Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi remained at Three-stage, and he discovered that the ancient ring was consuming the energy he cultivated. While the Xiao Clan received guests from the Misty Cloud Sect, a young general named Xiao Boyuan arrived and revealed himself as Zhang Yuan, returning home.

• Xiao Yan received a Three-stage Dou Qi result, and Xun Er encouraged him by repeating Zhang Yuan’s confidence in him.
• Xun Er tested at One-Star Dou Zhe, while Xiao Yan cultivated in the back mountain and the ancient ring devoured his newly gathered Dou Qi.
• Xiao Zhan brought Xiao Yan dinner and warned him that distinguished guests would visit the clan the next day.
• Xiao Yan recognized the guests in the main hall as members of the Misty Cloud Sect and learned his coming-of-age ceremony would determine whether he could remain in the clan.
• Xiao Boyuan arrived at Xiao Manor with several dozen armored riders, and a guard recognized him as Young Master Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan returned to the Xiao Clan as Nalan Yanran and the Misty Cloud Sect tried to annul her engagement to Xiao Yan. He confronted Ge Ye over the public insult, and Nalan Yanran unexpectedly recognized him as “Brother Zhang.”

• Zhang Yuan praised Xiao Boyuan at the Xiao Clan gate and gave him a Second-grade Thunder-Pattern Pill before entering the manor with the Black Armored Guard.
• Ge Ye revealed that Nalan Yanran had come to annul her childhood betrothal to Xiao Yan, and Xiao Zhan struggled to contain his anger.
• Ge Ye offered Xiao Yan a Qi Gathering Powder as compensation, but Xiao Yan rose in anger at the insult.
• Zhang Yuan appeared in the hall and condemned the Misty Cloud Sect for humiliating the Xiao Clan under the guise of courtesy and compensation.
• Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan, Xun Er, and the Xiao Clan youths welcomed Zhang Yuan, and Nalan Yanran surprised them by calling him “Brother Zhang.”

Zhang Yuan challenged Nalan Yanran over how she tried to end her engagement to Xiao Yan, arguing that she had humiliated both families even though she had the right to refuse the marriage. Xiao Yan agreed the engagement should end, then left everyone stunned by proposing that Nalan Yanran marry Zhang Yuan instead.

• Zhang Yuan recognized Nalan Yanran as the Misty Cloud Sect disciple he had once known as Yun Yan and offered three Qi Gathering Powders for Xiao Yan to repudiate her.
• Nalan Yanran explained that she did not want to marry a stranger, and Zhang Yuan confronted her with the privileges and obligations that came with her family background.
• Xiao Yan said he had also wanted to dissolve the engagement, but criticized Nalan Yanran for using the Misty Cloud Sect's influence to break it off publicly.
• Nalan Yanran realized that her method had insulted both the Xiao and Nalan families, while Zhang Yuan said the Xiao Clan would leave the matter to Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan suggested that Zhang Yuan take Nalan Yanran as his marriage partner instead.

Zhang Yuan arranged a duel between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran in three years and promised he could cure Xiao Yan’s cultivation problem. As they began treatment in a secret chamber, Zhang Yuan exposed the spirit hiding in Xiao Yan’s Ancient Ring.

• Zhang Yuan proposed that Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran duel at the Nalan family residence in three years, and Nalan Yanran agreed to compensate the Xiao Clan regardless of the outcome.
• Xiao Yan accepted the Three Year Agreement after Zhang Yuan said he was now ninety percent certain he could cure his inability to cultivate.
• Xiao Zhan dismissed the Misty Cloud Sect group, and Nalan Yanran apologized before leaving with Ge Ye.
• Zhang Yuan told Xiao Yan how he had served in the empire’s military and met Nalan Yanran while helping Misty Cloud Sect disciples during a Beast Tide.
• Zhang Yuan told Xiao Yan to discard the Ancient Ring, then called out the spirit inside it, who appeared as the elderly Yao Chen.

Zhang Yuan revealed his rapid rise to Dou Master and deduced that the mysterious soul in Xiao Yan’s ring was Venerable Yao. Yao Chen’s identity was exposed just as he offered to help Xiao Yan recover his cultivation and become an Alchemist.

• Zhang Yuan displayed his Dou Qi Gauze, and Yao Chen confirmed he was a Nine-star Dou Master close to becoming a Da Dou Shi.
• Zhang Yuan recalled that his Visualization Diagram had granted him Soul Power growth and a Flame Seed of the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire.
• Xiao Yan confronted Yao Chen for devouring his Dou Qi, and Yao Chen offered to help him reach Seven-stage Dou Qi within a year and become an Alchemist.
• Zhang Yuan explained his soul knowledge and pieced together that Yao Chen was Venerable Yao, a renowned Advanced Eighth Grade Alchemist.
• Xiao Yan compared Zhang Yuan to Conan, while Zhang Yuan privately recognized that he knew the details because he was also a transmigrator.

Zhang Yuan and Xiao Yan gained Yao Chen’s trust after Xiao Yan accepted him as an unregistered disciple and Yao Chen offered the Xiao Clan a way to help young cultivators train. The chapter ended with Yao Chen proposing that Xiao Yan practice the evolvable Flame Mantra.

• Zhang Yuan reflected on his bond with the Xiao Clan and revealed that he had awakened his own lightning-based cheat, ending his temptation to take Xiao Yan’s ring.
• Zhang Yuan urged Xiao Yan to bow to Yao Chen, who accepted Xiao Yan as an unregistered disciple and gave him the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid Refinement Method.
• Zhang Yuan thanked Yao Chen on behalf of the Xiao Clan, recognizing the gift as a gesture of sincerity toward both Xiao Yan and the clan.
• Zhang Yuan left the secret chamber with the scroll after agreeing to keep Yao Chen’s existence secret.
• Xiao Yan inferred that Yao Chen had a formidable enemy and vowed to avenge him, prompting Yao Chen to offer him the evolvable Flame Mantra.

Zhang Yuan convinced the Xiao Clan elders that a Fourth-grade Alchemist had healed Xiao Yan and accepted him as a disciple, while arranging for the clan to supply ingredients for pills and medicinal liquid. He also asked Xiao Zhan to gather rare ingredients for a Three-pattern Green Spirit Pill, leaving Old Yao unknowingly committed to refining more for the clan.

• Yao Chen told Xiao Yan that the Flame Mantra could evolve, but refused to show it to him until he became a Dou Zhe and warned him to keep it secret.
• Zhang Yuan told Xiao Zhan and the three elders that a Fourth-grade Alchemist had restored Xiao Yan's ability to cultivate and taken him as a nominal disciple.
• Zhang Yuan explained that the alchemist would make Foundation Building Spirit Liquid for Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan in exchange for supplied ingredients, and Xiao Zhan agreed to provide them discreetly.
• Zhang Yuan gave the clan three Qi Gathering Powders to reward disciples who reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi, and Xiao Zhan agreed to credit Zhang Yuan with clan contribution points.
• Zhang Yuan asked Xiao Zhan to obtain ingredients for Three-pattern Green Spirit Pills, and the elders asked whether the alchemist could refine extra pills for them.
• Old Yao sneezed while explaining the Flame Mantra and Heavenly Flames to Xiao Yan, who wondered whether ghosts could sneeze.

Xiao Yan questioned Old Yao about the rare Heavenly Flames required for the Flame Mantra, while the Xiao Clan prepared to invest in his cultivation and Zhang Yuan’s advancement. Zhang Yuan reunited with Xun Er, accepted her Earth-tier cultivation method, and embraced the chance to grow stronger with her support.

• Xiao Yan asked Old Yao what would happen if he could not find a Heavenly Flame, and Old Yao assured him that he would not send him into battle unprepared.
• Xiao Zhan and the three elders agreed to use the Xiao Clan’s resources to buy ingredients for pills to strengthen Xiao Yan and Zhang Yuan.
• Zhang Yuan revealed that he had reached Peak Dou Master, astonishing Xiao Zhan and the elders, who promised to obtain pills to help him break through to Da Dou Shi.
• After the others left, Zhang Yuan met Xun Er, held her hand, and walked with her through the Xiao Clan.
• Zhang Yuan gave Xun Er a bracelet containing a Third-tier Magical Beast’s Magic Core, and Xun Er gave him the low-level Earth-tier Heavenly Thunder Art.
• Zhang Yuan accepted Xun Er’s gift, saying he would seize every chance to become strong enough to keep her, and Xun Er threw herself into his arms.

Zhang Yuan fled Xun Er’s pointed question about whether she or Xiao Yi Xian was prettier, while Xun Er privately remained determined to be with him despite the obstacles. Elsewhere, Nalan Yanran rejected her senior brother’s attempt to defend her and wondered whether she should go easy on Zhang Yuan in their future duel.

• Zhang Yuan promised Xun Er he would grow strong enough to overcome any barrier, but Ling Ying’s sudden presence interrupted his attempt to kiss her.
• Xun Er asked Zhang Yuan whether she or Xiao Yi Xian was prettier, and he evaded answering by claiming he needed to help Xiao Yan.
• Ling Ying questioned why Xun Er tolerated Zhang Yuan’s involvement with Xiao Yi Xian, and she explained she did not know whether they could be together in the future.
• Xun Er ordered Ling Ying to keep protecting Zhang Yuan, and Ling Ying admitted Zhang Yuan had likely noticed him.
• Nalan Yanran refused her senior brother’s offer to challenge Zhang Yuan and instead urged him to go back and do so, then learned he was only an Eight-Star Dou Zhe.
• Nalan Yanran wondered whether to go easy on Zhang Yuan in three years, while Zhang Yuan returned to the Training Room feeling guilty about his flirtation.

Zhang Yuan revealed his Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire to Yao Chen and asked him to help refine pills, but learned that the flame’s complexity made alchemy a poor fit for his lightning-attributed Dou Qi. Yao Chen agreed to refine a Two-pattern Green Spirit Pill once Xiao Zhan brought the ingredients, and the chapter ended as Xiao Zhan arrived.

• Zhang Yuan showed Yao Chen his Silver Flame, and Yao Chen identified it as a Flame Seed of the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, ranked twelfth among Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan asked whether Zhang Yuan could become an Alchemist, but Yao Chen warned that the flame’s fire, lightning, and Dragon Qi made pill refining difficult for someone with lightning-attributed Dou Qi.
• Zhang Yuan accepted that he might need Xiao Yan and Yao Chen to supply his pills, and Xiao Yan promised to help.
• Yao Chen agreed to refine a Two-pattern Green Spirit Pill with Zhang Yuan’s assistance and approved Zhang Yuan’s plan to present himself as Xiao Yan’s Fourth-grade Alchemist teacher.
• Yao Chen vanished, Zhang Yuan looked toward an approaching presence, and Xiao Zhan arrived.

Zhang Yuan returned to Wutan City and arranged for Xiao Yan to obtain ingredients and Fourth-tier Wind Elemental Cores for alchemy. At the Mittel Auction House, he asked Ya Fei to sell the cores before the auction and ended their bargaining exchange by invoking Mu Zhan, leaving her smile frozen.

• Xiao Zhan gave Zhang Yuan medicinal ingredients and jade boxes, and Zhang Yuan handed them to Xiao Yan to pass to the alchemist once the cores were found.
• Xiao Zhan told Zhang Yuan that the auction would feature two Fourth-tier Wind Elemental Cores, and Zhang Yuan proposed securing them before the bidding began.
• Zhang Yuan, Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan, and Xun Er arrived at the Mittel Auction House and met Ya Fei in a private room.
• Ya Fei teased Zhang Yuan about not visiting for two years, and he answered by joking that she had fallen for him and suffered from lovesickness.
• Zhang Yuan asked Ya Fei to sell the two wind-attributed cores before the auction, but she said they could not be sold in advance.
• Zhang Yuan asked whether Ya Fei wanted Mu Zhan to learn she was there, and her smile froze.

Zhang Yuan used his connection to Mu Zhan to pressure Ya Fei into arranging a discounted purchase of a Fourth-tier Wind Elemental Core. Ya Fei returned with Master Gu Ni, who offered to secure the second core in exchange for a favor from the Mittel Auction House.

• Zhang Yuan claimed he was close to Mu Zhan and threatened to tell him Ya Fei was in Wutan City, prompting Ya Fei to explain that she had fled there to avoid a political marriage.
• Zhang Yuan used Mu Zhan’s name to negotiate a twenty-percent discount on one core and make Ya Fei arrange a meeting about the second.
• Ya Fei agreed to buy the second core at the Mittel Family’s acquisition price, and Zhang Yuan accepted.
• Xun Er guessed that Zhang Yuan and Mu Zhan were not actually friends, and Zhang Yuan admitted that they disliked each other.
• Ya Fei returned with Master Gu Ni, who said he could secure the second core if the Mittel Auction House received a favor in return.

Zhang Yuan used a scroll of alchemist notes to persuade Master Gu Ni to help him obtain the Fourth-tier Wind Elemental Core. Master Gu Ni rushed off to secure it, leaving Ya Fei curious about the scroll and frustrated by Zhang Yuan’s attention to Xun Er.

• Zhang Yuan claimed his threat to Ya Fei had been a joke and said he had come to see Master Gu Ni.
• Zhang Yuan offered Master Gu Ni a scroll, and Gu Ni became engrossed in reading it.
• When Gu Ni tried to take the scroll back, Zhang Yuan used his movement technique to evade him.
• Gu Ni agreed to help obtain the Wind Elemental Core in exchange for the scroll and hurried away to secure it.
• Zhang Yuan revealed that the scroll contained a high-ranking Alchemist’s Third-grade Alchemist’s notes.
• Ya Fei tried to draw close to Zhang Yuan, but he pushed her back with Dou Qi and poured tea for Xun Er.

Zhang Yuan negotiated with Ya Fei and Master Gu Ni, offering the insights of a Third-grade Alchemist in exchange for the Mittel Auction House’s intelligence and medicinal ingredients for the Xiao Clan. Ya Fei decided to gamble on the Xiao Clan and planned to visit them the next day to discuss cooperation.

• Zhang Yuan asked Master Gu Ni to trade the alchemist insights for the Mittel Auction House sharing intelligence with the Xiao Clan and supplying it with medicinal ingredients.
• Ya Fei objected that the auction house had to remain neutral, but Zhang Yuan argued that cooperation could help her gain recognition and control over her future.
• Zhang Yuan claimed Xiao Yan had become the nominal disciple of a Fourth-grade Alchemist, whose own teacher had written the scroll; Xiao Yan explained that he could not reveal his master's name until he became a Second-grade Alchemist.
• Zhang Yuan gave the scroll to Master Gu Ni as a sign of sincerity and left with Xiao Yan, Xun Er, and Xiao Zhan.
• Master Gu Ni judged the insights credible and Ya Fei decided to visit the Xiao Clan the next day to discuss cooperation.
• Outside the auction house, Xun Er asked Xiao Yan whether revealing the existence of his teacher was really all right.

Zhang Yuan explained his plans for using Xiao Yan’s alchemist backing to secure cooperation with the Mittel Auction House, then defended Xun'er from Galen’s advances in Wutan City. The chapter ended with Zhang Yuan taking Xun'er’s hand while Xiao Yan felt like an unwanted third wheel.

• Zhang Yuan explained that the Xiao Clan would publicize Xiao Yan’s alchemist master and pursue cooperation with the Mittel Auction House.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er agreed to compete in cultivation realms for surprise gifts from Zhang Yuan.
• Xun'er questioned Zhang Yuan about Ya Fei and Xiao Yi Xian, and the group encountered Galen in the marketplace.
• Zhang Yuan struck down Galen and his Four-star Dou Master protector after Galen approached Xun'er with a necklace.
• Zhang Yuan took the necklace for Xiao Yan, then held Xun'er's hand and told her to use his name to discourage unwanted suitors.

Zhang Yuan protected Xun Er in the market, then bought Xiao Yan a black iron plate that contained the Suction Palm Dou Technique. Back at the Xiao Manor, Zhang Yuan learned the technique and asked Yao Chen to provide him with a higher-grade one.

• Zhang Yuan ordered the Xiao Clan patrol to return Galen and the defeated Dou Master to the Jia Lie Clan, then continued through the market with Xun Er and Xiao Yan.
• Yao Chen spotted a valuable iron plate at a stall, and Zhang Yuan bought the stall’s goods for Xiao Yan as a gift.
• At the Training Room, Yao Chen identified the iron plate’s sealed technique as the Mysterious Tier Low-Grade Suction Palm and explained its uses and limits.
• Xiao Yan agreed to copy the technique for the Xiao Clan, and Zhang Yuan read it from the iron plate.
• Zhang Yuan asked Yao Chen to provide him with a higher-grade Dou Technique to study.

Zhang Yuan persuaded Yao Chen to give him lightning techniques and then watched him refine a Green Spirit Pill. After swallowing the pill and cultivating, Zhang Yuan successfully broke through to the Da Dou Shi realm.

• Zhang Yuan declined a formal master-disciple relationship with Yao Chen but accepted the Thunder Gang Formula and Sky Thunder Finger, promising him a favor in return.
• Yao Chen refined a One-pattern Green Spirit Pill while Xun'er ordered Ling Ying to isolate the resulting energy fluctuations.
• Zhang Yuan took the pill to a neighboring Training Room and spent an hour visualizing the Thunder God Diagram before swallowing it.
• Zhang Yuan used the Two Dragon Thunder Gang Fire to refine the pill’s energy and compress his Dou Qi.
• A silver-purple Dou Crystal formed in Zhang Yuan’s dantian, confirming his breakthrough to Da Dou Shi.

After breaking through to Da Dou Shi, Zhang Yuan used his Exotic Fire Wings to fly to Black Rock Mountain, where Ling Ying summoned heavenly lightning for him. The Two Dragon Thunder Gang Fire devoured the lightning and finished preparing to evolve as dawn broke.

• Zhang Yuan broke through to Da Dou Shi and formed silver-purple Dou Qi Armor.
• Xiao Yan saw Zhang Yuan's wings and learned from Old Yao that they were Exotic Fire Wings, not Dou Qi Wings.
• Zhang Yuan flew to Black Rock Mountain and asked Ling Ying to summon heavenly lightning.
• Ling Ying drew lightning down over the mountain, and Zhang Yuan used the Two Dragon Thunder Gang Fire to absorb it and temper his body.
• At dawn, Zhang Yuan opened his eyes and declared that it was time for the Two Dragon Thunder Gang Fire to evolve.

After Zhang Yuan advanced to Da Dou Shi, his Three Dragon Thunder Gang Fire granted him powerful flight, and the Thunder God Visualization Diagram bestowed the Thunderfire Refining Method. He discovered rare Black Profound Iron Essence Gold and left Ling Ying speechless by asking whether Xun Er had given him as a gift.

• Zhang Yuan tested his evolved Three Dragon Thunder Gang Fire and found that his Exotic Fire Wings could make Ling Ying use half his speed to keep up.
• Zhang Yuan gained the Thunderfire Refining Method from the Thunder God Visualization Diagram and discovered that it sharpened his sense for refining materials.
• Zhang Yuan broke open a boulder and found Black Profound Iron Essence Gold, which Ling Ying identified as a rare material for Dou Artifacts.
• Zhang Yuan stored the iron and asked Ling Ying whether Xun Er had given him to Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan returned to Wutan City and found Jia Lie Bi confronting the Xiao Clan over Zhang Yuan’s attack on Galen. Zhang Yuan appeared before the Jia Lie family, and Ya Fei and Gu Ni suspected he had already broken through to Da Dou Shi.

• Zhang Yuan considered recruiting or helping powerful figures such as Ling Ying, Yun Shan, Medusa, and Jia Xingtian, then flew back toward Wutan City.
• Zhang Yuan slipped into Xiao Manor and discovered Jia Lie Bi had brought Jia Lie family elites to demand that Xiao Zhan hand him over or face a Clan War.
• Jia Lie Qing argued that Jia Lie Bi had come to seek an explanation after Zhang Yuan invited him to do so, while Xiao Yan insisted Zhang Yuan had acted in self-defense when Galen harassed a Xiao Clan woman.
• Jia Lie Bi demanded permission to search Xiao Manor for Zhang Yuan, and Xiao Zhan hesitated over how to respond.
• Zhang Yuan arrived and said he had gone out for breakfast, then asked Jia Lie Bi whether he wanted to discuss medical expenses.
• Ya Fei noticed Zhang Yuan seemed changed, and Gu Ni suggested he had broken through, leaving Ya Fei shocked that he might already be a Da Dou Shi at sixteen.