Chapter Summaries

Lu Heng cultivated in the Mystic Training Ground’s Core Area without being challenged, and his presence sparked rumors about the S-Rank freshman. Back at home, he planned to sell pills that could help students break through and raise the money he needed for his own advancement.

• Lu Heng ignored Han Yue’s warning, used the Five Spirits Chaos Art and Thick Earth Physique to withstand the Core Area’s pressure, and sat down to cultivate beside her.
• Other students watched Lu Heng but did not confront him, so he left after finding no one to challenge him.
• After Lu Heng left, the Core Area students identified him as the S-Rank freshman, and rumors of his visit spread across the Outer Academy.
• At home in the Secluded Bamboo Forest, Lu Heng decided to refine Spirit-Nurturing Powder, Yuan-Gathering Pills, and Yuan-Coagulating Pills to earn money and build connections.

Lu Heng planned to raise his strength by combining several powerful pills, then decided to fund his future purchases by selling lower-grade pills. He began refining in his courtyard and worked through the night, leaving the results of his Yuan-Gathering and Yuan-Coagulating Pill batches unrevealed.

• Lu Heng calculated that Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills, a Profound Realm-Breaking Pill, and a top-grade Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill could rapidly raise his strength.
• Lu Heng planned to sell low-grade pills and use the money to buy scarce ingredients, then brought out his fourth-tier Mystic Yuan Li Fire Cauldron and herbs from the Miteer Auction House.
• Lu Heng used his flame control to refine top-grade Spirit-Nurturing Powder in ten minutes.
• Lu Heng began refining the Yuan-Gathering Pill and Yuan-Coagulating Pill, sustaining the work through the night.
• At dawn, Lu Heng withdrew his power and exhaled after the long refining session.

Lu Heng finished refining nine bottles of pills and went to the training grounds before seeking Instructor Ruo Lin’s help finding a way to sell them. He encountered Ruo Lin with Xiao Yu and Xueni, and Ruo Lin blushed when she saw him.

• Lu Heng stored the pills he had refined overnight and decided to find an intermediary or establish a reputation before selling them.
• Lu Heng skipped morning classes under his special token and returned to the training grounds, where he paid the gatekeeper ten gold coins for easier entry.
• Lu Heng cultivated in the Core Area for two hours, then headed toward the Teaching Area to find Ruo Lin and ask about selling pills.
• Lu Heng saw Ruo Lin walking with Xiao Yu and Xueni, and Ruo Lin faltered and blushed when she noticed him.

Lu Heng joined Ruo Lin, Xiao Yu, and Xueni for lunch at Jia Nan Academy, where he asked Ruo Lin to take him to a market or auction house in Jia Nan City. He revealed he wanted to sell medicinal pills, leaving his companions curious about what was in the jade bottle.

• Lu Heng ran into Ruo Lin, Xiao Yu, and Xueni after class and agreed to join them for lunch.
• At the cafeteria, students discussed Lu Heng's feat at the training grounds, and Luo Bu trembled after noticing him.
• Lu Heng exchanged a brief greeting with Han Yue, who recognized him from the training grounds.
• In a private room, Lu Heng asked Ruo Lin to take him to a large market or high-end auction house so he could sell something.
• Lu Heng placed a small white jade bottle on the table and revealed that it contained medicinal pills.

Lu Heng revealed that he could refine the rare Yuan-Gathering and Yuan-Coagulating Pills in large quantities, shocking Ruo Lin, Xiao Yu, and Xueni. Ruo Lin concluded that his skill made him a Fourth-Grade Alchemist, and Xueni eagerly offered to serve as his apprentice or pill tester for a few pills.

• Ruo Lin examined Lu Heng's pill and recognized it as an exceptionally pure Second-Grade Pill, while Lu Heng prompted Xiao Yu to identify it as the Yuan-Gathering Pill sold in Wutan City.
• Lu Heng presented a Peak Third-Grade Yuan-Coagulating Pill and explained that it could raise a Dou Master's strength or help a Nine-Star Dou Master break through to Da Dou Shi.
• Lu Heng said he could produce as many pills as the Yao Cai allowed and claimed an approximately eighty percent success rate refining the Yuan-Coagulating Pill.
• Lu Heng admitted that he had been refining and selling pills for years, prompting Ruo Lin to declare that he was a Fourth-Grade Alchemist.
• Xueni clung to Lu Heng's arm and offered to be his apprentice or test his pills in exchange for Yuan-Coagulating Pills, and Xiao Yu rushed over with a dark expression.

After Xueni and Xiao Yu left for combat class, Lu Heng arranged with Ruo Lin to take his pills to the academy auction house at a reduced commission. Ruo Lin teased him about the girls, and he flirted with her, leaving her blushing as she scolded him.

• Xueni and Xiao Yu admired Lu Heng’s status as a Fourth-Grade Alchemist before Ruo Lin calmed them and agreed to take his pills to the academy auction house.
• Ruo Lin explained that Lu Heng’s vice dean’s token could reduce the auction commission from ten percent to two percent, and he accepted her offer to guide him.
• Xiao Yu and Xueni left for practical combat class, with Xiao Yu warning Lu Heng not to let older students fool him.
• Ruo Lin asked Lu Heng which girl he liked, and he said he preferred mature, intelligent women like her.
• Ruo Lin blushed and flicked Lu Heng on the forehead for teasing his instructor.

Lu Heng promised Ruo Lin a future Profound Realm-Breaking Pill that could raise a Da Dou Shi’s strength, persuading her to accompany him to the city market before the auction house. Ruo Lin was captivated by the prospect of breaking through and by Lu Heng’s extravagant offer, and they continued on their way together.

• Ruo Lin warned Lu Heng that Jia Nan City's market was full of sellers peddling fakes, but he insisted on looking for bargains.
• Ruo Lin admitted she had been stuck at One-Star Da Dou Shi for more than half a year and lacked cultivation resources.
• Lu Heng revealed that he could refine a peak fourth-grade Profound Realm-Breaking Pill that could raise a Da Dou Shi by one star and might help a Nine-Star Da Dou Shi reach Dou Ling.
• Ruo Lin learned the pill would not conflict with her Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill and realized it could help her advance several stars.
• Lu Heng offered Ruo Lin a future Profound Realm-Breaking Pill as advance payment for accompanying him, and she was touched by his generosity.

Lu Heng used Hu Gan’s personal token to bypass the Jia Nan Auction House’s ordinary sales queue and gain VIP treatment. The chief manager, Hu Shan, learned that Ruo Lin had brought a freshman carrying the token and reacted with alarm.

• Lu Heng and Ruo Lin left the market and went to the Jia Nan Auction House to sell something.
• Qing He initially directed them to the regular queue, but Lu Heng showed her Hu Gan’s personal token.
• Qing He recognized the token and arranged for Ruo Lin and Lu Heng to be escorted to VIP Room No. 1.
• Qing He hurried to Hu Shan’s office and reported that the freshman carried the Vice Dean’s token.
• Hu Shan jumped up in shock when Qing He confirmed the token was real.

Lu Heng visited the Jia Nan Auction House with Ruo Lin to sell something, and the vice dean Hu Gan’s personal token earned him VIP treatment. Hu Shan welcomed Lu Heng and began probing his connection to the vice dean, while Lu Heng kept his relationship ambiguous.

• Hu Shan learned that Lu Heng was in VIP Room No. 1 and hurried over after ordering Cloud Mist Spirit Tea to be served.
• Wen Zhu poured tea for Lu Heng and Ruo Lin, then learned that Lu Heng held Hu Gan’s personal “Gan” token and was startled.
• Hu Shan entered, introduced himself as the auction house manager, and apologized to Lu Heng for his staff’s earlier neglect.
• Hu Shan ordered Wen Zhu and Qing He to attend to Lu Heng and serve his favorite Red Fire Pork Jerky.
• Hu Shan indirectly questioned Lu Heng about his relationship with Hu Gan, but Lu Heng answered evasively.

Lu Heng brought three medicinal products to Jia Nan Auction House, claiming he wanted pocket money, and revealed their powerful cultivation-boosting effects. Hu Shan summoned an alchemist to appraise them, while Lu Heng suggested this was only the beginning.

• Lu Heng showed Hu Shan three jade bottles containing Spirit-Nurturing Powder, Yuan-Gathering Pills, and Yuan-Coagulating Pills.
• Lu Heng explained that the medicines could accelerate Dou Qi cultivation or raise a cultivator's strength by one star, with a fifty percent chance of breaking through at the highest level of each rank.
• Hu Shan and Qing He were stunned by the pills' effects and realized they could transform the Outer Academy's rankings and gold market.
• Hu Shan ordered Qing He to bring Old Man Huo from the Alchemist Department to appraise the pills.
• Lu Heng agreed to the appraisal and told Hu Shan to think bigger because this was only the beginning.

Lu Heng revealed that he had made the Yuan-Coagulating Pill, leaving Hu Shan shocked but eager to do business with him. At the Alchemist Department, Qing He interrupted Wang Yan’s visit to Elder Huo to summon the elder urgently.

• Hu Shan asked Lu Heng who had crafted the Yuan-Coagulating Pill, and Lu Heng said that he had refined it himself.
• Hu Shan struggled to believe that the twelve-year-old Lu Heng was a powerful alchemist until Ruo Lin’s reaction confirmed it.
• Hu Shan agreed that Jia Nan Auction House would handle the pill business after its appraisal.
• Wang Yan asked Elder Huo for guidance after becoming a certified third-grade alchemist, but Elder Huo showed little interest in taking him as a disciple.
• Qing He burst into Elder Huo’s study and urgently summoned him at Manager Hu’s request.

Qing He summoned Elder Huo to appraise unusual pills brought to the auction house, while Wang Yan followed, hoping to show off his expertise. Elder Huo examined a Yuan-Coagulating Pill and discovered it absorbed his flame, leaving him astonished by its extraordinary fire attribute.

• Qing He delivered Hu Shan's command token to Elder Huo and said that a strange batch of pills needed his urgent appraisal.
• Wang Yan mocked the auction house's request, but Elder Huo agreed to go with Qing He, and Wang Yan followed them.
• Elder Huo entered VIP Room No. 1, noticed Lu Heng's keen soul perception, and focused on the three jade bottles.
• Elder Huo examined a Yuan-Coagulating Pill and found that it absorbed his flame instead of burning, prompting him to marvel at its unusual fire attribute.
• Hu Shan anxiously asked Elder Huo whether there was a problem with the pill.

Elder Huo confirmed that the pills were exceptionally pure and refined with remarkable flame control, and Lu Heng revealed that he had made them. Wang Yan mocked Lu Heng and tried to attack him, but Elder Huo stopped him; Lu Heng then picked up a bottle of Yuan-Coagulating Pills.

• Elder Huo praised the pills' purity and unusual refining technique, then asked Hu Shan to introduce him to their maker.
• Lu Heng said that he had refined the pills, leaving Elder Huo stunned.
• Wang Yan accused Lu Heng of lying and mocked his age and skill.
• Lu Heng asked Wang Yan who he was, then dismissed his reputation after Instructor Ruo Lin explained it.
• Wang Yan erupted with Dou Qi, but Elder Huo suppressed him and ordered him out.
• Lu Heng calmly stood, picked up the bottle of Yuan-Coagulating Pills, and addressed the room.

Lu Heng challenged Wang Yan to refine pills on the spot, then demonstrated astonishing flame control while attempting a peak Third-Grade Yuan-Coagulating Pill. Wang Yan’s distraction ruined his Qi Recovery Pill, leaving Lu Heng far ahead as the contest continued.

• Lu Heng challenged Wang Yan to a pill-refining contest, and they wagered their reputations on the result.
• Elder Huo agreed to judge as Hu Shan arranged cauldrons and ingredients for both contestants.
• Wang Yan chose to refine a Third-Grade Qi Recovery Pill while Lu Heng selected a peak Third-Grade Yuan-Coagulating Pill.
• Wang Yan began refining with practiced care, while Lu Heng used crimson flame to process several ingredients at once with precise control.
• Elder Huo recognized Lu Heng’s extraordinary multitasking and flame control, and Wang Yan’s distraction caused his Qi Recovery Pill to burn.

Lu Heng refined a peak third-grade Yuan-Coagulating Pill, defeating Wang Yan and impressing Elder Huo. He arranged a quarterly pill supply with Hu Shan, while Elder Huo tried to recruit him into the Alchemist Department.

• Lu Heng refined a naturally perfected peak third-grade Yuan-Coagulating Pill in less than an hour, astonishing Elder Huo.
• Wang Yan admitted defeat, and Elder Huo advised him to enter seclusion and temper his character.
• Lu Heng agreed to supply pills to Hu Shan in three-month cycles and gave him the first batch for auction.
• Elder Huo offered to personally teach Lu Heng and promised access to the Alchemist Department's resources and possibly its leadership.

Lu Heng declined Elder Huo’s offer to join the Alchemist Department, despite Elder Huo’s insistence that it would advance his future. On the walk back to the academy, Lu Heng flirted with Ruo Lin, while news of his talent began spreading through the Outer Academy.

• Elder Huo offered to recruit Lu Heng into the Alchemist Department, but Lu Heng refused, citing his freedom and Hu Gan’s arrangements.
• Elder Huo hurried off to confront Hu Gan and try to secure Lu Heng for the department.
• Hu Shan invited Lu Heng and Ruo Lin to the auction three days later, and Qing He and Wen Zhu showed Lu Heng newfound reverence as they departed.
• Ruo Lin asked Lu Heng why he refused Elder Huo, and he said he already had a master to guide his alchemy.
• Lu Heng teased Ruo Lin by saying he preferred seeing her to studying under an old alchemist, leaving her flustered as she hurried away.
• Word spread through Jia Nan Academy’s Outer Academy that a new student had crushed an Alchemist Department genius.

Hu Gan explained why Lu Heng’s alchemy talent suggested he had a powerful master behind him, persuading Elder Huo not to pressure him to join the Alchemist Department. After three days of secluded cultivation and pill study, Lu Heng welcomed instructor Ruo Lin, who arrived at his courtyard with excuses about the auction and his well-being.

• Hu Gan told Elder Huo that Lu Heng’s extraordinary skills likely came from an expert’s guidance and warned that pressuring him could offend that expert.
• Elder Huo accepted that Lu Heng should remain free to choose his path as a Jia Nan Academy student, despite regretting his refusal to join the Alchemist Department.
• Lu Heng spent three days cultivating and studying the Profound Realm-Breaking Pill, bringing himself close to breaking through to eight-star Dou Master.
• Ruo Lin visited Lu Heng’s courtyard, telling herself she had come to discuss the auction and check on his pill-making.
• Lu Heng opened the gate before Ruo Lin could knock, and she claimed she was inspecting a student’s living conditions.

Ruo Lin warned Lu Heng that his pills had drawn dangerous attention and invited him to the Jia Nan Auction House’s major auction, where he had a Heaven-Grade VIP Box reserved. On the way there with Ruo Lin, Lu Heng ran into Xueni and Xiao Yu, and Xueni rushed over to cling to him.

• Ruo Lin told Lu Heng that his Yuan-Coagulating Pill was attracting enormous bids and cautioned him about potential threats.
• Ruo Lin gave Lu Heng the VIP invitation Hu Shan had sent and agreed to accompany him to the auction.
• Lu Heng and Ruo Lin ate at the cafeteria, then headed through Jia Nan City toward the auction house as crowds gathered for the event.
• Lu Heng and Ruo Lin encountered Xueni and Xiao Yu beneath a tree, and Xueni ran over, grabbed Lu Heng’s arm, and asked where he had been.

Lu Heng gave Xiao Yu and Xueni Spirit-Nurturing Powder and brought them, along with Ruo Lin, to the crowded auction house. Their conspicuous group drew envious attention as they arrived at the entrance.

• Xueni guessed that Lu Heng was connected to the pills being auctioned, and Xiao Yu said she and Xueni had come to watch the bidding.
• Lu Heng gave Xiao Yu and Xueni bottles of Spirit-Nurturing Powder, calling them payment for accompanying him to the event.
• Ruo Lin told Xiao Yu and Xueni to accept the gifts and encouraged them to use the powder to advance their cultivation.
• Lu Heng walked through Jia Nan City with Xiao Yu, Xueni, and Ruo Lin, attracting jealous looks and comments from male students.
• The group reached Jia Nan Auction House, where a huge crowd waited outside to enter.

Lu Heng and his companions entered the Jia Nan Auction House’s Heaven-Grade VIP Box, where his pills were set to headline the auction. As Shen Jian opened the auction, Liu Fei and Liu Qing waited in another box, questioning whether the rumored Yuan-Coagulating Pill lived up to its reputation.

• Qing He welcomed Lu Heng and his companions through the private passage and escorted them to the Heaven-Grade VIP Box.
• Wen Zhu told Lu Heng that his pills were scheduled for the finale and that Steward Hu Shan would waive fees on anything he bought.
• Lu Heng spotted Purple Heart Grass on the auction list and considered using it to refine Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills.
• Shen Jian opened the auction by announcing that miraculous pills capable of changing the Outer Academy would appear that night.
• Liu Fei asked Liu Qing whether the Yuan-Coagulating Pill was truly effective, and Liu Qing said Elder Huo had confirmed the pills were genuine.