Chapter Summaries

Gu Han seized the Azure Flame Grass, reunited with Zhang Chuchen, and traveled with the Nalan Family to Black Flame City. Intelligence revealed that a supposed Heavenly Flame lead at the auction was false, but its location truly held the Yin Yang Twin Flames.

• Gu Han snatched the Azure Flame Grass from the Fourth-Order Mu Kui Wolf and escaped its wind-blade attack by entering the Xuanwu Secret Realm.
• Zhang Chuchen gave Gu Han the Punishment Elder’s Mysterious Tier Low Grade Ice Attribute Sword Technique, Snowy Sword Shadow.
• Gu Han returned to the Nalan convoy, and the injured Nalan Family Dou Ling reported that a Dou Wang had taken the Azure Flame Grass.
• Nalan Su invited Gu Han to the Miter Auction in Black Flame City, but Gu Han declined and examined its auction list instead.
• Gu Han learned that the two Fifth-Order Mu Kui Wolves had lured out the Black Flame City Lord, who was injured and sealed down to One-Star Dou Ling strength.
• Gu Han discovered that the auction’s suspected Heavenly Flame location truly nurtured the Yin Yang Twin Flames.

Gu Han learned that the Twin Fish Oasis Heavenly Flame information concerned a different flame and had been exposed as a trap, but he still intended to investigate the Yin Yang Twin Flames. As the Nalan Family party resumed its journey, Xiao Family youths gathered in Wutan City to test their strength.

• Gu Han identified the Yin Yang Twin Flames as a possible target and planned to ask Nalan Su where they could be found.
• Gu Han realized the Black Flame City Lord might know who had ambushed the Xiao Family years earlier, but he postponed deciding whether to share that information.
• Nalan Su told Gu Han that the Miter Auction House's information about the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame at Twin Fish Oasis had been judged false by Alchemists.
• Gu Han learned that a Dou Wang from the Mulan Empire had likely used the supposed Heavenly Flame location as bait, and he decided the information about Twin Fish Oasis was still useful to him.
• The Nalan Family party continued its journey while a testing at the Xiao Family Martial Arts Plaza displayed the result, “Dou Power, third stage!”

Xiao Yan struggled with his loss of cultivation while Xiao Xun'er tried to encourage him, and Xiao Zhan defended his plans for his son's engagement. The Xiao Family received a letter from the Nalan Family just as the elders discussed how to handle the marriage.

• Xiao Yan received a third-stage Dou Qi result and left the testing square after seeing Xiao Xun'er reach One-star Dou Practitioner.
• Xun'er comforted Xiao Yan and recalled their childhood, while he doubted that hard work would restore his cultivation.
• The Xiao Family elders urged Xiao Zhan to cancel Xiao Yan's engagement, but he said he would wait until the Coming-of-Age Ceremony before approaching Nalan Su.
• A messenger announced that someone from the Nalan Family had arrived with a handwritten letter from its current head.

Xiao Zhan received a letter revealing that the Nalan Family proposed an exchange marriage rather than canceling Xiao Yan’s engagement. He prepared to welcome them the next day, while Xiao Yan remained unaware that the promised visit concerned him.

• Xiao Zhan read Nalan Jie’s letter and learned that the Nalan Family proposed marrying Nalan Yanyun to Xiao Yan, with compensation and a generous dowry.
• The Xiao Family Elders congratulated Xiao Zhan and prepared for the Nalan Family’s arrival, while Xiao Zhan personally oversaw the arrangements.
• Xiao Zhan found Xiao Yan venting at the back mountain and thinking of his late mother and her black ring.
• Xiao Yan promised to strive for the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi before his coming-of-age ceremony, and Xiao Zhan told him that distinguished guests would arrive tomorrow.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhan left without noticing a strange gleam on Xiao Yan’s ring.

Gu Han advanced his Soul Realm to Mortal Realm Mid-Stage while cultivating, then traveled with the Nalan Family group to Wutan City. As the Nalan and Xiao Families met, Gu Han’s Five-star Dou Practitioner badge drew attention from the Xiao Family.

• Gu Han’s Soul Realm broke through to Mortal Realm Mid-Stage, allowing him to sense and draw upon nearby Heaven and Earth Energy.
• The Black Tortoise Shell revealed information about Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun’er, but Gu Han found the opportunities unhelpful and returned to cultivation.
• Ya Fei concluded that the Nalan Family had likely come to Wutan City for a reason other than canceling Nalan Yanran’s engagement to Xiao Yan.
• The Nalan Family convoy arrived in Wutan City, and Ya Fei, the Ao Ba Family, and the Jia Lie Family began monitoring its intentions.
• Xiao Zhan welcomed Nalan Su at the Xiao Family reception, where the guests noticed Gu Han’s Five-star Dou Practitioner badge and remarked on his strength.

Gu Han accompanied Nalan Su to the Xiao Family, where his talent impressed Xiao Zhan and drew Xiao Yan’s attention. After Gu Han met Xun’er, Xiao Yan arrived and wondered whether the visitors could explain his failing cultivation, then recognized Nalan Su as his fiancée’s family member.

• Gu Han declined the seat of honor, and Nalan Su introduced him to Xiao Zhan as a gifted Misty Cloud Sect disciple.
• Xiao Zhan invited Gu Han and Nalan Su to stay, and Gu Han agreed to guide the Xiao Family’s younger generation.
• Gu Han and Xun’er briefly met each other’s gaze without either showing more than mild interest.
• Xiao Yan entered the hall, noticed the visitors’ strength and Gu Han’s Five-star Dou Practitioner badge, and suspected they had come to examine his condition.
• Xiao Yan greeted his father and the elders, took the seat Xiao Zhan offered, and guessed that Nalan Su was his Uncle Nalan and the father of his fiancée.

Nalan Su and Xiao Zhan arranged for Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun to get to know each other, while Gu Han quietly steered the families toward a marriage that would benefit both sides. Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun left the hall together as their fathers began discussing an engagement.

• Xiao Yan worried that Nalan Su’s visit meant the Nalan Family planned to cancel his engagement, but Nalan Su greeted him warmly as his nephew.
• Nalan Su offered Xiao Yan a bottle of Thousand Year Stone Bamboo Spirit Liquid, and Xiao Zhan accepted it as a meeting gift.
• Gu Han suggested that Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun spend time together, and Xiao Zhan and Nalan Su agreed.
• Xiao Yan led Nalan Yanyun out of the hall, while Xiao Zhan and Nalan Su discussed arranging their engagement.
• Gu Han noticed that Xun'er did not seem to care about what had happened.

Xun'er learned of Gu Han’s exceptional soul talent and considered bringing him into the Ancient Clan, while Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun revealed the truth behind their exchange marriage. Xiao Yan accepted the alliance and vowed not to fail her, leaving Yao Chen worried that he had complicated matters.

• Ling Xiao told Xun'er that Gu Han was a Six-star Dou Practitioner with a Mortal Realm Mid-Stage soul, and Xun'er ordered a closer investigation into his talent and character.
• Ling Xiao admitted she wanted to take Gu Han as her disciple, and Xun'er said he could join the Ancient Clan if he proved worthy.
• Xiao Yan told Nalan Yanyun that he was not worthy of her, and she revealed that her cultivation had been stuck at One-star Dou Practitioner since she was thirteen because she had been poisoned.
• Nalan Yanyun explained that she was Nalan Yanran's cousin and described the exchange marriage, its benefits, and her hope that Xiao Yan could help her seek revenge and have Pill King Gu He examine him.
• Xiao Yan accepted the marriage alliance, grasped Nalan Yanyun's hand, and promised not to fail her, while Yao Chen worried that he had messed things up.

Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun agreed to an engagement, while Gu Han impressed the Xiao Family juniors with his skill. As Xiao Yan returned to the training ground, the voice of Yao Chen revealed that he was inside Xiao Yan’s ring and offered to explain his lost cultivation.

• Xiao Yan declared that he would grow strong enough to uncover the truth behind his lost talent, and Nalan Yanyun took his hand as they returned to the council hall.
• Xiao Zhan and Nalan Su approved Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun’s engagement, which they set for seven days later.
• Ya Fei and the Jia Lie and Ao Ba families heard about the alliance and prepared generous gifts for the Xiao Family.
• Gu Han guided Xiao Mei’s Wind Summoning Palm, greatly increasing its power after watching her perform it once.
• Yao Chen spoke to Xiao Yan from the ring on his hand and told him to return to his courtyard to learn why his cultivation had regressed.

Xiao Yan confronted Yao Chen and learned that the old man had caused his cultivation to regress while recovering inside the ring. After Yao Chen tempted him with cultivation and alchemy, Xiao Yan agreed to consider learning from him when he heard that Yao Chen could cure Nalan Yanyun.

• Xiao Yan left Nalan Yanyun and returned to his room to question the figure inside his ring.
• Yao Chen revealed that he had absorbed Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi while recovering, causing Xiao Yan’s cultivation to regress.
• Xiao Yan calmed down and considered how his difficult years had changed him, then asked Yao Chen whether he would drain his Dou Qi again.
• Yao Chen promised not to affect Xiao Yan’s cultivation and tempted him with the chance to become a powerful cultivator and Alchemist.
• Yao Chen claimed he could use a Fourth-Grade Pill to cure Nalan Yanyun, and Xiao Yan eagerly asked whether it was true.

Xiao Yan accepted Yao Chen as his master and borrowed money from Nalan Yanyun to buy ingredients for a cultivation-restoring pill. Gu Han learned that Gu Xun'er was interested in him, advanced to Seven Star Dou Practitioner, and confronted a black-clad attacker who turned out to be Xun'er.

• Xiao Yan knelt to acknowledge Yao Chen as his master, and Yao Chen promised to refine Foundation Building Spirit Liquid if Xiao Yan obtained the ingredients.
• Xiao Yan borrowed Nalan Yanyun's Gold Card to fund the ingredients and resolved to restore her talent with a pill.
• Gu Han learned that Gu Xun'er wanted to invest in him and that she and Ling Xiao planned to test his capabilities.
• Gu Han cultivated in the Xuanwu Secret Realm and advanced to Seven Star Dou Practitioner.
• A black-clad attacker struck Gu Han with a palm, but he countered with Mysterious Ice Force and drew his sword.
• Gu Han's attack blew off the intruder's hat, revealing Gu Xun'er.

Gu Han fought Xun'er after catching her sneaking into his room, then chased her from Wutan City when she revealed her Golden Flame Wings. Zhang Chuchen reassured Xiao Zhan and Nalan Su that Gu Han was safe and had a Dou Emperor elder, while Yao Chen told Xiao Yan that the Xiao Family ran deep.

• Xun'er tried to leave after Gu Han exposed her, but he pursued her and demanded to know what she had done to Zhang Chuchen.
• Xun'er revealed powerful Dou Techniques, and Gu Han fought back with his Ice Attribute techniques before she summoned Golden Flame Wings and flew away.
• Gu Han used his own Flying Fighting Skill to chase Xun'er toward the outskirts of the city.
• Zhang Chuchen stopped Xiao Zhan and Nalan Su from intervening, explaining that a Dou Emperor elder was merely playing around with Gu Han.
• Yao Chen told Xiao Yan that the Xiao Family ran deep, and Xiao Yan asked what he meant.

Xiao Yan learned that Xun'er had flown using a rare Heavenly Flame technique, leading Yao Chen to suspect she belonged to the Ancient Clan and that the Xiao Family might be the fallen Xiao Clan. Outside Wutan City, Gu Han confronted Xun'er, met her protectors, and refused Ling Xiao's offer to become her disciple.

• Yao Chen explained Flying Fighting Skills to Xiao Yan and suspected Xun'er used Heavenly Flame Wings powered by the Golden Emperor Blazing Heaven Flame.
• Yao Chen considered whether the Xiao Family was the remnant of the Xiao Clan, while Xiao Yan asked to try his teacher's Heavenly Flame and was told to keep cultivating.
• Gu Han caught up with Xun'er outside Wutan City, accidentally touched her back while reaching for her wrist, and explained that he had pursued her to learn why she tested him.
• Xun'er summoned Ling Ying and Ling Xiao, and Ling Xiao offered to take Gu Han as her disciple.
• Gu Han respectfully declined Ling Xiao's offer, surprising Xun'er, Ling Ying, and Ling Xiao.

Gu Han refused Ling Xiao’s offer to become her disciple because he would not leave the Misty Cloud Sect before representing it in the Sect Tournament. Xun’er proposed investing in him instead, and Gu Han returned to find the Xiao and Nalan families gathered in his courtyard.

• Gu Han explained that his gratitude to the Misty Cloud Sect and his wish to help revive it kept him from accepting Ling Xiao as his teacher.
• Ling Xiao gave Gu Han a Token to use at the Ye Clan Merchant Association if he later traveled to the Middle Continent, and he left.
• Xun’er assessed Gu Han’s talent, comprehension, soul strength, and character, concluding that he could become a Black Mist Army Commander Candidate in the Ancient Clan.
• Xun’er said she intended to place a bet on Gu Han, and Ling Xiao agreed to do the same.
• Gu Han returned to his courtyard and found Xiao Zhan, Nalan Su, their followers, the Xiao Family Elders, Xiao Yan, and Nalan Yanran waiting there.

Gu Han’s refusal to leave for Middle Continent earned the trust of Gu Xun'er, Ling Xiao, Ling Ying, Xiao Yan, and Yao Chen, while Ling Xiao planned to invest in him. At Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun’s engagement ceremony, Gu Han gave the Xiao Family a gift from the Misty Cloud Sect and offered Xiao Mei a chance to join it.

• Gu Han explained that he had refused a Nine-Star Dou Emperor’s offer because he wanted to remain with the Misty Cloud Sect and represent it in the Sect Tournament.
• After the guests left, Gu Han learned that Gu Xun'er, Ling Xiao, and Ling Ying intended to invest in him, and that Xiao Yan and Yao Chen considered him trustworthy.
• Gu Han reflected on future opportunities involving Xiao Yan, the Ancient Emperor Inheritance, and the Black Tortoise Shell before spending the night visualizing it.
• At Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanyun’s engagement ceremony, Gu Han presented Xiao Yan with a Fourth-Grade Qi Gathering Powder from the Misty Cloud Sect’s Sect Leader.
• Gu Han announced that he could recruit talented Xiao Family disciples for Misty Cloud Sect training and asked Xiao Mei if she would join.

Gu Han secured Misty Cloud Sect opportunities for Xiao Mei and finalized Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s engagement, while Yun Yun considered making Gu Han her junior brother to protect his standing in the sect. The banquet began with Ya Fei greeting Gu Han, who said he had something to ask her.

• Gu Han offered Xiao Mei a place in the Misty Cloud Sect, including the chance to become a registered disciple under a Dou Wang Elder, and Xiao Yan agreed to let her go.
• Yun Yun told Nalan Yanran that two Dou Emperor experts from the Middle Continent wanted Gu Han as their disciple, but he had refused them out of loyalty to the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Yun Yun considered taking Gu Han as a disciple on her teacher’s behalf so he would become her junior brother and hold higher seniority within the sect.
• Gu Han told Xiao Mei to leave for the Misty Cloud Sect with him the next day, delighting her grandfather and the Xiao Family’s Second Elder.
• Gu Han declared Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran’s engagement finalized, and Xiao Zhan began the banquet.
• Ya Fei greeted Gu Han at the head table, and he told her he had something to ask.

Gu Han questioned Ya Fei about Hai Bodong and received a Mittel Family guest card, then accepted two powerful ice techniques from Ling Xiao. After converting his cultivation to the Ice Soul Profound Canon, he felt his strength rise and prepared to pursue another Opportunity.

• Gu Han asked Ya Fei about news of Hai Bodong, and she gave him a Purple Gold Card that marked him as an honored guest of the Mittel Family.
• Ya Fei asked whether Gu Han would enter the Misty Cloud Sect's Outer Sect Grand Competition, and he confirmed that he would aim for first place.
• Gu Han returned to his courtyard and found Ling Xiao waiting with the Ice Soul Profound Canon and Sky Cold Seal, which she gave him despite his refusal to become her disciple.
• Ling Xiao vanished after urging Gu Han to grow stronger, and he thanked her and began converting his cultivation to the Ice Soul Profound Canon.
• After several hours of cultivation, Gu Han felt his strength increase by at least ten percent and decided it was time to obtain another Opportunity.

Gu Han planned to resolve Yun Shan’s poison and Soul Hall entanglement using all three available methods while preparing for the Sect Tournament. After cultivating an Ice Soul and returning to the Xiao Family, he privately confronted Xiao Yan about using Foundation Building Spirit Liquid.

• Gu Han decided to help Yun Shan with all three methods and planned to leave after the Sect Tournament.
• Gu Han cultivated in the Xuanwu Secret Realm and condensed his first Ice Soul using the Ice Soul Profound Canon.
• Xun'er recognized Gu Han’s rapid progress and ordered Ling Ying to become his Guardian after she left.
• Gu Han joined the Xiao Family and Nalan Family for lunch before the Nalan Family departed for the Imperial Capital.
• Gu Han told Xiao Yan that he knew Xiao Yan had used Foundation Building Spirit Liquid, shocking Xiao Yan and Old Yao.

Xiao Yan and Yao Chen discovered that Gu Han knew about the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid and learned how Han Feng had sold it. Gu Han offered Xiao Yan a Jade Spirit Fruit as an investment, but Xiao Yan refused to accept it without owing him a favor.

• Gu Han explained that Yun Yun had bought Foundation Building Spirit Liquid auctioned by Han Feng, and that its scent had helped him recognize Xiao Yan's connection to the formula.
• Yao Chen realized Han Feng had betrayed him and told Xiao Yan to conceal their relationship, while revealing that Han Feng was Xiao Yan's Senior Brother.
• Xiao Yan told Gu Han that his teacher might have a connection to Han Feng's teacher, and Gu Han asked him to arrange a future Sixth-Grade or Seventh Grade Pill.
• Gu Han gave Xiao Yan a Jade Spirit Fruit, and Yao Chen explained that it could greatly strengthen Xiao Yan's meridians and speed his cultivation.
• Xiao Yan pushed the Jade Spirit Fruit back, refusing to accept such a valuable gift without merit.

Gu Han gave Xiao Yan the Jade Spirit Fruit in exchange for a future promise to refine pills, and the two became friends. After leaving Wutan City, Gu Han received an opportunity revealing that Xiao Yi Xian lived nearby and possessed the Calamity Poison Body, prompting him to consider seeking her out.

• Gu Han persuaded Xiao Yan to accept the Jade Spirit Fruit as an advance reward, and Xiao Yan promised not to refuse future requests for pill refinement.
• Yao Chen explained the rules Alchemists followed when refining pills, and Xiao Yan understood the value of Gu Han’s gesture.
• Gu Han returned to the Nalan Family’s carriage, and the convoy left Wutan City as he focused on cultivating the Ice Soul Profound Canon.
• Gu Han learned that Xun’er had sent Ling Ying, an Eight-Star Dou Emperor, to secretly protect him.
• Gu Han received an opportunity revealing that Xiao Yi Xian, who possessed the Calamity Poison Body, was in nearby Qingshan Town, and he wondered whether to find her.