Chapter Summaries

Qin Yao hid his overwhelming reserves and feigned exhaustion to conceal his true strength while fighting Li Xiaoli. When Li Xiaoli finally attacked, Qin Yao unveiled a move from the Cloud-Soaring Spear Art and knocked him off the arena, leaving the venue stunned.

• Li Xiaoli defended with Phantom Edge Soaring Current Spear and waited for Qin Yao to run out of inner strength, while Qin Yao pretended to grow impatient and exhausted.
• Qin Yao and Li Xiaoli fought another twenty exchanges as instructors, students, Qi Huansu, and Han Yongshi expected Qin Yao to lose from exhaustion.
• Li Xiaoli saw Qin Yao's halberd attack falter and shifted from defense to a spear thrust aimed at Qin Yao's chest.
• Qin Yao unleashed the strength stored in his nine hidden apertures and used Spear Draws Thundercloud, Light Fills the Ground from the Cloud-Soaring Spear Art.
• Qin Yao struck Li Xiaoli in the chest and sent him flying off the arena, silencing the venue.

Qin Yao defeated Li Xiaoli by switching seamlessly from the Thunder Dragon Halberd to the Cloud-Soaring Spear Art, using his hidden apertures to conceal the change. The instructors praised his skill and tactics, while Qin Yao kept the secret behind his technique to himself.

• Qin Yao lured Li Xiaoli into attacking after nearly a hundred exchanges, then struck him off the arena with the Cloud-Soaring Spear Art’s killing move.
• Li Xiaoli struggled to understand how Qin Yao had changed techniques without a pause, while the crowd and instructors reacted in shock.
• The instructors identified Qin Yao’s spear technique and praised his planning, adaptability, and combat skill.
• Qin Yao claimed that perfecting both techniques might explain his seamless transition, hiding the role of his nine hidden apertures.
• Zhang Xiaoqi and the other freshmen celebrated Qin Yao’s victory, while Li Xiaoli stood defeated.

Qin Yao defeated Li Xiaoli in the final spear match and earned 150 academic credits, bringing his first-day total to 300. As the crowd celebrated his rewards, the dean stood and applauded him, drawing everyone’s attention.

• Li Xiaoli returned to the stands after losing to Qin Yao and struggled to accept his first defeat.
• Qin Yao pretended to be exhausted until Qi Huansu announced his victory and awarded him 150 academic credits.
• The students calculated that Qin Yao had earned 300 merit points, equivalent in outside purchasing power to three million taels of silver.
• Zhang Xiaoqi and other freshmen praised Qin Yao, while Liu Qingqing and Murong Qingquan watched him with admiration and interest.
• The dean stood and applauded Qin Yao, surprising the older students.

After winning five consecutive matches, Qin Yao accepted Han Yongshi’s praise while hiding how little of his true strength he had shown. Huo Qiwang arrived from the Alchemy Pavilion to test the new students for medicine-refining talent.

• Qin Yao acted exhausted after his fifth victory, and Han Yongshi praised his humility and encouraged him to enter the inner academy.
• Qin Yao returned to the challengers’ group, where Liu Qingqing, Zhou Yuanqing, Su Muzhi, and Ci Wu congratulated and checked on him.
• Qin Yao sat down to rest and considered how to spend the three hundred academy credits he had earned.
• Huo Qiwang entered the martial arts arena with two upper-year students, and the older students recognized him as one of the Alchemy Pavilion’s Four Great Deacons.
• Han Yongshi told Huo Qiwang that the special admissions assessment had ended, and Huo Qiwang prepared to test the new students for promising medicine-refining talent.

Huo Qiwang introduced the Alchemy Pavilion’s selection for new medicine-refining apprentices and explained the steep requirements for becoming a profound alchemist. Qin Yao decided to pursue medicine refining as an elective, while Huo prepared to assess the students’ talent.

• Returning students described Huo Qiwang as a ninth-layer medicine refiner and praised the Alchemy Pavilion’s prospects and resources.
• Qin Yao considered medicine refining a useful sideline and decided to take it as an elective while planning to improve his martial cultivation.
• Han Yongshi announced that Huo Qiwang was offering new students the chance to become medicine-refining apprentices, including students from the Foreign Repelling Camp’s special admissions assessment.
• Huo Qiwang explained that becoming a profound alchemist required reaching the Qi Activation Realm, dampening many students’ hopes.
• Huo Qiwang said he hoped to find promising medicine-refining apprentices, as returning students looked forward to hearing the new students’ dreams shatter.

Huo Qiwang tested the new students’ memory and concentration with a bizarre page of obscure, jumbled text and loud gong strikes. Qin Yao stayed calm and planned to hide his ability, while Zhang Xiaoqi worried that Qin Yuwei was missing the selection; the test continued as Huo Qiwang judged the students’ reactions.

• Huo Qiwang explained that alchemy required talent and announced a ten-breath memorization test for the new students.
• Qin Yao decided he could pass using his perfected Literacy but resolved not to stand out because he was still carrying a murder charge.
• Zhang Xiaoqi fretted that Qin Yuwei had not returned in time for the selection and thought her friend could have handled the obscure characters.
• The students turned over their sheets and found a jumble of unrelated phrases and unfamiliar characters, leaving many of them panicked or giving up.
• Huo Qiwang praised the tall, skinny boy and Liu Qingqing for their focus, then had his students strike gongs to distract everyone.
• The gong strikes rattled the students and shattered the skinny boy’s composure, prompting Huo Qiwang to criticize his concentration.

Huo Qiwang tested freshmen seeking entry to the Alchemy Pavilion by making them memorize rare characters under pressure, while Qin Yao secretly used his perfect literacy skill to memorize the text and pretended to struggle. After time ran out, Huo warned that failed volunteers would lose academic credits, and one timid student stepped forward to try reciting.

• Huo Qiwang explained that alchemy required vast knowledge and warned the freshmen that mistakes could turn medicine into poison.
• Qin Yao instantly memorized all the characters with his Perfect Realm Literacy skill, then concealed his ability by acting exhausted and struggling.
• Zhao Wuji panicked over the difficult text and tore out his hair as he tried to memorize it.
• Huo Qiwang ended the ten-breath test and ordered the freshmen to turn over and tear up their sheets.
• Huo Qiwang invited confident students to recite the text, warning that failed attempts would cost five to twenty academic credits.
• After the freshmen hesitated, one timid student said they wanted to try.

Liu Qingqing and Murong Qingquan passed Huo Qiwang’s Alchemy Pavilion recitation assessment, while another freshman failed and lost twelve credit points. After Huo Qiwang challenged the silent freshmen to prove him wrong, Qin Yao agreed to try.

• Liu Qingqing recited the difficult passage with an error rate under ten percent and earned a place as an Alchemy Pavilion apprentice.
• A short, pudgy male student failed to recite half the passage and lost twelve credit points.
• Murong Qingquan recited the passage with an error rate between ten and twenty percent and passed the assessment.
• Huo Qiwang criticized the freshmen for their poor results and challenged Qin Yao to step forward.
• Qin Yao accepted Huo Qiwang’s challenge and said he would give the assessment a try.

Qin Yao attempted the Alchemy Pavilion’s selection despite being exhausted from winning five consecutive arena matches. He recited the entire test passage flawlessly, leaving the examiners amazed and his result confirmed as perfect.

• Huo Qiwang learned that Qin Yao was the Foreign Repelling Spearhead at the ninth level of the Blood Aperture Realm and agreed to test him.
• Huo Qiwang sent Zhou Yuanqing, Zhao Wuji, and the other trainees away while Qin Yao began reciting the passage.
• Qin Yao recited every word correctly, including the obscure characters, as Huo Qiwang, Han Yongshi, Qi Huansu, and Zhu Zhongshi listened in astonishment.
• Han Yongshi, Qi Huansu, and Zhu Zhongshi confirmed that Qin Yao made no mistakes.
• Huo Qiwang looked at Qin Yao as though he were a rare piece of uncut jade.

Qin Yao passed Huo Qiwang’s alchemist selection by flawlessly reciting the obscure text, earning admission to the Alchemy Pavilion alongside his place in the Martial Hall. Zhao Wuji collapsed after seeing Qin Yao succeed, while Huo Qiwang announced the three apprentices who qualified.

• Qin Yao told Huo Qiwang that he had studied literature from childhood and hinted that he had once been framed.
• Huo Qiwang accepted Qin Yao into the Alchemy Pavilion and said his new standing would help him confront whoever had slandered him.
• Zhao Wuji, overwhelmed by Qin Yao’s success and his own failure to enter the academy, vomited blood and fainted.
• Qin Yao denied that Zhao Wuji was the person who had framed him, and Huo Qiwang called for the school doctor to treat Zhao Wuji.
• Huo Qiwang announced that Liu Qingqing, Murong Qingquan, and Qin Yao had qualified as apprentice alchemists.

After Qin Yao’s remarkable victories and flawless alchemist selection, students compared themselves unfavorably with him while he learned that Qin Yuwei had left the academy. The chapter ended with Qin Yao accepting an apology from Su Muzhi as his companions congratulated him and joked about their own fortunes.

• Qin Yao overheard Zhang Xiaoqi say that Qin Yuwei had left and missed the Alchemist Selection, and he suspected she had fled after seeing his performance.
• Zhang Xiaoqi asked Qi Huansu whether Qin Yuwei could take a make-up test, but Qi Huansu refused to make an exception.
• Liu Qingqing celebrated becoming an alchemist apprentice alongside Murong Qingquan and vowed to work hard.
• Su Muzhi apologized to Qin Yao for having underestimated him, and Qin Yao accepted his apology.
• Lu Ciwu stopped Zhou Yuanqing from asking Qin Yao to reveal how he trained his Bone-Shrinking Art.
• Zhou Yuanqing joked that he felt better knowing Zhao Wuji had also failed to enter Imperial Capital Academy, and the group laughed.

After passing the Imperial Capital Academy’s entrance assessment and the alchemist selection, Qin Yao learned that he would receive a commendation ceremony, though the dean ordered him to rest before pursuing further training. Qin Yuwei returned to the dormitory, discovered Qin Yao’s success, and resolved to rely on a powerful noble to deal with him.

• Zhou Yuanqing told his new friends he planned to stay in the Imperial Capital and find work with his family’s support, and they agreed to visit him.
• Han Yongshi told Qin Yao he was the Foreign Repelling Spearhead and would be honored at a ceremony the next day, where the Fourth Prince would represent the royal family.
• Qin Yao asked to borrow cultivation methods and martial skills, but Han Yongshi said he needed his student identification card and ordered him to rest.
• Qin Yuwei returned to the dormitory and learned from Zhang Xiaoqi and her roommates that she had missed the alchemist selection and that Qin Yao had passed flawlessly.
• Qin Yuwei resented Qin Yao’s sudden success and thought that a powerful noble would make him understand the dangers of opposing her.

After winning five consecutive matches, Qin Yao planned to search Imperial Capital Academy for the rare materials needed to cleanse his tendons and marrow, then grow stronger before seeking the Cultivation World. He left the academy in the evening to reassure his family and told Old Master Qin and Qin Lan that he had passed the entrance exam, giving them hope that their family had finally found firm footing.

• Qin Yao planned to check the Alchemy Pavilion for rare materials and then seek a cultivation manual if he found none.
• Qin Yao decided to keep acting exhausted until the commendation ceremony and to remain politely distant from the Fourth Prince.
• Qin Yao left the academy in the evening and went to the Welcome Inn to see his grandfather and sister.
• Qin Yao told Old Master Qin and Qin Lan that he had passed Imperial Capital Academy's entrance exam, and they celebrated the news.

Qin Yao told Qin Dashan and Qin Lan that he had entered Imperial Capital Academy and passed the Alchemy Pavilion’s assessment, becoming an alchemist apprentice. The family celebrated their double joy with a feast, while Qin Yao reassured his grandfather that he had plenty of school credits.

• Qin Yao revealed that he had passed the Alchemy Pavilion’s assessment and become an alchemist apprentice, astonishing Qin Dashan and Qin Lan.
• Qin Dashan explained the work and ranks of alchemists, while Qin Lan insisted that Qin Yao would someday become a Profound Pill Master.
• Qin Yao invited Qin Dashan and Qin Lan to celebrate with a feast, and Qin Lan ordered eighteen dishes.
• Qin Dashan offered Qin Yao money for school, but Qin Yao said he had earned plenty of credits by winning five matches in a row.
• Qin Yao and Qin Lan proudly joked about being Qin Dashan’s grandson and sister, and the family laughed together.

After dinner with Qin Dashan and Qin Lan, Qin Yao learned that Qin Yuwei might have entered Imperial Capital Academy and promised to act carefully. On his way back, he met Chu Siyou, a retainer of the Fourth Prince, who privately invited him to consider joining the prince’s circle.

• Qin Yao told Qin Dashan that Qin Yuwei might be at Imperial Capital Academy, and Qin Dashan urged him to expose her publicly rather than seek revenge impulsively.
• Qin Yao explained the next day’s commendation ceremony to Qin Lan, who celebrated that her brother was this year’s Foreign Repelling Spearhead.
• Outside the Welcome Guest Tower, Chu Siyou introduced himself as a retainer of the Fourth Prince and invited Qin Yao to speak privately in a carriage.
• Chu Siyou praised Qin Yao and suggested that the Fourth Prince could offer him protection and support after he graduated from Imperial Capital Academy.
• Qin Yao remained wary of joining the prince’s circle, and Chu Siyou advised him not to let the opportunity pass while allowing him time to consider.

Qin Yao accompanied Chu Siyou to a secluded courtyard, where the Fourth Prince’s lavish hospitality included wine, fine food, and two maidservants who tried to seduce him. After Qin Yao refused their advances, Chu Siyou asked whether he had a cousin named Qin Yuwei, leaving Qin Yao startled.

• Qin Yao told Chu Siyou about his past, and the two agreed to address each other as brothers.
• Chu Siyou brought Qin Yao to an elegant house and hosted him with expensive dishes, wine, and attentive maidservants.
• Qin Yao stayed clear-headed and resisted the maidservants’ increasingly suggestive advances.
• Chu Siyou called Qin Yao a true gentleman, then turned serious and asked about Qin Yuwei.
• Qin Yao paused with his teacup raised when Chu Siyou mentioned his cousin.

Chu Siyou told Qin Yao that Qin Yuwei had sworn loyalty to the Fourth Prince and urged him to bury their feud by joining the prince’s household. Qin Yao refused, rejected Chu Siyou’s warning not to mention the Red River County Literary Examination, and walked out.

• Chu Siyou told Qin Yao that Qin Yuwei had met the Fourth Prince, displayed her literary and martial talents, and sworn a blood oath to serve him after graduating.
• Qin Yao mocked Qin Yuwei’s claimed literary ability and suggested she had used her body to gain favor, prompting Chu Siyou to defend her.
• Chu Siyou urged Qin Yao to join the Fourth Prince’s circle so the prince could reconcile him and Qin Yuwei.
• Qin Yao refused to forgive Qin Yuwei for framing him and bringing ruin upon his family, and Chu Siyou ordered him to leave.
• Chu Siyou warned Qin Yao not to bring up the Red River County Literary Examination, but Qin Yao mocked his concern and strode out.

Qin Yao returned to Imperial Capital Academy after rejecting pressure tied to the Fourth Prince, then prepared to attend the academy-wide commendation ceremony. At Ten Thousand Schools Plaza, he spotted Qin Yuwei among the gathering students.

• Chu Siyou complained that Qin Yao was protected by Imperial Capital Academy and warned that he hoped Qin Yao would not defy the Fourth Prince.
• Qin Yao left Chu Siyou’s courtyard, vowed that no one could stop him from making murderers pay, and returned to Imperial Capital Academy after asking for directions.
• Qi Huansu woke Qin Yao and reminded him about the commendation ceremony, then took him to eat at the academy’s public kitchen.
• Qi Huansu brought Qin Yao to Ten Thousand Schools Plaza in the inner academy, where he greeted Liu Qingqing, Murong Qingquan, Su Muzhi, and Lu Ciwu.
• Qin Yao spotted Qin Yuwei at the plaza and fixed his gaze on her.

Qin Yao attended a gathering at Imperial Capital Academy, where he confronted Qin Yuwei with an angry look and received greetings from friends and important officials. The arrival of the principal revealed that the assembly was an unusual event, though its purpose remained unknown.

• Qin Yao recognized Qin Yuwei in the freshmen's seats, and the two exchanged a hostile look before he joined Qi Huansu and took the center seat.
• Liu Qingqing praised Qin Yao's appearance, while Murong Qingquan hesitated to ask him for a favor and then withdrew her request.
• Su Muzhi and Lu Ciwu greeted Qin Yao, who responded warmly to his fellow challengers.
• Ke Leiyong arrived as the Northern Pacification General, recognized Qin Yao, and nodded to him in acknowledgment.
• Zhu Qinke arrived and took his place on the platform, impressing the students with his powerful presence.
• The students reacted with surprise when Principal Huo arrived, and it became clear that many of them did not know the gathering was a commendation assembly.

Principal Huo Enting and Fourth Prince Yan Yangyi arrived at the academy gathering, where Yan Yangyi charmed the students with his courteous manner. Qin Yao recognized the prince’s concealed hostility and resolved to stay wary of him.

• Huo Enting entered the square and was greeted with respect by the students, Ke Leiyong, and Zhu Qinke.
• Yan Yangyi arrived with his guards and won the students’ favor by greeting them warmly and shaking their hands.
• Yan Yangyi gave Qin Yao a brief, cold warning glance over Chu Siyou’s refusal, while Qin Yao dismissed the prince’s show of friendliness as an act.
• Yan Yangyi respectfully greeted Huo Enting, Ke Leiyong, and Zhu Qinke, though Qin Yao noticed a flicker of impatience in him.
• Qin Yuwei taunted Qin Yao with a smug look, while Yan Yangyi privately regarded the students as expendable tools.