Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Yan attempts to make two Beast Flames coexist inside his Dou Crystal: the Azure Tide Ember Flame and the Great Earth Wolf’s flame. He uses Ice Spirit Pills and Earth Core Tempering Milk to protect and replenish himself, then begins a dangerous, sustained contest of wills between the flames.
• The chapter shifts to Cloud City, where Han Beng reports to his master, Medicine Emperor Han Yun. Han Yun sends him back to Jia Nan Academy with a fifth-tier Medicine Cauldron, a Sixth-Tier Beast Flame, and a mysterious black iron weapon called the Soul-Devouring Sky-Piercing Shuttle.
• Han Yun plans to use the shuttle when the Burning Heaven Qi Refining Tower closes for repairs, intending to release whatever is trapped inside.
• Han Yun reveals that he covets the Fallen Heart Flame. He has already developed the Flame Mantra by refining many Beast Flames and the Sea Heart Flame, and believes additional Heavenly Flames will greatly increase his power.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yan shows his willingness to take calculated risks, relying on his cultivation method, alchemical resources, and Earth Core Tempering Milk to attempt what previously injured a Dou Wang.
• Han Beng remains a covert agent under Han Yun’s authority. His report about a talented Alchemy Department student is exaggerated, and Han Yun’s gifts are meant to help that student—Han Xian—become the capable alchemical ally Han Beng claimed he was.
• Han Yun emerges as ambitious and manipulative. He regards Han Beng as a future asset and treats acquiring rare flames as part of a larger plan. His mentorship from Venerable Yao has enabled his remarkable progress.

Significant themes

• Risk and ambition: Xiao Yan risks bodily harm to advance his flame-refining technique; Han Yun pursues ever-greater power through multiple dangerous flames.
• Power gained through resources and connections: Xiao Yan depends on replenishing medicines, while Han Yun benefits from his teacher’s influence, rare treasures, and political ties.
• Foreshadowing and hidden schemes: The Soul-Devouring Sky-Piercing Shuttle, Han Beng’s infiltration, and Han Yun’s plan for the tower signal a threat to Jia Nan Academy and its Fallen Heart Flame.
• Contrasting approaches to flames: Xiao Yan is experimenting with Beast Flames’ coexistence, while Han Yun has already built his cultivation method around refining flames to strengthen himself.

Key plot points and events

• Han Beng returns to the academy and learns that Xiao Yan’s Flame Alliance has grown influential among newcomers and is challenging established groups.
• He discovers that Xiao Yan defeated Han Xian, whose strength remains weakened after abusing Purpleheart Barrier-Breaking Pills. Han Xian and Yun Tian portray Xiao Yan as disrespectful and dangerous.
• Yun Tian says Xiao Yan also defeated a Cloud Gang member, while Liu Bai of the Medicine Gate resents him for undercutting the Gate’s pill business with cheaper, better pills.
• Han Beng, Yun Tian, Liu Bai, and their followers decide to confront the Flame Alliance. Han Beng secretly resolves to destroy the alliance and kill Xiao Yan, seeing him as a future threat.
• Meanwhile, Xiao Yan completes the refinement and absorption of his second Beast Flame. Repeatedly using diluted Earth Core Tempering Milk strengthens his body and advances him to Two-Star Dou Ling.
• Xiao Yan meets Zi Yan and the Snow Demon Sky Ape, rewards them with medicinal preparations, and receives a rich collection of rare herbs from Zi Yan.
• Returning to the Inner Academy, Xiao Yan notices senior students heading toward the same destination and realizes a confrontation may be imminent.

Character developments and interactions

• Han Beng presents himself as concerned for Han Xian, but his larger ambition and fear of Xiao Yan drive him to organize a hostile response.
• Han Xian remains physically weakened and turns his resentment toward Xiao Yan into a call for punishment.
• Yun Tian seeks a chance to retaliate for the Cloud Gang and now has advanced to Six-Star Dou Ling.
• Liu Bai joins the opposition to protect the Medicine Gate’s profitable monopoly, despite admitting Xiao Yan has not attacked its members.
• Xiao Yan continues to grow stronger and builds useful cooperation with Zi Yan and the Snow Demon Sky Ape through generosity and shared rewards.
• Zi Yan supplies valuable herbs and works with the Snow Demon Sky Ape, who expresses gratitude to Xiao Yan.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Han Beng wants to contain a rising rival before Xiao Yan becomes too powerful.
• Self-interest disguised as principle: The seniors describe their retaliation as enforcing academy rules, but personal grudges, profits, and ambition motivate them.
• Growth through cooperation: Xiao Yan’s progress depends not only on cultivation but also on trust and mutually beneficial partnerships.
• Changing academy order: The Flame Alliance’s rise challenges the senior factions’ established authority and commercial dominance.

Plot points and events

• The Flame Alliance gathers to face the Cloud Gang and other veteran factions. Yun Tian, the Cloud Gang’s leader, mocks Xiao Yan for being absent; Lin Yan and Bai Cheng answer with jokes that turn the tense crowd amused.
• Two Dou Ling fighters from the Cloud Gang attack Lin Xiuyan and Liu Qing. The newcomers hold their own, surprising the veterans and strengthening Han Beng’s determination to eliminate Xiao Yan.
• Yun Tian steps in, revealing that he has advanced to Six-Star Dou Ling. His overwhelming aura intimidates the Flame Alliance.
• At Xiao Xun’er’s suggestion, Han Yue and four others attack Yun Tian together. He repels all five with a burst of Dou Qi alone.
• Xiao Xun’er then strikes with the Radiant Holy Sword, but Yun Tian catches it between two fingers and sends force back toward her. Xiao Yan arrives in time to catch her.
• Xiao Yan confronts Yun Tian and wagers the Flame Alliance’s dissolution on whether he can defeat him in one move.

Character developments and interactions

• Lin Yan and Bai Cheng use humor to defend the Alliance and undermine Yun Tian’s attempt to intimidate them.
• Lin Xiuyan and Liu Qing demonstrate how much stronger the newcomers have become, despite not yet reaching Dou Ling.
• Han Beng recognizes Xiao Yan’s ability to gather talented allies and sees him as a growing threat; his attraction to Xiao Xun’er also briefly distracts him.
• Xiao Xun’er stays composed, directs the group’s attack, and tries to exploit her sword’s power. Xiao Yan’s arrival reassures her.
• Yun Tian projects confidence and superiority after his breakthrough, while Xiao Yan answers his display of strength with a bold, high-stakes challenge.

Significant themes

• Newcomers versus veterans: The chapter tests whether the Flame Alliance’s rapid rise can withstand established factions’ experience and power.
• Strength and teamwork: The group’s coordinated attack shows the newcomers’ promise, even though Yun Tian’s individual strength overwhelms them.
• Confidence and defiance: Humor and Xiao Yan’s wager keep the Alliance from yielding to intimidation.
• Leadership and threat: Han Beng sees Xiao Yan’s talent for attracting strong allies as potentially more dangerous than Xiao Yan’s personal ability.

Plot points and events

• Xiao Yan challenges Yun Tian, the Cloud Gang leader and a Six-Star Dou Ling, to defeat him in one move. His taunts provoke Yun Tian, while the crowd doubts a new student can deliver.
• Xiao Yan learns that Yun Tian leads Wu Feng, whom Xiao Yan previously defeated. He also meets Han Beng of Han Gate and Liu Bai of Medicine Gate—leaders whose groups have grievances with Xiao Yan and the Flame Alliance.
• Han Xian, still injured, threatens Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan ignores him and suggests settling the dispute in the arena for Fire Energy.
• At the crowded arena, Yun Tian promises to leave Xiao Yan alive. Xiao Yan takes to the air using a Flying Dou Technique, prompting some spectators to mistake him for a Dou Wang. Yun Tian dismisses this as a trick, but the academy elders confirm Xiao Yan is already a Two-Star Dou Ling.
• Xiao Yan reveals that he has refined three kinds of Beast Flame. Combining them, he unveils Three Suns Scorching Clouds, a new technique he developed after adapting what he had been taught. Its gathering power alarms Yun Tian; the chapter ends as Xiao Yan launches the attack.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yan remains boldly provocative, but his confidence is backed by rapid advancement, rare abilities, and inventive cultivation. He needles Yun Tian and openly jokes about recruiting Wu Feng into the Flame Alliance.
• Yun Tian moves from amused confidence to anger, then to caution when Xiao Yan’s technique proves more formidable than expected.
• Xiao Xun’er supports Xiao Yan with teasing commentary and introductions to the rival leaders.
• Han Beng and Liu Bai represent additional opposition: Han Beng has ties to Xiao Yan’s past through the name Han Feng’s subordinate bore, while Liu Bai says his group has a score to settle with Xiao Yan and the Flame Alliance.
• Hao Elder, Liu Elder, and Old Man Huo are astonished by Xiao Yan’s progress and mastery of three Beast Flames, underscoring how unusual his achievement is.

Significant themes

• Confidence backed by ability: Xiao Yan’s arrogance initially seems reckless, but his strength and preparation give it substance.
• Innovation and self-reliance: By adapting a technique to incorporate a third Beast Flame, Xiao Yan creates a powerful, personal Dou Technique.
• Competition and conflict as training: The academy’s arena, fueled by Fire Energy rewards, turns rivalry and combat into a central part of student development.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Yan defeats Yun Tian in a single exchange, combining three enormous fireballs into a chain reaction that destroys Yun Tian’s Azure Profound Shield and devastates the arena.
• Liu Elder protects the spectators from the blast with a Flame Curtain, while Old Man Huo rescues Yun Tian from the flames. The attack’s power is identified as comparable to a Mid-Level Earth Tier technique.
• Xiao Yan challenges Han Beng and Liu Bai next. Liu Bai warns that stronger fighters exist, but Han Yue reveals that Zi Yan—the Strong Ranking’s top fighter, nicknamed the Brute Force King—has joined Xiao Yan’s Flame Alliance.
• Liu Bai shifts the confrontation to alchemy, proposing that if he wins, the Flame Alliance must stop selling pills. He also demands the Ice Spirit Pill recipe. If he loses, he will give the Alliance eight valuable trading locations.
• Xiao Yan rejects the terms as too favorable to Liu Bai and displays his Fire Crystal Card, which still holds more than a thousand days’ worth of Fire Energy.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yan demonstrates both overwhelming combat strength and confidence. His explosive technique reflects lessons from alchemy: when multiple ingredients react violently, the result can be powerful—and destructive. He also shows shrewdness by questioning Liu Bai’s proposed wager.
• Yun Tian begins determined to withstand Xiao Yan’s attack, layering defenses, but is swiftly overwhelmed and left badly burned.
• Liu Bai abandons the prospect of fighting and tries to use his alchemical skill and the Medicine Gate’s resources to threaten the Flame Alliance’s pill business.
• Han Yue reveals that Zi Yan’s allegiance strengthens the Flame Alliance’s position. Han Beng urges Liu Bai to rely on alchemy rather than combat.
• The students and Flame Alliance members react anxiously: the Alliance’s affordable pills are important to the academy’s fighters and to the group’s income. The Cloud Gang members fear the consequences of losing their leader.

Significant themes

• Innovation through experience: Xiao Yan turns knowledge gained from failed alchemical refinements into a devastating combat technique.
• Power and reputation: His victory shifts the crowd’s perception of the newcomer and weakens the Cloud Gang’s influence.
• Commerce as leverage: Control over pill sales and trading locations becomes as important as martial strength.
• Negotiation and fairness: Xiao Yan challenges Liu Bai’s attempt to secure several concessions with a comparatively limited wager.

Plot points and events

• Liu Bai’s wager grows more substantial when Han Beng offers a Beast Flame from a Sixth-Tier Molten Battle-Axe Golden Kui. Han Beng wants revenge on Xiao Yan for injuring his brothers, Han Xian and Yun Tian.
• Xiao Yan is tempted by the Beast Flame, which would help complete the set of flames needed for his Five-Ring Flame-Separation Technique. He conceals his interest and counters that he already possesses Beast Flame, displaying three different flames.
• Hao Elder agrees to oversee the alchemy contest. The stakes are set: Liu Bai risks Medicine Gate’s trading location, while Xiao Yan seeks its location and Han Beng’s Beast Flame; Liu Bai wants Flame Alliance’s formulas.
• Hao Elder reveals that the contestants must refine an unfamiliar formula. Liu Bai reads it first and is visibly unsettled. Xiao Yan then examines it, and Liu Bai identifies the challenge as the Fifth-Grade Dragon-Strength Pill.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yan remains outwardly confident and composed, relying on patience and solid fundamentals despite having limited experience with alchemy formulas.
• Liu Bai is convinced his greater knowledge of formulas gives him the advantage, but his reaction to the difficult challenge suggests the contest may be more daunting than expected.
• Han Beng backs Liu Bai out of anger over his brothers’ injuries, contributing the valuable Beast Flame while insisting he wants no share of the prize.
• Hao Elder takes charge as a trusted, impartial judge and deliberately chooses a challenging formula to push both alchemists.

Significant themes

• Confidence versus proven ability: Liu Bai trusts his broad formula knowledge, while Xiao Yan trusts his fundamentals and careful technique.
• Patience and composure: Xiao Yan believes steady refinement and control matter more than rushing.
• Rivalry and revenge: The contest is fueled not only by material stakes but also by Han Beng’s desire to settle a personal grievance.
• Escalating stakes: The valuable Beast Flame and a Fifth-Grade pill raise the contest’s importance and difficulty.

Summary

• Plot and events: The chapter is a brief release-day message announcing that the story is about to go on sale. The author thanks readers for their support and their editor for signing the work, and invites readers to share its online listing.
• Character developments: No fictional characters appear or change. The author reflects that stories by Potato and Wang Yu brought them joy as a teenager, and that drawing on their protagonists’ special advantages now helps the author earn extra income.
• Themes: Gratitude to readers and creative collaborators; the lasting influence of stories; and the way inspiration from earlier fiction can inform new work.
• Interactions: The author addresses readers directly, thanking them and asking them to recommend the novel to friends. The message also acknowledges the editor, Potato, and Wang Yu.

Key plot points

• Liu Bai is asked to refine a fifth-grade Dragon-Strength Pill in a contest against Xiao Yan. Han Xian doubts the challenge is fair, but Han Beng reassures Liu Bai that he only needs to outperform Xiao Yan.
• Han Beng lends Liu Bai a Fifth-Tier Medicine Cauldron and a Sixth-Tier magical beast’s Beast Flame—resources originally intended for Han Xian, who is too weakened to use them. Liu Bai believes the equipment may help him break through to fifth-grade alchemist.
• The contest rules allow each contestant three sets of ingredients. The first to produce a successful pill wins; if both fail, the judges will compare the quality of their attempts.
• Xiao Yan quickly studies the formula and recognizes the pill’s relevance to his own knowledge. He hopes mastering it will strengthen his position against threats in the Inner Academy.
• At the start, Xiao Yan carefully assesses the ingredients and brings out his worn third-tier cauldron. Liu Bai unveils the gleaming Fifth-Tier Golden Flame Cauldron, making the disparity in their equipment obvious.

Character developments and interactions

• Liu Bai gains confidence from Han Beng’s support and superior equipment, though he relies partly on the hope that Xiao Yan will fail. He taunts Xiao Yan about his cauldron.
• Han Beng supports Liu Bai strategically, offering him tools that might improve his chances, while showing concern for his brother’s condition.
• Han Xian is touched by his brother’s sacrifice and becomes more resentful of Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan remains composed under Liu Bai’s taunts. His rapid reading and careful ingredient assessment demonstrate his strong soul and accumulated alchemical knowledge; he counters Liu Bai’s provocation with a calm retort.
• Hao Elder establishes clear rules and provides three attempts, while the observers debate the difficulty and fairness of the challenge.

Significant themes

• Skill versus equipment: Liu Bai has a major advantage in tools, while Xiao Yan must rely on knowledge, judgment, and experience.
• Preparation and learning: Xiao Yan’s extensive study and practice become practical assets when the challenge begins.
• Ambition and protection: Xiao Yan sees the pill as a way to increase his strength amid growing dangers.
• Fairness and rivalry: The contest is presented as an impartial test, but personal grudges and strategic support shape the competitors’ expectations.

Key plot points and events

• Liu Bai arrives with a prestigious Fifth Tier Medicine Cauldron, seemingly gaining an advantage over Xiao Yan, whose Third Tier cauldron is already inadequate for his increasingly ambitious work.
• The two begin refining the complex Dragon-Strength Pill. Xiao Yan’s deep-green Moon-Howling Azure Wolf flame unsettles Liu Bai’s stronger-than-average Fire Cloud Wolf flame, but Liu Bai dismisses the difference and relies on his skill.
• Liu Bai works quickly but mishandles an ingredient, ruining his first batch. His sturdy new cauldron survives the failure, and he starts over.
• Xiao Yan initially proceeds cautiously, then accelerates after becoming familiar with the ingredients. He uses three distinct Beast Flames at different temperatures, matching them to ingredients’ properties and dramatically improving his process.
• Liu Bai, rattled by Xiao Yan’s progress, loses control during pill formation and burns his ingredients to ash.
• Xiao Yan’s technique strains his inferior cauldron. As it cracks, Liu Bai celebrates what seems to be Xiao Yan’s defeat. The cauldron finally explodes—but Xiao Yan anticipated this, launches the burning medicinal materials into the air, and uses a Flying Dou Technique to keep refining them.

Character developments

• Xiao Yan shows patience, adaptability, and confidence. After learning from the ingredients, he reveals the full sophistication of his fire-control technique and improvises when his cauldron fails. His main weakness is that his equipment has not kept pace with his abilities.
• Liu Bai begins confident in his superior cauldron and experience. Although he recovers calmly from his first mistake, Xiao Yan’s performance unsettles him, leading to a second, more damaging loss of control.
• Xun’er supports Xiao Yan by explaining the exceptional origin of his Beast Flame to the audience.
• The elders and spectators reassess Xiao Yan as his technique becomes apparent; their reactions shift from curiosity and concern to astonishment.

Significant themes

• Skill versus equipment: A superior cauldron gives Liu Bai an initial advantage, but Xiao Yan’s knowledge and technique prove more consequential—while his inadequate equipment ultimately creates a serious obstacle.
• Composure under pressure: Both alchemists make mistakes, but Liu Bai’s anxiety contributes to his second failure, whereas Xiao Yan responds to disaster with quick planning.
• Innovation and mastery: Xiao Yan adapts his techniques for alchemy, using three specialized flames in combination rather than relying on conventional methods.
• Risk and ambition: Advanced alchemy can be dangerous; Xiao Yan’s bold approach brings him close to success but also pushes his cauldron beyond its limits.

Character interactions

• Liu Bai’s display of his cauldron and dismissive confidence establish the rivalry with Xiao Yan.
• Xun’er’s explanation of Xiao Yan’s flame prompts a stir among the spectators and deepens Liu Bai’s unease.
• The elders discuss Liu Bai’s experience and question why Xiao Yan appears to be holding back, before recognizing the ingenuity of his three-flame method.
• Liu Bai taunts Xiao Yan when the cauldron cracks, but his triumph turns to shock when Xiao Yan continues refining in midair.

Key plot points and events

• Xiao Yan’s Medicine Cauldron explodes at the final stage of refining the Dragon Formula Pill. Instead of giving up, he preserves the medicinal liquid with precise flame control and shapes his flames into a replacement cauldron.
• Maintaining the fiery cauldron taxes his soul power, which cannot recover as readily as Dou Qi. Xiao Yan endures the strain thanks to years of frequent alchemy practice.
• Since the explosion has weakened the medicine, Xiao Yan adds fresh herbs to restore its potency while continuing the refinement overhead.
• Liu Bai regains his composure, refines his remaining ingredients methodically, and reaches the fusion stage. Unable to make a proper Fifth-grade Pill, he settles for a half-finished one.
• Liu Bai produces a scorched, irregular pill and declares victory. The judges recognize that it is a poor result, while Xiao Yan’s outcome remains hidden inside the fiery cauldron.

Character developments and interactions

• Xiao Yan demonstrates resourcefulness and exceptional fire control, turning a near-certain failure into a chance to continue. His confidence is tempered by awareness of his limited soul power.
• Liu Bai moves from alarm at Xiao Yan’s recovery to disciplined concentration. He chooses a flawed but potentially winning result rather than risk failing altogether, though he feels embarrassed to show it.
• Han Xian loses his confidence and gloating when Xiao Yan saves the medicine, then tries to dismiss the feat as only a temporary reprieve. Han Beng remains outwardly composed but privately hopes Xiao Yan will fail.
• Old Man Huo admires Liu Bai’s composure but sees the poor quality of his pill. Hao Elder questions whether Xiao Yan can withstand the soul-power burden. Both, along with the spectators, wait to see Xiao Yan’s result.

Significant themes

• Ingenuity under pressure: Xiao Yan adapts when his equipment fails instead of abandoning the attempt.
• Endurance and accumulated practice: Years of refining medicine help him sustain delicate work despite exhaustion.
• Limits and calculated risk: Soul power has stricter limits than Dou Qi, while Liu Bai chooses a compromised result because a complete success is too difficult.
• Uncertainty and spectacle: The contest’s outcome remains unresolved, keeping attention fixed on Xiao Yan’s hidden progress.