Chapter Summaries

After a month practicing and refining pills on the Black-Corner Region’s outskirts, Xiao Yu entered a small town to seek medicinal ingredients. He left for Black Seal City, hoping its auction house could provide the rare materials he needed to prepare for reaching the Dou Huang Realm.

• Xiao Yu witnessed Red-Sleeve House guards kill three men who had attacked a woman, and he saw workers swiftly remove the bodies.
• Xiao Yu searched the town for medicinal ingredients but found nothing useful for his cultivation.
• Xiao Yu caught a pickpocket reaching for his Storage Ring, then used his Peak Dou Wang aura to force the thief’s accomplices to their knees before leaving them behind.
• Xiao Yu asked a passerby about the region, bought a map, and learned that Black Seal City had its largest auction house and a rich selection of rare treasures.
• Xiao Yu flew toward Black Seal City to search for ingredients for the Sixth-Grade Emperor's Extreme Pill.

Xiao Yu arrived in Black Seal City, gathered information, and searched for medicinal ingredients for the Emperor's Extreme Pill. After learning that the Black Seal Auction would be held the day after tomorrow and feature an Earth-tier Dou Technique, a sixth-grade pill, and precious ingredients, he decided to attend.

• Xiao Yu entered Black Seal City through its gates and learned that the Eight Gates governed the city and organized the renowned Black Seal Auction.
• Xiao Yu discovered that the previous auction had sold a seventh-grade pill and Earth-tier Dou Techniques, including items connected to Xiao Yan and the Wind Lightning Pavilion.
• Xiao Yu searched Black Seal City's shops for a day and collected more than half of the Emperor's Extreme Pill's supplementary ingredients, but found no information about its main ingredients.
• Xiao Yu questioned an inn attendant about recent events and learned that the next Black Seal Auction would take place the day after tomorrow.
• Xiao Yu decided to attend the auction in hopes of finding the Emperor's Extreme Pill's main ingredients or other valuable resources.

Xiao Yu attended the Black Seal Auction in Black Seal City and won a blood python branch despite the threatening bid of the Eight Gates leader’s son. After leaving with his purchase, he noticed someone tracking him and deliberately hurried out of the city to draw them after him.

• Xiao Yu entered the Black Seal Auction and waited while Yu Wu auctioned a succession of lots.
• Yu Wu offered a blood python branch, and several private boxes competed for it.
• The Son of the Eight Gates' Leader bid a Fourth-Grade Pill and demanded that the others yield, but Xiao Yu outbid him with a Peak Fourth-Grade Pill.
• Yu Wu awarded the blood python branch to Xiao Yu, who collected it after the auction and ignored the other lots.
• Xiao Yu sensed someone watching him outside the auction house and pretended to flee Black Seal City in a panic.

Xiao Yu lured Yuan Yong and Uncle Mo into the forest, defeated them, destroyed their cultivation, and took their Storage Rings. After Xiao Yu returned to Black Seal City with three sets of Emperor's Extreme Pill ingredients, Uncle Mo killed Yuan Yong and fled to avoid punishment.

• Yuan Yong pursued Xiao Yu outside Black Seal City with Uncle Mo to reclaim the blood python branch.
• Xiao Yu revealed his overwhelming strength, causing Uncle Mo to flee while Yuan Yong was pinned to the ground.
• Xiao Yu caught Uncle Mo, destroyed his cultivation, and took his Storage Ring before doing the same to Yuan Yong and taking his ring.
• Xiao Yu found two sets of Emperor's Extreme Pill ingredients in Yuan Yong's Storage Ring and returned to the city with three sets in total.
• After recovering, Uncle Mo beat Yuan Yong to death and fled, fearing Yuan Yi would punish him for losing the young master.

After Yuan Yong’s death threw the Eight Gates into turmoil, Xiao Yu recognized that the sect had begun investigating him. He calmly agreed to meet its sect master, leaving to face the confrontation directly.

• The Eight Gates’ sect master learned that Yuan Yong was dead and killed a subordinate who could not identify the culprit.
• The sect master ordered his people to investigate Yuan Yong’s recent activities and find Qian Mo.
• Xiao Yu noticed that Black Seal City had grown deserted and suspected the Eight Gates had discovered what happened.
• An Eight Gates group politely visited Xiao Yu and invited him to meet the sect master because he might be connected to the recent incidents.
• Xiao Yu accepted the invitation and left with the men in black.

Xiao Yu met Yuan Yi at the Eight Gates and admitted that he had crippled Yuan Yong and his companion after Yuan Yong tried to rob him. Yuan Yi attacked him, and the chapter ended as both men prepared to fight at full strength.

• Xiao Yu entered the Eight Gates’ lavish Sect Hall and met its sect master, Yuan Yi.
• Yuan Yi said his son, Yuan Yong, had died and questioned Xiao Yu about their dispute at the Black Seal Auction.
• Xiao Yu explained that Yuan Yong had followed him out of the city to rob him, so he had crippled Yuan Yong’s and the accompanying old man’s Dou Qi.
• Yuan Yi accused Xiao Yu of causing Yuan Yong’s death, but Xiao Yu denied killing him and invited Yuan Yi to attack.
• Xiao Yu revealed his Peak Dou Wang aura, and Yuan Yi launched a sudden attack.
• Xiao Yu evaded Yuan Yi’s claw and blocked his punch; Yuan Yi then released his full power as a Three-Star Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yu used the Golden Flame Transformation to overwhelm Yuan Yi and leave him gravely wounded. As the Eight Gates' members arrived, they found their sect master defeated by the mysterious young man.

• Xiao Yu activated the Golden Flame Transformation, and its golden flames forced Yuan Yi out of the hall.
• Yuan Yi attacked Xiao Yu, but his claw strike failed to injure him, and Xiao Yu seized him by the throat.
• Xiao Yu escaped Yuan Yi's counterattack, struck him with a kick, and sent him crashing into a crater.
• Xiao Yu pierced Yuan Yi's qi sea with Thunderbolt Arc, leaving him gravely wounded and unconscious.
• The Eight Gates' higher-ups arrived and stared in shock at Xiao Yu standing over their defeated sect master.

After crippling Yuan Yi, Xiao Yu took control of the Eight Gates and renamed it Xiao Court. Its members accepted him as their new leader, and he left Yuan Yi’s fate in their hands.

• Xiao Yu questioned an Eight Gates elder and learned that Yuan Yi was the faction’s only Dou Huang expert.
• Xiao Yu ordered the elder to gather the Eight Gates members and announced that he would take control of Black Seal City.
• The Eight Gates members agreed to stay, seeing no reason to avenge Yuan Yi or abandon their positions.
• Xiao Yu dissolved the Eight Gates and established Xiao Court, keeping its members in their current roles.
• Xiao Yu told the elder to handle Yuan Yi themselves.

After taking over the Eight Gates and establishing the Xiao Court, Xiao Yu delegated its affairs and spent a month refining pills. His cultivation suddenly advanced to Dou Emperor, and he discovered new silver-green Divine Thunder and silver-red Origin Flame in his dantian.

• Xiao Yu established rules for the Xiao Court and considered handing its administrative work to a capable subordinate.
• Xiao Yu searched the Eight Gates' treasury, took what he needed, and spent a month refining pills.
• Xiao Yu's breakthrough released a terrifying pressure, lightning, flames, and a tornado that startled the Xiao Court and silenced Black Seal City.
• Xiao Yu's Dou Qi surged as he absorbed energy and advanced into the Dou Emperor Realm.
• Xiao Yu completed his breakthrough and found silver-green Divine Thunder and silver-red Origin Flame within his dantian.

After a month in seclusion, Xiao Yu gained two new Origin Flame Divine Thunder abilities and emerged as a Dou Emperor. He tasked Xue You with auctioning off surplus items and gathering medicinal ingredients, then revealed that he was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist; Xue You left believing Xiao Yu wanted him to spread the news.

• Xiao Yu learned that Near-Horizon Wind Thunder could greatly increase his speed and that Great Desolate Flame could gather and control energies of heaven and earth.
• Xiao Yu emerged from seclusion, and Xue You reported that nothing significant had happened in the Xiao Court during the past month.
• Xiao Yu gave Xue You a Storage Ring of surplus goods to auction and a list of medicinal ingredients to seek out.
• Xiao Yu told Xue You that he was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist and did not need Han Feng to refine pills for him.
• Xue You guessed that Xiao Yu wanted word of his alchemy rank spread and left the Xiao Court enthusiastically.

Dou Wangs flocked to Black Seal City for an auction of rare pills and the Eight Gates’ former treasures, while newcomers learned that the Xiao Court had taken control of the city. Xiao Yu stayed in the Xiao Court, leaving the auction to Xue You as he cultivated and awaited its proceeds.

• Yan Mo, Old Li, and Zheng flew toward Black Seal City and discussed how the Xiao Court had replaced the Eight Gates.
• Old Li and Zheng explained to Yan Mo why independent cultivators valued their freedom in the dangerous Black-Corner Region.
• Dou Wangs and other visitors poured into Black Seal City, drawn by the auction of Dou Ling Pills and other treasures.
• Xiao Yu prepared pills and the Eight Gates’ cultivation methods and combat skills for auction, keeping the Earth Tier items for his own purposes.
• Xiao Yu left Xue You to oversee the auction while he studied the Origin Flame Divine Thunder and cultivated.

Xue You hosted the Black Seal Auction under Xiao Court’s rule, and Cheng Hong of the Earth Flame Sect provoked him before the Dou Ling Pills came up for bidding. The Earth Flame Sect elder restrained Cheng Hong, leaving the dispute as a war of words while the auction continued.

• Xue You opened the Black Seal Auction, and the Zheng-surnamed man and the Li-surnamed elder discussed how Xue You had survived Xiao Court’s takeover of the Eight Gates.
• Bidding grew more intense as increasingly valuable items appeared, while Yan Mo worried that he lacked the wealth to compete for a Dou Ling Pill.
• Xue You presented ten Dou Ling Pills for individual auctions, requiring bidders to offer high-grade medicinal ingredients instead of gold coins.
• Cheng Hong insulted Xue You from a private room and identified himself as an elder of the Earth Flame Sect.
• Xue You disqualified Cheng Hong from bidding and threatened to silence him after releasing his Seven-Star Dou Wang aura.
• An elderly man in red restrained Cheng Hong, explaining that they had come for the pills and should not antagonize Xiao Court over a verbal dispute.

The Black Seal Auction sold all ten Dou Ling Pills and four sixth-grade pills, with the Zheng-surnamed man and his companions securing the first three Dou Ling Pills. After the auction, Xue You revealed that the Xiao Court's master was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, leaving the crowd stunned and doubtful.

• The Zheng-surnamed man bid aggressively and won the first Dou Ling Pill, then Old Li and Yan Mo secured the second and third.
• The remaining Dou Ling Pills and sixth-grade pills were sold to bidders and first-rate factions as the auction proceeded.
• Xue You concluded the auction and stayed behind to address a question about the high-grade pills required for bidding.
• Xue You said the requirement had come from the Court Master and suggested he was gathering ingredients because he was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.
• The crowd reacted with shock and doubt upon hearing that the Xiao Court's master was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.

After Xue You revealed that the Xiao Court’s master was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, auction attendees left Black Seal City wary of being robbed. Yan Mo and his companions were cornered by Cheng Hong, but Zheng distrusted Pang Yuan’s sudden apology and led them back into the city, while Cheng Hong still wanted them dead.

• Xue You told the auction attendees that the Xiao Court’s master had personally refined the pills and was a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.
• Yan Mo, Li, and Zheng left the auction house with their Dou Ling Pills and headed for the city gates.
• Zheng spotted that someone was watching them, and Cheng Hong intercepted the three and demanded their valuables.
• Pang Yuan arrived and apologized for Cheng Hong, then moved aside to let Yan Mo and his companions pass.
• Zheng distrusted Pang Yuan, claimed the group needed to stay in Black Seal City, and led them back into the city.
• Pang Yuan glared at Cheng Hong, while Cheng Hong continued to plot killing the three and Xue You.

Xiao Yu devised a Dou Qi Continent version of a spirit-gathering array by using the Great Desolate Flame to draw in energy and a child flame to keep it concentrated. He left the chapter with his new cultivation setup more than doubling his progress.

• Xiao Yu lamented how slowly he was advancing as a Dou Emperor and wished for a spirit-gathering array.
• Xiao Yu used the Great Desolate Flame to gather energy of heaven and earth throughout the Xiao Court.
• Xiao Yu separated a Great Desolate child flame so it could maintain the gathered energy without his attention.
• Xiao Yu emptied a fifth-tier magic core, filled it with his Dou Qi, and used it to fuel the child flame.
• Xiao Yu cultivated for six hours and found that his cultivation speed had more than doubled while the energy concentration barely declined.

Xiao Yu strengthened the child flame sustaining his cultivation and rewarded Xue You for the auction’s success, winning the subordinate’s loyalty. A month later, Yan Mo and his companions discussed whether to remain in Black Seal City, whose order under the Xiao Court had made them reluctant to leave.

• Xiao Yu added another wisp of Desolate Child Flame to the child flame above the magic core, increasing the natural energy concentration while shortening the core’s remaining power to about a month.
• Xue You delivered the auction proceeds, and Xiao Yu found valuable medicinal ingredients, including a heavenly azure flower for a future Transformation Pill for Little Purple.
• Xiao Yu praised Xue You and rewarded him with a Dou Ling Pill, prompting Xue You to pledge his full service to Xiao Yu.
• Xue You summarized the auction before leaving, and Xiao Yu decided he could entrust him with the Xiao Court’s affairs.
• A month later, Yan Mo, the Zheng-surnamed man, and the Li-surnamed elder debated staying in Black Seal City, where the Xiao Court’s rules had kept the streets orderly.

Cheng Hong killed a young man in Black Seal City and defied the Xiao Court’s order to answer for breaking the city’s rules. When a Xiao Court Dou Wang blocked his escape, Cheng Hong attacked him, and the fight continued as the Elder’s arrival was announced.

• Yan Mo and his companions recognized Cheng Hong in the street and realized he had waited in Black Seal City for them.
• Cheng Hong killed a young man despite two Xiao Court members warning him not to cause trouble in the city.
• The Xiao Court members summoned reinforcements, and a Dou Ling followed Cheng Hong but called for further help after sensing his strength.
• A Xiao Court Dou Wang intercepted Cheng Hong and ordered him to go to the Xiao Court for punishment.
• Cheng Hong attacked the Dou Wang, gained the upper hand, and continued fighting until a thunderous voice ordered him to stop.

Xue You tried to arrest Cheng Hong for killing someone and breaking the Xiao Court's rules, but Pang Yuan intervened to help Cheng Hong escape. Unable to get past Pang Yuan, Xue You called for the Court Master to descend.

• Xue You arrived and ordered Cheng Hong to return to the Xiao Court for judgment, but Cheng Hong refused and fought him.
• Xue You revealed his Eight-Star Dou Wang strength and gained the upper hand over Cheng Hong.
• Pang Yuan appeared and stopped Xue You from attacking, then offered compensation and asked him to make an exception for Cheng Hong.
• When Xue You refused, Pang Yuan sent Cheng Hong fleeing toward the city outskirts and blocked Xue You from pursuing him.
• Xue You called upon the Court Master for help.

Xiao Yu arrived in Black Seal City at Xue You’s call and swiftly caught Cheng Hong as he tried to flee. After hearing what happened, Xiao Yu crippled Cheng Hong for breaking the Xiao Court’s rules, then let Pang Yuan leave with a warning to the Earth Flame Sect.

• Xiao Yu used Near-Horizon Wind Thunder to catch Cheng Hong outside Black Seal City and bring him back to Xue You.
• Xue You told Xiao Yu that Cheng Hong had killed someone in the city and that Pang Yuan had tried to help him escape.
• Xiao Yu pierced Cheng Hong’s Dantian with lightning, crippling his Dou Wang strength.
• Pang Yuan declined to challenge Xiao Yu, took the unconscious Cheng Hong, and fled after hearing Xiao Yu’s warning to the Earth Flame Sect.
• Xiao Yu left, and spectators discussed his decisive punishment while the Li-surnamed elder revealed his resentment toward Cheng Hong.

Yan Mo chose to remain in Black Seal City and join the Xiao Court, while Xiao Yu planned reforms to strengthen the faction and ease his own burdens. A Three-Star Dou Wang arrived seeking to join, and Xiao Yu agreed to meet him before deciding whether to accept him.

• Yan Mo told the Zheng-surnamed man and the Li-surnamed elder that he planned to join the Xiao Court, and the two friends left Black Seal City without him.
• Xiao Yu considered how to build the Xiao Court’s strength through cultivation resources, techniques, pills, and a Spirit-Gathering Array.
• Xiao Yu wrote a proposal for reforming the Xiao Court and considered establishing a Spirit-Gathering Array for the Xiao Clan as well.
• Xue You told Xiao Yu that a Three-Star Dou Wang had come to the court’s gates seeking to join.
• Xiao Yu ordered Xue You to bring the Dou Wang in so he could assess him before accepting him.