A year slipped by in the blink of an eye. The secluded chamber remained unchanged, and so did the man within it. Time moved forward, yet his face showed no trace of age. He had sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. He sat still and serene. A faint tremor touched his lashes, a subtle sign that consciousness was returning.

Without warning, an invisible ripple of spirit energy began to unfurl. It spread in a slow and steady wave. And then, in the next breath, a powerful aura erupted! He had reached the fifth stage, yet the pressure he released surpassed that of an ordinary sixth-stage Initiate! The aura he carried even brushed the threshold of a late-stage one! 

Luo Chen opened his eyes. His gaze remained calm, untouched by joy or sorrow. Only stillness lingered there.

“The fifth stage of Foundation Establishment... About half a year earlier than I expected,” he murmured.

He had originally estimated two to three years. Tao Wan had come nearly a year before he entered seclusion, and since then, a year had passed. He...