Chapter Summaries

Lin Chen successfully became a Fifth-Rank Alchemist at sixteen, drawing an excited crowd at Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy. After escaping the admirers who mobbed him, he celebrated his achievement alone in a secluded grove.

• Lin Chen refined a fifth-grade pill before a crowd at the Outer Academy, producing the energy ripples that confirmed his success.
• A young woman asked Xun'er whether the Xiao Clan might have avoided Nalan Yanran's broken engagement if it had a Fifth-Rank Alchemist, and Xun'er praised Lin Chen's talent.
• Lin Chen invited the crowd to ask him about alchemy and answered questions until admirers began crowding and chasing him.
• Lin Chen used his Nine-Star Great Dou Master's strength to break through the crowd and flee.
• Lin Chen reached a secluded grove, found lipstick marks on his face, and laughed in triumph at becoming a Fifth-Rank Alchemist.

After stabilizing his pill-boosted cultivation, Lin Chen accepted Xun’er’s invitation and learned she wanted to repay an old favor by offering him either a Seventh-Rank Alchemist’s inheritance or a guest elder position with the Gu Clan. As he examined the Gu token, a Future Life Simulator activated in his mind, and Xun’er gave him a few days to decide.

• Lin Chen used a Fifth-Rank Crimson Flame Pill to refine his remaining medicinal power and stabilize his Dou Qi.
• A black-robed elder invited Lin Chen to meet his young lady, and Lin Chen followed him to Xun’er’s courtyard.
• Xun’er recalled that Lin Chen had once thrown a stone at a child beneath the Xiao Clan Wall, though she said the child he hit was someone else, and offered to repay him for the favor.
• Xun’er offered Lin Chen a Seventh-Rank Alchemist’s inheritance or a Gu Clan guest elder position with benefits equivalent to those of a Dou Zong.
• Lin Chen picked up the Gu token, triggering the Future Life Simulator, while Xun’er told him he could decide in a few days.

Lin Chen accepted Xun'er's offer of guest elder status and used his Future Life Simulator to explore a future in which he joined the Gu Clan. The simulation left him returning to Jia Nan Academy with a powerful alchemist's legacy just as Gu Clan representatives led by Ling Quan arrived.

• Xun'er defended her decision to offer Lin Chen third-class guest elder status and praised his alchemy talent to her attendant.
• Lin Chen learned how the Future Life Simulator worked and launched his first simulation, deciding to join the Gu Clan.
• In the simulation, Lin Chen entered Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy, allied with Huo Huan and Han Yue, and rose to Five-Star Dou Ling by selling and taking pills.
• Lin Chen traveled to the Black-Corner Region to sell pills, was targeted by a hostile faction, and stumbled into a Dou Zong's burial ground.
• Lin Chen uncovered the true alchemist's legacy, gaining techniques, a cultivation method, rare ingredients, and items needed to refine heavenly flames.
• Lin Chen returned to Jia Nan Academy as Gu Clan representatives led by Ling Quan arrived.

Lin Chen rose through the Gu Clan by cultivating with pills, refining the Green Lotus Core Flame, and creating the Lesser Life Devouring Pill, earning the name Gu Chen and status equal to a Dou Zun. After Xun'er protected him with a marriage arrangement, an unidentified attacker killed him outside the Ancient Realm, and the simulation offered him three rewards.

• Lin Chen entered the Ancient Realm, reached Dou Wang, and refined the Green Lotus Core Flame Xun'er had obtained through Ling Ying's pursuit of Xiao Yan.
• Lin Chen advanced to Dou Emperor, defeated Ling Quan in a duel, and later created the Lesser Life Devouring Pill, earning promotion to Second-Rank Guest Elder and the name Gu Chen.
• Gu Yao sought Lin Chen's help to court Xun'er, but Lin Chen refused to assist his rescue scheme and informed Xun'er of it.
• Xun'er arranged a marriage for Lin Chen to protect him from Gu Yao, and Lin Chen married a direct-lineage Gu Clan woman.
• The Gu Clan sent Lin Chen to gather herbs; an unidentified attacker killed him with the Great Annihilation Finger, and the Black Annihilation Army ruled his death a suicide.
• The simulation ended and offered Lin Chen the Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art, the Lesser Life Devouring Pill, or the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Lin Chen swallowed the Lesser Life Devouring Pill and broke through to Peak Dou Ling, then spent several days mastering his new strength. He was summoned by Vice President Hu Gan to discuss an important matter.

• Lin Chen decided his next simulation should focus on strengthening Xun'er so he could gain greater standing and resources in the Gu Clan.
• Lin Chen rejected the Green Lotus Core Flame as too dangerous and chose to swallow the Lesser Life Devouring Pill instead.
• The pill rapidly advanced Lin Chen from Nine-Star Great Dou Master to Peak Dou Ling, and he tested his ability to form a weapon from Dou Qi.
• Lin Chen spent several days practicing and mastered his new power by destroying a Blue Steel Rock with Crimson Flame Palm.
• A young academy student told Lin Chen that Vice President Hu Gan had summoned him to discuss an important matter.

Lin Chen met Hu Gan, who worried that Lin Chen’s rapid rise to Peak Dou Ling through pills had damaged his foundation. Hu Gan planned to send him directly to the Inner Academy and hinted at an Azure Nether Longevity Pill, but Lin Chen agreed only after Hu Gan offered him a Blue Fire Crystal Card with two thousand fire energy points; several people arrived at the door.

• Hu Gan summoned Lin Chen, then was shocked to discover that Lin Chen had reached Peak Dou Ling and accused him of relying on pills.
• Lin Chen explained that he had found Lesser Life Devouring Pills in a Dou Zong’s burial site and promised to reach Dou Wang within three years.
• Hu Gan mentioned an Azure Nether Longevity Pill in the Book Collection Pavilion and proposed sending Lin Chen directly to the Inner Academy to cultivate in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
• Lin Chen protested that he should join the Fire Energy Hunting Competition, but Hu Gan insisted and warned him not to bully weaker students.
• Hu Gan offered Lin Chen a Blue Fire Crystal Card worth two thousand fire energy points, and Lin Chen eagerly accepted the arrangement.
• Several people knocked and asked Hu Gan whether they could come in.

Hu Gan escorted Lin Chen, Liu Fei, Han Zhi, Han Tie, and Han Shan to the Book Collection Pavilion and explained the Inner Academy’s harsh rules. Inside, the students competed to seize treasures, and Lin Chen found the intermediate Earth-tier Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art.

• Hu Gan warned the five tournament finalists that strength, not background, would determine their standing in the Inner Academy.
• Hu Gan led the students through a hidden passage to the Book Collection Pavilion, where Dou Zong elders Qian Mu and Bai Lie opened the entrance and explained its one-hour, one-item rule.
• The students entered the pavilion and rushed to catch the treasures released from its energy barriers; Han Tie obtained a heavenly spirit fruit.
• Lin Chen used Flame Burst Step to seize and inspect several flying treasures before rushing toward an energy barrier.
• Lin Chen caught a fiery-red scroll and discovered it contained the intermediate Earth-tier Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art.

Lin Chen obtained the Earth Tier Intermediate Grade Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art from the Book Collection Pavilion and spent seven days switching to it. Afterward, a servant arrived to say that Xun'er had requested his presence.

• Lin Chen found the Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art, but left the Azure Nether Longevity Pill behind because he did not need it.
• The Book Collection Pavilion sent Lin Chen and the others out, and Hu Gan reminded them to keep what happened inside secret.
• Hu Gan asked Lin Chen whether he had obtained the item, and Lin Chen said he had taken it before leaving.
• Lin Chen returned to his courtyard and successfully switched his cultivation method to the Ninefold Phoenix Flame Art over seven days.
• A servant arrived at Lin Chen's courtyard and told him that Xun'er requested his presence.

Lin Chen went to meet Xun'er, who pressed him for a decision about joining a major power. He claimed he had forgotten the offer and asked her to wait a few more months, leaving the matter unresolved.

• Lin Chen left his courtyard with Xun'er's Black-Robed Man, probing him for information as they walked to her residence.
• Lin Chen met Xun'er in her courtyard and exchanged flattery and jokes with her.
• Xun'er served Lin Chen tea and brought out a jade slip and token to ask whether he had decided to join a major power.
• Lin Chen pretended he had forgotten their earlier discussion and asked Xun'er for several more months to decide.

Lin Chen put off Xun'er’s offer to become a Gu Clan guest elder, then traveled to Black Seal City to search for a seventh-grade alchemist’s ruin. After robbing a group of mercenaries, he found a hidden coffin beneath a fragrant purple elm and uncovered three jade boxes, including an ice spirit cold spring.

• Lin Chen accepted Xun'er’s three-month deadline to consider joining the Gu Clan and gave her a fourth-grade Yangyan Pill before leaving.
• Lin Chen disguised himself as a rich young scholar and traveled toward Black Seal City, hoping to find an alchemist’s ruin before anyone else.
• Lin Chen revealed his Peak Dou Ling strength, defeated a gang of mercenaries, and took their Storage Rings.
• Lin Chen followed his map to a misty valley and inferred that a fragrant purple elm marked the alchemist’s burial place.
• Lin Chen dug up a dark-iron coffin beneath the elm and found three jade boxes, one containing an ice spirit cold spring.

Lin Chen uncovered a rich alchemist legacy, including rare treasures, pill formulas, and an unusual life-nurturing cultivation method. Half a month later, he entered Jia Nan Academy’s Inner Academy with a Blue Fire Crystal Card and was directed to report to Old Man Huo.

• Lin Chen found Ice Spirit Cold Spring, a Naling, and the high-grade Jade-Green Ring in the hidden legacy.
• Lin Chen discovered numerous pill formulas, two Dou Techniques, and the Azurewood Myriad Life Art, which replenished vitality and extended lifespan.
• Lin Chen collected Earth Spirit Pills and Life Devouring Pills, stored his gains in the Jade-Green Ring, and reburied the iron coffin.
• Half a month later, Hu Gan opened a spatial gateway to the Inner Academy and gave Lin Chen a Blue Fire Crystal Card.
• Lin Chen entered the Inner Academy to report to Old Man Huo, while Liu Fei resented his privileged treatment and Hu Gan warned the remaining students to focus on strength.

Lin Chen entered the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower and spent a month tempering his cultivation with the fallen heart flame before leaving to earn money by refining pills. While he worked in his courtyard, a hidden little girl appeared after smashing apart his fire phoenix attack.

• Lin Chen intimidated Tang Hao into abandoning his demand for a new-student tribute fee, then headed to the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
• Lin Chen endured the tower’s Formless Heart Flame without difficulty and cultivated on the sixth floor for a month, stabilizing his Dou Qi and burning away pill impurities.
• Lin Chen discovered that the tower had consumed most of his fire energy points and decided to refine pills to fund his planned breakthrough to Dou Wang.
• Lin Chen began refining a batch of Third-Grade Ice Awakening Pills in his courtyard and formed a fire phoenix when he sensed someone nearby.
• A hidden little girl punched apart Lin Chen’s fire phoenix, revealed herself, and complained that he was being mean because she had only been watching.

Lin Chen tried to win Zi Yan’s favor by praising her and offering her a rare medicinal herb, then turned it into delicious pills that she eagerly ate. Zi Yan repaid him with an Ice Spirit Flame Grass, leaving Lin Chen surprised by the valuable ingredient.

• Lin Chen recognized Zi Yan as an Ancient Void Dragon hatchling and flattered her strength, but she rejected his attempt to claim her as a big sister.
• Lin Chen gave Zi Yan a Vajra Bodhi herb and urged her to eat it, claiming he had risked his life to obtain it.
• Lin Chen refined the Vajra Bodhi with sweet flavorings into golden pills, and Zi Yan ate them enthusiastically.
• Zi Yan apologized for eating the pills and offered Lin Chen an Ice Spirit Flame Grass, which he recognized as a key ingredient for a Blood Lotus Pill.

Lin Chen won Zi Yan’s friendship and received access to her training room and 3,000 Fire Energy points, then refused Liu Qing’s recruitment after revealing his Peak Dou Ling cultivation. Half a month later, he completed his training and prepared to begin another simulation.

• Lin Chen refused Zi Yan’s offer of Ice Spirit Flame Grass, and she promised to protect him as a friend.
• Zi Yan gave Lin Chen access to her No. 1 Training Room and a Blue Fire Crystal Card holding 3,000 Fire Energy points.
• Liu Qing visited with Liu Fei to invite Lin Chen into the Mountain-Splitting Gang, but Lin Chen revealed his Peak Dou Ling cultivation and declined.
• Liu Qing accepted Lin Chen’s refusal and left with Liu Fei, while Zi Yan reaffirmed that she would protect Lin Chen.
• After half a month of training in the No. 1 Training Room, Lin Chen saw that his simulation cooldown had ended and prepared to begin another simulation.

Lin Chen’s simulation followed his rise from a new Dou Wang at Jia Nan Academy to the famed Asura King, as he strengthened his ties with Zi Yan and prepared to join the Gu Clan. After taking the Green Lotus Core Flame and learning Xiao Yan was headed to the academy, Lin Chen said farewell to Zi Yan and departed with the Gu Clan’s Black Annihilation Army.

• Lin Chen rejected Xun’er’s seventh-grade alchemist legacy, accepted a Third-Class Guest Token, and asked the Gu Clan to shelter Zi Yan, but Xun’er refused and gave him a Transformation Pill and a Sect Breaking Pill instead.
• Hu Gan used the Sect Breaking Pill to advance to Dou Zong, while Zi Yan’s Transformation Pill had no visible effect; Lin Chen later dominated the Strong Ranking arena and became known as the Asura King alongside Zi Yan, the Brute Force King.
• Su Qian gave Lin Chen a token from academy president Mang Tianchi, and Lin Chen later stole the Green Lotus Core Flame from the Tagor Desert with Ling Ying’s help before Hu Gan drove off their pursuers.
• Lin Chen refined the Green Lotus Core Flame, advanced to the peak of Seven-Star Dou Wang, and reached sixth-grade alchemist level; Ling Ying then reported Xiao Yan’s victories and his journey toward Jia Nan Academy.
• When Ling Quan and the Black Annihilation Army arrived, Lin Chen told Zi Yan she was an Ancient Void Dragon, left her pills, and departed for the Gu Clan on his Four-Winged Unicorn.

The protagonist advanced in alchemy and cultivation, then joined Gu Qingyang in an assault on a Hall of Souls branch to kill Han Feng and avenge Jia Nan Academy. After killing Han Feng and taking the sea heart flame, he was killed by a Hall of Souls expert, and the simulation ended with three rewards to choose from.

• The protagonist created a Youthful Beauty Pill for Lady Xun'er, received the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Subduing Roar, and later reached Nine-Star Dou Wang and refined an Emperor-Breaking Pill.
• After advancing to Nine-Star Dou Emperor, the protagonist learned that Han Feng had stolen the Fallen Heart Flame, attacked Jia Nan Academy, and joined the Hall of Souls.
• The protagonist persuaded Gu Qingyang to help him hunt Han Feng, and the two led the Black Annihilation Army against Mu Gu's Sea Demon Hall.
• The protagonist killed Han Feng with the Elephant King Roar and Azure Flame Asura Blade while Gu Qingyang killed Mu Gu with the Great Annihilation Finger.
• Two Hall of Souls heavenly venerates confronted the retreating group, and one killed the protagonist with Space Strangulation as he fled carrying the green lotus core flame and sea heart flame.
• The simulation ended and offered the Dragon-Elephant Mountain-Subduing Roar, green lotus core flame, or sea heart flame as rewards.

Lin Chen left the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower and prepared to refine the sea heart flame in a secluded courtyard, with Zi Yan guarding the door. After hours of struggle, he drove the flame into his Naling, and the transformation triggered an unstable aura and visible cracks in his Dou Crystal as he reached the moment of breakthrough.

• Lin Chen chose to refine the sea heart flame outside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower to avoid provoking the fallen heart flame.
• Lin Chen gave Zi Yan a Green Bamboo Fruit and asked her to guard the courtyard, calling for Elder Huo if he had not emerged after a month.
• Lin Chen used the Earth Spirit Pill and ice spirit cold spring to protect himself while extracting and swallowing the sea heart flame's Flame Seed.
• Lin Chen spent hours pushing the Flame Seed into his Naling, using up most of his Dou Qi and taking several pills to sustain the effort.
• The sea heart flame entered Lin Chen's Naling and spread through his body, restoring and strengthening his meridians and muscles.
• Lin Chen's Dou Crystal stopped spinning and cracked as his aura turned unstable, signaling that he was about to break through.

Lin Chen broke through to Dou Wang after refining the Sea Heart Flame, drawing the Medicine Emperor’s attention from the Black-Corner Region. Back at Jia Nan Academy, he coaxed Zi Yan into obeying him with flavored pills, just as an elder appeared to question his promise that a Transformation Pill would make her grow up.

• Lin Chen refined the Sea Heart Flame, shattered his Dou Crystal, and absorbed worldly energy until he advanced to Dou Wang and formed flaming wings.
• The Medicine Emperor sensed a Heavenly Flame near Jia Nan Academy and suspected it was another Sea Heart Flame, so he planned to investigate discreetly.
• Lin Chen stopped Zi Yan from demanding pills and teased her with flavored pills until she surrendered and asked for some.
• Lin Chen promised Zi Yan a Transformation Pill if she behaved, and she asked whether it would make her grow up.
• An elderly figure stepped out of rippling space and cautioned Lin Chen that the Transformation Pill might not do what Zi Yan hoped.

Great Elder Su Qian inspected Lin Chen’s Sea Heart Flame and offered him an honorary position at Jia Nan Academy after Lin Chen declined to become an Inner Academy elder. Lin Chen accepted a Fire Crystal Card and asked Zi Yan about nearby natural treasures so he could bring a gift to his adoptive father.

• Su Qian arrived after Lin Chen refined a heavenly flame and praised his breakthrough to Dou Wang, while Zi Yan complained about his old medicinal herbs.
• Lin Chen showed Su Qian his deep-blue Sea Heart Flame, which Su Qian identified as the Sea Heart Flame ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.
• Su Qian invited Lin Chen to join the academy, but Lin Chen said he would not teach and instead proposed serving as an honorary supporter.
• Su Qian appointed Lin Chen an Honorary Elder and gave him a fourth-tier Fire Crystal Card granting access to the seventh and eighth floors of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
• Su Qian told Lin Chen to give Hu Gan the news and mentioned that Hu Gan had sought an Azure Nether Longevity Pill for him.
• Lin Chen returned Zi Yan’s Blue Fire Crystal Card and asked her where natural treasures grew near the academy so he could bring a gift to his adoptive father.

Lin Chen accompanied Zi Yan to the valley where a Snow Demon Ape guarded a treasure, then killed the fifth-rank beast after it unleashed its berserk bloodline. He extracted its ice-type magic core, leaving Zi Yan amazed by his strength.

• Zi Yan told Lin Chen about the Snow Demon Ape and the treasure it guarded, and he agreed to help her defeat it.
• Lin Chen and Zi Yan traveled to the valley behind Jia Nan Academy, where Zi Yan taunted the ape into emerging.
• The Snow Demon Ape attacked Zi Yan with a torrent of cold, but she countered it while Lin Chen struck the beast with a blade of deep-blue flames.
• The wounded ape activated its berserk bloodline, raising its strength from Three-Star Dou Wang to Five-Star Dou Wang.
• Lin Chen used Blazing Flame Raging Tide Slash to cut through the ape's arms and chest, killing it, then removed its fifth-rank ice-type magic core.
• Zi Yan praised Lin Chen in amazement.