Chapter Summaries

Shi Xuanxuan visited Yao Ling for help removing the Fallen Heart Flame’s fire poison, and Yao Ling treated her with a medicinal bath. After Shi Xuanxuan left, Yao Ling admitted that seeing her had made her heart flutter and wished she could meet Xiao Yan sooner.

• Shi Xuanxuan asked Yao Ling to help remove the fire poison that had accumulated in her body.
• Yao Ling prepared Ice Spirit Marrow-Cleansing Liquid and instructed Shi Xuanxuan to use it in a medicinal bath.
• Shi Xuanxuan followed Yao Ling’s guidance, and the treatment reduced the fire poison and eased her symptoms.
• Yao Ling told Shi Xuanxuan that she would need ten more days of treatment and two days of consolidation.
• Shi Xuanxuan thanked Yao Ling, accepted tea, and left after their fingertips touched and stirred unfamiliar feelings in both of them.
• Yao Ling watched Shi Xuanxuan leave and sighed that she needed to meet Xiao Yan sooner.

Shi Xuanxuan and Ling Yanfei considered Xiao Yan’s possible role in protecting their clans from the Soul Clan, while Xiao Yan cultivated in the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower and advanced to Seven-Star Da Dou Shi. After two months in seclusion, he returned to find Yao Ling and Shi Xuanxuan had joined the Student Union, and asked why they had chosen it.

• Shi Xuanxuan reflected on her rebirth, her goal of saving the Shi Clan, and her plan to pause tower cultivation until the fire poison was cleared.
• Ling Yanfei recalled how her bloodline revealed the Ling Clan’s destruction and began to suspect Xiao Yan was the Flame Emperor who could help avert the clans’ fate.
• Hun Li Li teased Han Yue, Xun Er, and Xiao Yi Xian about their closeness to Xiao Yan while he was away cultivating.
• Xiao Yan ran out of Fire Energy while approaching a breakthrough, consumed an Earth Fire Lotus Seed, and advanced from Four-Star to Seven-Star Da Dou Shi over two months.
• Xiao Yan returned to the Freshman District and learned that Yao Ling, Ling Yanfei, and Shi Xuanxuan had joined the Student Union and that it had organized guards and other members.
• Xiao Yan found Yao Ling and Shi Xuanxuan in the attic and asked why they had joined the Student Union.

Xiao Yan used his Cobalt Blue Flame to begin purging the fire poison entangled with Shi Xuanxuan’s Dou Qi. The treatment eased her condition but had to stop before the poison was fully removed, and Shi Xuanxuan discovered that the flames had burned away her clothes.

• Shi Xuanxuan told Xiao Yan she had come to grow stronger by following him, and Yao Ling explained why they wanted his help with Shi Xuanxuan’s fire poison.
• Xiao Yan examined Shi Xuanxuan’s Rock Dou Qi and judged that Heavenly Flames could remove the poison without damaging her cultivation.
• Xiao Yan went with Shi Xuanxuan to her room, while Yao Ling prepared a bathtub before learning that the treatment would use Heavenly Flames instead of a medicinal bath.
• Yao Ling stood guard as Xiao Yan guided his Cobalt Blue Flame into Shi Xuanxuan’s body and burned the fire poison out of her Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan stopped the treatment after Shi Xuanxuan neared her limit and said two more sessions should finish the job.
• Shi Xuanxuan regained awareness, realized the flame had burned away her upper-body clothes, and saw Xiao Yan covering his eyes.

Xiao Yan treated Shi Xuanxuan for Fire Poison, while Yao Ling’s misunderstanding led her to confess her feelings for him to Shi Xuanxuan. Xiao Yan then learned the Student Union was thriving, and Hun Li Li asked him to refine more pills for its depleted supplies.

• Xiao Yan finished treating Shi Xuanxuan, promised two more sessions, and said he would make pills to prevent Fire Poison from accumulating.
• Yao Ling imagined Xiao Yan and Shi Xuanxuan had been intimate, then told Shi Xuanxuan that she loved Xiao Yan and would accept becoming his concubine.
• Shi Xuanxuan said she would support Yao Ling, and Yao Ling checked that Shi Xuanxuan’s aura and bloodline were unharmed.
• Hun Li Li told Xiao Yan that Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian were cultivating, Han Yue was managing the Student Union, and the group had grown to nearly a hundred members.
• Hun Li Li reported that the Student Union had run out of Xiao Yan’s pills and asked him to refine another batch.

Xiao Yan brushed off Hun Li Li’s flirtation and asked Old Yao about Shi Xuanxuan’s unusual scent, learning that she possessed a rare Natural Charm Body. Old Yao warned him that the Ancient Clan women might know about his accelerated cultivation, then advised him to train his body-tempering technique; Xiao Yan instead began refining pills, intent on advancing his alchemy.

• Hun Li Li teased Xiao Yan in an OL outfit, replenished his Fire Energy, and sniffed his card after noticing Shi Xuanxuan’s scent on it.
• Xiao Yan asked Old Yao about Shi Xuanxuan’s sweet, arousing fragrance, and Old Yao identified her as a rare Natural Charm Body.
• Old Yao warned Xiao Yan that the Ancient Clan women might have come to him early because they knew his cultivation was nearly six years ahead of schedule.
• Old Yao urged Xiao Yan to cultivate his fire-element body-tempering Dou Technique, but Xiao Yan chose to practice alchemy and review prescriptions from the Black Corner Region.
• Xiao Yan successfully refined a batch of pills, received Old Yao’s praise, and continued practicing toward becoming a Fifth-Grade Alchemist.

Xiao Yan visited the Student Union and learned from Han Yue how it had grown and what resources it lacked. He supplied pills and ordered her to pressure rival factions while he stayed behind to refine more, leaving the Student Union poised for a possible conflict.

• Xiao Yan found Han Yue managing the Student Union’s busy office and reviewed its membership, missions, finances, and guard rotations.
• Han Yue explained that the union had little Fire Energy left and that rival factions resented Yao Ling, Shi Xuanxuan, and Ling Yanfei joining.
• Xiao Yan gave Han Yue a Storage Ring of pills to sell and told her to recruit alchemists and use the proceeds to buy medicinal ingredients.
• Xiao Yan ordered Han Yue to pressure the Medicine Gang’s market and provoke the rival factions, promising to act if they retaliated.
• Han Yue told Xiao Yan that Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian had been cultivating in the Heavenly Burning Qi Refining Tower for about a month and would return within half a month.
• Xiao Yan collected medicinal ingredients and returned to his attic to refine pills, telling Han Yue to contact him if anything urgent happened.

Xiao Yan treated Shi Xuanxuan’s fire poison with his Heavenly Flame, but her breakthrough triggered an uncontrolled surge of Dou Qi and caused the flame to erupt inside her meridians. He pulled the Heavenly Flame from her body, leaving her condition uncertain and her undergarment burned away again.

• Xiao Yan reviewed information about the Inner Academy factions and recognized that the Student Union’s conflict with the Medicine Gang, Iron Mountain Gang, and Azure Cloud Society threatened its foothold.
• Xiao Yan returned to the attic and went to Shi Xuanxuan’s room to purge her fire poison while Yao Ling stood guard outside.
• Xiao Yan used the Heavenly Flame to burn away more of Shi Xuanxuan’s fire poison as she endured the pain and guided her Dou Qi.
• Shi Xuanxuan’s purified Dou Qi surged toward a breakthrough, struck Xiao Yan’s controlled flame, and triggered its defensive eruption inside her meridians.
• Xiao Yan shielded Shi Xuanxuan with his soul power, then forcibly drew the Heavenly Flame out of her body, burning away her undergarment in the process.

Xiao Yan helped Shi Xuanxuan recover from her injuries and complete her breakthrough, but his damaged soul power caused him to collapse into her arms. Yao Ling examined him and discovered that Shi Xuanxuan was suffocating him with her chest.

• Xiao Yan gave Shi Xuanxuan a Green Spirit Pill and placed her on the Green Lotus Throne so she could heal while completing her breakthrough.
• Shi Xuanxuan advanced to a Four-Star Dou Ling and thanked Xiao Yan for helping her.
• Xiao Yan collapsed from his injured soul power, and Shi Xuanxuan caught him in her arms.
• Yao Ling examined Xiao Yan and found that his soul injury was treatable, but Shi Xuanxuan was nearly suffocating him.

After Xiao Yan collapsed from Heavenly Flame backlash, Yao Ling treated him while Shi Xuanxuan watched over him, and Yao Ling secretly kissed him as he slept. The next morning Xiao Yan recovered, but Han Yue reported that their members and pill-selling operations had been attacked, prompting Xiao Yan to investigate.

• Shi Xuanxuan accidentally pressed the unconscious Xiao Yan against her chest, then laid him on her bed after Yao Ling warned her not to suffocate him.
• Yao Ling diagnosed Xiao Yan's soul injury, gave him a Soul Nourishing Pill, and sent Shi Xuanxuan to stabilize her newly advanced realm.
• After Shi Xuanxuan left, Yao Ling secretly kissed the sleeping Xiao Yan and stayed beside him through the night.
• Shi Xuanxuan returned in the morning, and Xiao Yan woke recovered; Yao Ling checked his condition while he thanked both women.
• Han Yue reported that members buying medicinal ingredients had returned empty-handed, pill sellers had been obstructed and injured, and half their selling locations had been destroyed.
• Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and told Yao Ling and Shi Xuanxuan to go with him to investigate.

Xiao Yan confronted Sun Qingyang over the Medicine Gang obstructing the Student Union’s pill sales, while Yao Ling, Shi Xuanxuan, and Ling Yanfei stood up for him. The two leaders agreed to settle the dispute in a pill-refining contest at North Plaza the next day, using a prescription selected by Elder Hao.

• Sun Qingyang mocked Xiao Yan for bringing few people to confront the Medicine Gang, and Xiao Yan challenged him to resolve their dispute through alchemy.
• Yao Ling and Shi Xuanxuan backed Xiao Yan, then Ling Yanfei arrived and revealed her Eight-Star Dou Ling strength, weakening the Medicine Gang’s advantage.
• Xiao Yan proposed a pill-refining contest, and Sun Qingyang raised the stakes: the loser would surrender pill-selling rights or prescriptions, while the winner would gain the other side’s concessions.
• Xiao Yan and Sun Qingyang agreed to compete using the same prescription, with Elder Hao serving as judge and selecting the prescription himself.
• Elder Hao approved the contest, and both sides agreed to meet at North Plaza the next day.

Xiao Yan faced Sun Qingyang in a highly anticipated pill-refinement contest at the Inner Academy, after revealing that he had advanced beyond Fourth-Tier Alchemist. The contest’s difficult Fifth-Grade formula was the Double Spirit Ascension Pill, and Xiao Yan recognized it as a recipe suited to his strengths.

• Yao Ling explained Sun Qingyang’s standing as a Fourth-Tier Alchemist, while Xiao Yan and the others expressed confidence in Xiao Yan’s Alchemy.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he was no longer a Fourth-Tier Alchemist, and news of his contest with Sun Qingyang spread across the Inner Academy.
• A huge crowd gathered at the North Plaza the next morning as Elder Hao began refereeing the contest between Sun Qingyang and Xiao Yan.
• Elder Hao presented an undisclosed formula, and Sun Qingyang’s expression turned grim after reading its difficult requirements.
• Xiao Yan recognized the formula as the Fifth-Grade Double Spirit Ascension Pill, which required two powerful flames and suited his specialty.

Xiao Yan and Sun Qingyang began a competition to refine the Double Spirit Ascension Pill, a difficult Fifth-Grade pill said to guarantee a breakthrough to Dou Wang. After both suffered setbacks, Xiao Yan suspected the pill formula’s prescribed method was flawed and decided to test his own approach with the remaining ingredients.

• Elder Hao announced the Double Spirit Ascension Pill as the competition’s subject and said the first successful refinement would win, with failed pills judged if neither succeeded.
• Xiao Yan and Sun Qingyang inspected their ingredients and began refining, using Xiao Yan’s worn cauldron and Sun Qingyang’s Qingyang Fire.
• Sun Qingyang’s first attempt failed after his eighth ingredient, and he calmed himself before starting again while Xiao Yan’s technique drew praise.
• Xiao Yan’s first attempt also failed when unstable medicinal liquid blasted the cauldron lid away.
• Xiao Yan concluded that the formula’s two-stage, flame-switching method would waste medicinal potency, so he chose to test his own interpretation using the remaining ingredients.

Xiao Yan refined a genuine Fifth-Grade Double Spirit Ascension Pill after discovering the supplied formula was flawed, defeating Sun Qingyang in their pill-refining contest. Sun Qingyang accepted the loss and learned the correct method, and Elder Hao declared Xiao Yan the winner.

• Yao Ling judged that the Double Spirit Ascension Pill formula was incomplete, while Xiao Yan's companions trusted that he could succeed.
• Xiao Yan used two Heavenly Flames to refine the pill as Sun Qingyang followed the flawed formula and produced only a Fourth-Grade pill.
• Xiao Yan completed the Fifth-Grade pill despite his cauldron breaking, then retrieved and refined it in his flame-wreathed hand.
• The elders confirmed Xiao Yan's pill was a genuine Fifth-Grade Pill, and Sun Qingyang asked why his own refinement had failed.
• Xiao Yan explained the formula's flaw and demonstrated that Sun Qingyang's pill exploded with power comparable to a Dou Wang attack.
• Sun Qingyang conceded and promised to honor the wager, and Elder Hao declared Xiao Yan the winner.

After Xiao Yan won the alchemy competition, he secured favorable terms for the Student Union and teased Han Yue, only to be caught by Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian. At the chapter’s end, Sun Qingyang decided to merge the Medicine Gang into the Student Union, seeing Xiao Yan’s talent as an opportunity for its members.

• Elder Hao offered Xiao Yan access to the Herb Repository and reduced the Student Union’s monthly Fire Energy payment from twenty percent to ten percent, provided the discount stayed secret.
• Xiao Yan assigned Han Yue to take over the Medicine Gang’s trading locations and manage the Student Union’s accounts, while urging her to make time for cultivation.
• Han Yue wiped blood from Xiao Yan’s cheek, and Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian arrived and teased them before escorting Xiao Yan away.
• Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian agreed to help manage Student Union affairs so Han Yue could enter seclusion and cultivate.
• Sun Qingyang learned that Xiao Yan was twelve, a Da Dou Shi, and a Fifth-Grade Alchemist, then proposed that the Medicine Gang merge into the Student Union.
• The Medicine Gang’s members warmed to Sun Qingyang’s proposal, hoping Xiao Yan’s future guidance would help them advance in alchemy.

Xiao Yan rested while Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian handled plans for the Medicine Gang and Student Union, as Ling Yanfei’s Spirit Communion with Yao Ling revealed the depth of Yao Ling’s feelings for him. Ling Yanfei then used Xiao Yan’s blood as a medium and saw a powerful black-robed figure with multicolored flames, leaving her stunned by the possibility that it was Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Yan gave Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian medicinal pills, then fell asleep as Xiao Yi Xian massaged his shoulders.
• Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian agreed to manage the Medicine Gang handover and Student Union matters while Xiao Yan rested.
• Ling Yanfei’s Spirit Communion with Yao Ling overwhelmed her and revealed Yao Ling’s intense, long-suppressed love for Xiao Yan.
• Ling Yanfei decided not to commune with Yao Ling again and used blood from a fragment that had cut Xiao Yan as a medium for Spirit Communion.
• Ling Yanfei saw a black-robed figure atop a multicolored flame lotus platform and recognized the possibility that he was Xiao Yan.

The Medicine Gang joined the Student Union after Sun Qingyang recognized Xiao Yan’s alchemy talent, and Xiao Yi Xian arranged for the group to form an autonomous Alchemy Hall. The chapter ended with the Inner Academy reacting to the merger while Sun Qingyang considered his new position a victory rather than a loss.

• Han Yue received Sun Qingyang and the Medicine Gang members, who formally asked to join the Student Union and follow Xiao Yan.
• Xun Er and Xiao Yi Xian arrived, welcomed the Medicine Gang, and explained that joining required accepting the Student Union’s rules.
• Xiao Yi Xian proposed creating an autonomous Alchemy Hall, with Xiao Yan as Hall Master and Yao Ling and Sun Qingyang as Deputy Hall Masters.
• Sun Qingyang accepted the arrangement, and the Medicine Gang agreed to the Student Union’s terms and began building residences in the Freshman District.
• The Inner Academy was shocked by the merger, while Sun Qingyang dismissed concerns that the Medicine Gang had been coerced and celebrated its new influence.

Xiao Yan finished removing Shi Xuanxuan’s Fire Poison and learned a body-tempering formula from her. He then heard Hun Li Li’s account of her suffering in the Soul Clan and realized he had less than eight years to become strong enough to face Hun Tian Di.

• Xiao Yan confronted Hun Li Li about her bloodied scent and urged her to explain what had happened instead of giving up and leaving.
• Xiao Yan removed the last of Shi Xuanxuan’s Fire Poison, and she asked him to temper her dou qi and shared her family’s medicinal-bath formula for body tempering.
• Yao Ling told Shi Xuanxuan that Xiao Yan was the man of her dreams and began explaining her long-ago dream.
• Xiao Yan found Hun Li Li drained of dou qi, carried her to his room, and questioned her after noticing her attempts to hide her distress.
• Hun Li Li revealed that she had transmigrated and described her ordeal in the Soul Clan, while Xiao Yan calculated that Hun Tian Di might recover in about ten years.

Hun Li Li confided in Xiao Yan about her persecution by the Soul Clan and the threat of being forced back to compete for resources, while Xiao Yan and Old Yao assessed how he could grow strong enough to protect her. Xiao Yan settled on cultivating at Jia Nan Academy, pursuing the Fallen Heart Flame, and then traveling to the Heavenly Snake Mansion.

• Hun Li Li broke down in Xiao Yan's arms as she described her mistreatment in the Soul Clan, then revealed she had killed a Soul Hall Protector sent by Old Man Mu Gu.
• Old Yao emerged from Xiao Yan's Storage Ring, and the three discussed Xiao Yan's goal of reaching Dou Saint within eight years before Hun Li Li explained that Nihility Devouring Flame's weakness and the Soul Clan's unfinished plans bought them some time.
• Hun Li Li revealed that Hun Miesheng had arrived in the Northwest Continent and that Hun Tian Di would likely force her to return to the Soul Clan within three to five years, where she feared being used or refined.
• Xiao Yan gave Hun Li Li a Fifth-Grade healing pill, and Old Yao advised that Xiao Yan could reach Dou Wang in about two years and might gain several stars by refining the Fallen Heart Flame.
• Xiao Yan decided to cultivate at Jia Nan Academy, seek the Fallen Heart Flame, then travel to the Heavenly Snake Mansion; he planned to obtain Senior Sister Shi's body-tempering experience and head to the Back Mountain to train his Dou Techniques.

Xiao Yan left the academy to cultivate the Great Sun Separation Fire Body, a rare body-refining technique whose harsh requirements suited his mastery of Heavenly Flames. He began tempering his body with the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, determined to grow strong enough to protect those around him.

• Xiao Yan entrusted Sun Qingyang with controlling who learned the Alchemy Hall's pill-refining methods, then set off for the mountains to focus on cultivation.
• Xiao Yan found a barren mountain peak and summoned Old Yao, who explained the Great Sun Separation Fire Body's three realms and its extreme fire requirements.
• Xiao Yan realized he could use his Heavenly Flames to meet those requirements and resolved to endure the pain to protect his loved ones from threats including the Soul Clan.
• Xiao Yan began cultivating by circulating the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire through his meridians to temper his body.

Xiao Yan cultivated the Great Sun Separation Fire Body with Heavenly Flames for two months, reaching minor mastery in Quenching Body and advancing to Eight-Star Da Dou Shi. Inspired by the waves of the forest, he began developing a new Heavy Ruler technique and footwork.

• Xiao Yan tested his body with Yun Yun's Azure Edge Sword and found that it could no longer cut him after he entered the basics of the Great Sun Separation Fire Body.
• Xiao Yan endured repeated burns from the Green Lotus Core Flame, alternating body training with Dou Qi and Dou Technique cultivation while Old Yao watched.
• After two months, Xiao Yan reached minor mastery in Quenching Body and advanced to Eight-Star Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yan watched the forest canopy ripple in the wind, then found inspiration in its waves and began moving across the treetops.
• Xiao Yan entered an altered state and developed a seamless Heavy Ruler technique that combined defensive movements with adjusted footwork, leaving Old Yao astonished.