Enlightenment! Ancient Jade Reappears

After tossing and turning for a while, the night soon deepened.

Lin Yi stayed quietly in his room.

He did not practice.

Blue Star was located in a wasteland belt where source energy was thin. There was no history of utilizing source energy here, let alone any manuals for cultivating it.

To practice properly, he had to wait for the assessment to begin, obtain the basic guidance method from the Spirit Radiance Crystal, and then use source energy crystal cores for efficient cultivation.

However, being unable to practice did not mean he couldn't strengthen himself.

He intended to take advantage of this window of time—before the god's avatar arrived, before Blue Star was covered by the projection of its divine kingdom, and while everything was still untraceable—to focus on improving his physical fitness.

After all, there were so many high school students with good physiques; one more wouldn't be conspicuous.

Lin Yi lay quietly on his bed and closed his eyes.

His soul origin acted like a precise, invisible probe, scanning his young body in minute detail.

The distribution of muscle fibers, the density of his bones, the conduction efficiency of his neural network—all data appeared clearly in his consciousness.

Based on his profound understanding of biological evolution from his past life, a highly efficient nourishing plan rapidly took shape in his mind.

The summer night outside the window remained sultry, and the cicadas chirped tirelessly.

Yet, Lin Yi's breathing became long and possessed a unique rhythm.

Every inhalation seemed to mobilize the meager, almost non-existent free energy factors in the air.

In the energy desert of Blue Star, their effect was like a drop in the bucket, but they could naturally nourish every cell.

Every exhalation was accompanied by the quiet discharge of metabolic waste from his body.

Lin Yi controlled his muscles, performing subtle tremors and stretches imperceptible to the naked eye. Like the most brilliant master of internal martial arts, he gently and thoroughly stimulated his body's potential.

After training with his self-created breathing technique for over two hours, he only rose when a heavy sense of fatigue washed over him, heading off to wash up and prepare for sleep.

The moonlight outside the window filtered through the gauze curtains, casting mottled shadows on the floor.

Though his body was exhausted, Lin Yi's soul remained as clear as day.

He closed his eyes to regulate his breath, easing his physical fatigue while beginning to sort through the day's gains.

The matter of the Heaven-Equaling Battle Armor is settled. Next is...

However, just as he began to organize his thoughts, a strange pulling force suddenly emanated from the depths of his soul.

Lin Yi snapped his eyes open, only to find he was no longer lying on his familiar bed.

He was in a boundless, chaotic space. There was no solid ground beneath his feet, yet he stood firmly.

Most bizarrely, this space was filled with a faint purple mist, flowing slowly like a diluted nebula.

"This is..."

Lin Yi looked around vigilantly, guarding his heart.

Just then, a glimmer of light suddenly ignited in the center of the space.

As the light grew clearer, it revealed a suspended jade pendant.

It was the very same ancient jade that had turned to dust in his palm earlier that day!

The ancient jade was now intact, its surface flowing with mysterious purple-gold patterns. These patterns were not static; they writhed slowly like living things, at times forming profound runes, at others transforming into the trajectories of stars.

Lin Yi's heart shook violently. He could clearly feel that the thin purple mist in the space was slowly seeping out, thread by thread, from the surface of the jade.

"So, you didn't disappear..."

Lin Yi murmured in his heart, subconsciously drifting forward.

However, the moment he approached within three feet of the jade, he was struck as if by lightning.

A flash of lightning-like realization imprinted itself upon his consciousness.

In the dark, he understood the information related to this space.

This space was a special dimension formed by the ancient jade within his soul origin.

The purple mist was "Spirit Enlightenment Qi," converted by the ancient jade from the primordial energy of the universe. He could actively absorb it, and depending on the amount absorbed, he could enter a state of "Epiphany" for varying durations.

In the state of Epiphany, his comprehension would skyrocket geometrically. Whether he was contemplating techniques, deducing combat skills, or solving difficult problems, he could reach the ultimate realm of near-perfect "communion between heaven and man."

"Increasing comprehension... Epiphany..."

Lin Yi's soul origin couldn't help but tremble slightly.

As someone who had experienced three major breakthroughs—Star Dust, Star Core, and Star Vortex—how could he not know the value of an Epiphany?

Countless powerhouses had been stuck in bottlenecks for thousands or even tens of thousands of years, only to die in despair.

Was it a lack of resources?

Was it a lack of willpower?

Neither.

It was simply the lack of that one fleeting spark of insight.

And this ancient jade could actually artificially create such a state that was usually impossible to encounter!

"This is simply..."

After daydreaming for a while, Lin Yi gradually calmed down.

For now, he only knew the function of this purple energy; its specific effects still required testing.

Moreover, the purple energy within this ancient jade space was extremely thin. If it took an exceptionally long time to replenish after a single use, it might turn out to be a useless trinket.

To more accurately grasp the efficacy and cost of this "Spirit Enlightenment Qi," Lin Yi decided to conduct a small experiment.

He first observed his surroundings for a moment, then locked onto his target.

"You'll do."

He focused his attention intensely, condensing his soul power into invisible, precise fingers, and carefully reached toward the thinnest wisp of purple mist drifting at the edge of the space.

That wisp of mist twisted slightly as if it possessed life, carrying an indescribable, profound aura.

Lin Yi touched it extremely gently with his soul fingertip, then with a shift of his intent, his soul origin opened like a slightly ajar door, slowly drawing that isolated wisp of purple energy into itself.

BOOM!

The moment the purple energy merged, Lin Yi's consciousness felt as if it had been thrown into the core of a supernova.

He instantly felt time stretch infinitely, while his thinking speed skyrocketed geometrically. A vague source energy formula from his past memories became clear in an instant, its derivation process and mapping to the laws of the universe appearing as transparent as crystal.

A minor question that had troubled him for a long time in his previous life—regarding the use of universal rules to reinforce source energy and thereby improve structural stability—emerged with an answer as simple and clear as 1+1=2 under this overclocked state of mind.

However, this state of insight into the universe, where his thinking was godlike, lasted for only a fleeting moment.

Almost as soon as the thought arose and the conclusion appeared, that vast, boundless sense of clarity receded like a tide, and his consciousness returned to the normal speed of his soul space.

Lin Yi's soul body fluctuated violently, carrying a hint of lingering regret, but his eyes were startlingly bright.

"One second. Just one second."

He had precisely grasped the duration of that state; it was exactly one second.

One wisp of purple energy could be exchanged for one second of epiphany.

Immediately afterward, he cast his perception toward the ancient jade.

The space where he had just taken the wisp of purple energy seemed to have slightly sunken.

He focused his attention on observing the rate at which the ancient jade produced the purple energy itself.

He saw the patterns on the surface of the ancient jade flowing, extremely slowly seeping out new purple energy.

Lin Yi silently timed it in his heart.

After half an hour, he calculated a conclusion based on the amount of purple energy regenerated.

"One day!"

It would take a full day for that consumed wisp of purple energy to be completely replenished.

This conclusion made Lin Yi's heart sink at first, but then it ignited an even more intense flame.

One second was a drop in the bucket for Star Vortex Rank problems or profound inheritances, but as long as he patiently accumulated it for a period of time, it could absolutely play a massive role.

After all, the lifespan of a Star Vortex Rank was as long as 100,000 years!

Having obtained the information he wanted, Lin Yi used his intent to contact and activate the ancient jade according to the information previously imprinted in his consciousness.

As an irresistible repulsive force surged, Lin Yi suddenly opened his eyes on the bed.

He immediately scanned and checked his body repeatedly, first confirming there were no abnormalities, then entering and exiting the ancient jade space twice more.

In the end, he verified one thing: the ancient jade space did not require his entire consciousness to enter; splitting off a sliver of intent to go inside had the same effect.

Furthermore, when the split intent used the purple energy within the ancient jade space, there was still no change whatsoever from his body to his soul origin.

Only when the concerns in his heart were eliminated did the corners of Lin Yi's mouth curl into a smile.

"One wisp of purple energy, one second of epiphany. One day of time, to produce one wisp."

He lay on the bed, not even turning on the lights, staring at the ceiling in the darkness, and secretly mused:

"I originally only wanted to fake being a genius to get a high score in the assessment, secure a higher starting point for myself and Blue Star, and get more cultivation resources, but now it seems... who could say I'm faking it?"