Fights Break Sphere: Season 1 Episode 1 Recap
> Fights Break Sphere: Season 1 Recap
One thousand years ago, the Emperor Dou, known as the ‘Sun of the Continent’, led the Five Great Clans to fight against the Soul Palace from the extremely cold northern lands. They sealed them in the dark underground, bringing peace to the Dou Qi Continent. As day and night alternated, light was about to fall, and darkness was about to rise. The descendants of the Five Great Clans firmly guarded this light, preparing for a battle with the Soul Palace.
In Wu Tan City, Xiao Yan, the son of the Xiao Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, was handsome and exceptionally intelligent. At the age of nine, he had already mastered Nine-stage Dou Qi, becoming the continent's strongest genius youth and having won the Youth Dou Qi Tournament, rising to fame in one fell swoop.
In the same year, news of the darkness's resurgence came from the North, and his mother participated in the Five Great Clans' northern expedition to the Soul Palace. After returning from the expedition, Xiao Yan's mother was severely wounded and handed a Storage Ring to Xiao Yan, instructing him to keep it safe.
Besides this, the other several clans all came to question Xiao Yan's mother about the whereabouts of the Starfall Pavilion Treasure, believing that she had betrayed the Five Great Clans, defected to the Soul Palace, and stolen the treasure. Xiao Yan's mother stated that she did not know the treasure's whereabouts. She relayed the words of Hun Miesheng, the master of the Soul Palace, to the Sect Master of another clan, the Cloud Mist Sect.
Upon hearing this, Sect Master Yun became fearful, and Xiao Yan's mother committed suicide on the spot. Xiao Yan's mother's suicide did not end the matter. The other four clans continued to pressure Xiao Zhan, Xiao Yan's father, forcing him to hand over the treasure. Xiao Zhan, left with no choice, had to cripple his own Dou Qi to prove his innocence, and the Xiao Clan declined from then on. For seven years, Xiao Yan diligently practiced Dou Qi.
He wanted to become a strong person and uncover the truth behind his mother's death. However, no matter how hard he tried for seven years, his Dou Qi continued to regress, making him the last good-for-nothing on the Dou Qi Continent. The only one who believed in him and stayed by his side was Xiao Xun'er, his childhood sweetheart who grew up with him.
Xiao Xun'er always accompanied Xiao Yan, but the many fellow disciples in the Xiao Clan's Dou Skill Hall mocked Xiao Yan, believing him to be a useless person. Xiao Yan was unwilling to accept their ridicule. He returned home, hoping his father could pass on a Dou Qi cultivation technique to him, so he could defeat everyone who looked down on him.
Xiao Zhan was unwilling to teach him the technique, saying that Xiao Yan was not cut out for it. As a youth, Xiao Yan had a strong desire to win; he wanted to change everyone's perception of him through his own efforts, unwilling to cripple his Dou Qi and hide at home like his father, looking at account books. Xiao Yan's words provoked Xiao Zhan's anger, leading to a reprimand and criticism from Xiao Zhan.
In the Dou Skill Hall, Xiao Yan persistently and unyieldingly practiced his cultivation technique. Xiao Xun'er placed high hopes on Xiao Yan, cheering him on. At this time, Xiao Zhan ordered someone to summon Xiao Yan back to the manor. He invited Mr. Wan, the owner of the pharmacy, hoping that Xiao Yan would give up Dou Qi, apprentice himself to Mr. Wan, and become a pharmacy assistant.
Xiao Yan's heartfelt desire was to pass the entrance exam for the Dou Qi Continent's highest academy, Jia Nan Academy, to become a Dou Master. However, Xiao Zhan brought up Xiao Yan's low ranking in this year's Dou Qi Tournament, hitting Xiao Yan's confidence, saying that with Xiao Yan's aptitude, becoming a Dou Master would only lead to easy death. He hoped Xiao Yan would accept his fate and quietly study medicinal knowledge.
But Xiao Yan was naturally stubborn, refusing to admit defeat or accept his fate. Xiao Zhan, helpless, had no choice but to perform the apprenticeship ceremony on behalf of Xiao Yan, offering hot tea, forcing Xiao Yan to become Mr. Wan's apprentice, and strictly forbidding Xiao Yan from stepping into the Dou Skill Hall again. In the pharmacy, the pharmacy assistant taught Xiao Yan to identify medicinal herbs and instructed him to deliver them to the Dou Skill Hall.
Xiao Yan was discontent with his current situation. He went to the wilderness to vent his anger but accidentally stumbled into an unusual space. In this space, he met a purple-haired, blue-shirted man who claimed to be his Grand-Master. Xiao Yan didn't believe him, as his Grand-Master, Yao Chen, had died seven years ago.
Yao Chen didn't hide anything from Xiao Yan; he stated that seven years ago, he sealed himself along with the Starfall Pavilion Treasure within the Storage Ring that Xiao Yan wore. Back then, Xiao Yan's mother had desperately saved him, but his two apprentices, one committed suicide, and the other defected to the Soul Palace.
He had no choice but to guard this place alone, surviving by absorbing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, which was also the reason why Xiao Yan's Dou Qi had regressed every day for the past seven years despite his practice. Xiao Yan was furious upon learning the reason for his Dou Qi regression; had it not been for Yao Chen's absorption, he would not have suffered so many insults. He attacked Yao Chen but was no match for him.
Realizing Yao Chen's power, Xiao Yan hoped Yao Chen could accompany him out to avenge his mother. Yao Chen refused Xiao Yan's suggestion and kicked Xiao Yan out of the Storage Ring. At night, Mr. Wan gave Xiao Yan a series of instructions, hoping Xiao Yan would study medicinal knowledge diligently.
However, while Xiao Yan was asleep, Yao Chen secretly left the Storage Ring space and drank all the wine in the pharmacy, leading to Mr. Wan severely beating and punishing Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan guessed Yao Chen's actions. He went into the Storage Ring space and demonstrated a set of boxing techniques to Yao Chen, hoping for more guidance.
Yao Chen didn't want to bother with Xiao Yan, but he couldn't resist Xiao Yan's provocations, so he performed a set of long-fist techniques in front of him. Having witnessed Yao Chen's powerful Dou Qi, Xiao Yan didn't understand why Yao Chen had fallen into such a desperate state seven years ago. Yao Chen only sighed, saying that the strongest Dou Skill was actually the human heart, the deliberate schemes of those closest to you.
If not for Xiao Yan's mother's desperate rescue seven years ago, he would have truly died at the hands of those closest to him. Yao Chen hoped Xiao Yan would give up Dou Qi and quietly work as an assistant in the pharmacy. However, Xiao Yan angrily returned the Storage Ring to Yao Chen, preparing to leave.
Seeing Xiao Yan's anger, Yao Chen had no choice but to take out the thirty-six secret alchemy formulas from the Starfall Pavilion, hoping he would cultivate more and become an Alchemist. Xiao Yan accepted the secret manual but remained resolute in his desire to become a Dou Master. He took the Storage Ring back from Yao Chen, remembering his mother's past instruction: no matter what, he must carefully preserve this Storage Ring.
The Nalan Clan, one of the Five Great Clans, came to Wu Tan City to participate in the Jia Nan Academy exam. Xiao Zhan brought up the engagement between Nalan Yanran and Xiao Yan that had been set since childhood, hoping Xiao Yan could visit Nalan Yanran and complete the marriage between the two families as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nalan Jie, the Nalan Clan Patriarch, received an urgent letter from Sect Master Yun Shan from eight hundred li away. Yun Shan believed that the Xiao Clan had declined and hoped the Nalan Clan would carefully reconsider the marriage. Xiao Zhan was preparing to complete the marriage between Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran before the Jia Nan Academy started.
Pill King Gu He, who was accompanying the Nalan Clan Patriarch, came to the Xiao Manor to request an audience. This time, he brought a sixth-grade divine medicine, a pill that could help Xiao Zhan, who had crippled his Dou Qi, recover sixty to seventy percent of his Dou Qi. Xiao Zhan believed that Gu He had another purpose this time.
Gu He didn't beat around the bush; he brought up the Xiao Clan's current decline and hoped that the Xiao Clan would be wise enough to know when to retreat, taking the initiative to break off the engagement with the Nalan Clan. Xiao Zhan refused to agree.
He returned the pill to Gu He, stating that if the Nalan Clan intended to break off the engagement, Nalan Jie would need to personally state it; otherwise, the engagement ceremony between the two families would proceed as usual. At the engagement ceremony between the Xiao Clan and the Nalan Clan, Xiao Yan offered tea instead of wine to Nalan Jie, Nalan Yanran's grandfather. However, Nalan Jie did not appreciate it.
He brought up the northern expedition seven years ago, stating that the Nalan Clan had declined, and Nalan Yanran was the only one with talent in the entire Nalan Clan. He stressed that while the Five Great Clans needed to unite, they also needed to protect themselves, and he hoped Nalan Yanran could find a better reliance than the Xiao Clan. Nalan Jie wanted to annul the Xiao Clan's engagement, which was a huge insult to the Xiao Clan.
Nalan Yanran made a three-year agreement with Xiao Yan, stating that Xiao Yan could come to the Cloud Mist Sect to challenge her in three years. If he defeated her, she would be his slave. Xiao Yan, in his youth, could not endure the Nalan Clan's insult. Instead, he wrote the character '休' (break off/divorce) on the marriage contract, intending to annul the engagement with Nalan Yanran. If this matter were to spread, it would harm Nalan Yanran's reputation.
Nalan Jie firmly disagreed; he forced Xiao Yan to eat the marriage contract. Xiao Yan then began to fight with Nalan Yanran, but he couldn't even withstand one of Nalan Yanran's palms. Seeing this, Gu He openly mocked Xiao Yan. Nalan Yanran also struck Xiao Yan with a heavy hand at Nalan Jie's request, leaving Xiao Yan severely wounded. Xiao Yan clearly understood the gap between himself and the Nalan Clan.
He accepted Nalan Yanran's three-year agreement, stating that in three years, he would personally go to the Cloud Mist Sect to challenge her, and by then, he would return all the Nalan Clan's insults to the Xiao Clan.
