The black stone tower stands alone upon the mountain peak, its surrounding wild grasses symbolizing the passage of time. At the summit of the tower, the scene remains unchanged for a thousand years—on the stone platform, a young man lies with his eyes closed, enveloped in a swirling flame of deep purple and brown. The flame burns fiercely, and subtly, it radiates a vibrant, lively energy. Beside the platform, Xiao Yisheng gazes in quiet wonder at the young man within the flame, her expression growing increasingly thoughtful. After a long while, she softly sighs. "It's been a year... yet you still haven't awakened." In quiet reflection, Xiao Yisheng murmurs to herself. Since Xiao Yan was first brought here, it has now been exactly one year. During this time, the Starfall Pavilion has grown rapidly, quietly expanding in strength and influence. Yet the one thing that continues to weigh most heavily on Xiao Yisheng and her companions—the young man still remains in his healing coma, unresponsive. At first, the old medicine master and others thought it was merely due to the severity of the injuries. However, after Xiao Yan remained unconscious for nearly half a year, this belief gradually faded away, as they could all sense that the injuries within his body had now completely healed—indeed, even better than during his previous peak years. Yet they could not fathom why, despite the full recovery of his injuries, Xiao Yan remained in a conscious state. Though they were deeply concerned, they found no viable solution. Fortunately, none of them were impetuous, so no one rushed to forcibly awaken Xiao Yan from his state of unconsciousness. And as they waited helplessly, year after year slipped away like sand between their fingers—so quiet, so unnoticeable. "Ah..." Inside the stone tower, Xiao Yixian gazed at the figure as still as a fossil, a touch of sorrow passing through her beautiful eyes. She gently shook her head and murmured, "Even for Xun'er and the child growing within Cai Lin's womb, you can't just remain asleep like this." Yet this words brought no immediate change. Xiao Yixian sighed in disappointment, just as she turned to leave—her body suddenly stiffened. In that very instant, she had clearly seen Xiao Xiang's fingers subtly tremble. Though the tremor was faint, Xiao Yixian's keen eyes had surely not missed it. … At a training ground near the rear mountain, many disciples of Xing Yun Pavilion gathered every day to practice. At the center of this group, a graceful figure in jade-green robes stood with hands behind her back, her composed and serious beauty adding a sense of dignity to her that had grown noticeably since before. After surveying the group and seeing no one slackening, she gave a slight nod. Then her gaze suddenly shifted toward the rear mountain, where half of a black stone tower could be clearly seen. Staring at the tower, Mu Qinglun was momentarily struck silent. A year ago, Xiao Yan had fought and defeated a top-tier Five-Star Battle Sovereign, even severing the latter's arm—a feat that still left her deeply moved when recalled. Yet, the cost of such an extraordinary victory had been exceptionally high, even beyond what ordinary people could bear. "Has the rear mountain been sealed for a year now, Senior Sister? Do you know when it will be reopened?" Heard the faint sound from behind, Mu Qingluan also regained her composure and turned her head. There, standing there were several young disciples who were well-known within the Xingyin Pavilion. She smiled slightly, shook her head, and said, "Such a thing, I suspect even the teacher might not be aware of." "I heard that a senior named Xiao Yan is practicing inside the stone tower. He's a direct disciple of the Pavilion's headmaster," one female disciple said, her voice tinged with curiosity. "But the duration of his practice has been unusually long—already a year now—and yet, there's been not a single sign of activity from the tower. Perhaps..." another one hesitated. "Enough," Mu Qingluan frowned, cutting in. Seeing her frown, everyone quickly fell silent, evidently recognizing her as someone of considerable authority and standing within the Xingyin Pavilion. "Recently, many of the elders have been dispatched on various matters. Don't take this opportunity to slack off—should you fail the annual examination, you'll certainly suffer the consequences," Mu Qinglun scolded. "The ancient relics... hehe, legend says that heavenly-tier combat techniques have emerged from them—what a treasure! Whoever secures one, truly, shall be in for something special." "Heavenly-tier? I've never seen anything of that caliber in my life." "Stop dreaming, then. Such a precious treasure would be a hot potato in your hands—without the right strength, not only will you lose it, but you'll end up in trouble." Mu Qinglun gave him a withering look and said so. Hearing Mu Qinglun's words, everyone chuckled and exchanged a few more casual remarks. Just as they were about to settle down to meditate on the ground, the entire mountain suddenly trembled, causing several of them to stagger and nearly fall. "What's going on? Has something happened?" The sudden tremor immediately stirred a wave of excitement. All the Xingyin Pavilion disciples who were meditating quickly rose to their feet, and the murmurs of confusion and activity spread rapidly throughout the area. Mù Qīngluán was also startled by this sudden turn of events, then spoke firmly, “All of you, be quiet! With the Master and the senior monks guarding this place, what could possibly go wrong?” At the sound of Mù Qīngluán’s voice, the commotion gradually subsided. The people exchanged glances and found her words reasonable—now that the Star-Fallen Pavilion boasted so many strong warriors, even if the mountain truly collapsed, they could easily hold it up. “Boom!” As the crowd grew calmer, the mountain suddenly jolted again. This time, the composed individuals immediately noticed the source of the tremor, and their eyes swiftly turned toward the stone tower in the rear mountains. “It’s coming from there,” Mù Qīngluán said, gazing at the black stone tower in the rear. Her heart raced—this was the first time in a year that the tower had shown any signs of activity. “Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” The tremors also drew the attention of numerous elite figures within the Xingyun Pavilion. Instantly, one after another, figures materialized from various corners, hovering in the air with expressions of astonishment and bewilderment, fixed on the direction of the rear mountain range. It seemed as though they had sensed an overwhelmingly terrifying presence—like a slumbering giant—gradually stirring to life. Within the stone tower, Xiao Yi, the young physician, gazed at the stone platform before her with eyes filled with wonder. At this moment, a vast surge of stellar energy was flowing out from within Xiao Yan's body, rising like a continuous tide, pouring forth steadily. As this stellar energy spread, she sensed a familiar aura quietly awakening... "At last, it is coming to life," she murmured, her face glowing with excitement. After one year, there had finally been movement! As the young physician was stepping away from the stone tower, the pervasive purple-brown flames suddenly erupted like a volcanic eruption from the tower's apex, surging forth in a massive wave. The flames then coalesced, spreading across the sky, and finally, amid a series of stunned gazes, solidified into a colossal purple-brown dragon, stretching over a hundred zhang in length. The dragon curled and coiled, its immense body completely enveloping the tower, radiating an overwhelming dragon presence that caused many people's feet to weaken. "Roar!" With the dragon fully formed, it raised its head and let out a deep, resonant roar. The sound reverberated powerfully, and instantly, the space above the sky began to warp. A towering light column of stars, nearly a hundred zhang in height, gathered from the night sky beyond, pierced through the spatial barrier, and struck the dragon's body with great force. This vast stellar power fully settled upon the giant dragon's body, causing it to suddenly burst forth with an brilliant, radiant glow. Then, a magnificent aura surged out at that moment, spreading forth like a tide... Radiant light poured forth, compelling many to gently close their eyes, only to reopen them after a while. And then, they saw a slender figure slowly emerging from the dragon's forehead, the magnificent aura radiating from within this human form. "This aura... is... that of a Battle Sovereign?" Feeling the sheer strength of this aura, Mu Qinglun's face instantly went utterly stunned. After a moment, she took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly as she murmured in wonder.