Just as Tu Hu was racing against time to prepare a rescue in the Monster World...
Minor World, Feiyue City.
The night was black as ink. Xingtong stood alone atop the highest Stargazing Platform in New Star Valley.
Thanks to the Life Tempering Method, refined generation after generation, time had been especially kind to her. She still retained her upright bearing and beautiful, youthful face.
Only the faint lines at the corners of her eyes, visible when she gazed intently into the distance, revealed the long years she had lived.
The night breeze stirred her long hair, now gray-white, as Xingtong focused on the towering statue in the city center.
The statue depicted a man holding a wine flask, his bearing carefree.
He was the ancestor who, according to the Velvet Spirit Tribe's historical records, had long since passed away, yet had once single-handedly guided them toward glory.
Ribbons bearing wishes and offerings of fresh flowers covered the statue's base.
Though their ancestor had passed away, he remained the undying spiritual totem of the Rongling Civilization, inspiring generation after generation.
Xingtong's fingertips gently brushed the pendant on her chest, polished from a broken spear.
It was the coming-of-age gift her ancestor had given her. Its origins dated back to the time of A Lan, the first-generation "ancestor": a war spear broken while resisting the Stone Armor Tribe, carrying the weight of history and emotion.
"Ancestor, I miss you so much."
Memories surged as Xingtong looked up at the sky, shrouded in countless streaks of light, seemingly close enough to touch yet impossibly distant.
That was also her next destination.
The final battle against the world's will had won them victory at the most agonizing price: the permanent loss of the ancestor who had guided their civilization's future.
Yet the World