Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan scored only Third Stage Dou Qi at the clan test, but he believed his three-year decline was over and told Xiao Xun'er that his former genius was returning. Xun'er grew suspicious that someone had deceived him, while Xiao Zhan concealed his anguish over his youngest son and the family sacrifices he had made.

• Xiao Yan received a Third Stage Dou Qi result, and the Xiao Clan members responded with pity and support.
• Xiao Xun'er scored Ninth Stage, high, and Xiao Yan noticed she had hidden some of her strength.
• Xiao Yan told Xun'er that his old talent was back, prompting her to order Elder Ling to investigate everyone he had encountered over the past three years.
• The Grand Elder praised Xiao Ning's Eighth Stage Dou Qi and privately blamed Xiao Zhan for not seeking help for Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Zhan reflected on sending his two older sons to the border and on the pain he hid behind his clan leader's smile.

Xiao Yan reflected on the Xiao Clan’s sacrifices and prepared to take his turn supporting the family. When Nalan Yanran arrived to break their engagement, Xiao Zhan rejected her offer and demanded that her grandfather come in person.

• Xiao Yan considered how the Xiao Clan had sacrificed for its strongest members and examined his Storage Ring with excitement.
• Ling Ying watched Xiao Yan and worried that he lacked the Xiao Clan Bloodline needed to stand openly beside Xiao Xun'er.
• Xiao Xun'er visited Xiao Yan with news about Nalan Yanran, and Xiao Yan guessed what she was going to tell him.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er joined Xiao Zhan, Ge Ye, and Nalan Yanran in the Xiao Clan’s Meeting Hall.
• Ge Ye offered Qi Gathering Powder as a token while announcing that Nalan Yanran wanted to break the engagement, and Xiao Zhan refused unless her grandfather came himself.

Xiao Yan calmly tried to end his engagement with Nalan Yanran without humiliating either clan, but Xiao Ning challenged her to a duel in three years and she accepted. Nalan Yanran departed for the Misty Cloud Sect, leaving Xiao Yan frustrated that the Three-Year Agreement was back on his path.

• Xiao Yan explained that Nalan Yanran could end the engagement later without disgracing the Xiao Clan, and she began to understand the harm her visit had caused.
• Xiao Ning rejected the Qi Gathering Pills and challenged Nalan Yanran to fight Xiao Yan in three years, with the loser accepting the other’s terms.
• Nalan Yanran accepted the Three-Year Agreement and said she would suppress her cultivation to fight Xiao Yan on equal footing.
• Xiao Yan tried to persuade Nalan Yanran to disregard the challenge, but she left for the Misty Cloud Sect determined to meet him in three years.
• Xiao Ning offered to introduce Xiao Yan to his sister, then stopped talking when he noticed Xiao Xun’er glaring at him.

Xiao Yan confronted the mysterious soul in his Storage Ring, expecting Yao Lao to emerge, but learned that the old man was Taishang Laojun. Taishang Laojun accepted Xiao Yan as his disciple and gave him a powerful Mystic Staff, while warning that his own strength was limited.

• Xiao Xun'er teased Xiao Yan, then ordered Ling Ying to investigate what was strange about him.
• Xiao Yan trained in the mountain spring and called on the soul in his Storage Ring, believing it was Yao Lao.
• The old man refused the name Yao Chen and revealed that his true self was known as Taiqing Dao De Tianzun, or Taishang Laojun.
• Xiao Yan realized the old man knew he was a Transmigration traveler and eagerly knelt to become his disciple.
• Taishang Laojun gave Xiao Yan a spare Mystic Staff forged by Yu the Great and offered to teach him alchemy when he was ready.

Xiao Yan received the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and a Marrow-Cleansing Pill from the Old Lord, who also instructed Ling Ying in the Shadow Art. After waking, Xiao Yan began cultivating the first revolution in the pool.

• Xiao Yan asked the Old Lord for pills and cultivation methods, and the Old Lord gave him a Marrow-Cleansing Pill and imparted a limited version of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.
• The Old Lord confronted Ling Ying, accepted that he had followed Xiao Yan out of concern, and taught him principles of the Shadow Art.
• Ling Ying absorbed the Old Lord’s instruction, broke through two stages, and concluded that Xiao Yan’s future would be extraordinary.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts in his sleep, including the Vajra Art and Darksteel Staff Technique, but not the other divine abilities he wanted.
• Xiao Yan woke, confirmed the Mystic Staff and pill were in his Storage Ring, swallowed the Marrow-Cleansing Pill, and began cultivating.

After mastering the first cycle of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, Xiao Yan used the Marrow-Cleansing Pill’s effects to become a One-Star Dou Zhe and revealed his restored cultivation to Xiao Zhan. As the Xiao Clan faced a crisis from a rival family’s alchemist, Xiao Yan told Xiao Xun'er he would challenge the alchemist through alchemy rather than violence.

• Xiao Yan completed the basics of the first cycle of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts and discovered that the Marrow-Cleansing Pill had raised him to One-Star Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Zhan found Xiao Yan on the Back Mountain, and Xiao Yan revealed his cultivation, bringing Xiao Zhan to tears of relief.
• At the Xiao Clan meeting, the elders reported that the Jia Lie Family’s Spring Return Powder had cut the Xiao Clan’s medicine sales in half, while Xiao Zhan warned that the rival alchemist might have powerful backing.
• Xiao Xun'er reminded Xiao Yan about their date, and Xiao Zhan sent them out of the meeting hall.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Xun'er that he would defeat the One-Rank Alchemist through alchemy instead of assassinating him.

Xiao Yan learned to refine Spring Return Powder with the Old Lord’s guidance and received a strand of Samadhi True Fire’s Qi Fire and a black furnace. After successfully making his improved Blood-Replenishing Powder, he spent the night producing two hundred pills and grew more skilled at controlling fire Qi.

• At the Xiao Clan’s Back Mountain, Xiao Yan asked the Old Lord to improve Spring Return Powder, and the Old Lord demonstrated alchemy with Samadhi True Fire.
• The Old Lord gave Xiao Yan a strand of Qi Fire and a black Sub-Cauldron, explaining how the fire related to the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.
• Xiao Yan practiced refining herbs, failed at first, then made a pure white pill and named his improved Spring Return Powder Blood-Replenishing Powder.
• Xiao Yan compared his pill with Liu Xi’s Spring Return Powder and found his own superior.
• Xiao Yan refined pills through the night, producing two hundred Blood-Replenishing Powder pills and becoming more adept at controlling fire Qi.

Xiao Yan revealed that he had become a One-Rank Alchemist and used his powerful healing pills to reassure the Xiao Clan elders that he could help save the clan. He left the meeting hall in high spirits and went shopping with Xiao Xun'er, where he bargained for a bracelet.

• Xiao Yan entered the hall and announced that he had become a One-Rank Alchemist, producing over two hundred bottles of pills from his Storage Ring.
• The elders examined a healing pill and watched it restore the Third Elder's badly cut arm without leaving a scar.
• Xiao Yan said he intended to overwhelm the Jia Lie Family with his pills and promised to shoulder the Xiao Clan's burden, revealing that he had advanced to Two-Star Dou Zhe.
• Xiao Yan left the hall and told Xiao Xun'er that the genius boy he once was had returned, while she wished him an early victory over Nalan Yanran.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er visited the Xiao Family Market, where Xiao Yan offered to buy her anything she liked and bargained a bracelet down to three gold coins.

Xiao Yan protected Xiao Xun'er from Jia Lie Ao’s provocation and considered using the Mittel Auction House to counter the Jia Lie Family. Three months later, Xiao Yan had reached Eight-Star Dou Zhe and was mastering the Mystic Staff, while planning to seek Xiao Yi Xian in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

• Xiao Yan bargained for a bracelet and gave it to Xiao Xun'er, who offered to lend him money.
• Jia Lie Ao confronted Xiao Yan and threatened him, but backed down when Xiao Yan’s men arrived.
• Xiao Yan watched Jia Lie Ao leave and considered bringing in the Mittel Auction House to oppose the Jia Lie Family.
• Three months later, Xiao Yan split a boulder with the Mystic Staff and reflected on how it worked with Qi Fire and the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.
• Xiao Yan revealed that he had recently advanced to Eight-Star Dou Zhe and planned to begin body tempering when he went to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to find Xiao Yi Xian.

Xiao Yan went to the Mittel Auction House to secure pill formulas and ingredients, revealing his Qi Fire and confirming that he was the Xiao Clan’s mysterious Second-Rank Alchemist. He left with the requested supplies, while Gu Ni and Ya Fei were left astonished by his abilities.

• Xiao Yan decided to approach the Mittel Auction House for Second- and Third-Rank Pill Formulas and ingredients.
• Xiao Yan presented a Blood Recovery Pill for appraisal and revealed the flame coiling around his arm when the appraiser doubted he had refined it.
• Gu Ni arrived with Ya Fei, recognized Xiao Yan as the Xiao Clan’s Second-Rank Alchemist, and asked him to show the flame again.
• Xiao Yan offered to trade three pills for every ten sets of ingredients and requested all of the auction house’s copied Second- and Third-Rank Pill Formulas.
• Ya Fei brought Xiao Yan a ring containing the formulas and ingredients, and Xiao Yan left the auction house.
• Gu Ni identified Xiao Yan’s flame as Qi Fire, while Ya Fei realized he was likely a genuine Second-Rank Alchemist.

Xiao Yan spent two months refining pills with his Qi Fire, advancing to Two-Star Dou Shi and successfully producing his first Third-Rank Pill. In Wutan City, Gu Ni regretted giving Xiao Yan the formulas and ingredients, while Ya Fei trusted Xiao Yan and urged him not to worry.

• Xiao Yan inspected the four Pill Formulas and began refining the Blood-Melting Pill, failing twice before producing one successfully.
• Xiao Yan spent two months practicing alchemy, refining many Second-Rank Pills and reaching Two-Star Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yan refined his first Third-Rank Pill, the Qi-Raising Powder, and Taishang Laojun told him to keep progressing toward the complete Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.
• Xiao Yan asked Taishang Laojun whether he could meet a certain person, and Old Lord said he could after he refined his pills.
• Gu Ni worried that he had given Xiao Yan the Mittel branch's valuable formulas and ingredients, but Ya Fei said she trusted Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan presented twenty-five bottles of pills to Gu Ni, who agreed to auction them and offered to recommend him for an alchemist examination. At the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Yan reunited with Xiao Yu and learned that the Xiao Clan had come to bid on an Advanced Black Rank Cultivation Method, while Jia Lie Ao plotted against him with Liu Xi.

• Ya Fei left Xiao Yan and Gu Ni to prepare for the auction, and Gu Ni eagerly asked Xiao Yan about the pill recipes and ingredients.
• Xiao Yan revealed twenty-five bottles of pills, convincing Gu Ni of his value; Gu Ni instructed Ya Fei to auction them and offered Xiao Yan a recommendation for an alchemist examination.
• Xiao Yan entered the crowded auction house, where Xiao Zhan and the clan elders welcomed him and Xiao Yu glared at him.
• Xiao Zhan told Xiao Yan that the Xiao Clan hoped to acquire an Advanced Black Rank Cultivation Method at the auction.
• Jia Lie Ao whispered to Liu Xi about Xiao Yan, while Xiao Yan watched Ya Fei take the stage.

At the Mittel Auction House, Xiao Yan’s third-rank pills brought in a fortune and surprised the crowd, while Xiao Zhan spread the news of his son’s skill through the Xiao Clan. The auction ended with Xiao Zhan winning an Advanced Black Rank Wind Scroll Technique, and Liu Xi falsely claimed the Qi-Raising Powder’s refiner was an elder of his family.

• Ya Fei greeted Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan that he had refined third-rank pills for the auction.
• Xiao Zhan excitedly revealed Xiao Yan’s achievement to the Grand Elder, and the news spread through the Xiao Clan.
• Ya Fei auctioned twenty-one top-quality second-rank pills, which sold for at least twice their starting price.
• Xiao Zhan won the Advanced Black Rank Wind Scroll Technique for three hundred thousand gold coins after the second-rank pills depleted rival clans’ funds.
• Gu Ni presented four third-rank Qi-Raising Powders, which bidders eagerly bought as affordable alternatives to fourth-rank Qi Gathering Powder.
• Liu Xi called the Qi-Raising Powder’s refiner a reclusive elder of his family after Jia Lie Ao questioned him.

Xiao Yan struck Liu Xi after Liu Xi insulted Xiao Xun'er, then found that the Mittel Auction House treated him with unexpected deference. Gu Ni revealed that the Xiao Clan's mysterious alchemist was a Three-Rank Alchemist, leaving Wutan City stunned and Xiao Yu questioning Xiao Yan's identity.

• Liu Xi invited Xiao Xun'er to visit his clan, and Xiao Yu and Xiao Ning angrily rejected him when he insulted the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yan suddenly punched Liu Xi, knocking him into Jia Lie Ao and silencing the auction hall.
• Jia Lie Bi appealed to Gu Ni to enforce the Mittel Auction House's rules, but Gu Ni excused Xiao Yan and walked away.
• Gu Ni announced that the Xiao Clan's mysterious alchemist had made the Second-Rank and Three-Rank pills sold that day and was himself a Three-Rank Alchemist.
• The crowd realized the Xiao Clan had gained a decisive advantage over its rivals, while Xiao Yu wondered if Xiao Yan could really be the alchemist.

Xiao Yan reunited with Xiao Yu, discussed his plans to attend Jia Nan Academy and strengthen the Xiao Clan, then spent a month refining pills and training. After reaching Three-Star Dou Master, he prepared to leave for the Magical Beast Mountain Range but first decided to deal with Liu Xi and the Jia Lie Family.

• Xiao Yu teased Xiao Yan, told him Jia Nan Academy would recruit students in three months, and promised to introduce him to her instructor.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan he would take Jia Nan Academy’s entrance examination with Xiao Yu and planned to leave pills for the clan before training away from Wutan City.
• Xiao Yan said he would refine fifty Second-Rank Pills and five Third-Rank Pills for the Xiao Clan, then train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• After a month of refining pills, Xiao Yan reached Three-Star Dou Master and demonstrated his strength by defeating a Nine-Star Dou Shi in three moves.
• Xiao Yan decided to visit the Jia Lie Family and kill Liu Xi before leaving to train.

Xiao Yan killed Liu Xi in the Jia Lie Family compound and escaped with Xiao Xun'er, who helped turn back their pursuers. Afterward, she offered him a wisp of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame and learned that he had already reached Three-Star Dou Master.

• Xiao Yan left the Pills he had refined in his father's room, then snuck into the Jia Lie Family compound to kill Liu Xi.
• Xiao Xun'er found Xiao Yan as he prepared to strike, but he rushed in, smashed Liu Xi's skull, and burned the body with Qi Fire.
• Xiao Yan carried Xiao Xun'er away as the compound raised the alarm, and a hidden figure stopped the pursuers at her command.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Xun'er that the Jia Lie Family would soon fall, and she kissed him before asking whether he needed Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Xun'er said she could finish refining the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame in three months, while Xiao Yan revealed his Three-Star Dou Master strength.

Xiao Yan asked Ya Fei and the Mittel Family to protect the Xiao Clan while he trained in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and promised to find a pill formula that could restore her talent. After leaving Wutan City, he learned from the Old Lord that a powerful expert was nearby—one likely at Peak Dou Sheng level.

• Xiao Yan asked Ya Fei to have the Mittel Family look after the Xiao Clan during his training, and revealed that he knew about her family’s marriage alliance.
• Xiao Yan offered to refine a pill to restore Ya Fei’s talent and constitution once he found a suitable formula and grew strong enough.
• Ya Fei gave Xiao Yan an Advanced Storage Ring containing an ice-silkworm mask, recovery pills, and a Mittel Family VIP card.
• Xiao Yan embraced Ya Fei, told her he would return in three months, and left the Mittel Family residence.
• As Xiao Yan headed for the edge of Wutan City, the Old Lord sensed a powerful expert nearby and estimated that the expert was at Peak Dou Sheng level.

Xiao Yan met Gu Yuan in Wutan City and learned he could reclaim part of the Xiao Clan’s legacy after reaching Dou Zun. In Qingshan Town, Xiao Yan confronted Xiao Yi Xian about her Woeful Poison Body, leaving her stunned by how much he knew.

• Gu Yuan recognized Xiao Yan in Wutan City and sensed the ancient powerhouse inside his Storage Ring, whom he respectfully addressed as a senior.
• Gu Yuan told Xiao Yan to visit the Ancient Realm after reaching Dou Zun and reclaim what remained of the Xiao Clan’s inheritance.
• Gu Yuan left to visit Xun'er, while Xiao Yan joked with the Old Lord about how much Gu Yuan doted on his daughter.
• Xiao Yan arrived in Qingshan Town, where his strength had already made him famous, and visited Xiao Yi Xian at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.
• Xiao Yi Xian tried to attack Xiao Yan with poison needles after he identified her Woeful Poison Body, but he caught her wrist and released her when she demanded it.
• Xiao Yan said he wanted to see the Woeful Poison Body’s power, and Xiao Yi Xian was stunned that he knew her secret.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian formed a wary partnership and left Qingshan Town for the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Mu Li, angered by their closeness, sent for his second uncle, while Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian continued into the forest together.

• Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian tested each other with their flame and poison skills, then agreed to travel to a marked location in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
• Xiao Yan advanced to Four-Star Dou Shi and went to meet Xiao Yi Xian at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion the next morning.
• Xiao Yan put an arm around Xiao Yi Xian to provoke Mu Li, and Xiao Yi Xian rejected Mu Li's offer to travel with the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
• Mu Li ordered his men to fetch his second uncle after Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian left town.
• Xiao Yi Xian grew tired on the forest trail, and Xiao Yan offered to carry her.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian entered a cliffside cave, where Xiao Yan killed Mu Li and broke through a stone door to claim its treasures. They divided the medicinal herbs and discovered valuable Dou Techniques and the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, leaving Xiao Yan with a sizable haul that puzzled the Old Lord.

• Xiao Yan carried Xiao Yi Xian down to a cliffside cave in search of treasure.
• Xiao Yan killed Mu Li, who had followed them, and revealed that he was a four-star Dou Shi.
• Xiao Yi Xian treated Mu Li's corpse with medicinal powder, then accompanied Xiao Yan deeper into the cave.
• Xiao Yan shattered the stone door with a punch and found a large stash of medicinal herbs.
• Xiao Yan let Xiao Yi Xian take the Ice Spirit Flame Grass and the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, while he kept the Eagle Wings and Mad Lion's Roar Dou Techniques.
• The Old Lord questioned why Xiao Yan was collecting so much, and Xiao Yan silently insisted that he wanted it.