Chapter Summaries

After Qin Fangyang sent Zuo Xiaoduo flying into a trash can, Zuo escaped and read fortunes for a frail young man named Ji Weiran. Zuo’s reading helped Ji Weiran realize he wanted to pursue weapons research, and Ji left with a clear direction for his future.

• Qin Fangyang kicked Zuo Xiaoduo into a trash can while Wan Lixiu and the others cheered, then dismissed the students for the evening.
• Zuo Xiaoduo thanked Qin Fangyang before hurrying away and reading fortunes at the school gates to earn money for his fines.
• Zuo used a Fortune Point to examine Ji Weiran and learned that he had no cultivation aptitude but was destined to become a leading researcher of lethal individual weapons.
• Ji Weiran asked Zuo to help him choose between the Biochemical Academy and Qingzhou University, and Zuo gave him a slip pointing toward weapons research.
• After reading Zuo’s message at home, Ji Weiran resolved to develop weapons for Martial Artists fighting on the front lines.

Ji Weiran chose to pursue weapon development at the Martial Research Institute, while Zuo Xiaoduo prepared for Zuo Xiaonian’s imminent breakthrough and reconsidered the forces targeting the Phoenix Vein. He suspected Meng Chentian was a Witch Alliance plant, though he still questioned why Meng Chentian had treated his plan involving Meng Chenyu as a fallback.

• Ji Weiran decided to join the Martial Research Institute after Master Zuo helped him settle on a career.
• Zuo Xiaoduo returned home early, and Zuo Xiaonian teased him about Gu Luoyan’s repeated requests for a song.
• Zuo Xiaoduo joked that Gu Luoyan might be pursuing him, prompting Wu Yuting and Zuo Xiaonian to spray soup across his face.
• Zuo Xiaoduo paid a five-hundred-thousand fine after cultivation and counted four days until Zuo Xiaonian’s breakthrough.
• Zuo Xiaoduo reassessed his odds of protecting the Phoenix Vein and reasoned that Meng Chentian might be a Witch Alliance member planted in the Meng Family.

Zuo Xiaoduo suspected Meng Chentian was the Witch Alliance’s Star Envoy and asked Qin Fangyang to investigate him. After investigators found a corpse that was not Meng Chentian, Phoenix City’s leaders prepared for the Phoenix Vein Soul Impact, and the city entered a state of emergency.

• Zuo Xiaoduo judged that Meng Chentian was likely the Witch Alliance’s Star Envoy and asked Qin Fangyang to investigate his whereabouts.
• Zuo Changlu and Wu Yuting left for their trip, while Zuo Xiaoduo and Zuo Xiaonian celebrated their freedom and sparred at home.
• Qin Fangyang, Han Song, and Jiang Changbin investigated Meng Chentian and found his apparent corpse alongside the bodies of the Qi-Reading Adepts.
• Jiang Changbin confirmed that the corpse was not Meng Chentian and issued a warrant throughout the Central Plains Region.
• Jiang Changbin requested increased protection for the Spirit Thought Heavenly Maiden, and Phoenix City’s authorities canceled leave and placed the city on emergency alert as fierce winds rose.

As the Phoenix Vein Soul Impact approached, Phoenix City mobilized to protect Zuo Xiaonian, while Zuo Xiaoduo received a detailed Witch Alliance attack plan and learned the Star Envoy might have hidden contingencies. Zuo Xiaonian read the plan and was shocked by its detail.

• Hu Ruoyun told He Yuanyue that Phoenix City’s experts were on standby and that the regional martial arts tournament would be held in South Ji City.
• He Yuanyue chose Zuo Xiaoduo and five others to represent Second High School, then asked Hu Ruoyun to tell her when the school’s students made a name for themselves.
• Zuo Xiaoduo watched Zuo Xiaonian train through the gale and reflected that Zuo Changlu and Wu Yuting had left Phoenix City but were likely watching from nearby.
• Fang Yinuo sent Zuo Xiaoduo a detailed Witch Alliance attack plan and warned that the Star Envoy might have hidden reserves and a lethal opening move.
• Zuo Xiaoduo showed the plan to Zuo Xiaonian, who questioned whether it was real because it was so detailed.

Zuo Xiaoduo told Zuo Xiaonian that the Witch Alliance planned to attack during her breakthrough and urged her to keep to her routine while he prepared a counterplan. As a fierce storm swept Phoenix City and the phoenix wandered free, Fang Yinuo replaced the missing Mo Xuanyi in the plan.

• Zuo Xiaoduo revealed that he had obtained the Witch Alliance's contingency strategy and reassured Zuo Xiaonian that he would make arrangements with Teacher Qin.
• Zuo Xiaoduo explained that Zuo Xiaonian still had to face the dangers of her breakthrough herself, and warned her not to tell Master Mu about the plan.
• Zuo Xiaoduo told Zuo Xiaonian to maintain her normal routine so the Witch Alliance would stick to its planned timing, and said everything would be settled the following night.
• The wind intensified and temperatures fell below freezing as the phoenix wandered freely after the Phoenix's Foot came loose.
• Fang Yinuo, unable to contact the missing Mo Xuanyi, removed her from the plan and assigned Pan Yusheng to take her place.

Zuo Xiaoduo prepared Qin Fangyang and Jiang Changbin to carry out a secret plan against the Witch Alliance, then visited He Yuanyue as she spent her final day. He Yuanyue gave him and Ling Nian a farewell blessing and began advising him about his future studies.

• Fang Yinuo told Yun Jueying to prepare for a dangerous mission, and Yun Jueying vowed to give everything for the Witch Tribe.
• Zuo Xiaoduo warned Qin Fangyang that only he and Jiang Changbin could know the plan, and urged him to keep reserves for the Witch Alliance's hidden schemes.
• Zuo Xiaoduo saw that He Yuanyue had revived her vitality with secret medicine and realized she was spending her last day radiant and full of life.
• He Yuanyue asked Zuo Xiaoduo to kowtow for himself and Ling Nian, then told him never to let each other down and to remember that dragon and phoenix belonged together.
• He Yuanyue advised Zuo Xiaoduo to build his foundation in the Central Plains before going to Upper Capital and approved of his plan to study at Fenghai Hidden Dragon High Martial Arts School.

As Phoenix City braced for a decisive battle between Star Soul and the Witch Alliance, Zuo Xiaoduo prepared for the planned breakthrough at the Star Martial Soul Crystal. The two Divine Shadows arrived at the Zuo family home, ready to help with the confrontation.

• He Yuanyue warned Zuo Xiaoduo about the dangers surrounding Dragon Veins and Phoenix Veins, urged him to study at Ancestral Dragon High Martial, and asked him to remember Phoenix City's Second High School.
• After leaving He Yuanyue, Zuo Xiaoduo told Gu Luoyan that her two Divine Shadows needed to be in position after eight that evening.
• Mu Yanyan, Han Song, Qin Fangyang, and the others chose the Star Martial Soul Crystal as the breakthrough location and informed Zuo Xiaoduo.
• A fierce storm and a shower of meteors battered Phoenix City as the temperature dropped, while Zuo Xiaoduo received no message from Fang Yinuo.
• At eight that evening, Zuo Xiaonian prepared to leave, but two Cloud Transformation Divine Shadows appeared at the Zuo family home, and Zuo Xiaoduo bowed to them.

Zuo Xiaoduo rushed toward Phoenix Looking Back after He Yuanyue summoned him, while the city was engulfed in unprecedented summer snow and fires blazed on three sides. He knew the Witch Alliance had sent over a hundred weaker fighters to kill him before Zuo Xiaonian’s tribulation was decided, and he neared the city gate expecting the pursuit to begin.

• Zuo Xiaonian kissed Zuo Xiaoduo goodbye, then flew toward the Star Martial Soul Crystal with Qin Fangyang, Sister Lan, Han Song, and other experts escorting her.
• A sudden heavy snowfall blanketed Phoenix City as Zuo Xiaoduo watched Zuo Xiaonian depart and vowed that she would return.
• He Yuanyue sent Zuo Xiaoduo a message calling him to Phoenix Looking Back, and he rushed out into the snow.
• Fires erupted on Phoenix Tail Mountain and in the mountain ranges east and west of the city as snow continued to fall.
• Zuo Xiaoduo recalled that the Witch Alliance had sent more than a hundred fighters to kill him and hurried through crowded streets toward the city gate, trying to avoid harming civilians.

Zuo Xiaoduo fought his way through an ambush in the snow, killing attackers with hidden weapons, his legs, and his sword. After revealing his protective armguard and divine weapon, he faced a coordinated encirclement as his enemies tried to wear him down.

• Zuo Xiaoduo killed six attackers in the first clash by striking one with his hidden weapons and killing the others.
• Zuo Xiaoduo used Dragon Gate Leg to cripple five attackers, then killed them with a sword slash.
• Zuo Xiaoduo cut down more attackers as he charged through the ambush and reached the city wall.
• Zuo Xiaoduo knocked an enemy's weapon aside with Wu Tiejiang's armguard and killed him with his sword.
• The attackers recognized Zuo Xiaoduo's treasures and deadly skill, drew heavier weapons, and moved to surround him.

Zuo Xiaoduo fought his way through the Witch Alliance’s forces and found himself facing a large group of powerful cultivators waiting beyond bonfires. He taunted their leader as reinforcements arrived, and the leader prepared to explain three fatal mistakes Zuo had made.

• Zuo Xiaoduo charged more than twenty kilometers through the Witch Alliance’s encirclement, defeating their fighters along the way.
• Zuo Xiaoduo encountered more than twenty people behind blazing bonfires, while their leader praised his hidden abilities and revealed that forty Embryonic Breathing cultivators and over thirty peak Innates had assembled against him.
• Zuo Xiaoduo questioned the group’s confidence and mocked them for waiting instead of attacking.
• More Witch Alliance fighters arrived, and the leader told Zuo Xiaoduo that he had made three fatal mistakes in the battle.

Zuo Xiaoduo faced an eighty-four-person Witch Alliance ambush and revealed that he had been fighting while carrying enormous weights. After shedding them, he attacked the encirclement with the Silk Rain Sword, leaving the battle underway.

• The attackers' leader explained that Zuo Xiaoduo had missed several chances to escape before they completed their encirclement.
• Zuo Xiaoduo counted eighty-four attackers, joked about their unlucky number, and wagered that his face reading would prove they faced mortal danger.
• Zuo Xiaoduo dropped his weights, including two five-thousand-jin bracers, and declared that he would kill the gathered attackers.
• The Witch Alliance leader warned his fighters about Zuo Xiaoduo's strange sword and ordered them to use heavy weapons.
• Zuo Xiaoduo leaped into the crowd with the Starry Sky Step and Silk Rain Sword, cutting down several attackers before they realized what had happened.

Zuo Xiaoduo used his speed, swordsmanship, and Dragon Blood Flying Knife to decimate the Witch Alliance’s Innate fighters. After the leader ordered an indiscriminate attack that forced Zuo Xiaoduo into the open, he evaded a coordinated strike and rose back into the air.

• Zuo Xiaoduo killed enemies with the Spirit Cat Sword while the Dragon Blood Flying Knife drained their strength and blood essence.
• The Witch Alliance leader ordered his fighters to use heavy weapons and attack indiscriminately after Zuo Xiaoduo killed many Innate fighters with his elusive Starry Sky Step.
• Zuo Xiaoduo focused on the Innate fighters, bringing down twenty-five of the thirty-seven before the leader directed the group to attack the Dragon Blood Flying Knife’s red light.
• A heavy weapon struck Zuo Xiaoduo’s sword and revealed his position, leaving only seven Innate fighters alive.
• Zuo Xiaoduo put away the Dragon Blood Flying Knife, used the Silk Rain Sword Technique to meet the fighters’ combined attack, and escaped upward with the Starry Sky Step.

Zuo Xiaoduo used the snow and the Witch Alliance’s assumptions to lure their encirclement beneath him, then unleashed his twin hammers from above. His Hammer Technique devastated the gathered attackers, leaving the encirclement reduced by half.

• The Witch Alliance leader ordered the Embryonic Breath Realm fighters to surround Zuo Xiaoduo and wait for him to descend through the snow.
• Zuo Xiaoduo charged fifty meters into the air, put away the Spirit Cat Sword, and drew two enormous training hammers.
• Zuo Xiaoduo spun the hammers and began the first move of Hammer, plunging into the gathered enemies in a violent whirlwind.
• The hammer winds killed fifteen attackers and blasted away weapons and anyone caught in their path.
• Zuo Xiaoduo continued his Hammer Technique, and the encirclement was reduced by half.

Zuo Xiaoduo annihilated the Witch Alliance force that had ambushed him, but the hammer technique left him numb and destroyed most of their spatial equipment. He collected the surviving rings and worried that his hammers would keep ruining valuable spoils in future fights.

• Zuo Xiaoduo used the Hammer Technique to crush the Witch Alliance fighters, leaving only three survivors.
• The leader fled, and Zuo Xiaoduo hurled a hammer after him, killing him after it had already struck down the other two survivors.
• Zuo Xiaoduo retrieved his hammer and realized that the momentum had left both his shoulders numb.
• Zuo Xiaoduo searched the battlefield and found only seventeen Space Rings, lamenting that the hammers had smashed the rest.

Zuo Xiaoduo reached Phoenix Looking Back through the heavy summer snow and read the qi veins for He Yuanyue. His description of a calm, unroused Ice Phoenix reassured her about the chances of the coming Phoenix Vein Soul Impact.

• Zuo Xiaoduo complained about his meager Fortune Points and ran through the snow toward Phoenix Looking Back.
• He Yuanyue, Jiang Changbin, Sun Fenghou, Hu Ruoyun, and Li Changjiang waited for Zuo Xiaoduo and worried about his delay.
• Zuo Xiaoduo arrived and learned from He Yuanyue that the Ice Phoenix within Phoenix City's Phoenix Vein caused the summer snowfall.
• He Yuanyue asked Zuo Xiaoduo to inspect the qi veins because she could no longer use Qi-Viewing Technique herself.
• Zuo Xiaoduo saw an Ice Phoenix calmly beating its wings and told He Yuanyue that it did not seem particularly roused, easing her concern about the undertaking.

As He Yuanyue's strength waned, everyone waited for the Ice Phoenix's transformation at eleven. The Phoenix Mansion's phoenix soul returned to the Ice Phoenix, which then gazed skyward as vast purple qi surged in from the east.

• He Yuanyue waited for eleven o'clock while the heavy snow buried the mountain range and drained her strength.
• Jiang Changbin fed He Yuanyue all five medicinal pills at once, but she said she would still die that night.
• At eleven, the White Jade Rooster in Zuo Changlu's study melted, and a crystalline substance flew into the sky and exploded with a phoenix cry heard across Phoenix City.
• A streak of white light entered the Ice Phoenix's head, changing its bearing, and He Yuanyue recognized the Phoenix Mansion's phoenix soul returning to its rightful place.
• Zuo Xiaoduo saw the phoenix gaze upward and reported that vast masses of purple qi were surging in from the east, prompting He Yuanyue to ask how much there was.

As the Phoenix Vein’s purple qi floods the sky, He Yuanyue celebrates its extraordinary strength. Dan Kong tries to intervene, but Dongfang blocks him and forces him to retreat, leaving the Phoenix Vein’s transformation underway.

• Zuo Xiaoduo reports that endless purple qi is filling the eastern sky and merging into the phoenix, while He Yuanyue celebrates the Phoenix Vein Soul Impact reaching the ninth heaven.
• Dan Kong realizes the Phoenix Vein is a Heaven-Soaring Vein and rushes to intervene.
• Dongfang intercepts Dan Kong, accuses him of breaking their agreement, and refuses to let him pass.
• Dan Kong curses Dongfang but withdraws when Dongfang warns that the Right Heavenly King can strike him down.
• Dan Kong briefly returns and finds Dongfang still waiting, then leaves again while Dongfang loudly repeats his curses across the land.

Zuo Xiaoduo watched as the Ice Phoenix waited for her fire-dragon mate before taking flight, while Zuo Xiaonian prepared to break through under heavy guard at Star Martial Academy. As the phoenix rose, three rays of starlight appeared above the Soul Crystal Room and began descending toward it.

• Zuo Xiaoduo reported that the Ice Phoenix remained poised beneath a sky filled with purple qi, waiting for the right moment.
• Zuo Xiaoduo saw a fire dragon descend from the heavens and circle the Ice Phoenix, whose expression turned joyful.
• The Ice Phoenix took flight with the fire dragon soaring beside her, and their cries and roars rang across the world.
• Qin Fangyang, Han Song, Yu Shilong, Mu Yanyan, and many other experts guarded Zuo Xiaonian as she circulated her stored True Essence Qi and waited for the Phoenix Vein to move.
• As spiritual qi gathered around Star Martial Academy and the phoenix cried, three rays of starlight appeared in the snow and descended above the Star Martial Soul Crystal Room.

The Witch Alliance attacked the Star Martial Soul Crystal chamber with more than four hundred fighters empowered by the Kill Break Wolf formation. As the defenders struggled to protect Zuo Xiaonian, several enormous iron blocks and four Cloud Transformation experts threatened the chamber.

• Qin Fangyang warned the defenders that the Kill Break Wolf formation had formed, and the Witch Alliance launched its assault.
• More than four hundred Witch Alliance fighters charged the chamber, and Qin Fangyang engaged an attacker while Han Song and Yu Shilong held their positions.
• An enormous iron block fell toward the chamber, forcing Han Song and Yu Shilong to intercept it.
• Seven or eight more iron blocks attacked from different directions, drawing the defenders into action while Mu Yanyan guarded the door and Jiang Zhilan intercepted a block near her.
• Three figures rushed toward the chamber from separate directions, and Mu Yanyan identified them as Cloud Transformation Realm experts.

The Witch Alliance’s assault on Phoenix City intensified as more Cloud Transformation experts appeared and the defenders struggled to protect Zuo Xiaonian. At eleven fifty-eight, Zuo Xiaonian’s breakthrough neared completion as dragon roars and phoenix cries filled the battlefield.

• Qin Fangyang, Han Song, and Yu Shilong fought to repel the attackers, while Sister Lan revealed her newly reached Cloud Transformation cultivation and slaughtered the Witch Alliance experts charging her.
• The Witch Alliance’s iron blocks broke through Phoenix City’s defensive line, exposing the Star Martial Soul Crystal Room, where a disguised Cloud Transformation cultivator tried to reach Zuo Xiaonian but was intercepted by a Divine Shadow guard.
• The Witch Alliance activated the Falling Star Plan, sending Core Origin and Infant Transformation experts to detonate themselves around the room and force the defenders back.
• Fang Yinuo joined the battle as the Witch Alliance’s seventh Cloud Transformation expert and drove Qin Fangyang into a disadvantage, while two other attackers charged into the room and were intercepted by another Divine Shadow guard.
• Zuo Xiaonian remained seated in the exposed room as True Essence Qi formed a lotus above her head, and the vision of a giant dragon escorting a phoenix rose skyward as her breakthrough neared success.