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

That hair looked inconspicuous, grayish, even a little dry, with a natural curve, hanging there all alone, as if it had existed there since the beginning of the universe.

Su Jie: "???"

He was stunned, his mind blank. Myriad Gods and Demons? Prison Suppression? That's it? Just a single hair? This was a far cry from the world-destroying divine and demonic scrolls he had imagined!

Just as he was wondering—

"boom!!!"

An indescribable, terrifying pressure, seemingly originating from the very source of life, like the weight of the entire universe, relentlessly crushed his soul along the image of that "hair"!

That wasn't a clash of energies, but an absolute crushing on a level! It was like an ant facing the sky, a drop of water encountering the vast ocean!

"puff--!"

Before Su Jie could even react, he felt as if his soul had been gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand and then crushed!

The excruciating pain instantly overwhelmed all his thoughts. His vision went black, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. As if all his strength had been drained, he was thrown out of his meditative state and fell heavily backward, collapsing onto the futon and panting heavily.

Just one second!

He only "saw" that hair for a second, and before he could even see its exact shape, he was almost scared out of his wits!

Su Jie's face turned ashen, sweat instantly soaked his entire body, his heart pounded wildly, and his eyes were filled with horror and disbelief.

"What...what was that thing?!" His voice was hoarse, trembling with lingering fear. "A single hair! Just the image of a single hair almost shattered my soul?!"

This "Myriad Gods and Demons Suppressing Prison Diagram"... this is only the first volume! Just what level of inheritance is it?!

He no longer dared to underestimate it in the slightest, and his gaze toward the painting was filled with unprecedented solemnity and awe.

"Even a single hair is so terrifying... If I could truly succeed in visualizing it, to what extent would my soul be elevated?"

However, each subsequent observation must be conducted with extreme caution, and the duration must never be too long.

After calming himself down, he turned his attention back to the three bottles of bone-tempering liquid.

"Try this first."

He opened a bottle of bone-tempering liquid, felt the gentle yet powerful energy contained within, and thought it should be fine, so he tilted his head back and drank it.

The jade-colored liquid entered his throat, initially a warm current. But the next moment, that warm current suddenly turned violent!

Like a river bursting its banks, or like countless red-hot steel needles, they frantically pierced his 206 bones!

"Hiss—!" Su Jie gasped, his whole body trembling violently! He felt as if all the bones in his body had been thrown into a furnace, about to be torn apart and melted by this enormous energy!

"Damn it, I was reckless! They didn't even explain clearly when they gave me the reward; this thing's energy is too overwhelming!"

Just when he felt his bones were about to give way and fall apart, a warm and vital current surged out from the spot on his left arm where the Immortal Martial Bone had fused with it, quickly circulating throughout his body.

This life force repaired the tiny cracks caused by the violent energy, while guiding most of the energy to prioritize tempering the bones that had not yet been tempered.

The process was still painful, but with the support and guidance of the Immortal Martial Bone, it finally stabilized.

After an unknown amount of time, the violent energy tide finally subsided.

Su Jie exhaled a long, hot breath, his entire body drenched in sweat. He looked inward and was stunned.

Inside his body, the remaining 206 bones, which were originally not progressing well, were now all radiating a lustrous glow, having reached the perfect level of basic martial bones!

"They only used less than one-tenth of this bottle of Bone Tempering Liquid?"

"This..." Su Jie's feelings were complicated. On one hand, he was still scared. If it weren't for the Immortal Martial Bone protecting him, he probably would have been in real trouble this time. On the other hand, he was overjoyed. The effect of this bottle of Bone Tempering Liquid was simply heaven-defying!

It not only helped him complete the tempering of his entire body's basic martial bones in one go, but also left a large amount of energy in his body.

"When a martial artist has tempered all the bones in his body into basic martial bones, his entire body is already considered a unified whole, but this is only the beginning."

Based on the number of martial veins condensed, there are four other levels of martial bones that can be tempered: Yellow (seven martial veins), Profound (eight martial veins), Earth (nine martial veins), and Heaven (ten martial veins).

However, unlike the basic martial bones that required individual tempering, once you begin to attempt to break through to the Yellow-level martial bone, the entire skeleton will be tempered simultaneously. This process is irreversible, and the pain required to advance each level is several times greater than before! The energy required also increases dramatically!

"Only a few times more painful? Compared to the despair in the previous illusion, what is this!"

Without hesitation, he activated the remaining bone-tempering fluid energy within his body with a single thought.

"boom--!"

The energy surged violently, like a volcano erupting within the body! It felt as if all the bones in the body were being crushed and reassembled simultaneously, and the pain was far greater than ever before.

"Ugh!" Su Jie groaned, blood seeping from his skin and his body trembling violently, but he gritted his teeth and held on.

"Quench!!!"

He focused all his will, guiding the raging energy to impact his bones. The Heart of Martial Arts (blue) allowed him to precisely control the flow of energy, and the vitality of his immortal martial bones continuously repaired the damage.

Time slipped away amidst the pain.

finally--

"Buzz!"

A resonance resounded from every bone in his body, and the violent energy was completely integrated.

The excruciating pain disappeared, replaced by a powerful feeling of strength filling my entire body.

He looked inward at himself and saw that his bones radiated a warm, jade-like luster, with subtle and mysterious patterns appearing on their surface.

Yellow-level martial bone, achieved!

[Ding! Detected that the host has tempered their entire body's martial bones to the Yellow Rank! The third main quest is now issued—Heaven Rank Martial Bones!]

[Mission Requirement: Before the martial arts exam, temper your entire body's martial bones to a Heavenly-level martial bone!]

[Mission Rewards: 5 Martial Arts Achievement Points! Mysterious Reward x1!]

[Failure Penalty: The host's potential will be permanently locked, and they will be barred from pursuing the highest martial arts path.]

[Current base combat power: 700 million; after the 20% bonus for Extreme Foundation Establishment users, actual base combat power: 840 million]

Su Jie suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with a sharp light that sent ripples through the air in the stone hall.

He slowly clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying power within him that seemed capable of shattering stars with a single punch, and couldn't help but burst into loud laughter!

Su Jie felt the qualitative change brought about by the Yellow-level Martial Bone within his body, and his heart was filled with heroic spirit.

But he was not satisfied, because the remaining energy of the bone-tempering liquid in his body was still immense, as well as the 1000 million Qi and blood and 2200 points of Qi and blood essence stored on the system panel.

"I've reached the Yellow Rank, but I still have a little less than half of the Bone Tempering Liquid's energy remaining. I currently have 1000 million Qi and Blood and 2200 points of Qi and Blood Essence, plus two bottles of Bone Tempering Liquid I haven't used yet!"

A glint of madness flashed in his eyes. "After the basic and Yellow levels, comes the Profound level! Several times the pain? A skyrocketing energy demand? I have plenty of the resources!"