Chapter Summaries

After Xiao Qian jumped into Wind Thunder Gorge to break a record, Lin Ye and Liu Ling celebrated the danger he faced and plotted against him if he survived. A crowd gathered at the gorge, where disciples argued over Xiao Qian’s reckless act and whether the Sect Master could save him.

• Lin Ye flew into a rage after learning Xiao Qian had broken his record, but Liu Ling told him Xiao Qian had jumped into Wind Thunder Gorge.
• Liu Ling revealed the Sect Master was inside the gorge, leaving Xiao Qian a chance to survive, and Lin Ye hoped he would not be rescued.
• Liu Ling whispered a plan to Lin Ye, who approved it and boasted that the Lin Family could control the situation.
• Disciples gathered at Wind Thunder Gorge and mocked Xiao Qian for risking his life to break a record.
• Female disciples defended Xiao Qian and hoped the Sect Master would save him, while jealous male disciples continued to taunt him.

Yun Yun searched for the wind spirit on the sixteenth level of Wind Thunder Gorge before rescuing Xiao Qian as he fell through the levels. After bringing him to safety on the ninth level, she questioned his unusual resilience and learned he came from the Xiao Clan of Wutan City.

• Yun Yun searched the sixteenth level for the wind spirit while fending off the raging wind and lightning.
• Yun Yun noticed Xiao Qian falling through the gorge and caught him before he plunged farther.
• Yun Yun carried Xiao Qian to the ninth level and gave him healing pills for his injuries.
• Yun Yun observed that Xiao Qian seemed unaffected by the ninth level’s wind and lightning, and he said his body might simply be strong.
• Yun Yun examined Xiao Qian’s Identity Token and asked about his family, and Xiao Qian named the Xiao Clan of Wutan City.

Xiao Qian ignored Yun Yun’s warning and relentlessly cultivated in Wind Thunder Gorge, mastering wind-attribute Dou Qi as he advanced to deeper levels. His rapid progress astonished the Misty Cloud Sect, where disciples and elders began to recognize him as an extraordinary presence.

• Yun Yun recognized Xiao Qian as a member of the Xiao Clan involved in Nalan Yanran’s engagement and warned him not to return to the tenth level before mastering his wind-attribute Dou Qi.
• After Yun Yun left, Xiao Qian entered the tenth level and endured the wind blades while practicing the Extreme Wind: Wind Cloud Art.
• Over half a month, Xiao Qian improved his control of wind-attribute Dou Qi and advanced to the eleventh level, where he spent nearly ten more days adapting to its stronger wind and thunder.
• Xiao Qian mastered the violent wind element and reached the sixteenth level, battered but confident in his growing harmony with the wind.
• The Record Stone publicized Xiao Qian’s successive advances, drawing crowds and astonishing the Misty Cloud Sect’s disciples, deacons, and elders.

Xiao Qian battled the wind spirit on the sixteenth level, and their clash sent them both crashing onto the seventeenth. Yun Yun captured the weakened spirit and helped Xiao Qian absorb its power, leaving all four of his dantians at Nine-Star Dou Zhe.

• Xiao Qian attacked the wind spirit with wind blades, then used the Heaven-Burning Flame and his devouring attribute to fight it.
• A powerful backlash hurled Xiao Qian and the wind spirit onto the seventeenth level, where Xiao Qian was badly injured and the spirit weakened.
• Yun Yun arrived, trapped the wind spirit with sword Qi, and sealed it in a jade bottle.
• Yun Yun stabilized Xiao Qian's injuries and guided the wind spirit's pure power into him to refine and absorb.
• Xiao Qian awakened after absorbing the energy and discovered that all four of his dantians had reached Nine-Star Dou Zhe.

Yun Yun rewarded Xiao Qian for helping capture the wind spirit, then discovered he already had access to the fifth floor of the Dou Technique Pavilion through Extreme Wind's recognition. She kept him in Wind Thunder Gorge to train under her personal instruction, and the chapter left her beginning to teach him Wind-Form Spirit-Splitting Sword.

• Yun Yun offered Xiao Qian a token to choose a high-rank Dou Technique, but he revealed his existing fifth-floor access, prompting her to realize Extreme Wind had recognized him.
• Yun Yun ordered Xiao Qian to remain in Wind Thunder Gorge and learn the basics of all his Dou Techniques under her guidance.
• Yun Yun taught Xiao Qian Wind Flocculent Afterimage, guiding his Dou Qi circulation and movements as he practiced.
• After ten days, Xiao Qian performed Wind Flocculent Afterimage with reasonable proficiency, impressing Yun Yun.
• Yun Yun began demonstrating Wind-Form Spirit-Splitting Sword, shaping wind energy into swords that attacked at her command.

Yun Yun spent two months teaching Xiao Qian the Misty Cloud Sect’s wind-element Dou Techniques in Wind Thunder Gorge. Xiao Qian learned their principles but remained too weak to unleash their full power, and Yun Yun encouraged him to continue cultivating and reach the Gate of Life and Death.

• Yun Yun patiently taught Xiao Qian to form wind swords, and he learned to execute Wind Spirit Splitting Sword after several days of practice.
• Yun Yun demonstrated Extreme Wind: Setting Sun Radiance and helped Xiao Qian practice compressing his Dou Qi despite repeated failures and a bout of bleeding.
• Yun Yun taught Xiao Qian Extreme Wind: Meteor Kill, explaining that he would need to reach Dou Ling before attempting even its basic execution.
• After two months, Xiao Qian had memorized the principles of the core techniques, and Yun Yun urged him to cultivate the Wind Cloud Art after leaving Wind Thunder Gorge.
• Yun Yun praised Xiao Qian’s talent and perseverance and said she hoped to see him make the Gate of Life and Death resonate.

After reaching the seventeenth level of Wind Thunder Gorge, Xiao Qian returned to a sect-wide welcome and went looking for Nalan Yanran. He learned she had returned to her clan, but had waited at the gorge for months while he was missing.

• Xiao Qian emerged from Wind Thunder Gorge after reaching its seventeenth level, shocking the Misty Cloud Sect and drawing praise from disciples, deacons, and elders.
• Elder Yun Lei dispersed the crowd, and Xiao Qian returned to his room, where he realized he had not seen Nalan Yanran in three months.
• Xiao Qian went to Nalan Yanran's room, found it empty, and asked the Disciple Administration Office where she had gone.
• The deacon told Xiao Qian that Nalan Yanran had returned to her clan a few days earlier and had waited at the gorge for months while he was inside.

Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su argued over Liu Ling’s move to withhold pills intended for the Misty Cloud Sect, leaving Nalan Yanran worried about her standing. Liu Ling and Lin Ye then arrived at the Nalan Family and presented her with the rules for an Imperial Capital Hunting Competition to decide who would receive future Foundation-Building Pills.

• Nalan Su questioned Nalan Yanran about offending Gu He, while she insisted Liu Ling was targeting her without cause.
• Nalan Su warned Nalan Yanran that Gu He could decide who received the pills and that she might lose her standing among the Imperial Capital’s younger generation.
• A doorkeeper announced that Liu Ling and Lin Ye had come to see Nalan Yanran, and Nalan Su told her to meet them cautiously.
• Nalan Yanran confronted Liu Ling and Lin Ye in the reception hall and asked why they had come.
• Liu Ling gave Nalan Yanran a booklet describing the Imperial Capital Hunting Competition and said it would determine who received subsequent Foundation-Building Pills.

Nalan Yanran confronted Liu Ling over the unfair hunting competition and the delayed pills, while Liu Ling and Lin Ye offered her a way to win. Suspicious but desperate to obtain the pills, she demanded to hear their conditions.

• Nalan Yanran read the competition rules and accused Liu Ling of rigging the contest against the Nalan Family.
• Liu Ling said Yun Yun would receive the promised pills in a later batch, leaving Nalan Yanran furious about the delay.
• Liu Ling argued that Nalan Yanran could turn the competition to her advantage by defeating Lin Ye, the only eight-star Dou Shi under twenty-two in the Imperial Capital.
• Liu Ling explained that the contest's winning side was whoever landed the final blow, and Lin Ye offered to let Nalan Yanran deliver it.
• Nalan Yanran suspected their offer concealed a condition and demanded that they state what they wanted from her.

Liu Ling and Lin Ye tried to pressure Nalan Yanran into abandoning Xiao Qian in exchange for a pill and support for her future. Nalan Yanran refused their offer and prepared to face their schemes, leaving Liu Ling furious and Lin Ye secretly pleased.

• Liu Ling professed his affection for Nalan Yanran and claimed he had acted to help her become the Misty Cloud Sect's junior sect master, but she rejected his sincerity with contempt.
• Lin Ye demanded that Nalan Yanran stay away from Xiao Qian, restrict his access to the Sect's privileges, and help keep him from qualifying for the Gate of Life and Death in exchange for a pill and support.
• Nalan Yanran declared that Liu Ling and Lin Ye had underestimated her and Xiao Qian, and she refused to betray or hinder him for their promised benefits.
• Liu Ling warned Nalan Yanran that her family's reputation and future were at stake, while Lin Ye threatened to make her life difficult in the Imperial Capital and the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Nalan Yanran ordered Liu Ling and Lin Ye to leave and said she would face whatever tricks they had; Liu Ling reacted in disbelief, while Lin Ye was secretly pleased by her refusal.

Xiao Qian returned from Wind Thunder Gorge and backed Nalan Yanran after Liu Ling and Lin Ye tried to undermine her before the Imperial Capital Hunting Competition. Lin Ye planned to exploit Xiao Qian’s lack of eligibility to disqualify him and Nalan Yanran, while Xiao Qian asked her to explain the competition’s details.

• Xiao Qian entered the Nalan Family hall, and Nalan Yanran welcomed him while Liu Ling and Lin Ye reacted warily.
• Liu Ling began to point out that Xiao Qian was ineligible for the competition, but Lin Ye stopped him and challenged Xiao Qian to prove himself there.
• Outside the residence, Lin Ye told Liu Ling they could let Xiao Qian compete and then use his ineligibility to disqualify him and Nalan Yanran, even if they won.
• Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Qian about Wind Thunder Gorge, but he asked her to explain the hunting competition first.
• Nalan Yanran told Xiao Qian she had not expected Liu Ling and Lin Ye to scheme against her.

After Nalan Yanran told Xiao Qian about Liu Ling and Lin Ye’s schemes against her and the Nalan Family, he analyzed their motives and challenged her to spar. The fight unlocked Xiao Qian’s fifth dantian, and Nalan Yanran left the hunting competition’s problems in his hands.

• Nalan Yanran recounted Liu Ling and Lin Ye’s actions to Xiao Qian, who said Liu Ling wanted her attention while Lin Ye feared her rising reputation.
• Xiao Qian teased Nalan Yanran by tugging her ponytail and challenged her to a fight, which she eagerly accepted.
• Nalan Su hurried to the hall and found Xiao Qian pinning Nalan Yanran after defeating her Wind Flocculent Afterimage.
• Nalan Su ordered them to stop roughhousing, and Nalan Yanran brushed herself off while Xiao Qian realized their sparring had unlocked his fifth dantian.
• When Nalan Su urged her to prepare for the hunting competition, Nalan Yanran said she had left it to Xiao Qian.

Nalan Yanran entrusted Xiao Qian with preparing for the Imperial Capital Hunting Competition and offered him whatever supplies he needed, while Nalan Su grew worried about their closeness and its implications for the Nalan Family. As Xiao Qian asked for high-rank magic beast meat, Nalan Su resolved to separate them before the Old Master summoned him.

• Nalan Yanran insisted that Xiao Qian handle the hunting competition, despite Nalan Su's objections, and declared that she trusted him.
• Nalan Yanran asked Xiao Qian what he needed, and he requested high-rank magic beast meat.
• Nalan Yanran took Xiao Qian away and promised to have the family's magic beasts slaughtered so he could eat his fill.
• Nalan Su suspected Nalan Yanran had fallen for Xiao Qian and worried that their relationship would damage the Nalan Family's reputation because of its history with the Xiao Clan.
• Nalan Su decided to stop their feelings from developing further, but a maid arrived to report that the Old Master wanted to see him.

Nalan Jie reviewed Xiao Qian’s achievements in the Misty Cloud Sect and warned Nalan Su that they could affect Nalan Yanran’s prospects as Young Sect Master. He persuaded Nalan Su to use the Imperial Capital Hunting Competition to turn Xiao Qian’s potential into an opportunity for the Nalan Family, and Nalan Su left to carry out the plan.

• Nalan Su reported recent events involving Xiao Qian, Nalan Yanran, and the approaching Imperial Capital Hunting Competition to Nalan Jie.
• Nalan Jie showed Nalan Su reports detailing Xiao Qian’s extraordinary progress and accomplishments in the Misty Cloud Sect.
• Nalan Su realized that Xiao Qian’s rise could threaten Nalan Yanran’s position as Young Sect Master and proposed keeping him away from her.
• Nalan Jie rebuked Nalan Su and argued that Xiao Qian might have earned Yun Yun’s approval, so they should support Nalan Yanran’s connection with him instead.
• Nalan Jie described a plan to exploit a vulnerability in the Imperial Capital Hunting Competition, and Nalan Su agreed to prepare it despite worrying about the family’s reputation.

The Imperial Capital Hunting Competition drew widespread excitement as the imperial princesses and the Nalan Family arrived to compete. Nalan Su warned his team to watch four major threats as the contest was about to begin.

• Word of Master Gu He's pills and the competition spread throughout the Imperial Capital, drawing crowds to the venue.
• Princess Yao Ye arrived with Princess Yao Yue and said she would compete while her younger sister watched from the sidelines.
• Xiao Qian belched during the Nalan Family's arrival, prompting Nalan Yanran to scold him while their teammates questioned why the family relied on him.
• Nalan Su explained that the Nalan Family had only three teams and identified the Mittel Family, the Mu Family, the Imperial Family, and Lin Ye as their main threats.

Gu He opened the Imperial Capital Hunting Competition, and Liu Ling explained its unusual four-round rules, which included magical beasts competing in every round. The first-round draw left Xiao Qian, Nalan Yanran, and the Nalan Family’s other two teams all assigned to field two, forcing them to compete against one another.

• Gu He welcomed the Imperial Family and the great families to the competition, while Jia Xingtian thanked him for offering a precious pill to help the younger generation.
• Liu Ling announced that the competition had four rounds in one day, with magical beasts participating and the final surviving team in each round advancing.
• The competitors drew their fields, and Xiao Qian told Nalan Yanran that their team had drawn field two.
• Nalan Yanran’s other two teams revealed they had also drawn field two, leaving all three Nalan Family teams in the same field.
• Teng Shan and Mu Chen mocked the Nalan Family’s bad draw, while Nalan Su watched with a dark expression.

Xiao Qian charged the two Tier 2 Magic Wolves alone, alarming the Nalan Family teams, but evaded their bite with Wind Flocculent Afterimage and launched a counterattack. Nalan Yanran recognized the movement technique as Xiao Qian struck from above.

• Sixteen Tier 2 Magic Wolves entered the arena, terrifying the contestants and exciting the spectators.
• Nalan Yanran told the other Nalan Family teams to listen to Xiao Qian as they considered how to handle the two wolves in their section.
• Xiao Qian ignored the others' discussion and charged both wolves, prompting Nalan Yanran to order the team to attack with him.
• The Magic Wolves lunged at Xiao Qian, but he vanished just before their jaws closed on him.
• Xiao Qian reappeared above the wolves and attacked with both fists, and Nalan Yanran identified his technique as Wind Flocculent Afterimage.

Xiao Qian fought two second-rank demon wolves while rival contestants tried to steal his team's victory. He used Nalan Yanran's sword to drive them off, killed the wolves, and secured his team's advancement, drawing Jia Xingtian's suspicion that he was Yun Yun's new disciple.

• Xiao Qian battered two demon wolves until their attacks slowed, while Lin Ye, Mu Zhan, and Yao Ye's teams were announced as advancing.
• Four contestants from the other families charged toward the weakened wolves, hoping to claim an easy victory, and Nalan Yanran angrily recognized their scheme.
• Xiao Qian borrowed Nalan Yanran's sword and sent four sword shadows after the intruders, forcing them to abandon their attack and defend themselves.
• Xiao Qian killed both demon wolves with his sword, and the referee announced that his Nalan Family team advanced.
• Jia Xingtian recognized Xiao Qian's Wind-Form Spirit-Splitting Sword and wondered whether he was Yun Yun's newly accepted disciple.

The first round ended with every contestant in the third and fourth arenas eliminated, so Liu Ling advanced the Magic Wolves instead. In the second round, a silver-marked Wolf King commanded the other wolves, leaving the contestants facing eight beasts and forcing Princess Yao Ye and Xiao Qian to consider joining forces.

• The sixth and seventh arenas produced two qualifying Nine-Star Dou Zhe teams, while every contestant in the third and fourth arenas was eliminated.
• Liu Ling announced that the four Magic Wolves from the third and fourth arenas would advance, provoking outrage from the crowd.
• Eight stronger Magic Wolves were released into the merged arenas, disrupting the contestants' expectation of fighting only one another.
• A silver-marked Wolf King howled, and five other wolves immediately crouched at its feet; Yao Ye and Xiao Qian recognized that eight beasts would be involved.
• A Magic Wolf lunged at Nalan Yanran, but Princess Yao Ye blocked it with her spear and urged Xiao Qian to join forces against the wolves.

Xiao Qian guided Nalan Yanran through a fight against a Magic Wolf, urging her to defeat it herself despite her doubts and limited strength. Her first attempt to strike its eyes failed, and the battle left her dodging its furious attacks as spectators questioned why Xiao Qian was holding back.

• Xiao Qian separated Nalan Yanran from Princess Yao Ye's side and told her to kill their assigned Magic Wolf while he created openings.
• Nalan Yanran admitted she could make two sword shadows, and Xiao Qian instructed her to use the Wind-Form Spirit-Splitting Sword to stab the wolf's eyes.
• The other teams in the arena also split up to face their Magic Wolves, while Nalan Su worried about Yanran and Gu He questioned Liu Ling about the tournament's setup.
• Xiao Qian distracted the wolf as Nalan Yanran launched two sword shadows at its eyes, but the wolf dodged them.
• The enraged wolf pressed Nalan Yanran with swift attacks, forcing her to dodge and parry while Xiao Qian continued holding back.