Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin watched Xiao Dongcheng conduct the Xiao Household’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony and struggled to memorize its lengthy rites as he prepared to become patriarch. After the opening rites ended, Xiao Dongcheng began the final assessment of the sixteen-year-olds’ Dou Qi cultivation.

• Xiao Dongcheng personally oversaw the Coming-of-Age Ceremony because the Xiao Household’s three elder positions were vacant, with Xiao Zhen, Xiao Ze, and Xiao Yi expected to take them after Xiao Lin became patriarch.
• Nalan Jie, Mu Chen, and Yun Shan teased Xiao Lin about the ceremony’s tedious traditions, while Yun Shan warned that the patriarch succession ceremony would be even more demanding.
• Xiao Lin secretly resolved to change the rules someday as the opening rites stretched from early morning until noon.
• Xiao Dongcheng announced that Xiao Household members who had turned sixteen must reach the seventh stage of Dou Qi or be sent to serve as stewards in the clan’s territories.

At the Xiao Household coming-of-age ceremony, Xiao Zhan tested as a sixteen-year-old Three-Star Dou Zhe, drawing praise from the gathered clansmen and faction representatives. After Xiao Zhan left the square, Xiao Dongcheng called Xiao Ying forward for the next test.

• Xiao Zhan stepped up to the black stone stele and channeled his Dou Qi into it.
• Xiao Dongcheng announced that sixteen-year-old Xiao Zhan was a Three-Star Dou Zhe, prompting an uproar and congratulations for Xiao Lin.
• Xiao Lin explained that Xiao Zhan's recent advance followed his practice of the Earth Tier Xun Wind Art and the release of cultivation he had accumulated.
• Xiao Dongcheng reminded Xiao Zhan not to grow complacent, and Xiao Zhan agreed before leaving the square.
• Xiao Dongcheng called Xiao Ying to be tested, and Xiao Ying nervously stepped into the center of the square.

The Xiao Household completed its coming-of-age ceremony, then Xiao Dongcheng named Xiao Lin as his successor and presided over his patriarchal succession. Xiao Lin finished the formalities and was officially greeted as the new patriarch.

• Xiao Household clansmen completed their cultivation tests, with sixteen of the twenty-one participants passing and Xiao Zhan recording the highest cultivation.
• The passing youngsters challenged one another, and Xiao Zhan took first place without being challenged.
• Xiao Dongcheng thanked the gathered guests and announced that he would step down after more than forty years as patriarch.
• Xiao Dongcheng named Xiao Lin as his successor, and Xiao Lin joined him at the center of the square.
• Xiao Lin completed the succession ceremony and was declared the Xiao Household's new patriarch.

Xiao Lin became the Xiao Household’s new clan head and received gifts and promises of support from major factions across the Jia Ma Empire. After the guests began leaving, he asked Yun Shan and Yun Yun to stay because he wanted to discuss cultivation methods and Dou Techniques he had found in the Heavenly Serpent Empire.

• Xiao Lin formally accepted the Xiao Household’s support as its new clan head, succeeding Xiao Dongcheng.
• Major factions presented the Xiao Household with valuable gifts, and Yun Shan promised to accept three of its clansmen into the Misty Cloud Sect each year.
• Xiao Lin saw off the guests, exchanged farewells with Nalan Jie and Mu Chen, and maintained friendly relations with the factions present.
• Xiao Lin stopped Yun Shan and Yun Yun from leaving and asked them to remain at the Xiao Household.
• Xiao Lin sent Xiao Zhan to escort Yun Shan and Yun Yun to his courtyard while he finished seeing off the guests.
• Xiao Lin planned to ask Yun Shan about cultivation methods and Dou Techniques connected to the Misty Cloud Sect that he had obtained in the Heavenly Serpent Empire.

After becoming Xiao Household clan chief, Xiao Lin sought advice from Yun Shan about managing a force and asked whether the Misty Cloud Sect had suffered an upheaval. Yun Shan reacted with shock when Xiao Lin mentioned the Dou Technique Wind's Ultimate: Annihilation, leaving Xiao Lin convinced that the sect had lost its Earth Rank techniques in a past disaster.

• Xiao Lin returned to his courtyard and sent Xiao Zhan to help Xiao Dongcheng handle matters outside.
• Xiao Lin dismissed the other Xiao Household members and chatted with Yun Shan and Yun Yun, asking Yun Shan for advice on managing a sect.
• Xiao Lin asked Yun Shan whether the Misty Cloud Sect had experienced an upheaval, and Yun Shan's expression stiffened.
• Xiao Lin explained that he had met people using techniques similar to the Misty Cloud Sect's and named Wind's Ultimate: Annihilation.
• Yun Shan leapt to his feet in shock, and Xiao Lin inferred that the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family had taken the sect's Earth Rank methods and techniques, causing its decline.

Xiao Lin told Yun Shan that a member of the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family had used Wind's Extremity: Annihilation, dashing Yun Shan's hopes of reclaiming Misty Cloud Sect's lost inheritance. Yun Shan then began explaining how the sect's Earth Rank techniques and higher cultivation methods had been lost more than three hundred years earlier.

• Yun Shan asked Xiao Lin where he had heard of Wind's Extremity: Annihilation, hoping to recover Misty Cloud Sect's lost techniques and methods.
• Xiao Lin said he had seen a member of the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family use the technique, and Yun Shan gave up hope of reclaiming the inheritance by force.
• Yun Shan blamed himself for Misty Cloud Sect's loss, while Xiao Lin considered the possibility of making a deal with the sect.
• Xiao Lin asked Yun Shan to explain the sect's past, and Yun Shan confirmed that the technique belonged to Wind's Extremity's Earth Rank chapter.
• Yun Shan said a man-made disaster more than three hundred years earlier had caused Misty Cloud Sect to lose its Earth Rank and higher cultivation methods and Dou Techniques.

Yun Shan told Xiao Lin how a defeated candidate for Misty Cloud Sect leader betrayed the sect and joined outsiders in a devastating attack that cost the sect most of its strength and its higher-ranked techniques. He also revealed that the sect’s decline had left it unable to stop the Jia Ma Empire’s founding, explaining the long-standing, mutually restrained relationship between them.

• Yun Shan recounted how a traitor who lost the contest to become the fourth sect leader colluded with outsiders and attacked the Misty Cloud Sect more than three hundred years earlier.
• Yun Shan said the attack killed most of the sect’s predecessors, including the third and fourth leaders, and caused the loss of its Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques above Earth Rank.
• Xiao Lin suspected the outsiders had been the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family and learned that the Misty Cloud Sect had been reduced to less than one-tenth of its former strength.
• Yun Shan explained that the sect’s weakness had allowed the Jia Ma Empire to be founded within its territory, and Xiao Lin inferred that the two sides had likely joined forces for mutual benefit.
• Yun Shan and Xiao Lin recognized that the history of hardship still shaped the restrained relationship between the Misty Cloud Sect and the Jia Ma Imperial Family.

Yun Shan told Xiao Lin how the Misty Cloud Sect lost its inheritance to the Heavenly Serpent Empire, and Yun Yun vowed to reclaim it. He then explained the upcoming Sect Tournament and invited Xiao Lin to consider competing as a Dou Wang, with four years remaining before it began.

• Yun Shan explained that the Misty Cloud Sect's lost inheritance was held by the Heavenly Serpent Imperial Family, and Yun Yun promised to reclaim it someday.
• Yun Shan thanked Xiao Lin for revealing the inheritance's location, offered help to the Xiao Household, and asked him to keep the sect's history private; Xiao Lin agreed.
• Yun Shan introduced the Sect Tournament of the Four Great Empires and asked whether Xiao Lin would compete in the Dou Wang division.
• Yun Shan explained that the tournament was held every five years to settle resource allocations and measure the empires' strength, and said the next one was four years away.

Xiao Lin discussed the next Sect Tournament with Yun Shan and learned that rival sect leaders’ approaching breakthroughs had intensified Yun Shan’s anxiety. After Yun Shan’s visit raised the Xiao Household’s standing, Xiao Lin began consolidating his authority as clan leader by striking at factions that had targeted his family.

• Xiao Lin told Yun Shan he would consider joining the next Sect Tournament, and Yun Shan admitted that the competition and his rivals’ progress troubled him.
• Yun Shan explained that Xie Biyan had already reached Dou Zong, Yan Luotian was expected to break through, and Yun Shan himself had made no progress beyond Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor.
• Yun Shan and Yun Yun stayed overnight at the Xiao Household, then returned to the Misty Cloud Sect the next day.
• News of Yun Shan’s visit spread through the Jia Ma Empire, leading people to see the Xiao Household as backed by both the imperial family and the Misty Cloud Sect.
• One month after becoming clan leader, Xiao Lin led clansmen to wipe out the Li Household and the Wang Household for spreading rumors of his death and provoking the Xiao Household.

Xiao Dongcheng revealed the Xiao Household’s Tou She Ancient God Jade to Xiao Lin and passed it to him as the clan leader’s heirloom. Xiao Lin recognized its significance and danger, but left deciding what to do with it for later.

• Xiao Lin stopped the Xiao Household’s expansion and focused on developing it without disturbing the peace in Jia Ma Imperial Capital.
• Xiao Dongcheng summoned Xiao Lin to the ancestral shrine and reminded him that he was now the clan leader.
• Xiao Dongcheng retrieved the Tou She Ancient God Jade from a hidden compartment behind an ancestor’s memorial tablet and handed it to Xiao Lin.
• Xiao Lin recognized the jade as one of eight fragments connected to a Dou Emperor and realized it could block soul perception.
• Xiao Lin accepted responsibility for safeguarding the jade but considered it a dangerous burden for the Xiao Household.
• Xiao Lin decided to postpone dealing with the Tou She Ancient God Jade, though he already had some ideas about it.

Xiao Lin reorganized the Xiao Household and used its newly acquired Earth Rank methods, expanded leadership, and returning alchemists to accelerate the clan’s growth. After two years, the household had become more respected across the Jia Ma Empire, while Xiao Lin punished members who disgraced it.

• Xiao Lin rebuilt the Scripture Pavilion, secured it with arrays, and revealed Earth Rank methods and techniques to the household’s inner circle.
• The Three Great Elders and other senior members cultivated the Earth Rank methods, growing stronger as the Xiao Household expanded its leadership structure.
• Xiao Lin appointed Xiao Li, a Third-Grade Alchemist, as Elixir Hall Elder after the household’s alchemists returned from their apprenticeships.
• During Xiao Lin’s first two years as clan leader, the Xiao Household gained respect across the Jia Ma Empire, and he dealt harshly with clansmen who tarnished its name.

Xiao Lin received an invitation to Yun Shan’s formal disciple acceptance ceremony for Yun Yun and spent the next two months preparing for a plan he had discussed with Xiao Zhan. At the ceremony, Xiao Lin brought Xiao Zhan and several promising Xiao Household juniors to the Misty Cloud Sect, where Xiao Zhan remained unsure whether his father’s plan could succeed.

• Xiao Lin received an invitation to the Misty Cloud Sect’s disciple acceptance ceremony and realized Yun Shan would formally recognize Yun Yun as his disciple.
• Xiao Lin spoke privately with Xiao Zhan, then left household affairs to the elders and spent nearly two months working in the Scripture Pavilion.
• Xiao Lin traveled to the Misty Cloud Sect with Xiao Zhan and several outstanding Xiao Household juniors, including Xiao Zhan, who had advanced to Intermediate Dou Master.
• The Xiao Household party presented its invitation at Misty Cloud Mountain and was welcomed into the sect.
• On the mountainside, Xiao Zhan asked Xiao Lin whether the plan they had discussed three months earlier would really work and suggested abandoning it.

Xiao Lin and the Xiao Household arrived at Misty Cloud Sect for its disciple acceptance ceremony, where he asked Yun Leng to arrange a meeting with Yun Shan. Yun Shan received him and asked whether he had come to answer about the Sect Tournament, leaving Xiao Lin’s purpose still unspoken.

• Xiao Lin reassured Xiao Zhan that he would handle matters as the Xiao Household traveled to Misty Cloud Mountain.
• The Xiao Household reached the Misty Cloud Sect and met Nalan Jie and Mu Chen in the main hall.
• Xiao Lin asked Yun Leng to inform Yun Shan that he wanted to meet, and Yun Leng agreed to pass along the request.
• Yun Leng returned and led Xiao Lin to Yun Shan, then left the two of them alone.
• Yun Shan asked Xiao Lin whether he had come merely to answer him about the Sect Tournament.

Xiao Lin agreed to compete in the four great empires’ Sect Tournament in two years and negotiated a deal with Yun Shan by presenting him with a valuable item. Xiao Lin returned to the gathering as the Misty Cloud Sect’s disciple acceptance ceremony neared and the empire’s prominent experts assembled.

• Xiao Lin told Yun Shan that he would participate in the Sect Tournament two years later and had come to propose a deal.
• Xiao Lin tossed Yun Shan an item, and Yun Shan was so impressed that he agreed to negotiate on Xiao Lin’s terms.
• Xiao Lin and Yun Shan spent nearly half an hour discussing the deal, while Yun Shan dismissed others seeking him.
• Xiao Lin returned to the guest hall, where Nalan Jie and Mu Chen teased him and he said he had discussed the Sect Tournament with Yun Shan.
• Jia Xing Tian, Hai Bodong, Fa Ma, and other prominent experts arrived as the Misty Cloud Sect’s disciple acceptance ceremony approached.

At the Misty Cloud Sect's disciple acceptance ceremony, Hai Bodong challenged Yun Shan to a fight, drawing the attention of the gathered guests. The chapter ended with everyone anticipating the match while Xiao Lin watched calmly.

• Yun Shan arrived with Yun Yun and exchanged a discreet nod with Xiao Lin, prompting Xiao Zhan to ask whether they had reached an agreement.
• Hai Bodong approached Yun Shan and confirmed that Yun Shan still honored his promise.
• Hai Bodong challenged Yun Shan, saying he wanted to measure the gap between himself and the Jia Ma Empire's strongest expert.
• The guests erupted in excitement, while Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma watched with interest and Xiao Lin quietly drank his tea.
• The narration outlined the empire's strongest experts and noted Xiao Lin's publicly displayed Four-Star Dou Wang rank of seventh.

Hai Bodong challenged Yun Shan to fulfill a decades-old promise, and the two fought before the assembled guests. After seeing the gap between them, Hai Bodong announced that his next move would be his strongest attack and that the match would count as his defeat if Yun Shan withstood it.

• Yun Shan accepted Hai Bodong’s challenge, recalling his promise that Hai Bodong could challenge him after reaching the Dou Huang Realm.
• Yun Shan and Hai Bodong moved to the square, where the guests gathered to watch their fight.
• Hai Bodong attacked with Ninefold Ice Blades, and Yun Shan shattered them with his Great Wind Handprint.
• Yun Shan and Hai Bodong took to the sky and clashed with wind and ice as Yun Shan held back and guided his opponent.
• Hai Bodong acknowledged Yun Shan’s restraint and announced that his strongest attack would decide the match.

Yun Shan defeated Hai Bodong in a public duel, though Hai Bodong’s final attack injured him. Yun Shan rejected the title of strongest in the Jia Ma Empire and glanced toward Xiao Lin, while Hai Bodong mistakenly assumed he meant Jia Xing Tian.

• Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma discussed Yun Shan’s strength and worried that a breakthrough to Dou Zong could threaten the Gama Imperial Family.
• Hai Bodong unleashed Mystic Ice Dragon Soaring, sending four crystalline ice dragons at Yun Shan.
• Yun Shan used Great Sorrowful Wind-Ripping Hand to tear apart the ice dragons, but the attack left his right hand frostbitten and bleeding.
• Hai Bodong admitted defeat, and Yun Shan praised his strength while saying he was not the strongest in the Jia Ma Empire.
• Yun Shan glanced at Xiao Lin, but Hai Bodong thought Yun Shan was referring to Jia Xing Tian.

Yun Shan told Hai Bodong that a hidden expert in the Jia Ma Empire surpassed him, though he refused to reveal the person’s identity. After Yun Shan defeated Hai Bodong, Hai Bodong told Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma that the empire had a Dou Zong.

• Yun Shan told Hai Bodong that the Jia Ma Empire had an expert stronger than himself, but declined to identify Xiao Lin.
• Hai Bodong concluded the hidden expert was a Dou Zong and resolved to travel abroad to improve his strength.
• Yun Shan defeated Hai Bodong in their challenge, and they returned to the Misty Cloud Sect’s main hall.
• Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma asked Hai Bodong what he had discussed with Yun Shan.
• Hai Bodong told Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma that Yun Shan had revealed the Jia Ma Empire had a Dou Zong.

Hai Bodong told Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma that Yun Shan had encountered someone in the Jia Ma Empire stronger than himself, leading the three to conclude a hidden Dou Zong was among them. They connected the revelation to an unexplained force in the Imperial Capital eighteen years earlier and the mysterious slaying of Ying Changkong, then hoped the unknown expert meant the empire no harm.

• Hai Bodong repeated Yun Shan's account, and Jia Xing Tian and Fa Ma concluded that someone stronger than Yun Shan was likely a Dou Zong.
• Jia Xing Tian recalled the powerful force that had swept through the Gama Imperial Capital eighteen years earlier, which Hai Bodong and Fa Ma also remembered.
• Hai Bodong connected the suspected expert to the Black Eagle Bandit Group's mysterious deaths and Ying Changkong's killing during a Secret Realm expedition.
• Hai Bodong, Jia Xing Tian, and Fa Ma returned to the Misty Cloud Sect's main hall and hoped the hidden expert was not hostile to the Jia Ma Empire.

Yun Shan formally accepted Yun Yun as his disciple and appointed her the Misty Cloud Sect’s Young Sect Master. After the ceremony seemed to conclude, Yun Shan announced it was only halfway over and approached the guests, leaving them and the sect members puzzled.

• Yun Shan accepted Yun Yun as his disciple after she kowtowed to him and the sect’s ancestors.
• Yun Shan declared Yun Yun the Misty Cloud Sect’s ninth-generation chief disciple and Young Sect Master, and the sect members bowed to her.
• Guests congratulated Yun Shan and praised Yun Yun as the sect’s successor.
• Yun Shan announced that the ceremony was only halfway done, confusing the guests, disciples, and elders.
• Yun Shan walked toward the guest seating area as Nalan Jie asked Xiao Lin and Mu Chen what was happening; Xiao Lin remained calm and said nothing.