Chapter Summaries

Ji Changqing emerged from seclusion just in time to join Jia Nan Academy’s Outer Academy Pill Competition, where students and academy leaders anticipated his arrival. When the contest began, he revealed an azure Heavenly Flame that drew every other flame toward him.

• Nalan Yanran and Yun Yun waited outside Ji Changqing’s courtyard, then welcomed him when he emerged from seclusion.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran escorted Ji Changqing to the Martial Arena, where students and Inner Academy members discussed his reputation and the White Gang’s Bai Cheng dismissed his grudge over Bai Shan’s defeat.
• Su Qian asked Yun Shan about Ji Changqing’s delay, and Yun Shan assured him that Yun Yun had gone to find Ji Changqing.
• Ji Changqing arrived at the competition grounds, noticed Xiao Xun’er encouraging him from the stands, and prepared to refine a pill without attracting attention.
• When the Pill Competition began, Ji Changqing summoned azure flames, causing every other flame on the grounds to tilt toward him.

Ji Changqing displayed the Green Lotus Core Flame at the Outer Academy alchemy competition, then began refining pills with remarkable skill. His performance impressed the spectators as he pursued a top-three finish and a place in the Inner Academy, where he hoped to avoid Xiao Xun'er.

• Ji Changqing revealed the Green Lotus Core Flame, causing the flames of the other competitors to tilt toward him.
• Han Xian, leader of the Medicine Gang, and Han Yue arrived among the spectators and watched the competition.
• Ji Changqing decided to aim for a top-three finish so he could enter the Inner Academy and avoid Xiao Xun'er.
• Ji Changqing opened his cauldron with a flick of force and sent the Green Lotus Core Flame inside, drawing cheers from Nalan Yanran.
• Ji Changqing refined more than a dozen spiritual herbs at once, impressing Elder Jingmei and earning praise from Su Qian for his alchemy talent.

Ji Changqing showcased exceptional fire control and swiftly refined a Fourth-grade Pill, establishing himself as an alchemy genius at Jia Nan Academy’s competition. As the contest ended and the elders began judging the pills, Han Xian and Han Yue prepared to compete for his allegiance.

• Ji Changqing refined more than a dozen spirit herbs together, drawing the attention of Han Xian, Han Yue, Xiao Xun'er, and the audience.
• Ji Changqing condensed and collected a Fourth-grade Pill, while its fragrance caused more than a dozen other students' cauldrons to explode.
• Han Xian warned Han Yue that alchemists belonged in the Medicine Gang, but Han Yue rejected his claim and vowed to recruit Ji Changqing herself.
• Xiao Xun'er predicted that Ji Changqing would take first place, while Xiao Yu silently wished Xiao Yan would return home.
• Yun Yun and Yun Shan celebrated Ji Changqing's success, and Great Elder Su Qian saw it as strengthening the partnership between Jia Nan Academy and the Misty Cloud Sect.
• The competition ended, and Alchemy Department elders began appraising the contestants' pills.

After entering Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy, Ji Changqing turned down Han Xian’s invitation to join the Medicine Gang, citing his master’s orders. On his way to the Inner Academy, he caught Han Yue following him and confronted her from a tree.

• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran said farewell to Ji Changqing at the Space Wormhole, giving him a Storage Ring and candied Spirit Fruit before leaving with Yun Shan.
• Han Xian invited Ji Changqing to join the Medicine Gang, but Ji Changqing declined, saying his master had forbidden him from joining factions.
• Han Xian departed with his subordinates, warning them that Ji Changqing’s background and talent made him someone they should not offend.
• Ji Changqing packed his belongings and headed toward the Inner Academy through a dark forest path.
• Ji Changqing noticed Han Yue following him, vanished from the path, and surprised her by speaking from a tree above her.

Ji Changqing settled into his Inner Academy residence, where Xiao Xun'er became his neighbor and discovered his strange flame. After checking in for the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame, he watched the Eight-colored Sky-Swallowing Python begin transforming into a woman.

• Han Yue invited Ji Changqing to join Moon Spirit, but he declined and asked her to show him the way to his residence.
• Ji Changqing reached his new courtyard, set up layers of formations, and found Xiao Xun'er waiting on the neighboring roof after arranging her transfer to the Inner Academy.
• Ji Changqing checked in and received the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame, then refined it and produced a miraculous flame that caught Xiao Xun'er's attention.
• The Eight-colored Sky-Swallowing Python emerged from Ji Changqing's hair, swallowed a fire-attributed medicinal pill, and began glowing with eight-colored light as a voluptuous figure took shape.

Queen Medusa awakened in her evolved body and confronted Ji Changqing, while his mysterious master offered her a Spirit Fusion Pill in exchange for guarding Ji Changqing for a year. After accepting, Queen Medusa returned to her Sky-Swallowing Python form, but their clash brought down a wall and drew Xiao Xun'er’s attention.

• Queen Medusa emerged from her evolution, questioned Ji Changqing, and attacked him after he claimed his master had given him the Sky-Swallowing Python.
• Ji Changqing’s mysterious master stopped Queen Medusa with a pink Heavenly Flame and explained that he had kept her evolved body from other human experts.
• The master offered Queen Medusa a Spirit Fusion Pill in exchange for protecting Ji Changqing for one year, and she accepted.
• Queen Medusa warned Ji Changqing not to tease the Sky-Swallowing Python, then changed back into the snake and affectionately coiled around him.
• Ji Changqing teased the Sky-Swallowing Python, and the fight’s damage caused a wall to collapse as Xiao Xun'er came out and asked whether he was tearing down the house.

After damaging his house, Ji Changqing agreed to pay the academy in fire energy and went to the Fire Energy Hall to find tasks. As he examined the listings with Xiao Xun'er following him, a student offered him a suspiciously easy, high-paying task, and someone familiar asked whether he needed fire energy.

• Ji Changqing and Xiao Xun'er rebuilt the collapsed wall, and Xiao Xun'er warned him that he would need fire energy to compensate the academy.
• Ji Changqing told the Logistics Elder that he had damaged the house while refining pills, and Xiao Xun'er urged the elder to make him pay by the rules.
• The Logistics Elder charged Ji Changqing eight days' worth of fire energy, so Ji Changqing headed to the Fire Energy Hall to accept tasks.
• Xiao Xun'er followed Ji Changqing and pressed him to explain his trip to Wutan City and the destruction of the Jia Lie Family.
• A masked student offered Ji Changqing an easy, high-paying task for one day's worth of fire energy, but a familiar voice interrupted to ask whether he needed fire energy.

Ji Changqing joined Han Yue’s all-girls faction, Moon Spirit, agreeing to refine pills in exchange for a share of its profits. Han Yue mistakenly treated Xiao Xun'er as his girlfriend and invited her to visit Moon Spirit, leaving Ji Changqing exasperated.

• Han Yue offered Ji Changqing a Purple Fire Crystal Card and invited him to join Moon Spirit as its alchemist.
• Han Yue explained that Moon Spirit’s business was struggling because it was limited to recruiting girls and could not compete with stronger factions.
• Ji Changqing accepted Han Yue’s offer after stipulating that he would refine pills but would not fight if Moon Spirit got into trouble.
• Han Yue welcomed Ji Changqing into Moon Spirit, while Xiao Xun'er clapped and said she had been creating the atmosphere.
• When Ji Changqing asked why Xiao Xun'er was following him to a confidential faction meeting, Han Yue assumed she was his girlfriend and welcomed her to Moon Spirit.

Ji Changqing joined Han Yue's struggling Moon Spirit group as vice president and began refining pills to improve its stall sales. Meanwhile, a chain of orders to find the Xiao Family's piece of the Tuoshe Ancient Jade passed down through the Soul Clan and Soul Hall, ending with Venerable Qin Tian demanding answers from his subordinates.

• Han Yue took Ji Changqing through the marketplace and showed him Moon Spirit's tiny, poorly stocked stall.
• Han Yue gathered Moon Spirit's members and announced Ji Changqing as the group's vice president, prompting gossip about their relationship and his alchemy skills.
• Ji Changqing asked the members to call him junior brother and began refining pills for Moon Spirit's stall.
• Hun Tiandi ordered Nihility Devouring Flame to obtain the Xiao Family's piece of the Tuoshe Ancient Jade, but Nihility Devouring Flame sent the task to Hun Qianmo.
• Hun Qianmo passed the search to Hun Miesheng, who ordered Old Ghost Star-Picking to hurry up.
• Old Ghost Star-Picking questioned Venerable Qin Tian about the search, and Qin Tian demanded that his three subordinates find the Xiao Family.

Ji Changqing impersonated three dead Soul Hall Protectors to buy a month before Venerable Qin Tian might investigate the Jia Ma Empire, while considering a plan to kill him before he arrived. He then finished refining pills and called Han Yue in, leaving her moved by his apparent exhaustion.

• Protector Liu saw Qin Tian's angry demands and worried that Qin Tian would discover the three senior Protectors were dead.
• Ji Changqing sent messages through the tokens as Protectors Wu, Tie, and Yuan, convincing Qin Tian to grant them one final month.
• Protector Liu explained the Soul Hall's soul quotas and punishments, while Ji Changqing rejected the idea of simply fleeing because Qin Tian might attack the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Ji Changqing told Protector Liu to inform him when the Protectors returned to the Soul Hall, then asked him to bring souls for Ji Changqing and Protector Tie.
• Ji Changqing completed a batch of pills, feigned exhaustion, and called Han Yue and the senior sisters inside.
• Han Yue saw Ji Changqing's pale face and supported him, telling him that Junior Changqing had worked hard.

Ji Changqing introduced the Clear Serenity Pill, and a senior sister confirmed it could purge Fire Toxin, but Moon Spirit failed to attract customers because of its bad reputation. Seeing the sisters despair, Ji Changqing decided to use Moon Spirit’s advantages to draw attention and give the Inner Academy a shock.

• Ji Changqing explained that the Clear Serenity Pill diluted Fire Toxin from the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower and improved cultivation efficiency.
• A senior sister swallowed a pill and expelled scarlet Fire Toxin, confirming its effects and exciting Han Yue and the other senior sisters.
• Han Yue and the senior sisters displayed nine pills at Moon Spirit’s stall and called out to potential buyers, but students avoided them because Moon Spirit was known for forcing purchases and scams.
• The senior sisters grew discouraged, and Han Yue apologized to Ji Changqing for failing to sell his pills.
• Ji Changqing criticized Moon Spirit’s marketing and decided to use its advantages to create a sensation.

Ji Changqing taught Moon Spirit students the customer-attracting combined battle skill Subject Three and used their performance to draw a crowd to the stall. The chapter ended with his Clear Serenity Pill promotion succeeding, just as Xiao Xun'er spotted him leaving.

• Ji Changqing had Moon Spirit students shorten their skirts and learn Subject Three, a dance he said could attract customers.
• At the marketplace, Medicine Gang members raised pill prices and dismissed the threat Ji Changqing posed to their business.
• Han Yue led Moon Spirit students in performing Subject Three, drawing a huge crowd to their stall.
• Han Yue revealed banners advertising Clear Serenity Pills, and a student demonstrated a pill driving Fire Toxin from her body.
• Ji Changqing slipped away after deciding the promotion had worked, but Xiao Xun'er saw him beneath a tree.

Ji Changqing faced Xiao Xun'er’s suspicion that he was hiding his true strength, but he kept pretending to be weak. After she attacked him and then held back, he bit her forehead in retaliation, making her cry before she stormed away.

• Xiao Xun'er questioned Ji Changqing about Nalan Yanran’s broken engagement and the Jia Lie Family’s destruction, then accused him of hiding his strength.
• Xiao Xun'er revealed that she was a high-level Dou Ling and attacked Ji Changqing to test him.
• Ji Changqing pretended to be unable to defend himself, and Xiao Xun'er stopped her punch just before it struck him.
• Ji Changqing grabbed Xiao Xun'er and bit her forehead, leaving a row of teeth marks.
• Xiao Xun'er teared up, threatened Ji Changqing, and left; he returned home feeling watched from the neighboring courtyard.

Ji Changqing helped Han Yue expand Moon Spirit’s Clear Serenity Pill business, then accompanied her to the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower for his first visit. As they reached the tower, Han Yue explained how students endured the Heart Flame and said she was curious how long Ji Changqing would last.

• Ji Changqing found a huge crowd demanding Clear Serenity Pills at the Moon Spirit Stall, and Han Yue grabbed his hand and led him to the pill-refining room.
• Ji Changqing refined more than a hundred Clear Serenity Pills and advised Han Yue to diversify Moon Spirit’s stock and limit daily sales.
• Han Yue lent Ji Changqing her Fire Crystal Card and accompanied him to the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower, where students stared at them holding hands.
• Ji Changqing saw the tower’s strange spatial distortion and learned from Han Yue that top factions competed for cultivation resources.
• Han Yue explained the Heart Flame’s first test and revealed that she had endured it for seventeen minutes, then wondered how long Ji Changqing would last.

Ji Changqing entered the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower with Han Yue and Xiao Xun'er, but his Heavenly Flames burned away the heartfire before it could temper him. He pretended to have endured it, leaving Elder Liu and the watching students amazed that he had escaped the heartfire unaided.

• Han Yue urged Ji Changqing to enter the tower, and Xiao Xun'er confronted him for leaving without her; he called her Xun'er and hurried inside.
• Han Yue and Xiao Xun'er followed Ji Changqing into the tower, where Han Yue went to fetch an elder after seeing him look unwell.
• Ji Changqing heard older students mock him, while Xiao Xun'er watched him closely and suspected his Heavenly Flames should protect him from the heartfire.
• Elder Liu arrived and prepared to draw out the heartfire, but Ji Changqing stood up and claimed he had barely endured it.
• Ji Changqing told Elder Liu he did not know how he had escaped the heartfire, and Elder Liu praised his talent as the students dispersed.

Ji Changqing explored the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower and descended to the fourth floor, where he pretended to suffer from the Heartfire to avoid attracting too much attention. He drew Xiao Xun'er into the act, and the pair settled on cultivating on the fourth floor as Elder Liu watched.

• Elder Liu explained the tower's cultivation rooms and fees, and Ji Changqing asked to descend despite warnings about the strengthening Heartfire.
• Ji Changqing reached the fourth floor without feeling the Heartfire, then reddened his face and pretended to be in pain so the older students would not suspect his strength.
• Ji Changqing pointed out that Xiao Xun'er was also enduring the fourth floor, prompting her to pretend she was struggling too.
• Elder Liu praised Ji Changqing and Xiao Xun'er as prodigies and agreed to stay on the fourth floor while they cultivated.
• Ji Changqing used Han Yue's Purple Fire Crystal Card, and Xiao Xun'er expected him to pay for her cultivation.
• Ji Changqing and Xiao Xun'er passed the occupied mid-grade and high-grade rooms and headed straight for the low-grade rooms.

Ji Changqing checked in for the Golden Emperor Heavenly Flame, causing the Heavenly Flame Qi Refining Tower to shake and forcing its students to evacuate. Outside the tower, Han Xian and Bai Cheng’s groups confronted him, and Han Xian greeted him with an ominous smile.

• Ji Changqing entered a cultivation room and checked in, obtaining the fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Heavenly Flame.
• The Golden Emperor Heavenly Flame manifested in the tower, triggering violent shaking as Xiao Xun'er sensed her inherited flame stirring.
• Elder Liu ordered everyone to evacuate, and Ji Changqing, Xiao Xun'er, and Han Yue escaped the tower with the other students.
• Jia Nan Academy's experts arrived, closed the tower for three days, and began dispersing the crowd.
• Xiao Xun'er questioned Ji Changqing, who joked about their earlier encounter and hid behind Han Yue as she promised to protect him.
• Bai Cheng and Han Xian arrived with their followers, and Han Xian greeted Ji Changqing.

Ji Changqing refused Han Xian’s offer to buy the Clear Serenity Pill formula, despite the Medicine Gang’s threat and the pressure of the crowd. With Moon Spirit standing behind him, he challenged Bai Cheng for his place on the Power Ranking.

• Han Yue confronted Han Xian, and Moon Spirit members arrived to defend Ji Changqing.
• Han Yue struck Bai Cheng down with a single attack after he defended Han Xian’s actions.
• Han Xian offered Ji Changqing a Hundred-Day Purple Fire Crystal Card for the Clear Serenity Pill formula and threatened competition in the pill market.
• Ji Changqing refused to sell the formula, surprising Han Xian, Xiao Xun'er, Han Yue, and the watching students.
• Ji Changqing stepped forward and challenged Bai Cheng, ranked thirty-fourth on the Power Ranking.

Ji Changqing challenged Bai Cheng and revealed that he was a Dou Ling, overwhelming him in their arena fight. Xiao Xun'er stopped Bai Cheng when he took a pill, and Ji Changqing knocked him away with a slap.

• Ji Changqing ignored Han Yue and the senior sisters’ warnings and entered the arena to fight Bai Cheng.
• Bai Cheng attacked with his Mysterious Earth Vortex, but Ji Changqing’s Extreme Wind Meteor Kill broke his spear.
• Ji Changqing revealed Dou Ling-level strength and chased Bai Cheng with cyan flames.
• Bai Cheng swallowed a purple pill and attacked Ji Changqing with a strengthened fist.
• Xiao Xun'er blocked Bai Cheng’s punch with a pale golden barrier, and Ji Changqing slapped Bai Cheng across the face.
• Xiao Xun'er smiled at Ji Changqing and asked whether her move had been cool.

Ji Changqing and Xiao Xun'er entered the Inner Academy’s Power Ranking and learned they would face regular challenges. As Su Qian worried that the Black Corner Region might target Ji Changqing, Zi Yan heard students discussing him and decided to seek him out.

• Han Yue ordered Moon Spirit to start a price war with the Medicine Gang after it discounted pills and took some of Moon Spirit’s market share.
• Xiao Xun'er told Ji Changqing that they ranked thirty-fifth and thirty-fourth on the Power Ranking and explained that they would need to accept challenges to keep their places.
• Xiao Xun'er gave Ji Changqing healing pills, teased him about his scent, and warned him not to bite her again.
• Su Qian and Elder Liu discussed the Fallen Heart Flame’s disturbance and Su Qian told them to protect Ji Changqing from the Black Corner Region.
• Zi Yan heard students praise Ji Changqing and Xiao Xun'er, then decided to go see Ji Changqing.