Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan used a proposed herb-buying deal to pressure the Galio Clan and Oba Clan into signing contracts, then set a plan to manipulate herb supplies and spread rumors about the Xiao Clan selling stronger, cheaper pills. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan directing his family to mislead the rival clans and the Mittel Auction House before the upcoming auction.

• Xiao Yan offered the medicine merchants and Herb Gathering Teams fifty percent above market price for three years of herbs, then explained to Xiao Zhan that the higher costs would squeeze the Galio Clan and Oba Clan's pill profits.
• Galio Bi, Oba Pa, and Liu Xi debated how to respond, and Galio Bi chose to offer merchants a five-year contract with a twenty percent deposit instead of cutting pill prices.
• The medicine merchants returned to the Xiao Clan the next morning, but Xiao Zhan refused to negotiate further.
• Five days later, Xiao Ning reported that the rival clans had contracted with all the medicine merchants, and Xiao Yan ordered the Third Elder to sell old herb stocks to them through disguised merchants.
• Xiao Yan ordered the Second Elder to spread rumors that the Xiao Clan had obtained pill formulas and hired an alchemist, and told the Great Elder to advertise cheaper, stronger pills at Xiao Clan marketplaces.
• Xiao Yan instructed Xiao Zhan to deny the rumors to Ya Fei and reassure the Mittel Auction House ahead of the Mittel Quarterly Auction.

Xiao Yan set the stage for the Xiao Clan to challenge the Galio and Oba Clans by arranging a herb supply deal through the Mittel Auction House. At the auction, he confirmed the rival clans had reserved the herbs for years and prepared to buy an item suited to his plan.

• Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan to clarify the rumors and assure the Mittel Auction House that the Xiao Clan would cooperate with the two major clans.
• Mercenaries in Ao Jia Market heard that the Xiao Clan would soon sell cheaper, more effective pills, and Galio Ke watched them continue buying medicine at higher prices.
• Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan delegation went to the Mittel Auction House, while Xun Er stayed behind to practice a Combat Technique.
• Ya Fei showed Xiao Yan the contract granting the two major clans priority over four kinds of herbs for five years, and Xiao Yan realized their purchase would help his plan.
• Xiao Yan returned to the auction and sat beside Xiao Zhan as the bidding began, with an item in the catalog suited to his performance.

At the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Yan publicly revealed that he was an alchemist by refining Blood Coagulation Powder in a pill furnace he then bought. His demonstration threatened to ruin the Galio and Oba clans’ pill business and left Ya Fei realizing Xiao Yan had planned their downfall.

• Ya Fei presented the auction items, including a three-opening pill furnace that drew no bids.
• Xiao Yan asked to inspect the furnace, then used it to refine Blood Coagulation Powder before the astonished audience.
• Xiao Yan apologized to Ya Fei with the finished powder and bid one hundred thousand gold coins for the furnace.
• The auction house learned that Xiao Yan was an alchemist, and Galio Bi and Oba Pa despaired over the threat to their clans.
• Ya Fei realized Xiao Yan had arranged matters to destroy the two clans and secure the Xiao Clan’s dominance in Wutan City.

Xiao Yan revealed his alchemy skills at the auction, helping the Xiao Clan take control of Wutan City and eliminate Liu Xi. After reaching Seven-Star Dou Zhe, he worried that his cultivation had slowed and turned to the Heavenly Flame Ranking for a better way to advance.

• Xiao Yan's alchemy display ended the auction, and he ordered the Great Elder and Second Elder to kill Liu Xi as he fled.
• Ya Fei invited Xiao Yan to join the Mittel Auction House, but he declined and accepted her gift of an alchemy furnace and medicinal ingredients.
• The Galio Clan and Oba Clan lost their businesses to the Xiao Clan after merchants abandoned their market and enforced contract penalties, leaving the Xiao Clan dominant in Wutan City.
• The Great Elder and Second Elder killed Liu Xi, and Xiao Yan burned his corpse to ash.
• Xiao Yan reached Seven-Star Dou Zhe by absorbing heat from the Bone Chiling Flame, then consulted the Heavenly Flame Ranking after his cultivation slowed.

Xiao Yan weighed his options for gaining strength and acquiring a Heavenly Flame, since his body could not yet withstand the Bone Chiling Flame. Xun Er told him that Jia Nan Academy had a Heavenly Flame, leaving him furious that Xiao Yu Tangjie had not mentioned it.

• Xiao Yan studied the Heavenly Flame Ranking and concluded he needed a Blood Lotus Pill and greater strength to Devour the Bone Chiling Flame safely.
• Xiao Yan considered entering Jia Nan Academy or using Hun Xuzi's Soul Hall token to pursue Heavenly Flames and improve his Alchemy.
• Xiao Yan returned to the clan gates and reunited with Xun Er, who said Jia Nan Academy would admit him without an exam.
• Xiao Yan told Xun Er that he wanted a Heavenly Flame, and she revealed that Jia Nan Academy had one.
• Xiao Yan cursed Xiao Yu Tangjie for keeping the academy's Heavenly Flame from him.

Xiao Yan learned that Jia Nan Academy’s Heavenly Flame was only a rumor, but decided to attend its recruitment anyway. At the recruitment plaza, he shattered the soldiers’ Battle Formation Aura with his Soul Power and impressed the officer overseeing the entrance.

• Xiao Yu told Xiao Yan that she only knew rumors about the Heavenly Flames in Jia Nan Academy’s Training Qi Tower, and warned him not to try taking one.
• Nearly half a year later, Xiao Yan went with Xun Er, Xiao Yu, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Mei to Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment in Wutan City.
• Xiao Yu used her connection to Mentor Ruo Lin to lead the four talented Xiao Clan members through the guarded passage instead of having them line up for the initial test.
• The soldiers’ Battle Formation Aura overwhelmed Xiao Yu, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Mei as they crossed the passage.
• Xiao Yan released his Soul Power, scattered the Battle Formation Aura, and drew the officer’s respect; the officer remarked that Mentor Ruo Lin would receive a good student.

Xiao Yan and the others met Xiao Yu’s friends at Jia Nan Academy, where Xiao Yu used him as a shield against Luo Bu’s advances. When Luo Bu and a group of students blocked them from meeting the instructor, Xiao Yan stepped forward to face them.

• Xiao Yu introduced Xiao Yan and the others to her friend Xue Ni, a Four-Star Dou Zhe, and Xue Ni told her that Luo Bu was in charge of enrollment.
• Xiao Yu pretended to straighten Xiao Yan’s clothes and then clung to his arm to discourage Luo Bu, who had come to greet her.
• Luo Bu blocked Xiao Yan and the others from entering, claiming they had to wait outside, and several students joined him in confronting them.
• Xiao Yan pulled Xiao Yu aside and challenged Luo Bu and the others to teach him how seniors treated new students.
• Xue Ni warned Xiao Yu that Luo Bu and the others were strong, but Xiao Yu trusted Xiao Yan to handle them.

Xiao Yan effortlessly defeated Ge La, Luo Bu, and the other older students who tried to bully him during Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment. Mentor Ruo Lin emerged from her tent, impressed by Xiao Yan’s strength and talent.

• Ge La attacked Xiao Yan with a Dou Technique, but Xiao Yan stopped his fist with one finger and knocked him unconscious with a kick.
• Luo Bu ordered the other students to attack Xiao Yan after he was called an ant.
• Xiao Yan used Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler through his sleeve, sending Luo Bu and the other attackers crashing to the ground.
• Xiao Yu’s friends were stunned by Xiao Yan’s strength, while Xue Ni teased Xiao Yu about introducing him to her.
• Mentor Ruo Lin praised Xiao Yan’s Cultivation Level and talent, then stepped out of her tent.

Mentor Ruo Lin evaluated the new students’ potential at Jia Nan Academy, where Xun’er and Xiao Yan revealed astonishing strength and received exceptional ratings. The students left stunned by Xiao Yan’s talent, while Ruo Lin prepared to explain the unprecedented results to the headmaster.

• Mentor Ruo Lin welcomed Xiao Yu and instructed the new students to have their potential evaluated.
• Ruo Lin explained Jia Nan Academy’s potential rankings, and Xiao Mei and Xiao Ning received C-rank ratings.
• Xun’er revealed she was a sixteen-year-old Seven-Star Dou Zhe, so Ruo Lin gave her an unprecedented SS rating.
• Xiao Yan revealed he was a sixteen-year-old Eight-Star Dou Zhe, shocking the students and earning Ruo Lin’s admiration.

Xiao Yan learned that Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy housed a Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower whose heart flame accelerated cultivation, and he suspected its power might come from a real Heavenly Flame. After saying goodbye to Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan and the other new students departed for the academy, which lay in the dangerous Black-Corner Region.

• Xiao Yan asked Mentor Ruo Lin about the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower and invited her to stay with the Xiao Clan, where she explained the academy’s Outer and Inner Academy system and the tower’s heart flame.
• Xiao Yan recognized that the tower’s heart flame resembled the effects of the Fallen Heart Flame or the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, and Xun Er revealed that he was an alchemist.
• During the seven days before departure, Xiao Yan refined many First-grade Pills, gave Xiao Zhan more than a dozen Storage Rings of pills, and said goodbye to him with Xun Er.
• Xiao Yan and the other new students boarded Jia Nan Academy’s flying Magical Beasts, and Mentor Ruo Lin said they would pass through Da Ling City and the Black-Corner Region on their way to the academy.
• The new students grew anxious when they learned Jia Nan Academy stood at the center of the lawless Black-Corner Region.

Xiao Yan and the new students reached Peace Town after flying into the Black-Corner Region, where Mentor Ruo Lin warned them about its dangers. That night, Xiao Yan followed a soul wave from the Pitch-Black Token to the hidden Soul Offering Old Shop, where a voice invited him inside.

• The Steel Giant Eagle carried Xiao Yan and the others out of the Jia Ma Empire and into the Black-Corner Region, where Mentor Ruo Lin warned the students not to travel alone.
• Mentor Ruo Lin led the new students into Peace Town, and Xiao Yu explained that the corpses on the Dead Spirit Tree warned the Black-Corner Region against provoking Jia Nan Academy.
• At the town gate, soul detection waves passed over Xiao Yan, and he traded taunts with Luo Bu before joining the others at their inn.
• That night, Xiao Yan left the inn and followed the Pitch-Black Token's soul wave through a hidden alley to the Soul Offering Old Shop.
• A voice from the dark shop called out to Xiao Yan and invited him to enter.

Xiao Yan entered the Soul Offering Old Shop and learned that the Hun Clan traded rare treasures for souls, while Soul Points could buy almost anything. The old man revealed that even information about a Heavenly Flame and how to obtain it could be bought with enough Soul Points.

• Xiao Yan entered the eerie shop after hearing its old owner invite him inside.
• The old man identified Xiao Yan's token as a Hun Clan Soul Token and explained that the shop handled the clan's outside trades.
• Xiao Yan recognized several rare medicinal ingredients and learned that the Earth Vein Sacred Tree's main leaf cost the soul of a high-level Dou Zong.
• The old man explained that the shop's goods were minor wares traded for Soul Points and said Soul Points could be exchanged for anything.
• Xiao Yan asked whether Soul Points could buy information about a Heavenly Flame, and the old man confirmed that the Hun Clan could provide its location and the method to take it.

Xiao Yan learned from Hun Lao Gui that the Soul Hall possessed the Nihility Devouring Flame and might offer him a Sub-flame if he joined. After arriving in Canaan City, Xiao Yan asked Mentor Ruo Lin to help him enter the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower as soon as possible, and she agreed to consult the vice dean.

• Hun Lao Gui told Xiao Yan that the Nihility Devouring Flame was within the Hun Clan and that talented alchemists could obtain a Sub-flame by joining the Soul Hall.
• Hun Lao Gui noticed a faint scent of the Xiao Clan on Xiao Yan and wondered what Xiao Xuan would think if Xiao Yan joined the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Yan and Xun Er traveled with the new students to Canaan City, where Mentor Ruo Lin assigned them to Yellow Rank Class Two and explained the academy's credit system.
• Xiao Yan asked Mentor Ruo Lin to help him enter the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower early, and she agreed to discuss his unusual situation with the Outer Academy's vice dean.

Vice Principal Hu Qian agreed to let Xiao Yan experience the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower early if he could defeat a student from a Mystic Rank Class. Xiao Yan accepted the challenge and faced Six-Star Dou Shi Lu Xing in an Outer Academy arena.

• Mentor Ruo Lin told Vice Principal Hu Qian that Xiao Yan was an Eight-Star Dou Zhe with exceptional combat strength, and Hu Qian recognized his talent.
• Hu Qian refused to let Xiao Yan enter the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower by breaking academy rules, but offered him a chance to prove he qualified for the Inner Academy.
• Mentor Ruo Lin told Xiao Yan he had to defeat a Mystic Rank Class student, and he accepted without hesitation despite her warnings about the opponent's strength.
• Xiao Yan met Lu Xing at the dueling plaza, while Xun Er, Xiao Yu, and Mentor Ruo Lin watched.
• Xiao Yu worried that Xiao Yan could not match Lu Xing, a Six-Star Dou Shi, while Xiao Yan was only an Eight-Star Dou Zhe.

Xiao Yan faced Lu Xing in the Outer Academy arena and proved that his strength and Eight Extremities Collapse could challenge a stronger Dou Shi. He drew the Heavy Xuan Ruler and prepared to use Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler as the fight continued.

• Onlookers mocked Xiao Yan for challenging the Mystic Rank Class, while Xun Er grew angry at their insults.
• Lu Xing attacked with Residual Image Step, but Xiao Yan used his Soul Power to see through the afterimages, redirect Lu Xing’s punch, and kick him to the ground.
• Lu Xing struck Xiao Yan with Rock Crushing Heavy Punch, but Xiao Yan stood up unharmed and explained that his body alone could not fully block a Dou Shi’s technique.
• Xiao Yan counterattacked with Eight Extremities Collapse, forcing Lu Xing to defend with his spear and Dou Qi Gauze Armor as the hidden force drove him toward the arena’s edge.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Heavy Xuan Ruler and began channeling Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler.

Xiao Yan defeated Lu Xing with the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, earning permission to experience Jia Nan Academy’s cultivation tower. He entered the underground Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower, while Elder Liu predicted he would last less than a minute.

• Xiao Yan struck Lu Xing with the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, and Mentor Ruo Lin intervened to protect him with a water mirror.
• Xiao Yan collapsed from exhausting his Dou Qi, then recovered with a Qi Recovery Pill as Xun Er and Xiao Yu checked on him.
• Mentor Ruo Lin approved Xiao Yan’s challenge and told him that placing in the Inner Academy examination’s top five would let him choose one item from the Scripture Pavilion.
• Three days later, Mentor Ruo Lin took Xiao Yan to the underground Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower, where Elder Liu admitted him to try it.
• After Xiao Yan entered the tower, Elder Liu predicted that an Eight-Star Dou Zhe would not last more than a minute.

Xiao Yan entered the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower and discovered its invisible heart flame purified his Dou Qi, leading him to suspect the Fallen Heart Flame was inside. Later, he asked Xun Er how strong he was compared with the whole Dou Qi Continent and accepted that Jia Nan Academy was not among its top factions.

• Xiao Yan entered the Heavenly Flame Training Qi Tower and endured the invisible heart flame burning inside his body.
• Xiao Yan realized the heart flame refined his Dou Qi and suspected it was the Fallen Heart Flame, but left the tower rather than continue cultivating.
• Mentor Ruo Lin and Elder Liu were surprised that Xiao Yan exited so quickly, and Mentor Ruo Lin reassured him about his current strength.
• Xiao Yan met Xun Er on a hillside that night and asked whether he was strong across the Dou Qi Continent.
• Xun Er explained that Jia Nan Academy was not a top-tier faction on the continent, and Xiao Yan acknowledged how vast the world was.

Xiao Yan left Jia Nan Academy to train across the Dou Qi Continent, promising Xun Er he would return to her. In Peace Town, he decided to join the Soul Hall.

• Xiao Yan told Xun Er he planned to leave Jia Nan Academy and promised to return to her after settling the Three-Year Agreement with Nalan Yanran.
• Xiao Yan secretly departed the academy the next morning, and Xun Er told Mentor Ruo Lin he had left to train outside.
• Xun Er used the possibility that the Xiao Clan’s history was linked to the Tou She Ancient God’s remains to delay Ling Ying’s request that she return to her clan.
• Xiao Yan arrived in Peace Town and decided to use the Soul Token to join the Soul Hall.

Hun Tiandi planned to seize the Spirit Clan’s bloodline power to strengthen the Hun Clan and pursue becoming a Dou God. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan chose to join the Soul Hall and was sent to face its trial.

• Hun Tiandi told the Hun Clan elders that their bloodline was declining and considered using the clan’s bloodline power to force his breakthrough.
• Nihility Devouring Flame reported that the Spirit Clan’s Spirit Realm had been found, and Hun Tiandi ordered the Hun Clan to begin with the Spirit Clan.
• Hun Tiandi rejected relying solely on an Emperor Pill and reaffirmed his agreement with Nihility Devouring Flame.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Soul Offering Old Shop and told Hun Lao Gui that he wanted to join the Soul Hall.
• Hun Lao Gui directed Xiao Yan through the curtain to take the Soul Hall’s trial.

Xiao Yan entered the Soul Palace Training Ground to begin a trial focused on soul cultivation and combat. After defeating his first opponent, he learned that the token tracked Soul Points and suspected the Soul Palace served the Hun Clan.

• Hun Lao Gui explained that Xiao Yan would be sent through the Hun Realm Passage to the Soul Palace Training Ground, where he could cultivate and test Soul Skills.
• Xiao Yan entered the passage, and his token assessed him as a sixteen-year-old Eight-Star Dou Zhe with Yellow-Rank Low-Level talent before assigning him to the corresponding trial ground.
• Xiao Yan arrived in an enclosed arena, where Zhang Hongguang attacked him with a saber to take his token.
• Xiao Yan dodged Zhang Hongguang's strike and killed him with a punch to the throat; the token's number changed from 1 to 2.
• Xiao Yan realized the number represented Soul Points and suspected the Soul Palace was the Hun Clan's organization, with influence spread across the Dou Qi Continent.