High Martial Arts: Gains one point of health per second, sweeping across the heavens.

The next morning, Su Jie arrived at the Linjiang City Education Bureau on time, filled with excitement.

Staff were already waiting at the entrance of the impressive building. After verifying his identity, they led him directly to a heavily guarded secret room.

On the alloy platform in the center of the secret room, three items are suspended in a soft halo.

A middle-aged man in a martial arts association uniform, exuding a deep aura, smiled at Su Jie: "Su Jie, congratulations on winning the top spot on this year's Rising Star Ranking. Here is your special reward; please choose one of three options."

His gaze swept over the holographic descriptions next to the three items:

1. The Hundred Refinements Breathing Technique (Mid-grade Profound): Its cultivation efficiency far surpasses that of the basic breathing technique. It can condense approximately 5 points of Qi and Blood per day, which is five times that of the basic breathing technique! It is priceless and can be considered the treasure of many small martial arts families.

2. Cloud-Dispelling Palm (Low-grade Profound): After mastering it, it can increase basic combat power by 1.5 times.

3. Unnamed Black Fragment (Unknown): Unearthed from an ancient site, material unknown, indestructible, suspected to be related to some lost tradition. Efficacy unknown, use at your own risk.

Looking at the first two rewards, Su Jie's heart skipped a beat. A mid-grade Xuan-level breathing technique! A low-grade Xuan-level martial skill!

If this were placed outside, it would be enough to cause countless martial artists to fight over it, and it would definitely be a treasure that could make an ordinary family rich overnight!

but……

Su Jie's gaze finally fell on the inconspicuous, even somewhat worn, black fragment.

"The Hundred Refinements Technique"? 0.5 points of Qi and Blood per hour? Sounds impressive, but compared to my own "Original Breathing Technique" which only adds 1 point per second, it's like a snail's pace! What's the use? It's too stiff even to be used as toilet paper!

As for the Xuan-rank martial skill, Cloud-Dispelling Palm, Su Jie was also not very interested, even though mastering it could increase his base combat power by 1.5 times.

However, it takes a lot of time to master a martial art. Su Jie only wants to spend his time on refining his martial acupoints!

It was this "unknown" fragment that piqued Su Jie's great interest. His experience from reading countless novels in his previous life told him that the more something looked like junk, the more likely it was to contain an earth-shattering opportunity!

"System, can you detect what this fragment is?" Su Jie asked silently in his mind.

[Ding! Unknown high-priority rule item fragment detected, containing slight time fluctuations. Host is advised to select it. The system can perform preliminary analysis and binding.]

The system notification sound instantly lifted Su Jie's spirits!

There's definitely potential!

Without further hesitation, he pointed to the black fragment: "I choose this one."

A hint of surprise flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes, clearly not expecting Su Jie to give up those two tangible treasures and choose a vague "opportunity".

But he didn't ask any further questions, simply nodding: "Your choice may need time to prove itself. It's yours now."

The halo disappeared, and the black fragment fell into Su Jie's hand. It was cold to the touch and carried an ancient and weathered feel.

[Ding! Obtained the rule item "Breath of Time (Fragment). Starting analysis...Analysis in progress...1%...]

A progress bar appeared on the system interface. Su Jie calmly put away the fragment, his heart filled with anticipation.

"Student Su Jie, the entrance to the Star Origin Secret Realm is on the top floor, and the event will last for seven days. Please follow me." The middle-aged man gestured for him to enter.

Follow the middle-aged man in a private elevator to the top floor, pass through an energy light curtain, and the view before you suddenly opens up.

This is a space shrouded by a huge transparent dome, with a constantly rotating, nebula-like energy vortex at its center—the entrance to the Star Origin Secret Realm.

What surprised Su Jie even more was that the concentration of blood and qi in the area outside the entrance to the secret realm was nearly twice that of the outside world! A faint, refreshing energy mist filled the air.

"The entrance to the secret realm has not yet been opened. You can cultivate and adapt in this area first." After saying this, the middle-aged man left.

Su Jie glanced around and saw that quite a few students were already meditating there; they were all geniuses among the top ten of the Rising Star Ranking. When they saw Su Jie enter, their gazes focused on him, filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and even a hint of barely perceptible hostility. After all, Su Jie, this "dark horse," had suddenly risen to the top, which was simply too conspicuous.

A haughty young man dressed in designer training clothes walked over, sized Su Jie up and down, and asked in a questioning tone, "You're Su Jie? The one from Seventh Middle School?"

Su Jie glanced at him: "What's up?"

"My name is Zhao Feng, and I'm third on the Rising Star Ranking." The young man introduced himself with a sense of superiority. "I'm curious, how did you do it? 690 combat points... As far as I know, a place like No. 7 Middle School can't produce a 'genius' like you."

The implication in those words couldn't be clearer.

Su Jie laughed, revealing two rows of white teeth: "What's it to you?"

Zhao Feng's face darkened: "You!"

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'?" Su Jie was too lazy to waste words with him. "Don't block my cultivation if you have nothing to do. The blood and qi at the entrance of the secret realm are so dense. Wasting even a second is a sin."

After saying that, he found an open space and sat down cross-legged, ignoring Zhao Feng's ashen face. It was a pity there was no bed here, otherwise Su Jie would definitely have found the most comfortable position to temper his martial acupoints.

Seeing Zhao Feng's humiliation, some of the other geniuses chuckled, while others' expressions grew even more serious. This Su Jie was not only strong, but also had such a sharp tongue; he was not someone to be trifled with.

Su Jie didn't care what they thought; he was already overjoyed!

[Qi and Blood +2... +2... +2...]

The recovery speed has indeed increased! Although we haven't entered the secret realm yet, the concentration here has increased his health regeneration per second from 1 point to nearly 2 points!

"Awesome! So awesome!" He forcibly suppressed the urge to laugh out loud and immediately began to guide his qi and blood to temper one of the remaining 80 level-four martial acupoints.

After returning home yesterday following the test, Su Jie has not left the house since. Apart from sleeping, he has spent the time refining nine martial acupoints.

[Consuming 200 points of Qi and Blood, Martial Aperture Tempering in progress...]

Time passed second by second.

Two hours later, a slight buzzing sound was heard inside my body.

[Ding! Martial Aperture Refinement Successful! Current Martial Aperture Level Increased to Level 5. Combat Power +6!]

With an additional 6 points of combat power, Su Jie felt completely refreshed. Indeed, this kind of cultivation where the effort yields immediate returns is the most captivating!

Just then, the vortex at the entrance to the Star Origin Secret Realm suddenly stabilized, emitting a strong suction force.

"The secret realm has been opened. You have seven days to enter. Enter in turn!" The staff member's voice rang out.

The top ten geniuses on the Rising Stars list all stood up and headed towards the entrance with burning eyes.

Su Jie stood up, patted his butt, looked at the starry entrance, and licked his lips.

"Five times the concentration... Here I come!"

He stepped into the vortex, and his figure vanished instantly.