At the height of the Crimson Eclipse, deep within the Whispering Mountains of the Lower Realm, the egg of the last Dragon Prince cracked open. As the ancient shell split, the heavens ignited in nine blazing colors, as if the sky itself were set aflame by forgotten divine fire. The true descendant of the Nine Primordial Dragons had been born. His first roar shattered the silence of the realms and reached into the stars—even the heavens trembled at the sound. Zhou Li and his loyal soldiers, survivors of a lost era, fell to their knees in reverence as the infant prince emerged, radiant with imperial flame. But awe quickly gave way to dread. Such a great phenomenon would surely draw the attention of the celestials from the upper world. If the Celestials found them, they would erase the last member of the imperial bloodline without mercy. But in that perilous moment, the Nine-Petaled Lotus, sacred and long dormant, began to glow. It floated to the child, pulsing with ancient light, and merged into the prince's body. In a single breath, the sky darkened, the lights faded, and all signs of the birth vanished. Not only had the phenomenon been concealed from celestial eyes—but something impossible had occurred. The newborn prince's draconic form transformed into human—a feat that would normally require five years of bloodline refinement, even for the most gifted of royal dragons. The merging of the lotus had refined his blood to its purest form, opening his meridians and marking the true beginning of his cultivation. What should have taken years… happened in moments. A miracle born of blood, fate, and vengeance yet to awaken.
Though newly born, the Dragon Prince's body surged with divine energy. In mere moments, he broke through the entire Refining Realm of dragons, which spanned the four sacred stages: Blood Refining, Bone Transformation, Body Tempering, and the Channel Opening Stage and opened his all meridians. Without pause, he stepped into the first layer of the Spiritual sea realm, an achievement that would take prodigies years to reach. But such rapid ascension came at a cost—his body, overwhelmed by the flood of power, entered a deep slumber to stabilize his foundation. Yet even in sleep, his awakening sent ripples across the realms. In the heart of the Celestial Court, the Imperial Teacher trembled as he sensed the sudden surge, while the Celestial Emperor's eyes filled with rare and cold fear. The Celestial Ancestors—the last beings capable of tracing the prince—remained hidden in deep seclusion, still grievously wounded from their battle with the Dragon Emperor years ago. Without their power, the Celestial Empire was blind, unable to trace the prince's location. Far away, deep in the Whispering Mountains, Zhou Li stood in silent awe before the sleeping child. Under the unseen blessing of the old dragon ancestors, he gave the prince his name: Long Tianyan—Heaven's Flame, heir to a forgotten throne, and the spark destined to set the skies ablaze.
While the Dragon Prince Long Tianyan lay in deep slumber, his existence hidden from the stars, the Celestial forces scoured the realms in desperation, searching for even a whisper of his presence. But their efforts were in vain. In the shadowed lands of the Lower Realm, Zhou Li, the last Dragon Commander, embarked on a perilous mission of his own. He sought to awaken the prince—not with time, but with alchemy. To do so, he began collecting rare and high-grade spiritual herbs, each one guarded by ancient sects, divine beasts, or buried deep within forbidden lands. His path stirred the world.
As Zhou Li moved from one corner of the realm to another, his actions caused tremors across continents. Alarmed by his power and purpose, the great sects and empires of the Lower Realm united, forming a rare alliance to stop him. They feared what his success would awaken. Armies marched, skyships darkened the heavens, and ancestral weapons were drawn—yet none prevailed. Alone, Zhou Li stood against the combined might of the Lower Realm, and not a single blade could pierce his armor. His dragon blood surged like wildfire, and each clash only deepened the fear that echoed in the halls of kings and cultivators alike. With every sect he shattered, his name grew darker and more divine. In only six months, despite the world rising against him, Zhou Li gathered every herb he needed.
His goal was as impossible as it was divine: to refine a 10th-Tier Emperor Grade Spirit Awakening Pill, a legendary creation said to exist only in myth. Pill refining itself followed the path of seven sacred stages—Mortal, Spirit, Immortal, Saint, Supreme, Emperor, and the final, unfathomable Dao Stage—each split into ten tiers. A pill of such caliber could only be refined by the Nine Dragon Ancestors, the Dragon Emperor Long Di, the First Celestial Ancestor, or the Heavenly Dao itself. Yet Zhou Li stood defiant before fate, ready to challenge heaven with mortal hands—for the future of the dragons burned within the breath of a sleeping prince.