Chapter Summaries

Silver Protector tried to devour Wu Protector’s soul, but Xiao Yan used the Spirit Plow Sword to contest him. As Silver Protector attacked, Xiao Yan comprehended and unleashed a new Buddhist sword technique.

• Silver Protector abandoned Xiao Yan and Qin Yueyao to attack the wounded Wu Protector and began devouring his soul.
• Xiao Yan caught up and thrust the Spirit Plow Sword into Wu Protector, drawing in his soul power and competing with Silver Protector.
• Qin Yueyao held Yun Yun and prepared to attack Silver Protector, while Yun Yun worried about Xiao Yan.
• Silver Protector released chains toward Xiao Yan, who used the Spirit Plow Sword and Buddhist insights to comprehend Wisdom Cleaves the Myriad Confusions.
• Xiao Yan shouted the technique’s name and surrounded his sword with brilliant golden light as he slashed through the air.

Xiao Yan and Qin Yueyao fought Silver Protector as he attacked the Misty Cloud Sect, using powerful techniques to counter his soul chains and black beams. Silver Protector mocked the Xiao Clan, and Xiao Yan answered with a vow that the clan would rise again, leaving Yun Yun impressed by his strength.

• Xiao Yan used his Spirit Plow Sword to sever Silver Protector’s soul chains, then evaded a black beam and countered it with the Sala Hand Seal.
• Silver Protector unleashed a stronger black beam, and Qin Yueyao split it with Snowflow Condensed Blade before Silver Protector blocked the strike with a black vortex.
• Silver Protector demanded that Qin Yueyao and Xiao Yan release the Misty Cloud Sect’s leader, but Xiao Yan rejected his claim to authority.
• Silver Protector disparaged the Xiao Clan, and Xiao Yan declared that no one should look down on a young man because he was poor.
• Yun Yun admired Xiao Yan’s defiance and composure against a Dou Zong.

After Silver Protector failed to defeat Xiao Yan and his mother, Yun Shan proposed that Xiao Yan could marry Yun Yun if he defeated him in three years. Qin Yueyao negotiated Yun Yun’s release in exchange for the Misty Cloud Sect’s formation scroll and left with her and Xiao Yan.

• Silver Protector rescued Xuan Protector, then let Yun Shan address Yun Yun and Xiao Yan about the engagement and a challenge three years in the future.
• Yun Leng objected to Xiao Yan and his mother leaving, so Qin Yueyao froze him with the Sun-Destroying Divine Blade.
• Qin Yueyao refused to release Yun Yun immediately, and Yun Shan agreed to give her the Cloud-Smoke Covering Sun Formation in exchange for Yun Yun leaving after Yan'er’s coming-of-age ceremony in three months.
• Qin Yueyao took the formation scroll and left the Misty Cloud Sect with Yun Yun, Xiao Yan, and the puppets.

After the battle at the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Shan and the Soul Hall Protectors discussed the Xiao Clan and planned to investigate them. On the flight home, Xiao Yan explained the Soul Hall’s threat and why he and his mother had ended the fight, leaving the Misty Cloud Sect safe for now.

• Yun Shan ordered the Misty Cloud Sect elders to leave and rebuked Yun Leng, while Silver Protector questioned why Yun Shan had given Xiao Yan the Cloud-Smoke Covering Sun Formation.
• Silver Protector ordered Xuan Protector to cure his poison, Wu Protector to investigate the Xiao Clan, and Li Protector to gather information in the Chu Yun Empire.
• Xiao Yan put away the puppets, summoned the Flame Spirit Warhawk, and flew back toward the Xiao Clan with Yun Yun and Qin Yueyao.
• Xiao Yan told Yun Yun and Qin Yueyao that the Protectors belonged to the Soul Hall and could grow stronger by devouring souls.
• Xiao Yan explained that he and his mother had stopped fighting because the eight-star Dou Zong Protector was too powerful and they had already expended much of their Dou Qi.

Qin Yueyao gave Xiao Yan the Misty Cloud Sect’s Cloud-Smoke Covering Sun Formation, which he studied for its potential to combine the power of multiple flames. As Nalan Yanran and her companions waited in the Xiao Clan hall, Yun Yun returned with a mysterious woman, whom Nalan Yanran recognized as her master.

• Qin Yueyao reflected on her battle with the Soul Hall Guardian and handed Xiao Yan the Cloud-Smoke Covering Sun Formation scroll.
• Xiao Yan explained that the formation had been obtained openly and considered how its principles might help him combine the power of his Heavenly Flames.
• Nalan Yanran, Ge Ye, and Mo Li waited in the Xiao Clan hall, troubled by Xiao Yan and Qin Yueyao’s strength.
• Xun'er sensed that the others had returned, and three figures appeared in the hall with an elegant, unfamiliar woman.
• Nalan Yanran recognized the woman as her master, and Ge Ye fell to his knees and addressed her as Sect Master.

After Xiao Yan and his family brought the Misty Cloud Sect leader Yun Yun back to the Xiao Clan, Qin Yueyao confronted Nalan Yanran over the broken engagement and assigned her to serve the clan until the matter was resolved. Yun Yun then revealed she would remain with the Xiao Clan, and Qin Yueyao declared that after the sword contest three years later, Yun Yun would become a member of the Xiao Clan.

• Xiao Zhan and the elders learned that the woman they had brought back was Misty Cloud Sect leader Yun Yun, whose strength had been temporarily sealed.
• Qin Yueyao told Nalan Yanran the Xiao Clan would settle the marriage agreement with the Nalan Clan later and ordered her to serve as a maid until the dispute was resolved.
• Xiao Yan explained that the Xiao Clan had objected to how Nalan Yanran ended the engagement, not to her wish for freedom.
• Yun Yun sent Ge Ye and Mo Li back to the Misty Cloud Sect to help the former sect leader, who had emerged from seclusion.
• Qin Yueyao announced that Yun Yun would join the Xiao Clan after the Misty Cloud Sect sword contest in three years, shocking Xiao Zhan and the elders.

After the battle with the Misty Cloud Sect, Xiao Yan planned to use what he had learned to prepare for destroying the Soul Hall Protectors and a Soul Hall branch in three years. Meanwhile, Nalan Yanran confessed to Yun Yun that she regretted her past actions against Xiao Yan, leaving Yun Yun unsure how to comfort her.

• After a banquet with the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan went to the back mountain to reflect on his cultivation and the Soul Hall Protectors.
• Xiao Yan resolved to destroy the Soul Hall Protectors at the Misty Cloud Sect and the branch at Heavenly Burial Ravine within three years.
• Xiao Yan entered deep meditation and began shaping his cultivation insights into a technique to improve aptitude and potential.
• Nalan Yanran asked Yun Yun whether she knew Xiao Yan, and Yun Yun explained that she had met him before under the name Yao Yan.
• Yun Yun suspected Nalan Yanran had fallen for Xiao Yan, and Nalan Yanran broke down, saying she regretted her past treatment of him and asking what she should do.

After Nalan Yanran and Yun Yun regretted the annulment, a strange storm gathered over Wutan City as Xiao Yan comprehended the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique. The clouds vanished when he finished, leaving him with a cultivation method that could strengthen potential but demanded growth in character as well.

• Nalan Yanran admitted she had brought the situation upon herself, and Yun Yun apologized for hastily arranging the annulment.
• Dark thunderclouds spread over Wutan City, drawing Qin Yueyao, Xun'er, and others toward the Xiao Clan's back mountain.
• Xun'er identified Xiao Yan's breakthrough as the birth of a Heaven-tier technique while he sat in meditation.
• Xiao Yan comprehended the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique, which used energy to strengthen potential and could be cultivated by people of any attribute.
• The storm disappeared as Xiao Yan opened his eyes, and he confirmed that the technique tempered his dou qi, body, soul, and foundation.
• Xiao Yan recognized that breaking through potential bottlenecks would bring harsher trials of character, preventing the technique from simply creating unchecked power.

Xiao Yan created the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique, a highly adaptable cultivation method whose rank and power remained uncertain, and explained that his family and companions could cultivate it. After spending time with Xun'er, he returned to his courtyard and examined his maids' cultivation, leaving them with a new nourishing method.

• Xiao Yan told Qin Yueyao and Xun'er that the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique could help people of any aptitude or constitution cultivate.
• Xun'er noticed the flame mark in Xiao Yan's hair, then invited him to explore Wutan City with her the next day.
• Xiao Yan returned to his courtyard, where Chun Ying and Xiaying asked about the storm and Xiaying blamed Nalan Yanran.
• Xiao Yan gathered Xiaying, Qing Lin, and the other maids to examine their cultivation and give them something beneficial.
• Xiao Yan used his nourishing method on the maids in the mist-filled bathroom, relaxing after the strain of creating his technique.

Xiao Yan taught the five women the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique and observed how it enhanced their bodies and potential. As Qing Lin’s Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils began to react, he studied their mysterious patterns and considered how their abilities might inform his own cultivation.

• Xiao Yan taught Chun Ying, Xiaying, Qing Lin, and the other two women the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique.
• The four women cultivated the technique, reached its earth-tier level, and experienced changes reflecting their Dou Qi attributes.
• Xiao Yan focused on Qing Lin, whose cultivation nourished her body and helped her immature Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils develop.
• Xiao Yan observed mysterious runic patterns in Qing Lin’s pupils and considered the abilities they might reveal.
• Xiao Yan realized the Heavenly Flames within him might someday offer a path to growth similar to the creatures Qing Lin could absorb.

Xiao Yan spent the morning with his household and took Xun'er around Wutan City, whose economy had flourished through his influence. He then headed to the Xiao Clan marketplace to search for an iron fragment that stored the Attraction Palm, hoping to learn how it was made.

• Xiao Yan told Xiaying and the other women that he kept Nalan Yanran around so he could speak with her teacher, and urged the girls to cultivate diligently.
• Xiao Yan met Xun'er, and the two left the clan together to stroll through Wutan City.
• Xiao Yan observed how medicine sales and Ya Fei's trade between the Chu Yun Empire and Jia Ma Empire had transformed Wutan City's economy.
• After Xun'er finished shopping, Xiao Yan took her to the Xiao Clan marketplace to look for the iron fragment containing the Attraction Palm.
• Xiao Yan hoped to study the fragment's technique for storing Dou Techniques and improve its production and retrieval methods.

Xiao Yan found an iron fragment containing a Dou Technique and reunited with Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran, who had been searching for him so he could remove their seals. He left Xun'er pleased with a bell bracelet and resolved to help Yun Yun grow stronger for the threat posed by Soul Hall.

• Xiao Yan used his soul perception to find an old iron fragment in a market shop and bought it for a few gold coins, while Xun'er recognized that it might contain an ancient Dou Technique.
• Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran searched the market for Xiao Yan because Yun Yun wanted him to remove the seal on her Dou Qi vortex.
• Xiao Yan met Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran at a jewelry shop and realized Yun Yun's strength remained sealed by his mother's icy Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan decided to improve Yun Yun's cultivation so she could help protect the Misty Cloud Sect from Soul Hall.
• Xiao Yan put a bell bracelet on Xun'er's wrist, and she blushed before thanking him warmly.

Xiao Yan removed the icy seal from Yun Yun’s Dou Qi vortex by using his fused Heavenly Flames to nourish her meridians and break through the binding energy. Yun Yun regained control of her power, but her clothes were left torn and nearly transparent, leaving her exposed before Xiao Yan.

• Nalan Yanran regretted breaking off her engagement with Xiao Yan after learning how far he had surpassed her and the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Xiao Yan bought Xun'er a bracelet, then returned home with her, Nalan Yanran, and Yun Yun.
• Xiao Yan examined Yun Yun and found that an icy energy had trapped her Dou Qi inside her vortex while leaving her meridians empty.
• Xiao Yan used his fused Heavenly Flames to nourish Yun Yun’s body and strike at the icy seal around her Dou Qi vortex.
• Xiao Yan broke the seal, and Yun Yun regained control of her Dou Qi as the dissipating energy strengthened her cultivation.
• Yun Yun noticed Xiao Yan staring at her torn, nearly transparent clothes and lowered her flushed face.

Mittel Tengshan proposed that Ya Fei marry Xiao Yan, while she admitted her interest in him. Xiao Yan comprehended a new seal-breaking technique and later reunited with Ya Fei at the Xiao Clan hall.

• Mittel Tengshan told Ya Fei that it was time for her to marry, and a black-robed figure defended her right to refuse.
• Tengshan revealed that he wanted Ya Fei to marry Xiao Yan, and Ya Fei blushed at the suggestion.
• After removing Yun Yun's seal, Xiao Yan comprehended Flame Spirit Seal-Breaking and prepared to visit the Xiao Clan's main hall.
• Xiao Yan entered the hall and saw Ya Fei, who had reached the Dou Wang level and secretly winked at him.

Teng Shan visited the Xiao Clan and offered Ya Fei a high Xuan-tier cultivation method as a dowry to propose her marriage to Xiao Yan. The First Elder then revealed that he had come to discuss his granddaughter Xiao Yu, leaving the marriage talks complicated.

• Xiao Yan arrived at the Xiao Clan gathering and greeted Xiao Zhan, Qin Yueyao, Teng Shan, and Xiao Yu, who had returned from Jia Nan Academy.
• Teng Shan presented a high Xuan-tier Wind Scroll Art cultivation method and offered it as Ya Fei's dowry in a proposal to Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yu reacted with a snort while someone behind Xiao Yan grabbed his waist, and the First Elder objected to Teng Shan's proposal interrupting his own request.
• The First Elder said he had come to speak on behalf of his granddaughter Xiao Yu, and the other elders insisted that her late father Xiao Kang's descendants must not be humiliated.

Xiao Yan escaped a reception hall where Teng Shan and the Grand Elder both sought to arrange marriages with him, leaving Qin Yueyao to postpone the decision. While relaxing with Xun'er, he studied an iron shard and devised the Dou Qi Jade Slip, a new method for storing information with dou qi.

• The Grand Elder claimed Xiao Yan had seen Xiao Yu bathing years earlier and urged Xiao Zhan to let his granddaughter marry him, while Teng Shan also offered a cultivation method in hopes of a match.
• Xiao Yan took Teng Shan's Wind Scroll Art and hurriedly left the reception hall, leaving Qin Yueyao to tell Teng Shan and the Grand Elder to wait until he came of age.
• Xiao Yan went to Xun'er's courtyard, where she fed him lychees as he examined an iron shard from his Bone Flame Ring.
• Xiao Yan deciphered the shard's principles and gained an epiphany, creating the Dou Qi Jade Slip for storing information with dou qi.

Xiao Yan developed a theory for using his Heavenly Flames to suppress bloodlines and rested in Xun'er's embrace. When Xun'er asked about the mysterious mark on his brow, Xiao Yan vowed to grow strong enough to stand against any power behind her.

• Xiao Yan considered how to combine the power of his Heavenly Flames into a domain that could suppress bloodlines, though he had not yet worked out how to make it.
• Xiao Yan fell asleep beside Xun'er, who watched over him and reflected on his unusual flame mark and her own advantages as a member of the Gu Clan.
• After waking, Xiao Yan pulled Xun'er into his embrace and kissed her while she shyly reminded him that he had slept for more than half a day.
• Xun'er asked Xiao Yan what the symbol on his brow meant and warned that it could be significant even to her powerful clan.
• Xiao Yan told Xun'er that he would become a Dou Venerate, Dou Saint, or Dou Emperor if necessary, and that no force could change that she was his.

Xun'er told Xiao Yan about the Gu Clan, the ancient clans’ Dou God bloodlines, and the Xiao Clan’s decline, then gave him a drop of her essence blood to aid his research. Studying it, Xiao Yan comprehended the Blood Forbidden Seal, a formation that used Heavenly Flames to suppress those with special bloodlines.

• Xun'er explained that the Gu Clan was an ancient clan and that the Xiao Clan had once belonged to the ancient clans before declining.
• Xun'er described Xiao Xuan and said the flame mark between Xiao Yan’s brows resembled an ancient clan pattern, though the Xiao Clan’s bloodline had long weakened.
• Xiao Yan told Xun'er that he wanted to study bloodlines to develop a method that could restrain the Heavenly Evil God and protect his family.
• Xun'er cut her wrist and offered Xiao Yan a drop of her essence blood, which he caught and examined.
• Xiao Yan gained an epiphany from studying Xun'er's blood and comprehended the Blood Forbidden Seal, a Heavenly Flame formation that could suppress special bloodlines.

Xiao Yan refined a Dou Qi jade slip and gave Xun'er an advanced cultivation technique tailored to her fire attribute and bloodline. As Xun'er began cultivating, the technique drew immense energy into her room, startling Ling Ying.

• Xiao Yan reflected on how the Flame Seal should evolve into the Blood Forbidden Seal and noted that the new technique still needed refinement.
• Xiao Yan made a jade tablet that could transfer recorded information through Dou Qi and showed Xun'er how to use it.
• Xun'er read the jade slip and discovered that it contained a cultivation technique Xiao Yan had improved and tailored for her.
• Xun'er began cultivating the advanced Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique, which Xiao Yan had adapted to her fire attribute and ancient bloodline.
• Xun'er's cultivation drew vast amounts of heaven and earth energy into the courtyard, startling Ling Ying as the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame protected her while she absorbed it.

Xiao Yan watched Xun'er cultivate with the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique and realized it was accelerating the awakening of her Gu Clan bloodline while restoring her strength. After Xun'er broke through to two-star Dou Emperor, Xiao Yan gained insight into gradually cultivating a new Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.

• Xiao Yan considered using the energy stored in his Flame Seal to strengthen a newly condensed Heavenly Flame and studied Xun'er's Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.
• Xun'er cultivated with the Chaos Life-Nourishing Technique, which restored her after her lost essence blood and sent refined energy into her body.
• The Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame purified Xun'er's blood, accelerating the awakening of her Gu Clan Dou Emperor bloodline.
• Xiao Yan realized the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame's power may have been sealed by Gu Yuan and could be gradually unsealed as Xun'er grew stronger.
• Xun'er absorbed energy from the room and advanced to two-star Dou Emperor, giving Xiao Yan an insight into cultivating the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame gradually.