Chapter Summaries

The author explained the premise and planned changes for an alternate-universe story about female Xiao Yan becoming an emperor without knowing the original plot. The chapter ended with notes on character relationships and possible changes to Hun Tiandi.

• The author said the story would follow Xiao Yan's arduous rise while adding original arcs and changing familiar events through her different choices.
• The author described Xiao Yan's friendships with Gu Xun'er, Xiao Yi Xian, Zi Yan, Medusa, and Yun Yun, and said Medusa would initially act as her bodyguard.
• The author explained that Nalan Yanran would become the Misty Cloud Sect's chief disciple under an elder rather than Yun Yun, and would become a bystander after the three-year agreement.
• The author said Yun Yun would handle the Flower Sect plot through other means and suggested Hun Tiandi might also be changed into a woman.

Xiao Yan accepted her low cultivation and focused on strengthening her body, while reflecting on how happy she was in the Xiao Clan compared with her previous life. After sensing Xiao Zhan nearby, she opened the door to meet him, and he began to speak to her.

• At the test, Xiao Yan received a result of three-stage Dou Qi and ignored the spectators’ mockery before leaving with Xiao Xun'er.
• Xiao Yan recalled that she had been reborn into the Xiao Clan, where Xiao Zhan and her two older brothers cared for her, and regretted being unable to save her mother.
• Xiao Yan decided to stop worrying about her declining cultivation and train her body, believing she could fight people with higher Dou Qi stages.
• After cultivating for an hour, Xiao Yan felt that her strength might have increased slightly, though she could not confirm it.
• Xiao Zhan came to Xiao Yan’s room, and she opened the door to ask what he needed.

Xiao Yan reassured Xiao Zhan that she would pass her coming-of-age assessment, then prepared to meet the honored guests she suspected would end her engagement. At the Xiao Clan’s main hall, she saw her fiancé Nalan Yan and judged his cultivation unimpressive, while waiting to see how he would handle the engagement.

• Xiao Zhan worried that Xiao Yan might fail to reach the Seventh Stage Dou Qi by her coming-of-age ceremony and be sent to manage a clan business, but she assured him she would pass.
• Xiao Yan decided she would rather remain in the Xiao Clan than marry a stranger and hoped Nalan Yan would end their engagement without greatly humiliating the clan.
• Steward Mo woke Xiao Yan the next day, and she accompanied him to the Xiao Clan’s main hall to meet the honored guests.
• Xiao Yan saw Nalan Yan, a Three-Star Dou Zhe and the Misty Cloud Sect’s head disciple, and privately considered his cultivation talent ordinary.

Xiao Yan attended a gathering where Nalan Yan and Ge Ye publicly asked Xiao Zhan to dissolve her engagement, turning a private matter into a humiliation for the Xiao Clan. As Ge Ye offered Qi Gathering Powder as compensation and Xiao Zhan neared an outburst, Xiao Yan stepped forward to intervene.

• Xiao Yan entered the hall, ignored Nalan Yan, and sat beside Xiao Xun'er after finding no seat reserved for her.
• Ge Ye introduced Nalan Yan to Xiao Zhan, who had not recognized his nominal son-in-law.
• Ge Ye asked Xiao Zhan to dissolve Nalan Yan and Xiao Yan's engagement in front of the gathered Xiao Clan members.
• Xiao Zhan crushed his jade cup, while the elders reacted with mockery and Xiao Yan realized the public request had exposed the engagement to the clan.
• Ge Ye offered Xiao Yan Qi Gathering Powder as compensation, and Xiao Yan stepped forward as Xiao Zhan prepared to erupt.

Xiao Yan rejected Nalan Yan’s attempt to force a public engagement-breaking pact and instead ended the engagement herself, defending the Xiao Clan’s dignity. She left the hall vowing to face Nalan Yan at the Misty Cloud Sect in three years.

• Xiao Yan questioned whether Old Master Nalan had approved Nalan Yan’s demand, and Nalan Yan admitted that he had not.
• Nalan Yan offered compensation and proposed that Xiao Yan challenge him at the Misty Cloud Sect in three years, but Xiao Yan condemned his treatment of her and the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yan reminded Nalan Yan that she had become a Dou Zhe at twelve and declared that her former talent could return.
• Xiao Yan wrote and blood-marked a document breaking off her engagement to Nalan Yan, then declared that he had no ties to the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yan knelt before Xiao Zhan, promised to wash away the day’s humiliation in three years, and left the hall after telling Nalan Yan she would come for him.

After Xun'er frightened Ge Ye into retreating, Xiao Yan regretted making a three-year agreement with Nalan Yan and worried about her lack of strength. A mysterious woman then spoke from the ancient ring on Xiao Yan’s finger, revealing herself as the chapter ended.

• Xun'er warned Nalan Yan and Ge Ye not to rely on the Misty Cloud Sect, and the golden flames in her eyes terrified Ge Ye into rushing out with Nalan Yan and the girl.
• Xiao Yan climbed to a cliff behind the clan grounds and regretted ending the engagement herself and agreeing to face Nalan Yan in three years.
• A mysterious voice offered to help Xiao Yan, and she reached for her dagger but found it had vanished from her hand.
• The voice revealed that it came from the ancient black ring on Xiao Yan’s finger.
• Xiao Yan removed the ring and asked the woman inside who she was and what she wanted.

Xiao Yan confronted the spirit in her ring and learned that it had absorbed her Dou Qi for three years, leaving her furious over the humiliation she endured. The spirit promised not to drain her again and offered to help her grow stronger, but Xiao Yan remained wary and questioned her motives.

• Xiao Yan asked the ring spirit who she was and why she had been inside the ring.
• The spirit admitted that she had absorbed Xiao Yan’s Dou Qi for three years to awaken, and Xiao Yan blamed her for the ridicule she had suffered.
• The spirit appeared as a bewitching woman and argued that the hardship had strengthened Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan demanded compensation and calculated the debt.
• The spirit said she had no money and jokingly offered herself, while Xiao Yan dismissed the offer and asked her to find another host.
• The spirit explained that Xiao Yan’s powerful Soul Perception was why she had chosen her, promised not to absorb her Dou Qi without permission, and asked whether Xiao Yan wanted to become stronger.
• Xiao Yan said her talent had returned and questioned why she would need the spirit’s help, remaining suspicious of her offer.

Xiao Yan accepted Apothecary as her teacher after learning she could become an Alchemist. She tried to claim compensation for the three years Apothecary had absorbed her Dou Qi, leaving Apothecary wondering how Xiao Yan would explain any valuable gifts.

• Apothecary tempted Xiao Yan with the chance to become an Alchemist, and Xiao Yan asked whether she could teach her.
• Xiao Yan agreed to become Apothecary’s disciple and completed the formal bowing ceremony.
• Apothecary told Xiao Yan to call her Apothecary or big sister and claimed Pill King Gu He was not worthy of being her assistant.
• Xiao Yan asked Apothecary for spare cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, pills, and weapons as compensation for absorbing her Dou Qi.
• Apothecary asked how Xiao Yan would explain where the valuable items came from, and Xiao Yan suggested saying she found them on the mountain out back.

Apothecary began instructing Xiao Yan in cultivation and asked her to buy costly ingredients for a medicinal liquid. Xiao Yan borrowed a bank card from Xun'er, who welcomed the chance to help her, as they left the broken engagement unspoken.

• Apothecary withheld the ingredients she had promised and said she would continue observing Xiao Yan before giving her anything.
• Apothecary praised Xiao Yan's firm foundation, then asked her to buy three stalks of purple leaf orchid grass and hid in the Black Ring when someone approached.
• Xiao Yan decided she would need to borrow money and met Xun'er, who noticed her confidence had returned and treated the injury on her hand.
• Xiao Yan asked Xun'er for money to buy ingredients, and Xun'er offered her a Five-Patterned Purple-Gold Card after revealing she had several cards.
• Xun'er handed Xiao Yan the card without expecting repayment, glad to support her in a discreet way.

Xiao Yan accepted a Black Card from Xun'er and prepared to show her around Wutan City, while Apothecary wondered whether to teach her the Flame Mantra. The next morning, the two left the Xiao Clan compound for the Marketplace.

• Xiao Yan returned Xun'er's conspicuous Purple-Gold Card, but Xun'er gave her an ordinary Black Card and insisted she keep the Purple-Gold Card as a gift.
• Apothecary watched Xiao Yan sleep and worried that asking her to cultivate the Flame Mantra might waste her talent, deciding to let Xiao Yan choose after hearing the explanation.
• Xiao Yan woke to find her hand nearly healed and dressed in weighted accessories and twelve-centimeter heels before meeting Xun'er.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er walked through the Xiao Clan compound, where clan members avoided them because Xiao Yan had beaten her harassers and rumors claimed Xun'er had also avenged her.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er left the compound and headed toward stalls selling trinkets in the Marketplace.

Xiao Yan and Xun'er visited the marketplace to buy ingredients and a magic core, attracting gossip about Xiao Yan's broken engagement and encountering Jia Lie Ao. Xiao Yan left with the items she needed, including an unusual Black Iron Piece that Apothecary recognized as valuable.

• Xiao Yan took Xun'er to the marketplace, where Captain Payne arranged for guards to follow and protect them.
• Xiao Yan noticed that Xun'er could sense the concealed guards and suspected that her apparent ninth stage dou qi concealed greater strength.
• Xiao Yan and Xun'er heard people gossiping about her broken engagement, then encountered Jia Lie Ao, who hurried away from them.
• Xiao Yan found a first-rank Wood-Type Magic Core and an unusual Black Iron Piece at a stall.
• Xiao Yan haggled for the magic core, the iron piece, and some extra goods, paying four hundred and seventy gold coins as Apothecary teased her about being cautious.

Xiao Yan returned to her room with the ingredients for Apothecary to demonstrate alchemy, and she watched her refine a medicinal liquid without a cauldron. After Xiao Yan soaked in the liquid and cultivated, Apothecary judged that her rapid progress would use it up quickly, and Xiao Yan left quietly the next morning with a copy of Suction Palm.

• Xiao Yan showed Apothecary the herbs and magic core she had bought, then examined the Black Iron Piece and decided to learn Suction Palm before selling it.
• Apothecary used a pale flame to refine the ingredients into a jade-green medicinal liquid while Xiao Yan watched and tried to learn the process.
• Apothecary poured the medicinal liquid into a tub of water and told Xiao Yan to soak and cultivate in it.
• Xiao Yan absorbed the surrounding energy rapidly as she cultivated, and Apothecary estimated that she would use up the liquid within a month.
• The next morning, Xiao Yan copied Suction Palm with Apothecary's help and quietly slipped out.

Xiao Yan disguised herself and brought the Profound Tier Dou Technique [Suction Palm] to the Mittel Auction House to exchange for supplies. After Ya Fei arranged an advance and a low-grade Storage Ring, Xiao Yan left with the ring and medicinal ingredients.

• Xiao Yan left the Xiao Clan and disguised herself before entering the Mittel Auction House.
• Xiao Yan presented [Suction Palm] for appraisal, and the appraisers confirmed it was a Profound Tier Dou Technique.
• Ya Fei met Xiao Yan and suggested publicizing the technique before auctioning it to increase the returns.
• Xiao Yan agreed to wait for the auction, declined to provide contact details, and asked for a low-grade Storage Ring and medicinal ingredients.
• Ya Fei arranged an advance for the technique, and Xiao Yan left with a Storage Ring filled with medicinal ingredients.

Xiao Yan auctioned [Suction Palm], told Xiao Zhan her talent had returned, and advanced her cultivation to the fifth stage of dou qi. After Apothecary’s latest medicinal bath left her in pain, she learned she needed more intense body tempering to absorb its power.

• Xiao Yan auctioned [Suction Palm] through the Mittel Auction House, collected the payment, and exchanged most of it for medicinal ingredients.
• Xiao Yan told Xiao Zhan that her talent had returned, and he celebrated her recovery while advising her to leave the broken engagement behind.
• Over the following month, Xiao Yan used Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to reach the fifth stage of dou qi.
• Apothecary prepared a pill and medicinal bath, but Xiao Yan’s cultivation session ended in pain because her body could not digest the medicinal power quickly enough.
• Apothecary told Xiao Yan to intensify her body tempering, and she asked him what she should do.

Xiao Yan accepted the alchemist’s unusual training method, which used controlled beatings to strengthen her body and help her cultivate. After her first session, she learned that the lashes’ unexpectedly pleasant feeling came from her body responding to the stimulation and absorbing medicinal power.

• The alchemist told Xiao Yan that getting beaten could strengthen her physique while using up dou qi, and Xiao Yan eventually agreed to try it.
• Xiao Yan moved their training to the mountains behind the Xiao Clan to avoid anyone misunderstanding what they were doing.
• The alchemist whipped Xiao Yan while carefully controlling her strength, and Xiao Yan endured thirty-four lashes before the session ended.
• Xiao Yan soaked in a medicinal bath and cultivated as the alchemist urged her to address stagnant blood in her body.
• Xiao Yan asked why the last few lashes had felt good, and the alchemist explained that her body had adapted to the stimulation and was absorbing dormant medicinal power.

Xiao Yan’s restored talent and intense training drove her cultivation to the peak of Seventh Stage Dou Qi, while Xiao Zhan considered buying her a Mystic Rank fire-attribute cultivation method. Nalan Jie arrived at the Xiao Clan hoping to ease tensions over the broken engagement, but the chapter ended before his visit could be resolved.

• Xiao Yan decided to cultivate at home and use Apothecary’s Storage Ring to carry her medicinal bath tub, then continued training until her talent and progress quieted criticism within the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Zhan discussed selling family assets with the Three Great Elders to fund a Mystic Rank fire-attribute cultivation method, though they remained cautious about Xiao Yan’s uncertain future.
• Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun’er occasionally took breaks together, and over nearly half a year Xiao Yan reached the peak of Seventh Stage Dou Qi and began practicing Eight Extremes Collapse.
• Nalan Jie reconsidered the consequences of Nalan Yan’s broken engagement after learning that Xiao Yan’s talent had returned and surpassed its former level.
• Nalan Jie arrived at the Xiao Clan as an honored guest intending to improve relations, but the visit appeared unlikely to go smoothly.

Nalan Jie visited the Xiao Clan to apologize for Nalan Yan breaking his engagement to Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan insisted that she and Nalan Yan settle their three-year agreement themselves. After Nalan Jie left, Xiao Yan urged Xiao Zhan to use the goodwill he had offered to acquire the Jia Lie Family’s market district.

• Nalan Jie praised Xiao Yan, visited Xiao Lin’s grave, promised to look after the Xiao Clan, and offered Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan valuable gifts.
• Nalan Jie asked Xiao Yan and Nalan Yan to cancel their three-year agreement, but Xiao Yan insisted they resolve it themselves, and Nalan Yan refused to withdraw it.
• Nalan Jie left with Nalan Yan after accepting that he would not interfere in the agreement.
• Xiao Yan suggested buying the Jia Lie Family’s market district, and Xiao Zhan agreed to visit the Jia Lie Family with the elders the next day.

Xiao Yan agreed to help Xiao Zhan take over the Jia Lie Family’s Marketplaces, then grew wary that someone had arranged for Nalan Jie to hear about her restored talent. Xun'er revealed that she had spread the news to support Xiao Yan, and turned her attention to another investigation.

• Xiao Zhan agreed to visit the Jia Lie Family with several elders, and Xiao Yan supported his plan to take over its Marketplaces.
• Xiao Yan questioned how news of her restored talent had reached Nalan Jie and wondered whether a hidden faction was watching her.
• Xiao Yan and Apothecary concluded that the person behind the news likely meant no harm, but Xiao Yan resolved to build strength, prepare backups, and eventually leave the Xiao Clan to train under a different name.
• Xun'er told a shadowy figure that Nalan Jie had arrived late but had still helped Xiao Yan vent her anger.
• Xun'er admitted to Aunt Ling that she had arranged for Nalan Jie to hear about Xiao Yan’s talent, then asked how Aunt Ling’s investigation was progressing.

Xiao Yan chose the Flame Mantra over a safer Earth Tier cultivation method after Apothecary explained its risks and her own hope of using it to forge a new body. Xiao Yan began receiving the method, and Apothecary resolved to help her become an outstanding alchemist.

• Xiao Zhan and two elders acquired all the Jia Lie Family's Marketplaces for the Xiao Clan.
• Xiao Yan reached the ninth stage of Dou Qi, used Qi Gathering Powder to become a Dou Zhe, and considered the two cultivation methods Apothecary offered.
• Apothecary explained that the Flame Mantra required starting over, carried uncertain risks, and might help her forge a new body through heavenly flames.
• Xiao Yan asked whether Apothecary wanted her to choose the Flame Mantra, and Apothecary admitted she hoped its rebirth method could restore her body.
• Xiao Yan chose the Flame Mantra and said she would test it with beast flames before switching methods if it failed.
• Apothecary watched Xiao Yan accept the Flame Mantra and promised to make her an outstanding alchemist.

Xiao Yan successfully cultivated the Flame Mantra, then discussed learning alchemy and leaving Wutan City with Apothecary. Apothecary planned to train her for one or two years before seeking Jia Nan Academy’s Fallen Heart Flame, but Xiao Yan pointed out she could enroll after finishing their travels.

• Xiao Yan cultivated the Flame Mantra for nearly an hour and produced faint pale-yellow Dou Qi in her palm.
• Apothecary explained that alchemy would be difficult to pursue in Wutan City, and Xiao Yan decided it was safer to leave before revealing her potential.
• Apothecary advised Xiao Yan to travel and train outside the city, where they could use more demanding training methods.
• Apothecary said they would travel together after Xiao Yan’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony and seek the Fallen Heart Flame at Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Yan noted that she was not yet fifteen and suggested completing their training before enrolling, leaving Apothecary dumbfounded.
• Apothecary began to reach for a whip after promising Xiao Yan a reward.