Chapter Summaries

After breaking through to Dou Zong, Xiao Yan reassured Ruolin, little Zi Yan, and the elders, then agreed to oversee the new student selection at the Outer Academy. He prepared to leave the next day while Ruolin and little Zi Yan stayed behind.

• Xiao Yan emerged from his breakthrough and embraced Ruolin and little Zi Yan, then explained to Su Qian and the elders that he had broken through to Dou Zong.
• Xiao Yan recounted his breakthrough to the elders, who discussed the upcoming new student selection at the Outer Academy.
• Elder Wu suggested that Xiao Yan oversee the selection, and Xiao Yan agreed so he could also look into Han Feng.
• Su Qian told Xiao Yan to leave the next day and said Vice Principal Hu Gan would arrange matters at the Outer Academy.
• Ruolin and little Zi Yan asked to accompany Xiao Yan, but he told them to stay behind and promised to take care of himself.

Xiao Yan left the Inner Academy and traveled to Jia Nan Academy’s Outer Academy, where the enforcement team initially doubted his identity. After Vice Principal Hu Gan confirmed who he was, Xiao Yan prepared to enter the academy and learned who the leading contenders in the selection competition were.

• Xiao Yan departed the Inner Academy, leaving Ruolin and Zi Yan behind, and took a winding route through the Chuyun Empire toward the Outer Academy.
• At Heping Town, Li Nan and the enforcement team stopped Xiao Yan, required him to take a pill that detected murderous intent, and questioned his claim that he had come from the Inner Academy.
• Xiao Yan released a trace of his aura to convince the enforcement team, and Li Nan sent a member to report his arrival to Vice Principal Hu Gan.
• While waiting, Xiao Yan asked Li Nan about the selection competition, and Li Nan named Lin Xiuyai, Liu Qing, Lin Yan, and Han Yue as its leading contenders.
• Hu Gan arrived, confirmed Xiao Yan’s identity, apologized for the enforcement team, and escorted him toward the academy.

Xiao Yan visited Hu Gan’s home, where he met Hu Gan’s granddaughter Hu Jia and praised the tea she made. Hu Gan quietly hoped Xiao Yan would become Hu Jia’s future husband, then left them alone together, leaving Xiao Yan and Hu Jia awkwardly standing in the sitting room.

• Hu Gan brought Xiao Yan to his home in the Outer Academy and introduced him to his granddaughter, Hu Jia.
• Hu Jia greeted Xiao Yan shyly, and Hu Gan asked her to make tea while he and Xiao Yan talked.
• Hu Gan asked whether Xiao Yan had really broken through to Dou Zong, and Xiao Yan modestly credited his success to luck.
• Hu Jia served Xiao Yan tea, and he praised its flavor, making her happy and embarrassed by Hu Gan’s teasing.
• Hu Gan decided Xiao Yan was a suitable match for Hu Jia and left them alone so Hu Jia could show him around.

Xiao Yan took Hu Jia for a walk, teased her about Hu Gan’s remark, and decided he would pursue her despite her different personality from the original novel. At a lakeside pavilion, he met Han Yue, whose beauty and status as an Outer Academy student surprised him.

• Hu Jia invited Xiao Yan to walk with her, and he teased her about Hu Gan’s comment until she blushed and ran ahead.
• Xiao Yan caught up with Hu Jia, took her hand, and went with her to rest at a pavilion by a lake.
• Hu Jia greeted Han Yue at the pavilion and introduced her to Xiao Yan as the academy’s Moon Fairy.
• Xiao Yan complimented Han Yue, and Hu Jia revealed that he was an Inner Academy elder supervising the selection tournament.
• Han Yue was shocked to learn that the young-looking Xiao Yan was an elder from the Inner Academy.

Xiao Yan made a wager with Han Yue about whether he was an Inner Academy elder, then went with Hu Jia to the room Hu Gan had arranged for him beside hers. After teasing Hu Jia, he persuaded her to join him for some fun, though he did not reveal what he had planned.

• Xiao Yan proposed a wager to Han Yue, who agreed to grant him one request if he proved he was an Inner Academy elder during the selection competition.
• Han Yue left, troubled by the wager, while Hu Jia teased Xiao Yan for watching her go and then ran off after he called her jealous.
• After dinner, Hu Gan arranged for Xiao Yan to stay in a room beside Hu Jia's, and Xiao Yan followed her to the rear courtyard.
• Xiao Yan teased Hu Jia by saying he needed someone to warm his bed, making her blush and flee to her room.
• Xiao Yan coaxed Hu Jia into coming along to do something fun, and she eagerly asked him to take her with him.

Xiao Yan surprised Hu Jia with heart-shaped fireworks and a guitar performance, then confessed that he wanted to protect her for life. Hu Jia returned his feelings, and the two kissed before Xiao Yan sang “Fairy Tale” again; they left together late at night.

• Xiao Yan led Hu Jia to a meadow and revealed heart-shaped fireworks he had arranged for her.
• Xiao Yan played the guitar and sang “Fairy Tale,” moving Hu Jia to tears.
• Xiao Yan told Hu Jia he was willing to protect her for the rest of his life, and Hu Jia said she liked him too.
• Xiao Yan kissed Hu Jia to stop her crying, and she eventually returned his kiss.
• Hu Jia asked Xiao Yan to sing “Fairy Tale” again, and they returned together late at night.

Xiao Yan supervised the selection tournament and silenced students who doubted his status by releasing his overwhelming aura. As the opening matches began, Han Yue defeated Sun Qing, who secretly attacked her with a poisoned needle.

• Hu Gan introduced Xiao Yan as the tournament supervisor, but students questioned his identity until Xiao Yan released his aura and frightened the crowd into silence.
• Hu Gan officially began the elimination round, and Lin Xiuyai, Liu Qing, and Lin Yan each defeated their opponents with ease.
• Han Yue faced Sun Qing, traded hostile remarks with her, and won with her Ice Shatter technique.
• While Han Yue and the referee were distracted after the match, Sun Qing secretly threw a gleaming needle toward Han Yue.

Xiao Yan saved Han Yue from Sun Qing’s poisoned needle during the competition, then stopped Sun Qing when she attacked again and shattered her Dou Crystal. The matches resumed after Sun Qing was carried away, and the day’s competition ended with the selection rounds still unfinished.

• Sun Qing threw a Corpse-Eating Bitter Poison needle at Han Yue, but Xiao Yan appeared, caught the needle, and saved her.
• Han Yue forgave Sun Qing, but Sun Qing cursed her and charged at her with power boosted to the level of a three-star Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yan stopped Sun Qing’s attack and discovered that her Dou Crystal had shattered, ending her ability to cultivate.
• Xiao Yan told the referee to have Sun Qing carried away, then returned to the platform and explained what had happened to Hu Jia.
• The competition resumed, but an elder ended the day’s matches before the elimination rounds were complete.

Xiao Yan left the Outer Academy to investigate Han Feng and visited the Xiao Family’s secret stronghold in the Black Corner Region. After learning Han Feng was searching for Heavenly Flames, Xiao Yan arranged to lure Han Feng toward the Inner Academy’s Fallen Heart Flame and prepared to leave the next day.

• Xiao Yan persuaded Hu Gan to let him stop watching the selection matches and leave temporarily, promising to return before the top fifty traveled to the Inner Academy.
• Xiao Yan flew to the Black Corner Region and used the Purple Crystal Emblem to make contact with the Xiao Family’s stronghold through Xiao Cheng.
• Xiao Cheng told Xiao Yan that Han Feng was in Han Feng City and had been searching for Heavenly Flames, with some clues already in hand.
• Xiao Yan ordered Xiao Cheng to secretly tell Han Feng’s men that the Heavenly Flame was in Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy and to deliver a letter and pills to Xiao Yan’s father.
• Xiao Yan discussed his plan with Old Yao, who estimated an eighty percent chance of success and warned him not to underestimate Han Feng.

Xiao Yan infiltrated Han Feng's residence and learned that Han Feng was preparing to pursue the Heavenly Flame rumored to be in Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy. After leaving Han Feng City, Xiao Yan planned to return to the Outer Academy and act once the top fifty students entered the Inner Academy.

• Xiao Yan sneaked into Han Feng's pavilion and narrowly concealed Old Yao's emotional soul fluctuation when Han Feng sensed something amiss.
• Han Feng ordered Han Beng to investigate reports of a Heavenly Flame in Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy and prepare his allies and two invited experts.
• After Han Beng left, Han Feng revealed his grudge against Old Yao and his plan to use the half of the Burning Art he possessed to devour another Heavenly Flame.
• Xiao Yan returned to his inn and reassured Old Yao that he would avenge him, while Old Yao said he had a ninety percent chance of breaking the Fallen Heart Flame's seal in one stroke.
• Xiao Yan decided to spend two more days in Han Feng City, then return to the Outer Academy and act after the top fifty students were sent to the Inner Academy.

Xiao Yan returned to the Outer Academy and played a prank on Hu Jia, who mistook him for a pervert and struck him before realizing who he was. While she cared for his feigned injury, Hu Jia confronted him about leaving without her, and Xiao Yan reflected on how her mischievous side had made him fear taking her back to the Inner Academy.

• Xiao Yan returned to the Outer Academy and found Hu Jia waiting for him at the entrance.
• Xiao Yan covered Hu Jia's eyes and teased her, so Hu Jia struck him and he pretended to be injured.
• Hu Jia anxiously supported Xiao Yan home and insisted that he rest, while he avoided telling her the truth about his injury.
• Hu Jia told Xiao Yan that the selection tournament had ended, that Han Yue placed thirteenth, and that the top fifty would soon head to the Inner Academy.
• Hu Jia pinched Xiao Yan for leaving without her, then let him off after he promised not to do it again.
• Xiao Yan recalled Hu Jia's pranks and humiliating bargains, and dreaded having her follow him back to the Inner Academy.

Xiao Yan agreed to take Hu Jia with him when he led the top fifty students back to the Inner Academy, then set off with them on griffins. He protected the group from dangerous magical beasts along the way, leaving the students impressed and frightened by his strength.

• Hu Jia persuaded Xiao Yan to bring her to the Inner Academy, and the two shared an intimate moment while waiting for the return journey.
• Xiao Yan and Hu Gan gathered the fifty students in the academy square and summoned griffins to carry them to the Inner Academy.
• The students boarded the griffins in groups of five, and Hu Jia and Han Yue excitedly watched Xiao Yan and the elders flying ahead.
• The group encountered magical beasts in the forest, and Xiao Yan killed a four-star Dou Huang beast and collected its Demonic Core.
• Han Yue and Hu Jia watched Xiao Yan in admiration, while Hu Gan's appreciation of him grew.

Xiao Yan and the new students entered the Inner Academy through a hidden spatial gate, where Elder Huo and Elder Liu welcomed them and began the Fire Energy Hunting Competition. Xiao Yan left with Hu Jia, worrying about how Ruolin and Zi Yan would react to her joining them.

• Hu Gan opened a hidden spatial gate, and Xiao Yan explained that it led to the Inner Academy before guiding the students through.
• Elder Huo and Elder Liu greeted Hu Gan and Xiao Yan after they arrived inside the academy.
• Hu Gan introduced his granddaughter Hu Jia to the elders, asked them to look after her, and left for the Outer Academy.
• Elder Huo and Elder Liu gave the new students black Fire Crystal Cards, explained the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, and started it.
• Xiao Yan took Hu Jia away from the competition and asked the elders to look after Han Yue before leaving.
• Xiao Yan worried about how Ruolin and Zi Yan would react to Hu Jia staying with him.

Xiao Yan returned to the Inner Academy with Hu Jia and introduced her to Ruolin and Zi Yan, worrying over how the three women would get along. Ruolin and Hu Jia soon chatted together, but they joined forces to give Xiao Yan the cold shoulder once they reached his courtyard.

• Xiao Yan led Hu Jia to the academy gates, where Ruolin and Zi Yan eagerly welcomed him back.
• Hu Jia pinched Xiao Yan when she saw him surrounded by Ruolin and Zi Yan, and Zi Yan threatened Hu Jia in response.
• Xiao Yan introduced Hu Jia to Ruolin and Zi Yan, and Ruolin warmly welcomed her while Zi Yan remained hostile.
• Ruolin and Hu Jia walked together and soon chatted and laughed, leaving Xiao Yan unsure what they were planning.
• Ruolin and Hu Jia ignored Xiao Yan and gave him the cold shoulder after they reached his courtyard.

Xiao Yan used humor to mend his relationship with Ruolin and Hu Jia, while Han Yue settled into their courtyard. He then provoked the Fallen Heart Flame to prepare the academy for its eruption, injuring his soul and relying on a rare Soul Nourishing Pill to recover.

• Xiao Yan told a joke that made Ruolin and Hu Jia laugh, easing their coldness toward him, while Zi Yan innocently misunderstood the punchline.
• Over the next few days, Xiao Yan gradually repaired his relationships with Ruolin and Hu Jia, and Han Yue moved into Hu Jia’s courtyard and grew more comfortable with him.
• Because Han Feng had begun paying attention to the Inner Academy, Xiao Yan decided to provoke the Fallen Heart Flame so Su Qian and the others could prepare for its eruption.
• Xiao Yan damaged a small part of the Fallen Heart Flame’s seal, attacked its spiritual intelligence, and withdrew after enraging it into striking the seal.
• Xiao Yan returned to his body with an injured soul and took a Soul Nourishing Pill, which he had obtained by memorizing Elder Huo’s formula and refining with Old Yao at a very low success rate.

Fallen Heart Flame went berserk in the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, and Xiao Yan accidentally shattered the seal while trying to attack it. Su Qian and the elders fought to contain the flame, but it forced a tiny opening in their energy net and released a powerful energy surge into the sky.

• Fallen Heart Flame rampaged in the tower, causing students to suffer qi deviation, and Su Qian and the elders rushed to suppress it.
• Xiao Yan arrived and struck Fallen Heart Flame with his Evil Flame Demonic Blade, accidentally shattering the seal and cleaving the flame in two.
• Fallen Heart Flame reformed as an invisible fire python and charged upward as Su Qian ordered the students evacuated and called for reinforcements.
• Eighteen elders formed a multicolored energy net, and Xiao Yan added a net of Evil Flame as they fought to stop Fallen Heart Flame from escaping.
• Fallen Heart Flame shaped its flames into a small snake and exploded it against the energy net, creating a tiny opening that sent a violent energy surge skyward.

Xiao Yan, Su Qian, and the academy elders struggled to suppress Fallen Heart Flame until Hu Gan arrived with reinforcements. As the group began sealing it again, Han Feng and his allies reached the Inner Academy, leaving Xiao Yan to confront them.

• Han Feng sensed a Heavenly Flame near Jia Nan Academy and sent Han Beng to summon allied sect leaders and two old gentlemen to Maple City.
• The elders' energy net and Xiao Yan's flame net held Fallen Heart Flame for hours, but ten of the eighteen elders were forced to retreat.
• Xiao Yan offered to destroy Fallen Heart Flame, but Su Qian refused and hoped Hu Gan would arrive to help seal it.
• Hu Gan arrived with Outer Academy reinforcements, and the group joined forces to force Fallen Heart Flame back toward its underground seal.
• As the sealing effort neared success, Han Feng's gathered forces arrived outside the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, and Su Qian sent Xiao Yan to hold them off.

Xiao Yan returned from the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower and confronted Han Feng’s group as they attacked Jia Nan Academy. He held off the Golden Silver Elders and summoned the Evil Flame Tyrant Dragon, which killed the Eight Sect Master, while Han Feng remained intent on seizing Xiao Yan’s technique.

• Xiao Yan ordered the weaker students to retreat and learned that Han Feng had come seeking the Heavenly Flame.
• Xiao Yan mocked Han Feng’s excuse for taking the flame, then delayed him while the Heavenly Flame’s fluctuations weakened.
• Han Feng ordered the Golden Silver Elders to attack Xiao Yan, who fought them while blocking Han Feng’s group from reaching the tower.
• Xiao Yan summoned the Evil Flame Tyrant Dragon, driving Han Feng’s group to the ground.
• Han Feng shoved the Eight Sect Master in front of the dragon, which bit him to death and swallowed him as the academy cheered.

Xiao Yan and the Jia Nan Academy elders failed to keep Han Feng from breaking the Fallen Heart Flame’s seal, but Han Feng was driven off before he could capture it. Xiao Yan and Su Qian forced the Fallen Heart Flame back into the magma, and Xiao Yan followed it down to subdue it.

• Han Feng attacked Su Qian as the elders tried to reseal the Fallen Heart Flame, and Hu Gan took the blow meant for Su Qian.
• Han Feng shattered the seal, but the Fallen Heart Flame blasted him through the tower and Su Qian’s group drove him away.
• Xiao Yan used the Evil Flame Tyrant Dragon to restrain the Fallen Heart Flame as Han Feng and his allies fled.
• Su Qian agreed to let Xiao Yan try to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame, and they forced it back into the magma beneath the ruined tower.
• Xiao Yan plunged into the magma after the Fallen Heart Flame.

Xiao Yan battled the Fallen Heart Flame beneath the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower while the Inner Academy waited anxiously for his return. After discovering and swallowing its hidden origin, he began refining it inside his body, but the flame broke free of Evil Flame's restraints.

• Su Qian reassured Ruolin, Hu Jia, and the students, then ordered everyone to stay away from the tower's lowest level until Xiao Yan emerged.
• Xiao Yan used Evil Flame to trap the Fallen Heart Flame in the magma, while Old Yao's Bone Spirit Cold Flame protected him from its heat.
• More than half a month passed as the Inner Academy recovered and Ruolin, Hu Jia, Zi Yan, and Han Yue worried about Xiao Yan's fate.
• Xiao Yan noticed a lively cluster of flame among the Fallen Heart Flame's fire snakes, seized it, and recognized it as the flame's origin.
• Xiao Yan swallowed the Fallen Heart Flame and began refining it with the help of an Earth Spirit Pill, but it broke free of Evil Flame's restraints.