Time, on the admissions plaza of Canaan Starry Sky Martial Arts University, had become a peculiar, stretched-out measuring stick.
For the tens of thousands of prodigies who had already been eliminated and could only wait here in listless silence, every minute and every second was filled with torment and resentment.
But for the hundred or so victors in Qin Feng’s group, this long, four-month wait was an entirely new kind of trial—one of mental fortitude.
Some grew anxious, some entered Meditation, and some gathered in small groups, quietly reviewing their previous battles and exchanging insights on the Martial Dao.
As for Qin Feng, from the moment he sat down cross-legged, he had already "vanished" from the bustling yet silent plaza.
His eyes were shut tight, his breathing so long and gentle it was nearly inaudible. He was like a stone statue that had existed since time immemorial, completely cut off from his surroundings, having entered a deep state of cultivation where both he and the world around him ceased to exist.
To him, everything in the outside world was an Illusion.
His entire consciousness had sunk into the vast, boundless inner cosmos that belonged to him alone.
Here, there was no heaven or earth, no sun or moon—only endless darkness.
And in the center of that darkness, a perfect and complex model of the human meridian system floated silently.
This was Qin Feng’s deepest visualization and perception of his own body.
His consciousness, like a creator god, looked down upon this model.
With a single thought, three hundred and sixty faint points of light on the model lit up one by one.
These points of light were not randomly distributed. They followed some profoundly abstruse law, connected to one another by invisible energy channels, forming a vast and mysterious three-dimensional star chart.
This was the core secret of the "Great Sun Acupoint Opening Method"—the three hundred and sixty energy singularities hidden within the human body, which corresponded to the celestial stars and the great sun of the Cosmos. They were also the gateways to a higher level of existence.
In Qin Feng’s mind, the General Outline of this top-tier cultivation method from the Empire appeared, every word and sentence crystal clear.
"The ’Great Sun Acupoint Opening Method’ aims to open three hundred and sixty energy acupoints within the human body, draw Cosmic Spiritual Energy into the self, use the body as a furnace to temper one’s being, and complete the ultimate leap in one’s level of existence."
The first step: ’Seeking Acupoints’.
Qin Feng had already completed this.
Back at Qiming First High School, he had already successfully located the precise coordinates of all the Acupoint Singularities within his body.
Now, he was about to undertake the second step, one that was far more difficult and crucial.
’Constructing the Acupoint Shell Prototype’.
After finding a singularity, one must use Mental Power as a ’carving knife’ to meticulously sculpt and construct a perfectly stable ’Acupoint Shell Prototype’ around its periphery, one capable of housing Cosmic Spiritual Energy.
This process required a Martial Artist to have achieved a microscopic level of control over their own power. A single stray thought could, at best, undo all their progress.
Qin Feng’s mind was highly focused.
His consciousness locked onto the first illuminated Acupoint Singularity on that human star chart.
That place was like a miniature, chaotic Cosmos.
Then, the resplendent sun he visualized in his sea of consciousness flared slightly.
An invisible yet powerful stream of Mental Power, like an intangible scalpel, plunged with absolute precision into his body, arriving at the location of that singularity.
At the same time, guided by the "Great Sun Acupoint Opening Method," the vigorous qi and blood that surged like a great river inside him split off a strand of incomparably pure, crimson energy—a hundred times finer than a strand of hair—and carefully followed the Mental Power’s guidance to the same destination.
The construction began.
It was a tedious, complicated process that demanded an appallingly high degree of precision.
Qin Feng’s Mental Power, like the most precise carving knife, first mapped out the overall framework of the "Acupoint Shell" in the void surrounding the singularity.
This framework was not a physical entity, but an Energy Field constructed from Mental Power. It would determine the final shape, size, and stability of the Acupoint Shell.
This process was like carving the most intricate work of art from the softest tofu.
A fraction too much power, and the energy would turn violent, tearing down the fragile, hard-won framework.
A fraction too little, and there wouldn’t be enough cohesion to form stable, solid "Brick Stones." The resulting Acupoint Shell would be like a sandcastle, collapsing at the slightest touch.
Failure.
The first attempt. After a little over ten minutes, Qin Feng felt a slight, sharp pain from his chest.
A momentary fluctuation in his thoughts had caused an instability, directly leading to the instant collapse of a small corner he had just constructed.
He was not discouraged. He immediately withdrew his power, allowed his damaged meridians to recover quickly under the nourishment of his vast Spiritual Energy, and then immediately began a second attempt.
Failure.
The third attempt also ended in failure.
...
Day after day, the cycle repeated.
On the plaza, light and shadow shifted.
The orange-yellow sun rose in the east and set in the west, replaced by the alternating fall of cold moonlight and starlight.
The mental states of the waiting candidates also underwent subtle changes during this long wait.
Some began to pace back and forth, restless and anxious.
Some chose to slack off, simply watching movies or playing games on the Subspace Network.
Others, like Qin Feng, chose arduous cultivation.
But the vast majority of them couldn’t achieve Qin Feng’s level of complete immersion.
They would open their eyes from time to time to look around, as if to confirm the passage of time, as if worried about being left behind.
Only Qin Feng remained like a true sculpture.