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

The aircraft started up and headed deeper into the mine, eventually stopping in front of a seemingly ordinary rock wall.

Yang Baichuan took out a uniquely shaped token and waved it at the rock wall.

hum!

The rock face rippled like water, revealing a portal emitting a hazy white light.

"This is one of the teleportation points leading to the outer perimeter of the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Palace," Yang Baichuan explained. "Follow me."

Su Jie took a deep breath, filled with curiosity and anticipation, and followed Yang Baichuan into the portal.

After a brief period of weightlessness and a sense of spatial shift, Su Jie found himself in a vast, unimaginably large white jade plaza.

At the end of the square stands a colossal palace that stretches to the horizon, exuding an aura of ancient times. The palace gates are tightly closed, and four large characters, written in a vigorous and elegant style, are engraved on the gates: "Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Palace!"

In front of the palace, thousands of light gates of varying sizes and colors floated in the sky above the square like stars.

Each gate of light emitted different energy fluctuations; some were blazing hot, some were icy cold, some were vibrant with life, and some were deathly still.

Countless martial artists of varying strengths traversed the plaza. Some had just emerged from the portal, covered in blood but beaming with excitement; others had formed teams and resolutely stepped into the portal; still others had set up stalls, hawking strange and unusual items they had brought from various dungeons.

The atmosphere here is completely different from the outside world; it is more primitive, more raw, and filled with opportunities, dangers, and a powerful energy.

"This is the outer plaza of the Myriad Heavenly Palace." Yang Baichuan's voice pulled Su Jie back from his shock. He pointed to the floating portals of light, "Those are the passages to various dungeon worlds. There are stone tablets on the sides recording the highest achievements of our Heavenly Star Warriors in exploring the corresponding dungeons!"

Following the directions, Su Jie discovered that next to each light gate stood a huge stone tablet exuding an ancient aura. Golden characters flowed on the stone tablets, and names and records were faintly visible.

"That's the 'Trial Monument'," Yang Baichuan explained, noticing Su Jie's gaze. "It records the top 100 players' progress in clearing the corresponding dungeon. Those who make it onto the list are all the best among their peers, and it's an important benchmark for measuring a martial artist's potential."

His gaze swept over the stone tablets, and his tone carried a hint of emotion: "Many powerful forces, when selecting talent, not only look at cultivation level, but also pay close attention to the rankings on these trial tablets. Being able to leave one's name on them is itself an honor and proof of strength."

As they spoke, the two arrived before a massive portal of light. Beside the portal stood a magnificent trial monument, its top adorned with five imposing characters in a flowing, elegant style: 【Martial Arts Heroes Ranking】!

The list is arranged from top to bottom. The top ten names are in a noble purple-gold color, shimmering like stars; the following ninety names are in a dazzling gold color, shining brightly.

Su Jie's gaze was instantly drawn to the name at the top of the purple-gold list—

The top spot is clearly held by [First Place: Yue Wuji - Difficulty: Hard; Rating: S; Time: 1 hour 15 minutes].

Yang Baichuan pointed to the portal and said, "This is the [Ancient Trial Grounds], an extreme challenge instance specifically designed for martial artists in the Martial Aperture stage."

The difficulty ranges from easy to nightmare; not to mention nightmare mode, no one has ever cleared even the most challenging mode. If you're interested, you can try the easy mode first to get a feel for it…”

Before he could finish speaking, Su Jie was staring intently at the top of the Trial Monument, his eyes burning with undisguised ambition and fighting spirit.

"Has no one been able to complete this mission in the past thousand years?" Su Jie muttered to himself, a barely perceptible smile curving his lips.

Seeing this, Yang Baichuan shook his head slightly, assuming it was just the young man's arrogance, and didn't think much of it.

Little did he know that the young man before him had already set his sights on that unparalleled peak.

"Inside is a special single-player challenge dungeon where you can freely choose the difficulty level, from easy to nightmare, with the number of monsters in each wave ranging from 1 to 100."

It is divided into ten waves, with the monsters' combat power increasing step by step, supposedly corresponding to the ultimate combat power of Martial Aperture levels one through ten.

Each successful defense against a wave grants a substantial reward of health and mana; the higher the difficulty, the more astonishing the reward.

Especially the legendary Nightmare Mode; if you can clear it, the amount of health and mana you gain is enormous.

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of warning: "However, the higher the difficulty, the greater the risk."

If the challenge fails, you will be annihilated, and all your gains will vanish like bubbles. Therefore, be sure to act within your capabilities.

Massive amounts of Qi and Blood? The ability to choose the difficulty level? Su Jie's eyes lit up instantly! This was practically a super experience room tailor-made for him!

"This is your temporary identity token. You can use this token to enter this instance."

Yang Baichuan handed a white jade talisman to Su Jie, "Remember, preserving your life is the most important thing."

After successfully passing one wave, you can choose to continue the challenge or quit. But if you fail…” He shook his head, the unspoken meaning clear.

"I understand, Uncle Yang." Su Jie took the token, put it away solemnly, but a fierce fighting spirit was already burning in his heart.

Nightmare Mode! Nightmare Mode is a must!

"Go ahead." Yang Baichuan patted him on the shoulder.

Without further hesitation, Su Jie strode towards the blood-red light gate.

Before stepping through the gate of light, he glanced back at the magnificent main hall of the Myriad Manifestations Heavenly Palace, thinking to himself, "Just wait, one day I will go in and see for myself!"

Stepping through the portal of light, a familiar sense of time and space shifting washes over you.

When his vision cleared again, Su Jie found himself standing on a vast, ancient land filled with a primitive and desolate atmosphere.

The sky was an eerie dark red, and the air was filled with a faint smell of blood and a strong aura of demonic beasts. In the distance, chilling roars of beasts echoed.

[Entered the instance: Ancient Trial Grounds]

Welcome to the Ancient Trial Grounds (Exclusive to Martial Aperture Stage). Please select the challenge difficulty:

[Easy Mode: 1 monster per wave, basic reward x1 upon completion.]

[Normal Mode: 5 monsters per wave, base reward x5 upon completion.]

[Hard Mode: 10 monsters per wave, base reward x10 upon completion.]

Nightmare Mode: 30 monsters per wave, base reward x30 upon completion.

Nightmare Mode: 100 monsters per wave, base reward x100 upon completion! Plus a chance to win hidden rewards!

[In this mode, the combat power of waves one through ten of monsters are 99, 297, 594, 990, 1584, 2376, 3465, 4950, 6930, and 9900 respectively. Successfully defeating each wave of monsters will grant a corresponding amount of HP as a reward.]

"A hundredfold base reward! Not to mention the hidden rewards!" Su Jie rubbed his hands together, glanced at his health points which had recovered to 104300, and without any hesitation, declared, "I choose Nightmare Mode!"

Nightmare Mode Confirmed! Warning: This mode is extremely dangerous. Trial participants, please be prepared!

One hundred rock monsters with a combat power of 99 points surged forward. Su Jie didn't even move, but his blood and qi trembled slightly, and an invisible shockwave spread out, instantly turning the one hundred rock monsters into dust.

[First wave complete! Nightmare Mode grants 100x reward bonus, gaining 10000 HP!]