Chapter Summaries

Xu Xiaoshou began his tenth-grade alchemist examination using his unusually large Little Bathtub and invisible flames to make Red-Gold Pills. Yunhe watched in disbelief as Xu Xiaoshou tossed the ingredients together and used a strange cooking-like method, but his extraordinary heat control left Yunhe increasingly horrified and fascinated.

• Xu Xiaoshou told Yunhe to move away, then set up his Little Bathtub as a pill cauldron in the alchemy room.
• Xu Xiaoshou heated the bathtub with a compressed invisible fire seed and chose to make Red-Gold Pills.
• Xu Xiaoshou stopped Yunhe from approaching, accepted the herbs, and dumped them all into the cauldron at once.
• Yunhe protested that Xu Xiaoshou was making a hodgepodge stew, then fell silent as the examination continued.
• Yunhe watched Xu Xiaoshou refine several herbs at once and realized that, despite his immature technique, his control of the flames was exceptionally precise.

Xu Xiaoshou used his cooking skills to refine a pill while Yunhe mistook his movements for a new alchemy technique. Xu Xiaoshou triggered an explosive pill-condensation method, then discovered Yunhe had vanished.

• Yunhe watched Xu Xiaoshou refine medicinal liquid and tried to understand what he believed was a new alchemy technique.
• Yunhe imagined Xu Xiaoshou was stir-frying food and felt ashamed of his thoughts.
• Xu Xiaoshou warned Yunhe to step back before condensing the pill, but Yunhe moved closer and asked him to teach the technique.
• Xu Xiaoshou ignited the compressed fireseed and used the Emberlight Pill-Condensing Art, causing a medicinal explosion.
• Xu Xiaoshou prepared to release his pill and realized Yunhe was no longer beside the cauldron.

Mu Zixi’s Red-Gold Pill refinement was interrupted by explosions from Xu Xiaoshou’s room, and her furnace eventually exploded, blackening her and President Shi Ti. Xu Xiaoshou found Yunhe badly injured near the stairway, where the chapter left the Pill Tower crowd bewildered by the repeated blasts.

• Mu Zixi refined a Red-Gold Pill smoothly, impressing President Shi Ti with her skill despite not using Emberglow Alchemy.
• An explosion from next door startled Mu Zixi, and a second blast caused her furnace to erupt, leaving her and President Shi Ti blackened.
• Xu Xiaoshou rushed into the main hall asking where Yunhe was, and a woman pointed him toward the stairway.
• Xu Xiaoshou found Yunhe injured beneath a bloodstreak on the ceiling and heard him mutter about a Snake Puppet technique.
• Xu Xiaoshou fed Yunhe honey, but Yunhe choked unconscious before his friends carried him away.
• The crowd suspected Xu Xiaoshou after seeing Yunhe’s injuries and concluded that the Pill Tower was an ominous place.

Xu Xiaoshou’s explosive pill refinement wrecked his alchemy room and left Yunhe unconscious, prompting President Shi Ti to demand an explanation. Xu Xiaoshou insisted the destruction was part of his normal alchemy and revealed that he had successfully refined a pill.

• Fu Yinhong emerged from her alchemy room after explosions ruined two attempts at refining seventh-grade pills.
• Mu Zixi searched Xu Xiaoshou’s wrecked room for the receptionist, and Xu Xiaoshou said Yunhe was still breathing.
• Shi Ti inspected the damaged room and angrily questioned Xu Xiaoshou about the shattered door, skylight, and barrier.
• Xu Xiaoshou apologized for blowing up the skylight but said he had come to take the alchemist badge assessment, not tear the place apart.
• Shi Ti demanded to see the pill, and Xu Xiaoshou retrieved a pitch-black pill from the Little Bathtub and announced that he had succeeded.

Xu Xiaoshou’s furnace exploded during a pill demonstration, but he produced a freshly refined Red-Gold Pill from the wreckage. The witnesses confirmed that he had made it, leaving Shi Ti shaken by his mistaken accusations and Xu Xiaoshou’s extraordinary pill-refining skill.

• Xu Xiaoshou showed Shi Ti a Red-Gold Pill from the furnace slag and insisted the explosion was part of his normal pill-refining process.
• Shi Ti and Fu Yinhong examined the warm, fragrant pill and realized it had just been refined, while the onlookers argued over whether it was genuine.
• Shi Ti revived the injured Yunhe and asked him what he had witnessed.
• Yunhe praised Xu Xiaoshou’s unfamiliar pill-refining techniques and confirmed that Xu Xiaoshou had refined the Red-Gold Pill.

Xu Xiaoshou refused to repeat his Red-Gold Pill refinement unless Shi Ti first agreed to give him his badge, then offered to take the ninth-grade examination. Shi Ti promised him one condition if he succeeded, and Xu Xiaoshou pushed further by asking what he would get for refining an eighth-grade pill, prompting Shi Ti to offer to take him as a disciple if he managed it.

• Xu Xiaoshou declined to refine the pill again and proposed taking the tenth-grade badge before attempting the ninth-grade examination.
• Shi Ti refused to hand over the badge upfront and demanded that Xu Xiaoshou prove his ability by refining a pill.
• Mu Zixi and Fu Xing publicly declared that they believed in Xu Xiaoshou.
• Shi Ti promised to grant Xu Xiaoshou one condition if he successfully refined a ninth-grade pill.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked what Shi Ti would offer if he refined an eighth-grade pill, and Shi Ti offered to take him as his disciple if he succeeded.

Xu Xiaoshou negotiated with President Shi Ti for favors instead of accepting his offer to become a disciple. Shi Ti agreed to three favors, then angrily ordered Xu Xiaoshou to produce an eighth-grade pill before leaving the Pill Tower.

• President Shi Ti offered to take Xu Xiaoshou as his disciple if he could refine an eighth-grade pill, but Xu Xiaoshou declined and asked to increase his promised favors instead.
• Xu Xiaoshou considered Elder Sang and concluded Shi Ti could not protect him from being taken away by the old man.
• Shi Ti suspected that Xu Xiaoshou was the real disciple of Elder Sang and agreed to grant him two favors for refining an eighth-grade pill.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked for three favors, and Shi Ti reluctantly agreed while the onlookers criticized Xu Xiaoshou for not becoming his disciple.
• When Xu Xiaoshou tried to raise the deal to four favors, Shi Ti lost his temper and ordered him to return to the alchemy room and produce an eighth-grade pill.

Xu Xiaoshou began another alchemy assessment, using Emberlight Heavenly Flame to refine a Spirit Refining Pill while the crowd watched. As he reached the pill-condensation stage, he sped up his movements and Shi Ti drew close, fascinated by his technique.

• Xu Xiaoshou complained about the crowd, accepted a jade pendant from Fu Xing, and told the onlookers to leave the alchemy room.
• Shi Ti gave Xu Xiaoshou three chances to make a ninth-grade Spirit Refining Pill.
• Xu Xiaoshou cleared the Little Bathtub with Countershock and ignited Emberlight Heavenly Flame, shocking Shi Ti with its resemblance to Elder Sang’s flames.
• Xu Xiaoshou tossed the spiritual herbs into the bathtub and used his heat-control skill to extract their medicinal liquid.
• Xu Xiaoshou considered spending Passive Value to improve his pill-condensation skill because he hoped Shi Ti’s favor could help protect him from an unknown assassin.
• Xu Xiaoshou began pill condensation with increasingly fast hand movements, and Shi Ti unconsciously crouched beside him to watch.

Xu Xiaoshou tested the new control he gained from upgrading Mastery of Culinary Arts, then completed the pill-condensation process and triggered a massive explosion. He fled through the skylight, leaving Shi Ti and the others wondering whether his escape was part of normal pill refinement.

• Xu Xiaoshou upgraded Mastery of Culinary Arts to Innate Lv.3 and discovered that his Breathing Method could absorb heat from the Emberlight Heavenly Flame.
• Xu Xiaoshou showed Shi Ti how he could pull the heat back under control, and Shi Ti became eager to learn the technique.
• Xu Xiaoshou finished extracting the medicinal liquid and warned everyone to stand farther back before using the Pill Condensation Art.
• Xu Xiaoshou's pill cauldron exploded, blasting open the skylight, and he escaped through it while Shi Ti and the others stared in confusion.

Xu Xiaoshou’s pill-refining accident caused a massive explosion that destroyed much of the Pill Tower’s seventh floor, and Shi Ti struggled to contain the resulting Emberlight Heavenly Flame. Xu Xiaoshou realized his improved heat control had made his old techniques too powerful, then ran into an enraged Shi Ti.

• Xu Xiaoshou’s compressed fire seed expanded during pill condensation, unleashing a shockwave that blew apart much of the Pill Tower’s seventh floor.
• The explosion’s Emberlight Heavenly Flame melted the tower’s outer walls, and Shi Ti emerged singed before using the Heavenly Dao to gather the flames.
• Xu Xiaoshou hid in the Alchemist Association and concluded that leveling up Mastery of Culinary Arts had made his flame control stronger than his pill-refining techniques could handle.
• Xu Xiaoshou celebrated his discovery that better heat control could prevent future furnace explosions, then found Shi Ti waiting with flames in his hand.

After Xu Xiaoshou accidentally wrecked the Pill Tower, President Shi Ti recognized his Emberlight Heavenly Flame and master-level body, then expelled him from the Tiansang City Alchemist Association. Xu Xiaoshou was thrown outside and began longing for the Spirit Palace’s more forgiving leaders.

• Shi Ti attacked Xu Xiaoshou in anger, but Xu restrained him and revealed his master-level body.
• Shi Ti calmed down and questioned Xu Xiaoshou about the furnace explosion and his unusual abilities.
• Xu Xiaoshou tried to discuss the assessment and the damage, but Shi Ti refused to let him continue.
• Shi Ti ordered Xu Xiaoshou to leave the Pill Tower and never return to the Tiansang City Alchemist Association.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked to leave with his junior sister, and Shi Ti threw him outside.
• Xu Xiaoshou reflected on how Elder Sang and Ye Xiaotian had treated him more kindly.

After being expelled from the Pill Tower examination, Xu Xiaoshou received a tenth-grade alchemist badge but lost the rewards and recognition he had hoped for. He waited outside for Mu Zixi, and when Fu Xing hurried out to find him, Xu Xiaoshou refused to teach him Ten-Stage Sword Finger.

• President Shi Ti gave Xu Xiaoshou a tenth-grade alchemist badge but withheld the examination rewards after Xu Xiaoshou was thrown out of the Pill Tower.
• Xu Xiaoshou lamented that his plan to earn a higher alchemist rank and build his reputation had failed, then wore his badge outside the Pill Tower to attract attention and Passive Value.
• Xu Xiaoshou waited for Mu Zixi to finish her examination, since she had not been disqualified.
• Fu Xing rushed out of the Pill Tower and found Xu Xiaoshou, who refused to teach him Ten-Stage Sword Finger because it belonged to the Spirit Treasury Pavilion.

Fu Xing offered Xu Xiaoshou a fortuitous opportunity tied to the White Cavern, a place connected to the dangerous events surrounding Elder Sang and others. Xu Xiaoshou decided to hear him out so he could learn more and prepare, and Fu Xing revealed that the White Cavern might open within ten days to half a month.

• Fu Xing insisted that he had come with a fortuitous opportunity, while Xu Xiaoshou suspected he wanted the Ten-Stage Sword Finger or meant him harm.
• Fu Xing brought up the White Cavern, and Xu Xiaoshou recalled how many recent mysteries and upheavals seemed connected to it.
• Xu Xiaoshou considered avoiding the White Cavern but decided he needed to investigate it and prepare before Elder Sang drew him into its affairs.
• Fu Xing noticed Xu Xiaoshou's interest and asked what he knew about the White Cavern and the Yousi Sword.
• Fu Xing told Xu Xiaoshou that the White Cavern might open within ten days to half a month.

Fu Xing explained that the approaching White Cavern opening would require entry quotas, and that the City Lord's Manor would distribute its quotas at a grand night banquet. Xu Xiaoshou learned that Fu Xing could invite him to compete, leaving the question of whether he would accept unresolved.

• Fu Xing told Xu Xiaoshou that the White Cavern would likely open within days and that entering it required a quota.
• Fu Xing explained that Tiansang City's City Lord's Manor controlled the quotas allocated to Tiansang Commandery.
• Fu Xing described the night banquet as a gathering where young experts and factions competed, with the City Lord's Manor distributing White Cavern quotas according to strength.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked how the contests worked, and Fu Xing explained that Sovereign experts could not fight directly and that competitions included younger-generation, sword-path, and alchemy-path events.
• Fu Xing offered to send Xu Xiaoshou a Night Banquet Invitation in the name of the City Lord's Manor's eldest young master.

Xu Xiaoshou received an invitation to the City Lord's Mansion's night banquet from Fu Xing and learned that Tiansang Commandery's great clans would attend. After Mu Zixi earned a ninth-rank alchemy badge, Xu Xiaoshou traded badges with her and teased her, leaving her furious and hungry.

• Fu Xing gave Xu Xiaoshou a gilded invitation to the City Lord's Mansion's night banquet and praised his spiritual technique and alchemy.
• Fu Xing told Xu Xiaoshou that the great clans of Tiansang Commandery would attend the banquet, and Xu Xiaoshou wondered how many spirit cultivators would be there.
• Xu Xiaoshou shared food and conversation with Fu Xing at a restaurant before they parted on good terms.
• Mu Zixi left the Pill Tower excited after earning a ninth-rank alchemy badge and making a high-grade Spirit Refining Pill.
• Xu Xiaoshou took Mu Zixi's badge and pinned his own tenth-rank badge on her, embarrassing her as he helped attach it.
• Xu Xiaoshou offered Mu Zixi dinner, but she realized he had already eaten and angrily cursed him.

Xu Xiaoshou practiced making spirit formation discs at the Multi-Spirit Inn, hoping to prompt his system to grant him Mastery of Spirit Formations. After another burst of foreboding, he realized someone was watching him and possibly wanted him dead.

• The inn attendant worried over Xu Xiaoshou’s repeated explosions but welcomed three young swordsmen as new guests.
• Xu Xiaoshou used his wealth from selling stolen goods to pursue spirit formations and repeatedly blew up his practice discs.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained that he was learning formations to trigger the system into granting him Mastery of Spirit Formations.
• Xu Xiaoshou felt another death warning and saw the message, “Being watched. Passive Value +1.”

Jiao Tangtang and Xin Gugu reached Eight Palaces to search for Feng Yujin, but Xu Xiaoshou contacted her and threatened her after she mistook a cat’s cry for Greed God being tortured.

• Jiao Tangtang told Xin Gugu that their mission was to find Feng Yujin, a senior who had swept through the Five Domains.
• Xin Gugu insulted Jiao Tangtang, and she repeatedly kicked his head apart until he called her Sister.
• Xu Xiaoshou contacted Jiao Tangtang and claimed he had called because he missed her, so she hung up on him.
• When Xu Xiaoshou called again, Jiao Tangtang heard a cat cry and assumed Greed God was being tortured.
• Xu Xiaoshou told Jiao Tangtang that he had the cat and warned her not to hang up again.

Xu Xiaoshou sensed a powerful assassin targeting him and urgently asked Jiao Tangtang for help. Jiao Tangtang could not come herself, but sent Xin Gugu, who promised to arrive quickly and kill any opponent short of the Path-Cutting Realm.

• Xu Xiaoshou returned the inn's cat to the servant after squeezing it, leaving the servant bewildered by the cat's apparent enjoyment.
• Xu Xiaoshou called Jiao Tangtang and urgently asked her to come help him kill an unknown enemy.
• Xu Xiaoshou explained that he feared a powerful assassin after repeatedly receiving a notification that he was being watched.
• Jiao Tangtang said she could not leave her urgent mission near the White Cavern, but offered to send Xin Gugu instead.
• Xu Xiaoshou questioned whether Xin Gugu could handle several peak Thrones, and Jiao Tangtang insisted he could defeat any number of opponents below the Path-Cutting Realm.
• Xin Gugu took the communication jade slip and promised to reach Xu Xiaoshou within ten minutes.

Xu Xiaoshou left the inn alone to confront the assassin who had been watching him, while Mu Zixi stayed behind. On his way to the Pill Tower, he bumped into a scruffy uncle whose sack clattered like it held weapons and asked if he was an assassin.

• Xu Xiaoshou decided to face the threat that day and refused Mu Zixi’s request to accompany him.
• After Mu Zixi secretly followed him, Xu Xiaoshou sent her back to the room and left alone.
• Xu Xiaoshou felt the assassin’s ongoing observation as he walked through Tiansang City toward the Pill Tower, expecting Xin Gugu to arrive in ten minutes.
• Xu Xiaoshou accidentally knocked down a scruffy uncle, helped him up, and heard metal clattering inside the uncle’s sack.
• Xu Xiaoshou asked the uncle whether he was an assassin.

Xu Xiaoshou realized a Throne had manipulated his perception and confronted the assassin Red Dog, who had come to kill him. Red Dog destroyed Xu Xiaoshou’s communication jade slip and made clear that he would not spare him.

• Xu Xiaoshou mistook a scruffy uncle for an assassin, apologized, and gave him a bottle of Red-Gold Pills.
• Xu Xiaoshou noticed that he was being watched and realized the road had been altered by a Throne’s power.
• A white-robed man wearing a red mask appeared and destroyed Xu Xiaoshou’s communication jade slip.
• The man identified himself as Red Dog and said he had accepted the mission because he wanted to see Xu Xiaoshou.
• Red Dog told Xu Xiaoshou that he would kill him to maintain his perfect record of condemned targets.