Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan settled in Black Seal City while searching for the third piece of the Demonic Flame Remnant Map. The two Heaven Swallowing Pythons awoke and took human form as Cai Lin and Cai Die, leaving Xiao Yan flustered by their unexpected appearance.

• Xiao Yan recalled how his youthful appearance had drawn many attackers in the Black-Corner Region and how he had killed those who threatened him.
• Yao Lao fell silent when Xiao Yan mentioned Han Feng, and Xiao Yan chose not to press him before finding an inn in Black Seal City.
• Xiao Yan planned to search the auction house for the third piece of the Demonic Flame Remnant Map and prepared to rest for the night.
• The two Heaven Swallowing Pythons awoke, drank Companion Amethyst Source, and began transforming while Xiao Yan blocked Yao Lao's senses.
• Cai Lin and Cai Die appeared naked in Xiao Yan's lap, and Xiao Yan awkwardly greeted them and squeezed them before the sisters pulled away and formed clothes with Dou Qi.

Xiao Yan spent the night with the Little Sky Swallowing Pythons and freed Yao Lao from the Restriction the next morning. He then visited the Black Seal City Auction House to buy medicinal herbs and a mysterious map fragment, prompting Yuan Yi to investigate him.

• Xiao Yan healed Cai Lin and Cai Die, but they transformed into Little Sky Swallowing Pythons before joining him in bed.
• Xiao Yan woke late and realized he had forgotten to lift the Restriction on Yao Lao, who teased him about needing medicinal formulas.
• Xiao Yan disguised himself in a black robe and went to the Black Seal City Auction House to request medicinal herbs and describe a fragmentary map.
• An elderly attendant recognized Xiao Yan's description as a mysterious scrap of cloth the Auction House had failed to sell and reported the request to Yuan Yi.
• Yuan Yi questioned the attendant about Xiao Yan's strength and identity before deciding what to do.

Xiao Yan recovered the Demonic Flame Remnant Map from the Auction House, then discovered its manager had sent men to rob him. He killed the pursuers and destroyed the Auction House with a Two-Colored Fire Lotus, leaving Black Seal City shaken.

• Xiao Yan bought the medicinal herbs and Demonic Flame Remnant Map from the old man at the Auction House.
• Xiao Yan led the Auction House's pursuers into a deserted alley and killed three of them with the Black Heavy Ruler and Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Xiao Yan flew back to the Auction House and formed a Two-Colored Fire Lotus from the Purple Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame.
• Yuan Yi tried to flee when Xiao Yan confronted him, but the Fire Lotus caught him and exploded, destroying his Dou Qi shield.
• Yao Lao praised Xiao Yan's formidable Dou Technique as the blast shook Black Seal City.

After killing Yuan Yi, Xiao Yan looted the auction house and traveled to Maple City to confront Han Feng with a Three-Colored Fire Lotus as his gift. He reached Han Feng’s estate and prepared the Fire Lotus, while Yao Lao concealed him and lent him the Ancient Spirit Cold Flame.

• Xiao Yan confirmed Yuan Yi was dead, took his Storage Ring, and burned the corpse to ash.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao plundered the auction house, collecting its treasures before leaving Black Seal City for Maple City.
• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao took shelter from a Black Storm, and Yao Lao sensed a faint, unusual disturbance within it.
• Xiao Yan arrived in Maple City and learned that Han Feng was there alone, with no Soul Hall agents nearby.
• Yao Lao concealed Xiao Yan and lent him the Ancient Spirit Cold Flame, which Xiao Yan used to form a Three-Colored Fire Lotus for Han Feng.

Xiao Yan and Yao Lao confronted Han Feng after overhearing him blame Yao Lao for his betrayal. Han Feng survived Xiao Yan’s Fire Lotus blast with the Sea Heart Flame, then feigned repentance before lunging at Xiao Yan, who faced him without fear.

• Xiao Yan and Yao Lao found Han Feng refining Pills and heard him curse Yao Lao for withholding the Flame Mantra.
• Xiao Yan launched a Three-Colored Fire Lotus at Han Feng, flattening the estate in the explosion.
• Han Feng emerged badly burned, and Xiao Yan addressed him as his Senior Brother before Yao Lao revealed himself.
• Han Feng pretended that Mu Gu had forced him to betray Yao Lao and crawled toward Xiao Yan.
• Han Feng abruptly attacked Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan remained calm and mocked his performance.

Xiao Yan killed Han Feng after defeating him, then left the decision about Han Feng’s trapped soul to Yao Lao. While preparing to refine the Sea Heart Flame in a secluded cave, Xiao Yan discovered a peak seventh-tier Life Devouring Pill and learned of its deadly cost.

• Xiao Yan overwhelmed Han Feng, crushed his body, and left his trapped soul to Yao Lao to judge.
• Xiao Yan looted the Maple City estate and returned to find Han Feng gone and Yao Lao holding the Sea Heart Flame.
• Yao Lao gave the Sea Heart Flame to Xiao Yan, and they flew to a remote mountain cave to refine it.
• Xiao Yan found a dusty box beside a pile of bones and discovered a jade case and an ancient scroll inside.
• Xiao Yan identified the pill as a Life Devouring Pill that could raise someone to Dou Wang but left them only three years to live unless they reached Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yan used the Life Devouring Pill to break through to Dou Wang, survived its life-draining effects with the Horse Talisman, and gained the Pig Talisman’s Laser Eyes. After spending half a month refining the Sea Heart Flame, he reached Peak Dou Wang and set off for Jia Nan Academy ahead of the Inner Academy selection.

• Xiao Yan took the Life Devouring Pill despite Yao Lao’s warning and advanced from Peak Dou Ling to One-Star Dou Wang.
• The pill drained Xiao Yan’s life force, but the Horse Talisman restored it and reversed the white streak in his hair.
• Xiao Yan received the Pig Talisman’s Laser Eyes and demonstrated their destructive power to Yao Lao.
• Xiao Yan spent half a month refining the Sea Heart Flame while Yao Lao waited outside the cave.
• Xiao Yan emerged at Peak Dou Wang, with his soul at Mortal Realm Great Perfection, a body comparable to a Peak Sixth Tier Magical Beast, and the Flame Mantra evolved to Early Earth Tier.
• Xiao Yan decided to seek a Dou Emperor breakthrough after entering the Inner Academy and flew toward Jia Nan Academy.

The Outer Academy gathered for the selection tournament, eager to see Xiao Yan, but he failed to appear for his match against Tang Xin. As Tang Xin prepared to leave and the crowd doubted Xiao Yan, Hu Gan sensed a powerful aura rushing toward the arena.

• Hu Gan and an Elder discussed the unusually large crowd, which had come to see Xiao Yan, while Hu Jia grew eager to fight him.
• Ruo Lin, Xiao Yu, and Xue Ni waited for Xiao Yan, and Ruo Lin worried that his absence would cost him the match.
• The referee announced Tang Xin against Xiao Yan, drawing the crowd's attention to Yellow Class Two's section.
• Tang Xin waited onstage as Xiao Yan failed to appear, and spectators began calling him a coward and a fraud.
• Tang Xin turned to leave, while Hu Gan sensed a powerful aura approaching and wondered at its strength.

Xiao Yan arrived at the selection tournament and overwhelmed Tang Xin with a single finger, revealing that he had reached Dou Wang. Hu Gan declared him the winner without further matches, leaving Xiao Yan to wait for his chance to enter the Book Repository.

• Xiao Yan flew into the arena on his Black Heavy Ruler, where Xiao Yu and Ruo Lin recognized him and the spectators reacted to his dramatic arrival.
• Xiao Yan introduced himself, and Tang Xin challenged him to a match after sensing his powerful aura.
• Tang Xin attacked Xiao Yan with his spear, but Xiao Yan stopped every strike with one finger and flicked Tang Xin off the platform.
• Xiao Yan revealed his azure Dou Qi Wings and Dou Wang cultivation, stunning the audience and Elders.
• Hu Gan declared Xiao Yan the tournament winner, and Xiao Yan awaited his chance to enter the Book Repository.

After returning from the Black-Corner Region, Xiao Yan gained fame across the Outer Academy and prepared to visit the Book Repository. He met Lin Xiuya, Liu Qing, Yan Hao, Lin Yan, and Han Yue at the gathering place, leaving with the group ready to head out together.

• Xiao Yan reunited with Ruo Lin and Xiao Yu, who warned and scolded him for staying away in the Black-Corner Region.
• Xiao Yan stayed in his lodgings refining pills while Xue Ni, Ruo Lin, and Hu Gan visited him.
• Hu Gan examined Xiao Yan, then asked him to go easy on his granddaughter Hu Jia and help correct her combative behavior.
• Hu Jia challenged Xiao Yan to a fight, and after he beat her, she visited him daily for several days.
• Xiao Yan arrived at the Book Repository meeting place and met Lin Xiuya, Liu Qing, Yan Hao, Lin Yan, and Han Yue.

Xiao Yan and the five other tournament finalists entered the Book Repository to seek treasures. After helping Han Yue look for a cultivation method, Xiao Yan caught a scroll containing an Early Earth Tier Dou Technique, the Seven-String Spirit-Quelling Melody.

• Hu Gan led Xiao Yan and the other five finalists to the Book Repository, where Qian Bai Er Lao opened its Space Lock.
• Qian Bai Er Lao mistook Xiao Yan for an academy Elder, then warmly questioned him after Hu Gan explained that he was a student.
• The six entered the Book Repository and searched among its energy barriers for treasures suited to them.
• Xiao Yan met Han Yue, who asked him to help find an Earth Tier cultivation method, and he agreed.
• A barrier fired dozens of treasures at Xiao Yan, and he caught a scroll containing the Early Earth Tier Dou Technique Seven-String Spirit-Quelling Melody.

Xiao Yan found the Seven-String Spirit-Quelling Melody, an Earth Tier sonic Dou Technique, and gave Han Yue a suitable Qi Method during their visit to the Book Repository. Back at his residence, he learned the technique was connected to Sound Valley and began practicing its first movement.

• Xiao Yan selected the Seven-String Spirit-Quelling Melody and found Han Yue the Early Earth Tier Moonlight Art, which she happily accepted.
• Xiao Yan and the others left the Book Repository after Hu Gan announced their time was up, and Hu Gan told them they would head to the Inner Academy in a few days.
• Han Yue thanked Xiao Yan for helping her find a Qi Method, and the group parted to return to their quarters.
• Xiao Yan studied the Seven-String Spirit-Quelling Melody and learned from Yao Lao that it was connected to Sound Valley, a mysterious Central Plains power.
• Xiao Yan began practicing the technique’s first movement in his courtyard, where its music soothed nearby students and instructors and improved their cultivation speed.

Xiao Yan left for Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy after giving Xiao Yu cultivation resources, then stunned the Elders with his strength and unusual flight. When the Fire Energy Hunting Competition began, the Elders tried to stop him from joining because he was a Dou Wang.

• Xiao Yan gave Xiao Yu a Storage Ring full of cultivation resources, teased her about her leg, and fled as she chased him.
• Xiao Yan flew beside the Griffin Beasts on his Black Heavy Ruler and told curious Elders that he could not teach them the ability.
• Hu Gan introduced Xiao Yan to two Inner Academy Elders, who were shocked to learn that the thirteen-year-old new student was a Dou Wang.
• The Elders explained the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, distributed Fire Crystal Cards, and sent the new students into the forest.
• Xiao Yan said he planned to join the competition, and the gatekeeping Elders hurried to block him.

Xiao Yan met Su Qian and the Inner Academy Elders at the Fire Energy Hunting Competition’s finish line, where his extraordinary strength impressed them. He accepted Su Qian’s offer to become an Inner Academy Elder and received a Purple Fire Crystal Card, but a playful newcomer’s arrival left Su Qian and the others looking troubled.

• Su Qian greeted Xiao Yan at the finish line and praised his talent after learning he was a thirteen-year-old Dou Wang.
• The Elders reacted with disbelief and envy to Xiao Yan’s cultivation before laughing off comparisons to him.
• Xiao Yan asked Su Qian for Fire Energy to make up for being barred from the competition, and Su Qian gave him a Purple Fire Crystal Card.
• Su Qian offered Xiao Yan an Inner Academy Elder position with few duties and generous benefits, and Xiao Yan accepted.
• A playful voice called out, and a purple-clad figure flew over and landed beside Su Qian, troubling the Elders.

Xiao Yan met Zi Yan at the end of the Fire Energy Hunting Competition and settled into his new courtyard in the Inner Academy. After preparing medicinal pills as snacks for her, he caught Zi Yan sneaking in and demanding protection money.

• Zi Yan arrived beside Su Qian with a stolen Golden Bodhi Fruit, and Xiao Yan recognized her as Zi Yan after she approached him and sniffed the medicinal scent on him.
• Lin Xiuya, Han Yue, and the other exhausted freshmen emerged from the forest, ending the Fire Energy Hunting Competition.
• Su Qian showed Xiao Yan to a quiet courtyard residence, while Zi Yan followed them and reluctantly left with Su Qian afterward.
• Xiao Yan refined medicinal herbs into pills as snacks for Zi Yan, and Yao Lao was surprised when she bypassed Xiao Yan's Restriction.
• Zi Yan sneaked into Xiao Yan's courtyard and demanded protection money, promising to look after him in the Inner Academy.

Xiao Yan outmatched Zi Yan, then won her over with pills and began refining more from her medicinal herbs, keeping a handling fee. After Zi Yan offered to guide him, they set off for the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower so Xiao Yan could see the Fallen Heart Flame.

• Zi Yan demanded a protection fee from Xiao Yan, but he dodged her attacks and teased her with pills until she called him boss.
• Xiao Yan gave Zi Yan the remaining pills, and she left with the bottle after eating her fill.
• The next morning, Zi Yan asked Xiao Yan for more pills and tried to charm him into handing them over.
• Xiao Yan asked Zi Yan to provide medicinal herbs, kept some as a handling fee, and refined the rest into pills.
• Xiao Yan set out to visit the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, and Zi Yan offered to lead him there.

Xiao Yan cultivated in the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower and began a breakthrough to Dou Emperor, with Zi Yan informing Su Qian and the Inner Academy Elders. After a long seclusion, a powerful disturbance revealed that Xiao Yan’s breakthrough was underway.

• Zi Yan showed Xiao Yan the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, where he used the heart flame to temper and purify his Dou Qi.
• Xiao Yan cultivated in Zi Yan’s private room, felt his breakthrough approaching, and asked Zi Yan to notify the First Elder.
• Zi Yan informed Su Qian, while Xiao Yan moved to his own cultivation room, prepared Restrictions, and began his breakthrough with Yao Lao.
• During Xiao Yan’s seclusion, Lin Xiuya and the others settled into the Inner Academy, and Han Yue hoped to thank Xiao Yan for helping her obtain a suitable Earth Tier Cultivation Method.
• A massive energy vortex formed around the tower, and Su Qian confirmed to the Elders that Xiao Yan—not the Fallen Heart Flame—was breaking through to Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yan emerged from ten months of seclusion after breaking through to Dou Emperor. His return coincided with the Fallen Heart Flame violently attacking its seal beneath the tower, and Xiao Yan recognized the flame as it appeared.

• The Elders watched as Xiao Yan absorbed enormous amounts of energy, and Su Qian checked that his breakthrough had not disturbed the Fallen Heart Flame.
• Four months later, Xiao Yan emerged from seclusion and confirmed to Elder Li that he had reached Dou Emperor.
• Zi Yan demanded pills from Xiao Yan, who gave her a bottle while Su Qian looked on fondly.
• The Heavenly Flame Refining Tower shook as the Fallen Heart Flame battered its seal, and Su Qian rushed below to reinforce it.
• Xiao Yan and Zi Yan arrived at the sealing site, where Xiao Yan recognized the raging Fire Python as the Fallen Heart Flame.

After the Fallen Heart Flame retreated into the Magma World, Xiao Yan warned Su Qian that it would eventually break free and revealed his two Heavenly Flames as proof that he could help. He openly admitted that he wanted to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame, leaving Su Qian wary because the Inner Academy depended on it.

• Su Qian reinforced the seal, and the Fallen Heart Flame retreated into the Magma World after sensing the Heavenly Flames within Xiao Yan.
• Su Qian brought Xiao Yan and Zi Yan to his residence, where they shared tea before Zi Yan grew bored and left.
• Su Qian explained the tower's origins and recounted how he had repeatedly suppressed the Fallen Heart Flame's eruptions.
• Xiao Yan warned that the Fallen Heart Flame would eventually break through the seal and offered to deal with it.
• Xiao Yan revealed the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Sea Heart Flame, astonishing Su Qian with his ability to control two Heavenly Flames.
• Xiao Yan admitted that he wanted to subdue the Fallen Heart Flame, and Su Qian objected because the Inner Academy relied on it.

Xiao Yan persuaded Su Qian to consider trading the Inner Academy’s Fallen Heart Flame for a young one, then asked Yao Lao to help him reach the magma beneath the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower. There, they prepared to search for the second flame while Xiao Yan briefly experienced Dou Zun power and regained his composure.

• Xiao Yan told Su Qian he could provide a young Fallen Heart Flame and argued it could grow into a guardian for Jia Nan Academy.
• Su Qian agreed to consider the trade after seeing the young flame, and Xiao Yan left to retrieve it.
• Yao Lao questioned Xiao Yan about the flame’s location, and Xiao Yan said it lay beneath the magma under the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.
• Yao Lao concealed Xiao Yan’s aura and lent him power, raising his strength into the Dou Zun realm so they could bypass the Sealing formation.
• Xiao Yan felt exhilarated by the borrowed strength, then reminded himself it was not his own and regained his composure.