Chapter Summaries

After Xuan Lengyan was taken away by Uncle Xuan Jiu, Xu Yi tried to escape the danger by posing as the offended Young Master Yiling and persuading Su Xingchun to send him away. He vanished through the teleportation array, but Feng San arrived too late to stop him and revealed that Young Master Yiling was actually Xu Yi.

• Uncle Xuan Jiu took Xuan Lengyan to meet the clan elders, leaving Xu Yi behind and warning him to watch his back.
• Xu Yi went to Su Xingchun and claimed he wanted to leave after Uncle Xuan Jiu threatened him for helping Xuan Lengyan.
• Su Xingchun believed Xu Yi had fallen out with Xuan Lengyan, offered him friendship, and ordered a teleportation array prepared.
• Xu Yi used the array and the Two Realms Pearl to disappear, while Su Xingchun began plotting to win his favor and turn him against Xuan Lengyan.
• Feng San rushed in and told Su Xingchun that Young Master Yiling was really Xu Yi, Xuan Xuan's disciple and a student of the Golden Core South Courtyard.

Su Xingchun learned that Xu Yi had fooled her and sent the Five Demons of Lijiang River after him. Xu Yi reached a city’s river, but the Five Demons caught up, slaughtered witnesses, and drew the attention of nearby cultivators.

• Su Xingchun discovered Xu Yi had escaped and ordered the Five Demons of Lijiang River to hunt him near the Wasteland.
• Xu Yi used Jiang Fei’s qi-reading trick to find a city and raced toward it while five pursuers closed in.
• The Five Demons attacked Xu Yi with divine abilities, wounding him as he continued toward the city.
• The Five Demons surrounded Xu Yi on the river, and Su Tao destroyed a pleasure boat and killed its occupants.
• Cultivators recognized the Five Demons of Lijiang River and moved to challenge them, but one of their leaders was immediately cut in half.

Xu Yi destroyed the Five Demons of Lijiang River and escaped Tao Jingsheng’s attack, but Phoenix City suffered heavy casualties. He then tricked Xuan Lengyan into believing he had captured Xu Yi and began negotiating with her.

• Xu Yi killed the Five Demons of Lijiang River with his Nine Star Flowing Fire Technique after they drove the fleeing cultivators away.
• Tao Jingsheng immobilized Xu Yi, but Xu Yi unleashed six volcanoes that devastated the city wall and surrounding area before Tao Jingsheng attacked Phoenix City and disappeared.
• Xu Yi reached the Golden Core Society’s Phoenix City branch and entered a secret refining chamber, shaken by Tao Jingsheng’s Calamity Tribulation Realm power.
• Xuan Lengyan contacted Xu Yi through the Ruyi Pearl, and he disguised a cloak as a wounded person to make her believe he had captured Xu Yi.
• Xuan Lengyan pleaded for him to treat Xu Yi, while he offered to negotiate practical terms.

Xu Yi’s attempt to fool Xuan Lengyan nearly exposed him, but he convinced her he was genuinely in danger. After returning to Xuanqing Sect, he found True Man Scarlet Fire unusually friendly and went to see Sect Leader Hongyi.

• Xu Yi disguised himself as a cloaked man and demanded that Xuan Lengyan remain his friend and end her master-disciple relationship with him.
• Xuan Lengyan recognized Xu Yi’s deception, but he pretended she had misunderstood and ended their call after accusing Uncle Nine of trying to kill him.
• Uncle Xuan Jiu sent Xuan Lengyan a recording of Xu Yi’s fight, and she laughed at his failed efforts to escape their master-disciple bond.
• Xu Yi traveled by teleportation array to Jinming City and returned to his mountain in Xuanqing Sect.
• Xu Yi learned that True Man Scarlet Fire’s improved attitude came from Guanglong Hall’s generous offerings, then asked to see Sect Leader Hongyi.

Xu Yi met Sect Leader Hongyi, whose confusion was eased by Xu Yi’s poems, and received guidance on cultivation and the wider world. Hongyi explained the Central Continent’s Immortal Hall and shared uncertain legends about the primeval world and eternal life.

• True Man Scarlet Fire told Xu Yi that Sect Leader Hongyi wanted to meet him and led him to the back hills.
• Xu Yi watched Hongyi farming, then recited two poems that moved Hongyi and helped him dispel his confusion.
• Hongyi explained the hidden apertures, the Mysterious Palace, and the cultivation steps leading toward the Calamity Tribulation Realm.
• Hongyi told Xu Yi that the Immortal Hall was an alliance of the Central Continent’s powerful forces, not a sect or dynasty.
• Hongyi described legends of the sealed primeval world and said he had never met anyone who lived beyond a thousand years.

Xu Yi learned that an injured hidden aperture was preventing his advancement, and Sect Leader Hongyi urged him to break through quickly. He returned to Guanglong Hall, approved a plan to trade Origin Pills for an Obsidian Furnace, learned news of Yinqiu and Yan Zi, and then went to meet Tang Shanhai.

• Sect Leader Hongyi explained the layers of Tribulation Crossing and revealed that Xu Yi's hidden aperture was injured, preventing him from advancing to Spiritual Root Layer Two.
• Xu Yi left Xuanqing Sect and returned to Guanglong Hall, where Desolate Ancestor welcomed him and reported on the hall's growth.
• Xu Yi praised Desolate Ancestor's work and approved using Guanglong Hall's surplus Origin Pills to buy an Obsidian Furnace.
• Desolate Ancestor told Xu Yi that Yinqiu had joined Fengqi Sect in the Tainted Realm and that Yan Zi had refused his help.
• Tang Shanhai contacted Xu Yi and asked him to visit Guanglong Trading Company, so Xu Yi went to meet him.

Xu Yi met Deng, the head of Guanglong Trading Company, who revealed why the company had supported him and told him about Guangcheng Immortal Mansion. After Xu Yi proved he could activate the Heavenly Fate Stone, Deng proposed a deal for treasures from the ancient ruin, leaving Xu Yi questioning his confidence.

• Tang Shanhai ushered Xu Yi into a secret chamber, where Deng revealed that he had backed Xu Yi because he believed him to be an exceptional World Child.
• Deng told Xu Yi that the seals on Guangcheng Immortal Mansion were weakening and that only certain World Children could enter it.
• Deng gave Xu Yi a Heavenly Fate Stone, and Xu Yi lit it by circulating his blood and qi.
• Deng explained that Guangcheng Immortal Mansion had belonged to the immortal Guangchengzi and offered Xu Yi an Obsidian Furnace in exchange for a treasure if Xu Yi obtained three or more.
• Xu Yi questioned why Deng was so confident he would find treasures in the mansion.

Xu Yi negotiated with the gray-haired elder for the Nine Spirit Sacred Blood Pill ingredients and traveled to Thousand Illusions Sect after receiving an invitation to You Hai’s birthday banquet. He arrived and met Feng Biao, who led him toward Yan Zi’s mountain residence.

• Xu Yi and the gray-haired elder swore an oath over the Nine Spirit Sacred Blood Pill ingredients and the Obsidian Furnace.
• Xu Yi hosted a reception at Guanglong Hall, then decided to visit Yan Zi at Thousand Illusions Sect.
• Tang Shanhai gave Xu Yi an invitation to You Hai’s birthday banquet, scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
• Xu Yi traveled to Thousand Illusions Sect and was welcomed at the mountain gate.
• Feng Biao met Xu Yi and guided him toward Yan Zi’s mountain residence, then offered to accompany him.

Xu Yi visited Yan Zi before her Heavenly Fate Stone assessment, confirmed she was not a World Child, and shared a meal with her while they discussed old friends. After Yan Zi left for the test, Xu Yi encountered a steward trying to ransack her mountain abode, and Feng Biao arrived as tensions rose.

• Xu Yi took Feng Biao’s Thousand Illusions Token, adjusted its restrictions, and used it to enter Yan Zi’s mountain abode.
• Xu Yi had Yan Zi gather her blood and qi around the Heavenly Fate Stone, which remained still, then shared a meal and memories with her.
• Yan Zi received word that her assessment was beginning and left, promising Xu Yi she would pass.
• Xu Yi finished the meal and heard a steward order attendants to search Yan Zi’s abode and seal the mountain gate.
• Feng Biao arrived and ordered the steward to leave, but the Red-faced Steward claimed the mountain range belonged to Elder Hong.

Xu Yi rushed to rescue Yan Zi after learning that Hong Shihu had attacked her, killing the steward who had abused her and driving Hong Shihu off. He healed Yan Zi and prepared to take her away, but discovered that Hong Shihu had drugged her with Spring and Sun.

• Xu Yi killed the Red-faced Steward and his attendants, took the steward’s memories, and hurried toward Hong Shihu’s cave abode.
• Xu Yi interrupted Hong Shihu’s attack on Yan Zi, stopped his water dragon, and drove him away with a sword strike.
• Xu Yi used spiritual liquid from the Jade Pure Bottle to heal Yan Zi’s abdominal wound and prepared to take her back with him.
• Xu Yi scolded Yan Zi for acting independently, then reassured her that she could bring him more trouble in the future.
• Yan Zi’s drugged body went limp in Xu Yi’s arms, and he realized Hong Shihu had poisoned her with Spring and Sun.

Xu Yi confronted Hong Shihu at the Thousand Illusions Sect's banquet after rescuing Yan Zi, killing a guest who attacked him and demanding an explanation. Feng Biao exposed Hong Shihu's misconduct, leaving Hong Shihu pleading that the accusation was false.

• Xu Yi subdued Yan Zi's chaotic energy but could not remove his hand without it flaring up again.
• Hong Shihu crashed into the banquet hall, and Xu Yi followed while carrying Yan Zi and pursued him despite You Hai's challenge.
• A red-robed man attacked Xu Yi with golden hammers, but Xu Yi killed him with Hun Tian Sword energy.
• Xu Yi fought off You Hai's white tiger attack and demanded that Hong Shihu explain his actions.
• Xu Yi called Feng Biao into the hall, and Feng Biao revealed what had happened between Hong Shihu and Yan Zi.
• Hong Shihu denied the accusations and claimed Feng Biao could not be trusted.

Xu Yi revealed himself as Young Master Yiling, killed Hong Shihu, and rescued Yan Zi. After forcing You Hai to free the Thousand Illusions Sect’s female cultivators and maids, Xu Yi confronted the Six Smoke Guests of the West Sea, leaving five of them badly injured when he killed the Red-faced Fatty.

• The Six Smoke Guests of the West Sea arrived, and You Hai pointed out Xu Yi as the man who had killed someone in the sect.
• Xu Yi ignored the long-faced man, held Yan Zi, and promised to avenge her by killing Hong Shihu.
• The purple-bearded youth recognized Xu Yi as Young Master Yiling, and Xu Yi killed Hong Shihu, captured his soul, and used his memories to find a pill that calmed Yan Zi’s aura.
• Xu Yi ordered You Hai to free the Thousand Illusions Sect’s female cultivators and maids, and You Hai sent Feng Biao to carry out the order.
• Xu Yi challenged the long-faced man, but the Red-faced Fatty demanded a fight; the Six Smoke Guests formed a shield against Xu Yi’s fireball, which destroyed the hall and left the Red-faced Fatty dead and the other five badly injured.

Xu Yi was confronted by Xue Kuang after defeating the Thousand Illusions Sect, but Duan Tiandai recognized Xu Yi as his Eldest Brother and turned on Xue Kuang. As Duan Tiandai threatened to kill him, a finely dressed middle-aged man stepped in to mediate.

• You Hai apologized to Xu Yi, who prepared to leave the Thousand Illusions Sect.
• Xue Kuang arrived and demanded that Xu Yi kneel and accept punishment or fight him.
• Duan Tiandai recognized Xu Yi, greeted him as his Eldest Brother, and slapped Xue Kuang for challenging him.
• Duan Tiandai ordered Wang Bao to attack You Hai and tried to finish off Xue Kuang, while the other young masters intervened.
• A finely dressed middle-aged man offered to mediate, citing his debt to the King of Northern Jin.

Xu Yi and Duan Tiandai confronted Xue Kuang and Hu Feng over the trouble on Duan Tiandai’s turf. Hu Feng tried to use his White Quality Badge and authority to have them seized, but Xu Yi revealed a Black Quality Badge and took command of the Golden Core Guards.

• Duan Tiandai refused to let Xu Yi settle the dispute peacefully and insisted on confronting Xue Kuang.
• Hu Feng introduced himself as the Golden Core Society’s chief affairs officer in Wufeng Country and summoned the Thirteenth Branch of Golden Core Guards with his White Quality Badge.
• Hu Feng ordered the guards to seize Xu Yi and Duan Tiandai, but Xu Yi swiftly grabbed and slapped Hu Feng.
• Xu Yi revealed a Black Quality Badge, which the captain verified, and the Golden Core Guards knelt and awaited his orders.

Xu Yi revealed his Black Quality Badge and disciplined the Thousand Illusions Sect’s You Hai and Hu Feng before visiting Duan Tiandai’s territory. After returning to Guanglong Hall, he helped Yan Zi form a fire spiritual root, then left for Golden Core Academy as the new term approached.

• Xu Yi told You Hai to release the female cultivators and stop recruiting them, then warned Hu Feng not to abuse the Golden Core Society’s name for profit.
• Xu Yi explained to Duan Tiandai that he had earned his Black Quality Badge by publishing a Ding Wen and asked him to keep it secret.
• Duan Tiandai reported that he had found only three of the rare ingredients Xu Yi needed for the Nine Spirit Sacred Blood Pill, then persuaded Xu Yi to visit his territory.
• Xu Yi stayed for more than ten days as Duan Tiandai and Duan Yong hosted him, and his identity as Young Master Yiling and a Black Quality Badge holder became known.
• Xu Yi refined four Spirit Derivation Pills and helped Yan Zi form a fire spiritual root and stabilize her cultivation.
• Xu Yi left Guanglong Hall for Golden Core Academy as the school term neared.

Xu Yi returned to the Golden Core South Courtyard with Duan Tiandai and received the medicinal ingredients his roommates had gathered, though two essential ingredients remained missing. The restriction on Starry Sky Rings then vanished, and Xu Yi spent the start of the semester studying Pill Arts in his courtyard.

• Xu Yi and Duan Tiandai traveled through a teleportation array to the Savage Wilderness Realm and returned to the Golden Core South Courtyard.
• Xu Yi found that his roommates had collected six kinds of ingredients for the Nine Spirit Sacred Blood Pill, but not the Two Lives Flower or the Fruit of Selflessness.
• Xu Yi stayed sober through a night of drinking, carried his drunken roommates to bed, and left while worrying about how to face Xuan Lengyan.
• Xu Yi learned that Xuan Lengyan had not come to work and that someone had temporarily taken over her duties.
• Xu Yi discovered that the restriction on Starry Sky Rings had disappeared and gave Supervisor Hong a storage ring in thanks.
• Xu Yi skipped classes and devoted himself to studying Pill Arts and repeating experiments from the Gold Register and Dan Book.

After two months of systematic alchemy study, Xu Yi mastered the fundamentals and refined origin pills as easily as Kong Qi. He learned that the South Academy was losing public debates against the Central Academy’s Ming Dao Society, whose Water of Oblivion made defeated students reveal their secrets.

• Xu Yi spent two months studying the Gold Register and Dan Book, using his spectrum system to support his experiments and understanding of medicinal properties.
• Xu Yi exhausted most of his medicinal ingredients, mastered origin-pill refinement, and left the alchemy room worn out.
• Xu Yi contacted Supervisor Hong and learned that Xuan Lengyan still had not returned to the South Academy, then decided not to contact her.
• Jiang Fei, Duan Tiandai, and Meng Wanzhou summoned Xu Yi and told him that Sun Xijian’s Ming Dao Society had been defeating South Academy alchemists in public debates.
• Meng Wanzhou explained that losing debaters had to drink the Ming Dao Society’s Water of Oblivion, which caused several South Academy students to expose embarrassing secrets.

Xu Yi resisted pressure to join the Ming Dao Society’s debate, but recognized that Su Jianting was trying to bait and publicly corner him. After Su Jianting rallied the South Academy students against him, Xu Yi agreed to appear at the White Tiger Forum that night.

• Xu Yi told his roommates not to get involved in the Ming Dao Society’s challenge unless they were attacked, and they returned to Dormitory 137 to drink.
• Su Jianting arrived and accused Xu Yi of neglecting the South Academy, but Xu Yi stopped his roommates from confronting him and watched for signs of a trap.
• Su Jianting sent people to spread word that Xu Yi refused to compete, drawing a crowd to the dormitory courtyard.
• Su Jianting urged the crowd to demand that Xu Yi defend the South Academy’s reputation.
• Xu Yi agreed to go to the White Tiger Forum that night, and Su Jianting called on the students to spread the news.

Xu Yi agreed to face the Ming Dao Society at the final exchange session, drawing a massive crowd as the South Campus challengers suffered humiliating defeats. He finally appeared onstage just as Wang Minglun declared there was no one left to compete.

• Su Jianting left after Xu Yi accepted the challenge, and Xu Yi told his dormmates to shut the door and unleash the hounds before disappearing.
• Meng Wanzhou dragged Jiang Fei and Duan Tiandai to the overcrowded White Tiger Forum, where Tie Dagang struggled to hold their place.
• Wang Minglun and Sun Xijian arrived for the final exchange session, but Xu Yi was still absent when the event began.
• Wang Minglun announced that the Central Academy would offer two exchange-student places, including one for the South Campus's top performer.
• Four South Campus students challenged the Ming Dao Society and quickly lost, with the Water of Oblivion causing several of them to behave disgracefully.
• Xu Yi appeared onstage and mocked Wang Minglun's claim that the South Campus had no one left to compete.

Xu Yi confronted Wang Minglun over betraying the Southern Academy and challenged him to a contest. Sun Xijian revealed that Wang was joining Central Academy and the Ming Dao Society, leaving the audience furious and Wang exposed as a traitor.

• Xu Yi insulted Wang Minglun and accused him of siding with outsiders instead of the Southern Academy.
• Wang Minglun tried to claim Xu Yi was provoking him to disrupt the exchange, but Xu Yi challenged him directly.
• Xu Yi argued with the Black-faced Supervisor over the Ming Dao Society's use of Water of Oblivion, and the big-bearded supervisor warned him to settle matters through a contest.
• Xu Yi pointed out that Wang Minglun was one of the exchange-student slots and challenged him to fight for the Southern Academy.
• Sun Xijian confirmed that Wang Minglun was joining Central Academy and had applied to join the Ming Dao Society, prompting the audience to curse Wang.
• Sun Xijian privately urged Wang Minglun to distinguish himself by helping him deal with Xu Yi.