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

In the fifth level, he saw the Xuan Tian Great Thousand World shattered by an unknown entity with a single slap, and Zi Xiao Dao Zhou, the Central Sacred Domain, and everyone he knew were all reduced to ashes.

He himself was bound by invisible chains and could only watch helplessly as he screamed until his voice broke.

Su Jie remained silent for a long time this time.

Then he said, "If that day ever comes, I will bite off a piece of flesh from that being before I die."

"If you can't bite him, at least glare at him."

The illusion rippled in a complex way, then shattered.

The sixth, seventh, eighth...

Each illusion targets the most vulnerable part of the human heart, whether through temptation, intimidation, torture, or devastation.

But Su Jie remained like an audience member who had wandered onto the wrong set, occasionally offering a few comments, but mostly watching expressionlessly, and then turning it off when the illusion reached its climax.

finally--

The ninth illusion has arrived.

This time, there was nothing.

There were no sights, no sounds, no sensations, and even the existence of the "self" began to blur.

Absolute "nothingness".

A voice emerged from this "nothingness." It was Su Jie's own inner voice, amplified and distorted:

"Is your pursuit of being the strongest even meaningful?"

"You harbor goodwill towards humanity; do they care about you?"

"Is the power you possess truly your own?"

"Is the path you've chosen truly your own choice?"

"Or are you... just a pawn, an experiment, a 'work' with a pre-designed path?"

The voices came one after another, each one striking Su Jie's soul.

Su Jie's "existence" trembled slightly in this void.

a long time.

His "voice" resounded in this void:

"Finished asking?"

"..."

"Then I'll answer you."

"First, I pursue the strongest because I want to. There's no other reason needed."

"Secondly, whether the human race cares about me or not is none of my business. I can do whatever I want."

"Thirdly, what power is is not important. What's important is that I can use this power to have everything I want..."

"fourth……"

He paused, and that invisible "gaze" seemed to pierce through the void, looking into something deeper:

"Did I choose this path myself?"

"The moment I stepped on it, it was mine."

"As for the chess pieces, experiments, and works..."

For the first time, Su Jie's "voice" carried a hint of almost arrogant laughter:

"That depends on whether the player is strong enough."

"If it's not hard enough..."

"I wouldn't mind flipping the chessboard and taking the board myself."

Nothingness, stillness.

Then, it shattered like glass.

Su Jie stood atop the solitary peak once more.

The stone tablet was still in front of him, but his image was no longer reflected on its surface; instead, lines of flowing golden ancient characters appeared:

[Ninefold heart-searching, all revealed]

[Comment: With a heart as firm as a rock and a will as sharp as a celestial blade, one can cut through illusions as easily as brushing away dust, and see the true nature as readily as drinking water.]

At the same time, a vast, boundless, ancient will, seemingly originating from countless ages ago, awakened from the depths of the black stone tablet and descended from afar, enveloping Su Jie.

This is a "witness" and "gift" from the very source of the ancient starry road.

Su Jie's mind trembled slightly, and he immediately focused his mind to guard his inner self.

He felt that he was undergoing a kind of essential transformation and sublimation under the influence of this ancient will.

Deep within the sea of ​​consciousness, the tenth-order holy soul power, which was originally as vast as a golden ocean, had a "heart fire" quietly ignited at its core.

This tiny spark of inner fire, its color a deep reddish gold, though faint, contains an indelible sense of eternity.

Ding!

[Detected host's Dao Heart Sutra Starry Sky Ancient Road Origin Will Tempering, Martial Heart (Red) upgraded to Martial Heart (Crimson Gold)!]

[Martial Arts Heart (Crimson Gold): Effects: Permanently increases power control and comprehension by 4000%! Immune to all mental attacks and illusions of the same or lower rank! Clear Understanding of the Dao: Increases the speed of comprehending the laws of the Great Dao by an additional thirty times!]

Su Jie clearly felt that his control over every bit of power within his body had reached a completely new and profound level.

Their thinking speed, comprehension ability, and sensitivity to fluctuations in the laws of nature also received a terrifying boost.

At the base of the stone tablet, a palm-sized bronze token slowly rose up.

The token is engraved with the character "贰" on the front and a star pattern pierced by a sword on the back.

Su Jie picked up the token.

Qiming's voice rang out again:

"Less than ten breaths... You only used nine breaths to reach the Ninefold Heart-Knocking Platform."

"Since the opening of the Starry Sky Ancient Road, this record ranks among the top three."

"The other two later became the supreme rulers of the human race."

Su Jie toyed with the token: "So the second stop was passed?"

"...It's approved." Qiming paused for a moment. "The portal to the third station has opened. However, I have a question..."

"Are you really... free of any 'inner demons'? Is there nothing that makes you waver, fearful, or even hesitate?"

Su Jie met the gaze of those eyes, which were filled with flowing runes.

A moment later, he smiled.

"Yes, of course I do," he said frankly. "How could I not?"

"Then why—"

"Because I know it's a demon in my heart," Su Jie interrupted, his tone relaxed. "Knowing it's fake, why take it to heart? Isn't that foolish?"

The light and shadow of the dawn froze.

This answer... is so simple it's almost brutal.

But there's no way to refute it.

"Alright." Su Jie turned and walked towards the other side of the solitary peak—where a new starlight portal was slowly rotating. "What's the final stop?"

"The third stop, the Battle Tower." Qiming's voice was crisp and clear. "This tower has ninety-nine floors, and each floor is guarded by a 'battle mark' carved by the ancient sages of the human race with supreme means."

"Generally speaking, a Celestial Phenomenon Realm cultivator from the Great Thousand World, if he possesses 'Thousand Origins' combat power within the same realm and passes the tenth level, is qualified to obtain the status of 'Battle Soldier'."

"It's pointless for you to attempt to conquer the tower from the first level with 100 combat power. You can choose to challenge any level directly, but you only have one chance. Your performance will affect your initial status and privileges."

Upon hearing this, Su Jie's lips curled into an interested smile: "Any level? Directly challenge it?"

"Not bad. But you need to know your limits; you only have three chances to take on the challenge."

Su Jie asked directly, "What's the highest record?"

"The highest level of my human race's Celestial Realm prodigy has ever passed the thirty-third level, corresponding to a combat power of 600,000 Yuan."

Su Jie remembered what the system said: with his current soul essence, he could theoretically kill a One-Star Primordial Realm Lord whose inner world was a nascent Middle World.

Since there were three chances to challenge, this was a good opportunity to put theory into practice, so he asked, "At which level is the combat imprint of a One-Star Initial Realm Lord?"

Qi Ming was visibly taken aback, and hesitated before asking, "The fifty-fifth floor contains one hundred million sources, the power of a hundred realms, and is the threshold for becoming a Primordial Lord. You want to choose this floor?"

"Fifty-five floors, please." Su Jie didn't hesitate at all.

Qiming paused for a moment: "Just a reminder, although you have three chances, they will affect your final potential score."

"I know." Su Jie grinned. "I just want to see just how strong I really am now."