Chapter Summaries

Xiao Yan killed the poison-wielding Four-Star Dou Emperor and used his Soul Bone Skill, Immaculate Realm, to break Yin Li’s Blood Soul Great Hand Seal. Yin Li was badly wounded, and Lin Zhenshan realized the intelligence had underestimated Xiao Yan’s strength.

• Yin Li ordered the sword-wielding Dou Emperor to burn essence blood for greater power while A Er and A San reinforced the Soul-Locking Restriction.
• Xiao Yan evaded Yin Li’s Blood Hand Seal and the poisoned sword, bound the sword-wielding Dou Emperor with Netherworld Lock, and killed him with a spear thrust.
• Yin Li struck Xiao Yan with another Blood Hand Seal, but Xiao Yan’s Cold Flame · Soul Armor blocked most of its force.
• Yin Li unleashed the Blood Soul Great Hand Seal, and Xiao Yan pierced its defenses with Soul Bone Skill · Immaculate Realm before destroying it with his spear and Heavenly Flames.
• Yin Li was left with a severe chest wound and a cracked black ring as Xiao Yan challenged him to use any remaining tricks.
• Lin Zhenshan watched in terror as Yin Li’s men fell and realized Xiao Yan was far stronger than the intelligence had claimed.

Xiao Yan defeated Yin Li and uncovered Yellow Springs Pavilion’s plot to destroy the Lin Clan, frame the Han Clan, and seize the Lin family’s businesses. After searching Yin Li’s Storage Ring, Xiao Yan discovered a fragment of the rare Soul Refining Technique and other valuable items.

• Xiao Yan bound Yin Li’s fleeing subordinates and captured Yin Li with the Netherworld Lock.
• Xiao Yan questioned Lin Zhenshan about how Yellow Springs Pavilion found him, then used Cold Fire to incapacitate him.
• Yin Li confessed that he and Lin Zhenshan had planned to murder Lin Zhentian’s family, frame the Han Clan, and make Lin Zhenshan a puppet ruler of the Lin Clan.
• Xiao Yan took Yin Li’s Storage Ring and found the Blood Hand Seal, Yellow Springs Pavilion materials, and a fragment of the Soul Refining Technique.

Lin Wan'er confronted Lin Zhenshan over his betrayal, and Xiao Yan eliminated the remaining Yellow Springs Pavilion attackers. Lin Zhentian ordered his brother imprisoned and planned to seek Chen Yuanzhou's help against the Pavilion.

• Lin Wan'er realized Lin Zhenshan had betrayed the Lin Clan to the masked Dou Emperor and struck him with a stone before taking his Yellow Springs Token.
• Lin Wan'er hit Yin Li with the token, but Xiao Yan stopped her and burned Yin Li to ash with Pale Cold Fire.
• Xiao Yan burned the other six Yellow Springs Pavilion members, then sensed a powerful, non-hostile presence near the rear of the Lin residence.
• Lin Zhentian arrived, confronted Lin Zhenshan about the betrayal, and ordered the guards to cripple his cultivation and imprison him for life.
• Xiao Yan warned Lin Zhentian that the Yellow Springs Pavilion would retaliate, and Lin Zhentian said he would ask Chen Yuanzhou for help.

After Xiao Yan defeated the Yellow Springs Pavilion’s attackers, Chen Yuanzhou visited the Lin residence and offered him protection as a guest elder of Tianbei City. Xiao Yan accepted the token but declined the position, and Lin Li emerged from seclusion and invited them to meet.

• Xiao Yan saw the damage to Qingzhu Pavilion as Lin Zhentian arranged repairs and offered him a room in the Moon-Embracing Pavilion.
• Chen Yuanzhou arrived at the Lin residence and met Xiao Yan, whom he recognized as the fighter who had killed Yin Li and the other Yellow Springs Pavilion attackers.
• Chen Yuanzhou warned that the Yellow Springs Pavilion could send Dou Zong experts and offered Xiao Yan a token naming him a guest elder of the city lord's residence.
• Xiao Yan accepted the token but declined to bind himself to Tianbei City, while Chen Yuanzhou assured him he was welcome there.
• Lin Zhentian announced that Lin Li had emerged from seclusion and invited Chen Yuanzhou and Xiao Yan to join him for tea.

Xiao Yan accepted the Lin Clan’s support and an invitation to the Wind Lightning Pavilion, then agreed to take Lin Wan'er with him when he left Tianbei City. He set out to recover before departing and promised to look after her like a little sister.

• Lin Li thanked Xiao Yan for saving the Lin Clan and offered him its resources, then asked to spar with him the next day.
• Chen Yuanzhou arranged for the Lin Clan to take over the Han Clan’s place among Tianbei City’s major powers and gave Xiao Yan an invitation to the Wind Lightning Trial.
• Xiao Yan accepted the invitation and agreed to leave for the Wind Lightning Pavilion after three days, with Lin Li and Chen Yuanzhou covering his retreat.
• Lin Zhentian revealed that the Yellow Springs Pavilion had a list of the Lin residence’s occupants and asked Xiao Yan to take Lin Wan'er with him.
• Lin Wan'er brought Xiao Yan fire ginseng soup, and he told her to pack for their departure in three days.
• When Lin Zhentian asked how he would care for her, Xiao Yan said he would take Lin Wan'er along like a little sister.

Xiao Yan recovered from his injuries, learned what to expect from the Wind Lightning Pavilion’s Heart Demon Trial, and sparred with Lin Li before leaving Tianbei City. After Lin Li acknowledged Xiao Yan’s talent, the two returned toward the city.

• Xiao Yan studied the Soul Refining Technique and healed the injuries caused by Yin Li’s Blood Soul Great Hand Seal.
• Chen Yuanzhou visited Xiao Yan and warned him that the Wind Lightning Trial’s final stage would test his heart and obsessions.
• Xiao Yan continued studying the technique and, three days later, left Tianbei City with Lin Li for a spear sparring session outside the city.
• Lin Li attacked Xiao Yan with his battlefield spear style, and Xiao Yan answered with Soul Power and Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
• Lin Li unleashed his Mountain-Breaking Thrust, and Xiao Yan met it with both Heavenly Flames; afterward, Lin Li admitted defeat and praised Xiao Yan’s potential.

Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er traveled from Tianbei City to Birch City and boarded an Iron Winged Eagle bound for Wind Lightning City, where Xiao Yan began cultivating the Soul Refining Technique during the flight. By sunset, his Soul Power cultivation had advanced from level 55 to level 56.

• Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er left Tianbei City and reached Birch City on the third morning of their journey.
• Xiao Yan bought two tickets to Wind Lightning City and boarded an Iron Winged Eagle with Lin Wan'er.
• During the flight, Xiao Yan studied the Soul Refining Technique and began repairing cracks in his nascent Soul Spike.
• Xiao Yan used the soul-cultivation method to nourish his Soul Spike and accelerate the circulation of his Soul Power.
• At sunset, Xiao Yan broke through the membrane between levels 55 and 56, expanding his meridians and dantian.

After reaching level 56, Xiao Yan traveled with Lin Wan'er toward the Wind Lightning Pavilion and developed a Soul Projection that could imitate Bone Spirit Cold Flame’s soul fluctuations. He then began working out how to use a Heavenly Flame to fly, but had not yet tested whether it could support his weight.

• Xiao Yan broke through to level 56 while traveling with Lin Wan'er, increasing his Soul Power reserves.
• They arrived at Falling Eagle Gorge, where Xiao Yan studied the Soul Refining Technique’s Soul Projection method.
• Xiao Yan infused Bone Spirit Cold Flame into a Soul Projection, stabilizing it and making its soul fluctuations resemble his own flame.
• Xiao Yan practiced through the night and the following day, extending the Soul Projection’s duration to nearly twenty breaths.
• Xiao Yan recognized that he could not fly like Dou Wang experts and began considering whether compressed, solidified Heavenly Flame could briefly support his weight.

Xiao Yan experimented with using his Heavenly Flames Martial Soul to form wings and, after ten days of refining the technique, created Twin Flame Wings that boosted his speed and enabled brief gliding. He tested their defensive and offensive uses over a plain and discovered he could combine them with Netherworld Lock to rise again in midair.

• Xiao Yan first formed flaming wings on his back, but they could not lift him and their heat disturbed Lin Wan'er and the flying Magical Beast.
• Xiao Yan spent nearly ten days shaping a miniature pair of wings from Bone Spirit Cold Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame, discovering their opposing properties reduced the Soul Power required and improved their lift.
• After the flying Magical Beast landed on a plain, Xiao Yan tested his Twin Flame Wings and found they increased his speed while providing limited lift.
• Xiao Yan folded the wings around himself to form a flaming shield, then opened them to scatter fiery projectiles across the plain.
• Xiao Yan leaped into the air, glided with his wings, and used Netherworld Lock to blast himself upward again.

Xiao Yan practiced using his Heavenly Flames Twin Wings and the Netherworld Lock to glide, turn, and climb through the air, improving his control while learning how much Soul Power the maneuvers consumed. After resting and recovering with Lin Wan'er, he felt more prepared to face airborne Dou Emperor opponents.

• Xiao Yan repeatedly used the Netherworld Lock with his flame wings, refining his timing and learning to change direction and climb in midair.
• Lin Wan'er watched as Xiao Yan's green and white flame trails intertwined across the sky.
• Xiao Yan landed, dismissed his wings, and noted that the aerial maneuvers had used nearly thirty percent of his Soul Power and left him tired.
• Xiao Yan concluded that his wings could help him avoid being helpless against flying Dou Emperor-level opponents, though they still could not let him fly freely.
• Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er shared dry rations and water, then Xiao Yan meditated until he had recovered his strength and Soul Power.

Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er arrived in Wind Lightning City and saw the powerful lightning formation surrounding Wind Lightning Pavilion. At the pavilion compound, Xiao Yan presented Chen Yunzhou’s recommendation for the Wind Lightning Trial, and a rude gatekeeper quickly changed his attitude after sensing Xiao Yan’s Dou Emperor strength.

• Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er admired Wind Lightning City’s massive walls and the artificial lightning cultivation ground above Wind Lightning Pavilion.
• Xiao Yan reflected on the strength he hoped to gain and on his unresolved feelings about Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang.
• Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er crossed the busy city and reached Wind Lightning Pavilion’s compound, where a gatekeeper ordered them to stop.
• Xiao Yan presented Chen Yunzhou’s recommendation and briefly revealed his Dou Emperor-level presence, startling the gatekeeper.
• The gatekeeper verified the recommendation, learned it carried Chen Yunzhou’s Nine-Star Dou Emperor mark, and escorted Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er to register.

Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er visited the Northern Continent Wind Lightning Pavilion to arrange Xiao Yan's trial, where Elder He, a Dou Zong, personally welcomed them and offered them a place to rest. Xiao Yan grew suspicious of Elder He's unusual attention after learning that the elder rarely received trial participants himself.

• The middle-aged steward apologized for his earlier rudeness, and Xiao Yan told Lin Wan'er that people in this world respected strength and status.
• Elder He arrived, and Xiao Yan sensed that he was a newly advanced Dou Zong whose strength exceeded Chen Yunzhou's.
• Xiao Yan introduced himself as Tang San and presented Lin Wan'er as his younger sister, while Elder He ordered the steward to serve them Lightning Cloud Tea.
• Elder He invited Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er to rest overnight and postponed arranging Xiao Yan's trial until the next day.
• As the steward escorted them to a courtyard, he revealed that Elder He rarely met visitors personally and had chosen to receive Xiao Yan after hearing his name and seeing Chen Yunzhou's recommendation.

Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er waited at the Wind Lightning Pavilion for the trial, but Elder He delayed it after reporting that the starting formation had malfunctioned. Xiao Yan accepted the explanation while suspecting the timing was no coincidence, and he waited to see what the pavilion would do next.

• A middle-aged Wind Lightning Pavilion attendant led Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er to a guest courtyard, where they settled into separate rooms.
• Lin Wan'er asked Xiao Yan if he was worried about the next day's trial, and he reassured her before they cultivated overnight.
• Xiao Yan reached peak condition by morning while Lin Wan'er waited anxiously, but no one came to summon them for the trial.
• Xiao Yan called the attendant over, and the man relayed Elder He's message that a malfunctioning formation had postponed the trial.
• Xiao Yan accepted the message but grew wary of the suspicious timing, while Lin Wan'er also questioned whether the malfunction was genuine.

As the Wind Lightning Pavilion repeatedly delayed Xiao Yan’s trial, Tan Bin secretly warned Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er to leave, revealing that Elder He might be acting on a favor owed to an elder of the Yellow Springs Pavilion. Tan Bin left them to decide what to do, while Xiao Yan faced the danger with a cold, resolute expression.

• A Wind Lightning Pavilion steward gave Xiao Yan another evasive update about the delayed repairs, and Xiao Yan sensed malice beneath his polite manner.
• Xiao Yan decided to investigate the pavilion that night, but detected someone sneaking toward their courtyard before he could leave.
• Xiao Yan admitted Tan Bin into the courtyard after the steward claimed that Old Clan Head Lin had once saved his father’s life.
• Tan Bin urged Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er to leave by the next morning, warning that the pavilion might target Xiao Yan but leave Lin Wan'er unharmed.
• Tan Bin linked Elder He’s actions to a favor owed to an elder of the Yellow Springs Pavilion, then departed without explaining further.
• Xiao Yan reassured Lin Wan'er and watched Tan Bin disappear, his restrained coldness surfacing.

After Tan Bin warned Xiao Yan that Wind Lightning Pavilion was hiding a plot, Xiao Yan tried to flee Wind Lightning City with Lin Wan'er. Elder He intercepted them at the gate, revealed that he intended to detain Xiao Yan to repay a favor to Yellow Springs Pavilion, and left Xiao Yan weighing whether to protect Lin Wan'er and Tan Bin or face the danger alone.

• Xiao Yan suspected Wind Lightning Pavilion had delayed his trial while waiting for Yellow Springs Pavilion to arrive, so he told Lin Wan'er to leave with him.
• Xiao Yan used his spiritual perception to guide Lin Wan'er past the patrols and toward Wind Lightning City's gate.
• Elder He appeared at the gate and stopped Xiao Yan and Lin Wan'er as they tried to leave.
• Two Wind Lightning Pavilion deacons brought Tan Bin out as a captive, and Elder He admitted he was acting to repay a favor from someone at Yellow Springs Pavilion.
• Elder He vowed that Wind Lightning Pavilion would not harm Lin Wan'er or Tan Bin, while Xiao Yan realized he could not protect both of them if he fought two Dou Zong.

Xiao Yan left Lin Wan'er and Tan Bin in Wind Lightning City and fled as Elder He kept his promise to hold him until the Yellow Springs Pavilion arrived. Old Ghost Liu and three Dou Emperors pursued Xiao Yan, while Elder He withdrew and left him to face them alone.

• Elder He told Xiao Yan he would keep Lin Wan'er and Tan Bin safe but would not interfere once the Yellow Springs Pavilion arrived.
• Xiao Yan used his Twin Flame Wings to leave Wind Lightning City, and Elder He pursued him to keep him there.
• Four Yellow Springs Pavilion experts arrived in Wind Lightning City, led by the Dou Zong Old Ghost Liu, and followed Xiao Yan and Elder He.
• Elder He intercepted Xiao Yan, then refused Old Ghost Liu's demand to help fight and departed.
• Xiao Yan resumed his flight toward the mountains, and Old Ghost Liu chased him, vowing to skin him alive.

Old Ghost Liu attacked Xiao Yan with spatial techniques as Xiao Yan fled, and Xiao Yan narrowly evaded a hidden spatial blade. Old Ghost Liu then used Spatial Lockdown to slow Xiao Yan’s escape, leaving him struggling against the pursuing Dou Zong.

• Old Ghost Liu sent a silent spatial blade after Xiao Yan, who twisted aside at the last moment and suffered only a graze to his shoulder and damage to his right wing.
• Old Ghost Liu praised Xiao Yan for evading the attack, then grew eager to seize the two Heavenly Flames in Xiao Yan’s wings for his own benefit.
• Old Ghost Liu cast Spatial Lockdown, making the space ahead of Xiao Yan resist his flight and sharply reducing his speed.
• Xiao Yan realized Old Ghost Liu was closing in and that he could not survive a direct confrontation, but refused to give up without fighting.

Xiao Yan used his Cold Heart Lotus Explosion to disrupt Old Ghost Liu’s spatial blockade and flee, then detonated the lotus when Old Ghost Liu had stopped to inspect it. The blast engulfed Old Ghost Liu and three Dou Emperors, leaving the outcome of the explosion unresolved.

• Xiao Yan formed a Cold Heart Lotus Explosion from the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and Green Lotus Core Flame and launched it at Old Ghost Liu.
• The lotus disrupted Old Ghost Liu’s spatial blockade, allowing Xiao Yan to speed away without looking back.
• Old Ghost Liu stopped the lotus with a spatially infused Dou Qi barrier and dismissed it as too weak to threaten him.
• Xiao Yan remotely detonated the lotus after escaping more than a hundred zhang away.
• The explosion engulfed Old Ghost Liu and three Dou Emperors, and Old Ghost Liu raised a powerful spatial barrier to defend himself.

Xiao Yan tried to escape Old Ghost Liu after his Heavenly Flame attack scorched the Dou Zong, but Old Ghost Liu pursued him with overwhelming spatial power. Xiao Yan entered a stone forest to turn and fight, while Old Ghost Liu smashed through the pillars after him.

• Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flame attack struck Old Ghost Liu, who extinguished the flames but suffered scorched clothes and singed hair.
• Old Ghost Liu grew furious and vanished through space to pursue Xiao Yan, followed by three Yellow Springs Pavilion Dou Emperors.
• Xiao Yan dodged Old Ghost Liu's spatial attacks but realized his Soul Power would run out before he could escape.
• Xiao Yan spotted a stone forest and decided to use its complex terrain to fight back rather than flee until exhausted.
• Old Ghost Liu pursued Xiao Yan into the stone forest, cutting down pillars with spatial force as Xiao Yan used the falling rocks and noise to conceal his movements.

Xiao Yan was cornered in a stone forest by Old Ghost Liu and three Dou Emperors from the Yellow Springs Pavilion. He revealed five mysterious Soul Rings and prepared to fight as Old Ghost Liu ordered the three Dou Emperors to attack him.

• Three Dou Emperors arrived and joined Old Ghost Liu, surrounding Xiao Yan from all four directions.
• Xiao Yan stopped fleeing, climbed a tall stone pillar, and mocked the Yellow Springs Pavilion for sending four powerful pursuers after him.
• Xiao Yan released his full strength and summoned five Soul Rings, which surprised Old Ghost Liu.
• Old Ghost Liu dismissed the Soul Rings as no match for the strength gap and told the three Dou Emperors to play with Xiao Yan.
• The three Dou Emperors recalled Xiao Yan's dangerous attacks but grew confident with Old Ghost Liu watching, and one stepped forward to flatter him.