• Jiang Donghua explained that the Soul Severing Ruler could protect his soul by severing the probing strand if it faced danger.
• Mu Chen overcame his fear, knelt before Jiang Donghua, and pledged his life to him in gratitude.
• Jiang Donghua sent a tiny strand of Soul Power toward the mark, which abruptly sucked it into a dark, oppressive space.
• Jiang Donghua cautiously explored the darkness and found vague fragments that seemed like memories of ancient ruins.

Jiang Donghua entered the Curse Mark’s dark space and discovered the Old Monster Remnant Soul at its core. The remnant’s attacks unexpectedly nourished and strengthened Jiang Donghua’s Soul Force, leaving him eager to understand the strange connection.

• Mu Chen sensed the dormant Curse Mark become active as Jiang Donghua worked to investigate it.
• Jiang Donghua found the Old Monster Remnant Soul floating motionless in the curse space and watched it before cautiously approaching.
• The remnant awakened and attacked Jiang Donghua, but its soul impact transformed into nourishing energy when it touched his Soul Force.
• Jiang Donghua approached the Soul Body again and confirmed that its repeated attacks made his Soul Force stronger and more solid.

Jiang Donghua repeatedly provoked the Old Monster Remnant Soul and absorbed its attacks, weakening the curse on Mu Chen and strengthening his own Soul Force. Mu Chen’s cultivation surged to late Eight-star Dou Ling, while Jiang Donghua kept tormenting the nearly depleted remnant soul for more nourishment.

• Jiang Donghua repeatedly drew out the Old Monster Remnant Soul’s spiritual attacks and absorbed them into his Soul Force.
• Mu Chen felt the black Curse Mark weaken and his battle qi return, breaking through to Seven-Star Battle Spirit.
• The Old Monster Remnant Soul grew thinner and weaker as Jiang Donghua absorbed its energy.
• Mu Chen’s cultivation rapidly climbed through Seven-Star and into late Eight-star Dou Ling.
• Jiang Donghua, dissatisfied with the remnant soul’s dwindling energy, poked and provoked it into releasing another attack, which he absorbed.