Chapter Summaries

After losing his father, five-year-old Chen Xiao accepted support from the Xiao Family and began cultivating while doing assigned chores. Seeing Xiao Yan practice a fist technique triggered a mysterious prompt offering Yan Return Strike in exchange for stopping Xiao Yan from climbing a wall.

• Chen Xiao recalled awakening memories from his past life and receiving two thousand gold coins and living support from the Xiao Family after his father died.
• Chen Xiao hid the gold, cultivated, and carefully cleaned the Magic Stone Tablet as part of his chores.
• Chen Xiao saw Xiao Yan practicing Wind Strike Fist and wondered about the Xiao Family's Dou Skills.
• Chen Xiao received a prompt offering the Mystic High-Rank Dou Skill Yan Return Strike if he stopped Xiao Yan's wall-climbing behavior.

Chen Xiao explored the limits of his pre-pay ability and chose to obtain Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, which sharply accelerated his cultivation. Ten days later, he had reached the fourth stage of Dou Zhi Li and was quietly building familiarity with Xiao Yan to fulfill the follow-up.

• Chen Xiao tested pre-paying Dou skills, pills, and cultivation methods, discovering that Heaven Rank and Earth Rank techniques and Tier Six or higher pills were beyond its limits.
• Chen Xiao pre-paid Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, received three bottles, and learned he had to become friends with Xiao Yan before he could use the ability again.
• Chen Xiao mixed a bottle of the spirit liquid into a tub and cultivated, increasing his speed severalfold.
• After ten days of cultivation, Chen Xiao reached the fourth stage of Dou Zhi Li and hoped to advance to the fifth before the spirit liquid wore off.
• Chen Xiao avoided approaching Xiao Yan too eagerly and greeted him casually whenever they met in the square.

Chen Xiao advanced to the Sixth Stage Dou Zhi Li while Xiao Xun'er arrived at the Xiao Family and began cultivating. The pre-paid reward for becoming nodding acquaintances with Xiao Yan was completed, giving Chen Xiao one available pre-payment.

• Chen Xiao used Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to rise from the Third Stage to the Fifth Stage Dou Zhi Li, while Xiao Yan reached the Fourth Stage.
• Uncle Yang told Chen Xiao that a distinguished guest had arrived, and the Xiao Family lifted its lockdown after Xiao Xun'er was brought to the clan.
• Ling Ying told Xiao Xun'er about the promising Xiao Yan and Chen Xiao, who had reached the Fifth Stage Dou Zhi Li.
• Chen Xiao saw Xiao Xun'er from afar as she settled into the Xiao Family, and four months passed while she began cultivating and her meridian problem emerged.
• Chen Xiao used his three portions of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid to reach the Sixth Stage Dou Zhi Li, and his pre-payment information showed that one pre-payment was available.

Chen Xiao pre-paid Yan Return Strike and practiced it on Back Mountain while waiting for Xiao Yan to sneak toward Xiao Xun'er's courtyard. He stopped Xiao Yan unseen, leaving Xiao Yan to mistake the warning for a mysterious display of Chen Xiao's power.

• Chen Xiao pre-paid Yan Return Strike, learned its training method, and received a follow-up task to stop Xiao Yan's uncivilized behavior and practice boxing on Back Mountain for half a month.
• Chen Xiao practiced Yan Return Strike on Back Mountain while keeping watch over Xiao Xun'er's courtyard.
• Late on the seventh night, Chen Xiao spotted Xiao Yan sneaking out and hurried toward the courtyard wall.
• Ling Ying noticed Xiao Yan's attempt to climb the wall, but Xiao Xun'er told him to hide and wait to see what Xiao Yan intended.
• Chen Xiao knocked Xiao Yan from the wall without being seen, and Xiao Yan returned home believing his mysterious cousin had warned him.

Chen Xiao received the Yan Return Strike through Xiao Xun’er and Ling Ying, then spent two and a half years cultivating until he became a Dou Zhe at age eight. He went to test his attributes, hoping for Fire and Wood affinities.

• Ling Ying told Xiao Xun’er about Chen Xiao’s background and his improvised training, so she gave Ling Ying a Yan Return Strike scroll to pass to him.
• Chen Xiao found the scroll hidden beneath his bluestone and realized Ling Ying had been watching him, prompting him to be more cautious about future pre-pays.
• Chen Xiao focused on cultivating the Yan Return Strike and, after two and a half years, condensed a Dou Qi Cyclone and advanced to Dou Zhe.
• Chen Xiao recalled that he had befriended Xiao Xun’er to pre-pay for Qi Gathering Powder, which helped him safely make the breakthrough.
• Chen Xiao went to the Storage Room and placed his hand on the testing crystal ball, hoping to reveal Fire and Wood attributes.

After discovering that he had the Ice Attribute, Chen Xiao used Pre-pay to obtain Hai Bo Dong’s Ice Emperor Scripture and began cultivating it. He left with his Dou Qi transformed into ice-blue energy, while Xiao Xun'er and Ling Ying remained unaware of how he had acquired the technique.

• Chen Xiao confirmed his Ice Attribute and considered how it limited his plans to use his knowledge of the future.
• Xiao Xun'er and Ling Ying discussed Chen Xiao’s attribute and the difficulty he would face finding a suitable cultivation technique.
• Chen Xiao asked Pre-pay for Hai Bo Dong’s Ice Emperor Scripture and received three possible subsequent requirements, of which he needed to complete only one.
• Chen Xiao accepted the pre-payment and studied the Ice Emperor Scripture until he had memorized its circulation route.
• After two hours of cultivation, Chen Xiao converted his Dou Qi into ice-blue energy and admired its appearance.

Chen Xiao took Xiao Xun'er to the Mitre Auction House to learn about cultivation-resource prices and look for a way to earn money. He planned to stay in the Xiao Family until he was strong enough to avenge his family, while considering a black robe to disguise his identity when earning extra money.

• Chen Xiao dressed carefully, took some gold coins, and invited Xiao Xun'er to the auction house.
• Xiao Xun'er changed into a blue-green dress and joined Chen Xiao on the walk to the Mitre Auction House.
• The guards let them enter early after recognizing Xiao Xun'er's Xiao Family identity token, though the auction would not begin until noon.
• Chen Xiao thanked Xiao Xun'er for helping him enter and said he wanted to study cultivation-resource prices and buy a black robe.
• Chen Xiao told Xiao Xun'er he would not leave soon because his family's vengeance remained unavenged and he lacked the strength to travel safely.

After realizing he needed more money for cultivation, Chen Xiao spent a year training until he reached Eight Star Dou Zhe and decided to seek treasure in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He left the Xiao Family prepared to gain experience and returned to a cave he remembered finding wealth inside.

• At the Mitre Auction House, Chen Xiao saw the high prices of pills and a Storage Ring and concluded he needed a better way to earn money.
• Chen Xiao asked Xiao Xun'er about the danger of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and she estimated that only a Dou Shi could travel there safely; Ling Ying later told her Chen Xiao cultivated a Profound High-Rank Qi Method.
• Over the next year, Chen Xiao reached Eight Star Dou Zhe and advanced Yan Return Strike to the intermediate stage while keeping his progress secret from the Xiao Family.
• Chen Xiao decided to enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range for experience and treasure, told Xiao Xun'er and the Elder who assigned his tasks, then packed his remaining gold and rested before departing.

Chen Xiao reached Green Mountain Town and prepared to enter the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, hoping to gain experience with mercenary groups before searching for a cave he remembered. After resting and cultivating, he headed out to find a suitable team.

• Chen Xiao traveled from Wu Tan City to Green Mountain Town in two days by using his Ice Attribute to keep up his pace.
• In town, Chen Xiao spotted Xiao Yi Xian working at Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion but chose not to approach her.
• Chen Xiao rested at an inn, then cultivated at daybreak and estimated that reaching Nine Star Dou Zhe would take another half a month.
• Chen Xiao practiced Yan Return Strike and went into the streets to look for mercenaries and employers recruiting for mountain expeditions.

Chen Xiao joined Wang Meng’s mercenary party for a Fire Fox hunt and followed them into the Magical Beast Mountain Range. When the Fire Fox sensed danger and tried to escape, the party launched their planned attack.

• Chen Xiao proved his strength by knocking down a tree, joined Wang Meng’s group, and paid two gold coins to compensate for damaging the tree.
• Wang Meng led the seven-person party into the mountains and explained their plan to hunt a Fire Fox in a valley.
• The mercenaries shared their strengths and Dou Qi attributes, and Wang Meng assigned Chen Xiao to guard the valley exit.
• The party found a Fire Fox drinking by a stream and crept toward it from both sides.
• The Fire Fox sensed danger and tried to flee, so Wang Meng ordered the party to attack and the Wood Attribute mercenary used Entanglement.

Chen Xiao helped a mercenary party hunt Fire Foxes, then visited Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion to treat his injuries. There, he met Xiao Yi Xian and learned that his fragile body needed protection from the impact of combat.

• The mercenaries wounded a Fire Fox, which fled toward the valley entrance, where Chen Xiao killed it with Yan Return Strike and bruised his arm.
• Wang Meng and the other mercenaries introduced themselves to Chen Xiao, then harvested the Fire Fox's pelt and discussed the value of magic cores.
• Wang Meng used scented bait to help the group hunt three more Fire Foxes, and Chen Xiao intercepted one, bruising his other arm.
• The seven returned to Green Mountain Town, and Chen Xiao went to Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion for medicine.
• Xiao Yi Xian examined Chen Xiao's swollen arms, gave him medicinal powder for three gold coins, and advised him to avoid intense collisions.

Chen Xiao joined the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion’s herb-gathering expedition to learn its route through the Magical Beast Mountain Range and find a cave he had been searching for. After a magical beast attack killed a mercenary before him, Chen Xiao resolved to get used to death as he grew stronger.

• Chen Xiao spent several days taking missions in the mountains before securing a place among the fifty mercenaries hired by the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
• Chen Xiao memorized the herb-gathering team’s route and learned that it passed through the area where he hoped to find a cave.
• Seven Red Ice Serpents attacked the expedition, biting three mercenaries before the group killed them.
• A hidden Rock Serpent crushed the throat of an injured mercenary, and Chen Xiao killed it by throwing his saber.
• Chen Xiao watched the mercenary die and resolved to accept death as a lesson he needed to face in this world.

Chen Xiao searched the cliffs near Green Mountain Town for a cave while fighting magical beasts alone and selling their materials. After five days of training, he reached Nine Star Dou Zhe and set out to investigate the cliff near Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion’s herb-gathering area.

• Chen Xiao refused Mu Ying’s invitation to join the Green Mountain Mercenary Group and returned to town with the mercenaries.
• Chen Xiao searched three cliffs alone, fought repeated first-rank magical beasts, and earned 1,900 gold coins in one day without finding the cave.
• Chen Xiao searched a fourth cliff the next day, injured his right arm, and bought a better long saber after Xiao Yi Xian treated him.
• Chen Xiao trained and fought alone for five more days, then broke through to Nine Star Dou Zhe.
• Chen Xiao prepared to search the cliff near Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion’s herb-gathering area.

Chen Xiao found a hidden cave in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and discovered a stone chamber filled with gold, medicinal herbs, and locked boxes. He opened the first box and found the Mystic High-Rank Dou Skill, “Roar of the Mad Lion.”

• Chen Xiao killed a Red Ice Serpent and found his first magic core.
• Chen Xiao located a concealed cave beneath a cliff and carefully descended to its entrance.
• Chen Xiao uncovered the cave entrance, opened its stone door, and entered a chamber containing a skeleton, gold coins, and medicinal herbs.
• Chen Xiao took three keys from the skeleton and opened the first stone box, revealing “Roar of the Mad Lion,” a Mystic High-Rank Dou Skill.

Chen Xiao looted the cave’s Dou Skills, Seven-Colored Poison Manual, Fragment Map, medicinal herbs, and gold, then returned to Green Mountain Town. He visited Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion to buy herb-processing tools and offered Xiao Yi Xian several medicine-preparation methods instead of paying in gold.

• Chen Xiao took Roar of the Mad Lion, Eagle Wings, and the Seven-Colored Poison Manual from the three stone boxes, and learned about the Woeful Poison Body.
• Chen Xiao found a Fragment Map for the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame and planned to use copies of it to persuade Xiao Yan and his teacher to help him.
• Chen Xiao collected selected medicinal herbs and as many gold coins as he could carry, then concealed the cave entrance before leaving.
• Chen Xiao returned to Green Mountain Town at night and hid his pack at the inn before visiting Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
• Chen Xiao asked Xiao Yi Xian for tools to handle medicinal herbs and offered her medicine-preparation methods as payment.

Chen Xiao finished moving gold from the cave and cultivated the Eagle Wings Flight Dou Skill, enduring its soul attack and painful transformation. He learned to hover with his new wings, then returned to Green Mountain Town for medicine for the wounds on his back.

• Chen Xiao exchanged his gold coins in Black Flame City for a Four-striped Platinum Card and continued gathering the cave's treasure.
• Chen Xiao read the Eagle Wings scroll in the Stone Chamber and resisted the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle's lingering soul instinct.
• Chen Xiao cultivated Eagle Wings, enduring the pain as it formed wing tattoos and new meridians on his back.
• Chen Xiao unfolded his wings and practiced hovering above the cliff until he had spent more than half his Dou Qi.
• Chen Xiao returned to Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion, where the girl gave him medicine for his wounds in exchange for a medicinal formula.

Chen Xiao returned from Green Mountain Town to Wu Tan City after earning a fortune, gathering medicinal supplies, and dealing with Wolf Head Mercenary Group pursuers. He arrived during Jia Nan Academy’s recruitment and went back to the Xiao Family, where Ling Ying noticed his return and strength.

• Chen Xiao exchanged medicinal formulas with Xiao Yi Xian for her stock of powders, then left Green Mountain Town with his supplies.
• Three members of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group followed Chen Xiao, but he killed two pursuers and escaped the group.
• Chen Xiao returned to Wu Tan City with wealth and resources he believed surpassed those of its three great families.
• Chen Xiao passed the crowded central square where Jia Nan Academy was recruiting and returned unnoticed to his residence in the Xiao Family.
• Ling Ying sensed Chen Xiao’s return and told Xiao Xun'er that he had reached Nine Star Dou Zhe and seemed to have gained a lot.

After returning from the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Chen Xiao asked Xun Er to identify the medicinal ingredients he had collected. Her appraisal revealed that the Ice Spirit Flame Grass could help him break through to Dou Shi, leaving him considering how close that would bring him to the leaders of Wu Tan City's three great clans.

• Xun Er discussed Chen Xiao's training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range with Ling Ying, who then withdrew when Chen Xiao approached her courtyard.
• Chen Xiao asked Xun Er to lend him books about medicinal herbs and agreed to let her inspect his harvest.
• At Chen Xiao's residence, he showed Xun Er his Magic Core, medicinal ingredients, healing powders, Seven-Colored Poison Manual, and 'Roar of the Mad Lion.'
• Xun Er identified Chen Xiao's medicinal ingredients and advised him which to keep or sell.
• Xun Er explained that the Ice Spirit Flame Grass could greatly aid Chen Xiao's cultivation and help him break through to Dou Shi.
• Xun Er took Chen Xiao's first-rank Magic Core as thanks and left, while Chen Xiao reflected on the strength of Wu Tan City's clan leaders.

Chen Xiao gave up his daily chores, then swallowed the Ice Spirit Flame Grass and advanced to Dou Shi. After discovering Dou Qi Gauze, he took “Roar of the Mad Lion” and headed to Back Mountain to practice.

• Chen Xiao asked Xiao Shi Yi to waive his rent and let him handle his own meals, freeing time for cultivation and study.
• Xiao Yan listened as other Xiao Family youths praised his chances of entering Jia Nan Academy and privately resolved to qualify within a year.
• Chen Xiao swallowed the Ice Spirit Flame Grass and used the Ice Emperor Scripture to refine its energy alongside the surrounding Heaven and Earth Energy.
• Chen Xiao’s Ice Blue Cyclone formed twenty-five liquid-like drops, and his aura surged as he broke through to Dou Shi.
• Chen Xiao tested his new Dou Qi Gauze, retrieved “Roar of the Mad Lion,” and headed to Back Mountain.

After two and a half years of training, Chen Xiao demonstrated his growing strength and prepared to deal with the Oba Family before joining Jia Nan Academy. At the Xiao Family gathering, Xiao Zhan announced that Xiao Yan had condensed a Dou Qi Cyclone and become a Dou Zhe.

• Chen Xiao continued cultivating, bought supplies at Mitre Auction House, sold herbs, and spent two and a half years improving his skills.
• Chen Xiao showed Xun Er how powerful his Roar of the Mad Lion had become and said he planned to settle matters with the Oba Family before applying to Jia Nan Academy.
• Xun Er told Chen Xiao that Xiao Zhan had called the clan together for an important announcement, and they returned to the training field.
• Xiao Zhan announced that Xiao Yan had condensed a Dou Qi Cyclone the previous night, and Xiao Yan appeared before the gathered clan members.