Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan and Yun Potian made a scene in the Imperial Capital, then changed their appearances to begin the next stage of Xiao Yan’s plan. After earning a system reward for using two identities, Xiao Yan decided they would reenter the city politely and present a contrasting impression.

• Yun Potian attacked Mu Chen but Fa Ma intervened, giving Mu Chen time to lead the army away.
• Jia Xingtian appeared, learned that Xiao Yan and Yun Potian claimed to come from the Central Plains for amusement, and swallowed his anger as they left.
• Xiao Yan and Yun Potian exited the city, changed their appearances with masks, and prepared to start the next stage of their plan.
• Jia Xingtian complained to Ya Ye about the outsiders, then told her the Imperial Family should watch the Misty Cloud Sect cautiously.
• Xiao Yan received two Low-level Summoning Talismans and 5,000 Summoning Points for earning the Two-Faced title, then decided to reenter the city properly and act like a sensible young master.

Nalan Yanran spoke with Liu Xiang about Old Marshal Nalan Jie's illness, while Ye Lun and his companions searched for Xiao Yan's clan near Wutan City. Protector Mo ambushed the three men and trapped them in black mist, intending to use their souls to advance.

• Liu Xiang reassured Nalan Yanran that Gu He was seeking treatments for Nalan Jie and promised to help gather high-level alchemists.
• Liu Xiang told Nalan Yanran about a young Dou Wang who had flown over the Imperial Capital, and she dismissed his arrogance as a sign of poor prospects.
• After Nalan Yanran returned inside, Liu Xiang grew jealous of Xiao Yan and left to ask Gu He about recruiting alchemists.
• Ye Lun, Chen Ping, and Zhang Xiong reached Wutan City, planning to capture Xiao Yan's clansmen to lure him out.
• Protector Mo ambushed the three men with an iron chain and sealed them inside black mist.
• Protector Mo revealed that he intended to harvest the three Dou Zongs' souls to advance to a Heaven-tier Protector.

Protector Mo defeated Chen Ping and killed Zhang Xiong in a self-destruction, allowing Ye Lun to escape while he kept their souls. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan and Yun Potian entered the Jia Ma Empire’s Imperial Capital in disguise, where Liu Xiang led them into the Alchemist Guild.

• Protector Mo pierced Chen Ping with a chain, extracted his soul, and attacked Ye Lun and Zhang Xiong.
• Zhang Xiong self-destructed to give Ye Lun a chance to flee, and Ye Lun escaped more than a hundred li away.
• Protector Mo survived with serious injuries, collected Chen Ping’s soul and Zhang Xiong’s soul remnant, and decided to absorb them.
• Xiao Yan and Yun Potian entered the Imperial Capital disguised as Song Yi and Song Zhan and headed for the Alchemist Guild.
• Xiao Yan befriended Liu Xiang, claimed to have come from the Central Plains to study alchemy, and followed him into the guild.

Xiao Yan entered the Alchemist Guild with Liu Xiang and Yun Potian, hoping to learn about alchemy while concealing his abilities. At a gathering of alchemists struggling with a flawed pill formula, Xiao Yan identified the problem at a glance but kept his insight to himself.

• Liu Xiang brought Xiao Yan and Yun Potian to the Guild's second floor, where alchemists of the first and second tiers gathered to exchange knowledge.
• Fu Hai and the other alchemists discussed repeated furnace explosions while refining an unfamiliar second-tier pill, and they ruled out the formula because Vice President Mitchell had provided it.
• Liu Xiang introduced Xiao Yan and Yun Potian as guests from the Central Plains, and Xiao Yan won the gathered alchemists' trust with modest words.
• After examining the formula, Liu Xiang failed to find a flaw and decided to test it by refining a batch.
• Xiao Yan quickly realized that certain herbs in the formula repelled one another, making the recipe flawed, but he did not reveal his discovery.

Xiao Yan, introduced as Song Yi, identified the flaw in Vice President Mitchell’s pill formula after Liu Xiang’s attempt ended in a cauldron explosion. Mitchell learned that Song Yi had found the problem, and Liu Xiang praised him while contrasting him with two other visitors from the Central Plains.

• Liu Xiang tried refining Mitchell’s unfamiliar second-grade pill formula, but his cauldron exploded during the final stage.
• Xiao Yan announced that the formula was wrong and explained that a trace of chill in one ingredient conflicted fatally with the others.
• Fu Hai and Liu Xiang confirmed Xiao Yan’s reasoning, and the Alchemists accepted that the formula contained an error.
• Fu Hai thanked Xiao Yan and offered him a meal, while Liu Xiang reminded him that he had already promised to show Song Yi around.
• Mitchell asked why the pill had not been refined, and Fu Hai told him that Song Yi had discovered the flaw.
• Xiao Yan introduced himself as a traveler from the Central Plains seeking to learn alchemy, and Liu Xiang praised him in comparison with two other visitors.

Xiao Yan impressed the Alchemists at the association, and Mitchell invited him to demonstrate his pill-refining skills. The chapter ended with a crowd gathering to watch Xiao Yan attempt the difficult fourth-tier Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill.

• Xiao Yan accepted Mitchell's invitation to tour the association with Liu Xiang and Yun Potian.
• Mitchell asked Xiao Yan to refine a pill so he could assess his skill.
• Xiao Yan requested two sets of ingredients for the Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill, surprising Mitchell, Liu Xiang, and the Alchemists.
• Several Alchemists criticized Xiao Yan for choosing such a difficult pill, while Xiao Yan remained calm and Liu Xiang silenced them.
• Liu Xiang returned with the ingredients as news of Xiao Yan's attempt spread, drawing a crowd that worried Liu Xiang.

Xiao Yan impressed the Alchemist Guild by refining a flawless Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill with a Heavenly Flame, then met Guild Leader Fa Ma. Fa Ma learned Xiao Yan came from the Central Plains and compared him to a visiting genius from a powerful clan.

• Xiao Yan revealed his Heavenly Flame and began refining the medicinal ingredients all at once, astonishing the alchemists watching him.
• Xiao Yan completed a nearly flawless Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill in about half an hour, and the skeptical alchemists praised his skill while his mockers left in disgrace.
• Mitchell offered to introduce Xiao Yan to Guild Leader Fa Ma, and Xiao Yan invited Liu Xiang to join them as they went upstairs.
• Fa Ma examined Xiao Yan's pill and learned that Xiao Yan had refined it with a Heavenly Flame.
• Fa Ma asked where Xiao Yan came from, and Xiao Yan said he had traveled from the Central Plains seeking instruction, leaving Fa Ma visibly disappointed.

Xiao Yan was accepted into the Alchemist Tournament, and his alchemy and Heavenly Flames quickly made him famous throughout the Imperial Capital. After learning of his talent and lack of faction ties, Jia Xingtian sent Ya Ye to invite him to the Jia Ma Imperial Family before rival groups could recruit him.

• Fa Ma agreed that Xiao Yan could enter the Alchemist Tournament if he met its requirements.
• Mitchell led Xiao Yan and the others away from the Alchemist Guild, and Liu Xiang arranged their lodging at an expensive inn.
• News of Xiao Yan's alchemy and Heavenly Flames spread through the Imperial Capital, reaching the Jia Ma Imperial Family.
• Ya Ye told Jia Xingtian that Xiao Yan was a talented, unaffiliated alchemist whose character had won others' approval.
• Jia Xingtian decided Xiao Yan could be a valuable ally and ordered Ya Ye to invite him to the imperial family before other factions could approach him.

Xiao Yan was stopped by Ya Ye, who tried to bring him to the imperial family, while news of his alchemy and Heavenly Flames drew the attention of Gu He and the Nalan Clan. The chapter ended with Xiao Yan telling Ya Ye that she could not stop him as Nalan Su and Nalan Yanran rushed to find him.

• Ya Ye stopped Xiao Yan outside the inn and invited him to visit the imperial family, but her soldiers blocked his path when he declined.
• Liu Xiang praised Song Yi's alchemy to Gu He and revealed that he had refined a peak fourth-tier Three-Pattern Green Spirit Pill and possessed Heavenly Flames.
• Gu He rushed into the air with Liu Xiang, eager to meet Song Yi and possibly make him his junior brother.
• Nalan Su learned that an alchemist with Heavenly Flames had arrived and ordered his household to locate him so he could cure the old master's poison.
• Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su hurried to Xiao Yan's residence, while Xiao Yan told Ya Ye that she could not stop him.

Xiao Yan refused to get involved in the imperial family's affairs, then defeated Gu He in a clash of soul power after Gu He tried to probe him. Gu He and Ya Ye both invited Xiao Yan to meet with their respective groups, but Xiao Yan left without accepting either invitation.

• Gu He arrived with Liu Xiang and tried to examine Xiao Yan with his soul power, but Xiao Yan blocked him and overwhelmed him in their clash.
• Xiao Yan withdrew his soul power, and Gu He apologized before inviting him to the Misty Cloud Sect to discuss alchemy.
• Ya Ye tried to bring Xiao Yan to the imperial family, while Gu He argued that his invitation was a personal one.
• Xiao Yan said he would welcome friendship but wanted no involvement in other matters, then left with Liu Xiang.
• Ya Ye returned to report what had happened, and Gu He went back to the Misty Cloud Sect reflecting on his defeat.

Xiao Yan agreed to visit the Nalan Clan and try to treat Nalan Jie after Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su asked for his help. As he flew there with Nalan Su, a system mission was triggered, and Xiao Yan resolved to pursue his ambitions in the Central Plains after handling matters in the Northwest Continent.

• Liu Xiang praised Xiao Yan for suppressing Pill King Gu He, then introduced him to the frantic Nalan Yanran.
• Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Yan to use his Heavenly Flame to treat her poisoned grandfather, but Xiao Yan initially refused because he lacked skill in healing and detoxification.
• Nalan Su asked Xiao Yan to help as a favor to the Nalan Clan, and Xiao Yan agreed to try treating Nalan Jie.
• Xiao Yan revealed his Dou Wang strength by flying with Dou Qi wings, then followed Nalan Su toward the Nalan Clan while Liu Xiang and Nalan Yanran hurried after them.
• Rumors about Xiao Yan's fight with Gu He and his Dou Wang cultivation spread across the Imperial Capital, and the system assigned him a mission to treat Nalan Jie's Branding Poison with two Low-level Summoning Talismans and 5,000 Summoning Points as the reward.
• Xiao Yan decided to settle matters in the Northwest Continent before going to the Central Plains to build his future.

Xiao Yan raised his alchemist rank to Tier 6 and began treating Nalan Jie’s Branding Poison with Heavenly Flames. Nalan Yanran arrived as Nalan Jie cried out in pain, leaving his family anxiously waiting outside while Xiao Yan continued the treatment.

• Nalan Su brought Xiao Yan to Nalan Jie and asked him to save the Nalan Clan, then sealed off the room for the treatment.
• Xiao Yan used the system to become a Tier 6 Alchemist and examined the poison that had spread into Nalan Jie’s bone marrow.
• Xiao Yan warned Nalan Jie that the treatment would be painful, and Nalan Jie told him to proceed without hesitation.
• Xiao Yan lifted Nalan Jie into the air and used Heavenly Flames to drive the Branding Poison together and burn it away.
• Nalan Yanran and Liu Xiang arrived and heard Nalan Jie’s agonized cries, while Nalan Su anxiously waited outside the room.

Xiao Yan cured Nalan Jie of the Branding Poison and accepted medicinal herbs from the Nalan Clan, including the Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva. Meanwhile, Jia Xingtian considered trying to win Xiao Yan over so he could safely pursue a breakthrough to Dou Zong.

• Xiao Yan used the Green Lotus Core Flame to remove the Branding Poison from Nalan Jie and stored the poison away.
• Nalan Jie and Nalan Su thanked Xiao Yan and offered him the Nalan Clan's medicinal herbs as a reward.
• Xiao Yan accepted the offer and took the Seven Illusion Green Spirit Saliva to help Elder Yao recover soul strength.
• Ya Ye told Jia Xingtian that Xiao Yan had gone to treat Nalan Jie and that the Misty Cloud Sect was also pursuing him.
• Jia Xingtian considered recruiting Xiao Yan to guard the imperial family while he entered seclusion to attempt a Dou Zong breakthrough.
• Xiao Yan selected herbs for three batches of Dou Ling Pills and told Nalan Su he wanted to try refining sixth-grade pills.

Xiao Yan learned that Nalan Yanran had broken off her childhood engagement with the Xiao Clan, then left Nalan Su without explaining his reaction. Meanwhile, the Mystic Underworld Sect destroyed a Soul Hall branch while seeking Protector Mo, and Old Hai arrived in the Imperial Capital to tell Xiao Yan something important.

• Nalan Su told Xiao Yan that Nalan Yanran had once been engaged to a childhood sweetheart but had broken off the engagement with his family.
• Xiao Yan left Nalan Su and flew away with Yun Potian after hearing about Yanran's broken engagement.
• Chen Xian, Ye Lun, Elder Bai, and Old Hei razed a Soul Hall branch and learned that Protector Mo had come to the region unexpectedly.
• Chen Xian ordered Elder Bai to erase the traces and told his companions to keep a close eye on Ye Lun.
• Old Hai visited Xiao Yan in the Imperial Capital, and Xiao Yan shut the door before asking Yun Potian to stand guard outside.

Xiao Yan learned that the Mystic Underworld Sect had blamed his group for destroying a Soul Hall branch, but he and Old Hai decided the Soul Hall and Mystic Underworld Sect would likely keep each other in check for now. He then joined President Fa Ma and Liu Xiang for the Alchemist Guild’s internal assessment, where his reputation as a Tier 6 Alchemist drew an excited crowd.

• Old Hai told Xiao Yan that the Soul Hall had discovered Protector Mo’s defection and planned to send a Honored Elder to capture him.
• Old Hai revealed that the Mystic Underworld Sect had blamed Xiao Yan’s group for destroying a Soul Hall branch, and Xiao Yan reasoned that the two factions would restrain each other for the time being.
• Yun Potian warned that someone was approaching, so Old Hai left while Xiao Yan went downstairs to meet President Fa Ma and Liu Xiang.
• Fa Ma invited Xiao Yan to the Alchemist Guild’s internal assessment, and Xiao Yan agreed after hearing about the Jia Ma Empire’s declining tournament results.
• Fa Ma told Xiao Yan he did not need to take the internal assessment because no one in the Jia Ma Empire could surpass him, and gathered alchemists greeted him excitedly as he arrived.

Xiao Yan attended the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Guild’s internal competition as Master Song Yi, received an invitation to become an honorary elder, and predicted Liu Xiang would win. The contestants began refining Black Iron Spirit Leaf, and Ya Yue emerged with a purity score of six, proudly challenging Xiao Yan with her gaze.

• Liu Xiang brought Xiao Yan into the venue, where Mitchell and the veteran alchemists welcomed him as Master Song Yi.
• Fa Ma introduced Ya Yue, the Jia Ma Empire’s little princess and a talented Tier 3 Alchemist, as she arrived and questioned why Xiao Yan stood on the platform.
• Fa Ma announced the Black Iron Spirit Leaf refinement test, and Liu Xiang and Ya Yue entered separate partitions to compete.
• Fa Ma invited Xiao Yan to become an honorary elder, and Xiao Yan accepted after the guild members promised their support.
• Xiao Yan predicted Liu Xiang would take first place as contestants finished the test.
• Ya Yue presented her refined ingredient and received a purity score of six, then looked toward Xiao Yan provocatively.

Xiao Yan impressed Liu Xiang during the internal test and deflected Ya Yue’s challenge before preparing to leave. Meanwhile, Soul Hall investigators examined a destroyed branch hall and began investigating Xiao Yan and the Mystic Underworld Sect, leaving their suspicions unresolved.

• Liu Xiang reported refining the ingredients six times, and Xiao Yan joked that Heavenly Flames would burn them away.
• Ya Yue challenged Xiao Yan to refine pills, but he calmly asked why she wanted him to perform, leaving her embarrassed and sending her away.
• Fa Ma warned Xiao Yan that his growing reputation might attract attention and said he could skip the first two rounds and enter the final.
• The leading Black-Robed Man and the three Protectors investigated the ruined Soul Hall branch hall and learned that Xiao Yan had been blamed for its destruction.
• The investigators suspected a connection between Xiao Yan and the Mystic Underworld Sect but lacked proof, so Heng Protector agreed to investigate and oversee the branch hall’s rebuilding.

The Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Tournament began, with Xiao Yan attending incognito as Master Song Yi and preparing to demonstrate Tier 6 pill refinement. The first round started as a thousand young alchemists attempted to refine Bone-Growing Pills.

• Xiao Yan left Yun Potian to seek Protector Mo and traveled to the tournament with Gu He and Liu Xiang.
• Xiao Zhan, Xiao Ding, and Xiao Li watched from the Xiao Clan's platform and discussed Xiao Yan's absence and the clan's rise.
• Xiao Yan, Gu He, Old Hai, Jia Xingtian, Fa Ma, and other prominent figures gathered on the main platform, where Xiao Yan and Old Hai pretended not to know each other.
• Fa Ma opened the tournament, and the contestants received written instructions for refining a Tier 2 Bone-Growing Pill.
• Liu Xiang, Ya Yue, and the other contestants began refining, while Xiao Yan searched the crowd for an unusual person.

Xiao Yan recognized the gray-robed youth as Yan Li, the Chuyun Empire Alchemist Guild’s vice president, competing in disguise. After the first round’s pill inspection revealed the finalists, Yan Li’s pill produced a brighter green light than Liu Xiang’s, and the guild learned he was from the Chuyun Empire.

• Liu Xiang and Ya Yue refined their Bone-Growing Pills, while many contestants ran out of time and were eliminated.
• Fa Ma ended the first round and used a testing device to verify whether contestants’ pills met the standard.
• Liu Xiang and Ya Yue tested their pills and both received green lights, with Liu Xiang’s light appearing deeper.
• Yan Li placed his pill in the testing device, producing a dazzling green light that surpassed Liu Xiang’s and stunned the audience.
• Fa Ma ordered the guild elders to identify the gray-robed youth, and they reported that he was an alchemist from the Chuyun Empire.

Fa Ma and the other leaders suspected that Yan Li was hiding his true age and alchemist rank, but they lacked evidence to act against him. The second round began with the contestants refining a Wind Walking Pill, while Nalan Yanran thanked Xiao Yan for saving her grandfather.

• Fa Ma questioned Yan Li's recorded rank, and the elders discussed whether he could be using pills to disguise himself.
• Nalan Jie arrived with Nalan Yanran, thanked Master Song Yi for saving him, and learned that Old Hai was nearing the Dou Zong realm.
• Fa Ma began the second round, assigning the contestants to refine the third-tier Wind Walking Pill within the time limit.
• Liu Xiang, Ya Yue, Yan Li, and the other Alchemists started refining, though Liu Xiang and Ya Yue wondered why the test seemed so easy.
• Nalan Yanran thanked Xiao Yan for saving her grandfather, and Xiao Yan said he had simply exchanged treatment for medicinal ingredients.