Chapter Summaries

Lin Ming impressed Elder Huo with his alchemy skill, accepted his offer of mentorship on his own terms, and gained exceptional exchange privileges in the Alchemy Department. He asked for the Technique of Pill Fire and learned that Jia Nan Academy had a Crystal Vein Pill formula that could help him subdue lower-ranked Heavenly Flames.

• Elder Huo asked who had taught Lin Ming, and Lin Ming explained that he had learned from a 4th Grade Alchemist elder of his family.
• Elder Huo offered to accept Lin Ming as his student, and Lin Ming agreed to be considered his student as a Jia Nan Academy elder without performing a formal disciple ceremony.
• Elder Huo raised Lin Ming's Alchemy Department authority to the highest level, allowing him to exchange for any resource at an equivalent price.
• Lin Ming asked for the Technique of Pill Fire, and Elder Huo sent Steward Yang to retrieve it.
• Lin Ming asked about pills that could help subdue Heavenly Flames, and Elder Huo revealed the Crystal Vein Pill formula, which only worked on the last five or six flames in the ranking.
• Lin Ming was delighted that the Crystal Vein Pill could help him prepare to subdue Green Lotus Core Flame.

Lin Ming visited the Alchemy Department, where Elder Huo taught him advanced pill-refining knowledge and gave him the Technique of Pill Fire. Lin Ming left planning to study it and invite Elder Huo and Steward Yang to watch and guide his attempt to refine a Third-Grade Pill.

• Elder Huo mistook Lin Ming's astonished expression for excitement about the Crystal Vein Pill and became warmer toward him.
• Lin Ming asked Elder Huo for advice on refining a Third-Grade Pill, and Elder Huo answered his questions in detail.
• Steward Yang brought Lin Ming the Technique of Pill Fire, which Elder Huo gave him as a meeting gift.
• Lin Ming accepted the scroll and invited Elder Huo and Steward Yang to guide and witness his future Third-Grade Pill refinement.
• Elder Huo and Steward Yang welcomed Lin Ming's invitation, and Lin Ming left the Alchemy Department on good terms with them.

Lin Ming studied and quickly mastered the Technique of Pill Fire, then returned to the Alchemy Department to attempt refining a Liquid Energy Pill. Elder Huo learned that the Third-Grade Pill could raise a Dou Master's cultivation by two stars and urged Lin Ming to begin refining it.

• Lin Ming read the Technique of Pill Fire, learned how its creator had discovered the role of a substance in the air in sustaining flames, and began cultivating the technique.
• Within two days, Lin Ming reached major mastery, gained finer control of the Flame Gold Flame, and decided to wait before showing his progress to Elder Huo.
• Three days later, Lin Ming returned to the Alchemy Department, where Steward Yang eagerly escorted him to Elder Huo.
• Lin Ming told Elder Huo he would refine the Liquid Energy Pill and explained that it could raise a Dou Master's cultivation by one star per dose, up to two doses.
• Elder Huo was astonished that a Third-Grade Pill could produce such an effect and asked Lin Ming to begin refining it.

Lin Ming refined the ingredients for a Liquid Energy Pill under Elder Huo’s watch. After his first attempt failed, he corrected the energy imbalance and successfully produced the pill, becoming Jia Nan Academy’s youngest Third-Grade Alchemist.

• Lin Ming extracted the medicinal essences and Third-Order Fire Attribute Magic Core energy for the Liquid Energy Pill.
• Lin Ming’s first attempt at pill fusion caused the Bronze Medicine Cauldron to rupture and ruined the ingredients.
• Lin Ming told Elder Huo and Steward Yang that he had found the cause of the failure and would try again.
• Lin Ming used Spiritual Strength to stabilize the mixture during his second attempt and formed the pill.
• Lin Ming produced a light reddish-brown Liquid Energy Pill, earning recognition as Jia Nan Academy’s youngest Third-Grade Alchemist.

Lin Ming gave the Liquid Energy Pill Formula to Elder Huo in exchange for a share of Fire Energy and learned that his Red Crystal Card could store it. He refined a Liquid Energy Pill while away from classes and advanced to Dou Master Four Stars.

• Elder Huo gave Lin Ming a Red Crystal Card and asked to buy the Liquid Energy Pill Formula for the academy.
• Lin Ming handed over the formula, and Elder Huo promised him ten points of Fire Energy for every pill sold.
• Elder Huo explained that Fire Energy served as the academy’s currency and that Lin Ming’s card would receive his monthly share.
• Lin Ming swallowed a Liquid Energy Pill and began refining its energy with his Golden Flame.
• Lin Ming requested leave from Instructor Zhang Man to focus on cultivation, and she approved it.
• On the eleventh day, Lin Ming finished refining the pill’s energy and advanced to Dou Master Four Stars.

After reaching Four-Star Dou Master, Lin Ming left his residence with Han Yue and joined her at the Jia Nan Auction House’s Earth Tier Auction. There, Han Yue’s friends teased them about being a couple, and the pair settled in to wait for the auction to begin.

• Lin Ming finished cultivating and discovered that Han Yue lived next door, then learned who occupied the other rooms on their floor.
• Han Yue invited Lin Ming to the Earth Tier Auction in Jia Nan City, and he agreed to go with her.
• On the way, Han Yue guessed Lin Ming had advanced a star, but he concealed that he had actually reached Four-Star Dou Master.
• Lin Ming and Han Yue entered the crowded Jia Nan Auction House with their student identification and found seats in the Earth Tier Auction House.
• Xu Feier and the other women teased Han Yue about bringing her boyfriend, recognized Lin Ming as their Class Leader, and made room for him.
• Xu Feier pulled Han Yue aside and whispered to her while Lin Ming and the others waited for the auction to begin.

Lin Ming attended Jia Nan Academy’s Earth Tier Auction, where Jiu Jiu opened the bidding with Soft Water Silk. A girl in Room No. 3 won the ribbon for 170,000 Gold Coins, and Lin Ming suspected she was Vice Dean Hu Gan’s young granddaughter.

• Jiu Jiu introduced the ninety-nine items in the Earth Tier Auction and presented Soft Water Silk as the first lot.
• Jiu Jiu demonstrated Soft Water Silk and explained its properties before opening bidding at 100,000 Gold Coins.
• Han Yue bid 160,000 Gold Coins for Soft Water Silk, then felt relieved when another bidder outbid her.
• A Little Girl in Room No. 3 bid 170,000 Gold Coins and won Soft Water Silk.
• Lin Ming heard guests speculate that Room No. 3 belonged to Vice Dean Hu Gan and thought its bidder might be Hu Gan’s granddaughter.

Lin Ming watched the auction and recognized the Liquid Energy Pills he had developed, then told Han Yue that he was an Alchemist. The auction later presented a Half Black Token that interested him because it could improve Spiritual Strength, though its current effect could not help someone at his level.

• Bidders purchased the Dark Earth Art for 350,000 Gold Coin and a 4th Grade Wind Attribute Magic Core for 430,000 Gold Coin.
• The auction sold five Liquid Energy Pills for prices ranging from 95,000 to 120,000 Gold Coin, while Lin Ming declined to bid because he could refine them himself.
• Lin Ming told Han Yue that he was an Alchemist, and she marveled at his cultivation and abilities before he urged her to focus on cultivating.
• Jiu Jiu introduced a Half Black Token that could improve Spiritual Strength only up to the level of a Second-Grade Alchemist, and Lin Ming's interest faded when he heard its limitation.

Lin Ming bought half of a Black Token at the Earth Tier Auction, then bid his savings to win the Crimson Flow Gold Cauldron. After Han Yue asked whether all alchemists were wealthy, he told her that the cauldron had cost nearly all his savings as the remaining finale lots awaited.

• Lin Ming bid fifty thousand Gold Coins for the half Black Token after no one else offered, and won it.
• Jiu Jiu announced that the first ninety lots had sold and introduced the nine finale lots.
• Jiu Jiu revealed the Crimson Flow Gold Cauldron, a rare Four-Fire-Mouth medicinal cauldron made by Master Gongsun.
• Lin Ming outbid the other guests, raising the price to one million Gold Coins and winning the cauldron.
• Han Yue stared at Lin Ming and asked whether all alchemists were wealthy, and Lin Ming said the purchase had used nearly all his savings.

Lin Ming watched the Earth Tier Auction sell several valuable items before Jiu Jiu revealed the second-to-last item: an Earth Heart Fire Stone sharing the origin of the Green Lotus Core Flame. The chapter ended with the stone unveiled, just before its auction began.

• A middle-aged man bought the Welded Glass Long Spear, and the next four finale items were sold for high prices.
• Jiu Jiu auctioned a Green Chirping Sparrow egg, which sold for 2,140,000 Gold Coins after nearly half an hour of bidding.
• Jiu Jiu introduced the second-to-last item by explaining its connection to the Heavenly Flames, and a Dou Emperor's pressure calmed the crowd.
• Jiu Jiu revealed an Earth Heart Fire Stone that could temper meridians and bones, improve Fire Attribute cultivators' chances of reaching Dou Wang, and possibly trigger a flame mutation.
• Lin Ming recognized the Earth Heart Fire Stone from a description he had read in the Medicine Refinement Hall.

Lin Ming watched Elder Huo win the Earth Heart Fire Stone, then left before the auction of the Spirit Dou Pill ended to collect his own winnings. After settling the payment with pills and meeting Hu Baiqiang and Deacon Bi, Lin Ming brought Han Yue to a banquet with them.

• Elder Huo outbid the competition and bought the Earth Heart Fire Stone for two million eight hundred thousand gold coins.
• The auction presented a Spirit Dou Pill as its final item, but Lin Ming left early to collect the Black Token and Crimson Flow Gold Cauldron he had won.
• Lin Ming asked the Jia Nan Auction House to accept medicinal pills for the part of his bill he could not cover with gold coins.
• Deacon Bi and Hu Baiqiang met Lin Ming, and Hu Baiqiang recognized him as the young alchemist who had refined a Third-Grade Pill.
• Hu Baiqiang appraised Lin Ming's pills, and Deacon Bi completed the exchange after Lin Ming confirmed his auction items.
• Lin Ming invited Han Yue to join him, Hu Baiqiang, and Deacon Bi for a banquet, and they returned late that night.

Lin Ming tested his new Crimson Flow Gold Cauldron and refined a Liquid Energy Pill with a Pill Pattern. Elder Huo offered him the Earth Heart Fire Stone if he became a 4th Grade Alchemist before next year's Inner Academy Grand Competition selection tournament.

• Lin Ming discovered that the black token's malicious intent could enhance Spiritual Strength only up to the level of a Second-Grade Alchemist.
• Lin Ming tested the Crimson Flow Gold Cauldron and found it produced flames twenty percent hotter than his Bronze Medicine Cauldron.
• Lin Ming refined a Liquid Energy Pill on his first attempt with the new cauldron, and the pill developed a Pill Pattern.
• Steward Yang told Lin Ming that Elder Huo wanted to see him, and Lin Ming went to meet the elder.
• Elder Huo explained why the academy had bid on the Earth Heart Fire Stone and offered it to Lin Ming if he became a 4th Grade Alchemist before next year's selection tournament.
• Lin Ming accepted the challenge and said Elder Huo would only need to keep the Earth Heart Fire Stone for one year.

Lin Ming arranged to focus on pill refining at Jia Nan Academy while promising Instructor Zhang Man he would place in the top five at next year’s Inner Academy Selection Tournament. After months of refining pills and cultivating, he advanced to Five-Star Dou Master and later took a second Liquid Energy Pill.

• Lin Ming asked Instructor Zhang Man for leave to spend most of his time refining pills, and she granted it on the condition that he place in the top five at next year’s Inner Academy Selection Tournament.
• Lin Ming moved into a courtyard at the Alchemy Department and chose to buy medicinal materials on credit, with the academy taking a share of the pills’ sale price.
• Over more than two months, Lin Ming refined Third-Grade Pills with high success rates, earned more than three million Gold Coins, and began producing pills with Pill Patterns regularly.
• Lin Ming reached the peak of Four-Star Dou Master and broke through to Five-Star Dou Master during midnight cultivation.
• Lin Ming continued refining pills and cultivating, came close to opening the executing meridians for his Earth Tier Dou Technique, then took his second Liquid Energy Pill after stabilizing his cultivation.

Lin Ming joined the Year-End Grand Competition and led Black Tier Class One to first place in the class arena matches. The open Arena Tournament then began, and Lin Ming waited eagerly for a chance to fight.

• Steward Yang told Lin Ming that the Year-End Grand Competition had started, so Lin Ming hurried to his class’s arena.
• Lin Ming organized his classmates’ teams and challenged Black Tier Class Two, where he defeated Liu Qing’s Great Mountain Split with his Explosive Thunder Fist.
• Lin Ming won all seven of his matches, helping Black Tier Class One finish first with twenty-five points, ten points ahead of Black Tier Class Two.
• The next day, Vice Dean Hu Gan and the elders opened the Arena Tournament and announced Third-Grade Pills as rewards for the top ten.
• After learning the tournament rules, Lin Ming waited at the plaza, eager to fight the other students.

Lin Ming challenged Xu Chong for an arena and defeated him with controlled flames, becoming its defender. After recovering, he accepted Han Dongshen’s challenge and prepared to face the Nine-Star Dou Master’s Ice Soul Spear.

• Lin Ming waited for Xu Chong to finish recovering, then challenged him and insisted he was qualified to claim the arena.
• Lin Ming used Flame Gold Flame and the Technique of Pill Fire to overwhelm Xu Chong, who conceded and lost the arena.
• The students below hesitated to challenge Lin Ming after seeing his control of fire, but Lin Ming quickly recovered.
• Han Dongshen stepped onto the arena and attacked Lin Ming with an Ice Soul Spear, hoping to close in before Lin Ming could use his flames.

Lin Ming defended his arena against Han Dongshen, then defeated several challengers with the Technique of Pill Fire. The next afternoon, a formidable young man stepped onto the arena, and Lin Ming sensed a pressure that made his blood boil.

• Lin Ming countered Han Dongshen's ice with the Flame Gold Flame, then drew the Star Dragon Saber when Han Dongshen extinguished his fire net.
• After more than a hundred exchanges, Lin Ming defeated Han Dongshen's Ice Heart Break with Startling Swan Slash, and Han Dongshen conceded.
• Lin Ming recovered his Dou Qi and defeated Luo Jin and two more challengers, then won three matches the next morning and another at the start of the afternoon.
• After Lin Ming finished meditating, a man around twenty-two or twenty-three years old stared at him from the arena, and Lin Ming felt the pressure of a powerful opponent.

Lin Ming challenged Zuo Rulong, who revealed that he had just advanced to the Da Dou Shi realm and used Dou Qi Armor to withstand Lin Ming’s attacks. Lin Ming broke through the armor with the Startling Swan Slash, but Zuo Rulong charged back, preparing to unleash a Dou Technique.

• Lin Ming mocked Zuo Rulong’s offer to guard the arena, and Zuo Rulong introduced himself and challenged him.
• Lin Ming accepted the match and trapped Zuo Rulong in Golden Flame, but Zuo Rulong revealed he had advanced to Da Dou Shi and formed Dou Qi Armor.
• Zuo Rulong broke free of Lin Ming’s flames and blocked his ordinary Star Dragon Saber strikes with his armor.
• Lin Ming used the Startling Swan Saber Technique and struck Zuo Rulong with the Startling Swan Slash, splitting his armor and drawing blood.
• Zuo Rulong acknowledged Lin Ming’s skill, wiped away the blood, and charged at him to demonstrate a Dou Technique.

Lin Ming defeated Zuo Rulong in the Year-End Grand Competition despite being a realm weaker, then held his arena until the competition ended. His victory secured him a place in the top ten and made history as a freshman at Jia Nan Academy.

• Lin Ming countered Zuo Rulong's Dragon Grasping Claw with Mountain Rushing and Flood Fist, breaking both of his hands before striking him with the complete technique.
• Lin Ming's final blow shattered Zuo Rulong's Dou Qi Armor and left him unconscious, and the referee declared Lin Ming the winner after arranging treatment for Zuo Rulong.
• Lin Ming swallowed a Qi Replenishing Pill and recovered while the spectators recognized his strength, but no one dared challenge him again.
• The Year-End Grand Competition ended with Lin Ming among the ten arena champions, making him the first freshman to enter the top ten at Jia Nan Academy.

After the grand competition, Lin Ming began his vacation and joined Chen Yuanlong’s Enforcement Team for a mission through the Black Corner Region to gain combat experience. Before leaving, he visited Elder Huo, who gave him a Dragon Power Pill for the journey.

• Han Yue and Instructor Zhang Man visited Lin Ming to congratulate him on placing in the grand competition’s top ten, and they enjoyed the Spiritual Fruits he had brought from the Alchemy Department.
• After reflecting on his fight with Zuo Rulong, Lin Ming decided to seek combat experience during vacation and went to the Enforcement Team the next morning.
• Lin Ming met Chen Yuanlong and accepted a place on his team for a mission through the Black Corner Region to inspect an academy mine, agreeing to depart at noon the next day.
• Lin Ming visited Elder Huo to report his plans and offer early holiday greetings, and Elder Huo gave him a Dragon Power Pill for protection.
• Lin Ming stayed with Elder Huo until nearly sunset, then left to prepare for the mission.

Lin Ming joined Chen Yuanlong, Tang Xi, and two other academy members on a mission to inspect mineral supplies, traveling toward Black Seal City through Eight Gates territory. After noticing Tang Xi’s unusual influence and hidden cultivation, Lin Ming entered the city with her, where the powerful guards demonstrated the danger and scale of the Black Corner Region.

• Lin Ming met Chen Yuanlong, Tang Xi, and the other mission members before they flew to an academy outpost and continued toward Eight Gates territory.
• On the road, Lin Ming burned a recently killed traveler’s corpse, while Chen Yuanlong and the others waited for him.
• Near Black Seal City, Chen Yuanlong split the group, and Tang Xi chose to travel with Lin Ming.
• Lin Ming suspected Tang Xi was more powerful and influential than she appeared, but accepted traveling with her.
• Lin Ming and Tang Xi reached Black Seal City, where a High-Level Dou Master guard kicked away a person who could not pay the entry fee.