Chapter Summaries

Tang Yan used the Crown Prince’s secret training ground to practice the Azure Fire Thunder Formation, repeatedly enduring true qi backlash until he successfully formed and unleashed it. After seeing that it dented the profound-heart copper wall, he used the Heaven-Earth Creation Flame to repair the damage before anyone noticed.

• The Crown Prince led Tang Yan to a hidden Imperial Family training ground and left him to practice there.
• Tang Yan studied the Azure Fire Thunder Formation and repeatedly failed to balance its flames and lightning, suffering true qi backlash.
• Tang Yan finally formed the Azure Fire Thunder Formation and blasted the profound-heart copper wall, leaving a half-inch dent.
• Tang Yan used the Heaven-Earth Creation Flame to soften and smooth the dent, then cooled the wall so it looked intact again.

Tang Yan recovered from cultivating with Azure Dragon blood essence and helped Du Shu plan a commercial campaign against the Heavenly Pill Palace. After learning that the Left Chancellor’s allies commanded a large military force, Tang Yan requested information on the Xu and Chu Families, setting his sights on the Imperial Family’s remaining opponents.

• Tang Yan endured the pain of consuming a second drop of Azure Dragon blood essence and emerged from cultivation with a powerful aura in his bloodline.
• Du Shu asked Mo Wei to investigate the Wonderful Elixir Workshop’s Alchemy Masters for spies, and Mo Wei assigned the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to review more than three thousand files.
• Tang Yan advised Du Shu to conceal the partnership between the Wonderful Elixir Workshop and Reach the Summit Pill Shop until the Heavenly Pill Palace shifted its focus to the Eastern Region.
• Mo Wei told Tang Yan that the Imperial Family had subdued Tingxiang’s peripheral factions but faced the Left Chancellor’s military strength, including the Xu Family’s two hundred thousand troops and the Chu Family’s one hundred and eighty thousand.
• Tang Yan asked Mo Wei for all available information on the Xu and Chu Families, despite Mo Wei’s warning that confronting them could lead to armed conflict.

Tang Yan led the Imperial Guards to the Xu Family, alarming the emperor and Crown Prince, who prepared to support him. After Xu Zhen obstructed them at the residence, he brazenly declared that the Xu Family would rebel.

• Tang Yan took ten Imperial Guards, including Kun He, to the Xu Family, dismissing Kun He's fears about General Xu's power.
• The Crown Prince and Qing Xuan told the emperor about Tang Yan's move, and the emperor ordered Ye Haohao to support Tang Yan and put their forces on battle readiness.
• Tang Yan struck a guard who tried to stop them and led the Imperial Guards into the Xu residence.
• Xu Zhen refused to summon his father or cooperate, while Xu Family members watched the confrontation with contempt.
• Kun He accused the Xu Family of defying the Imperial Family and asked if they meant to rebel, and Xu Zhen replied, "So what if we rebel?"

Tang Yan confronted the Xu Family over its defiance and brought General Xu Chuan to the Heavenly Soldier Pavilion for questioning. He presented evidence of Xu Chuan’s crimes and demanded that he acknowledge them.

• Tang Yan threatened to have the Xu Family razed if General Xu did not appear, and Xu Chuan came out to meet him.
• Tang Yan ordered Xu Chuan to accompany him to the Imperial Palace, and Xu Chuan agreed and dismissed the people who tried to stop him.
• Tang Yan took Xu Chuan into a secret chamber and questioned his loyalty to the Imperial Family and alleged ties to the Left Chancellor.
• Tang Yan gave Xu Chuan a scroll documenting troop diversions, missing supplies, refusal of an imperial levy, and aid to the Left Chancellor.
• Tang Yan warned Xu Chuan that the Xu Family faced execution and demanded to know whether he acknowledged his crimes.

Tang Yan persuaded Xu Chuan to abandon the Left Chancellor by exposing the danger of his plans and promising him a chance to serve the Imperial Family again. Xu Chuan agreed to help, and Tang Yan ordered General Chu brought to the palace as the Imperial City grew tense.

• Tang Yan questioned Xu Chuan about his motives for joining the Left Chancellor and explained how the Left Chancellor planned to use him as cannon fodder.
• Tang Yan gave Xu Chuan evidence of the Left Chancellor’s crimes and claimed the Emperor had trusted him to protect the Imperial Family.
• Tang Yan offered to erase Xu Chuan’s damaging record if he returned to the Imperial Family and fought the Left Chancellor, and Xu Chuan accepted.
• Xu Chuan suggested that Tang Yan also persuade General Chu, and Tang Yan asked for Xu Chuan’s cooperation.
• Tang Yan left Xu Chuan waiting in the palace, then ordered Kun He to bring General Chu there.
• The Imperial City grew tense after the heads of both great military families were summoned to the palace.

Tang Yan secured support from Purple Bamboo City and the Rakshasa Gate, then laid out a plan to strengthen imperial authority and bring down the Left Chancellor. He accepted the emperor’s offer to become Tingxiang’s Imperial Preceptor after Qing Xuan urged him to agree.

• Zi Xian and Zi Yun arrived to support Tang Yan, and Zi Yun scolded him for recovering so quickly.
• Yu Qingyun tested Tang Yan by asking what brotherhood meant, and Tang Yan described brothers as those who stood by one another through hardship and success.
• Zi Xian declared Purple Bamboo City’s alliance with Tang Yan, and Yu Qingyun pledged the Rakshasa Gate’s support as well.
• Tang Yan announced plans to suppress the Heavenly Pill Palace within three days and gather evidence against the Left Chancellor within five days.
• The emperor offered Tang Yan the title of Imperial Preceptor, and Tang Yan accepted after Qing Xuan urged him to do so.

The Left Chancellor’s Residence was surrounded after the Imperial Family accused the Left Chancellor of rebellion and other crimes, while the Reach the Summit Pill Shop’s success had crippled the Heavenly Pill Palace. The Left Chancellor sought refuge with the Immortal-Gathering Palace, but Tang Yan and the Crown Prince confronted him and Qin Shi outside the residence.

• Reach the Summit Pill Shop expanded across the Fragrance-Hearing Kingdom and drove customers away from the Heavenly Pill Palace.
• The Left Chancellor, Wu Qi, and Qin Shi discussed their losses, and Qin Shi pledged the Immortal-Gathering Palace’s support for the Left Chancellor.
• Imperial Guards announced charges against the Left Chancellor and declared that the Imperial Army, Xu Family Army, and Chu Family Army were arresting him.
• The Left Chancellor decided to flee to the Taiyue Kingdom, while Qin Shi invited him and Wu Qi to join the Immortal-Gathering Palace.
• The Left Chancellor, Wu Qi, and Qin Shi left the residence and found it surrounded by the Imperial forces, with Tang Yan and the Crown Prince at their head.
• Qin Shi threatened Tang Yan and demanded that the forces withdraw, but the Crown Prince declared that he would show the Immortal-Gathering Palace no courtesy.

Tang Yan helped the Imperial Family defeat the Left Chancellor and the Immortal-Gathering Palace’s forces, then arranged to travel to the Northern Spirit Realm to deal with Mingyou Valley. He left Tingxiang’s allies preparing an immediate joint attack on the Immortal-Gathering Palace.

• Zi Xian and Yu Qingyun joined the Imperial Family against the Left Chancellor, and Du Shu ordered an attack before the Left Chancellor could speak.
• Tang Yan accused the Left Chancellor of treason and offered his troops a chance to surrender; nearly all laid down their weapons, and the Left Chancellor killed himself.
• The Imperial Army wiped out the Left Chancellor’s remaining followers, and Tang Yan ordered Qin Shi and the other seven Immortal-Gathering Palace fighters beheaded.
• Tang Yan told Zi Xian and Yu Qingyun that he would prepare Reach the Summit’s affairs before going to the Northern Spirit Realm to address Mingyou Valley and Zi Yun’s situation.
• Tang Yan arranged for Purple Bamboo City and Rakshasa Gate to coordinate with the Imperial Family against the Immortal-Gathering Palace, with the attack to begin the next morning.

Tang Yan entered Qing Xuan’s secret realm to cultivate in the Four Directions Myriad Spirit Formation, but the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron absorbed nearly all the Spiritual Qi. After a month of training and consuming pills, Tang Yan reached Heaven Tier Fourth Grade, and the cauldron finally released a torrent of pure, fire-attributed Spiritual Qi into him.

• Purple Bamboo City and the Reach the Summit Pill Shop issued wanted notices accusing Lord Tang of abducting Zi Yun and stealing pill formulas, making Tang Yan the target of enormous bounties.
• Tang Yan stepped onto the formation’s central stone platform as the four great spirit beasts opened their mouths and poured Spiritual Qi toward him.
• The Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron absorbed the Spiritual Qi faster than Tang Yan could, leaving him unable to gain any from the formation.
• Tang Yan cultivated for a month in the secret realm and used pills to raise his strength to Heaven Tier Fourth Grade.
• When the spirit beasts’ mouths closed, the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron released a torrent of pure, fire-attributed Spiritual Qi into Tang Yan.

Tang Yan used the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron to rapidly advance to Heaven Tier Eighth Grade and discovered it could extract pure Spiritual Qi from pills. After arranging for the Tang Family to move to the Imperial City and saying farewell to his companions, he entered the Northern Spirit Realm and landed in the dangerous Desolate Forest.

• Tang Yan cultivated on Spiritual Qi from the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron, reached Heaven Tier Eighth Grade, and learned that the cauldron could draw pure Spiritual Qi from pills while retaining most of their medicinal efficacy.
• Tang Yan arranged for the Tang Family to relocate to the Imperial City and told the emperor, Fang Xuan, Yu Juechen, and the others from Reach the Summit that he was leaving Tingxiang for the Northern Spirit Realm.
• The emperor explained the three ways to enter the Northern Spirit Realm and warned Tang Yan about its dangers, then sent the Crown Prince and Elder Ling to escort him to the passage on Qingle Peak.
• Tang Yan activated the passage and vanished into it as his companions watched; Fang Xuan urged Reach the Summit to cultivate until they could reunite with him.
• Tang Yan emerged in a forest beyond the passage, recalled that he had to cross the Desolate Forest to reach the Northern Spirit Realm, and strapped Mìxuán Iron to his back before setting out.

Tang Yan trained in the Desolate Forest while carrying mìxuán iron, then became trapped in a haze of despair among strange gray stones. He resisted the stones’ black smoke by recalling his allies and purpose, and ended with renewed resolve to fight for his future.

• Tang Yan killed a Lanlan Tiger while burdened by mìxuán iron and continued fighting spirit beasts as he traveled through the Desolate Forest.
• After half a month of training, Tang Yan reached a field of gray stones and stopped to consider his goals and the dangers ahead.
• Black smoke seeped from the stones and intensified Tang Yan’s exhaustion, filling him with doubts about competing in the Northern Spirit Realm.
• Tang Yan remembered his abilities, the members of Reach the Summit, and his father’s efforts to reunite their family.
• Tang Yan shouldered the mìxuán iron again and released the imposing aura of a Ninth-Tier Alchemist, vowing to overcome whoever stood in his way.

Tang Yan broke through his Heart Demon in the rocks, comprehended a sword strike called “Comrades in Arms,” and reached peak Heaven Tier Eighth Grade. He then discovered Mingyou Valley surrounding Family Head Xiao and his wounded companions over a Thunderclap Leopard cub, just as Family Head Xiao threatened to kill the cub rather than surrender it.

• Tang Yan’s enlightenment let him unleash a sword strike that destroyed twenty-five boulders, and he reached peak Heaven Tier Eighth Grade.
• Tang Yan named his new sword strike “Comrades in Arms,” fed Little Dot a Frenzied Origin Pill, and crossed a field scattered with human bones.
• Tang Yan concealed his aura and found Mingyou Valley surrounding Family Head Xiao and two wounded companions, with several of their men dead nearby.
• Tang Yan recognized the cub behind Family Head Xiao as a Thunderclap Leopard and learned that Mingyou Valley’s leader, Ming Kunshan, demanded it.
• Family Head Xiao threatened to crush the cub if Mingyou Valley attacked, while Ming Kunshan threatened to make him suffer if he killed it.

Ming Kunshan threatened Xiao Buyu and his companions to seize the Thunderclap Leopard cub, but Tang Yan intervened with a powerful formation. Tang Yan faced Ming Kunshan while Xiao Buyu secretly warned him to flee and protect the Xiao Lineage.

• Ming Kunshan threatened to disgrace and cripple Xiao Buyu and his companions unless they surrendered the Thunderclap Leopard cub, then mocked Xiao Buyu by threatening to take his wife.
• Xiao Buyu refused to accept Ming Kunshan's insults and vowed to fight him, so Ming Kunshan ordered his people to attack the three men.
• Tang Yan ambushed Mingyou Valley with a formation that injured several people and stepped out of hiding.
• Ming Kunshan questioned Tang Yan, who mocked him and threatened to smash him with the iron plate on his back.
• Ming Kunshan recognized the plate as Mìxuán Iron, and Xiao Buyu secretly urged Tang Yan to flee and warned him to tell the Xiao Lineage to leave Southern Wilderness City.

Tang Yan tricked Hu Fan into lowering his guard, then killed him and another Mingyou Valley fighter before the group could react. The remaining fighters attacked Tang Yan, while Ming Kunshan raged at the deaths of three Heaven Tier Experts.

• Ming Kunshan tried to persuade Tang Yan to stay out of Mingyou Valley's affairs, but Tang Yan insulted him and his men.
• Ming Kunshan ordered Hu Fan to kill Tang Yan, and Tang Yan learned Hu Fan was a Heaven Tier Ninth Grade fighter.
• Tang Yan claimed he could cure Hu Fan's private problem, then lured him close and killed him with a sudden sword strike.
• Tang Yan used Phantom Shadow Steps and killed another fighter, then the remaining Mingyou Valley fighters attacked him.
• Ming Kunshan realized three Heaven Tier Experts had been killed and furiously cursed Tang Yan.

Tang Yan fought Ming Kunshan’s forces while secretly giving Xiao Buyu pills and directing him to wait for a chance to strike. After Tang Yan unleashed a powerful sword technique that wounded many attackers, Xiao Buyu rose from his feigned weakness and attacked from behind.

• Tang Yan held off Ming Kunshan and nearly thirty opponents, though his stamina gradually waned.
• Tang Yan gave Xiao Buyu two pills and told him to recover before ambushing the yellow-clad heaven tier ninth grade expert.
• Tang Yan drew the attackers’ attention with his Comrades in Arms sword technique, which blasted him back and wounded more than ten enemies.
• Xiao Buyu seized the opening and raised his saber against the attackers from behind.

Xiao Buyu and Tang Yan turned the battle against Mingyou Valley with surprise attacks and a deception involving a fake magic artifact. Ming Kunshan charged at Tang Yan in fury as the remaining fighters' morale faltered.

• Xiao Buyu recovered and killed five Mingyou Valley fighters with a series of surprise attacks.
• Tang Yan healed two wounded Xiao Lineage fighters and told them to wait for an opening to assassinate the man in blue.
• Tang Yan pretended his folding fan was a deadly magic artifact, distracting Mingyou Valley’s fighters while the two wounded men killed the man in blue and two others.
• Ming Kunshan charged at Tang Yan after the assassinations weakened his forces and their morale.
• Tang Yan mocked Ming Kunshan and urged Family Head Xiao to kill every remaining enemy so none could escape.

Tang Yan defeated Ming Kunshan and helped the Xiao Lineage eliminate the Mingyou Valley attackers. After refusing the Thunderclap Leopard cub, he asked Xiao Buyu to receive people arriving from the Fragrance-Hearing Kingdom in about two months.

• Tang Yan provoked Ming Kunshan, then unleashed Qi Meridian Transformation and Comrades in Arms to wound and defeat him.
• Tang Yan threatened to disgrace Ming Kunshan publicly, captured him, and joined the fight as the Xiao Lineage killed the remaining Mingyou Valley men.
• Xiao Buyu, Xiao Xuan, and Xiao Chuang thanked Tang Yan for saving them, and Xiao Buyu offered him the Thunderclap Leopard cub.
• Tang Yan declined the cub and asked Xiao Buyu to station people at the Northern Spirit Realm entrance to receive people arriving from the Fragrance-Hearing Kingdom.
• Xiao Buyu agreed to help and was surprised that Tang Yan wanted nothing more.

Tang Yan recovered from his battle with Ming Kunshan, then ventured deeper into the Desolate Forest and was ambushed by a seventh-tier Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon. The chapter left him dodging the creature’s rapid underground attacks, with his calf narrowly struck.

• Tang Yan sent Xiao Buyu and the others away with Ming Kunshan imprisoned, telling them to keep his identity secret and wait for him in Southern Wilderness City.
• Xiao Buyu, Xiao Xuan, and Xiao Chuang discussed Tang Yan’s strength and realized he had fought while carrying a massive slab of Mìxuán Iron.
• Tang Yan rested after the battle, then fused more Mìxuán Iron into his slab and continued through the Desolate Forest.
• The Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon ambushed Tang Yan from underground, and he identified it as a fast, vicious seventh-tier spirit beast.
• Tang Yan struggled to track the Flood Dragon’s attacks and leaped into the air, only to feel a chill on his calf as the creature struck.

Tang Yan fought the seventh-rank Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon and used pills to keep it returning as a sparring partner. After days of training improved his close combat and brought him to Heaven Tier Ninth Grade, he left the Desolate Forest for Southern Wilderness City.

• Tang Yan discovered the Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon was faster and more skilled in close combat than he had expected, and battled it until it burrowed underground.
• Tang Yan lured the hidden Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon back with a pill and practiced Basic Swordsmanship, using its attacks to test his weaknesses.
• Tang Yan repeatedly offered pills to keep the Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon fighting him, and over six days its sparring improved his close combat and doubled his attack speed.
• Tang Yan stopped feeding the Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon pills and beat it while keeping a slight advantage, then used occasional pills when its sneak attacks caught him.
• After another seven days of fighting, Tang Yan reached Heaven Tier Ninth Grade, decided the Earth-Entangling Flood Dragon could no longer help his cultivation, and headed for Southern Wilderness City.

Tang Yan discovered Qianyun Chen being forced to fight a Skyblue Bear while his family’s companions watched, then saved him with a single sword stroke. After Qianyun Chen introduced himself, Ye Liangchen approached Tang Yan and demanded to know his name, and Tang Yan asked who Ye Liangchen was.

• Tang Yan heard a battle and secretly approached a valley, where Qianyun Chen fought a sixth-tier Skyblue Bear as members of the Qianyun, Zhuo, and Ye families watched.
• Tang Yan learned that Qianyun Chen had fallen out of favor with his family after offending someone from the Ye Family, while the spectators treated his struggle as entertainment.
• The Skyblue Bear knocked Qianyun Chen’s sword away and lunged at him, but Tang Yan killed it with a swift strike to its throat.
• Qianyun Chen thanked Tang Yan and learned his name, while the sight of the bear’s wound made him realize Tang Yan’s speed surpassed his own.
• Ye Liangchen approached Tang Yan and asked his name haughtily, and Tang Yan replied by asking who Ye Liangchen was.