Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan arrived at the Ancient Clan’s headquarters, where Xun Er came to greet Xiao Ling. Xiao Ling and Xun Er reunited affectionately, while Xiao Yan and the onlookers learned how close the two were.

• Xiao Ling kept Xun Er’s identity a secret as he and Xiao Yan watched the Ancient Saint Mountain Range approach.
• The Ancient Clan welcomed the guests and guided them toward their accommodations, while Xiao Ling stayed aboard the warship and waited for someone at a distant peak.
• Xun Er appeared before Xiao Ling, and Xiao Ling greeted her by name, prompting Xiao Yan to recognize her as his cousin from childhood.
• Xun Er welcomed Xiao Ling to the Ancient Realm and admitted she had missed and waited for him.
• Xiao Ling embraced Xun Er, and she returned his embrace as the Black Mist Army soldiers and Xiao Yan watched in shock.
• Gu Zhen watched Xun Er’s affectionate reunion with Xiao Ling and sighed, knowing she showed that tenderness only to him.

Xiao Ling arrived in the Ancient Clan with Xiao Yan and reunited with Xun'er, but several elders tested him with spatial restraints. After Xiao Ling broke free and Xun'er rebuked the elders, she took his hand and said someone special wanted to meet him.

• Huo Xuan praised Xiao Ling's strength and judged that Xiao Yan had ideas of his own, despite the others' doubts.
• Xun'er invited Xiao Ling to explore the Ancient Clan, and he pursued her from the warship with Xiao Yan nearby.
• Several hidden elders restrained Xiao Ling, but the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame erupted and he shattered their spatial bindings.
• Xun'er confronted the elders, and Gu Qian admitted they had wanted to test Xiao Ling before an authoritative voice ordered him to withdraw.
• Xun'er apologized, and Xiao Ling assured her he could now face the pressure alongside her.
• Xun'er took Xiao Ling's hand and said someone special wished to meet him.

Xiao Ling reunited with Ling Ying at Xun Er’s secluded bamboo house and learned how she had spent years protecting the Xiao Family from pressure within the Ancient Clan. As the clan’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony approached, Xun Er warned that Gu Yao would likely challenge Xiao Ling, who vowed to face him and defend their relationship.

• Xun Er teased Xiao Ling about a special visitor and led him to a bamboo house, where Ling Ying was waiting.
• Ling Ying praised Xiao Ling’s progress and explained that Xun Er had repeatedly opposed proposals to bring the Xiao Family into the Ancient Realm.
• Xiao Ling held Xun Er’s hand, thanked her for her years of effort, and promised to handle the pressures she had faced.
• Xun Er warned Xiao Ling that the next day’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony could give his opponents a chance to challenge him, especially Gu Yao.
• Xun Er revealed that Gu Yao had sought to marry her and was likely to challenge Xiao Ling; Xiao Ling said he would defeat him and make their relationship clear.

Xiao Ling reunited with Xun Er in the Gu Clan, and they shared an affectionate embrace while he told her about helping Zi Yan unify Ancient Dragon Island. Their reunion was interrupted when Little Yan Ji appeared, and Xiao Ling recognized her as the child Xun Er had nurtured with the Calamity Fire Fruit he had given her.

• Elder Ling left the bamboo room to arrange lodging for Xiao Yan, giving Xiao Ling and Xun Er time alone.
• Xiao Ling embraced Xun Er and recounted how he had helped Zi Yan unify Ancient Dragon Island and faced dangers from the Three Great Dragon Kings and Huang Tian.
• Xun Er worried about Xiao Ling taking dangerous risks, and he promised to be more careful and teased her about their future marriage.
• Little Yan Ji appeared in a flare of flames, and Xiao Ling recognized the Heavenly Flames aura in her as coming from the Calamity Fire Fruit he had given Xun Er.

Xun Er explained that Little Yan Ji had inherited the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, her own Heaven and Earth Calamity Flame, and a flame seed formed from Xiao Ling’s fused Heavenly Flame. Xiao Ling tested whether she could absorb the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire and form another seed, but the attempt failed, leaving him to conclude that the original miracle depended on the Calamity Fire Fruit’s nurturing process.

• Xun Er told Xiao Ling that Little Yan Ji had been nurtured in the Calamity Fire Fruit with the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame and his fused Heavenly Flame energy.
• Little Yan Ji demonstrated her Heaven and Earth Calamity Flame, the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, and the azure-and-gold fused Heavenly Flame she had inherited from Xiao Ling.
• Xiao Ling examined the fused flame and found it was a genuine flame seed, though Little Yan Ji could not separate it into its component flames.
• Xiao Ling offered Little Yan Ji the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire to see whether she could form another flame seed, and she tried absorbing it from afternoon until dusk.
• Little Yan Ji failed to form a Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire seed, and Xiao Ling realized the earlier flame seeds had formed because of the Calamity Fire Fruit’s special nurturing conditions.

Xiao Ling tested Little Yan Ji’s possession fusion and discovered that her flame essence strengthened his power and fire attacks. The chapter ended with Xun Er resolving to use Little Yan Ji’s help to catch up to him, or even surpass him.

• Little Yan Ji consumed an Eighth-tier Beast Fire before Xiao Ling asked her to demonstrate her possession ability.
• Little Yan Ji fused with Xiao Ling, and her flame essence blended smoothly with his Fire Attribute Dou Qi.
• Xiao Ling felt his power and perception improve as Little Yan Ji’s energy merged into him.
• Xiao Ling formed a three-colored flaming sword and unleashed a slash that tore open the void and scorched the sky.
• Xun Er watched Xiao Ling’s display and resolved to catch up to or surpass him with Little Yan Ji’s help.

Xiao Ling tested Little Yan Ji’s possession ability, then helped her recover with Xun Er’s Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame and his own Exotic Flame. The next morning, Xiao Ling and Xun Er accompanied Xiao Yan to the Gu Clan’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony.

• Xiao Ling ended Little Yan Ji’s possession, and she appeared exhausted after enhancing his power.
• Xun Er fed Little Yan Ji the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, and Xiao Ling gave her his Exotic Flame, restoring her vitality.
• Xiao Ling and Xun Er spent a quiet evening together on a secluded mountain peak and spoke of finding a peaceful place to live once everything was settled.
• At dawn, Xiao Yan joined Xiao Ling and Xun Er and asked whether the Gu Clan’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony was about to begin.
• Xun Er summoned a snow-white Unicorn, and Xiao Ling, Xun Er, and Xiao Yan rode it toward the halls.

Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan were barred from the core area of Xun Er’s coming-of-age ceremony, and Gu Qian and Gu Xu publicly disparaged the Xiao Clan. Mang Tianchi arrived and attacked the two elders, while Xiao Ling secretly strengthened his lightning strikes, leaving Gu Qian and Gu Xu gravely injured.

• Xun Er led Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan to the ceremony square, where golden-armored soldiers stopped the two from entering the core area.
• Gu Xu and Gu Qian cited clan rules to exclude Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan, and Gu Qian mocked the Xiao Clan’s decline.
• Xiao Ling challenged the elders’ treatment of him by invoking the Xiao Clan’s historic ties with the Gu Clan.
• Gu Qian disparaged the Xiao Clan for lacking a Half-Saint, and Xiao Ling prepared to retaliate.
• Mang Tianchi appeared and sent lightning bolts after Gu Qian and Gu Xu, while a hidden Dou Sheng intervened to shield them.
• Xiao Ling secretly reinforced Mang Tianchi’s lightning and disrupted the barrier, allowing the bolts to strike and gravely injure Gu Qian and Gu Xu.

Mang Tianchi intervened when Gu Qian and Gu Xu attacked Xiao Ling, then warned Xiao Ling to keep a low profile among the Gu Clan. Xiao Ling, Xun Er, and Xiao Yan took their seats at the ceremony, where Xiao Ling noticed a young man staring at him with open scrutiny.

• Mang Tianchi struck Gu Qian and Gu Xu down after they used the Gu Clan's rules to harass Xiao Ling.
• A hidden Gu Clan Dou Sheng elder stopped himself from intervening and directed Gu Shan to handle the situation.
• Mang Tianchi greeted Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan learned that the old man was Jia Nan Academy's headmaster.
• Gu Shan healed Gu Qian and Gu Xu, removed them from the plaza, and let Mang Tianchi's intervention stand.
• Xun Er told Xiao Ling that Gu Shan opposed their relationship, and Xiao Ling spotted Huo Xuan and Gu Zhen among the guests.
• After Xiao Ling took his seat beside Mang Tianchi, an unidentified young man fixed an openly scrutinizing gaze on him.

At the Ancient Clan’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Xiao Ling and Gu Yao’s tense reunion is interrupted when the ritual begins. Ling Quan receives a Golden Clan Mark, while Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan observe the clan’s hidden strength and the ceremony’s opening rites.

• Xiao Ling recognized Gu Yao, whose battle intent flared when he saw Xiao Ling, but Xiao Ling ignored him and warned that he would teach Gu Yao a lesson if provoked.
• Xun Er told Xiao Ling that Gu Yao had trained for years to challenge him, and Xiao Ling and Xun Er discussed keeping his true cultivation concealed.
• A mighty bell rang, and a voice carrying Dou Sheng pressure announced the start of the ceremony; Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan sensed that powerful Ancient Clan experts were watching from hiding.
• The elders called Ling Quan forward and examined his cultivation and bloodline using a star disc, revealing six stars.
• The elders announced Ling Quan’s achievements and awarded him a Golden Clan Mark, which another elder inscribed on his forehead.

Xiao Yan learned how the Gu Clan’s bloodline ranks and clan marks worked, then declared that he would pursue the peak through his own effort rather than rely on a Dou Di bloodline. As the coming-of-age ceremony continued, Gu Zhen received a rare purple-gold clan mark for his military service.

• Xun'er explained the Gu Clan’s bloodline grades and clan marks to Xiao Yan, and Mang Tianchi described the potential associated with the highest bloodlines.
• Xiao Ling warned Xiao Yan that relying on bloodline talent could become a shackle, prompting Xiao Yan to vow that he would break through to the peak by his own path.
• Xiao Ling praised Xiao Yan’s resolve as the ceremony continued, and Lin Xiu received a golden clan mark for his sixth-grade bloodline and Five-star Dou Zun cultivation.
• Gu Clan youths received mostly silver or golden marks, with none surpassing a sixth-grade bloodline until Gu Zhen was announced as a seventh-grade bloodline holder.
• The Council of Elders granted Gu Zhen a purple-gold clan mark in recognition of his distinguished military service and standing in the Black Mist Army.

At the Gu Clan coming-of-age ceremony, Gu Yao demonstrated an eighth-grade bloodline and received a violet-gold clan mark. He then invoked the ceremony’s challenge custom to invite Xiao Ling to fight, leaving the arena waiting for Xiao Ling’s answer.

• Gu Zhen received a violet-gold clan mark, and Xiao Ling acknowledged him with a slight nod.
• Gu Yao tested his bloodline and revealed eight stars, earning praise from the crowd and the elders.
• The elders awarded Gu Yao a violet-gold clan mark for his eighth-grade bloodline and Nine-star Dou Zun strength.
• Gu Yao asked whether he could challenge someone from another clan, and the leading elder said he needed that person’s verbal consent.
• Gu Yao challenged Xiao Ling to a spar, questioning whether he deserved his reputation as the Central Continent’s Number One Prodigy.
• Members of the Yao Clan, Hun Ya, and Huo Xuan’s group watched with interest as the crowd turned toward Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling accepted Gu Yao’s challenge and met his opening attack with dragon-scaled claws, badly wounding Gu Yao’s hand. Gu Yao launched a barrage of Imperial Seal Art attacks, filling the plaza with palm seals as Xiao Ling faced the onslaught.

• Gu Yao challenged Xiao Ling, who calmly accepted the sparring match despite Gu Yao threatening the Xiao Clan’s reputation.
• Xiao Ling joined Gu Yao in the plaza as Gu Yao declared he would fight with all his strength and vanished to attack.
• Xiao Ling formed violet-blue dragon scales over his hands and struck Gu Yao’s concealed fist with a powerful punch.
• The three Gu Clan elders raised a barrier around the plaza, while Gu Yao staggered back with deep claw wounds on his hand.
• Gu Yao attacked with the Mountain Splitting Seal, then unleashed the Sea Turning Seal, Earth Overturning Seal, Heaven Annihilating Seal, and Ancient Emperor Seal in a barrage aimed at Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling evaded Gu Yao’s Imperial Seal Art and defeated him with a single close-range punch, leaving Gu Yao battered and humiliated. Enraged, Gu Yao covered himself in profound ice, summoned an ice-crystal spear, and launched a faster, deadlier attack, leaving their clash unresolved.

• Xiao Ling slipped through Gu Yao’s successive palm seals and closed the distance without being touched.
• Xiao Ling struck Gu Yao through his hastily raised defense, sending him into the barrier and making him cough blood.
• Xiao Ling calmly dismissed Gu Yao’s strength, drawing angry reactions from the Gu Clan’s spectators and elders.
• Gu Yao rose in agony and demanded to know how Xiao Ling could defeat him despite his Dou Di Bloodline and Gu Clan inheritance.
• Gu Yao encased himself in profound ice, summoned an ice-crystal spear, and charged Xiao Ling with a storm of lethal spear strikes.

Xiao Ling effortlessly broke Gu Yao’s strongest spear technique and explained that his superior physical strength and Soul Perception let him see through Gu Yao’s attacks, while concealing how close he was to the Dou Sheng realm. Gu Yao recovered and invoked a powerful Gu Clan Heavenly Tier Dou Technique, leaving the plaza braced for their next clash.

• Xiao Ling shattered Gu Yao’s Roar of the Beast King with a single finger, leaving Gu Yao injured and unable to stand without his spear.
• Xiao Ling told the spectators that his physical strength and Soul Perception let him identify flaws in Gu Yao’s techniques, while hiding his true cultivation.
• Gu Yao took pills to recover, admitted he had underestimated Xiao Ling, and vowed to fight for the Gu Clan’s honor.
• Xiao Ling impatiently gave Gu Yao another chance to use his strongest move.
• Gu Yao activated the Ancient Saint Treasure Mirror, Heaven Swallowing Earth Absorbing, drawing energy into himself as an aura of annihilation spread across the plaza.
• The three Gu Clan elders strengthened the barrier around the plaza in preparation for the coming clash.

Gu Yao unleashed the Gu Clan’s Great Nirvana Finger, and Xiao Ling answered with his Heavenly Tier Great Creation Palm. Their techniques collided above the arena, leaving the crowd and the barrier-maintaining elders struggling against the destructive shockwaves; the clash ended in a tense deadlock that appeared to favor Gu Yao slightly.

• Mang Tianchi and Xun Er remained confident that Xiao Ling could withstand Gu Yao’s Great Nirvana Technique despite its deadly reputation.
• Xiao Ling recognized the danger of Gu Yao’s Heavenly Tier technique and formed a devouring black hole with his Great Creation Palm.
• Gu Yao unleashed the Great Nirvana Finger, summoning a gigantic black finger from the clouds.
• Xiao Ling sent his expanding black ring against Gu Yao’s descending finger, and their attacks collided with enough force to crack the plaza and shake the barrier.
• Gu Shan called Gu Qian and Gu Xu to reinforce the barrier, which stabilized as the black ring and giant finger remained locked in a clash that seemed to favor Gu Yao.

Xiao Ling defeated Gu Yao after his black halo devoured the Great Nirvana Finger, but Elder Tong Xuan intervened before the halo could kill Gu Yao. Gu Yao admitted defeat, and the Gu Clan spectators began to acknowledge Xiao Ling’s strength.

• The black halo devoured the Great Nirvana Finger and advanced on Gu Yao, trapping him against the arena barrier.
• Elder Tong Xuan appeared, stopped the halo with his Power of Space, and shattered it with his Half-Saint aura.
• Xiao Ling accepted Elder Tong Xuan’s intervention and returned his greeting respectfully.
• Elder Tong Xuan declared that Gu Yao had lost and rebuked him until he admitted defeat.
• Gu Clan spectators reacted with disbelief, while Gu Zhen and other disciples praised Xiao Ling’s strength.

After Xiao Ling defeated Gu Yao, Gu Qingyang praised Xiao Ling and revealed his own Ninth Grade bloodline. Xun Er began her bloodline test, and her power surpassed expectations as it pushed the star disk to the brink of shattering.

• Gu Qingyang told two companions that Xiao Ling was stronger than Gu Yao and said only Xun Er might defeat him; he revealed his own bloodline was barely Ninth Grade.
• Elder Tong Xuan ended the match, restored the plaza, and called Xun Er forward for her bloodline test.
• Xun Er reassured Xiao Ling that he was unharmed, then placed her hand on the star disk as the hidden Gu Clan experts watched.
• The star disk revealed Xun Er had a Ninth Grade bloodline, prompting excitement among the Gu Clan members.
• Xun Er's Ninth Grade bloodline reached its peak, golden light filled her arm, and the testing star disk cracked under the force of her Bloodline Power.

Xun Er awakened a Divine Bloodline, and Elder Tong Xuan used the Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor Brush to inscribe the clan’s long-sealed Seven-Colored Clan Mark on her forehead. As Gu Qingyang departed after acknowledging Xiao Ling, a Hun Clan spy resolved to kill Xun Er and Xiao Ling when the Heavenly Tomb opened.

• Xun Er’s tenth golden star appeared, revealing her Divine Bloodline and forcing many Ancient Clan members to kneel in reverence.
• Elder Tong Xuan used the Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor Brush to inscribe the Seven-Colored Clan Mark on Xun Er, exhausting most of his Dou Qi.
• An aged voice praised the return of the Seven-Colored Clan Mark, while Gu Qingyang and his two companions left after Xiao Ling noticed them.
• Xiao Ling told Xiao Yan that Gu Qingyang and the two men were the other commanders of the Ancient Clan Black Mist Army.
• A hidden Hun Clan spy watched Xun Er and decided to seek an opportunity to kill her and Xiao Ling when the Heavenly Tomb opened.

After Xun Er awakened a Divine Bloodline, she left the plaza with Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan. In a meeting about the Heavenly Tomb, Gu Yuan overruled the elders and granted both Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan the Xiao Clan’s entry slots.

• Xun Er completed her bloodline awakening and returned to Xiao Ling, while Xiao Yan congratulated her.
• Xiao Ling and Xun Er left the bloodline tests with Xiao Yan after the crowd continued watching them.
• Elder Tong Xuan and the Ancient Clan elders debated whether to give Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan the Xiao Clan’s two Heavenly Tomb slots.
• Gu Shan supported giving Xiao Ling a slot but argued that Xiao Yan should not receive one.
• Gu Yuan appeared before the elders and declared that the Xiao Clan’s two slots should go to Xiao Ling and Xiao Yan.
• Elder Tong Xuan accepted Gu Yuan’s decision and told the elders to monitor the outside experts visiting the Ancient Realm.