Chapter Summaries

Yang Chen challenged Xiao Yan during the Xiao Family coming-of-age ceremony and tested his combat skills without using Dou Qi. He left Xiao Yan defeated at the edge of the platform, rebuking him for always settling for “close enough” when practicing.

• Yang Chen stood up and asked whether he could challenge Xiao Yan under the ceremony’s rules.
• Xiao Yan agreed to fight Yang Chen after Xiao Zhan hesitated over the rules.
• Xiao Yan attacked with his fists and Dou Techniques, but Yang Chen repeatedly dodged and countered without using Dou Qi.
• As Xiao Yan grew impatient and kept falling short of landing a hit, Yang Chen warned him that his habit of practicing with a “close enough” attitude caused it.
• Yang Chen drove Xiao Yan to the edge of the platform and stopped, leaving the onlookers stunned by his skill.

Yang Chen told Xiao Yan that his mother had nearly lost her strength while protecting the Xiao Family during her pregnancy and had died of illness afterward. He withheld the identity of her killer until Xiao Yan could venture through the Black-Corner Region alone, leaving Xiao Yan determined to grow stronger.

• Yang Chen asked Xiao Yan about his mother and explained that she had fought while heavily pregnant to protect the Xiao Family, nearly crippling her strength and leading to her death from illness.
• Xiao Yan asked who had killed his mother, but Yang Chen refused to reveal the truth while Xiao Yan was too weak to act on it.
• Yang Chen promised to explain the Yang Clan's origins and enemies once Xiao Yan could travel through the Black-Corner Region alone, and urged him to cultivate diligently.
• Xiao Yan told Yang Chen that he owed the Mite'er Auction House several million gold coins for medicinal ingredients supplied for pills.
• Yang Chen agreed to handle Xiao Yan's expenses and told him to focus on cultivation and live up to his mother's memory.

Yang Chen settled Xiao Yan’s 5.8 million gold coin debt with Ya Fei using a Spirit-Fighting Pill, but Ya Fei returned the pill rather than risk keeping it. As Yang Chen prepared to leave, Ya Fei told him that someone from the Misty Cloud Sect had been secretly investigating the Xiao Family.

• Yang Chen asked Ya Fei about the medicinal ingredients she had supplied to Xiao Yan, and she said Xiao Yan owed 5.8 million gold coins.
• Yang Chen offered Ya Fei a Spirit-Fighting Pill to settle the debt, but she returned it, fearing the danger of possessing such a valuable pill.
• Ya Fei recalled how her parents had died after coveting the Yang Clan’s property, and Yang Chen apologized for having implicated her.
• Yang Chen prepared to leave, and Ya Fei asked whether he was returning to the imperial capital.
• Ya Fei told Yang Chen that someone from the Misty Cloud Sect had been secretly inquiring about the Xiao Family, and Yang Chen reacted with a narrowed gaze.

Yang Chen visited Yun Yun’s secluded chamber at night and questioned her about Yun Shan and the Misty Cloud Sect’s secret investigation of the Xiao Family. Yun Yun suspected her teacher had authorized the inquiry, leaving Yang Chen concerned that the Soul Hall or Soul Clan might be behind it and could threaten Xiao Yan and his brothers.

• Yang Chen reached Yun Yun’s secluded cultivation grounds and entered the meditation chamber with her.
• Yang Chen offered incense to the Misty Cloud Sect’s former leaders and asked Yun Yun why Yun Shan’s memorial tablet was absent.
• Yun Yun refused to explain Yun Shan’s absence and became wary of Yang Chen’s questions.
• Yang Chen told Yun Yun that the Misty Cloud Sect had secretly investigated the Xiao Family during the past year.
• Yun Yun suspected Yun Shan had given Yun Leng a token to authorize the investigation, while Yang Chen worried that the Soul Hall or Soul Clan might be targeting Xiao Yan and his brothers.

Yang Chen and Yun Yun discussed Yun Shan’s secret investigation of the Xiao Family, and Yun Yun recalled clues from before her teacher’s life-or-death seclusion. Yang Chen left the Misty Cloud Sect after asking Yun Yun to investigate Yun Shan, privately seeking traces of the past.

• Yun Yun promised Yang Chen she would seek an explanation from Yun Shan, though Yang Chen warned that questioning him directly could alert him.
• Yang Chen noticed Yun Yang’s spirit tablet and suggested Yun Shan’s behavior had changed after his life-or-death cultivation.
• Yun Yun recalled that Yun Shan had told her the Misty Cloud Sect’s core inheritance was lost and asked her to recover it if possible.
• Yun Yun remembered Yun Shan’s request to be buried before Yun Yang’s tomb so he could seek his grandmaster’s forgiveness.
• Yang Chen asked Yun Yun to investigate Yun Shan and delay Yun Leng, then left the meditation chamber and wept beneath the moon.

The Jia Lie Family’s alchemist threatened the Xiao Family’s medicine business, prompting the family to seek help. Xiao Yan revealed that he had become a first-tier alchemist and offered to refine medicine himself, winning the family’s support.

• The Jia Lie Family hired an alchemist and nearly monopolized Wutan City’s healing medicine market, pushing the Xiao Family’s business into decline.
• Second Elder Xiao Ying urged Xiao Zhan to ask Yang Chen for help, but Xiao Zhan wanted Xiao Yan to make the request instead.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the council hall and asked about the Jia Lie Family’s new alchemist.
• Xiao Yan revealed a purple flame and told Xiao Zhan and the elders that he was a first-tier alchemist with a mysterious master.
• Xiao Zhan and the elders promised to provide Xiao Yan with whatever herbs he needed.

The Jia Lie Family relied on Liu Xi to counter Xiao Yan’s growing alchemy skills, unaware that Fa Ma and Chai Yu had arranged for Liu Xi to pressure Xiao Yan’s training. Xiao Yan’s relentless pill refining made him a skilled first-tier alchemist, while the escalating rivalry left the Ao Ba Family nearly forgotten.

• Jia Lie Bi asked Liu Xi how to respond to Xiao Yan becoming an alchemist, and Liu Xi confidently dismissed the threat by invoking his teacher’s status and connections.
• Fa Ma confronted Chai Yu over Liu Xi’s behavior, and Chai Yu agreed to disown his disciple before accompanying Fa Ma to visit Lord True Lord in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
• Xiao Yan continued refining pills at exhausting pace to keep the Xiao Family’s marketplace supplied and prevent the Jia Lie Family from taking back its business.
• After a month of intense practice, Xiao Yan became an experienced first-tier alchemist and advanced in battle qi and alchemy.
• As the Xiao and Jia Lie Families intensified their contest over pills and ingredients, the Ao Ba Family became the conflict’s overlooked victim.

After the Jia Lie Family fled Wutan City, Xiao Yan and the Xiao Family went to Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment square. Xiao Yu got them into the testing area, where Xiao Yan met her friend Xue Ni.

• The Mittel Family cut off the Jia Lie Family’s herb supply, and Xiao Yan intercepted replacement shipments with Medicine Elder’s help.
• Xiao Yan had Liu Xi assassinated, and the financially ruined Jia Lie Family left Wutan City.
• Xiao Xun'er brought Xiao Yan to Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment day and marveled at how he had reached six-star Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Yu led Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er, and other Xiao Family members through a side entrance into the recruitment tent.
• Xiao Yu introduced her Jia Nan Academy friend Xue Ni to the group and identified Xiao Yan, prompting Xue Ni to ask if he was the Xiao Yan she had heard about.

Xiao Yan arrived at Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment tent and unexpectedly reunited with Zi Yan, who revealed that she was his uncle’s daughter. After demonstrating her mysterious spatial power and forcing him to address her as his elder sister, Zi Yan welcomed Xiao Yan as her younger brother.

• Xue Ni recognized Xiao Yan and told Xiao Yu that Luo Bu had joined the recruitment team after reaching four-star Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Yan spotted Zi Yan eating a rare Emerald Phoenix Feather Fruit in the tent and was startled when she suddenly appeared beside him.
• Medicine Elder identified Zi Yan’s spatial power as a special talent rather than proof that she was a Dou Zong.
• Zi Yan scolded Xiao Yan for ignoring her and pulled him into the air, demanding that he call her his elder sister.
• Xiao Yan accepted that Zi Yan was his uncle’s daughter and greeted her as his elder sister, pleasing her.

Zi Yan had Xiao Yan help test the students while promising to secure him a place in the Law Enforcement Unit. As Xiao Yu and Xue Ni teased each other over Xiao Yan, Xiao Xun'er grew jealous, and Zi Yan watched the awkward tensions unfold with amusement.

• Zi Yan ordered Xiao Yan to test the students, and Xue Ni gave him a testing crystal after he mistakenly thought he was supposed to fight them.
• Zi Yan promised to get Xiao Yan into the Law Enforcement Unit, causing the students to treat him with new reverence after recalling his connection to her father.
• Xue Ni teased Xiao Yu about her feelings for Xiao Yan, while Xiao Xun'er silently listened and grew tense.
• Luo Bu reconsidered approaching Xiao Yu after seeing her wipe sweat from Xiao Yan's brow and speak to him warmly.
• Xiao Xun'er pulled Xiao Mei away when Xiao Yan approached, leaving him confused as Zi Yan watched the situation with a mischievous smile.

Ruo Lin welcomed the new students and explained how Jia Nan Academy rated their potential by cultivation level. When it was Xiao Yan’s turn to report, he claimed the academy had no rank for him.

• Zi Yan greeted Ruo Lin and received permission to wander around after finishing the preliminary tests.
• Ruo Lin reunited with Xiao Yu, welcomed the new students into the tent, and cleaned the spilled juice from the table.
• Ruo Lin explained the academy’s potential ratings, from F-grade at eight segments of Dou Qi to S-grade at five-star Dou Zhe, for students under twenty.
• Xue Ni asked Xiao Yu whether Xiao Yan could surpass the academy’s previous S-grade student, and Xiao Yu speculated that he might have reached four-star Dou Zhe.
• Ruo Lin called on Xiao Yan to give his information, and he said the academy had no rank for him.

Xiao Yan revealed that he was a six-star Dou Zhe, far beyond Jia Nan Academy’s highest admission rank, and Ruo Lin confirmed his extraordinary strength. Xiao Xun’er then tested as a six-star Dou Zhe as well, leaving Ruo Lin delighted to have recruited two exceptional talents.

• Ruo Lin worried that Xiao Yan did not meet Jia Nan Academy’s admission requirement of eight stages of Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan told Ruo Lin he was a sixteen-year-old six-star Dou Zhe and said S-rank would be acceptable if the academy had no higher rank.
• Ruo Lin examined Xiao Yan and sensed his exceptionally condensed, powerful fire-attributed Dou Qi, then said the academy might create a new rank for him.
• Xiao Yan reassured Ruo Lin, rubbed Xiao Xun’er’s hair, and watched her step forward for her examination.
• Xiao Xun’er introduced herself as a sixteen-year-old six-star Dou Zhe, and Ruo Lin celebrated recruiting two rare talents from the Xiao Family.

Xiao Yan asked Ruo Lin for a year and a half of leave to honor a duel agreement arranged by his uncle, and she agreed while urging him to return to Jia Nan Academy. After learning about the academy’s Inner Academy, Xiao Yan heard from Medicine Elder that the Fallen Heart Flame might be there.

• Ruo Lin announced that the new students would leave for Jia Nan Academy in seven days, and Xiao Yan asked whether he could take leave.
• Xiao Yan requested a year and a half away to honor a duel agreement arranged by his uncle, and Ruo Lin approved the leave but sought reassurance that he would return.
• Ruo Lin explained that Jia Nan Academy had an Outer Academy and an Inner Academy, where its most outstanding students studied.
• Medicine Elder told Xiao Yan that the Fallen Heart Flame was likely in the Inner Academy, and Xiao Yan promised Ruo Lin that he would work hard.

After leaving the Xiao Family, Xiao Yan set out to train in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, where Yang Chen had arranged for Fa Ma to guide him. At the Ten Thousand Medicine House, Xiao Yi Xian studied medicinal ingredients and chess while reflecting on her reunion with Yang Chen and coming to accept her Woeful Poison Body.

• Xiao Yan spent five more days refining pills for the Xiao Family, then left Wutan City for the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
• Yang Chen kept Fa Ma at the Ten Thousand Medicine House in Qingshan Town so he could guide Xiao Yan and teach Xiao Yi Xian about medicinal ingredients.
• Fa Ma struggled with a chess position until Xiao Yi Xian suggested a winning move, and he praised her talent.
• Fa Ma lamented that Xiao Yi Xian's Woeful Poison Body prevented her from becoming an alchemist, but she said she might not have her talents without it.
• Xiao Yi Xian recalled how Yang Chen had saved her eleven years earlier and how he later helped her accept her Woeful Poison Body.
• Yang Chen joked that Xiao Yi Xian was more talented than his nephew.

Xiao Yan entered the Ten Thousand Medicine House looking for medicinal herbs and recognized a valuable blood lotus essence that Fa Ma had disguised as yellow lotus essence. Fa Ma restrained Xiao Yan effortlessly, then gave him the herb, leaving Xiao Yan stunned by the old man's strength and presence.

• Yang Chen and Fa Ma sensed Xiao Yan approaching, and Fa Ma left the rear courtyard for the front hall.
• Xiao Yan arrived in Qingshan Town carrying the Heavy Xuan Ruler and entered the Ten Thousand Medicine House to search for herbs.
• Xiao Yan saw a healing remedy in the shop and realized it was only a mixture of herbs, not an alchemist's pill.
• At the central counter, Xiao Yan recognized a lump of blood lotus essence disguised as yellow lotus essence and asked to buy it.
• Fa Ma named a price of three thousand gold coins and questioned Xiao Yan, who became suspicious and tried to leave.
• Fa Ma seized Xiao Yan's wrist, praised his sharp eye, and gave him the blood lotus essence, shocking him with his strength.

Fa Ma praised Xiao Yan’s exceptional soul force and told him that Nalan Yanran was the only young talent who could rival him. Xiao Yan reaffirmed his resolve to win the Three-Year Agreement, then learned Yun Yun had obtained a powerful inheritance that could strengthen Nalan Yanran.

• Fa Ma tested Xiao Yan’s soul force, discovered it rivaled that of a fourth-tier alchemist, and praised his talent.
• Xiao Yan asked who Fa Ma considered his other outstanding young talent, and Fa Ma named Nalan Yanran.
• Xiao Yan reflected on the broken engagement and reaffirmed that he had to win the Three-Year Agreement for himself, his dignity, and his uncle.
• Fa Ma told Xiao Yan that his uncle had confronted Misty Cloud Sect over the engagement and forced them to stop interfering.
• Fa Ma revealed that Yun Yun had obtained a powerful inheritance, leaving Xiao Yan newly worried about the Three-Year Agreement.

After hearing that Nalan Yanran had reached Five-Star Dou Shi and drawn with a Two-Star Da Dou Shi, Xiao Yan realized he had underestimated her and resolved to train harder before their Three-Year Agreement. Fa Ma encouraged him to pursue alchemy and consider competing in the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist Grand Meeting, and Xiao Yan left the Ten Thousand Medicine House to stay at an inn.

• Xiao Yan reconsidered his confidence about defeating Nalan Yanran after recognizing that she could gain opportunities and grow stronger too.
• Fa Ma told Xiao Yan that Nalan Yanran had reached Five-Star Dou Shi and fought a Two-Star Da Dou Shi to a draw without using some of her powerful methods.
• Xiao Yan sincerely praised Nalan Yanran and resolved to work harder so he could surpass her before their agreement.
• Fa Ma encouraged Xiao Yan to study alchemy and suggested he might contend for the Alchemist Grand Meeting championship.
• Xiao Yan learned that Fa Ma was an alchemist, bowed respectfully, and left the Ten Thousand Medicine House for an inn.

Xiao Yan stored the Blood Lotus Essence and considered staying in Qingshan Town to ask Fa Ma about the other ingredients for the Blood Lotus Pill. Medicine Elder explained that Yang Chen was likely watching over Xiao Yan and revealed how overwhelmingly Yang Chen had outmatched him in their spar.

• Xiao Yan stored the Blood Lotus Essence and realized he still needed Ice Spirit Flame Grass and a fourth-tier ice-attributed monster core for the Blood Lotus Pill.
• Xiao Yan considered remaining in Qingshan Town to ask Fa Ma about the ingredients, but reminded himself that he needed to keep training for the Three-Year Agreement.
• Medicine Elder returned and told Xiao Yan that Yang Chen’s name would offer better protection than his own in the Jia Ma Empire.
• Medicine Elder explained that Yang Chen had likely suppressed Xiao Yan during their spar using only combat experience and physical strength, without Dou Qi or soul perception.
• Xiao Yan learned that Yang Chen’s body was far stronger than his and was left astonished by the enormous gap between them.

Xiao Yan asked Medicine Elder how to proceed with his training, then learned that a Heavenly Flame might be in the Tagore Desert. He decided to investigate the possibility by asking the mysterious senior and his two brothers.

• Medicine Elder advised Xiao Yan to train with mercenaries in the Magic Beast Mountain Range before entering the mountains alone.
• Xiao Yan told Medicine Elder that Nalan Yanran had reached five-star Dou Shi and could fight a Da Dou Shi to a draw, making him anxious about the Three-Year Agreement.
• Medicine Elder reminded Xiao Yan that the Flame God Art could devour powerful flames, then revealed that a Heavenly Flame might be in the Tagore Desert.
• Medicine Elder suggested Xiao Yan ask the mysterious half-step Dou Zong expert and his two brothers for clues about the possible Heavenly Flame.
• Xiao Yan resolved to ask the senior about it the next day.

Xiao Yan visited Fa Ma to ask for leave so he could train in the Magic Beast Mountain Range and gather medicinal ingredients. Fa Ma warned him that the area belonged to a sixth-rank Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, leaving Xiao Yan questioning whether even the outer region was safe.

• Xiao Yan walked through Qingshan Town to the Ten Thousand Medicine House, drawing curious looks from the mercenaries because of his oversized sword.
• The attendant let Xiao Yan enter the back courtyard, where he found Fa Ma sitting among baskets of drying medicinal ingredients.
• Xiao Yan asked Fa Ma for a few days' leave to train in the mountains and collect medicinal ingredients.
• Fa Ma briefly revealed a terrifying aura, then asked Xiao Yan whether he understood the dangers of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
• Fa Ma told Xiao Yan that the region belonged to the sixth-rank Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, and Xiao Yan asked whether training in the outer region would still be safe.