Chapter Summaries

Chapter Summary: “Zi Yan’s Delight”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang meets Zi Yan, whose childlike appearance contrasts with her powerful cultivation. He jokingly teases her about her height while offering to prepare food and refine medicinal herbs for her.
• Zi Yan discovers that Xiao Yang is an alchemist and questions how someone so young could possess such advanced skills. Xiao Yang reveals that he is a Fifth-Rank Alchemist and an elder of the Alchemy Department.
• Xiao Yang recognizes that Zi Yan is an Ancient Void Dragon with the Dragon Emperor Bloodline. He deduces that she failed to transform properly because she consumed Transformation Grass while still young instead of using a Transformation Pill.
• He explains that Zi Yan can only mature by reaching a higher cultivation realm or obtaining a Transformation Pill. Since no one in the Northwestern Continent can currently refine one, Zi Yan becomes discouraged.
• Xiao Yang claims he may be able to refine the required Seventh-Rank Transformation Pill within one or two years. Delighted, Zi Yan promises to fulfill any condition he names in exchange.
• Xiao Yang agrees, secretly hoping to benefit from Zi Yan’s exceptional ability to locate rare medicinal herbs. Zi Yan also promises to protect him while he remains in the Inner Academy.
• At the Medicinal Materials Management Office, Hao Elder is alarmed to see Zi Yan, fearing she has once again been consuming the academy’s herbs. Zi Yan openly declares that she needs more herbs to grow and orders Xiao Yang’s materials to be registered.
• Hao Elder privately warns Xiao Yang that Zi Yan is troublesome and advises him to seek Grand Elder Su Qian’s help if she causes problems. Zi Yan then drags Xiao Yang toward the dormitory area.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Displays patience, humor, and confidence in his alchemical abilities. He shows genuine interest in helping Zi Yan but also recognizes the practical value of her treasure-sensing powers.
• Zi Yan: Reveals her insecurity and frustration about being unable to grow physically despite her immense strength and potential. Her mood shifts from suspicion and discouragement to excitement and hope after hearing Xiao Yang may refine a Transformation Pill.
• Hao Elder: Acts as a cautious caretaker of the academy’s medicinal resources and clearly views Zi Yan as a dangerous but familiar troublemaker.

Significant Themes

• Appearance versus true power: Zi Yan looks like a young child but possesses Dou Wang-level strength and the extraordinary Dragon Emperor Bloodline. Xiao Yang likewise appears unusually young for his accomplishments.
• Growth and identity: Zi Yan’s desire to mature physically reflects her struggle with her incomplete transformation and the limitations imposed by her powerful bloodline.
• Mutual benefit and cooperation: Xiao Yang and Zi Yan form an agreement based on shared interests—he offers alchemical assistance, while she offers protection and access to rare herbs.
• Natural talent and potential: Zi Yan’s slow development is balanced by exceptional strength and an enormous future potential, while Xiao Yang’s rapid progress in alchemy marks him as unusually gifted.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang repeatedly teases and pats Zi Yan’s head, while she protests fiercely because she fears it may prevent her from growing taller.
• Zi Yan challenges Xiao Yang’s credibility as an alchemist, but her skepticism turns into admiration when she learns of his rapid advancement.
• Xiao Yang comforts Zi Yan by assuring her that she can eventually grow, then gives her realistic information about the Transformation Pill.
• Zi Yan enthusiastically bargains with Xiao Yang and immediately assumes responsibility for protecting him.
• Hao Elder treats Zi Yan like a troublesome “little ancestor,” while Zi Yan dismisses his concerns and insists on obtaining more medicinal herbs.

Summary of “Zi Yan’s Recognition”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Zi Yan moves into Xiao Yang’s spacious pavilion in the Inner Academy, declaring that she will live there and promising to protect him.
• She gives Xiao Yang a partially eaten Heaven Jade Spirit Fruit and asks him to refine it.
• Xiao Yang uses his dark crimson flames to refine the fruit without an alchemy cauldron. He adds Delicious Powder, transforming the medicinal essence into a sweet, flavorful juice.
• Zi Yan enjoys the drink so much that she immediately asks for more. Xiao Yang tells her he will make another cup if she brings him another Heaven Jade Spirit Fruit.
• Zi Yan then offers him an Earth Core Rock Vine to refine. Xiao Yang turns it into medicinal pellets, again adding Delicious Powder to improve the taste and make the nutrients easier to absorb.
• Although warned to eat the pellets slowly, Zi Yan samples one and eagerly wants another. She restrains herself after sensing that her body needs time to digest the energy.
• Zi Yan asks about the seasoning Xiao Yang used in his roasted meat. Xiao Yang explains the effects of Delicious Powder and gives her a bottle.
• She roasts a piece of Fourth-Order Magical Beast meat and adds the powder. The improved flavor impresses her, and she quickly finishes the entire piece.
• Xiao Yang receives a system notification announcing that he has completed the first stage of the side quest involving Zi Yan, earning ten million Universal Experience and thirty million Shop Points.
• Xiao Yang then asks Zi Yan about the forest surrounding the Inner Academy. Since she considers the forest her home, she knows the locations of many Fourth-Order and stronger Magical Beasts.
• Zi Yan provides a map and marks the locations of these beasts. Xiao Yang views the marked areas as ideal “farming spots” for gathering resources and gaining rewards.

Character Development

• Zi Yan: Her initial promise to support Xiao Yang develops into clear trust and affection. She is easily won over by good food and refined medicinal ingredients, becoming enthusiastic, dependent on Xiao Yang’s skills, and willing to share valuable information with him.
• Xiao Yang: He demonstrates advanced alchemy and resourcefulness by refining ingredients directly with his flames and enhancing them with Delicious Powder. He also recognizes the practical value of Zi Yan’s knowledge, immediately planning to exploit the forest’s Magical Beast locations.
• Their relationship becomes more cooperative and familiar, with Zi Yan treating Xiao Yang as a reliable companion and Xiao Yang benefiting from her protection, resources, and knowledge.

Significant Themes

• Trust and recognition: Zi Yan’s willingness to live with and support Xiao Yang reflects her growing trust in him.
• Food as a means of bonding: Xiao Yang’s cooking and Delicious Powder quickly earn Zi Yan’s approval and deepen their connection.
• Resource enhancement: Xiao Yang’s abilities allow ordinary ingredients, food, and medicinal materials to become far more valuable and effective.
• Practical cultivation and progression: The refined ingredients provide Zi Yan with energy, while the system rewards Xiao Yang for strengthening his relationship with her.
• Opportunity and exploitation of knowledge: Xiao Yang sees Zi Yan’s forest map as a valuable strategic resource for hunting Magical Beasts and advancing his power.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yan confidently claims a room in Xiao Yang’s pavilion and promises to protect him.
• She repeatedly asks Xiao Yang to refine medicinal ingredients and eagerly samples everything he produces.
• Xiao Yang patiently accommodates her appetite while setting limits, requiring another Heaven Jade Spirit Fruit before making more juice.
• Zi Yan questions him about Delicious Powder, then tests it herself by roasting meat.
• Impressed by the results, she praises the powder and implicitly acknowledges Xiao Yang’s usefulness.
• Xiao Yang later relies on Zi Yan’s familiarity with the forest, and she responds by marking valuable Magical Beast locations on his map.

Chapter Summary: “A Peerless NPC!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang receives a quest after Zi Yan asks him to refine more than a dozen medicinal ingredients, most of which are suitable for Fourth- and Fifth-Grade elixirs.
• Motivated by the quest rewards—a random Fifth-Grade pill formula, ingredients, Universal Experience, and Shop Points—Xiao Yang immediately agrees.
• Zi Yan offers him three medicinal ingredients as payment. Xiao Yang quickly selects the three most valuable ones, causing Zi Yan considerable emotional pain because she had agreed before realizing how much he would take.
• Xiao Yang refines the ingredients into liquids, pills, and medicinal chunks, storing them in jade bottles for Zi Yan to consume gradually.
• The quest is completed, granting Xiao Yang the promised Fifth-Grade pill formula, three sets of ingredients, experience, and Shop Points.
• Zi Yan becomes irritated by Xiao Yang’s satisfaction and retreats to her room, while Xiao Yang examines his new pill formula.
• Over the next month, Xiao Yang remains in the Inner Academy, refining Fourth- and Fifth-Grade healing pills, cultivating, and occasionally visiting Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian in the Outer Academy.
• He briefly uses the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower but finds its accelerated cultivation largely unnecessary because he does not depend on ordinary cultivation to advance.
• After a month, Xiao Yang gives Zi Yan another supply of refined medicinal materials, enough—together with the previous batch—to last her two months.
• Xiao Yang announces that he plans to enter the forest outside the Inner Academy to hunt Magical Beasts and gain combat experience before returning to refine more ingredients for Zi Yan.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Becomes increasingly enthusiastic about Zi Yan because she can repeatedly trigger system quests and provide valuable resources. He begins viewing her as a “peerless NPC,” while also exploiting her generous payment arrangement. He continues developing his alchemy skills and prepares to improve his combat experience rather than simply relying on cultivation.
• Zi Yan: Initially confident in asking Xiao Yang for help, she becomes frustrated when he chooses three valuable ingredients as payment. Despite her annoyance, she grows more comfortable with him over the month and begins depending on his refined medicinal supplies. Her concern about his planned forest expedition shows that she has developed genuine attachment and regard for him.
• Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian: Remain peripheral during this chapter, though Xiao Yang continues visiting them periodically.

Significant Themes

• Mutual exploitation and companionship: Xiao Yang sees Zi Yan primarily as a source of quests and rewards, while Zi Yan values him for his alchemy and the food-like medicinal products he provides. Their transactional relationship gradually develops into familiarity and concern.
• Greed and comedic misunderstanding: Xiao Yang’s eagerness to claim valuable ingredients contrasts with Zi Yan’s regret at having offered them, creating much of the chapter’s humor.
• System-driven progression: Xiao Yang’s advancement is shaped more by quests, rewards, and alchemy than by conventional cultivation methods.
• Growing emotional bonds: Although their relationship begins as a practical exchange, Zi Yan’s worry about Xiao Yang’s safety suggests their connection is becoming more personal.
• Preparation and self-improvement: Xiao Yang emphasizes gaining actual combat experience and refining his techniques instead of pursuing cultivation strength alone.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang and Zi Yan: Their interactions are playful and adversarial. Zi Yan reluctantly pays him with medicinal ingredients, while Xiao Yang pretends not to notice her distress and rushes to refine everything before she can reconsider. Later, Zi Yan eagerly waits for his latest batch, and her concern about his forest trip reveals increasing trust and attachment.
• Xiao Yang and Xun’er/Xiao Yi Xian: Xiao Yang continues visiting them during his time in the Outer Academy, maintaining his existing relationships.
• The chapter ends with Zi Yan questioning Xiao Yang’s need to train in the forest and offering to lend him Fire Energy, demonstrating that she now cares about his safety rather than viewing him solely as her alchemist and cook.

Chapter Summary: “Explosive Flame Bear”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang decides to hunt Fourth-Order Magical Beasts in the Inner Academy’s forest to test his strength as a Da Dou Shi.
• Zi Yan insists on accompanying him, claiming she can sense powerful beasts and gather medicinal herbs, though her real motivation is protecting Xiao Yang.
• Xiao Yang agrees, knowing that Zi Yan’s presence and abilities greatly improve his chances, possibly allowing him to challenge a Fifth-Order Magical Beast.
• They fly beyond the Inner Academy’s basin into the forest protected by the academy’s barrier. Zi Yan is impressed by Xiao Yang’s Violet Cloud Wings, whose speed is nearly comparable to her own and faster than that of ordinary Dou Wang elders.
• Zi Yan directs Xiao Yang toward a late-stage Fourth-Order Explosive Flame Bear. She warns him that it is powerful and reveals that she previously stole a Sunfire Grass from its territory.
• They arrive at a barren valley formed from reflective Heaven Crystal Stone. The stone concentrates sunlight into the valley, raising its temperature to roughly sixty or seventy degrees and creating an ideal environment for fire-attributed medicinal herbs.
• Zi Yan remains on the cliffs because the bear fears her after their previous encounter. Xiao Yang enters the valley alone and approaches the bear’s cave.
• The Explosive Flame Bear emerges in fury and attacks with flame-covered claws. Xiao Yang uses his Shadowless technique twice to evade its strikes.
• When the bear attacks again, Xiao Yang waits until the last moment, then appears behind it using Shadowless. He equips an Explosive Flame Gauntlet and strikes toward the bear’s heart with his flame-covered palm.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Displays increasing confidence and tactical preparation. He is willing to challenge a late-stage Fourth-Order Magical Beast despite being only a Da Dou Shi, relying on his flying battle skill, evasive technique, and Explosive Flame Gauntlet. He also shows boldness by deliberately allowing the bear to approach before counterattacking.
• Zi Yan: Reveals her concern for Xiao Yang and takes on a protective role, disguising it as an interest in gathering herbs. Her strong magical-beast senses and mysterious bloodline continue to be emphasized. She also demonstrates her dominance over other beasts, as the Explosive Flame Bear fears her after their earlier confrontation.

Significant Themes

• Confidence versus overwhelming power: Xiao Yang’s willingness to fight above his cultivation level is supported by preparation, speed, and specialized techniques.
• Companionship and protection: Zi Yan’s insistence on joining Xiao Yang shows her growing attachment and concern for him, while Xiao Yang accepts her aid without hesitation.
• Strategic combat: The confrontation highlights the importance of terrain, timing, evasion, and exploiting an opponent’s openings rather than relying solely on brute force.
• Nature and resource competition: The valley’s rare environment supports medicinal herbs, but these resources also bring magical beasts into conflict with cultivators.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yan tries to protect Xiao Yang while pretending that herb gathering is her main reason for joining him.
• Xiao Yang accepts her companionship because her presence significantly increases his confidence and hunting prospects.
• Zi Yan admires and evaluates Xiao Yang’s flying ability, recognizing that his Violet Cloud Wings give him an unusual advantage for someone at the Da Dou Shi level.
• She guides him to the Explosive Flame Bear but stays out of the fight so the beast will not hide from her.
• Xiao Yang confronts the bear alone and begins a carefully timed counterattack, ending the chapter as he strikes at its heart.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• The Explosive Flame Bear becomes temporarily trapped after embedding its paw in a rock wall while attacking Xiao Yang.
• Xiao Yang takes advantage of the opening and unleashes a highly condensed dark-crimson flame palm directly onto the bear’s back and heart. The attack destroys its Battle Qi Armor and burns through its internal organs.
• Rather than approach the wounded beast immediately, Xiao Yang cautiously waits, restores his battle qi, and finishes it with a long-range flaming palm.
• The system rewards him with 18.6 million Universal Experience and 600,000 Shop Points for killing the Late Fourth Tier Magical Beast.
• Xiao Yang extracts the bear’s Magic Core and gathers various body materials for artifact refining.
• Zi Yan arrives and complains that Xiao Yang burned the bear beyond recognition, lamenting the loss of its edible paws.
• Xiao Yang reveals that he can refine artifacts and demonstrates several Spirit Artifacts, including a defensive barrier, a Spirit-Gathering Bracelet, a Voice Transmission Token, and Explosive Flame Gauntlets.
• Fascinated, Zi Yan experiments with the artifacts, especially the gauntlets. Xiao Yang eventually gives her the bracelet and communication token.
• Before they leave to hunt another beast, Zi Yan senses something valuable inside the Explosive Flame Bear’s cave and leads Xiao Yang inside.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang demonstrates increased combat skill and caution. He uses strategy rather than brute force, exploiting the bear’s immobility and maintaining a safe distance in case of a final counterattack.
• He shows growing frustration with the reduced experience rewards after reaching the Da Dou Shi realm. This motivates him to consider hunting dangerous Fifth-Order Magical Beasts, though he recognizes that doing so will require careful planning.
• Xiao Yang’s identity expands beyond that of an alchemist: he is also an artifact refiner capable of producing unusually powerful Spirit Artifacts.
• Zi Yan displays her playful, childish personality through her concern for bear paws and excitement over the artifacts. At the same time, her sensitivity to hidden treasures and ability to detect something unusual in the cave show her usefulness and instincts.

Significant Themes

• Growth brings new challenges: Xiao Yang’s breakthrough increases his strength but makes previous opponents less rewarding, forcing him to seek stronger and more dangerous enemies.
• Caution and strategy in combat: Victory comes from timing, exploiting an opening, and avoiding unnecessary risk rather than simply overpowering the opponent.
• Expanding abilities and resourcefulness: Xiao Yang’s artifact-refining skills give him additional tools, demonstrating that his development is not limited to cultivation or alchemy.
• Practical use of defeated enemies: The Magical Beast’s core and body materials are treated as valuable resources, emphasizing preparation, crafting, and survival.
• Playful companionship: The contrast between Xiao Yang’s pragmatic attitude and Zi Yan’s enthusiasm creates a lighthearted dynamic after the intense battle.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang kills the Explosive Flame Bear while Zi Yan observes from above, later teasing him for reducing it to charcoal.
• Zi Yan questions why he collects the bear’s remains, prompting Xiao Yang to reveal his artifact-refining abilities.
• She reacts with amazement to his Spirit Artifacts and eagerly tests them, while Xiao Yang tries to keep her from damaging or taking the Explosive Flame Gauntlets.
• Xiao Yang ultimately gives Zi Yan the Spirit-Gathering Bracelet and Voice Transmission Token, strengthening their friendly bond.
• Zi Yan then takes the initiative by stopping Xiao Yang from leaving and guiding him toward the bear’s cave in search of a hidden treasure.

Chapter Summary: “Target: Fifth-Order Magical Beast!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After entering a hidden cave and searching the valley carefully, Zi Yan discovers another Storage Ring, a Fourth-Grade medicinal ingredient, and a Fourth-Tier Magic Core. She also finds an additional Fourth-Grade medicinal ingredient in a concealed area.
• Zi Yan gives all the medicinal ingredients to Xiao Yang because he previously gifted her a Spirit Artifact.
• Over the next month, Xiao Yang and Zi Yan hunt nearly thirty Fourth-Order Magical Beasts in and around the Inner Academy. Their efforts nearly wipe out the Fourth-Order Magical Beasts in the region and raise Xiao Yang’s Universal Experience to approximately 700 million.
• Xiao Yang decides to return to the Inner Academy rather than continue hunting, intending to prepare for a much more dangerous target.
• During his preparation, he upgrades the Low-Grade Earth-Tier Dou Technique Shadowless to Mid Earth Tier, then raises Shadowless, Violet Cloud Wings, and Burning Flame Palm to perfect proficiency.
• The upgraded techniques become dramatically more powerful—particularly Shadowless and Burning Flame Palm, which can rival High-Grade Earth-Tier Dou Techniques—but they consume a great deal of Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yang spends several days refining a Fifth-Grade Spirit Artifact, though the exact nature of the artifact is not revealed.
• The following morning, Xiao Yang and Zi Yan leave the Inner Academy and fly toward a location identified on Zi Yan’s map: the territory of the initial-stage Fifth-Order Magical Beast, the Jade Willow Spirit Python.
• Xiao Yang announces that the Python is their next target, revealing his intention to make a major leap in their hunting gains.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang grows increasingly confident and ambitious. After accumulating massive experience and improving his Dou Techniques, he believes he is ready to challenge a Fifth-Order Magical Beast.
• He demonstrates greater strategic preparation by upgrading his combat techniques, refining a powerful Spirit Artifact, and preparing several “trump cards.”
• Zi Yan proves exceptionally skilled at locating hidden medicinal ingredients, outperforming Xiao Yang in this area. She also becomes more comfortable and enthusiastic during their time together, enjoying the hunting trips, Xiao Yang’s cooking, and the rewards they provide.
• Zi Yan’s confidence and excitement remain strong, but she recognizes the enormous danger of fighting a Fifth-Order Magical Beast and becomes concerned about Xiao Yang’s plan.

Significant Themes

• Preparation before risking advancement: Xiao Yang does not recklessly challenge a stronger enemy. He first improves his techniques, equipment, and resources.
• The importance of specialization and teamwork: Zi Yan’s ability to find hidden treasures complements Xiao Yang’s combat strength and alchemical skills.
• Rapid growth and escalating challenges: After dominating Fourth-Order Magical Beasts, Xiao Yang seeks a stronger opponent to continue advancing.
• Risk versus reward: The Jade Willow Spirit Python represents a major danger, but defeating it could provide extraordinary gains and prove Xiao Yang’s growing strength.
• Companionship and shared adventure: Their hunting partnership includes combat, exploration, food, and mutual reliance, strengthening their bond.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yan repeatedly assists Xiao Yang by discovering valuable items and medicinal ingredients, while Xiao Yang rewards her generosity and companionship with a Spirit Artifact and excellent roasted meat.
• Their conversations show a playful, comfortable relationship: Zi Yan enjoys the leisurely benefits of their expeditions, while Xiao Yang encourages her excitement about their next adventure.
• When Xiao Yang reveals the Fifth-Order target, Zi Yan warns him that the Jade Willow Spirit Python is far more powerful than their previous opponents.
• Xiao Yang reassures her that he has prepared additional abilities and can retreat if necessary, establishing the pair’s next major challenge.

Chapter Summary: “Jade Willow Spirit Python”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang and Zi Yan locate the Jade Willow Spirit Python near a cliff, where a cave, lush vegetation, and a nearby stream provide an ideal habitat for the wood-attributed, shade-loving magical beast.
• Xiao Yang asks Zi Yan to remain on the cliff and intervene only if he cannot handle the situation. Despite being only a Da Dou Shi, his improved speed and agility give him confidence in confronting the Fifth-Order beast.
• Using Spirit Realm soul power, Xiao Yang confirms that the python is inside the large cave.
• He prepares a trap using pungent incense to drive the beast out and a Third-Rank Spirit Artifact resembling an electric fan to force the smell deeper into the cave.
• Xiao Yang also prepares a Sixth-Rank poison, Seven-Step Powder, along with its antidote. The poison is powerful enough to kill a Fifth-Order Magical Beast within minutes, making it his primary method of weakening and defeating the python.
• The incense provokes the Jade Willow Spirit Python, which charges out of the cave in fury.
• When the python opens its enormous mouth to swallow Xiao Yang, he throws the Seven-Step Powder directly into it, taking advantage of the beast’s attack.
• Xiao Yang escapes with the Shadowless technique just before being bitten. The python instead bites into the cliff wall and swallows rock.
• Furious and humiliated that Xiao Yang evaded it, the python attacks him with its powerful tail as the chapter ends.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang demonstrates careful planning, resourcefulness, and confidence. Rather than confronting the Fifth-Order beast directly, he relies on poison, bait, environmental manipulation, and his superior speed.
• His dramatically improved movement abilities surprise Zi Yan and allow him to fight far above what would normally be expected of a Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yang also shows tactical adaptability: when the python opens its mouth, he immediately changes from his original plan of dispersing the poison into dust and successfully throws the pill into its body.
• Zi Yan remains concerned about Xiao Yang’s reckless plan but trusts his abilities enough to wait on the cliff rather than interfere immediately.
• The Jade Willow Spirit Python is portrayed as powerful, aggressive, and highly territorial. Its anger intensifies after Xiao Yang provokes it and then escapes its bite, making the confrontation personal as well as threatening.

Significant Themes

• Strategy over brute force: Xiao Yang relies on preparation and clever tactics to challenge an opponent much stronger than himself.
• Resourcefulness and adaptability: His plan changes instantly when an unexpected opportunity presents itself.
• Confidence versus recklessness: Xiao Yang’s speed and preparations justify his confidence, but fighting a Fifth-Order Magical Beast remains extremely dangerous.
• Predator and prey reversal: The python initially believes Xiao Yang is helpless prey, but Xiao Yang manipulates its instincts and turns its attack into an opportunity to poison it.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang and Zi Yan briefly discuss the danger of the encounter, with Xiao Yang assigning her a supporting role and Zi Yan reluctantly accepting.
• Xiao Yang directly provokes the Jade Willow Spirit Python by filling its cave with foul-smelling incense.
• The python reacts with intense hostility, while Xiao Yang uses its aggression against it by allowing it to open its mouth and swallow the poisoned pill.
• Their battle becomes a contest between the python’s overwhelming physical power and Xiao Yang’s speed, deception, and tactical intelligence.

Chapter Summary: “Near Death”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang flees through the forest while battling the enraged Jade Willow Spirit Python. Its massive tail destroys trees and smashes into a cliff, triggering a landslide.
• Xiao Yang takes to the air with his Violet Cloud Wings and uses his cultivation panel to restore the Dou Qi consumed by his powerful Mid Earth Tier Dou Skills.
• The Jade Willow Spirit Python sprouts wings and gives chase, but Xiao Yang remains faster. Its pursuit is suddenly hindered when the poison from the pill Xiao Yang previously forced into its mouth begins taking effect.
• The python realizes it has been poisoned and attempts to suppress or expel the toxin with its powerful cultivation. However, it can only slow the poison’s spread, leaving it dependent on finding an antidote from Xiao Yang.
• Xiao Yang deliberately prolongs the chase, using healing and Meridian-Protecting Pills to endure the severe strain caused by repeatedly unleashing his strongest techniques. His meridians are painfully swollen, despite his ability to fight at the level of a Dou Wang.
• As the poison worsens, the python’s Dou Qi circulation slows, its flight becomes unstable, and its life force steadily fades. It eventually crashes into the forest and thrashes helplessly among the trees.
• Xiao Yang waits patiently until the creature is too weakened to threaten him. He monitors its condition with his Spirit Realm soul and prepares to deliver the killing blow.
• He equips his newly refined Fifth-Rank Explosive Flame Gauntlet, which transforms his dark-red flames into far more powerful black flames.
• Once the poison reaches the python’s heart, Xiao Yang descends and attacks directly.
• At the critical moment, the Jade Willow Spirit Python unleashes the Dou Qi it had been using to suppress the poison. This causes the toxin to spread rapidly but also triggers a final burst of power, summoning countless energy-made vines that lash toward Xiao Yang at terrifying speed.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Demonstrates tactical intelligence, patience, and effective use of alchemy. Rather than confronting the python through brute strength, he relies on poison, aerial mobility, and careful observation. However, the fight exposes the physical cost of his overwhelming techniques, particularly the damage to his meridians. His desire to obtain body-tempering Dou Qi from the Ancient Void Dragon Clan becomes more urgent.
• Jade Willow Spirit Python: Shows human-level intelligence and strong survival instincts. It immediately identifies the poison’s source and understands that Xiao Yang possesses the likely antidote. Despite its rapidly deteriorating condition, it continues pursuing him and finally risks a desperate counterattack when Xiao Yang moves in for the kill.

Significant Themes

• Strategy versus brute force: Xiao Yang wins the advantage through preparation and poison rather than directly overpowering the stronger magical beast.
• The cost of power: Xiao Yang’s powerful Dou Skills allow him to challenge Dou Wang-level opponents, but repeated use causes severe internal strain.
• Survival and desperation: Both combatants fight under extreme pressure—Xiao Yang seeks victory while managing his injuries, and the python fights against a poison that is steadily killing it.
• Patience and timing: Xiao Yang carefully waits for the toxin to reach the python’s heart before attacking, emphasizing the importance of striking at the decisive moment.
• Risk and uncertainty: Just as Xiao Yang appears to have secured victory, the python’s final burst of strength creates a new and dangerous threat.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang and the Jade Willow Spirit Python engage in a prolonged aerial pursuit and psychological battle. Xiao Yang manipulates the python’s desperation by remaining just out of reach, while the python relentlessly chases him in hopes of obtaining the antidote.
• Their conflict shifts from a straightforward physical confrontation to a contest of endurance, poison resistance, and tactical timing.
• The chapter ends on a cliffhanger, with Xiao Yang attacking the python’s heart just as it launches a final counterattack using rapidly formed energy vines.

Chapter Summary: “Mobilizing the Energy of Heaven and Earth!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• The dying Jade Willow Spirit Python, consumed by hatred, decides to launch a final attack that will kill Xiao Yang even if it accelerates its own death.
• It gathers the surrounding energy of heaven and earth into its willow-branch whip and strikes at Xiao Yang with tremendous speed, creating a sonic boom and blasting a massive crater into the ground.
• Having studied the python’s Dou Qi circulation with his soul power, Xiao Yang anticipates the attack and uses Shadowless alongside his Violet Cloud Wings to evade it.
• In the process, Xiao Yang unexpectedly mobilizes a small amount of the surrounding energy of heaven and earth through his perfectly mastered Earth-Tier Battle Skill. This increases his speed by more than fifty percent.
• Xiao Yang then uses Burning Flame Palm, combining it with the same energy. The flaming palm contracts but becomes significantly more powerful, burning through the python’s body and destroying its heart.
• The system rewards him for killing the Early Fifth-Order Magical Beast with vast experience and shop points.
• Xiao Yang harvests nearly every useful part of the python, including its magic core, scales, fangs, gall, essence blood, and meat. Zi Yan gathers the nearby medicinal ingredients.
• Over the following half month, Xiao Yang and Zi Yan hunt a total of six Fifth-Order Magical Beasts.
• Xiao Yang eventually uses up his supply of Seven-Step Powder and decides to return to the Inner Academy in preparation for breaking through to the next realm.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang demonstrates exceptional battle awareness by predicting the python’s final attack through soul-power observation.
• He achieves a major breakthrough in his understanding of Earth-Tier Battle Skills, discovering that perfect mastery allows even a Da Dou Shi to mobilize a limited amount of heavenly and earthly energy—something normally associated with Dou Wang experts.
• Xiao Yang gains confidence in the true potential of his battle skills and recognizes that he has only begun to unlock their full power.
• His experience hunting magical beasts increases his resources, combat experience, and readiness for advancement.
• Zi Yan becomes increasingly astonished by Xiao Yang’s abilities. Witnessing him kill powerful beasts and manipulate heavenly energy reshapes her understanding of cultivation and the difference between ordinary cultivators and Dou Wang-level experts.
• Despite her concern for Xiao Yang, Zi Yan’s immediate motivation remains practical: she wants him alive so he can continue refining medicinal ingredients and cooking for her.

Significant Themes

• Breaking conventional limits: Xiao Yang accomplishes something considered impossible for a Da Dou Shi by partially controlling the energy of heaven and earth.
• Mastery and innovation: Perfect mastery of a battle skill can overcome normal cultivation restrictions and reveal power beyond the user’s realm.
• Preparation and observation: Xiao Yang survives because he carefully studies his opponent rather than relying solely on strength.
• Resourcefulness: He makes full use of the defeated magical beast, wasting none of its valuable materials.
• Power and cultivation realms: The chapter emphasizes why reaching the Dou Wang stage represents a qualitative transformation: experts can draw upon the vast energy of the world rather than relying only on their internal Dou Qi.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yan tries to rush to Xiao Yang’s aid when the python attacks but is too late.
• After the battle, she anxiously checks whether Xiao Yang is injured.
• Xiao Yang reassures her and affectionately pats her head, but Zi Yan angrily stops him because she worries it might affect her height.
• The two continue working together smoothly, gathering beast materials and medicinal ingredients before moving on to hunt additional targets.
• Their partnership remains practical and familiar, with Zi Yan relying on Xiao Yang for food and alchemical support while accompanying him in dangerous hunts.

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

• After returning to their loft, Xiao Yang and Zi Yan rest following their long journey. Xiao Yang sleeps for over ten hours before checking his status panel.
• Seeing that he has more than three billion Universal Experience, Xiao Yang rapidly increases his cultivation:
  • He first breaks through from Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to One-Star Dou Ling.
  • He then uses additional experience and two high-grade Heavenly Spirit Pills to advance all the way to Nine-Star Dou Ling.
• His breakthroughs create powerful energy fluctuations and a vortex above the loft. Zi Yan wakes, investigates, and guards his room while nearby students assume he has only reached One-Star Dou Ling.
• Xiao Yang tests the Dou Ling ability of Battle Qi Condensation by forming a dark-red knife. He attempts to inscribe it with secret patterns and create a Spirit Artifact, but the weapon destabilizes and nearly explodes.
• After examining his improved cultivation, Xiao Yang concludes that he can now easily defeat Fifth-Order Magical Beasts, though Sixth-Order beasts remain dangerous.
• He considers whether to continue advancing directly toward the Dou Wang realm. He decides to hunt more Fifth-Order Magical Beasts in the Inner Academy Forest first, then eventually advance to Nine-Star Dou Wang.
• Xiao Yang also plans to travel to the Black-Corner Region and later the Central Plains, where stronger magical beasts and villainous opponents can provide experience. He believes killing evil figures could also earn Merit in the Primordial World.
• Finally, he spends one hundred million experience points each to improve his Alchemist and Artifact Refiner professions. He receives a massive influx of knowledge about Sixth-Rank pills, Spirit Artifacts, fire control, material extraction, and advanced refining techniques.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang makes a major leap in strength, reaching Nine-Star Dou Ling. He gains greater control over his battle qi and discovers that cultivating at full power is now much less physically taxing.
• He becomes more strategically cautious about future advancement, recognizing that fighting above his realm will become increasingly difficult and that suitable monsters are harder to find.
• Xiao Yang’s moral boundaries remain clear: he is unwilling to kill indiscriminately but is comfortable targeting the notorious villains of the Black-Corner Region.
• His alchemy and artifact-refining knowledge are dramatically enhanced, bringing both professions closer to higher ranks.
• Zi Yan demonstrates concern and loyalty by awakening to Xiao Yang’s breakthrough and standing guard outside his room. Her mildly dejected reaction when he continues cultivating adds a touch of humor and shows her attachment to him.

Significant Themes

• Power growth and progression: Xiao Yang continues to exploit his accumulated resources to advance rapidly.
• The limits of strength: Despite his huge gains, he recognizes that higher realms make cross-level combat more difficult.
• Strategic cultivation: Rather than advancing blindly, Xiao Yang weighs the value of remaining at a lower realm to maximize experience from stronger opponents.
• Moral use of power: He distinguishes between righteous combat against villains and senseless killing for personal gain.
• Mastery versus shortcuts: His failed attempt to create a Spirit Artifact from condensed battle qi shows that raw power cannot replace the requirements of genuine artifact refinement.
• Expansion of ambitions: The Black-Corner Region, the Central Plains, and the Beast Domain become future destinations for both cultivation and adventure.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yan reacts immediately to the energy generated by Xiao Yang’s breakthrough and protects him while he cultivates.
• Her repeated decision to wait outside his door, including sitting on a small stool after he resumes cultivation, highlights her concern and playful dependence on him.
• Xiao Yang’s actions indirectly affect nearby Inner Academy students, who notice the energy vortex but underestimate the scale of his breakthrough.

Chapter Summary: “Sixth Rank!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang allocates points to his secondary professions and receives a massive influx of alchemical and artifact-refining knowledge.
• He completes the side quests for becoming a Sixth-Rank Alchemist and Sixth-Rank Artifact Refiner, earning pill formulas, artifact blueprints, rare materials, Universal Experience, and Shop Points.
• The knowledge includes comprehensive experience from Fifth-Rank experts and partial Sixth-Rank expertise, even covering lost or previously unknown Fifth-Grade elixirs. Xiao Yang estimates that fully digesting it would take more than half a month.
• Because Xun’er will soon leave, Xiao Yang postpones studying the knowledge in depth so he can spend his remaining time with her.
• He accepts new quests to become a Seventh-Rank Alchemist and Seventh-Rank Artifact Refiner, attracted by their generous rewards.
• Xiao Yang considers spending nearly 400 million points to upgrade his Flame Manipulation Art to a high-grade Earth-Tier technique. He ultimately decides against it because the strain on his meridians is too great and such a technique would normally be appropriate only after reaching the Dou Wang realm.
• He leaves his room having advanced from a Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to the peak of the Dou Ling realm.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang demonstrates enormous growth in both cultivation and professional abilities. His system-enhanced knowledge now surpasses ordinary Fifth-Rank expertise and reaches into the Sixth Rank.
• He also displays greater caution and maturity by refusing to recklessly upgrade his cultivation technique despite the potential experience bonus.
• Zi Yan reveals her strong concern for Xiao Yang’s safety. She immediately checks whether his breakthrough has exhausted his lifespan or potential, showing that she values his long-term well-being.
• Xiao Yang and Zi Yan’s familiar, affectionate dynamic becomes more apparent through teasing, head-rubbing, and playful retaliation.

Significant Themes

• Power and restraint: Xiao Yang’s rapid progress is impressive, but the chapter emphasizes that unchecked advancement can damage one’s meridians, lifespan, or future potential.
• The burden of knowledge: His enormous influx of professional insights grants him exceptional ability but also creates the practical problem of needing significant time to absorb and organize it.
• Companionship amid ambition: Although Xiao Yang is focused on completing quests and improving his strength, he prioritizes spending time with Xun’er before her departure.
• Concern and emotional bonds: Zi Yan’s disbelief and worry highlight the importance of friendship and the dangers of pursuing strength without considering the consequences.

Character Interactions

• Zi Yan is shocked when she senses Xiao Yang’s sudden breakthrough and immediately examines him for signs of forbidden techniques or bodily damage.
• After confirming that he has not sacrificed his lifespan or potential, she remains bewildered and even pinches him to verify that she is not dreaming.
• Xiao Yang jokes about her behavior, applies medicine to his bruised arm, and affectionately rubs her head.
• Before leaving for the Outer Academy, he tells Zi Yan to contact him through the Voice Transmission Token if she needs anything, reinforcing their close relationship.

Chapter Summary: “The Resolve to Grow Stronger”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Xiao Yang demonstrates his newly increased speed, Zi Yan realizes that he has broken through to the Dou Ling realm. Although she briefly becomes irritated when he escapes before she can hit him, she is reassured after confirming that his breakthrough did not damage his potential or lifespan.
• Xiao Yang flies from the Inner Academy to the Outer Academy using his Violet Cloud Wings. His new Dou Ling strength allows him to manipulate more of the surrounding energy of heaven and earth, increasing his speed dramatically—far beyond the speed of sound.
• At the Inner Academy barrier, Xiao Yang encounters Elder Wang, who recognizes his breakthrough. Xiao Yang confirms it but conceals the exact number of stars in his cultivation. Elder Wang opens the barrier for him and treats him warmly because Xiao Yang is a talented Fifth-Rank Alchemist who may soon advance to the Sixth Rank.
• Xiao Yang arrives at his residence in the Outer Academy, where Xun’er, Xiao Yi Xian, and Xiao Yu are eating together. Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian enthusiastically greet him, having missed him during his absence.
• Xiao Yang explains that he came to spend time with them before Xun’er leaves. He promises that he will soon go to the Central Plains and reunite with Xiao Yi Xian and Xun’er there.
• Xun’er firmly asks him not to seek her out until he reaches the Dou Zun realm, wanting him to become strong enough to face future dangers. Xiao Yang agrees and confidently promises to find her openly once he reaches that level.
• Xiao Yu, uncomfortable with the affectionate atmosphere between Xiao Yang, Xun’er, and Xiao Yi Xian, leaves the building under the excuse of carrying out a mission.
• Xiao Yang stays to share a meal with Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian. Watching the peaceful domestic scene, he resolves to become stronger quickly so he can overcome future crises and preserve this kind of life.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: His breakthrough to Dou Ling marks a major increase in both cultivation and speed. He also demonstrates greater secrecy by concealing the precise level of his strength. Emotionally, his reunion with Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian strengthens his determination to protect them and secure a peaceful future.
• Zi Yan: Though initially frustrated by Xiao Yang’s escape and confused by his rapid advancement, she shows concern for his well-being and respects his secrets once she confirms that his breakthrough caused no harm.
• Xun’er: She remains affectionate toward Xiao Yang but becomes serious and practical when discussing their separation. Her demand that he reach Dou Zun before finding her reflects both concern for his safety and confidence in his potential.
• Xiao Yi Xian: Her close friendship with Xun’er and affection for Xiao Yang are emphasized. She is visibly reluctant to part from them and eagerly helps create a warm home environment.
• Elder Wang: He recognizes Xiao Yang’s growing importance and attempts to build a favorable relationship with him because of his alchemy talent and future potential.
• Xiao Yu: Her awkward reaction to the romantic atmosphere provides comic relief and highlights the closeness between Xiao Yang, Xun’er, and Xiao Yi Xian.

Significant Themes

• The pursuit of strength: Xiao Yang’s breakthrough is not treated as an end goal but as another step toward becoming powerful enough to face future dangers.
• Love and separation: Xun’er’s upcoming departure creates emotional tension, while the characters’ promises emphasize that distance will not end their bonds.
• Protection through self-improvement: Xun’er’s request that Xiao Yang reach the Dou Zun realm shows that strength is necessary for their eventual reunion and safety.
• Ambition and reputation: Xiao Yang’s alchemy talent is beginning to attract attention, suggesting that his influence will grow alongside his cultivation.
• The value of domestic peace: The meal with Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian gives Xiao Yang a glimpse of the peaceful life he wants to preserve, motivating his resolve to grow stronger.

Important Character Interactions

• Zi Yan reacts to Xiao Yang’s sudden escape and breakthrough, mixing annoyance with genuine concern.
• Elder Wang welcomes Xiao Yang and opens the Inner Academy barrier, hoping to secure a relationship with a promising future Sixth-Rank Alchemist.
• Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian greet Xiao Yang affectionately and cling to him after their long separation.
• Xiao Yang reassures both women about their future reunion, while Xun’er establishes the condition that he must reach Dou Zun first.
• Xiao Yu withdraws humorously from the overly affectionate scene.
• The chapter ends with Xiao Yang sharing a meal with the two women and silently transforming his desire for happiness into a firm resolve to become stronger.

Summary: “Punishment and the Gift of a Battle Skill”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After eating, Xiao Yang, Xun’er, and Xiao Yi Xian relax together on the sofa while the two girls describe their experiences in the Outer Academy.
• Xiao Yang learns that the Outer Academy offers considerable freedom to strong students. They can choose classes, complete missions, and exchange earned task points for battle skills, cultivation techniques, pills, elder guidance, and teacher sparring.
• The girls reveal their recent cultivation progress:
  • Xun’er has reached the Dou Master realm.
  • Xiao Yi Xian has advanced to Eight-Star Dou Master, thanks to her Calamity Poison Body and poison-based cultivation, and is close to reaching Nine-Star Dou Master or even Da Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yang reveals that he has advanced from Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to Nine-Star Dou Ling in only three months. Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian are initially worried that he may have damaged his foundation or lifespan, but he reassures them that his growth came from special opportunities and did not involve harmful secret techniques.
• Xun’er comments that Xiao Yang’s cultivation speed may rival or surpass that of geniuses from the Central Plains and suggests he could become a Dou Zun soon.
• Xiao Yang playfully punishes Xun’er for doubting him, creating an embarrassed and intimate atmosphere. Xiao Yi Xian watches shyly and shows a hint of envy.
• To redirect the increasingly suggestive mood, Xiao Yang gives both girls a Mid Earth-Tier movement battle skill called “Shadowless.” He also provides a simplified Low Earth-Tier version in case the full technique proves too difficult.
• Xiao Yang claims that he obtained the technique through a personal opportunity and allows Xun’er to copy it and take it with her.
• Xun’er recognizes that “Shadowless” is an exceptionally high-quality Mid Earth-Tier movement technique, comparable to the finest techniques even within the Ancient Clan.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Demonstrates extraordinary cultivation progress, rising to Nine-Star Dou Ling and showing confidence in his opportunities and abilities. He also acts as a provider and mentor to the two girls, while displaying playful possessiveness and affection.
• Xun’er: Reaches the Dou Master realm but remains concerned about Xiao Yang’s rapid advancement. Her admiration for him deepens, and she becomes embarrassed by his teasing. She also feels regret that she currently lacks an equally valuable gift for him.
• Xiao Yi Xian: Shows the overwhelming advantage of the Calamity Poison Body, progressing far faster than Xun’er despite Xun’er’s powerful bloodline and medicinal support. She grows increasingly close to Xiao Yang and subtly envies Xun’er’s intimate interaction with him.
• Relationship Dynamic: The three become more emotionally and physically intimate. Their mutual trust is reinforced through cultivation discussions, concern for one another, teasing, and the exchange of valuable techniques.

Significant Themes

• Unequal cultivation talents: The chapter contrasts Xun’er’s Divine-Grade Emperor Dou Bloodline with Xiao Yi Xian’s even more extraordinary Calamity Poison Body.
• Rapid growth and opportunity: Xiao Yang’s sudden advancement emphasizes the importance of special opportunities and foreshadows his potential to reach the Dou Zun realm.
• Trust and reassurance: Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian worry about Xiao Yang’s health, while his explanation reassures them that his strength is built on a solid foundation.
• Affection and intimacy: Playful punishment, embarrassment, jealousy, and gift-giving develop the romantic tension among the characters.
• Value of knowledge and resources: Battle skills, missions, and academy rewards demonstrate how cultivation resources shape advancement and status.

Important Character Interactions

• Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian share their Outer Academy experiences with Xiao Yang.
• Both girls react with shock and concern to Xiao Yang’s Nine-Star Dou Ling cultivation.
• Xun’er praises Xiao Yang’s potential, prompting his playful punishment.
• Xiao Yi Xian observes the interaction with shy envy.
• Xiao Yang gives both girls “Shadowless,” strengthening their bond and providing them with a powerful tool for future cultivation.

Chapter Summary:

Ancient Clan Saint!

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xun’er reflects on Xiao Yang’s extraordinary luck, talent, and opportunities, becoming more confident that he may one day reach the Dou Zun or even Dou Saint realm.
• Xiao Yang gives Xiao Yi Xian and Xun’er the Earth-Tier movement battle skill Shadowless. Xiao Yi Xian is touched by his generosity, while Xiao Yang reassures both women that they are more valuable to him than any battle skill.
• Xiao Yang also gives Xun’er the Mid Earth-Tier Burning Flame Palm, which suits her fire-attributed Dou Qi. He apologizes to Xiao Yi Xian because the skill is incompatible with her cultivation, but she responds understandingly.
• Over the following days, Xiao Yang spends most of his time with Xun’er, while Xiao Yi Xian practices Shadowless and deliberately gives the couple time together.
• Xun’er receives word that members of the Ancient Clan have arrived to take her back. Before leaving, she and Xiao Yang share an emotional farewell and kiss.
• Elder Tong Xuan emerges from a spatial rift to escort Xun’er home. He warns Xiao Yang that, because of Xun’er’s status and Divine-Grade bloodline, marrying her outside the Ancient Clan is essentially impossible—even for an ordinary Dou Saint.
• Xiao Yang remains calm and determined. He vows to become powerful enough to openly ask the Ancient Clan for Xun’er’s hand, progressing from Dou Zun to Dou Saint and eventually Dou Emperor if necessary.
• When Xun’er defends Xiao Yang’s potential, Elder Tong Xuan tests him by imposing powerful pressure. Xiao Yang continues speaking despite the pressure, prompting Tong Xuan to acknowledge his courage and talent. The elder then intensifies the test.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Demonstrates generosity, affection, confidence, and unwavering determination to be worthy of Xun’er. His willingness to endure Elder Tong Xuan’s pressure shows growing mental strength and ambition.
• Xun’er: Becomes increasingly confident in Xiao Yang’s future and openly supports him against the Ancient Clan’s judgment. Her reluctance to leave highlights the depth of her attachment to him.
• Xiao Yi Xian: Shows emotional maturity and consideration by accepting that Burning Flame Palm does not suit her and by giving Xiao Yang and Xun’er private time. She begins cultivating Shadowless.
• Elder Tong Xuan: Initially views Xiao Yang objectively as someone far beneath Xun’er’s status, but Xiao Yang’s composure earns him a measure of respect. He intends to determine whether Xiao Yang has the qualifications to pursue Xun’er.

Significant Themes

• Love versus social status: Xiao Yang and Xun’er’s relationship is threatened by the Ancient Clan’s immense power, heritage, and expectations.
• Determination and ambition: Xiao Yang’s promise to reach whatever level of strength is necessary emphasizes his willingness to overcome impossible obstacles.
• Power as qualification: The chapter presents strength as the standard by which Xiao Yang will be judged, especially by the Ancient Clan.
• Mutual devotion and sacrifice: Xiao Yi Xian’s consideration and Xun’er’s faith in Xiao Yang reinforce the supportive bonds among the characters.
• Separation and longing: Xun’er’s departure creates an emotional turning point, transforming their relationship from one of peaceful companionship into one marked by distance and future struggle.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang affectionately reassures both Xun’er and Xiao Yi Xian while distributing battle skills suited to their abilities.
• Xun’er and Xiao Yang share a quiet, intimate farewell, culminating in their first kiss.
• Xun’er firmly defends Xiao Yang when Elder Tong Xuan dismisses his chances of marrying her.
• Xiao Yang accepts Tong Xuan’s challenge without hostility, treating the pressure test as a necessary step toward proving himself.

Chapter Summary: “Nine-Star Dou Wang!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Elder Tong Xuan tests Xiao Yang by steadily increasing his pressure, eventually reaching the level of a Dou Zong.
• Xiao Yang struggles under the force, using his powerful soul energy to protect himself as his bones begin cracking.
• Elder Tong Xuan discovers that Xiao Yang possesses Spirit Realm soul power and learns from Xun’er that he is also a Fifth-Rank Alchemist.
• Although impressed by Xiao Yang’s potential, Elder Tong Xuan believes he still lacks the cultivation necessary to marry Xun’er, estimating that he would need to reach the Late-Stage Dou Saint realm.
• Just as Xiao Yang reaches his apparent physical limit, natural energy begins surging into his body, signaling a breakthrough.
• Xiao Yang breaks through from Nine-Star Dou Ling to Dou Wang—but immediately advances several levels in succession, reaching Nine-Star Dou Wang.
• The breakthrough creates a massive energy vortex that attracts the attention of powerful cultivators throughout Canaan City.
• Outer Academy elders rush to the scene, shocked that Xiao Yang has advanced so dramatically in only a few months.
• Elder Tong Xuan confirms that Xiao Yang has used neither pills nor secret techniques. His breakthrough is genuine, stable, and accompanied by a stronger vitality and foundation.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang: Demonstrates extraordinary endurance, soul power, cultivation talent, and potential as both a fighter and alchemist. His rapid advancement from Nine-Star Da Dou Shi to Nine-Star Dou Wang establishes him as an exceptionally abnormal genius.
• Xun’er: Shows deep concern and unwavering faith in Xiao Yang. His astonishing progress also causes her to question whether she can keep up with him, even after returning to the Ancient Clan and awakening her bloodline.
• Elder Tong Xuan: Initially tests Xiao Yang skeptically but becomes increasingly impressed and bewildered. He recognizes Xiao Yang’s enormous potential, though he still considers him far below the cultivation level required to marry Xun’er.

Significant Themes

• Unprecedented talent and potential: Xiao Yang’s rapid cultivation and Spirit Realm soul power mark him as someone capable of reaching extraordinary heights.
• Love and perseverance: Xun’er’s belief in Xiao Yang remains firm despite Elder Tong Xuan’s doubts about their future.
• The gap between talent and status: Xiao Yang’s abilities are remarkable, but he still faces the immense social and cultivation standards of the Ancient Clan.
• Mystery surrounding Xiao Yang’s power: Even a highly knowledgeable Half-Saint cannot explain his breakthrough, emphasizing that Xiao Yang’s cultivation path is unusual.
• True strength versus artificial enhancement: The chapter stresses that Xiao Yang’s advancement is genuine rather than the result of pills, secret techniques, or forbidden methods.

Character Interactions

• Elder Tong Xuan pressures Xiao Yang while Xun’er watches anxiously, wanting to intervene but being restrained by the elder.
• Tong Xuan questions Xun’er about Xiao Yang’s abilities, and she openly reveals his alchemist achievements.
• Tong Xuan acknowledges Xiao Yang’s potential but warns Xun’er that he remains far from being qualified to marry her.
• Xun’er responds with confidence, stating that she believes in Xiao Yang.
• The arriving academy elders react with disbelief and suspicion, but Xiao Yang’s stable aura convinces them that his breakthrough is authentic.

Chapter Summary: “Xun’er’s Departure”

Plot and major events

Elder Tong Xuan arrives at Jia Nan Academy to take Xun’er back to her family. His overwhelming aura stuns the Outer Academy elders, who realize he is likely even stronger than the Grand Elder. He tests Xiao Yang by releasing pressure against him, but Xiao Yang withstands it and stabilizes his cultivation after unexpectedly advancing from the Nine-Star Dou Ling realm to the Nine-Star Dou Wang realm.
Impressed by Xiao Yang’s strength and vitality, Elder Tong Xuan admits that Xiao Yang may genuinely be capable of marrying Xun’er, though he emphasizes that he must still follow the rules of Xun’er’s family. Xun’er is then ordered to leave and return home to cultivate. She and Xiao Yang share an emotional farewell, promising to reunite and eventually marry. Elder Tong Xuan tears open space and departs with her.
Afterward, Xiao Yang explains to Hu Gan that Xun’er has returned to her family but refuses to reveal which Central Plains clan she belongs to. Once the other elders leave, Xiao Yi Xian comforts the dejected Xiao Yang. Their consolation becomes romantic, but Xiao Yu unexpectedly walks in, awkwardly pretends not to have seen anything, and leaves. Xiao Yi Xian then retreats to the kitchen in embarrassment. Xiao Yang finally checks his system and discovers that ninety million experience points were spent; he then opens a new mission and is shocked by what he sees, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger.

Character development

• Xiao Yang demonstrates an astonishing breakthrough and proves that he can rival the strongest young geniuses despite lacking an Emperor Dou Bloodline or an Emperor Clan’s resources. His determination to reunite with and marry Xun’er remains firm, although her departure leaves him visibly saddened.
• Xun’er shows deep concern for Xiao Yang by personally checking his condition after the test. Her reluctant departure highlights both her devotion to him and her obedience to her family’s demands.
• Elder Tong Xuan shifts from skeptical and intimidating to impressed and cautiously approving of Xiao Yang, though he remains bound by his responsibilities to Xun’er’s family.
• Xiao Yi Xian becomes an emotional source of support for Xiao Yang, reassuring him that he will soon be strong enough to stand beside Xun’er. Their relationship grows more intimate.
• Xiao Yu provides comic relief through her embarrassing interruption.

Significant themes

• Love and separation: Xiao Yang and Xun’er’s farewell emphasizes their commitment despite physical distance and family obstacles.
• Self-made strength: Xiao Yang’s breakthrough is especially meaningful because he achieves it without inherited bloodline advantages or elite clan resources.
• Duty versus personal desire: Elder Tong Xuan and Xun’er must prioritize the rules and expectations of her family over their immediate wishes.
• Companionship and emotional support: Xiao Yi Xian helps Xiao Yang cope with his loss, showing that he is not alone even while separated from Xun’er.
• Hidden power and future challenges: Xiao Yang’s sudden increase in strength and the mysterious new mission suggest greater trials ahead.

Important interactions

• Elder Tong Xuan tests Xiao Yang and ultimately acknowledges his potential.
• Xun’er checks Xiao Yang’s health, embraces him, and promises to wait for him.
• Xiao Yang promises to bring Xun’er home as his wife.
• Hu Gan questions Xiao Yang about Xun’er’s origins but respects his refusal to answer.
• Xiao Yi Xian comforts Xiao Yang, leading to a romantic moment between them.
• Xiao Yu accidentally interrupts them, creating an awkward and humorous scene.

Chapter Summary: “Mid Spirit Realm!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After Gu Xun’er leaves, Xiao Yang finally checks the newly unlocked game mission.
• He discovers a second main quest, centered on marrying Xun’er:
  1. Reach Dou Zun and visit the Ancient Clan.
  2. Reach Dou Saint and earn the Ancient Clan’s recognition.
  3. Publicly marry Gu Xun’er.
  4. Have children with her.
• The mission offers extraordinary rewards, including massive amounts of experience and Shop Points, the Emperor Seal Technique, the Golden Emperor Incinerating Flame, Origin Qi, the Emperor Flame Body, Saint Grade spiritual pills, and Dragon-Phoenix Origin-Reverting Pills.
• Xiao Yang immediately accepts the quest, particularly valuing the Origin Qi, which could help him and others advance beyond the Dou Emperor realm.
• He considers hiding the Xiao Household’s Tou She Ancient God Jade so that Hun Tiandi cannot obtain it, but worries that doing so might endanger Xiao Zhan if Hun Tiandi demands an exchange.
• Xiao Yi Xian prepares dinner and spends several days with Xiao Yang. Xiao Yang uses Fire Energy from the Inner Academy to obtain medicinal ingredients and refines several poisons for her.
• After receiving the poisons, Xiao Yi Xian enters secluded cultivation.
• Xiao Yang remains in the Outer Academy’s alchemy room to absorb newly acquired cultivation experiences and professional insights.
• He spends 100 million experience strengthening his soul, advancing it into the Mid Spirit Realm. His soul power becomes strong enough to kill a Dou Emperor and threaten a Dou Zong, though he would need the Perfected Spirit Realm to challenge a Dou Zun through soul power alone.
• Xiao Yang then spends more than ten days absorbing knowledge from Fifth-Rank and some Sixth-Rank alchemy and artifact-refining experiences.
• Afterward, he resumes work on a partially completed alchemy cauldron. With his improved skills, he believes it can eventually become a Seventh-Rank Spirit Artifact comparable to the cauldrons on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang becomes more ambitious and strategically focused after seeing the rewards for marrying Xun’er. The mission gives him a new route to obtain Origin Qi and strengthens his motivation to develop himself.
• His soul power advances substantially into the Mid Spirit Realm, increasing his combat potential and allowing him to threaten much stronger opponents through soul attacks.
• Xiao Yang also improves his alchemy and artifact-refining knowledge, preparing to create higher-quality equipment.
• Xiao Yi Xian remains close to Xiao Yang for several days before beginning secluded cultivation with the poisons he prepared for her.
• Gu Xun’er’s importance in Xiao Yang’s future becomes even more pronounced, as their relationship is now directly linked to a major system quest and immense rewards.
• Hun Tiandi remains an indirect threat because of his interest in the Tou She Ancient God Jade and the possibility of forcing Xiao Yang into an exchange involving Xiao Zhan.

Significant Themes

• Power and advancement: Xiao Yang continues to accumulate strength through experience, soul cultivation, alchemy, and artifact refining.
• Relationships as destiny and opportunity: His bond with Xun’er is transformed into a formal quest with enormous consequences, blending romance with strategic cultivation goals.
• Preparation and long-term planning: Rather than rushing into conflict, Xiao Yang develops resources, techniques, equipment, and alternative methods of obtaining Origin Qi.
• The value of rare resources: Origin Qi, Saint Grade pills, Primordial-level Dharma Bodies, and powerful artifacts are presented as treasures capable of changing the balance of power.
• System-driven progression: The game system continues to shape Xiao Yang’s goals, offering rewards that influence both his personal relationships and his broader plans against future enemies.

Character Interactions

• Xiao Yang’s reluctance to part with Xun’er highlights his emotional attachment to her, even though he soon begins analyzing their relationship through the mission system.
• Xiao Yang and Xiao Yi Xian share a period of domestic closeness, including meals and several days together. His preparation of poisons demonstrates his concern for her cultivation and safety.
• Xiao Yang’s thoughts about Hun Tiandi and Xiao Zhan reveal his protective instincts toward his family, as well as his caution about the consequences of concealing the Ancient God Jade.

Chapter Summary: “Refining a Dou Ling Pill!”

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang improves his semi-finished medicine cauldron using an Artifact-Refining Furnace and black Dou Qi flames.
• He engraves complex artifact patterns, merges additional refined metal into the cauldron, and strengthens it with specially prepared medicinal liquid.
• After imprinting the cauldron with his soul force and Dou Qi, Xiao Yang completes the refinement far faster than he could in the past.
• He restores his cultivation and soul force, then decides to test the new cauldron by refining a Sixth-Rank Dou Ling Pill.
• Although he had originally prepared the ingredients for his own breakthrough, he no longer needs the pill after advancing directly to the Nine-Star Dou Wang realm through added experience. He decides to refine it as a valuable commodity and practice.
• Xiao Yang places all the ingredients into the cauldron simultaneously and uses extremely precise fire control to refine them into medicinal essences.
• He fuses all the essences at once, suppressing conflicts between incompatible ingredients with his powerful soul force and flames.
• After the mixture stabilizes, he gradually shapes it into a pill. Upon completion, the pill draws in enormous amounts of natural energy, producing a powerful fragrance and strange phenomena above the pavilion.

Character Development

• Xiao Yang’s abilities have advanced significantly. His black flames are far hotter, and his Spirit Realm soul force allows him to multitask effortlessly while refining artifacts and pills.
• He demonstrates greatly improved precision and confidence, handling complicated processes that once took several days in only a few hours.
• His mastery of fire control is emphasized by his ability to maintain different temperatures around individual medicinal ingredients, even simultaneously refining all of them.
• Xiao Yang remains practical and adaptable: although disappointed that he can no longer use the Dou Ling Pill himself, he recognizes its value and turns the situation into an opportunity to practice and produce a sought-after item.
• His use of experience points also highlights his occasional regret and imperfect judgment, as he realizes he spent more points than necessary when breaking through.

Significant Themes

• Growth through cultivation: Xiao Yang’s increased strength and soul power dramatically improve his efficiency and technical skill.
• Mastery and precision: Both artifact refinement and alchemy require delicate control, patience, and the ability to manage conflicting forces.
• Resourcefulness: Xiao Yang converts an unnecessary batch of ingredients into a valuable product rather than wasting them.
• Power and efficiency: His advancement allows him to complete increasingly complex tasks faster and with less effort.
• Progress and experimentation: Refining the upgraded cauldron and attempting a Sixth-Rank pill mark important steps in Xiao Yang’s development as an alchemist.

Character Interactions

• No direct interactions with other major characters occur in this chapter.
• Little Toothpaste assists Xiao Yang by controlling and directing surrounding natural energy into the Artifact-Refining Furnace.
• Xiao Yang’s primary “interaction” is with the cauldron, the flames, the medicinal ingredients, and the natural energy, all of which he controls through his soul force and Dou Qi.

Chapter Summary: The Excited Outer Academy Higher-Ups

Key Plot Points and Events

• Xiao Yang successfully completes his first refinement of a Dou Ling Pill, an Early Sixth Rank pill.
• The refinement creates a dramatic phenomenon: a pillar of light and a massive vortex of natural energy gather over his pavilion, attracting the attention of Jia Nan Academy’s Outer Academy elders, instructors, and students.
• After the energy dissipates, the rich pill fragrance confirms to the elders that a high-grade pill has been completed.
• Hu Gan orders the ordinary teachers and students to leave and keep the event secret, after which he and the Outer Academy elders crowd around Xiao Yang’s pavilion.
• The elders humorously compete to stand closest to the entrance, hoping to be the first to ask Xiao Yang for pill refinement. Hu Gan uses his superior strength as a Peak Dou Emperor to claim the front position.
• Xiao Yang senses the elders outside and stops preparing to refine another pill. He realizes that the disturbance has attracted them and decides to meet them.
• Upon confirming that he successfully refined a Dou Ling Pill, Xiao Yang immediately becomes the focus of the elders’ attention. The Dou Wang elders eagerly begin offering medicinal ingredients, valuable resources, and even pill formulas in exchange for his services.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang demonstrates increasing mastery of alchemy. Despite refining a Sixth Rank pill for the first time, he produces a high-quality result quickly and with minimal consumption of his Dou Qi.
• He also reveals a shrewd and opportunistic side, recognizing that the elders’ desire for pills may allow him to obtain rare treasures and resources they have accumulated over many years.
• Hu Gan is portrayed as powerful, shameless, and confident. He exploits his position and strength to stand first in line, happily ignoring the other elders’ complaints.
• The Outer Academy elders, normally dignified authority figures, become excited and competitive, behaving almost like children when presented with the opportunity to obtain Xiao Yang’s pills.

Significant Themes

• Alchemy as power and influence: Xiao Yang’s ability to refine Sixth Rank pills immediately increases his value and importance within the academy.
• Competition for scarce resources: The elders’ eagerness shows how valuable high-level pills are, especially for Dou Wangs seeking breakthroughs.
• Strength and status: Hu Gan’s ability to dominate the queue reflects the influence granted by superior cultivation and rank.
• Clever exchange and negotiation: Xiao Yang recognizes that his alchemical skills can be traded for rare materials, formulas, and other treasures.
• Humor beneath authority: The chapter contrasts the elders’ prestigious positions with their childish squabbling and desperate eagerness.

Character Interactions

• Hu Gan dismisses the ordinary students and instructors to protect the secrecy surrounding Xiao Yang’s pill refinement.
• The Outer Academy elders mock Hu Gan for using his strength to stand first, while he proudly treats his dominance as proof that being powerful allows him to do whatever he wants.
• When Xiao Yang opens the door, the elders immediately become quiet and deferential, revealing that they are not yet familiar enough with him to act casually.
• Hu Gan serves as the spokesman because he knows Xiao Yang better than the others and directly asks whether the pill refinement succeeded.
• Once Xiao Yang confirms the success, the elders eagerly compete to offer ingredients and treasures, hoping to secure his services before anyone else.

Chapter Summary: “Seeking Pills”

Key Plot Points and Events

• After learning that Xiao Yang has successfully refined the Dou Ling Pill, Jia Nan Academy’s Dou Wang elders rush to exchange medicinal ingredients and treasures for pills.
• Hu Gan stops their disorderly crowding and insists that they approach Xiao Yang one at a time, preserving the academy’s dignity and ensuring fairness.
• Xiao Yang assures the elders that refining a Dou Ling Pill is not especially difficult for him and agrees to refine pills for all of them, provided they supply the ingredients.
• A Dou Emperor elder asks whether Xiao Yang can refine the Emperor’s Extreme Pill, another peak Sixth-Rank pill. Xiao Yang admits he has not tried yet but believes he has a good chance of succeeding.
• His answer excites the Dou Emperor elders and Hu Gan, since success would imply that Xiao Yang might also be capable of refining the more difficult Sect-Breaking Pill. Such pills could help Jia Nan Academy produce several Dou Zong experts and strengthen its position in the Black-Corner Region.
• Hu Gan organizes the Dou Wang elders’ transactions. More than twenty sets of Dou Ling Pill ingredients are collected, along with many valuable medicinal ingredients offered as payment.
• Because the elders argue over who should receive their pills first, Hu Gan has them draw lots. Xiao Yang uses his soul power to ensure the process is honest.
• After the others leave, Hu Gan privately gives Xiao Yang two sets of Sect-Breaking Pill ingredients, a Low Earth-Tier Battle Skill, and two high-grade medicinal ingredients. He asks Xiao Yang to refine his pills first if the attempt succeeds, revealing that his earlier enthusiasm was partly motivated by personal interest.
• Xiao Yang then returns indoors, checks on Xiao Yi Xian—who remains in seclusion—and prepares the alchemy room for future experiments.
• He places Spirit Artifacts and Artifact Runes around the room to suppress the disturbances and phenomena caused by pill refinement. His unfinished medicinal cauldron cannot yet conceal the powerful phenomena associated with high-grade pills, but the precautions should be sufficient for refining the lower-level Dou Ling Pill.

Character Developments

• Xiao Yang is increasingly recognized as a highly capable Sixth-Rank alchemist. His ability to refine Dou Ling Pills easily earns the trust and excitement of the academy’s elders.
• He remains cautious and realistic regarding the Emperor’s Extreme Pill and Sect-Breaking Pill, refusing to promise success before testing himself.
• Xiao Yang also demonstrates technical resourcefulness by compensating for his incomplete medicinal cauldron with Artifact Runes and Spirit Artifacts.
• Hu Gan acts as a responsible administrator by controlling the elders and arranging a fair system, but he also reveals a personal, somewhat opportunistic side by secretly giving Xiao Yang valuable materials in hopes of receiving priority.
• Xiao Yi Xian does not actively participate in the chapter but continues her secluded cultivation.

Significant Themes

• The value and influence of alchemy: Xiao Yang’s skill gives him access to rare resources and makes him strategically important to Jia Nan Academy.
• Power and institutional strength: Sect-Breaking Pills could create new Dou Zong experts, greatly improving the academy’s ability to defend itself.
• Fairness versus personal advantage: The elders compete for priority, while Hu Gan publicly enforces order but privately seeks preferential treatment.
• Preparation and innovation: Xiao Yang carefully prepares his environment and uses Artifact Runes to overcome the limitations of his unfinished equipment.
• Trust and exchange: The elders willingly provide valuable ingredients and treasures because they trust Xiao Yang’s ability to repay them with powerful pills.

Character Interactions

• The Dou Wang elders compete eagerly for Xiao Yang’s services, while Hu Gan restrains them and establishes an orderly process.
• Xiao Yang reassures the elders and builds mutual confidence by agreeing to refine pills for them.
• The Dou Emperor elders and Hu Gan become visibly hopeful when Xiao Yang suggests he may be able to refine the Emperor’s Extreme Pill.
• Hu Gan privately negotiates with Xiao Yang by giving him Sect-Breaking Pill materials and requesting priority, creating a more personal relationship between them.
• Xiao Yang’s quiet attention to Xiao Yi Xian’s continued seclusion shows his ongoing concern for her, even as he focuses on alchemy.