Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan watched Zi Yan fight an Earth-Shaking Demon Bear over a Nine-Leaf Golden Snake Grass, then intervened when the beast unleashed a powerful attack. He struck the bear and sent it flying, but injured his own arm, and the enraged beast turned on him.

• Xiao Yan hid near the valley and recognized Zi Yan fighting the Earth-Shaking Demon Bear.
• Xiao Yan spotted a Nine-Leaf Golden Snake Grass and realized the beast was likely fighting to protect the treasure.
• The Earth-Shaking Demon Bear activated its blood-red markings and transformed its paws into dragon claws before attacking Zi Yan.
• Xiao Yan rushed in and punched the bear in the head with Eight Extremities Collapse, knocking it away while cracking bones in his arm.
• The Earth-Shaking Demon Bear recovered in a rage and saw several of Xiao Yan's figures.

Su Qian rescued Xiao Yan and Zi Yan from the Magical Beasts in the valley, then brought them back to the Inner Academy. He left Xiao Yan to recover in his courtyard and ordered Zi Yan to stay and guard him.

• Su Qian suppressed the Earth-Shaking Demon Bear, the Green-Scaled Single-Horned Python, and the Dark Flame Lion King, saving Xiao Yan and Zi Yan.
• Su Qian reprimanded Zi Yan for provoking the beasts to take the Nine-Leaf Golden Snake Grass, while Xiao Yan explained that he had been training with a body-tempering Dou Technique.
• Su Qian drove the two fleeing beasts away and let the injured Earth-Shaking Demon Bear leave, then accepted Zi Yan's Golden Sun Fruit gift to Xiao Yan.
• Su Qian pulled up the Nine-Leaf Golden Snake Grass and carried Xiao Yan and Zi Yan back toward the Inner Academy.
• Su Qian brought Xiao Yan and Zi Yan to his quiet courtyard, offered medicinal ingredients for Xiao Yan's recovery, and told Zi Yan to stay and guard him.

Xiao Yan began healing his injured arm in the Inner Academy while Zi Yan visited him and offered him rare medicinal ingredients to refine into pills. After she agreed to guard his door, Xiao Yan focused on recovery as Zi Yan watched over her new friend and looked forward to training and sharing pills with him.

• Xiao Yan used the Heavenly Flames and the Great Sun Separation Fire Body to begin repairing his injured arm.
• Zi Yan slipped into Xiao Yan's room, asked him to make pills from her ingredients, and told him two Sixth-Rank Magical Beasts had once tried to eat her.
• Xiao Yan offered to help Zi Yan grow stronger and spar with her, and she eagerly produced a large pile of precious medicinal ingredients.
• Zi Yan gave Xiao Yan a Snow Jade Bone Flower and left the room after promising to guard him while he healed.
• Old Yao warned Xiao Yan that he would not act again unless necessary, leaving Xiao Yan to handle the Dou Zong expert himself.
• Xiao Yan resumed healing, while Zi Yan kept watch outside and thought of him as her only friend in the Inner Academy.

After refining Zi Yan’s medicinal ingredients into sweet, energy-rich pills, Xiao Yan ate one and nearly lost control of its violent medicinal power. He used the Burning Art and Green Lotus Myriad Beast Fire to refine the energy, breaking through to Nine-Star Da Dou Shi.

• Xiao Yan recovered from his injuries and agreed to refine pills for Zi Yan from her stockpile of potent medicinal ingredients.
• Xiao Yan used the Medicinal Liquid Purification and Concentration Method to make golden pills that Zi Yan eagerly ate.
• Xiao Yan warned Zi Yan that the pills were too powerful for humans, then decided to test one himself.
• The pill’s violent energy ravaged Xiao Yan’s body, and Zi Yan rushed to help when she saw him in pain.
• Xiao Yan used the Burning Art and Green Lotus Myriad Beast Fire to refine the energy and broke through to Nine-Star Da Dou Shi.

After Xiao Yan advanced to Nine-Star Da Dou Shi, he teamed up with Zi Yan to find Earth Core Body Tempering Milk in the Back Mountain. He stole the treasure from a Snow Demon Sky Ape’s cave and escaped with Zi Yan, leaving the furious guardian to discover the theft.

• Xiao Yan recovered from the pill’s violent medicinal power, warned Zi Yan not to overeat, and learned she could fight at roughly Three-Star Dou Wang strength.
• Xiao Yan persuaded Zi Yan to help search for Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, and after half a month they found a valley guarded by a Snow Demon Sky Ape.
• Zi Yan distracted the Snow Demon Sky Ape while Xiao Yan climbed into its cave, found a hidden passage, and collected the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and its jade-colored essence.
• Xiao Yan returned to the valley and pulled Zi Yan away from the battle before the Snow Demon Sky Ape realized its treasure had been stolen.
• The Snow Demon Sky Ape raced back to its cave, found the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk missing, and roared in fury.

Xiao Yan stole Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and set up on a mountain to refine medicinal liquid for the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python and snack pills for Zi Yan while seeking a breakthrough. Queen Medusa emerged, teased and threatened him, then stayed nearby as he began preparing pills for her.

• Xiao Yan and Zi Yan escaped with the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk, and Xiao Yan sent her to gather ingredients while he prepared a cave on the mountain.
• Xiao Yan refined medicinal liquid from the stolen milk, which the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python eagerly drank, then made snack pills for Zi Yan.
• After cultivating, Xiao Yan met Queen Medusa, who emerged and explained that she had been aware of events while suppressed by the Heaven-Swallowing Python.
• Queen Medusa froze Xiao Yan in place and threatened him with a seven-colored sword, then released him when he remained calm.
• Queen Medusa said she would explore on her own, and Xiao Yan began refining Fifth-Grade pills for her as she watched him with growing interest.

Xiao Yan used Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and forty-eight medicinal ingredients in a bath to temper his body, enduring the process for two days. He absorbed the remaining medicinal power to break through from Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to Dou Ling, and the chapter ended with him forming azure robes from Dou Qi.

• Old Yao refined the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk with forty-eight medicinal ingredients to prepare Xiao Yan's medicinal bath.
• Xiao Yan entered the bath and cultivated through intense cold and pain as the medicinal power transformed his body.
• After two days, Xiao Yan's body finished absorbing the multicolored medicinal power, and he began breaking through to Dou Ling.
• When the bath's energy ran low, Old Yao added two drops of undiluted Earth Core Body Tempering Milk to sustain Xiao Yan's breakthrough.
• Xiao Yan's Dou Crystal transformed into a Sea Urchin Dou Crystal, releasing an energy ripple that shattered the bathing tub and shook the cave.
• Xiao Yan rose and shaped Dou Qi into azure robes, confirming that he had advanced to Dou Ling.

After reaching Dou Ling, Xiao Yan sparred with Zi Yan on a mountaintop to test his strengthened body and new power. Zi Yan overwhelmed him in the fight, but Xiao Yan rapidly adapted before surrendering as she prepared a stronger technique.

• Xiao Yan completed his breakthrough to Dou Ling after being tempered by the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk.
• Zi Yan sniffed Xiao Yan and joked that she wanted to eat him, then asked him to spar.
• Xiao Yan and Zi Yan went outside and began fighting on a mountaintop, where Xiao Yan used his movement skills and Heavenly Flame-enhanced ruler technique against her.
• Zi Yan broke through Xiao Yan’s defenses with her speed and strength, forcing him back while he adapted to his new realm under pressure.
• As Zi Yan gathered energy for a stronger Dou Technique, Xiao Yan stopped the spar and surrendered.

Xiao Yan returned to the Inner Academy after training with Zi Yan and planned to cultivate with the Fallen Heart Flame. He reunited with the Student Union and was pulled into Shi Xuanxuan’s room to help temper her Dou Qi.

• Xiao Yan ended his spar with Zi Yan, reflected on how the battle had strengthened his body, and decided to use the Heart Fire to prepare for refining the Fallen Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan and Zi Yan flew back to the Inner Academy, where he left her at Great Elder Su Qian’s residence before heading to the Student Union headquarters.
• Su Qian warned the elders that the Fallen Heart Flame was growing more violent and might attack within ten years, and he urged them to support Xiao Yan and monitor the Black Corner Region.
• Xiao Yan learned that the Student Union had grown into one of the Inner Academy’s top five factions, then returned to its headquarters and met Shi Xuanxuan.
• Shi Xuanxuan gave Xiao Yan a pill to mask his treasure-like scent, assessed his improved physical condition, and asked him to temper her Dou Qi before she entered the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.

Xiao Yan tempered Shi Xuanxuan’s Dou Qi with his Heavenly Flame, helping her sense the bottleneck before a breakthrough, then gave her Earth Core Body Tempering Milk. After leaving her room, he found Yao Ling acting strangely and learned that her family also possessed an inherited Heavenly Flame, while she flusteredly asked to have her Dou Qi tempered before retreating to her room.

• Xiao Yan used Green Lotus Myriad Beast Fire to purify Shi Xuanxuan’s Dou Qi, and she meditated afterward to consolidate the results.
• Shi Xuanxuan thanked Xiao Yan, said she could sense the bottleneck before her breakthrough, and agreed to enter the deeper levels of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower with him.
• Xiao Yan gave Shi Xuanxuan three drops of Earth Core Body Tempering Milk and left her room.
• Xiao Yan encountered Yao Ling, who claimed she was fine and told him that the Shi family and her own family each had an inherited Heavenly Flame.
• Yao Ling asked Xiao Yan to discuss alchemy and temper her Dou Qi, then retreated into her room in embarrassment when he said he would soon enter seclusion.

Xiao Yan returned to Jia Nan Academy, discussed a plan with Hun Li Li to use the Burning Art as bait to kill Han Feng, and caught up with Xiao Yi Xian. He learned that Ancient Clan disciples had arrived in Peace Town to meet Xun Er, leaving him worried about the danger their presence could bring.

• Xiao Yan told Hun Li Li he would wait to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame until he was stronger, and she shared what she had learned about Mu Gu, Old Yao, and Han Feng.
• Hun Li Li gave Xiao Yan a copy of Han Feng's incomplete Burning Art, and Xiao Yan and Old Yao identified flaws that could make Han Feng's Dou Qi unstable and a second Heavenly Flame fatal.
• Xiao Yan and Hun Li Li planned to lure Han Feng with the Burning Art and use the Soul Hall's name, then agreed to cultivate in seclusion before carrying out the plan.
• Xiao Yan visited Xiao Yi Xian, told her about his recent growth, and learned that the Strong Ranking Tournament was less than three months away.
• Xiao Yi Xian told Xiao Yan that Xun Er and Ling Yanfei had gone to Peace Town because Ancient Clan disciples had arrived, and Xiao Yan feared the arrival would draw the Soul Clan's attention.

Xun Er and Ling Yanfei received Ancient Clan descendants and Huo Zhi in Peace Town, where they learned the visitors had come to investigate Jia Nan Academy and Xiao Yan. Xun Er recognized the clan’s scrutiny and warned Gu Zhen against approaching Xiao Yan with ulterior motives.

• Xun Er and Ling Yanfei met Gu Qingyang, Gu Yao, other Ancient Clan descendants, and Huo Zhi at Peace Town.
• Huo Zhi told Ling Yanfei she had come to verify that Xiao Yan mastered a body-tempering Dou Technique and to meet the Heavenly Flame wielder.
• Ling Yanfei used Spirit Communion to discover that Huo Zhi had maneuvered her grandfather into sending her to Jia Nan Academy.
• Gu Qingyang told Xun Er the Ancient Clan had sent the group to observe other clans’ students, keep watch on her, and prepare for her future role overseeing the Black Annihilation Army.
• Xun Er agreed to help the Ancient Clan visitors enter the academy but insisted they follow its rules for access to the deeper cultivation rooms.
• Gu Zhen asked to meet Xiao Yan, and Xun Er warned the group that she would be angry if they approached him with ulterior motives.

After learning that Ancient Clan prodigies had arrived at Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Yan set aside his anxiety and decided to enter three months of secluded cultivation before the Strong Ranking Tournament. He reached the seventh level of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower and began using its Heart Fire to strengthen his cultivation and body, aiming to reach the physical strength of a Fifth Tier magical beast.

• Xiao Yan heard from Xiao Yi Xian that Ancient Clan members had arrived and resolved to avoid drawing attention while advancing his strength faster than his enemies could assess it.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Yi Xian he would cultivate in the deeper levels of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower until the Strong Ranking Tournament, while she watched over the Student Union and Xun Er.
• Xiao Yan returned to Hun Li Li, gave her Body Tempering Spirit Liquid, and brought her and Shi Xuanxuan to the tower.
• With Elder Su's help, Xiao Yan entered the seventh level, where students were normally not allowed to cultivate, and obtained a Red Fire Crystal Card on credit.
• Xiao Yan applied Green Ganoderma Fire Spirit Paste, swallowed a Spirit Speed Wind Pill, and began absorbing the seventh level's fire energy at a tremendous rate.
• Xiao Yan used the Heart Fire to temper his Dou Qi and body with his Heavenly Flames, setting his goal of reaching Fifth Tier magical beast strength within three months.

Xun Er welcomed the Ancient Clan visitors to the Student Union, but Gu Yao insulted Xiao Yan for entering seclusion and provoked Xun Er, Xiao Yi Xian, Ling Yanfei, and Huo Zhi into defending him. The Ancient Clan group was left without a place to stay at the Student Union, while Huo Zhi learned that several other women were already close to Xiao Yan.

• Xun Er and Ling Yanfei brought the Ancient Clan group to the Student Union, where Xiao Yi Xian welcomed them and explained that Xiao Yan had entered seclusion in the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower.
• Gu Yao accused Xiao Yan of hiding from the Ancient Clan visitors, prompting Gu Qingyang to rebuke him and Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian to defend Xiao Yan fiercely.
• Ling Yanfei and Huo Zhi backed Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian, and Xun Er told the Ancient Clan members to find other accommodations if they disdained Xiao Yan.
• Ling Yanfei took Huo Zhi to stay with her and revealed that Yao Ling, Shi Xuanxuan, and Yun Li also lived near Xiao Yan, with Yun Li suspected of belonging to the Soul Clan.
• Gu Hua criticized Gu Yao, while Gu Qingyang said the women’s loyalty made him eager to meet Xiao Yan.

The Ancient Clan newcomers reshaped the Inner Academy’s Strong Ranking List as Xiao Yan cultivated on the seventh level of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower. After Fallen Heart Flame stirred the tower and the students were ordered to evacuate, Huo Zhi seized the chance to head deeper inside, sensing Xiao Yan was below.

• Gu Qingyang, Gu Xing, Gu Hua, Gu Yao, and Huo Zhi took the top positions on the Strong Ranking List, while defeated students looked toward the tournament in three months as a chance to reclaim their ranks.
• Xiao Yan cultivated on the seventh level, tempering his Dou Qi and body with Fallen Heart Flame until he expected to reach Two-Star Dou Ling within a month.
• After a month, Fallen Heart Flame caused a disturbance in the tower, and an elder ordered all students to evacuate.
• Old Yao told Xiao Yan that Fallen Heart Flame had sensed the Heavenly Flames in his body and was building strength to escape, but Xiao Yan resumed cultivating.
• Gu Qingyang and the other students left the tower, while Huo Zhi went deeper inside because she believed Xiao Yan was below the first six levels.

The Ancient Clan members discussed Xiao Yan’s talent and debated whether to interfere in his relationship with Xun Er while the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower’s elders sealed the raging Fallen Heart Flame. Huo Zhi reached the seventh floor and discovered Xiao Yan cultivating at the heart of the violent energy storm.

• More than a dozen elders sealed the invisible flames inside the tower as students fled outside.
• Gu Qingyang praised Xiao Yan’s abilities and considered supporting Xun Er, while Gu Yao said Xiao Yan would need to defeat him to earn his approval.
• Hun Li Li and Shi Xuanxuan wondered where Xiao Yan had gone after entering the tower with them.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the seventh floor’s violent fire energy and refined Heart Fire to strengthen his body and cultivation.
• Huo Zhi entered the seventh floor, resisted its Heart Fire, and spotted Xiao Yan cultivating in the energy vortex.

Huo Zhi watched Xiao Yan endure the Great Sun Separation Fire Body’s brutal tempering on the seventh floor of the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, then met him after his cultivation ended. She revealed that she was Huo Zhi of the Yan Clan and said she had come to fulfill an agreement tied to the Dou Technique, leaving Xiao Yan stunned by its connection to her clan.

• Huo Zhi silently guarded Xiao Yan as he used the violent energy and ownerless Heart Fire to temper his body.
• Xiao Yan’s cultivation reached a temporary limit, the energy storm receded, and his aura grew heavier and more condensed.
• Xiao Yan sensed Huo Zhi’s powerful, unfamiliar aura and confronted her after opening his eyes.
• Huo Zhi introduced herself as a member of the Yan Clan and said she had come to fulfill an agreement.
• Huo Zhi told Xiao Yan that the Great Sun Separation Fire Body was considered an item of the Yan Clan and that Elder Mang had won it from her clan.

Huo Zhi gave Xiao Yan Burning Flame Valley’s Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations, and he unlocked the complete technique from its jade slip. Xiao Yan realized his Great Sun Separation Fire Body might counter the technique’s risks, leaving him eager to cultivate it and face the Ancient Clan prodigies.

• Huo Zhi told Xiao Yan that Gu Yao opposed him and urged him to prove his strength to the Ancient Clan.
• Huo Zhi gave Xiao Yan a jade slip containing the Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations and explained how it could temporarily boost his power.
• After Huo Zhi left, Old Yao noted that she seemed to know things about Xiao Yan and advised him to unlock the jade slip with Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan burned the jade slip and absorbed the complete Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations, including cultivation insights.
• Old Yao warned Xiao Yan against using the third transformation before his body grew stronger, but Xiao Yan believed his Great Sun Separation Fire Body could offset its side effects.

After three months of secluded cultivation, Xiao Yan emerged with greatly improved physical strength and Dou Qi, ready to compete in the Strong Ranking Tournament. He returned to the Student Union on the eve of the tournament, where Xun Er and the others welcomed him.

• Xiao Yan completed his Quenching Body at the Great Accomplishment Stage and reached Four-Star Dou Ling, gaining the strength to contend with opponents below Dou Emperor level.
• Xiao Yan left the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower, and Elder Su greeted him after recalling how Xiao Yan’s Heavenly Flames had burned off all his hair.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Student Union, which had grown into one of the Inner Academy’s top three factions under the women’s management.
• Xiao Yan overheard Xun Er, Xiao Yi Xian, Hun Li Li, and Han Yue discussing his return and the upcoming Strong Ranking Tournament.
• Shi Xuanxuan invited Xiao Yan to her room that night, while Huo Zhi accidentally—or deliberately—dropped a wooden pole onto his head.
• Xiao Yan entered the living room and announced that he was back.

Xiao Yan returned to the pavilion before the Strong Ranking Tournament and reunited with Xun Er, Xiao Yi Xian, Han Yue, and Hun Li Li, promising to make his name known across Jia Nan Academy. As he refined Shi Xuanxuan’s and then Yao Ling’s Dou Qi that night, Huo Zhi misinterpreted the sounds from their rooms and returned to her room shaken by what she believed she had witnessed.

• Xiao Yan returned to the pavilion, embraced Xun Er, greeted Xiao Yi Xian, Han Yue, and Hun Li Li, and declared that the entire Jia Nan Academy would sing his name.
• Huo Zhi watched from the third floor while Ling Yanfei, Shi Xuanxuan, and Yao Ling each reflected on Xiao Yan and their own circumstances.
• Xiao Yan went to Shi Xuanxuan’s room and refined her Dou Qi with his Heavenly Flames for an hour, then left after covering her with a blanket.
• Yao Ling pulled Xiao Yan into her room so he could stabilize her Dou Qi after a pill strengthened her by two stars.
• Huo Zhi heard the strange sounds from Shi Xuanxuan’s and Yao Ling’s rooms, mistook the Dou Qi refinement for something improper, and returned to her room in shock.