Recaps

After absorbing the Green Lotus Core Flame, Xiao Yan discussed his improvements with Yao Lao, including his cultivation, physique, and newly awakened talent. He revealed that his soul power had reached Mortal Realm Perfection and prepared to attempt refining a Tier 7 Medicinal Pill.

• Xiao Yan told Yao Lao that he had advanced from One-Star to Four-Star Dou Wang and that the Flame Mantra had become comparable to a top-tier High Xuan Rank technique.
• Xiao Yan reassured Yao Lao that he valued him as his master regardless of how much power Yao Lao could lend him.
• Xiao Yan explained that the Green Lotus Core Flame had greatly strengthened his physique and awakened the Flame Burning talent.
• Xiao Yan said that combining Flame Burning with Flame Burst Fist and two flames could let him kill Queen Medusa with one punch.
• Xiao Yan asked to resume alchemy lessons and revealed that absorbing the Green Lotus Core Flame had raised his soul power to Mortal Realm Perfection.

Xiao Yan devised and refined his own seventh-tier pill formula using herbs from the Snake-People Tribe's treasury. His pill survived the refinement process and triggered pill lightning, confirming it had reached Tier 7.

• Yao Lao discovered that Xiao Yan's spiritual strength had reached the peak of the mortal realm and praised his potential.
• After learning that no available low seventh-tier formula had all its ingredients, Xiao Yan decided to create a formula of his own.
• Xiao Yan developed a workable formula in three days, while Yao Lao guided him without taking over.
• Xiao Yan began refining the pill in his courtyard as Qing Lin watched and worried that he might leave her behind someday.
• After two days of refining, Xiao Yan condensed the ingredients into a pill, and thunder announced that it had become a Tier 7 Medicinal Pill.

Xiao Yan refined a Tier 7 Yin-Birth Yang-Death Pill and used the Thunder Swallowing Method to absorb its Pill Lightning, strengthening his body despite nearly being destroyed. Medusa feared he would die but let him continue, and Xiao Yan ended by giving her the completed pill.

• Pill Lightning gathered above the Snake-People Holy City, and Medusa and Qing Lin rushed to Xiao Yan’s courtyard.
• Xiao Yan refused Medusa’s offer of help and flew into the sky to use the Thunder Swallowing Method on the lightning.
• Xiao Yan swallowed repeated bolts of Pill Lightning, while Medusa and Qing Lin watched in alarm.
• The final bolt nearly obliterated Xiao Yan, but the lightning restored his body and strengthened him.
• Medusa scolded Xiao Yan for risking his life, and he gave her the completed Tier 7 Yin-Birth Yang-Death Pill.

Xiao Yan completed his first Tier 7 Medicinal Pill, earning Medusa’s admiration and deepening her feelings for him despite his denial that he had romantic intentions. After dressing and reuniting with Qing Lin, Xiao Yan asked Medusa whether she knew about the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

• Medusa was shocked to learn Xiao Yan had become a Seventh-Rank Alchemist, and Xiao Yan explained that he had created the Yin-Birth Yang-Death Pill for her.
• Xiao Yan said the pill could strengthen yin-aspected people and magical beasts and help Medusa’s soul power catch up with her cultivation.
• Medusa asked how many women Xiao Yan cared for and why he had made her such a precious pill; Xiao Yan said he needed a favor from her.
• Medusa decided Xiao Yan’s denial hid his true feelings, while Xiao Yan landed and put on clothes as Qing Lin offered to help him dress.
• Xiao Yan teased Qing Lin for her curiosity, and Medusa privately resolved to separate the maid from him.
• Xiao Yan asked Medusa if she knew about the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.

Xiao Yan traded an Yin-Birth Yang-Death Pill for the Snake-People Tribe’s legacy to awaken Qing Lin’s Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. Medusa also revealed where scouts had spotted the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, and the chapter ended with her taunting Qing Lin after a private encounter with Xiao Yan.

• Medusa realized Qing Lin possessed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and agreed to teach her the Snake-People Tribe’s legacy in exchange for an Yin-Birth Yang-Death Pill.
• Qing Lin reluctantly agreed to stay with the Snake-People Tribe to grow stronger, while Medusa took charge of her training.
• Medusa told Xiao Yan that scouts had seen an ocher tornado-like flame appearing across the desert, which Xiao Yan identified as the Wind Fury Dragon Flame.
• Medusa dismissed Qing Lin and privately fought with Xiao Yan in the courtyard, then gave him the information he needed about the heavenly flame.
• Medusa found Qing Lin waiting outside and whispered, “Did it sound good?”

Qing Lin awakened the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils while trying to affect Medusa, then fainted, and Xiao Yan left Snake-People Holy City with Yao Lao to seek the Wind Fury Dragon Flame. In Salt City, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran prepared to attend Mo Cheng’s birthday celebration, unaware that Mo Cheng planned to drug them and seize control of their clans.

• Qing Lin’s strange eyes made Medusa nauseous but failed to bind her, and Qing Lin fainted after awakening the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.
• Xiao Yan removed the soul force confining Yao Lao, told him he had learned about the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, and set off with him to find it.
• Nalan Yanran questioned Yun Yun about attending Mo Cheng’s birthday and her interest in collecting special flames, and Yun Yun explained that Mo Cheng had promised information about a flame.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran agreed to go to Mo Cheng’s birthday celebration after a Mo Clan attendant summoned them.
• Mo Cheng gave Mo Lan an inherited aphrodisiac and ordered him to secretly put it in Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran’s food so he could use them and their clans to empower the Mo Clan.

Mo Cheng’s scheme to drug Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran was exposed when Yun Yun revealed she had anticipated the aphrodisiac and confronted him in the desert. Xiao Yan separately followed a growing concentration of fire-element energy, while Yun Yun prepared to subdue the special flames.

• At Mo Cheng’s birthday banquet, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran drank wine that Mo Lan had secretly drugged, and Mo Cheng explained that he planned to exploit the medicine after leading them toward the flames.
• The next morning, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran each woke from a shameful dream and changed their clothes before setting out with Mo Cheng to find the special flames.
• Xiao Yan sensed denser fire-element energy in one direction, and Yao Lao encouraged him to trust his instincts as he flew into the desert.
• Mo Cheng led Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran deeper into the desert while the drug’s effects made them feel feverish, weak, and itchy.
• Mo Cheng entered their tent and revealed that he had drugged them, but Yun Yun took a medicinal pill, drew her sword, and overwhelmed him with her Dou Emperor aura.

Xiao Yan found and collected the Wind Fury Dragon Flame before Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran arrived. He absorbed its flame seed in a secluded cave, evolving the Burning Mantra into an Earth Rank cultivation technique.

• Yun Yun killed Mo Cheng after he tried to drug her, and she and Nalan Yanran set out to find the Wind Fury Dragon Flame.
• Xiao Yan overheard them and decided to visit the Mo Clan later to learn about its beast-transplanting secret technique.
• Xiao Yan located the Wind Fury Dragon Flame and used the Earth Fire Lotus Platform and his Fire Spirit Body to lure it inside and seal it.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran reached the sea of fire after Xiao Yan had taken the flame, and Yun Yun decided to abandon the search.
• Xiao Yan secluded himself in a cave, absorbed the Wind Fury Dragon Flame's seed, and evolved the Burning Mantra to Earth Rank.

Xiao Yan absorbed the Wind Fury Dragon Flame and advanced to seven-star Dou Wang, while discussing his growing strength and future plans with Yao Lao. He revealed that he had not used the flame to awaken a Heaven-Swallowing Talent, surprising Yao Lao.

• Xiao Yan absorbed part of the Wind Fury Dragon Flame and broke through from four-star to seven-star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao discussed his cultivation, physical strength, alchemy, and the possibility of reaching Dou Emperor before leaving the Jia Ma Empire.
• Yao Lao estimated that Xiao Yan could fight a high-star Dou Zong with his Earth Rank techniques and Yao Lao's possession.
• Xiao Yan resolved to eliminate the Soul Hall Protector in the Misty Cloud Sect before leaving the Jia Ma Empire.
• Yao Lao asked what Heaven-Swallowing Talent Xiao Yan had awakened, and Xiao Yan admitted he had not used the Wind Fury Dragon Flame to awaken one.

After absorbing the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, Xiao Yan explained to Yao Lao why he chose not to use it for a Heaven-Swallowing Talent. He outlined his plans for the ten slots and left with his sights set on awakening a talent from Medusa's Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python bloodline.

• Yao Lao questioned why Xiao Yan gave up using the Wind Fury Dragon Flame to awaken a Heaven-Swallowing Talent.
• Xiao Yan told Yao Lao he hoped to obtain more of the twenty-three Heavenly Flames and pursue the continent's peak.
• Yao Lao encouraged Xiao Yan and offered his Bone Chilling Flame, but Xiao Yan said he might not use it for a talent.
• Xiao Yan planned slots for the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, Green Lotus Core Flame, Nine Profound Golden Lightning, Medusa's bloodline, Zi Yan's Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline, and several powerful Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan considered the Life Spirit Flame but judged it too difficult to obtain or locate, then agreed with Yao Lao to leave.
• Xiao Yan looked forward to obtaining Medusa's Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python blood essence and awakening a powerful talent from it.

After returning to Desert City, Xiao Yan refined a Break-Obstacle Pill for Hai Bodong in exchange for the map fragment. With the pill and fragment secured, Xiao Yan considered how Hai Bodong might help protect the Xiao Clan.

• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao realized they were lost in the desert, flew in a random direction, and came upon Desert City.
• Xiao Yan entered the city disguised in an Alchemist robe and found Hai Bodong at the Ancient Map shop.
• Xiao Yan used his Fusion Heavenly Flame to refine a Break-Obstacle Pill and kept the remaining set of medicinal ingredients.
• Hai Bodong gave Xiao Yan the map fragment, and Xiao Yan handed him the pill.
• Hai Bodong asked Xiao Yan his age and invited him to join the Mittel Family, so Xiao Yan removed his mask.

Xiao Yan revealed his identity and age to Hai Bodong, whose shock at discovering the young prodigy was also a Sixth-Rank Alchemist left him questioning reality. Xiao Yan resolved to conceal his talent to avoid drawing the Soul Hall’s attention and worried about his disguise being exposed at the Three-Year Agreement.

• Hai Bodong praised Xiao Yan’s pill and invited him to join the Mittel Family, but Xiao Yan offered cooperation instead and identified himself as the third son of the Xiao Clan of Wutan City.
• Hai Bodong recognized Xiao Yan as the Xiao Clan prodigy whose Heaven-Swallowing Talent had returned three years earlier and whose cultivation had reached Nine-Star Dou Zhe at his coming-of-age ceremony.
• Hai Bodong became overwhelmed by the revelation that Xiao Yan was not yet eighteen, had strength comparable to Hai Bodong’s former level, and was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist more skilled than Gu He.
• Yao Lao told Xiao Yan that his growth was astonishing, and Xiao Yan decided to conceal his Heaven-Swallowing Talent to avoid attracting the Soul Hall’s attention.
• Xiao Yan considered competing in the Alchemist Conference as Yan Xiao and wondered whether to reveal his identity to Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran before the Three-Year Agreement.

Xiao Yan secured Hai Bodong’s promise to protect the Xiao Clan and returned to the Snake-People Tribe, where Qing Lin completed the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils inheritance. Queen Medusa met Xiao Yan in private and suggested a reward for showing her what he could do.

• Hai Bodong agreed to help sell the Xiao Clan’s medicinal products and protect the clan in exchange for compensation.
• Hai Bodong eagerly offered the Mittel Family’s support, and Xiao Yan entrusted the Xiao Clan to his care while he was away.
• Xiao Yan left Desert City and flew toward the Snake-People Tribe.
• Qing Lin completed all three inheritance trials and received a high-grade Earth Rank cultivation method, a high-grade Earth Rank ocular Dou Skill, and a method to develop her pupils.
• Queen Medusa learned that Xiao Yan had returned, dismissed her attendant, and privately invited him to demonstrate his abilities.

Xiao Yan received Queen Medusa’s heartblood essence as his reward and resolved to grow stronger, while a woman in green and White Fang tracked the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils into Snake-People Tribe territory. They planned to steal the pupils if possible and call on the Heavenly Snake Mansion if necessary.

• Queen Medusa gave Xiao Yan a bottle of her heartblood essence and ordered him to leave her to rest.
• Xiao Yan spoke with Yao Lao, who teased him about his many romantic entanglements and urged him to become stronger.
• Xiao Yan accepted the idea of having several wives and concubines if he became powerful enough, then flew off to absorb the blood essence.
• A woman in green and the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor, White Fang, confirmed that the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils were somewhere in the Tagor Desert.
• The woman in green and White Fang decided to try stealing the pupils from the Snake-People Tribe, with force or help from the Heavenly Snake Mansion as a fallback.

Xiao Yan used Queen Medusa’s Heart Blood Essence to strengthen his body while Lu Man infiltrated the Snake-People Holy City to seize Qing Lin. Lu Man escaped Qing Lin’s chamber only to face a young man who effortlessly caught her attack.

• Xiao Yan absorbed Queen Medusa’s Heart Blood Essence in a bath to temper and strengthen his body.
• Lu Man left White Fang outside the Snake-People Holy City and slipped inside to find Qing Lin, the bearer of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.
• Lu Man defeated Yue Mei and the guards, found Qing Lin in a secret chamber, and knocked her unconscious when she refused to leave.
• Lu Man discovered that someone had restored the guards while she was inside and fled the side hall carrying Qing Lin.
• A young man blocked Lu Man’s path and caught her energy attack with one hand, then challenged her to fight seriously.

After Xiao Yan’s second physical evolution left him at Half-step Seventh Rank, he confronted Lv Man, who had abducted Qing Lin from the Snake-People Holy City. He recognized her and absorbed her attack with his newly awakened Heaven-Swallowing ability, then challenged her to attack seriously.

• Xiao Yan’s body evolved to Half-step Seventh Rank after absorbing the Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python’s heart’s blood essence, though he said he needed more blood essence to complete the evolution.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao sensed an unfamiliar Dou Emperor aura near Medusa’s sleeping palace, and Xiao Yan went to investigate while Medusa recuperated.
• Xiao Yan found the Snake-People guards and Yue Mei injured, learned that someone had taken Qing Lin, and gave Yue Mei a healing pill before entering the side hall.
• Lv Man emerged carrying the unconscious Qing Lin, and Xiao Yan recognized her as an elder of Heavenly Snake Mansion who had abducted Qing Lin in the original story.
• Xiao Yan activated Heaven-Swallowing to absorb Lv Man’s Dou Qi attack, then asked her to get serious.

Xiao Yan used his Heaven-Swallowing Talent and overwhelming physical strength to defeat Lu Man and the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor, then rescued Qing Lin. When Lu Man threatened the Snake-People Tribe with the Heavenly Snake Mansion’s retaliation, a Dou Zong appeared behind her.

• Xiao Yan endured Lu Man’s attack and challenged her to hurt him, prompting her to summon the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor.
• Xiao Yan knocked the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor from the sky and blocked attacks from both opponents with his fists.
• Lu Man fled with Qing Lin while Xiao Yan trapped White Fang in the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.
• Xiao Yan used Flash Step to catch Lu Man, struck her down, and caught Qing Lin as she fell.
• Lu Man threatened Xiao Yan with the Heavenly Snake Mansion, but a Dou Zong appeared behind her and demanded to know who would threaten the Snake-People Tribe.

Xiao Yan subdued Lu Man and White Fang, gave Qing Lin the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor for her cultivation, and forced Lu Man to serve the Snake-People Tribe with a pill that placed her life under his control. He spent the next month refining pills for the tribe, while Queen Medusa repeatedly rewarded him before his departure.

• Medusa revealed her Four-Star Dou Zong strength and dismissed Yue Mei's fear of the Heavenly Snake Mansion.
• Xiao Yan assigned the Eight-Winged Black Snake Emperor to Qing Lin and gave Lu Man a top-quality Tier 5 pill that let him control her life.
• Xiao Yan ordered Yue Mei to make Lu Man work for the Snake-People Tribe, then took Qing Lin to rest and went to Medusa's bedchamber.
• Xiao Yan spent a month refining pills of various tiers, using the tribe's herbs to improve its strength.
• Queen Medusa frequently rewarded Xiao Yan, who was preparing to leave.

After leaving the Snake-People Tribe, Xiao Yan visited his brothers, seized the Mo Clan’s Transplantation Technique, and returned toward the Jia Ma Empire. There, he learned that the Xiao Clan had survived the Mu Clan’s threat through Hai Bodong’s alliance, and he left the restaurant thinking about the Mu Clan.

• Xiao Yan said goodbye to Medusa and Qing Lin, then visited Xiao Ding and Xiao Li in Stone Desert City and left them pills and a way to seek Medusa’s help.
• Xiao Yan went to Salt City, killed Mo Lan after he escaped with the Blood Escape Secret Art, took the Mo Clan’s Transplantation Technique, and plundered the clan’s estate.
• Families in Salt City joined forces to purge and absorb the weakened Mo Clan after Mo Cheng’s death and Mo Lan’s confirmed death became known.
• The Xiao Clan grew wealthy through sales of its medicinal products, but the Mu Clan threatened it until Hai Bodong returned and pledged the Mittel Family’s support.
• Xiao Yan overheard a restaurant conversation about Hai Bodong’s alliance with the Xiao Clan and left while murmuring about the Mu Clan.

Xiao Yan visited the Mittal Auction House in the Imperial Capital and asked Ya Fei to contact Hai Bodong. After Ya Fei left, Mu Zhan burst into the reception room, accusing Xiao Yan of pursuing his future wife.

• Nalan Yanran worried that no Alchemist had found a way to help Nalan Jie recover and hoped Master Yan Xiao would arrive soon.
• Xiao Yan explored the auction house, found no treasures he wanted, and decided to ask Hai Bodong to protect the Xiao Clan in exchange for a Spirit Recovery Purple Pill.
• Xiao Yan recognized Ya Fei and spoke with her privately, learning that she had become a supervising elder of the Mittel Family.
• Xiao Yan asked Ya Fei to contact Hai Bodong, and she agreed before leaving him alone in the reception room.
• Mu Zhan accused Xiao Yan of seducing his future wife, kicked down the reception-room door, and confronted the masked Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan paid the Mittal Auction House guards with medicinal pills to sever Mu Zhan’s hamstrings, then revealed enough power to make them fear him. Mu Chen arrived to avenge Mu Zhan, but Hai Bodong stepped forward to challenge him.

• Xiao Yan offered the guards a Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill to sever Mu Zhan’s hamstrings, prompting them to attack him.
• The guards overpowered Mu Zhan, severed his hamstrings, and received medicinal pills from Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan burned Mu Zhan’s severed hamstrings to ashes, and the guards realized he was far stronger than they had assumed.
• Mu Chen arrived, saw Mu Zhan’s injuries, and threatened Xiao Yan and the guards.
• Hai Bodong confronted Mu Chen and challenged him to fight instead.

Hai Bodong fought Mu Chen after Xiao Yan promised him a Spirit Recovery Purple Pill, while Xiao Yan had Mu Zhan crippled. The chapter left Ya Fei asking what had happened as Xiao Yan declared that the Mu Clan no longer needed to exist.

• Hai Bodong entered the reception room and challenged Mu Chen for targeting Xiao Yan, forcing Mu Chen to order his clan to take Mu Zhan away.
• Xiao Yan stopped the Mu Clan members and demanded that Mu Zhan's limbs and meridians be crippled, then ordered the guards to carry it out.
• Hai Bodong warned Xiao Yan that the Mu Clan had powerful allies, so Xiao Yan offered to refine him a Spirit Recovery Purple Pill that could restore his lost cultivation.
• Hai Bodong attacked Mu Chen with a Mystic Ice Spear, and the two clashed outside the reception room while Xiao Yan had Mu Zhan completely crippled.
• Xiao Yan gave the guards several Tier 3 Medicinal Pills, and Ya Fei arrived and asked what had happened.
• Xiao Yan told Ya Fei that he felt the Mu Clan had no need to continue existing.

Ya Fei learned how Xiao Yan had ordered Mu Zhan crippled, while Nalan Jie urged Nalan Yanran to reconcile with Xiao Yan and revealed his suspicions about her feelings for Master Yan Xiao. Across the capital, Hai Bodong nearly killed Mu Chen before Jia Xingtian and Fama arrived, and Hai Bodong warned Jia Xingtian not to interfere.

• Ya Fei heard a guard recount how Xiao Yan gave out pills and ordered Mu Zhan's tendons severed and then his body crippled, leaving her confused by Xiao Yan's power and her ancestor's support for him.
• Nalan Jie urged Nalan Yanran to apologize to Xiao Yan and suggested she spend time with Master Yan Xiao, whom he suspected she loved; she denied it but listened quietly.
• Nalan Jie and Nalan Yanran sensed the battle between Mu Chen and Hai Bodong, and Nalan Yanran left to investigate.
• Jia Xingtian and Fama lamented that Gu He could not refine the Break-Ancestor Pill, then sensed the battle and hurried toward the Mittal Auction House.
• Mittel Teng Shan intervened as Hai Bodong battered Mu Chen, and Mu Chen fled behind him while Hai Bodong demanded room to finish the fight.
• Jia Xingtian and Fama arrived, and Hai Bodong warned Jia Xingtian that he would regret stopping him.

Xiao Yan confronted Mu Chen after Jia Xingtian sided with the Mu Clan and demanded compensation from Hai Bodong’s Mittel Family. Nalan Yanran recognized Xiao Yan as Yan Xiao, prompting Fama to ask whether he was the renowned Sixth-Rank Alchemist.

• Jia Xingtian stopped Hai Bodong from attacking Mu Chen and ordered the Mittel Family to compensate the Mu Clan.
• Xiao Yan slapped Mu Chen and rejected Jia Xingtian’s attempt to end the dispute, declaring he would settle accounts with the Mu Clan.
• Xiao Yan openly claimed he wanted Mu Chen and the Mu Clan dead, while Hai Bodong understood that the Mu Clan had targeted the Xiao Clan.
• Nalan Su and Nalan Yanran arrived, and Nalan Yanran recognized Xiao Yan as Master Yan Xiao.
• Fama asked Xiao Yan whether he was the Sixth-Rank Alchemist who had refined a Dou Ling Pill in Black Rock City.

Xiao Yan revealed his standing as a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, prompting Mu Chen to fear for the Mu Clan and offer him half its businesses and resources. Hai Bodong then revealed Xiao Yan's exceptional skill with high-grade pills, leaving Jia Xingtian bitterly regretting that he had offended a potential source of the Break-Ancestor Pill.

• Fama praised Xiao Yan's alchemy and asked to observe him refining a pill at the upcoming Alchemist Conference, and Xiao Yan agreed but refused to teach him.
• Mu Chen realized Xiao Yan was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist and feared the consequences of offending him, then blamed Mu Zhan for provoking the dispute.
• Mu Chen apologized to Xiao Yan and offered half the Mu Clan's businesses and resources as compensation.
• Hai Bodong told Jia Xingtian that Xiao Yan had refined a high-quality Break-Obstacle Pill in less than half a day and could likely handle difficult Tier 6 pills.
• Xiao Yan said he had an Imperial Extreme Pill available to trade, and Jia Xingtian realized Xiao Yan might be able to refine the Break-Ancestor Pill he desperately wanted.
• Jia Xingtian regretted offending Xiao Yan because of Mu Chen and wished he could strangle Mu Chen.