Time flies; spring fades and autumn comes. Without realizing it, it has now been one year since the great battle that once shook the inner courtyard. In that single year, the inner courtyard—once reduced to ruins during the battle—has been revitalized and restored. Old students have departed, while new ones have arrived in greater numbers. The courtyard remains full of energy, with countless fresh faces striving day after day, sweating tirelessly to earn their places on the prestigious rankings. As time slips through one's fingers, occasionally someone turns their gaze toward the Tianfen Qi-Tower standing in a corner of the inner courtyard, recalling the great battle that has gradually faded into the depths of memory, and remembering the young man who, though divine in his prowess, ultimately faded away like a fallen star. They sigh with admiration—had that young man still been alive, he would surely have become the strongest figure in the inner courtyard besides Grand Elder Su Qian. In one year, the peony blooms red, the banana plant turns green. Driven perhaps by a desire to strengthen their competitiveness, the inner courtyard has welcomed a greater number of new recruits than ever before. Consequently, the overall popularity and vitality within the courtyard have grown stronger. With the increasing number of residents, various emerging factions have sprung up like bamboo shoots after rain, one after another. The inner courtyard has never lacked prodigies, and within just one year, numerous new factions have risen to prominence and joined the ranks of the leading forces. New recruits often become arrogant, especially after achieving some accomplishments—this arrogance grows even more pronounced. Yet, no matter how bold or presumptuous these young forces may be, when faced with a power that has now grown into a towering entity, they lack the courage to challenge it. Though they know that this power has only existed for two years since the establishment of the Inner Courtyard, its strength commands awe across the entire courtyard—so much so that even the senior elders of the Inner Courtyard are struck in admiration. Yet, they do not find it surprising. After all, this power is known as the Pan Gate. Its founder was the young man who once saved the entire Inner Courtyard—his name, even today, remains familiar to everyone. Xiao Yan! … As time flows in the vibrant, bustling world above, time in the deep underground magma realm seems to freeze and vanish altogether. In this lifeless place, it appears as though no one notices the passage of time. Of course, there are exceptions… Deep within the magma, a large cluster of slightly whitish flame drifts slowly. This white glow stands out strikingly against the all-red backdrop of the world. Upon closer inspection, one can discern that within the white flame, two bare bodies seem to hover—both utterly still and silent, as if lifeless. In the magma time, there was no concept of time—this flame drifted aimlessly, slowly, until the moment it achieved its purpose. Though it sensed the difficulty of this goal, it possessed excellent patience. For it, a span of one year was merely a fleeting instant in its long, enduring existence... The flame was not intense, yet it radiated a deep, soul-warming warmth. Under this gentle glow, the fragmented consciousness seemed to slowly regain clarity, as waves of memories surged forth, finally allowing the awareness to rediscover what truly belonged to it. "I... am still alive, aren't I?" A soft, barely audible murmur rose within the darkness, and instantly, ripples spread across the entire dark world. Suddenly, several beams of light pierced through the darkness, falling upon the consciousness, and gently opening his eyes. Amidst the drifting flames, the young man, who had been as lifeless as a corpse, suddenly trembled—then, his tightly closed eyes snapped open. To the eye, it remained the familiar deep crimson, as well as that once-fearsome flame. Yet the figure who had awakened—or resurrected—from the endless darkness stood slightly bewildered, gazing down at his own body. Pale and robust, untouched and undamaged, his fingers—slightly unfamiliar—gently clenched, and a hitherto unseen sense of profound strength began to surge forth. The eyes, like ink-black, slowly cleared their bewilderment. The young man, bare-chested, stirred his mind without entering a state of cultivation, and instantly perceived every detail within him. The meridians that had grown twisted and dry just before he lost consciousness now shimmered like clear, broad, translucent tubes, radiating a gentle luminescence. Though he remained still, he could clearly sense that the current state of these meridians—both in resilience and capacity—had undergone a remarkable leap compared to before. The spirit gradually shifted from the meridians, slowly sweeping over the entire body, yet found no single point of weakness. In fact, the current state of this body was vastly different from the one he had before he lost consciousness! Even more, he found himself wondering if the sheer combat power generated by this physical form alone might already surpass, and even surpass in strength and terror, what it had been when he previously used qi. Ah, qi! His mind suddenly snapped into action, instantly transporting his spirit into the qi vortex, where he now gazed at the empty, still vortex, and felt himself suddenly freeze. "Where is the斗晶? Where is the qi?" The faint flush and rosy hue on his face now turned pale once more. Having personally experienced life without qi, he clearly understood the devastating impact such a loss would have upon him. As he was slightly dazed by the strange disappearance of his qi, a deep rumbling sound suddenly erupted within him. Instantly, he was astonished to see powerful qi streams, like floods, surge forth unexpectedly from various parts of his body, flowing smoothly into the translucent meridians. As the qi surged, the delicate meridians expanded and contracted, as if already constructed river dams being filled by a powerful flood, emitting an undetectable, joyful hum. As his palm compressed, a sudden ripple surged through the space before him, and a strange, fiery energy emerged, finally hovering atop his palm. The black pupils shimmered with an unusual glow. Then, as he released the energy from his palm, his shoulders gently trembled, and suddenly, a surge of ki erupted from within him, flowing along an unusual meridian pathway before bursting forth from his back. "Pff!" Two vibrant, jade-colored flame wings shot out from behind him, arching in a span of over a zhang, elegant and stunning, like phoenix wings. "Ki-converted wings..." Gently tilting his head, his gaze fixed on the jade flame wings extending from behind, he had not activated any flight technique, nor employed any secret spell, nor relied on anyone else's power—he had fully relied on himself to manifest the ki-converted wings! His complexion slightly dimmed, the azure flame mark casting a gentle glow upon the now more mature yet still refined face. Then, a subtle curve began to form at the corner of his mouth—clearly, he understood fully what it meant to rely solely on his own strength to manifest qi wings. This marked the true beginning of his journey into the ranks of the continent's elite. "Master, it seems the heavens have not abandoned us, after all," Xiang Yin murmured, gently tracing the dark ring on his finger. His gaze shifted to his fingers, and then suddenly his palm went stiff. He murmured in confusion, "The ring... gone?" Frowning slightly, Xiang Yin lifted his eyes and quickly scanned the surroundings. Then, his brow arched as he rotated his palm, releasing a sudden surge of suction—objects shot forth and hovered before him. Glancing at the heavy jade ruler and several scrolls now floating in front of him, Xiang Yin realized that all the pills and herbs he had stored within his ring had vanished. "Perhaps I can be revived precisely because of this..." Xiao Yan mused, as he noticed that the Qinglian lotus that had once been beneath his buttocks had also vanished. It seemed these disappearances were somehow connected to his ability to be revived. For now, he turned his attention elsewhere. There, a graceful, nude beauty was closed-eyed, and at her head, where once there had been two distinct souls—one serpent, one human—those souls had now nearly fully merged. It appeared that with a little more time, she would completely fuse them and inhabit this body. "It seems the soul fusion is proving to be the queen's strength. After all, they were originally one—the Sky-Eating Python was born from her, and she, in turn, lives because of it." Gazing at the Queen of Medusa, who had seamlessly integrated into the scene, Xiao Yan hesitated briefly before finally abandoning the thought of interrupting her. Though the woman was often capricious, she might prove beneficial to him in the future. Previously, when the Yao Elder was asleep, Xiao Yan had been deeply wary of her. But now, with his own strength having surged significantly, he had developed the ability to protect himself—no longer could the Queen of Medusa easily overwhelm him as she once had, like vanquishing a mere insect. This, indeed, was the gap between a Battle King and a Battle Spirit. In the eyes of true masters, only upon reaching Battle King status could one be considered truly strong. All beneath Battle King rank were mere insects—this was no exaggeration. As Xiao Yan pondered, the cluster of fallen heart flame suddenly trembled, and then two gentle green glimmers slowly emerged. When the pair of green glimmers struck Xiao Yan once again, making him spring to life, a surge of furious cries erupted, followed by an intense surge of inner light—another remarkably fierce heart flame suddenly appeared within him, then began wildly destroying everything around. At the very moment this heart flame reappeared, Xiao Yan's face slightly tightened. With the near-fatal experience of being overwhelmed by the fallen heart flame, he had always been deeply wary of such heart flames. Yet, as he hurried to summon his body's combat energy to suppress the flame, he was astonished to find that although the flame released its scorching heat with all its might, it did not cause the expected damage or intense pain—instead, he felt a warm, soothing sensation spreading throughout his entire body. Gently brushing aside the black hair that had regrown, Xiao Yan looked puzzled: "Perhaps I've grown used to being burned?" The old physician has already fallen asleep, so naturally no one comes to answer his questions. Yet since the heart-fire of the fallen heart-flame has proven ineffective upon him, then... it's time to collect what's due.