Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ce reunited with his cousins Xiao Ding and Xiao Li at the Moti Mercenary Group’s headquarters in Stone Desert City and introduced them to Xiao Yi Xian and Hai Bodong. As Xiao Ding and Xiao Li discussed their work and Xiao Ce’s cultivation, they remained unaware that his strength was far greater than they expected.

• Xiao Ce gathered information in Stone Desert City and brought Xiao Yi Xian and Hai Bodong to the Moti Mercenary Group’s headquarters to visit Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li welcomed Xiao Ce, and he introduced Xiao Yi Xian as his beloved and Hai Bodong as Elder Hai.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li explained that they had established the Moti Mercenary Group to find a way forward for Xiao Yan and had earned a foothold in Stone Desert City.
• Xiao Li said he had advanced from a One-Star Dou Zhe to a Nine-Star Dou Zhe, then worried about Xiao Yan and their father.
• Xiao Ce said he had reached the Doushi realm, while Xiao Ding sensed from Xiao Yi Xian and Hai Bodong’s reactions that Xiao Ce was concealing his true strength.

Xiao Ce asked Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to find a young human-serpentfolk hybrid in Stone Desert City, while Hai Bodong agreed to accompany him to the Xiao Clan. The cousins found Qing Lin, and Xiao Ce welcomed her to stay by his side.

• Xiao Ce asked Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to search Stone Desert City for a young human-serpentfolk hybrid, and they promised to find her within three days.
• After the banquet, Hai Bodong recognized Xiao Ce's Xiao Clan connection and decided that accompanying him could benefit the Mittel Family.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li found Qing Lin in one day and brought her to the Moti Mercenary Group hall.
• Xiao Ce confirmed Qing Lin was the girl he sought, praised her name and eyes, and told her she could stay with him without fear of being despised or bullied.

Xiao Ce and Xiao Yi Xian discussed Qing Lin’s powerful constitution and welcomed her into their family, while Xiao Ce insisted they wait until she was older before cultivating together. The next day, Qing Lin called them Brother and Sister and received gifts, before the three visited the training ground where Hai Bodong was guiding Xiao Ding and Xiao Li.

• Xiao Yi Xian asked Xiao Ce about Qing Lin’s constitution, and he explained the power of her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and why they would wait until she was older before cultivating together.
• Xiao Ce reassured Qing Lin that she was a blessing, not a symbol of misfortune, and persuaded her to call him Brother and Xiao Yi Xian Sister.
• Xiao Yi Xian gave Qing Lin a jade bracelet, and Xiao Ce gave her a Storage Ring that had belonged to Gan Mu.
• Xiao Ce, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin visited the training ground, where Xiao Ding and Xiao Li sparred while Hai Bodong offered them pointers.
• Hai Bodong praised the Xiao brothers’ solid foundations and combat experience, explaining that he had chosen to befriend Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce watched Xiao Ding and Xiao Li spar, then accompanied them when the Moti Mercenary Group learned that the Sand Mercenary Group had cornered Xuelan's squad. Xiao Ding and Xiao Li defeated Wen Hao, while the confrontation with the Sand Mercenary Group remained unresolved.

• Xiao Ding defeated Xiao Li in a training match, and both brothers thanked Hai Bodong for his guidance.
• Xiao Li invited Xiao Ce to spar, but a messenger arrived and reported that Wen Hao and the Sand Mercenary Group had surrounded Xuelan's squad.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li led Xiao Ce and the others to the scene, where Wen Hao said the Sand Mercenary Group was retaliating because the brothers had refused its leader's recruitment.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li fought Wen Hao together, wounded him, and won the battle.

Xiao Ce backed Xiao Ding and Xiao Li as they defeated Wen Hao’s Sand Mercenary Group squad, then revealed that he was a Dou Ling. Xiao Ding and Xiao Li resolved to use Xiao Ce’s support to pursue their ambitions in Stone Desert City and restore the Xiao Clan.

• After Xiao Ding and Xiao Li defeated Wen Hao, Xiao Ce questioned why they were letting him leave, and Xiao Ding explained that attacking the Sand Mercenary Group could provoke a war.
• Xiao Ce said he and Elder Hai could handle the Sand Mercenary Group’s Da Dou Shi experts and urged Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to pursue unifying Stone Desert City’s major forces.
• Xiao Ding and Xiao Li led the Moti Mercenary Group in pursuit, killing eleven members of the Sand Mercenary Group’s Sixth Squad and capturing Wen Hao as the rest surrendered.
• When Xiao Li asked about his strength, Xiao Ce revealed a condensed flame, shocking Xiao Ding and Xiao Li into realizing he was a Dou Ling.
• Xiao Ce explained that he had gained his strength through a fortuitous opportunity and had disguised his earlier cultivation, while Xiao Ding declared that the Xiao Clan would rise again.

Xiao Ce and the Moti Mercenary Group brought the defeated Sand Mercenary Group members back to Stone Desert City and confronted Luo Bu at his headquarters. Xiao Ding declared their intention to absorb the Sand Mercenary Group and dominate the city.

• The Moti Mercenary Group returned to Stone Desert City with Wen Hao and his battered men, prompting rumors about how they had been defeated.
• Wen Hao pretended to turn against the Moti Mercenary Group and rallied half of the surrendered Sand Mercenary Group members at the headquarters gate.
• Xiao Ce told Xiao Ding and Xiao Li to wait for the Sand Mercenary Group to gather so they could defeat its leader publicly and deter betrayal.
• Luo Bu and the five squad captains came out to confront the Moti Mercenary Group, while Luo Bu recognized Hai Bodong as a formidable threat.
• Xiao Ding told Luo Bu that the Moti Mercenary Group had come to absorb the Sand Mercenary Group and dominate Stone Desert City.

Xiao Ce crushed the Sand Mercenary Group’s resistance by overpowering and killing Luo Bu, then executed Wen Hao to deter any further defiance. With the mercenaries terrified into silence, Xiao Ding took charge of absorbing the group into the Moti Mercenary Group.

• Luo Bu refused to surrender the Sand Mercenary Group and prepared to seize Xiao Ce, hoping to buy time for the Mo Clan to intervene.
• Xiao Ce moved too quickly for Luo Bu to react and lifted him by the face, shocking both mercenary groups with the gap in their strength.
• Xiao Ce announced that the Moti Mercenary Group would absorb the Sand Mercenary Group, then crushed Luo Bu’s head in front of the assembled members.
• Xiao Ce killed Wen Hao with a single attack and asked whether anyone else intended to resist; the Sand Mercenary Group fell silent.
• Xiao Ding promised to handle the remaining members and bring the Sand Mercenary Group under his command.

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li took over the Sand Mercenary Group with Xiao Ce’s help, then learned of its secret ties to the Mo Clan. As Xiao Yi Xian’s cultivation accelerated his own, Xiao Ce broke through to Dou Wang and perfected his movement technique.

• Xiao Ding assigned the Moti Mercenary Group’s captains to take charge of the Sand Mercenary Group’s shops and property.
• Xiao Ding told Xiao Ce that Luo Hu had revealed the Sand Mercenary Group received support from the Mo Clan and owed it annual payments.
• Xiao Ce said he would deal with the Mo Clan himself, and Xiao Ding felt reassured by his confidence.
• During his second month with the Moti Mercenary Group, Xiao Ce advanced to One-Star Dou Wang as Xiao Yi Xian’s poison-assisted cultivation strengthened their dual cultivation.
• Xiao Ce perfected the Earth Class low-tier movement technique Cloud Treading Traceless, impressing Hai Bodong with his speed.

Xiao Ce learned that the area east of Stone Desert City concealed an Underground Magma World and went there with Qing Lin, hoping to awaken her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. After Hai Bodong questioned why he had brought her, Xiao Ce revealed the name of her special eyes.

• Xiao Ce heard from Hai Bodong that digging east of Stone Desert City had uncovered unusually strong fire-element energy, and he began planning to negotiate with Queen Medusa over the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Xiao Ding reported that the excavation had opened into a vast Underground Magma World guarded by a powerful snake-type magical beast, so Xiao Ce set out with Qing Lin.
• Xiao Li greeted Xiao Ce at the cave entrance and warned him that Qing Lin might not endure the heat, but Xiao Ce led her inside anyway.
• Qing Lin remained unaffected by the rising heat as Xiao Ce brought her into the Underground Magma World, where she saw the vast sea of lava.
• Hai Bodong approached and asked why Xiao Ce had brought Qing Lin, and Xiao Ce asked him whether he had heard of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

Xiao Ce forced the Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Snake out of the magma so it would provoke Qing Lin and awaken her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. Qing Lin awakened the pupils and subdued the snake, while Xiao Ce watched with delight.

• Xiao Ce explained that Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils could control snake-type magical beasts and absorb their energy.
• Xiao Ce entered the magma, captured the Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Snake, and brought it before Qing Lin and Hai Bodong.
• When the snake threatened them, Qing Lin overcame her fear and stared into its eyes.
• Three jade-green dots lit up in Qing Lin's pupils, and their ghostly light marked both of the snake's heads with green flowers.
• The Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Snake became docile before Qing Lin, and Xiao Ce realized her pupils had fully awakened.

After Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, Xiao Ce had her guide him to the Green Lotus Core Flame beneath the magma. He took the Heavenly Flame and left for a deal with Queen Medusa, while Qing Lin stayed under Hai Bodong’s protection.

• Qing Lin awakened her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and gained control of the Twin-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.
• Xiao Ce asked Qing Lin to have the snake lead him to the Heavenly Flame, and it guided him through the magma.
• Xiao Ce found the Green Lotus Core Flame and returned with it in its Cyan Lotus Pedestal.
• Xiao Ce told Hai Bodong he planned to trade the Heavenly Flame with Queen Medusa so she could use it to evolve.
• Xiao Ce warned Qing Lin to cultivate and asked Hai Bodong to protect her before leaving.

Xiao Ce flew into the Snake-People Tribe’s Holy City carrying the Green Lotus Core Flame and sought an audience with Queen Medusa. After she confronted him in the air, he proposed a deal involving a Heavenly Flame.

• Xiao Ce left the underground cavern and flew across Tagor Desert, alarming the people of Stone Desert City with his Dou Wang power.
• Yue Mei spotted Xiao Ce speeding toward the Holy City and hurried there to warn the Snake-People Tribe.
• Queen Medusa sensed the approaching Heavenly Flame and flew out of her palace, while Yin Shi, Hua She Er, and Yan Ci wondered why she had left.
• Xiao Ce and Queen Medusa met in midair, where she demanded to know why he had crossed into her territory.
• Xiao Ce told Queen Medusa he had come to make a deal for a Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Ce used his Heavenly Flame and his claimed ties to Burning Flame Valley to negotiate a deal with Queen Medusa, who agreed to let him reclaim the flame after her evolution and receive supplies and access to the Snake-People Tribe’s treasury. Queen Medusa left for the Holy City with Xiao Ce as her honored guest, despite her followers’ concern about the danger of the evolution.

• Queen Medusa questioned Xiao Ce’s motives for offering a Heavenly Flame, then tested him with her killing intent when he explained that her evolution secret art required one.
• Xiao Ce claimed to be Burning Flame Valley’s Young Valley Lord and Tang Zhen’s disciple, warning that his master was a five-star Douzun, and Queen Medusa withdrew her pressure rather than risk provoking his alleged faction.
• Xiao Ce demanded that he reclaim the Heavenly Flame after the evolution, receive large quantities of medicinal ingredients and magic cores, and inspect the Snake-People Tribe’s treasury.
• Queen Medusa accepted Xiao Ce’s demands, and he followed her toward the Holy City.
• Yin Shi, Yan Ci, and Hua She Er arrived and were told Xiao Ce was an honored guest; Yin Shi questioned the dangerous evolution, but Queen Medusa insisted on proceeding.

Xiao Ce accompanied Queen Medusa as she prepared to absorb a Heavenly Flame and explored the Snake-People Tribe's treasury. Yue Mei suspected Xiao Ce was hiding his strength, while Xiao Ce discovered an immense stock of herbs and magic cores.

• Xiao Ce praised Queen Medusa's Ice Spirit Cold Spring pool, and she said she needed two or three months to prepare before absorbing the Heavenly Flame.
• Queen Medusa learned Xiao Ce was not yet sixteen and promised to finish her preparations without delaying his journey home for long.
• Yue Mei told Hua She Er that a mysterious Dou Emperor had flown over her tribe, then connected the stranger's scorching aura to the Heavenly Flame and warned that he might be hiding his cultivation.
• Queen Medusa brought Xiao Ce into the Snake-People Tribe's treasury, where he found shelves of rare herbs and a vast collection of snake-type magic cores.

Xiao Ce secured a share of the Snake-People Tribe’s treasury and was recognized as an honored guest by Queen Medusa. Meanwhile, Gu He told Yun Yun that Heavenly Flames had appeared in the Tagor Desert and asked her to help him obtain them.

• Queen Medusa limited Xiao Ce’s reward to one-third of the treasury’s medicinal ingredients and magic cores, plus three treasures, and Xiao Ce accepted.
• Xiao Ce selected magic cores, medicinal ingredients, the Crimson Python sword, the Reverse Dragon Scale Dou Technique, and an unidentified black iron fragment.
• Yue Mei warned Queen Medusa that Xiao Ce might be hiding his strength, but Queen Medusa dismissed the concern and ordered the Snake-People Tribe to treat him as an honored guest.
• At the Misty Cloud Sect, Gu He told Yun Yun that traces of Heavenly Flames had appeared in the Tagor Desert and might be in the Snake-People Tribe’s possession.
• Gu He asked Yun Yun to help him obtain the Heavenly Flames.

Xiao Ce watched Queen Medusa begin her dangerous evolution with the Green Lotus Core Flame, while Gu He and his companions arrived outside the Holy City. The chapter ended with Gu He deciding to exploit Medusa’s weakness and seize the Heavenly Flame.

• Queen Medusa told Xiao Ce she would absorb the Heavenly Flame in three days, then summoned the Snake-People Tribe’s leaders to guard her.
• Queen Medusa began her evolution at the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, and the Green Lotus Core Flame erupted, engulfing her transformed giant purple python in cyan fire.
• Yue Mei, Yin Shi, and the other leaders heard Queen Medusa’s screams and prayed for her to succeed.
• Gu He, Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li approached the Holy City and sensed the power of the Heavenly Flame.
• Yun Yun explained that Queen Medusa’s evolution could let her advance to Dou Zong or burn her to ashes, and Gu He resolved to seize the Heavenly Flame while she was weak.

Gu He and three allies attacked the Snake-People Tribe's Holy City while Queen Medusa absorbed the Heavenly Flame, hoping to seize it by force. As Yun Yun and the Snake-People leaders fought, Gu He slipped toward the flame, where Xiao Ce recognized him and welcomed the arrival of the items he expected.

• Yue Mei and the other Snake-People leaders spotted Gu He and his group approaching and ordered the Holy City locked down.
• Gu He abandoned his plan to trade pills with Queen Medusa and asked Yun Yun to hold off the defenders while he searched for the Heavenly Flame.
• Yun Yun fought five Snake-People leaders as Hua She Er powered herself up, while Yan Shi and Feng Li engaged Yue Mei, Mo Basi, and Yin Shi.
• Gu He broke away from the fighting and hurried toward the strongest Heavenly Flame aura.
• Xiao Ce saw Gu He approaching and said that he had finally brought his things over.

Xiao Ce defeated Gu He and took his Storage Ring before witnessing Queen Medusa’s evolution produce the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. The little snake bonded with Xiao Ce as he fed it his Yin-Yang Dou Qi.

• Gu He offered Xiao Ce a Dou Ling Pill to let him claim the Green Lotus Core Flame, but Xiao Ce refused and knocked Gu He unconscious.
• Xiao Ce took Gu He’s Storage Ring and found two sixth-tier Dou Ling Pills and a seventh-tier Transformation Pill inside.
• Heavenly thunder struck Queen Medusa, leaving her giant snake form charred and lifeless while weakening the Green Lotus Core Flame.
• The Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python emerged from the charred corpse, and Queen Medusa’s soul fell into a deep sleep.
• The Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python absorbed Xiao Ce’s Yin-Yang Dou Qi, and he continued feeding it.

Xiao Ce emerged from the palace after Queen Medusa’s failed breakthrough, leaving Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li to fear that Gu He had fallen. He joined the battle on the Snake-People Tribe’s side and swiftly incapacitated Yan Shi and Feng Li with overwhelming attacks.

• Silver lightning shattered the phenomena above the Holy City, and Queen Medusa’s aura vanished, making the Snake-People Tribe’s leaders fear she had failed.
• Yun Yun ordered Yan Shi and Feng Li to withdraw when Gu He emerged, but she recognized the figure as Xiao Ce instead.
• Yue Mei asked Xiao Ce for help, and Yun Yun, Yan Shi, and Feng Li judged his aura to belong to only a low-ranking Dou Wang.
• Xiao Ce used Cloud Treading Traceless to surprise Yan Shi with a punch that left him unconscious.
• Xiao Ce countered Feng Li’s cyan wheel with Flame Dragon Palm, then hit him with three more palm strikes, leaving him badly injured.

Xiao Ce pursued Yun Yun as she fled, overwhelmed her with a relentless series of Dou Techniques, and captured her. The Snake-People Tribe Dou Wangs arrived as Yun Yun was defeated.

• Yun Yun saw Xiao Ce defeat Yan Shi and Feng Li, realized he was stronger than her, and fled to protect the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Yan Ci and Hua She Er pursued Yun Yun but could not catch her, while Xiao Ce closed the distance with Cloud Treading Traceless.
• Yun Yun's sword beam was reflected back by Xiao Ce's Swallow Return Strike, slowing her escape.
• Xiao Ce's nine Flame Dragon Palms clashed with Yun Yun's Wind's Peak: Dazzling Sunset, and the remaining force knocked her backward.
• Xiao Ce overwhelmed Yun Yun with a storm of Dou Techniques and captured her, leaving her badly injured.