Chapter Summaries

Xiao Tianci killed Mu She and burned down the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, freeing Qingshan Town from its tyranny. He and Xiao Yi Xian left on the Blue Eagle, then met Ka Gang and his group on the road and told them the town was safe.

• Xiao Tianci used the Sword Control Technique to seize Mu She’s sword and pierce his throat.
• Xiao Tianci offered the treasury’s contents to Xiao Yi Xian, then set fire to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group’s headquarters as its surviving mercenaries fled.
• Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian departed on the Blue Eagle, while news of the group’s destruction spread through Qingshan Town and its residents celebrated.
• Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian met Ka Gang and his group on the road, and Xiao Tianci told them he had destroyed the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
• Ka Gang thanked Xiao Tianci and hurried back toward Green Mountain Town with his companions, while Ling’er watched Xiao Tianci leave.

Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian settled in a hidden valley in the Magical Beast Mountain Range so he could study the Seven-Colored Poison Manual and she could gather herbs. A mission reward called the Body Refining Stone fused with Xiao Tianci’s Dou Crystal, raising him to Nine-Star Dou Ling and strengthening his body as he prepared for the threat of Soul Hall.

• Xiao Yi Xian led Xiao Tianci and their beasts to a secluded, herb-filled valley where Green Ox began grazing.
• Xiao Tianci completed the “Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles” mission and received the Body Refining Stone, which fused with his Dou Crystal and raised his strength to Nine-Star Dou Ling while enhancing his physical power.
• Xiao Tianci agreed to stay in the valley with Xiao Yi Xian so he could study the Seven-Colored Poison Manual and improve his strength.
• Xiao Yi Xian showed Xiao Tianci the grass hut and gave him the Seven-Colored Poison Manual before going to gather herbs.
• Xiao Tianci cleaned the hut, began reading the manual, and gained experience points while remaining wary of Soul Hall.

Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian continued studying and living together in the valley, and Xiao Yi Xian asked him to help defeat a fourth-tier magical beast guarding an herb. She invited him to travel the Dou Qi Continent with her after he finished reading the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, but he declined, and they planned to remain together in the valley for another month.

• Xiao Tianci struggled to break through from the peak of the Dou Ling realm while helping Xiao Yi Xian study the Seven-Colored Poison Manual.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked Xiao Tianci to help defeat a nearby fourth-tier, metal-attributed magical beast guarding an herb she needed, and he agreed to go the next day.
• Xiao Yi Xian asked whether Xiao Tianci would leave after finishing the manual, and he said he planned to stay another month to pursue a breakthrough to Dou Emperor.
• Xiao Yi Xian said she would travel around the Dou Qi Continent after he left and invited him to join her.
• Xiao Tianci declined because he expected dangerous conflicts with the Soul Hall and did not want Xiao Yi Xian to be put at risk.

Xiao Tianci reassured Xiao Yi Xian that he would remain her friend even if she became a hated poison master, then agreed to help her hunt a Golden Shield Alligator Turtle. They found the beast in the northern woodland, where it awoke as they approached.

• Xiao Tianci advised Xiao Yi Xian to hide her identity as a poison master and offered to help her if she ever needed him.
• Xiao Yi Xian served Xiao Tianci mushroom soup, and he praised her cooking before declining her invitation to travel together for now.
• The next morning, Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian flew north to find the fourth-tier magical beast she had mentioned.
• Xiao Yi Xian explained that she had used medicine to conceal her aura while traveling through the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian approached the Golden Shield Alligator Turtle, which opened its eyes and released a fearsome pressure.

Xiao Tianci tested his newly strengthened body against an adult Golden Shield Alligator Turtle and crushed its formidable defense with a single punch. After the beast recovered and raised a golden shield, he attacked again, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Xiao Tianci identified the adult Golden Shield Alligator Turtle and told Xiao Yi Xian to stand back as it charged them.
• Xiao Tianci dodged the turtle’s attack and, without using Dou Qi, punched its head deep into the ground.
• Xiao Yi Xian watched in disbelief as Xiao Tianci assessed his physical strength and healed his numb, reddened fist with the Green Emperor Longevity Art.
• Xiao Tianci decided to finish the recovering turtle, activated his Dou Qi, and appeared atop its shell.
• The turtle raised a golden shield over its shell, and Xiao Tianci’s next punch struck it with a heaven-shaking roar.

Xiao Tianci killed the Golden Shield Alligator Turtle and used its core and other ingredients to refine an Iron Stone Pill. After swallowing it, he absorbed the Body Refining Stone’s black energy and began cultivating, sensing an opportunity to break through to Dou Wang.

• Xiao Tianci shattered the Golden Shield Alligator Turtle’s shell with one punch, killed the beast, and took its magical core.
• Xiao Yi Xian gathered Streamlight Fruit while Xiao Tianci collected the remaining medicinal ingredients.
• Xiao Tianci refined an Iron Stone Pill as Xiao Yi Xian watched and told him she had once dreamed of becoming an alchemist.
• Xiao Tianci swallowed the Iron Stone Pill, triggering the Body Refining Stone’s black energy to transform his physique and purify incoming heaven-and-earth energy.
• Xiao Tianci began absorbing the purified Dou Qi into his Dou Crystal as he sensed a chance to break through to Dou Wang.

Xiao Tianci broke through to the Dou Wang realm, gaining powerful, heavy Dou Qi and the ability to form Dou Qi Wings. He then found Xiao Yi Xian unconscious amid poisonous smoke and suspected that her Woe Poison Body had awakened.

• Xiao Tianci’s Dou Crystal vanished as his meridians transformed, and his aura reached the Dou Wang realm.
• Xiao Tianci discovered that the Body Refining Stone had imbued his Dou Qi with a crushing weight, which he demonstrated by smashing a crater into the ground.
• Xiao Tianci manifested Dou Qi Wings through his own power and declared that he was ready to face the Soul Hall.
• Xiao Tianci found Xiao Yi Xian unconscious in a smoke-filled hut, with traces of poisonous powder on her lips.
• Xiao Tianci recognized the powder from the Seven-Colored Poison Manual and suspected that Xiao Yi Xian’s Woe Poison Body had awakened.

Xiao Tianci learned that Xiao Yi Xian’s Woe Poison Body would grow stronger through poison but would ultimately bring her deadly suffering, and he comforted her after she woke from consuming poison. As Xiao Tianci prepared to leave the valley after reaching Dou Wang and nearly finishing the Seven-Colored Poison Manual, he told Xiao Yi Xian he might leave the next day, and she stiffened.

• Xiao Tianci realized Xiao Yi Xian had a Woe Poison Body and understood that consuming poison would strengthen her while bringing her closer to a fatal crisis.
• Xiao Yi Xian woke, broke down in Xiao Tianci’s arms, and asked whether he feared her.
• Xiao Tianci reassured Xiao Yi Xian that he would help her someday, and she happily went to cook for him.
• Xiao Tianci broke through to Dou Wang and neared the end of the Seven-Colored Poison Manual as his bond with Xiao Yi Xian grew closer.
• Xiao Tianci returned to the hut, noticed Xiao Yi Xian had taken poison again, and said he might leave the next day, making her stiffen.

Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian prepared to leave the valley, exchanging gifts and promises as they faced an uncertain parting. Xiao Tianci tried to depart quietly the next morning, but Xiao Yi Xian caught him before he could leave.

• Xiao Yi Xian said she planned to visit the Chu Yun Empire and then travel across the continent, while Xiao Tianci planned to seek an alchemist certificate.
• Xiao Tianci promised Xiao Yi Xian that he would return to Green Mountain Town if she was ever hunted, and Xiao Yi Xian gave him her Soul-Falling Powder.
• Xiao Tianci gave Xiao Yi Xian several pills, and they sat together beneath the moon until she fell asleep beside him.
• Xiao Tianci carried Xiao Yi Xian into the grass hut, then tried to leave quietly the next morning without waking her.
• Xiao Yi Xian woke and confronted Xiao Tianci as he was about to leave, while the Blue Eagle circled above the valley.

Xiao Tianci parted from Xiao Yi Xian and set out for Black Rock City, where he planned to complete a system mission and obtain a ten-pull draw. After reuniting with the strangely capable Green Ox, he discovered it could reach the city far faster than expected.

• Xiao Tianci gave Xiao Yi Xian a Storage Ring, and they rode the Blue Eagle out of the valley together.
• Xiao Tianci and Xiao Yi Xian parted on a mountain, with Xiao Tianci promising to help resolve the danger of her Woe Poison Body when they met again.
• Xiao Tianci headed toward Black Rock City to complete his system mission and obtain a ten-pull draw.
• Xiao Tianci found the Green Ox waiting outside an inn, despite having left it behind in the valley.
• Xiao Tianci showed the Green Ox a map to Black Rock City, then was astonished when the city appeared in sight shortly after they set off.

Xiao Tianci entered Black Rock City and settled into an inn, planning to visit the Alchemist Guild the next day. Meanwhile, Soul Hall members tracked his fading trail to the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where a Peak Dou Emperor used black mist to point them toward Qingshan Town.

• Xiao Tianci reached Black Rock City on the green ox and heard that its black rock walls had withstood attacks from two Dou Wang experts.
• Xiao Tianci paid the entrance tax, entered the bustling city, and decided to find an inn before visiting the Alchemist Guild the next day.
• Xiao Tianci checked into a luxurious inn and planned to visit an auction house after going to the Alchemist Guild.
• Soul Hall members found the former lair of the Amethyst Winged Lion King but discovered that Xiao Tianci's trail had mostly faded.
• The Peak Dou Emperor spread black mist across the Magical Beast Mountain Range to search for a trace, then pointed toward Qingshan Town.
• The Soul Hall members set off toward Qingshan Town after the leader's search exhausted him.

Xiao Tianci went to the Black Rock City Alchemist Guild to find out his alchemist rank and earn ten lottery draws. After guards stopped him for lacking a mentor’s letter of introduction, he encountered a young woman and her fourth-grade alchemist mentor.

• Xiao Tianci left the inn and headed to the Alchemist Guild, while the innkeeper had shown him extra respect after learning where he was going.
• Xiao Tianci reached the grand, cauldron-shaped Alchemist Guild and entered its grounds.
• Two guards stopped Xiao Tianci and told him he needed a letter of introduction from his mentor to enter.
• A young woman hurried past Xiao Tianci and called for her teacher to hurry up.
• Xiao Tianci saw the young woman’s elderly mentor approaching and recognized the four silver ripples on his badge as marking him a fourth-grade alchemist.

Xiao Tianci entered the Alchemist Guild after Lin Fei helped him past the guards, and he revealed that he intended to take the alchemist examination. Lin Fei was on her way to take the first-tier examination herself, while her mentor showed indulgent concern about her success.

• Lin Fei noticed Xiao Tianci outside the Alchemist Guild and offered to bring him in with her.
• The guards let Xiao Tianci pass after Lin Fei intervened, and she said she was taking the first-tier alchemist examination.
• Lin Fei's mentor arrived and teased her about not disgracing him during the examination.
• Xiao Tianci followed Lin Fei into the Guild, introduced himself, and said he planned to take the alchemist examination.

Xiao Tianci accompanied Lin Fei to the Alchemist Guild to take an assessment and learned how the guild’s exam was arranged. The chapter ended as Lin Fei led him toward the alchemy platforms, where six young people were waiting.

• Lin Fei told Xiao Tianci she was taking the First-Tier Alchemist assessment and offered to let him observe her.
• Master Otto asked Xiao Tianci who his teacher was, and Xiao Tianci said he had learned alchemy on his own.
• Lin Fei persuaded Yate to give Xiao Tianci an examination armband despite his lack of a registration form.
• Xiao Tianci entered the guild hall and noticed that it included another Fourth-Tier Alchemist, Frank, the guild president.
• Master Otto greeted the guild members, and Lin Fei led Xiao Tianci toward the alchemy platforms where six young people waited.

Frank and Otto discussed Xue Mei’s impending alchemist examination and Xiao Tianci’s chances of passing, while Xiao Tianci drew hostility from young men who assumed Lin Fei had brought him in through favoritism. Xue Mei finally arrived, and Xiao Tianci was struck by her striking silver hair and cool, graceful appearance.

• Frank noticed Xiao Tianci’s examination badge, and Otto explained that Lin Fei had brought him along to experience the examination despite his unlikely chances of passing.
• Otto worried that Xue Mei had not appeared with only ten minutes left before the examination, while Frank insisted she would arrive soon.
• Frank and Otto teased each other about their students’ past furnace accidents as Xiao Tianci learned that the other candidates had studied under alchemists.
• Several young men grew hostile toward Xiao Tianci after seeing Lin Fei’s warmth toward him and assuming he had entered the examination through her influence.
• Xue Mei arrived late, greeted Frank, and bowed to Otto; Xiao Tianci admired her striking silver hair and composed beauty.

Xiao Tianci joined Lin Fei and Xue Mei for the first-tier alchemist assessment, where they competed and traded barbs before receiving their assigned pill formulas. He recognized that his Speed-Boosting Pill formula was harder than the others’ and prepared to refine it with confidence.

• Xue Mei took her place beside Xiao Tianci, and she and Lin Fei exchanged hostile remarks over him.
• Frank told Lin Fei and Xue Mei to focus on the assessment and urged Xiao Tianci to treat it as a learning experience if he failed.
• Frank distributed pill formulas, and Xiao Tianci received the formula for a Speed-Boosting Pill while others received different assignments.
• Xiao Tianci noticed that his assigned pill seemed harder than the pills Lin Fei, Xue Mei, and other candidates were refining.
• Xiao Tianci identified the ingredients and three available sets for his pill, then prepared to refine it confidently with Soul Fire.

Xiao Tianci delayed starting the Alchemist Guild assessment while considering how his Samadhi True Fire might affect the other examinees. When he finally revealed a pale yellow flame, it disrupted their fires, and Frank and Otto realized it might be a Heavenly Flame.

• Frank began the assessment by striking the ancient iron bell, and the examinees lit their cauldrons behind protective screens.
• Xiao Tianci remained idle as Otto mocked him and Frank considered blacklisting him if he failed to act.
• Xiao Tianci decided to use his flame despite worrying it would interfere with the other examinees.
• Xiao Tianci snapped his fingers and revealed a pale yellow flame, causing the other cauldron flames to surge and dim and ruining several examinees' ingredients.
• Frank and Otto recognized the flame's power and shouted that Xiao Tianci might be a fourth-rank alchemist with a Heavenly Flame, shocking the hall.

Xiao Tianci revealed a terrifying, mysterious flame during the first-tier alchemist examination, startling the examiners and fellow candidates. He then refined a Speed-Boosting Pill with effortless precision, leaving Lin Fei and Xue Mei impressed by his skill.

• Otto and Frank recognized that Xiao Tianci's flame was extraordinary, reconsidered their judgment of him, and watched to see whether he could control it precisely enough for alchemy.
• Xiao Tianci calmly put medicinal ingredients into the Samadhi True Fire and extracted their essences without using a cauldron.
• Xiao Tianci steadily formed the Speed-Boosting Pill as Lin Fei watched and regretted underestimating him.
• Xue Mei became distracted watching Xiao Tianci, burned her ingredients to ash, and realized his flame control surpassed her own.

Xiao Tianci completed his pill refinement with an unusual final technique that astonished the alchemists Frank and Otto. After the examination ended, Frank and Otto approached him and remarked that he had hidden his abilities from them.

• Xiao Tianci finished refining a smooth, round pill and used flames outside the cauldron to prevent cracks and improve its medicinal properties.
• Frank and Otto watched Xiao Tianci’s process, gained insight from it, and marveled at his final technique.
• Xue Mei and Lin Fei finished their pills, and the remaining examinees completed theirs before the examination time ran out.
• Frank announced the examination’s end, then approached Xiao Tianci with Otto and said that he had fooled them by concealing his skill.

Xiao Tianci passed the first-rank alchemist assessment with a Speed-Boosting Pill displaying both a Pill Pattern and an external manifestation, earning ten thousand Experience Points. He then asked to take the second-rank assessment, leaving Frank and Otto stunned.

• Frank and Otto approved Lin Fei and Xue Mei's pills, then passed two of the other six candidates and eliminated the remaining four.
• Frank examined Xiao Tianci's Speed-Boosting Pill and found it had a Pill Pattern and an external manifestation, astonishing everyone in the hall.
• Frank announced that Xiao Tianci had passed the first-rank alchemist assessment, and the system awarded him ten thousand Experience Points.
• Xiao Tianci asked whether he could continue with the second-rank alchemist assessment, and Frank and Otto froze in surprise.