Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yuan awakens in the Central Plains’ Pill Tower Square with the memories of an ordinary Pill Tower disciple who shares his name. He realizes he has transmigrated into Battle Through the Heavens.
• A system lets him select five cheats from nine options. He chooses Dou Di Bloodline, Xuan Yi’s absolute favor, Heaven-Defying Comprehension, the Beast Taming System, and Heavenly Sovereign Alchemist abilities, granting immense cultivation potential, extraordinary learning and alchemy, and the ability to tame any magical beast.
• Jiang Yuan discovers he is badly injured because Song Qing, a powerful Pill Tower elder, beat him publicly. Song’s motive is Jiang Yuan’s engagement to Cao Ying, a gifted young alchemist whom Song desires.
• Jiang Yuan considers the engagement troublesome and is open to ending it if Cao Ying does not want it, but he is unwilling to overlook Song Qing’s assault.
• Xuan Kongzi, one of the Pill Tower’s Three Giants, arrives, confirms Song Qing was responsible, and offers to take Jiang Yuan away to recover. He condemns Song’s abuse of his authority.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan shifts from confusion and pain to confidence after gaining his cheats. He is pragmatic about the unwanted engagement but determined to address the injustice done to him.
• Xuan Kongzi is shown as protective and fair-minded, concerned for Jiang Yuan’s injuries and willing to confront Song Qing.
• Song Qing is established as an influential but bullying elder who uses his status and strength to pressure Jiang Yuan.
• Cao Ying does not appear, but her talent, pride, and dissatisfaction with the engagement are explained.

Significant themes

• Power and potential: Jiang Yuan’s extraordinary new abilities sharply reverse his vulnerable position.
• Abuse of authority: Song Qing’s attack highlights how status and strength can be used to intimidate weaker people.
• Choice and autonomy: Jiang Yuan recognizes that an engagement without mutual willingness need not be maintained.
• Revenge and justice: He may accept ending the engagement, but he does not intend to let Song Qing’s violence pass unanswered.

Character interactions

• Song Qing publicly humiliates and beats Jiang Yuan, demanding that he break off his engagement to Cao Ying.
• Xuan Kongzi questions Jiang Yuan about the assault, expresses anger at Song Qing, checks that Jiang Yuan is not in mortal danger, and escorts him to recover.

Key plot points and events

• In the Pill Tower’s inner hall, Xuan Kongzi gives the injured Jiang Yuan a Healing Pill and says he intends to uphold Jiang Yuan’s long-standing engagement to Cao Ying. He has summoned her so they can discuss it directly.
• While waiting, Jiang Yuan cultivates and discovers that the Dou Di Bloodline has transformed his progress: in half an hour, he rises from Dou Ling to One-Star Dou Emperor. His Dou Qi is also unusually potent for his level.
• Elsewhere, Cao Ying reproaches Song Qing for attacking Jiang Yuan. Song admits he acted out of resentment and concern for her, but Cao Ying points out that his recklessness has made the situation worse.
• A maid summons Cao Ying to meet Xuan Kongzi. Learning that Jiang Yuan is with him and that the engagement is to be discussed, Cao Ying becomes furious. Song Qing leaves at her request, and she resolves to reject the engagement regardless of her teacher’s wishes.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan is astonished by the Dou Di Bloodline’s power and begins to see the immense potential of his new cultivation.
• Xuan Kongzi takes a firm position in favor of honoring the engagement, treating Jiang Yuan’s injury and the marriage arrangement as matters requiring his attention.
• Cao Ying recognizes that Song Qing’s attack was improper, yet shares his view that she and Jiang Yuan are badly mismatched. Her resentment toward the engagement hardens into outright refusal.
• Song Qing reveals jealousy and protectiveness beneath his claim that he acted for Cao Ying. He apologizes, but his interference has complicated the situation.
• The chapter contrasts Xuan Kongzi’s authority and sense of obligation with Cao Ying’s determination to control her own future.

Significant themes

• Talent, status, and worth: Cao Ying measures Jiang Yuan by his current alchemical ability, while his sudden breakthrough suggests his apparent weakness may not last.
• Obligation versus personal choice: Xuan Kongzi insists the family promise should be honored; Cao Ying rejects the idea that it should dictate her future.
• Hidden potential and transformation: Jiang Yuan’s dramatic cultivation surge overturns expectations about his capabilities.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Cao Ying meets her teacher, Xuan Kongzi, and Jiang Yuan to discuss her arranged engagement to Jiang Yuan.
• Cao Ying explains that the match was arranged by their families after Jiang Yuan’s grandfather saved hers, but says she never agreed to it and does not want to marry him.
• Xuan Kongzi insists that she honor the engagement, arguing that breaking a family promise would damage her reputation.
• Cao Ying challenges Jiang Yuan to prove himself: if he can refine an eighth-tier pill, she will marry him; if he fails, the engagement will be canceled. She provides him with the pill recipe.
• Jiang Yuan accepts the challenge with striking confidence, calling an eighth-tier pill “a mere” task. Cao Ying mocks his claim, while Xuan Kongzi tries to defuse the situation.

Character developments

• Cao Ying asserts her independence and ambition, making clear that she will not accept a marriage simply because others arranged it. She sees Jiang Yuan as unworthy because of his apparent lack of alchemical skill.
• Jiang Yuan remains calm under Cao Ying’s insults. While she and Xuan Kongzi discuss the engagement, he is cultivating and has advanced to One-Star Dou Emperor, with further growth seeming close. His confidence in taking on the pill challenge hints that he may possess abilities others do not recognize.
• Xuan Kongzi tries to uphold the engagement out of principle, but also recognizes that Cao Ying’s condition is deliberately difficult and worries Jiang Yuan has made an impulsive claim.

Significant themes

• Personal choice versus family obligation: Cao Ying resists a marriage imposed by an old agreement, while Xuan Kongzi argues that promises must be honored.
• Worth and status: Cao Ying judges Jiang Yuan by his alchemical ability and social standing; Jiang Yuan’s confidence challenges her assumptions.
• Promises and accountability: Cao Ying stakes her own word on the outcome, creating a test that may force both sides to honor their commitments.

Character interactions

• Cao Ying confronts Xuan Kongzi over his insistence that she marry Jiang Yuan.
• She ridicules Jiang Yuan’s apparent passivity and lack of skill, then offers him a seemingly impossible chance to end the engagement.
• Jiang Yuan refuses to be provoked and turns her condition back on her, reminding her that she promised to marry him if he succeeds.
• Xuan Kongzi attempts to protect Jiang Yuan from the challenge, but Cao Ying insists on seeing whether he can fulfill it.

Key plot points and events

• Cao Ying challenges Jiang Yuan to refine an Eighth-Tier Pill, confident he will fail. Xuan Kongzi warns her that the task is exceptionally difficult, but she insists Jiang Yuan agreed to it.
• Jiang Yuan studies the pill recipe, borrows the ingredients from Xuan Kongzi, and begins refining. Though initially awkward, his extraordinary comprehension and alchemical abilities quickly give him precise control over the ingredients, flames, and soul power.
• Cao Ying’s mockery turns to disbelief as Jiang Yuan produces exceptionally pure medicinal essences. He ultimately creates a flawless, high-quality Eighth-Tier Pill on his first attempt.
• The pill triggers a tribulation. Cao Ying expects Jiang Yuan to fail, but a system notification reveals that he has comprehended a method to evade the lightning. Each bolt loses track of its target and dissipates.
• Jiang Yuan reminds Cao Ying of her promise to marry him if he succeeded. Prepared to keep her word, she is stunned when he rejects her, declaring that she is “not worthy.”

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan remains calm under Cao Ying’s insults and proves his ability through action. After succeeding, he turns the tables by rejecting her, asserting his own judgment rather than accepting the reward she offered.
• Cao Ying shifts from confidence and contempt to shock and helplessness. Though reluctant, she prepares to honor her public promise—only to be rejected.
• Xuan Kongzi initially worries Jiang Yuan is attempting the impossible, then watches in astonishment as the young man surpasses the skill of many elders.

Significant themes

• Underestimation and reversal: Jiang Yuan’s apparent reputation as an incompetent disciple is overturned by his extraordinary performance.
• Pride, promises, and accountability: Cao Ying’s challenge binds her to her words, while Jiang Yuan refuses to treat marriage as a prize he must accept.
• Hidden talent and rapid growth: Jiang Yuan’s cheats and comprehension transform a seemingly impossible task into a demonstration of exceptional skill.

Plot points and events

• Cao Ying, angered by Jiang Yuan’s claim that she is not good enough for him, challenges him to learn Wind Shadow Step, an intermediate Earth-class movement technique.
• Jiang Yuan studies the scroll. Thanks to his Heaven-Defying Comprehension, he masters the technique almost instantly, perfects it, and fills in its missing sections—upgrading it to advanced Earth-class.
• Cao Ying doubts his claim, but Jiang Yuan demonstrates the technique at remarkable speed and precision, leaving both her and Xuan Kongzi unable to follow his movements.
• When Jiang Yuan asks whether she wants to challenge him in another field, Cao Ying falls silent. The encounter ends with Xuan Kongzi increasingly impressed.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan displays not only exceptional alchemy but also extraordinary learning and combat-related talent. He remains calm and confident despite Cao Ying’s provocations.
• Cao Ying is forced to confront her assumptions and pride. After repeatedly underestimating Jiang Yuan, she realizes that she may be the one who is not good enough for him.
• Xuan Kongzi begins the demonstration skeptical but becomes more impressed by Jiang Yuan’s abilities.

Significant themes

• Arrogance and humility: Cao Ying’s confidence in her status and talent is challenged by Jiang Yuan’s achievements.
• Hidden potential and rapid growth: Jiang Yuan’s abilities exceed what others expect, especially through his Heaven-Defying Comprehension.
• Reversals of judgment: Each attempt to expose Jiang Yuan’s supposed shortcomings instead reveals his superiority in another area.

Character interactions

• Cao Ying provokes Jiang Yuan with a challenge intended to discredit him; he accepts without hesitation.
• Jiang Yuan’s demonstration silences Cao Ying and overturns her view of him.
• Xuan Kongzi watches the exchange, initially doubtful but ultimately impressed, as the tension between Jiang Yuan and Cao Ying gives way to an awkward silence.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yuan leaves Xuan Kongzi’s hall after demonstrating astonishing abilities: refining an Eighth-Tier Pill, avoiding its tribulation, and quickly mastering a powerful Dou Technique.
• Xuan Kongzi challenges Cao Ying’s earlier wish to end her engagement to Jiang Yuan. Faced with Jiang Yuan’s talent, she can no longer justify her former sense of superiority and leaves in confusion, wondering how he changed so suddenly.
• At the Pill Tower plaza, Dan Chen approaches Jiang Yuan, worried about the injuries Song Qing inflicted on him. She gives him a healing pill, which he gratefully accepts.
• Song Qing arrives and mocks Jiang Yuan, accusing him of playing the victim to win sympathy from Cao Ying. Dan Chen defends Jiang Yuan and condemns Song Qing for attacking a disciple. Angered and embarrassed before the watching crowd, Song Qing turns his attention to Jiang Yuan, preparing to provoke him further.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan continues to impress others with his extraordinary talent and remains composed in the face of hostility. Dan Chen’s kindness also affects him, as she is the first person since his transmigration to show him genuine concern.
• Cao Ying is shaken by Jiang Yuan’s achievements. Her confidence in her own superiority—and her determination to end their engagement—gives way to shock, curiosity, and uncertainty.
• Dan Chen shows compassion and courage, offering Jiang Yuan medicine and openly challenging an Elder despite the risk of making him angry.
• Song Qing is revealed as arrogant and antagonistic. His attempt to belittle Jiang Yuan backfires when Dan Chen publicly calls out his conduct.
• Xuan Kongzi is amazed by Jiang Yuan and sees Cao Ying’s encounter with him as a needed lesson in humility.

Significant themes

• Hidden potential and sudden transformation: Jiang Yuan’s accomplishments overturn others’ assumptions about him.
• Pride and humility: Cao Ying’s confidence is humbled, while Song Qing’s arrogance makes him lash out when challenged.
• Kindness and loyalty: Dan Chen’s sincere concern contrasts with the mockery and hostility Jiang Yuan has faced.
• Status and justice: Song Qing’s position as an Elder does not shield him from criticism for abusing his authority.

Character interactions

• Xuan Kongzi confronts Cao Ying with the contrast between her former judgment of Jiang Yuan and his demonstrated ability.
• Dan Chen treats Jiang Yuan warmly, gives him medicine, and defends him against Song Qing.
• Song Qing dismisses Dan Chen’s defense and tries to humiliate Jiang Yuan, setting up a further confrontation.

Plot and key events

• Elder Song Qing challenges Jiang Yuan, accusing him of playing the victim and implying his injuries were faked to gain Cao Ying’s sympathy. He promises not to hurt Jiang Yuan but says refusing will make him look guilty.
• Dan Chen objects because Jiang Yuan has not recovered from his earlier injuries. Jiang Yuan accepts anyway, reassuring her that he knows what he is doing.
• A crowd gathers, expecting the injured ordinary disciple to be humiliated by the much stronger Dou Zong elder.
• Song Qing offers Jiang Yuan three unanswered strikes, declaring that Jiang Yuan wins if he can make him step back even half a pace.
• Jiang Yuan uses the Wind Shadow Step and lands a powerful punch before Song Qing can react. Song Qing is thrown back seven or eight steps, stunning the onlookers.
• Jiang Yuan reminds Song Qing that two moves remain. With the crowd watching, Song Qing reluctantly agrees to continue.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan remains composed under provocation and shows confidence in his abilities. His speed, strength, and skill with the Wind Shadow Step reveal that he is far more capable than the crowd—and Song Qing—assumed.
• Song Qing begins the encounter smug and condescending, but Jiang Yuan’s unexpected attack shocks him and makes him uncertain. He is also trapped by his public promise to take three strikes.
• Dan Chen defends Jiang Yuan and worries about his health, showing her concern and support. His success leaves her stunned.
• The gathered disciples shift from dismissing Jiang Yuan to openly questioning his strength and how he learned such an advanced technique.

Significant themes

• Underestimating others: Jiang Yuan’s first strike overturns the assumptions based on his injuries and status.
• Pride and public accountability: Song Qing’s boastful challenge becomes a constraint once witnesses see him forced to honor it.
• Hidden ability and perseverance: Jiang Yuan’s performance suggests that his true strength exceeds what others expect.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yuan accepts Song Qing’s challenge and uses the promised three strikes to humiliate him: he slaps Song across the face, then kicks him in the face and sends him crashing into a pillar.
• Song Qing, enraged by the public humiliation, breaks his promise and tries to kill Jiang Yuan. The watching disciples criticize him for going back on his word.
• Xuan Yi, one of the Pill Tower’s Three Giants, intervenes before Song Qing can attack. After hearing what happened, she orders Song Qing into seclusion to reflect on his conduct.
• Song Qing obeys but leaves glaring at Jiang Yuan with open hatred. Xuan Yi departs without further comment, while Dan Chen asks Jiang Yuan how he became so strong.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan remains confident and unflinching, using speed and force to finish the agreed three strikes. His boldness wins the crowd’s approval, though it intensifies Song Qing’s hostility.
• Song Qing loses his composure and dignity, first by attacking despite his promise, then by being publicly disciplined. He ends the scene resentful and vengeful.
• Xuan Yi demonstrates authority and fairness by reprimanding Song Qing rather than punishing Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan recognizes her as a target of one of his chosen cheats: “Xuan Yi’s Affection at One Hundred Percent”; she briefly blushes when she sees him.
• Dan Chen supports Jiang Yuan by reminding Song Qing of his promise, then checks on Jiang Yuan afterward, impressed by his strength.
• The disciples shift from stunned observers to outspoken critics of Song Qing’s broken promise, and ultimately regard Jiang Yuan as the winner.

Significant themes

• Honor and accountability: Song Qing’s broken promise damages his standing, while Xuan Yi enforces consequences for abusing his authority.
• Power and public reputation: Jiang Yuan’s victory is as much a public humiliation of an elder as a physical defeat.
• Justice versus vengeance: Song Qing seeks to retaliate, but Xuan Yi’s intervention prevents the conflict from becoming lethal.

Key plot points and events

• After leaving the Pill Tower square, Xuan Yi reflects on her unusual reaction to Jiang Yuan and his strength. She considers taking him as her disciple but decides to observe him longer.
• The Pill Tower disciples are astonished that Jiang Yuan defeated Dou Zong Song Qing so easily. Dan Chen asks Jiang Yuan how he became so strong; he brushes off the fight as a test and keeps his secrets to himself.
• Jiang Yuan returns to his quarters pleased with the day’s successes and confident that his Dou Di Bloodline will let him advance rapidly.
• Dan Chen visits Cao Ying and recounts Jiang Yuan’s victory. Cao Ying struggles to reconcile his sudden power with her memory of his former abilities, and wonders whether he had been hiding his strength.
• Alone afterward, Cao Ying regrets ending their engagement, recognizing that Jiang Yuan may become extraordinarily powerful.

Character developments and interactions

• Xuan Yi becomes intrigued by Jiang Yuan and feels an unfamiliar emotional pull toward him, though she keeps her interest guarded.
• Jiang Yuan remains composed and secretive despite the crowd’s amazement. He shares little with Dan Chen and privately views his newfound cultivation as the start of greater progress.
• Dan Chen admires Jiang Yuan’s abilities and respects his reluctance to explain them. She later acts as the messenger who reveals his victory to Cao Ying.
• Cao Ying shifts from confidence in ending the engagement to deep regret as she learns how capable Jiang Yuan has become.

Significant themes

• Sudden transformation and concealed potential: Jiang Yuan’s dramatic rise leads others to suspect he was hiding his abilities or gained an extraordinary opportunity.
• Regret and missed chances: Cao Ying realizes she may have rejected a future with someone destined for greatness.
• Secrecy and curiosity: Jiang Yuan withholds the source of his strength, leaving those around him to speculate.

Plot points and events

• Two days after his previous breakthrough, Jiang Yuan reaches Eight-Star Dou Zong, having advanced from One-Star Dou Emperor at an astonishing rate thanks to his Dou Di Bloodline.
• Dan Chen visits him and is stunned when he reveals his new level.
• A system alert tells Jiang Yuan that a Ninth-Tier Magic Core from the Heaven-Splitting Thunder Flood Dragon will be auctioned at the Space Trade Fair in three days. He concludes that acquiring it will require a valuable pill, not money.
• Jiang Yuan decides to refine the Nine Netherworld Underworld Pill, a peak Eighth-Tier Nine-Colored pill whose power can help a Dou Zun advance to Dou Sheng.
• Over the next half month, he searches widely until he has gathered all the ingredients. He then goes to an isolated wasteland to avoid attention and danger from the pill’s tribulation.
• Jiang Yuan successfully refines the pill. Using the Lightning-Avoidance Method, he evades every bolt of the powerful Pill Tribulation Lightning and claims the finished pill.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan’s extraordinary cultivation and alchemy abilities continue to set him apart; his bloodline drives rapid growth, while his experience and Heavenly Sovereign alchemist talent make the difficult refinement appear controlled.
• Dan Chen’s admiration deepens into open disbelief as she struggles to comprehend Jiang Yuan’s advancement.
• Jiang Yuan is practical and focused: once he learns of the Magic Core, he quickly leaves Dan Chen to prepare a suitable trade and avoids refining the pill where it could attract unwanted attention.

Significant themes

• Exceptional talent and rapid advancement: Jiang Yuan’s bloodline enables growth beyond ordinary limits.
• Preparation and resourcefulness: Securing the rare ingredients and choosing a remote refining site are essential to his plan.
• Power, value, and exchange: A treasure as rare as the Magic Core can only be obtained through an equally extraordinary offering.
• Control under pressure: Jiang Yuan’s calm handling of the pill tribulation contrasts with the danger its lightning poses.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yuan takes the Eighth-Tier Nine-Colored Nine Netherworld Underworld Pill to the Space Trade Fair, hoping to trade it for a Ninth-Tier Magical Beast core.
• A guard initially dismisses him because of his youth and plain appearance. When Jiang Yuan reveals the pill, its rarity changes the guard’s attitude, and Jiang Yuan is escorted inside.
• Old Man Baoshan examines the pill and learns that it can take a Dou Zun directly to Dou Sheng, bypassing the Half-Saint stage.
• Jiang Yuan asks for the Heaven-Splitting Thunder Flood Dragon’s Magic Core, which is already scheduled for auction. Recognizing the pill’s far greater value, Baoshan agrees to give Jiang Yuan the core immediately.
• Jiang Yuan receives the core and is pleased, thinking it will let him increase his strength.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan remains calm and purposeful. Rather than challenge the skeptical guard, he lets the pill prove its worth and negotiates directly for the item he wants.
• Old Man Baoshan moves from curiosity to shock and deep respect after hearing what the pill can do. He quickly prioritizes accommodating Jiang Yuan.
• The guard shifts from dismissive suspicion to respectful deference once he recognizes the pill’s quality.

Significant themes

• Power and status: A valuable treasure instantly changes how others treat Jiang Yuan.
• Rarity and value: The pill’s ability to create a Dou Sheng makes it extraordinarily valuable, far exceeding the Magic Core’s worth in Baoshan’s view.
• Pragmatic exchange: Jiang Yuan uses a rare resource to secure a specific prize without waiting for the auction.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yuan handles the guard’s challenge without hostility, revealing the pill only when words fail to convince him.
• Baoshan receives Jiang Yuan courteously, examines the pill, and responds with increasingly formal respect as its significance becomes clear.
• Their negotiation is brief: Jiang Yuan names the Magic Core he wants, and Baoshan arranges to hand it over immediately.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Yuan receives and inspects the ninth-rank Heaven-Splitting Thunder Flood Dragon magic core, then stores it away.
• Old Man Baoshan asks which faction Jiang Yuan belongs to. Jiang Yuan conceals his Pill Tower ties and claims to be an independent wanderer.
• Baoshan invites Jiang Yuan to stay and provides attentive hospitality, including maids in a luxurious VIP room.
• As a gesture of friendship, Baoshan gives Jiang Yuan a high-grade Earth-tier movement technique, Phantom Nine Transformations. Jiang Yuan accepts.
• After spending the night at the Trade Fair, Jiang Yuan leaves the next morning and returns to the Pill Tower to consider how to use the core.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan remains discreet about his affiliation and accepts Baoshan’s generosity without making a show of either rejecting or demanding it. He values the magic core, the technique, and the useful connection.
• Baoshan is impressed by Jiang Yuan’s alchemy and treats him as a valuable potential ally. He probes for information, then works to build goodwill through hospitality and a gift.
• Their exchange establishes a cordial relationship: Baoshan offers future assistance, while Jiang Yuan leaves on friendly terms.

Significant themes

• Discretion and self-protection: Jiang Yuan hides his Pill Tower affiliation to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
• Networking and reciprocity: Baoshan uses gifts and hospitality to cultivate a relationship with a powerful, unaffiliated talent.
• Practical opportunity: Jiang Yuan accepts useful rewards and connections while keeping his focus on his goals.

Plot points and events

• Jiang Yuan returns to the Pill Tower, where Dan Chen tells him that the Space Trade Fair will auction an exceptionally potent peak eighth-tier pill, the Nine Netherworld Underworld Pill. It can reportedly let a Dou Zun advance directly to Dou Sheng.
• The Three Elders confirm the news and decide to attend the auction, determined to obtain the pill despite the likely competition.
• Listening outside their council chamber, Jiang Yuan realizes they are praising him: he secretly refined the pill himself. He keeps his identity hidden and finds their admiration amusing.
• Back in his quarters, Jiang Yuan studies the Ninth-Tier Magical Beast core he acquired, considering how to absorb its power safely without damaging his meridians. He begins examining its energy through his cultivation.

Character developments and interactions

• Jiang Yuan stays guarded when Dan Chen asks where he has been, offering a casual excuse. He also conceals his role as the pill’s refiner from the Three Elders, preferring to watch their plans unfold.
• Dan Chen shows concern for Jiang Yuan’s absence, then eagerly shares the Pill Tower’s exciting news. His muted reaction puzzles her, but she soon moves on.
• The Three Elders shift from astonishment and curiosity to determination, deciding the pill is valuable enough to pursue at any cost. They speculate about its unknown maker, unaware he is nearby.

Significant themes

• Hidden identity and dramatic irony: The Pill Tower’s leaders admire and seek the very alchemist standing outside their door.
• Ambition and competition: The pill’s power promises a major leap in strength, making it a coveted prize among powerful factions.
• Caution in the pursuit of power: Jiang Yuan weighs the risks of absorbing a potent magic core rather than acting recklessly.

Key plot points and events

• News reaches the Wind-Thunder Pavilion that an Eighth-Tier Nine-Colored Pill will be auctioned at the Space Trade Fair. The pill, identified as the Nine Netherworld Underworld Pill, is said to be capable of helping a Dou Zun advance directly to Dou Sheng.
• Thunder Venerable, a Peak Dou Zun who has been unable to break through for years, becomes determined to obtain it. Rather than risk losing it in a competitive auction, he sends his disciple Feng Qing’er to the Pill Tower to ask whether the pill came from one of its alchemists and whether a private deal is possible.
• The elders suspect the pill was made by either the Pill Tower or the Yao Clan. They also report that a young man delivered it to the fair—possibly someone only about twenty years old.
• Thunder Venerable is stunned by the young alchemist’s reported age. If the information is true, he sees the creator as both an extraordinary talent and a potential ally the pavilion must treat carefully.
• Feng Qing’er leaves with gifts and attendants, traveling to the Pill Tower to investigate.

Character developments and interactions

• Thunder Venerable shifts from focusing on acquiring the pill to considering the alchemist behind it. His ambition to reach Dou Sheng is personal, but he also recognizes that cultivating goodwill with such a rare talent could benefit the pavilion.
• Feng Qing’er accepts her teacher’s mission and becomes eager to discover who made the pill. She travels toward the Pill Tower with growing curiosity.
• The elders provide information and debate the pill’s likely origin, shaping Thunder Venerable’s understanding of the situation.
• The relationship between Thunder Venerable and Feng Qing’er is shown through his trust in her to represent the pavilion and her willingness to carry out his plan.

Significant themes

• Power and ambition: The pill offers a seemingly direct path to a breakthrough that could transform both Thunder Venerable’s standing and the pavilion’s influence.
• Talent and disbelief: The possibility that a young man made such a powerful pill challenges the elders’ assumptions about what is possible.
• Diplomacy and self-interest: Thunder Venerable seeks a private arrangement and considers how to win the alchemist’s goodwill, rather than relying only on forceful competition.

Plot points

• While cultivating in the Pill Tower plaza, Jiang Yuan receives a system notification that he has mastered the recipe for the Azure Dragon Purple Flame Pill, an Eighth-Tier pill that unlocks much of a person’s latent potential and boosts cultivation speed.
• Feng Qing’er, Thunder Venerable’s personal disciple, arrives with attendants and gifts to visit the Pill Tower’s Three Elders. Annoyed that no elder has come to greet her, she orders Jiang Yuan to announce her arrival.
• Jiang Yuan ignores her and heads away. When Feng Qing’er berates and threatens him, he dismisses her as noisy and slaps her in public.
• Feng Qing’er is injured and shocked. She invokes her status and begins releasing the aura of a Nine-Star Dou Emperor, while Jiang Yuan remains unmoved.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan is confident in his exceptional cultivation and treats Feng Qing’er’s rank and connections as irrelevant. His patience gives way to a blunt, public act of force when she keeps threatening him.
• Feng Qing’er is accustomed to deference and interprets the lack of a formal welcome as an insult. Her entitlement escalates into threats, then fury and disbelief when Jiang Yuan strikes her.

Character interactions

• Feng Qing’er repeatedly demands that Jiang Yuan summon the Three Elders; he refuses to acknowledge her.
• Other Pill Tower disciples offer to help, but Feng Qing’er’s sharp response embarrasses one of them and alienates the nearby disciples.
• After the slap, Feng Qing’er confronts Jiang Yuan about her identity, but he dismisses her protest. Her rising Dou Qi sets up a likely confrontation.

Significant themes

• Pride and status: Feng Qing’er expects her lineage and position to command respect, while Jiang Yuan refuses to defer to them.
• Power and provocation: The clash shows how a struggle over perceived respect can escalate into open violence.
• Potential and cultivation: The newly mastered pill introduces a way to unlock others’ abilities, contrasting Jiang Yuan’s personal strength with the possibility of nurturing companions.

Plot points and events

• After Jiang Yuan slaps Feng Qing’er, she is furious but restrains herself when the Pill Tower’s Three Elders arrive.
• Feng explains that she came on behalf of Wind-Thunder Pavilion’s master to negotiate for the Nine Netherworld Underworld Pill, offering Dou Techniques or cultivation methods in exchange.
• The elders tell her the Pill Tower did not refine the pill and cannot provide it. Xuan Kongzi suggests she look for it at the upcoming Space Trade Fair.
• Feng then complains that Jiang Yuan struck her and asks the elders to punish him. Jiang Yuan admits the slap but says she deserved it.
• The elders avoid disciplining him, telling him to leave while they look into the matter. Feng interprets this as the Pill Tower protecting him and departs, vowing to take revenge.

Character developments and interactions

• Feng Qing’er shifts from formal negotiation to indignation when she is denied the pill and cannot secure justice. Though she leaves without confronting the elders, she now considers Jiang Yuan an enemy.
• Jiang Yuan remains calm and unapologetic, accepting that he struck Feng while showing no concern about the elders’ response.
• The Three Elders handle Feng diplomatically but give Jiang Yuan latitude, suggesting they are reluctant to punish him before learning more. Their reaction also hints that they know or suspect something about him.

Significant themes

• Status and power: Feng’s prestigious position does not guarantee that others will yield to her.
• Loyalty and protection: The elders’ leniency toward Jiang Yuan appears to Feng as favoritism.
• Uncertainty and intrigue: The pill’s unknown creator raises questions about the existence of an exceptionally skilled alchemist beyond the expected powers.

Plot points and events

• Feng Qing’er returns to Wind-Thunder Pavilion and tells Thunder Venerable that the maker of the Eighth-Tier Nine-Colored Pill is not affiliated with the Pill Tower; the Three Elders are investigating the alchemist’s identity.
• Thunder Venerable suspects the alchemist may belong to the reclusive Yao Clan, since few others could produce such a pill.
• Noticing Feng Qing’er’s swollen cheek, he asks what happened. She claims Jiang Yuan struck her at the Pill Tower and says the Three Elders protected him, presenting the incident in a way that inflames her master.
• Thunder Venerable promises to confront the Pill Tower and punish Jiang Yuan. He also orders continued efforts to identify the alchemist and establish a relationship with them.
• After Feng Qing’er leaves, Thunder Venerable sends a subordinate to investigate further, prioritizing the alchemist over the grievance.

Character developments and interactions

• Feng Qing’er uses her injury and a slanted account of events to turn Thunder Venerable against Jiang Yuan. She remains driven by personal revenge and anticipates his punishment.
• Thunder Venerable is angered by what he sees as an insult to Wind-Thunder Pavilion, but his strategic interest in securing the powerful alchemist ultimately takes precedence.
• Their exchange shows Feng Qing’er successfully persuading her master to promise action, while Thunder Venerable keeps the larger political opportunity in view.

Significant themes

• Personal vengeance and manipulation: Feng Qing’er frames events to secure retaliation against Jiang Yuan.
• Power, status, and perceived disrespect: Thunder Venerable interprets the incident as an affront to his sect.
• Political ambition and strategic alliances: The rare pill-maker’s potential value drives Thunder Venerable’s main objective.
• Uncertainty and speculation: The alchemist’s unknown identity—and possible connection to the Yao Clan—shapes the Pavilion’s next moves.

Plot points and events

• Feng Qing’er and several junior sisters wait near the Pill Tower to ambush Jiang Yuan after he leaves, hoping to avoid a direct dispute with the Tower’s Three Elders.
• Jiang Yuan and Dan Chen leave the Tower to visit the Space Exchange and learn about upcoming auctions.
• Feng Qing’er blocks their path and demands that Jiang Yuan kneel and apologize for slapping her earlier. He refuses, mocking her.
• Dan Chen challenges Feng Qing’er’s right to confront them, but Feng Qing’er insists they are outside the Tower’s grounds and says her master, the Thunder Venerable, will soon arrive.
• Feng Qing’er and her junior sisters prepare to attack. When Feng Qing’er charges, Jiang Yuan easily dodges and slaps her across the same cheek again, leaving her stunned.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan remains calm and self-assured, refusing to be intimidated or apologize. He demonstrates his advantage over Feng Qing’er by evading her attack effortlessly.
• Feng Qing’er is consumed by resentment over her earlier humiliation. Her confidence and threats give way to shock when Jiang Yuan defeats her again with a slap.
• Dan Chen is protective of Jiang Yuan and wary of the political danger posed by Feng Qing’er’s group and the Thunder Venerable.

Significant themes

• Pride and retaliation: Feng Qing’er’s wounded pride drives her attempt to punish Jiang Yuan.
• Power and confidence: Jiang Yuan’s composure contrasts with Feng Qing’er’s anger, and his effortless counterattack undercuts her threats.
• Authority and boundaries: The confrontation hinges on whether the Pill Tower’s influence extends beyond its grounds, with Feng Qing’er relying on that distinction and her master’s backing.

Character interactions

• Feng Qing’er confronts Jiang Yuan and demands submission; he responds with open mockery.
• Dan Chen challenges Feng Qing’er and positions herself between the attackers and Jiang Yuan.
• Feng Qing’er attacks Jiang Yuan, but he sidesteps and slaps her again, abruptly reversing the confrontation.

Key plot points and events

• After Feng Qing’er is slapped by Jiang Yuan, she and her junior sisters prepare to attack him.
• Jiang Yuan’s Beast Taming System activates, identifying Feng Qing’er as a bindable target because of her Heaven Demon Phoenix bloodline. The system gives him basic control: one command at a time, which the target cannot refuse.
• Jiang Yuan orders Feng Qing’er to slap the three junior sisters. She immediately does so, then returns to normal with no memory of what happened.
• Feng Qing’er’s junior sisters blame her, while Dan Chen is baffled. Jiang Yuan refuses to explain how he controlled Feng Qing’er and mocks her before she leaves with her group.
• Dan Chen questions Jiang Yuan, but he brushes her off. They then continue toward the Space Exchange to report to the elders.

Character developments

• Jiang Yuan discovers the system can control members of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan. He is amused by its power and uses it confidently, though he keeps its workings secret.
• Feng Qing’er shifts from furious confidence to confusion and embarrassment when she finds her junior sisters injured and cannot remember striking them.
• The junior sisters lose trust in Feng Qing’er, feeling hurt and bewildered by her unexplained attack.
• Dan Chen remains curious and suspicious of Jiang Yuan’s role but chooses not to press him.

Significant themes

• Power and control: The system gives Jiang Yuan direct, irresistible authority over Feng Qing’er.
• Humiliation and reversal: The would-be attackers turn on one another through Feng Qing’er’s compelled actions.
• Secrecy and uncertainty: Feng Qing’er cannot explain her actions, while Jiang Yuan conceals the truth from Dan Chen.

Character interactions

• Jiang Yuan taunts Feng Qing’er and her junior sisters, then uses the system to make Feng Qing’er strike them.
• The junior sisters confront Feng Qing’er, accusing her of hitting them; she denies remembering it and suspects Jiang Yuan.
• Dan Chen asks Jiang Yuan what happened, but he gives her a flippant answer before they resume their journey.

Plot points and events

• After leaving the Pill Tower, Feng Qing’er asks her junior sisters what happened. They tell her she suddenly slapped them, seemingly for no reason.
• Feng Qing’er concludes that Jiang Yuan used sorcery to control her and vows revenge.
• She meets her teacher, the Thunder Venerable, and claims Jiang Yuan struck her and made her attack her junior sisters. Enraged, he pursues Jiang Yuan.
• The Thunder Venerable intercepts Jiang Yuan and Dan Chen. He demands an explanation and insists Jiang Yuan kneel and apologize, threatening him with death.
• Dan Chen tries to explain that Feng Qing’er started the confrontation, but the Thunder Venerable dismisses her.
• Jiang Yuan refuses to apologize, dismisses Feng Qing’er, and attempts to walk away with Dan Chen. The Thunder Venerable attacks him.

Character developments and interactions

• Feng Qing’er is furious and certain Jiang Yuan used sorcery, despite her junior sisters’ account only establishing that she struck them. She uses the incident to persuade her teacher to retaliate.
• The Thunder Venerable acts on his disciple’s accusation without hearing Jiang Yuan’s side. His anger escalates from demanding an explanation to threatening and attacking Jiang Yuan.
• Jiang Yuan remains calm and defiant under the Thunder Venerable’s pressure, refusing to engage on his terms.
• Dan Chen tries to defend Jiang Yuan and is worried by the Thunder Venerable’s powerful aura, but is cut off.
• The confrontation pits the Thunder Venerable and Feng Qing’er against Jiang Yuan, with Dan Chen caught between them.

Significant themes

• Pride and authority: The Thunder Venerable expects obedience because of his status, while Jiang Yuan refuses to submit.
• Accusation without evidence: Feng Qing’er’s interpretation drives the conflict, and the Thunder Venerable accepts her claims without investigation.
• Composure under threat: Jiang Yuan’s calm contrasts with the others’ anger and alarm.