Recaps

Han Feng rallied the Black Alliance to attack Jia Nan Academy’s southern outposts, assigning Xiao Yan to assist the Blood Sect. After scouting revealed the outposts’ strengths, Xiao Yan proposed splitting their forces, leaving the story poised for the assault.

• Han Feng proposed uprooting Jia Nan Academy’s outposts and assigned factions to attack them simultaneously, pairing Xiao Yan with Fan Lao’s Blood Sect.
• Fan Lao warned Xiao Yan that the two southern outposts were strongholds with uncertain defenses and likely stationed teachers.
• Fan Lao sent scouts, who reported that the valley outpost held over twenty students and three teachers, while a nearby training camp had around forty students and five teachers but had mostly withdrawn its personnel.
• Xiao Yan proposed taking twenty people to hold the valley outpost while Fan Lao led the main force against the reduced training camp.
• Fan Lao accepted Xiao Yan’s plan, and they prepared to attack the southern outposts.

Xiao Yan traveled with Fan Lao and the Blood Sect to attack Jia Nan Academy’s strongholds, but he secretly hoped to avoid killing its people. While scouting the training camp, he recognized Wu Hao among a group heading into the forest and realized they were walking toward the Blood Sect’s encirclement.

• Xiao Yan and Fan Lao led twenty Blood Sect disciples south toward Jia Nan Academy’s strongholds, discussing Han Feng’s reasons for the attack and the possibility of an ambush.
• Fan Lao learned that Jia Nan Academy had sent more newcomers to the training camp, and Xiao Yan agreed to assess the situation before they chose a target.
• After scouts reported more than sixty students and six teachers at the training camp, Fan Lao prepared to attack, but Xiao Yan went ahead to inspect it from a distance.
• Xiao Yan observed the students training and noticed a Dou Wang instructor leading a group of students out into the forest.
• Xiao Yan recognized the burly, hostile-looking student as Wu Hao and realized that he and the others were heading toward the Blood Sect’s waiting forces.

Xiao Yan used his Soul Division Martial Soul to warn Wu Hao that the Blood Sect was preparing an ambush, while his main body misled Fan Lao about the patrol group’s route. Wu Hao reached camp in time for Elder Mu to evacuate the students, though Elder Mu set out to find Instructor Lei’s group.

• Xiao Yan sent his Soul Division Martial Soul after Wu Hao’s patrol and had it warn him that the Blood Sect was waiting three li away.
• Wu Hao alerted the lead instructor and hurried back toward camp with two students, while the instructor slowed and diverted the remaining group.
• Xiao Yan told Fan Lao that a small group was approaching and steered him into waiting to attack in a distant valley.
• Wu Hao reported the warning to the camp instructors, and Elder Mu ordered the students to pack and relocate.
• Elder Mu sent the camp back toward Jia Nan Academy and went to meet Instructor Lei’s group.

Xiao Yan used his Soul Division Martial Soul to warn Jia Nan Academy’s students and Instructor Lei’s group, allowing them to withdraw before the Blood Sect’s ambush. After Fan Lao discovered both camps empty, he reported the failure to Han Feng, who asked Brother Tang for his opinion.

• Xiao Yan’s Soul Division Martial Soul warned the students and Instructor Lei’s group to withdraw, and Xiao Yan waited with Fan Lao while the Blood Sect’s ambush went unanswered.
• Xiao Yan suggested that Fan Lao investigate, and they found Instructor Lei’s former camp deserted with warm ashes and footprints leading toward the academy.
• Fan Lao ordered a search, but the Blood Sect disciples found no one within ten li, and Xiao Yan concluded that the academy group had received advance warning and withdrawn in an organized manner.
• Fan Lao led the group to the training camp, where they found the people and supplies gone, then ordered the remaining Blood Sect disciples to search for the academy group.
• Fan Lao reported the failed ambush to Han Feng in Maple City, and Han Feng asked Xiao Yan, whom he called Brother Tang, what he thought.

After Jia Nan Academy’s retreat exposed the possibility of spies, Han Feng urged the Black Alliance’s leaders to control their followers and later promised the alliance would not attack the academy unless it attacked first. As the Black Alliance expanded across the Black-Corner Region, Xiao Yan suspected Han Feng’s promise was only meant to buy time before a future war.

• Xiao Yan warned Han Feng and the Black Alliance leaders that spies within their factions might have leaked the operation to Jia Nan Academy, and Han Feng called on them to root out traitors.
• Fan Lao regretted letting Jia Nan Academy’s forces escape, but Xiao Yan reminded him that the Black Alliance had taken over their abandoned strongholds, and Fan Lao ordered the Blood Sect to claim the territories.
• Over half a month, the Black Alliance absorbed smaller factions and expanded while Jia Nan Academy withdrew behind its walls.
• At a gathering in Maple City, Han Feng celebrated the alliance’s growth and promised not to target Jia Nan Academy unless it attacked a member first.
• Xiao Yan suspected Han Feng intended to use the promise to calm the alliance while he consolidated control and prepared for an eventual battle with Jia Nan Academy.

Bibi Dong ordered Yue Guan and Gui Mei to capture Xiao Yan and Zhu Zhuqing, while Zhu Zhuqing recovered at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. In Jia Nan Academy, the elders chose a limited campaign against the Black Alliance, and Han Feng sent Xiao Yan to command at the front.

• Bibi Dong learned that Xue had stopped Yue Guan and Gui Mei from pursuing Zhu Zhuqing, then gave Yue Guan the Pope Token and ordered them to capture the fugitives.
• Ning Rongrong sheltered the injured Zhu Zhuqing at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, where Zhu Zhuqing concealed why Spirit Hall was hunting her and Xiao Yan.
• Jia Nan Academy's elders rejected an all-out war and agreed to send elders and volunteer Da Dou Shi students out in small teams against the Black Alliance's peripheral forces.
• Han Feng assigned Xiao Yan to command the Black Alliance's front lines, and Xiao Yan accepted the task as a chance to leave Fan Lao's sight.

Xiao Yan arrived in Black Rock City under his alias, Elder Tang, to guard a Black Alliance stronghold threatened by Jia Nan Academy. He won the Black Rock Gang’s respect and began building rapport with its leader, Lu Bo.

• Xiao Yan rode toward Black Rock City, where Han Feng had sent him to protect the Black Alliance stronghold from Jia Nan Academy’s raids.
• At the city gates, Xiao Yan drove off a fawning young man and intimidated the onlookers with his Soul Power.
• Lu Bo warned the Black Rock Gang disciples to behave while they awaited the Black Alliance’s support.
• Xiao Yan entered the gang’s courtyard, and Lu Bo recognized him as Elder Tang and greeted him respectfully.
• Lu Bo hosted Xiao Yan privately and arranged for the other gang members to drink outside.
• Xiao Yan praised Lu Bo’s conduct over wine, and Lu Bo replied that he should be the one thanking Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan learned that Jia Nan Academy had killed Yun Fei and was attacking Black Rock Gang patrols, then went alone to rescue a besieged patrol in the eastern woods. He drove off the attackers without killing them and led the wounded survivors back toward Black Rock City.

• Lu Bo told Xiao Yan that Black Rock City was dominated by the Black Rock Gang, Iron Sword Sect, and Blood Wolf Gang, and described the Flying Cloud Merchant Association massacre blamed on Jia Nan Academy.
• Xiao Yan stayed in Black Rock City, cultivating and investigating while sensing Xiao Huohuo's presence growing stronger through their soul bond.
• Lu Bo reported that a patrol had been surrounded in the eastern mountain woods, and Xiao Yan chose to go alone while Lu Bo strengthened the city's defenses.
• Xiao Yan reached the clearing and used his power to stop Jia Nan Academy's Peak Dou Wang leader and his students from killing the Black Rock Gang patrol.
• Xiao Yan gave the survivors pills for their wounded and led them toward Black Rock City.

Xiao Yan reached the pine forest where Jia Nan Academy had surrounded Zhao Hu and the remaining Black Rock Gang patrol. He appeared in disguise as a powerful third party, intending to drive the academy forces away and rescue the survivors without harming them.

• Xiao Yan planned to stage a fight with his Soul Division Martial Soul so he could deceive both Jia Nan Academy and Lu Bo.
• Xiao Yan secretly approached the clearing and saw Zhao Hu's injured patrol surrounded by Jia Nan Academy's instructor, two assistants, and more than a dozen students.
• Zhao Hu fought off the instructor's assistants despite his broken arm and a spreading poison wound, then urged his disciples to escape if he fell.
• Xiao Yan emerged from the forest in a black robe and ordered everyone to stop, making Jia Nan Academy's forces sense the pressure of a Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yan posed as a Black Alliance Dou Huang elder to protect the Black Rock Gang, while his Soul Division Martial Soul appeared as a second expert and helped Jia Nan Academy’s forces retreat. The two then staged a fierce battle before the Gang, which ended with the Martial Soul summoning a huge black dragon to attack Xiao Yan.

• Xiao Yan, disguised as Elder Tang, stopped Lei Zhen and the Jia Nan Academy students from attacking the Black Rock Gang, and Lei Zhen ordered his group to form up against him.
• Xiao Yan controlled his Soul Division Martial Soul to appear as a mysterious expert who claimed ties to Jia Nan Academy and told Lei Zhen to retreat.
• Lei Zhen led the students and assistants into the woods, while Xiao Yan told Zhao Hu not to pursue them because another enemy remained.
• The Soul Division Martial Soul attacked Xiao Yan, and the two exchanged powerful blows as Zhao Hu led the Black Rock Gang away from the battlefield.
• The Soul Division Martial Soul formed a massive black dragon and sent it charging at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan fought the Soul Division Martial Soul in the pine forest, exchanging powerful attacks before the opponent vanished. He returned to Black Rock City with superficial wounds and convinced the Black Rock Gang that Jia Nan Academy had sent an expert to the Black-Corner Region.

• Xiao Yan used Everfrost Mausoleum and Green Lotus Flame Pillar to destroy the Soul Division Martial Soul's black dragon, but the opponent countered with a storm of blades that shattered Xiao Yan's Soul Armor and knocked him into a tree.
• Xiao Yan rose and continued fighting the Soul Division Martial Soul, trading Soul Skills and clashing chains until they separated.
• Lu Bo and the Black Rock Gang elders watched the distant battle from Black Rock City's walls, and Lu Bo ordered the guards strengthened after a blast shook the city.
• Xiao Yan waited for the Soul Division Martial Soul to vanish, then used his own blood and torn clothes to make the fight appear genuine to Zhao Hu and the Black Rock Gang disciples.
• Xiao Yan told Zhao Hu that the unknown fighter was tied to Jia Nan Academy and urged him to report the matter to Alliance Leader Han before returning to Black Rock City.
• Lu Bo met Xiao Yan at the city gate near dawn, and Xiao Yan dismissed his wounds as superficial.

Xiao Yan consolidated his authority in Black Rock City while using a Soul Division Martial Soul double to remain behind, then traveled through the Tianqing Mountain Range to reach Tianya City. He arrived at the Space Wormhole bound for the Central Plains and paid the fee to use it.

• Xiao Yan told Lu Bo that a mysterious Dou Emperor had helped Jia Nan Academy’s group escape, and Lu Bo sent a report to Han Feng.
• Han Feng put Xiao Yan in full charge of Black Rock City and its southeastern defenses, hoping to win him away from the Blood Sect.
• Xiao Yan reorganized the city’s defenses and decided to travel to the Central Plains to seek a way to grow stronger before facing Bibi Dong.
• Xiao Yan left a Soul Division Martial Soul double posing as Elder Tang in Black Rock City, then traveled east toward Tianya City.
• Xiao Yan crossed the Tianqing Mountain Range, reached Tianya City, and paid ten thousand gold coins to enter its Space Wormhole.

Xiao Yan tried to enter Tianya City's Space Wormhole, but Luo Xiaoyao blocked him and ordered her guards to seize him. He defeated four Dou Ling guards with a single display of power and walked toward the gate, while Luo Xiaoyao remained behind him.

• Xiao Yan prepared to enter the Space Wormhole after paying its fee, but Luo Xiaoyao arrived with her guards and ordered the gate shut.
• Luo Xiaoyao refused to let Xiao Yan proceed, insulted him, and demanded that he remove his hat and identify himself.
• Luo Xiaoyao accused Xiao Yan of being a spy and ordered her guards to seize him despite his attempts to avoid a conflict.
• Four Dou Ling guards attacked Xiao Yan, and he repelled them with a wave of Soul Power and five Soul Rings.
• Xiao Yan said he had only made the guards rest and turned toward the stone gate, while Luo Xiaoyao shouted for him to stop.

Xiao Yan fought Gao Yuan after Luo Xiaoyao ordered her retainer to seize him, then refused to back down when she summoned the Luo Family Ancestor. The chapter ended with Five-Star Dou Zong Luo Cheng confronting Xiao Yan and crushing him with the pressure of heaven and earth.

• Gao Yuan challenged Xiao Yan, and they fought across the square after Xiao Yan refused to surrender and said he only wanted to reach the Central Plains.
• Xiao Yan used his cold flame abilities and Eight Extremes Collapse to defeat Gao Yuan, who admitted he was no match and warned that Xiao Yan's troubles were not over.
• Luo Xiaoyao attacked Xiao Yan with a whip, but he caught it and flung her aside before warning her not to trample an expert's dignity.
• Luo Xiaoyao shattered a jade pendant to summon her grandfather, and Gao Yuan told Xiao Yan that the Luo Family Ancestor was coming.
• Luo Cheng arrived in the sky as a Five-Star Dou Zong, learned Xiao Yan had injured Gao Yuan and bullied Luo Xiaoyao, and used the power of heaven and earth to pin Xiao Yan under immense pressure.

Xiao Yan fled Luo Cheng through the Space Wormhole, but Luo Cheng’s attack shattered the gate and unleashed a space storm that swallowed Xiao Yan. Luo Cheng ordered Tianya City to conceal the disaster as Xiao Yan drifted unconscious through the void and began to regain consciousness.

• Luo Cheng attacked Xiao Yan with powerful energy strikes, forcing Xiao Yan to defend himself with his Soul Rings and Soul Armor.
• Xiao Yan used Netherworld Lock to distract Luo Cheng and rushed into the Space Wormhole, but Luo Cheng’s attack struck the gate and triggered a space storm.
• Xiao Yan was battered by spatial rifts inside the wormhole until a huge rift swallowed him and he lost consciousness.
• Luo Cheng saw the damaged Space Wormhole, sent Dou Qi into it to worsen the spatial collapse, and ordered the city to hide what had happened.
• Xiao Yan drifted through the darkness until he sensed a gentle presence and gradually regained consciousness.

After surviving the spatial rift, Xiao Yan recovered enough to explore the wilderness and followed a road toward signs of people. He came upon masked assassins attacking Lin Zhentian’s caravan and watched as the wounded Lin Clan defenders neared defeat.

• Xiao Yan awoke badly injured in an unfamiliar wilderness after escaping the spatial rift and vowed to make the Luo Clan pay.
• Xiao Yan took a healing pill, recovered some strength, and used his Spiritual Soul Power to locate faint presences to the northeast.
• Xiao Yan found a dirt road and followed it until he heard fighting ahead.
• Xiao Yan saw Lin Zhentian and his wounded guards defend a caravan from a group of black-clad assassins led by a Three-Star Dou Emperor.
• Lin Zhentian stopped his daughter from leaving the carriage as the masked leader ordered his men to continue their attack.

Xiao Yan was discovered while hiding near the Lin Clan’s battle and was forced to fight after the masked Dou Emperor refused to let him leave. He killed the attackers sent against him, but ended the chapter exhausted as the battlefield fell silent.

• The masked Dou Emperor spotted Xiao Yan and accused him of being a Lin Clan reinforcer, then ordered two men in black to seize him.
• Xiao Yan used Cold Flame · Soul-Concentrating Pierce to kill the two Da Dou Shi who attacked him.
• Xiao Yan unleashed his Soul Armor and Everfrost Mausoleum, killing more than a dozen Da Dou Shi as the remaining attackers swarmed him.
• Xiao Yan trapped two of the four Dou Wang with Netherworld Lock and struck them down with Eight Extremes Collapse.
• Xiao Yan defeated the other two Dou Wang in close combat, leaving both sides stunned as he knelt and gasped for breath.

Xiao Yan fought the masked Dou Emperor despite his injuries and dwindling Soul Power, eventually unleashing an Earth Tier Dou Technique to overwhelm him. The masked Dou Emperor lay wounded in a crater as the flames faded.

• The masked Dou Emperor attacked Xiao Yan, who narrowly dodged his sword and revealed that his Soul Power was nearly exhausted.
• Xiao Yan fought the masked Dou Emperor with Bone Spirit Cold Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame, but the Dou Emperor's Heaven-Breaking Sword Strike shattered Xiao Yan's Soul Armor and wounded him.
• Xiao Yan gathered his remaining Soul Power and used the Radiant Heaven World-Burning Spear, an Earth Tier Dou Technique.
• The spear's attack erupted into a vast sea of intertwined flames, and the masked Dou Emperor was left wounded and terrified in a deep crater.

After defeating an assassin from the Yellow Springs Pavilion, Xiao Yan accepted Lin Zhentian’s invitation to recover at the Lin Residence in Tianbei City. He sensed hidden malice from Lin Zhenshan and ended the chapter watching the council hall from his room.

• Xiao Yan survived his battle with the masked Dou Emperor, and Lin Zhentian’s guards cleared the battlefield.
• Lin Zhentian found a Yellow Springs Pavilion token on the dead assassin and invited the injured Xiao Yan to the Lin Residence.
• Xiao Yan and the Lin family arrived at Tianbei City, where Lin Zhenshan greeted them and concealed a trace of malice toward Xiao Yan.
• Lin Zhentian arranged for Xiao Yan to rest in Qingzhu Pavilion while he and Lin Zhenshan went to the council hall.
• Xiao Yan settled into his room and looked toward the council hall from the window.

Xiao Yan recovered in Qingzhu Pavilion while avoiding a return to the Douluo Continent and learning that the Yellow Springs Pavilion threatened the Lin Clan. When he discovered Lin Zhenshan was secretly informing the pavilion about him, Xiao Yan decided to act.

• Xiao Yan treated his injuries and overheard Lin Zhentian dismiss Lin Zhenshan’s questions about Tang San, then sensed malice from Lin Zhenshan.
• Lin Wan'er brought Xiao Yan breakfast and asked him to stay because the Yellow Springs Pavilion had targeted the Lin Clan, but he said he intended to leave once healed.
• Xiao Yan reasoned that he had no obligation to protect the Lin Clan and resumed healing so he could leave Tianbei City quickly.
• Xiao Yan overheard Lin Zhenshan telling an accomplice to inform the Yellow Springs Pavilion that Tang San had killed Han Chi and was recovering in Qingzhu Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan recognized Lin Zhenshan’s betrayal, decided to deal with him, and left Qingzhu Pavilion.

Lin Zhenshan secretly gave Yellow Springs Pavilion information about Tang San and learned that Protector Blood Hand was coming to kill him. He returned to the Lin residence pretending to care for Tang San, confident that the attack would clear the way for him to take Lin Zhentian’s position.

• Lin Zhenshan met a Yellow Springs Pavilion emissary and reported that Tang San was injured and likely had the strength of a Five-Star Dou Emperor.
• The emissary told Lin Zhenshan that Protector Blood Hand and six other fighters would arrive within two days to kill Tang San.
• Lin Zhenshan recalled betraying the Lin Clan by revealing its herb supply channels and Lin Zhentian’s travel route in exchange for a chance to seize his brother’s position.
• Back at the Lin residence, Lin Zhenshan learned that Lin Zhentian and the elders were discussing how to respond to Yellow Springs Pavilion.
• Lin Zhenshan asked after Tang San and ordered nourishing medicinal herbs sent to him, then privately welcomed news that Tang San was still unwell.

Lin Zhentian and the Lin Clan elders considered how to deal with the Yellow Springs Pavilion, while Lin Zhenshan secretly plotted to sacrifice Tang San. In Qingzhu Pavilion, Xiao Yan recovered from his injuries and cleared the cold Qi from his meridians.

• Lin Zhentian told Lin Boyuan, Lin Zhonghai, and Lin Jichuan that Yellow Springs Pavilion assassins had attacked him and demanded the Lin Clan's supply channels and most of its profits.
• The elders rejected submission and agreed to ask City Lord Chen Yuanzhou to mediate, while Lin Zhentian decided to visit him and hold off on calling Lin Li out of seclusion.
• Lin Zhenshan concealed his treachery as he left the study, intending to keep Lin Zhentian calm until Protector Blood Hand could kill Tang San and secure his own rise to patriarch.
• Xiao Yan assessed his recovering Soul Power and used the Green Lotus Core Flame to drive the lingering cold Qi from his meridians.

After recovering from the cold Qi, Xiao Yan broke through to level 55 and told Lin Wan'er he would help her family only as far as he could. Meanwhile, Lin Zhenshan secretly met the more powerful Yellow Springs Pavilion protector, Blood Hand Yin Li, whose arrival threatened the Lin Clan.

• Xiao Yan used pills and the chance created by his recovery to break through from level 54 to level 55.
• Lin Wan'er brought Xiao Yan pastries and asked whether he could protect her father from the Yellow Springs Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan admitted he could not guarantee victory and said he would leave if the danger became impossible to face.
• Lin Zhenshan slipped out of the Lin residence and entered a hidden underground hall belonging to the Yellow Springs Pavilion.
• Lin Zhenshan met Blood Hand Yin Li, a Seven-Star Dou Huang and Yellow Springs Pavilion protector known for his brutal Blood Hand Seal.

Lin Zhenshan betrayed the Lin Clan to Yin Li, who planned to kill Tang San and seize control of the clan that night. After dinner, Lin Zhenshan secretly headed toward Qingzhu Pavilion as the midnight attack approached.

• Lin Zhenshan confirmed to Yin Li that Tang San was badly injured and promised to make the Lin Clan a Yellow Springs Pavilion vassal in return for control.
• Yin Li gave Lin Zhenshan a Yellow Springs Token and ordered him to mark Qingzhu Pavilion, then planned to attack at midnight and kill Lin Zhenshan and Lin Zhentian afterward.
• Yin Li’s men questioned Lin Zhenshan’s reliability, but Yin Li decided to use his information and attack Tang San with a small force while others blocked the rear wall.
• Lin Zhenshan returned to the Lin residence and lied to Lin Zhentian and Lin Wan'er about his good mood, privately anticipating his brother’s death and his own rise to power.
• After dinner, Lin Zhenshan left to prepare his valuables, then quietly made his way toward Qingzhu Pavilion shortly after nine.

Lin Zhenshan led Yin Li and Yellow Springs Pavilion assassins to attack Xiao Yan at Qingzhu Pavilion, expecting to find him injured. Xiao Yan proved far stronger than they had anticipated, killing one Dou Emperor and disabling two Dou Wang, but Yin Li and the remaining attackers continued the fight.

• Lin Zhenshan guided Yin Li and six assassins to Qingzhu Pavilion, where they formed a Soul-Locking Restriction around Xiao Yan.
• Xiao Yan emerged unharmed, and Yin Li attacked him with the Blood Hand Seal after realizing Lin Zhenshan's intelligence was wrong.
• Xiao Yan countered Yin Li's strikes with Heavenly Flames and incapacitated two Dou Wang who launched soul assaults.
• Xiao Yan killed the iron-fisted Four-Star Dou Emperor with Cold Heart Lotus Explosion while dodging the coordinated attacks.
• Yin Li regrouped with the remaining assassins and prepared to continue fighting Xiao Yan at full strength.