The dark clouds scattered.
The sky cleared.
The first ray of morning sunlight streamed in.
It fell upon Lin Yi's body.
A crisp alarm rang out, right on time at 5:45.
Lin Yi, who had been sitting cross-legged on his bed all night,
slowly opened his eyes.
A clear light flashed in his eyes.
Lin Yi turned off the alarm and gazed out the window at the morning sun.
'Did I actually sit here and fall asleep last night?'
Only after a long moment did Lin Yi finally realize it.
He was still holding the tattered Star River Qi Transformation Technique, having held the same posture all night.
He recalled how he had spent the entire night in that sea of stars.
Until that current of energy had burst apart.
His body had become like a sponge, greedily absorbing those runes.
The next moment, he hurriedly pulled up his personal panel.
[Name: Lin Yi]
[Occupation: Student]
[Martial Arts Realm: 1-Star, Tier 0]
[Qi and Blood: 22%]
[Martial Skills: Basic Fist Arts (Perfected), Basic Leg Arts (Perfected)]
[Talent Traits: Absolute Focus (Purple), Heaven-Defying Insight (Purple), Destiny (Gold), Fist Arts Mastery (Blue), Godly Speed (Blue), Wall-Walking (Purple), Iron Fist (Blue), Tenacity (Blue)]
[Plundered Traits: Wall-Walking, Iron Fist, Tenacity]
[Cultivation Technique: Star River Qi Transformation Technique]
When Lin Yi looked at the line for his Martial Arts Realm,
he discovered he had actually broken through to the One-Star Realm.
He was utterly astonished, and his mind raced back over the events of last night.
The current of energy inside him had inexplicably burst.
Sending ripples through his body...
'Could that burst of energy have been the sign of my breakthrough?' Lin Yi thought to himself.
'And that star with the missing point... when the runes entered my body, that point was slowly filled with light!'
'So, that star must represent my realm!'
'Based on what happened before, the star had four points lit up, which must have corresponded to my Tier Four Realm. The last point wasn't lit because I hadn't built up enough Qi and Blood!'
'And those runes were actually Qi and Blood. As they entered my body, they increased my Qi and Blood, pushing it all the way to 100%. That's what helped me light up the entire star, allowing my realm to break through to the One-Star Realm...'
The more Lin Yi thought, the more excited he became.
If his guess was right, then this Star River Qi Transformation Technique was a true Cultivation Method.
One could enter the sea of stars to cultivate.
One could even monitor the changes in one's realm at any time.
'But where did those runes come from? And that sound of a sermon...
I could only hear the powerful voice, but I couldn't understand a single word!'
'And those sounds transformed into runes that entered my body... If so, could the Star River Qi Transformation Technique have been written by an Immortal?'
At these thoughts, Lin Yi grew even more excited.
'If that's true, then this Star River Qi Transformation Technique isn't just some tattered old book—it's a top-tier Cultivation Method!'
'Too bad Lei Hu didn't know what he had and treated it like a piece of junk!'
'Buying it from him for nine hundred was an absolute steal!'
An increasingly brilliant smile spread across Lin Yi's face.
He looked down, carefully examining the Star River Qi Transformation Technique in his hands, and found that the characters on its pages were the same as the runes from last night.
He couldn't understand a single one...
Just as Lin Yi was hunched over, studying the book,
a knock came from outside the door.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—
"Lin Yi, you're not up yet? Hurry up and get ready for school.
Look at the time! Are you still sleeping in?"
It was Lin Dazhi's voice from outside. Lin Yi hurriedly glanced at the time on his phone.
In what felt like just a moment, half an hour had passed.
It was already 6:18.
'Crap, I'm going to be late!'
Lin Yi quickly but carefully tucked the Star River Qi Transformation Technique into his schoolbag.
Although his homeroom teacher had said that with the Martial Arts Exam approaching,
students who were preparing to take it could skip their academic classes.
They could just focus entirely on preparing at home for the exam in three months.
Of course, this wasn't mandatory. If students still wanted to attend class, no one would stop them.
But for Lin Yi, as important as the Martial Arts Exam was,
he couldn't afford to fall behind in his academic classes. Besides, he had nowhere else to go.
Sitting in the classroom was better than staying at home.
In fact, if Lin Dazhi found out, he would surely stop him from attending classes at all.
Instead, he would find him a job to start earning money.
'Once I've saved up enough for the registration fee, I have to rent my own place. I need to get away from them as soon as possible...'
Lin Yi thought to himself as he walked out of his room.
In the living room, Lin Dazhi and the others were already at the table, eating.
Seeing Lin Yi emerge from his room,
Lin Yu walked over with a smile, holding a bowl of tonic soup. "What's with you today? Waking up so late. Don't tell me you've lost the will to study because you can't take the Martial Arts Exam?"
Lin Yi shot him a glance. "Is that a tonic?"
"Yep. It's a tonic my mom bought for me. And let me tell you, this stuff really works!"
"I just got tested at the Martial Arts Hall yesterday. My realm has already reached Tier Three... The instructor there said that if I keep cultivating properly with this tonic, I might even reach the One-Star Realm before the exam!"
"Do you even know what the One-Star Realm means?"
Lin Yu seemed to be sharing his experience with Lin Yi.
But in reality, he was just showing off.
The Martial Arts Hall.
The tonic.
The One-Star Realm.
In Lin Yu's eyes, these were all things Lin Yi could only dream of.
But for him,
they were all within easy reach.
Lin Yi smiled and nodded.
The next moment, he raised his hand.
WHOOSH—
A current of pure Qi and Blood enveloped his palm.
In an instant, Lin Yu was stunned.
The bowl of tonic nearly slipped from his grasp.
Watching his cousin's panicked expression, Lin Yi smiled and said, "The One-Star Realm you were talking about... you mean like this?"
Before Lin Yu could even process what had happened,
Lin Yi retracted the Qi and Blood and turned to walk into the bathroom.
Lin Yu was utterly and completely shocked.
He could never have imagined that Lin Yi—the good-for-nothing trash in his eyes—
had already reached the One-Star Realm.
'How is that possible? It must have been a hallucination.'
'His Martial Arts talent is so much worse than mine.'
'There's no way he could have reached the One-Star Realm.'
'But what was that just now? Qi and Blood enveloping his palm?'
'The instructor at the Martial Arts Hall said that only someone who has reached the One-Star Realm and opened their acupoints could do that.'
The instructor had even demonstrated it for them.
Leaving many of the students green with envy.
'And what Lin Yi just did... wasn't it exactly the same as the instructor's demonstration?'
'His Qi and Blood was just a lot weaker than the instructor's.'
'But he's just at the One-Star Realm, so how could he compare to the instructor?'
'But still...'
"Xiaoyu, what are you just standing there for? Have you finished your tonic?"
It was Liu Hongmei's voice.
Lin Yu jolted back to his senses.
His eyes flickered as he glanced at the bathroom, and he hurried back towards the living room.
"I've finished it..."