Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan reached the Black-Region Great Plains after gathering supplies and refining pills for their journey to Jia Nan Academy. They crossed into the dangerous Black-Corner Region and continued toward a town where they could buy a local map.

• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan discussed their progress with the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations and their plans to seek the Fallen Heart Flame at Jia Nan Academy.
• Yao Lao offered Xiao Yuan a painful method to accelerate his cultivation and gave Xiao Yan a list of medicinal herbs to buy.
• Xiao Yuan used his Purple-Gold Card at the Mittel Auction House to acquire herbs and supplies, then reunited with Xiao Yan so he could refine their pills.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan traveled for half a month, with Xiao Yuan carrying Xiao Yan through the air, until they reached the Black-Region Great Plains.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan rested before entering the plains, then ran across them and decided to seek a town where they could purchase a local map.

Xun Er and Xiao Yu waited for Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuan at Jia Nan Academy while Mentor Ruo Lin warned them about the approaching Advancement Tournament. Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan reached a tribe on the Black-Region Great Plains, where they killed several attackers and agreed to travel with the merchant Do Ma in exchange for guidance across the plains.

• Xun Er and Xiao Yu reassured each other that Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuan would reach the academy, while Mentor Ruo Lin urged them to compete in the Advancement Tournament and complained that the brothers had overstayed their leave.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan arrived at a tribe, where Xiao Yuan caught and returned an arrow, killed the man who shot it, and froze three accomplices who tried to ambush him.
• Xiao Yuan took the attackers' Storage Rings, then led Xiao Yan through the tribe to look for a map and supplies.
• Do Ma offered Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuan a map and passage across the Black-Region Great Plains in exchange for guarding his caravan when trouble arose.
• Xiao Yan confirmed Do Ma's claims with Yao Lao, and Xiao Yuan warned the merchant not to deceive them before the brothers introduced themselves as White robe and Black robe.

Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan traveled toward Black Seal City, where they learned that Han Feng was the Medicine Emperor and that the Soul Hall was hunting soul bodies. After surviving a Black Storm and hearing Yao Lao explain the danger the Soul Hall posed, they continued toward the auction, intending to build their strength and seek useful supplies.

• Do Ma showed Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan a map and explained that the Eight Gates hosted the upcoming Black Seal City auction, then described the Black Ranking and named Han Feng as the Medicine Emperor.
• Hearing Han Feng's name triggered Yao Lao's emotional reaction, and Xiao Yan realized Han Feng was connected to Yao Lao's past betrayal.
• A Black Storm struck the caravan, and Xiao Yuan pulled Xiao Yan into the earth to shelter from the gale.
• During the storm, Xiao Yuan sensed a Soul Hall member hunting a Dou Ling-level soul body, prompting Yao Lao to explain the Soul Hall's threat to him and Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan agreed to cultivate diligently, discussed their money and possible auction purchases, and resumed the journey after the storm passed.

Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan arrived in Black Seal City and prepared to attend the auction, where they planned to sell items and seek useful treasures. After Xiao Yuan earned First-Class VIP seats by auctioning techniques, cultivation methods, and pills, the two encountered Fan Ling of the Blood Sect, who grew wary after he failed to sense their strength.

• Do Ma led Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan to Black Seal City and gave them a map and five thousand Gold Coins each.
• Xiao Yan went to Thousand Medicines Workshop while Xiao Yuan entered the Black Seal Auction House and auctioned techniques, cultivation methods, and pills for First-Class VIP seats.
• The auction house's appraiser suspected Xiao Yuan was a powerful outsider and reported his concern to the Sect Leader.
• Xiao Yan returned from preparing pills, and the next afternoon he and Xiao Yuan headed to the auction, agreeing to use deception and violence if needed to get what they wanted.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan passed Fan Ling and his Blood Sect group in the VIP passage without yielding, and Fan Ling failed to sense their strength and decided to avoid provoking them.

Xiao Yuan attended the Black Seal City Auction, bought a young girl, and watched Fan Ling spend heavily on pills and the Thunder Bat Sky Wings. She outbid him once to drive up the price, leaving him with the Flying Dou Technique but little money for the coming auction.

• Xiao Yuan entered the auction venue with Xiao Yan and took her Level One VIP seat, where she noticed Fan Ling watching her.
• Xiao Yuan bought a young girl for one hundred and fifty thousand Gold Coins just before another bidder could claim her.
• Fan Ling bought both two-pattern Qing Ling Pills for six hundred thousand Gold Coins apiece, while another bidder bought Xiao Yuan's Purple Heart Obstacle Breaking Pill for four hundred and eighty thousand.
• Fan Ling and Elder Qing competed for the Thunder Bat Sky Wings until Elder Qing withdrew at one million nine hundred thousand Gold Coins.
• Xiao Yuan bid two million for the Thunder Bat Sky Wings, baiting Fan Ling into raising his bid to two million one hundred thousand before she stopped.
• Fan Ling won the Thunder Bat Sky Wings, having spent three million three hundred thousand Gold Coins before the final auction item appeared.

Xiao Yuan watched Xiao Yan provoke Fan Ling into overpaying for a fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map, then saw the auction’s prized items sell for enormous sums. After collecting his earnings and Qing Ning, Xiao Yuan left the auction house, where its sect master concluded that the mysterious veiled woman was an ice-attribute Dou Emperor and ordered his people not to follow her.

• Xiao Yuan recognized the ancient cloth as a fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map, then bid just enough to encourage Fan Ling to raise the price to two hundred thousand Gold Coins.
• Xiao Yan’s Three-Striped Green Spirit Pill sparked fierce bidding, and Elder Qing of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion bought it for one and a half million Gold Coins.
• Bidders drove the price of Three Thousand Lightning Movement to ten million two hundred thousand Gold Coins, with a man from the Black Skeleton Tomb winning it.
• Xiao Yuan went to collect his auction proceeds, transferred the remaining four million eight hundred twenty thousand Gold Coins to his own card, and left with Qing Ning.
• Steward Hu recognized Xiao Yuan’s card as proof of Dou Emperor strength and invited her to meet the sect master, but Xiao Yuan refused and departed.
• The sect master judged Xiao Yuan to be a powerful ice-attribute Dou Emperor and ordered Steward Hu to withdraw the people assigned to track her.

Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan followed Fan Ling’s group to a Blood Sect ambush, where Fan Lao attacked the Heavenly Serpent Mansion and seized the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill. Xiao Yan pursued Fan Ling while Yao Lao raised Xiao Yuan’s strength to Dou Emperor level, and Xiao Yuan rushed to intervene as Fan Lao prepared to kill Elder Qing.

• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan followed Fan Ling’s group west of Black Seal City and discovered the Blood Sect’s hidden ambush.
• Fan Lao and the Blood Sect overwhelmed Elder Qing’s Heavenly Serpent Mansion group, and Fan Lao stole the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill from her.
• Fan Ling took the pill and fled with Blood Guards as Elder Qing unleashed her full strength to fight Fan Lao.
• Xiao Yuan sent Xiao Yan after Fan Ling and accepted Yao Lao’s power to temporarily reach the Dou Emperor level.
• Fan Lao gained the upper hand and swung his blood blade at the defenseless Elder Qing, but Xiao Yuan vanished from his hiding place.

Xiao Yuan intervened when Fan Lao attacked Elder Qing and battled the Blood Sect leader over the Heavenly Serpent Mansion elder. He trapped Fan Lao in Mystic Ice and had the five ice dragons close in, leaving the sect master facing a potentially deadly attack.

• Xiao Yuan saved Elder Qing from Fan Lao’s blade and revealed that he knew Lu Man, prompting her to recognize his connection to the Heavenly Serpent Mansion.
• Fan Lao tried to retreat after realizing Xiao Yuan could match him, but Xiao Yuan attacked and drove him back rather than let him escape.
• Xiao Yuan summoned five Mystic Ice Giant Dragons, while Fan Lao used Blood Transformation and charged a powerful blood spear technique.
• Xiao Yuan froze Fan Lao inside an ice coffin, where Fan Lao’s spear could not break through the regenerating ice.
• Xiao Yuan ordered the five dragons to bind and crush Fan Lao, deforming his Blood Membrane and filling him with terror.

Xiao Yuan defeated Fan Lao with the borrowed power of Yao Lao, though Fan Lao escaped gravely injured, and Xiao Yan recovered valuable items from Fan Ling’s Storage Ring. The brothers prepared to head for Jia Nan Academy after Xiao Yuan ate the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, leaving Xiao Yan stunned.

• Xiao Yuan froze and shattered Fan Lao’s Blood Membrane, survived Fan Lao’s spear attack, and drove him away with severe injuries.
• Xiao Yuan warned Elder Qing away from poisonous ice crystals, gave her a Healing Pill, and asked about Qing Lian at the Heavenly Serpent Mansion.
• Xiao Yan took the incomplete map, Thunder Bat Sky Wings, and Three Thousand Lightning Movement from Fan Ling’s Storage Ring, while Xiao Yuan returned the movement technique to him.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan planned to refine the Thunder Bat Sky Wings and fly to Jia Nan Academy, and Xiao Yuan changed out of his white dress after teasing Xiao Yan about Xun Er.
• Yao Lao advised Xiao Yuan to eat the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill, and Xiao Yuan swallowed it while Xiao Yan watched in shock.

Xiao Yuan discovered that the Yin-Yang Mysterious Dragon Pill had granted him a dragon aura he could release as a soul-shaking roar, then arrived at Jia Nan Academy with Xiao Yan and registered as a student. In Canaan City, they reunited with Xiao Ning, whom Xiao Yuan rescued from students harassing him for information about Xun Er.

• Xiao Yuan circulated his Dou Qi and drew out the pill’s thin dragon aura, releasing a roar that made Xiao Yan’s brow ache before hurting his own throat.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan reached Peaceful Town, identified themselves to the Enforcement Team, and verified their student records with Mentor Ruo Lin’s help.
• The brothers received Jia Nan Academy badges and rode Gryphons to Canaan City, where they headed toward the academy.
• Xiao Yuan noticed Xiao Ning surrounded by youths who wanted information about Xun Er and froze the attackers to the ground.
• Xiao Yuan warned the youths not to target the Xiao Clan again, then left with Xiao Ning and Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuan arrived at Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy Selection Competition after keeping Xun'er and Mentor Ruo Lin waiting. Xiao Yan defeated Xue Beng, while Xiao Yuan confronted Bai Shan from behind and left him terrified.

• Xun'er defeated Mo Wen and waited with Xiao Yu and Mentor Ruo Lin for Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuan to arrive.
• Xiao Yan appeared just before forfeiting, introduced himself, and defeated Xue Beng with a single punch.
• Xiao Ning told Xiao Yuan that Xiao Yu had clashed with Bai Shan while protecting Xun'er and had been hurt.
• Xiao Yuan moved through the crowd toward Bai Shan after promising to deal with him.
• Bai Shan praised Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yuan appeared behind him, placed a palm on his back, and warned that Bai Shan would never get the chance to fight Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yuan arrived at Jia Nan Academy’s Selection Competition, defeated Bai Shan with a freezing palm, and reunited with Xiao Yu while Xun Er embraced Xiao Yan. After Xiao Yuan removed the dangerous chill from Bai Shan, Hu Qian let him avoid punishment, though Bai Shan was left unable to compete in the Inner Academy Selection.

• The Red-Clothed Girl and the old man discussed Xiao Yan’s strength after he defeated Xue Beng, while she considered pursuing him or Xiao Yuan.
• Xiao Yan won his round, returned to Xun Er, and she threw herself into his embrace in front of the crowd.
• Xiao Yuan struck Bai Shan with a freezing palm, then greeted Hu Qian after the Vice Dean caught the falling student.
• Bai Shan accused Xiao Yuan of breaking academy rules, and Xiao Yuan challenged Hu Qian to apply the rules equally to the students who had attacked Xiao Ning.
• Hu Qian declined to punish Xiao Yuan and asked him to remove the chill from Bai Shan, so Xiao Yuan drew it out and left Bai Shan unconscious and unable to compete.

Xiao Yuan returned to Jia Nan Academy and reunited with Xiao Yu, while Mentor Ruo Lin explained the Inner Academy selection and its top-fifty requirement. Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan prepared for the coming competition, and Xiao Yuan promised to help Xiao Yu advance and secure Mentor Ruo Lin’s promotion.

• Xiao Yuan returned to the stands, reunited with Xiao Yu, and apologized for arriving late.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan apologized to Mentor Ruo Lin for missing classes, and Xiao Yuan promised to help them place in the top three.
• Mentor Ruo Lin learned that Xiao Yan was a Five-Star Dou Grandmaster and Xiao Yuan was an Eight-Star Dou Grandmaster.
• Mentor Ruo Lin explained that entrants needed to reach the top fifty to qualify for the Inner Academy, and Xiao Yuan offered to help Xiao Yu make it that far.
• Mentor Ruo Lin described Bai Shan and the Little Enchantress as strong competitors, then left to gather information to help Xiao Yu in the competition.
• Xiao Yuan promised Mentor Ruo Lin that he and Xiao Yan would help her become a Profound Rank Mentor.

Xiao Yuan and his group entered the Selection Competition’s final round, a free-for-all elimination match in which survival determined rank. After the other contestants formed teams and eliminated the loners, five teams turned their attention to Xiao Yuan’s group.

• Bai Shan lost his top-fifty match while still weakened by frozen meridians, and Xiao Yu won hers at the cost of severe injuries.
• Hu Qian announced that the final round would be a free-for-all in which contestants could team up and would rank higher the longer they stayed in the field.
• Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, Xun Er, and Xiao Yu entered the match together, with Xiao Yu staying behind the other three as they drove off challengers.
• Contestants formed teams and eliminated the remaining loners, leaving five groups in the field after several Dou Grandmasters were knocked out by Xiao Yuan’s group.
• All five remaining teams looked toward Xiao Yuan’s group, apparently intending to eliminate them first.

Xiao Yuan’s group faced the combined teams in the arena, and Xiao Yuan showed that his strength far exceeded what his cultivation suggested. After clearing nearly all their opponents, he was forced to confront the last student, who had positioned himself beside Xiao Yu and tried to bargain for staying in the arena.

• The five major teams eliminated the smaller teams, leaving Xiao Yuan’s group of four as their only opponents.
• Xiao Yuan sent Xiao Yan and Xun Er to face the two teams with Dou Grandmasters while he took on the remaining teams alone.
• Xiao Yuan used ice techniques and formidable physical strength to defeat Hu Jia, Wu Hao, and their teammates.
• The last remaining peak Dou Fighter moved beside Xiao Yu and offered to spare her if Xiao Yuan let him stay in the arena.
• Xiao Yuan rejected the student’s proposed deal.

Xiao Yuan defeated Hu Jia and Wu Hao while Xiao Xun'er defeated her opponents, and Xiao Yan broke through during the fight. The Inner Academy Selection ended with the Xiao Clan claiming four of the top five spots, while Bai Shan resented Xiao Yuan’s growing fame.

• Xiao Yuan froze Xiao Yan and Xiao Yu for their safety, then fought Hu Jia and Wu Hao as Xiao Xun'er guarded the breaking-through Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yuan overwhelmed Hu Jia and Wu Hao with Mystic Ice techniques, defeated them with Mystic Ice Dragon Soar, and left them severely injured.
• Xiao Xun'er defeated the three students facing her, Xiao Yan completed his breakthrough to Six-Star Dou Grandmaster, and the judges awarded the Xiao Clan four top-five places.
• Hu Qian announced Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er, and Xiao Yu among the top five, with Hu Jia and Wu Hao tied for fifth.
• Xiao Yu celebrated her fourth-place finish beside Xiao Yuan, Wu Hao vowed to grow stronger, Hu Jia complained about her defeat, and Bai Shan brooded over Xiao Yuan's popularity.

After returning to Black Seal City, Xiao Yuan collected Qing Ning and revealed his true identity while taking her to Jia Nan Academy. When her pill-induced vitality depletion triggered a dangerous flare of Yin Fire, Xiao Yuan used the Yin Yang Dual Flames to form a seal that stabilized her.

• Xiao Yuan met Yuan Yi, refused his offer to become an honorary elder of the Eight Gates, and went to retrieve Qing Ning.
• Xiao Yuan offered Qing Ning the choice of staying in Black Seal City or following him, and she chose to go with him to Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Yuan revealed that he was a young man named Xiao Yuan rather than the female Dou Emperor Xuan Bing, and learned that Qing Ning had been given pills that harmed her vitality.
• Xiao Yuan warned Qing Ning that her depleted vitality could threaten her health, gave her Essence Nurturing pills, and resolved to help her cultivate.
• Qing Ning's Yin Fire flared during their flight, so Xiao Yuan used the Yin Yang Dual Flames to create a fire seal that calmed her condition.

Xiao Yuan brought Qing Ning to Jia Nan Academy and entrusted her to Mentor Ruo Lin before joining the other competition finalists on their visit to the Library Pavilion. The academy’s guardians opened the pavilion’s spatial barrier, and the group entered to seek a single item each.

• Xiao Yuan asked Mentor Ruo Lin to take Qing Ning as a student and explained that he had bought her at an auction to save her from exploitation; Ruo Lin agreed to care for her.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yu discussed his decision to save Qing Ning, and Xiao Yu kissed him in thanks.
• Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, Xiao Yu, Xun Er, Hu Jia, and Wu Hao met Vice Dean Hu Qian, who led them to the Library Pavilion as the competition’s top five despite the group having six people.
• The Thousand-Hundred Two Elders recognized Heavenly Flames in Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan, identified Xiao Yuan’s Yin Yang Dual Flames, and opened the spatial lock to the pavilion.
• Hu Qian explained that each entrant could take only one item if they could pass its energy barrier, and the group went inside to search.

Xiao Yuan and the others entered Jia Nan Academy’s Library Pavilion and searched for cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. With the one-hour limit nearly up, Xiao Yuan seized a lightning-wreathed treasure, which exploded in his hands and left his companions fearing for him.

• The Gray-robed Man opened the Library Pavilion and warned Xiao Yuan, Xiao Yan, Xun Er, Xiao Yu, Hu Jia, and Wu Hao to leave after one hour.
• Xiao Yuan used Listening to the Wind's Whisper to catch an energy cluster and discovered it contained the Mystic High-Rank Purple Thunder Skill, then returned it.
• Xiao Yu obtained the Earth Rank Low Level Azure Water Ripple cultivation method, and Xiao Yan gave Xun Er the Earth Rank Mid Level Ninefold Phoenix Fire Skill.
• Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan used their soul perceptions to search for better treasures, and Xiao Yan later claimed the Earth Rank Low Level Fire Control Armor Dou Technique.
• Xiao Yuan used the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations and Purple Cloud Wings to catch a fast silver cluster, but its black lightning arcs erupted in an explosion that struck him directly.

Xiao Yuan met Mang Tianchi inside the Thunder Sea and proved he could cultivate the dean’s lightning technique, earning a matching Dou Skill and a lightning mark. After leaving the Library Pavilion, Xiao Yuan and the other new students prepared to enter the Inner Academy and flew toward its hidden location.

• Mang Tianchi offered Xiao Yuan ice-attributed techniques, but Xiao Yuan demonstrated his lightning douqi and convinced the dean that he could cultivate the Demon Thunder Mirror.
• Mang Tianchi gave Xiao Yuan a matching Dou Skill and marked him with black lightning before the Thunder Sea trial ended.
• Xiao Yuan and the others left the Library Pavilion, where two Gray-robed Men noted that he had earned the dean’s favor.
• Hu Qian warned the six students that the Inner Academy would be difficult and advised them to cooperate.
• Hu Qian assembled the new students, and ten Gryphons carried them toward the Inner Academy with Hu Qian and three elders escorting them.